Write IT Down! It Works

Have you written your desires down and committed them to paper? Do you have a dream that has only been explored in your mind? Have you ever created a prayer list, vision board, or some type of visual representation of something that you desire to manifest in your life? 

I can tell you from first hand experience that there is something very powerful about writing down your vision and believing that God will help you manifest your dreams.  There is tremendous value in writing down your vision beyond it being simply a physical reminder on paper.  Writing down your desires on paper forces you to commit to the pursuit of that desire and/or  simply be open to receive.   

Some years ago, I attended a poetry reading at the Shrine of the Black Madonna in Atlanta featuring lyricist and singer Jill Scott.

As I entered the building I unexpectedly heard a voice in my spirit say, "What are you asking of God? You have not because you ask not.  Write your vision and your desires down?" I immediately headed to my seat, took out a writing pad and began to write down a list of desires that I wanted God to grant to me over my lifetime.

Through this process I condensed my desire to ten desires and/or experiences that I wanted to manifest in my life.  Number five (5) on my list was the following statement:

"I want to travel to the Holy Land (Israel) and be baptized in the waters in which Jesus stood."  

Two days after the writing down my ten requests I woke up early that Friday morning and

had an insatiable urge to contact one of my mentors from Alabama. I sat at the edge of my bed and called his office with no particular agenda in mind other than check on him and see how he was doing. His assistant informed me that he was out of the office that morning but said that I was on her list to call but she couldn't didn't have my number.  She went on to tell me that she had been instructed by Dr. Steele to reach out to me and see if I wanted to join him and a delegation of religious leaders on a trip to Israel.  Of course my answer was a resounding "YES."  She  told me that my timing had been "perfect" because this was the final day for submitting the confirmed list of participants to the international partner. 

Twenty-one days later I participated  on  an all expense paid 10 day trip to the Holy Land. Moreover, on day five of the trip the delegation were unexpectedly offered the opportunity to go to the Jordan River to be baptized.  So not only did I go on a FREE trip to Israel but I had the opportunity to get BAPTIZED in the Jordan River.

Since that experience I am more mindful of writing down my vision and the desires of my heart.   This weekend as I looked through some of my papers I found this certificate of baptism.  I am not sure of the exact significance of writing down your vision but I know that in this particular case God granted me the opportunity for this SPECIFIC request in less than 72 hours.       

 And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. ~ Habakkuk 

  

I Surrender ALL

Sweet, sweet surrender, live, live without careLike a fish in the water, like a bird in the airSweet, sweet surrender, live, live without careLike a fish in the water, like a bird in the air              ~ Lyrics and Song by John Denver

For years, I have been trying to understand what it really means to surrender. Over the years, my family and friends have continued to tell me that I need to learn how to surrender. But it has never really made ANY sense to me nor taken any root in my mind or spirit. To be quite honest, I really thought "surrendering" meant giving up. 

I could even visualize a "surrender scene" in my head as an image of me.... courageously riding on a beauutiful charcoal grey horse, dressed in a pristine pearl colored flowing dress, galloping through the beautiful hills of an Arabian desert with a cohort of armored clad warrior women behind me headed to battle.... then all of the sudden someone rides up from the distant on a muscular black stallion telling me that I need to surrender.  

....I'd imagine myself thinking, "What?! I've got my gear on, my beautiful stallion, the warrior sisters behind me, and I'm ready for battle. What do you mean I should just SURRENDER?!......... 

Each time I would find myself in the midst of a struggle with a relationship, family member, work, my child or my own personal issues I would hear that all TOO familiar phrase--YOU NEED TO SURRENDER. Even in recent years, as I began to actively pursue my journey as a singer, artist and writer I have had to come face-to-face with the idea of surrendering.

....then here comes along a sister singer named Liv Warfield. I finally GOT IT!!!!!

It was actually through watching her performance that I saw what people have been saying to me for years....if you just let go, don't worry about perceptions, withhold self-judgement, flow in your gift and LET GOD lead the process you will be LIBERATED! Thank you God! I FINALLY GOT IT!

You see what I noticed and felt in my spirit from Liv's performance was that she was NO LONGER enslaved, mentally imprisoned  and/or bound by the perceptions of other people including her fans. 

This sister got on stage and just shared her authentic gift(s) without a sense any feeling the pressure to be perfect, the pretense of just entertaining people or the goal of meeting other folks  expectations. I saw pure liberation to operate in her authentic gift(s) and my soul was MOVED. I actually started praising God under my breath as I heard her sing.  That's what liberation sounds like.

Ironically, this sister was quite entertaining and a fabulous singer; she mesmerized the crowd by NOT trying to entertain them.  Instead she captured the attention of the audience through her display of courage to fully be present in the moment,  simply BE who God made her to be and use her gift without restraint.  Up until the end of the show (she stayed in flow even after the show had ened and they cut off the mics and the sound system) Liv encouraged the band to keep going and created an authentic  music experience and opportunity for us to witness the liberation that comes when we surrender our gift(s) to GOD! 

This is what I have learned in a pink nutshell:

1.) Music is a SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE and not for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY! 

2.) Humility is NOT about your relationship with man BUT  your relationship with  God.

3.) Surrendering is not constraining but it actually leads to true LIBERATION by trusting God with ALL of the affairs in your life--including the use of your gift(s).

4.)  Always remember the gift is for God's GLORY and never peoples' acceptance.

LORD, I surrender ALL! 

I'm In Love!

YES, it's true I'm in love and so happy to share my testimony. It's been a long time coming but I'm finally here! After several failed relationships, years of waiting on "the one", many nights of both prayers and tears, and countless hours of self-reflection and pep talks with my girlfriends I have finally found the love that I was looking for. You would think that after seeing Ntozake Shange's play "For Colored Girls that Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf" I would have gotten the message much sooner about the difficulty in finding your true love but unfortunately I didn't get it.  Ntozake summed it up perfectly with one powerful line in her play,  "I found God in myself and I loved her fiercely."   

Don't get me wrong I truly DESIRE the love of a man in my life and look forward to the day that God allows me to meet my soul mate and future husband. I have desired to be in a committed relationship for years but I had to get the same life lesson Lauryn Hill writes about in one of her song's...

"Father you saved me and showed me that life

Was much more than being some foolish man's wife."

I did not realize that the love I was looking for in a marriage was different from the love that I needed to develop as a woman. I thought the love I longed for inside could be provided by someone on the outside. The truth is that no man alive could fill that void. It was on;y through my understanding of God's love that I became liberated enough to love myself deeper and created an abundance of love for me to share with another. I needed to quench my thirst with something beyond the confines of this physical world. I needed to tap into the unlimited supply of unconditional and unmerited love by Jesus Christ. I finally understood the true nature of LOVE. I knew what the bible taught about love but I just didn't realize it was to be applied to self as well.  

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not        

  dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

        Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. ~ 1 Corinth 13:4-8

Ironically, I had not anticipated that through the pain of rejection I would be FORCED to work on self-acceptance. I had not fathomed the idea that the perceived curse of "loneliness" was the very emotion that FORCED me to deal with past pain and unresolved emotions. I certainly could not mentally process that the shattering of my ego would reveal the true state of my self-esteem. It was actually my brokenness that FORCED  me to gather all of the shattered pieces of my spirit and create a beautiful mosaic of self-love, self-mastery, self-acceptance and radical forgiveness.  

Y'ALL I FINALLY GOT IT!!!!!  I have been waiting on ME to show up! I've spent so much time waiting to love or be loved by the "right man" that I totally resisted and resented the fact that God allowed me to experience singleness as a blessing to master self-love. God  has not been denying me any love but He been showering  me and teaching me how to love Him, myself and others without limitations, conditions or judgments. 

The irony is that I thought self-love was the LAST area I needed help mastering.  As far as I remember, I've always had a very confident air about myself and a huge dose of self-esteem. Well..to be perfectly honest what I have realized is that I only mastered the ability to support an ego that could shut down the bully in the school yard and bold enough to be competitive with my peers. However, often at night when I was left alone with my thoughts and no one was around I knew I didn't measure up to the image that I wanted "everybody" to believe about me. For many years, after my ego would drift off to sleep I would lay wide awake feeling like a fraud, inadequate, and unable to measure up to the image that my external self displayed to the world.  

Then life taught me.......

As my grandma would say, "Baby just keep on living and Life will teach you everything you need to know." I didn't know what the heck she was talking about but I GOT IT NOW! Life has been my greatest teacher! I think they call that wisdom. (smile) And yes sometimes I still experience feelings of loneliness but I now recognize that I am never ever alone.  Being able to distinguish the difference between the two has changed my life. 

My love journey has been an interesting one and it still goes on! My love affair with others and myself has gone through it's share of ups and downs, twists and turns, and many trials and tribulations. However, I have finally arrived at the point in my journey that "my love" is not about someone else, selfishness or how-my-ego feels but it is firmly rooted in God's unconditional love. Like with any relationship, self- love is an ever evolving and deepening process...my journey continues. Now even on my loneliest and most challenging days I can  tap into a greater LOVE with a simple reminder and declaration, "God LOVES Me and so do I"! (and now I truly know what it means)

Who Is Public Prayer Really For?

Prayer is a powerful thing. I am a Christian woman and I totally BELIEVE in the power of prayer. Matter of fact, during the past year my belief and practice in prayer have been increased; so much so that I joined a prayer group called My Girlfriend's Business.  I along with the women of My Girlfriend's Business wake up each morning to pray collectively for our families, communities, and ourselves between 5:00-6:00am. 

As much as I love and believe in prayer, I am extremely challenged and perplexed by the declarations by my other Christian brothers and sisters that claim the absence of "a state sanctioned prayer" is why the schools are failing. Really? I  want to maintain a balanced perspective around this issue because I know that there are many people that sincerely believe this is the reason, however I do not understand the premise.  Do we really think schools are failing because state sanctioned prayer has been taken out of schools? Is that an emotional response or a spiritual one?

I agree we are certainly in a time in our history that we need MORE love, MORE faith and  MORE prayer. However, I don't fully understand the we need prayer in schools debate? Who is PUBLIC prayer really for in the first place?   

On Monday, former Governor and GOP Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee stated "we shouldn't be surprised at the recent school shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School" in Newtown, Connecticut. He asserted that somehow this heinous act was tied to the lack of religious expression in public school.  So let me get this right?! Is brother Huckabee suggesting that innocent children were killed because the principal didn't read a pre-scripted state sanctioned prayer over the intercom? 

As Christians, is state sanctioned prayer the real issue that our schools are facing? Praying for our children and schools is always an option with or without being sanctioned by the state.  We can't confuse the issue of having a school sanctioned prayer with our ability to pray for our children and schools because these are two different issues.  Do we think that there is something more holy or more potent in a state sanctioned prayer? Do we think God will hear us better if the state says it's okay?  Do we really want the state dictating our prayers? 

The scriptures clearly states in Matt 5:45 that pain is shared by all and that God allows it "to rain on both the just and unjust".  There are many things that will and have happened that we won't understand; however we can't select the easiest explanation to understand that which can not be understood. Evil is sometimes beyond our understanding. Evil is simply evil.  

As Christians, we are still required to be responsible Christians and base our opinions on God's word. In many ways, I believe we accept the most common political position on issues that we hear in the mainstream media because it doesn't require us to push ourselves to a different level of our faith.    Perhaps the real challenge for us as Christians is to go deeper, pray harder and add works with our faith. I think we are far too complacent, far too easy to pass blame and far too judgmental in our role as Christians.

Have we forgotten the true intention and purpose of prayer? Have we forgotten that God is  omniscient and can always hear what's in a man's heart? Plus, there is no biblical requirement (that I am aware of)  that prayer must be spoken publicly in order to be valid. 

I actually have the audacity to believe that prayer is POWERFUL ENOUGH that it transcends time, place and space.  I often pray for people I've never met, for people in countries that I have never visited and for families located thousands of miles away.  I don't believe I have to be in India, the operating room, the school yard or even the White House for my prayers to be heard. I don't believe the Holy Spirit is limited by my presence in a place(or the lack thereof) The beauty of God is that I believe He is EVERYWHERE! 

It is not my intention to offend anyone with this blog nor diminish the value of prayer.   I would like to continue a dialogue with my Christian brothers and sisters to really examine this notion that the schools are dangerous and failing because "they took prayer out." 

Perhaps prayer isn't what left the public school system but maybe we left the schools. If we were there working to make things better wouldn't prayer be there in some form? Perhaps it is our abuse of how we use and misuse our faith that has partly led to the moral demise of our communities?  Is the prayer debate a scapegoat for our responsibility to take care of others?Does public prayer make us feel more righteous or obedient? Do we think that God will hear us better if people hear us pray aloud too? 

Ironically, there are many references in the bible where Jesus actually withdrew from the public and went in private places to commune and pray to God. 

(WDJD) WHAT DID JESUS DO?

Let's see what Jesus taught us about public prayer.....

Matthew 5:6 

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."

Matthew 6:1 
"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Matthew 23:5
"Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long;

Obviously, public prayer was not a requirement for Jesus.  Then why is it a requirement for us?

So my question is   "Who is public prayer really for...????

MY BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER

My Mom says that I was born to sing.  She says that even as a little baby I absolutely LOVED to sing.  I can clearly remember my first paid gig on a Greyhound bus headed to New York City during the Christmas season. I say it was a paid gig but actually it amounted to me being a little 6 year old, standing in the aisles, singing Christmas songs on bus while collecting quarters, half sandwichs, candy and smiles as payment.

I have been a singer all of my life, all throughout my high school years, college career, and young adulthood but in recent years I moved away from my craft. After Hurricane Katrina I completely lost my desire to sing and/or perform. It was as if the storm took away my voice in the midst of the destruction of so many lives in the gulf coast region.

After a seven year hiatus from singing I found myself thrust back into the art of performing.  I realized just how powerful music is in telling a story and delivering a message.  I was reminded of how much music was a part of who I am.

This year I gave myself a long awaited birthday gift--a recorded LOVE SONG!  For years it has been my desire to record my own music and share the message of love with the world.  Well on November 10, 2012 (my birthday) I fulfilled a long awaited dream by recording and sharing my first recorded "love song" with the world.  The song is called So High!

Please listen to the YouTube video and share with your friends!    

"What Does A Free Woman Look Like?"

Recently I read a post placed on Facebook by my prayer partner a girlfriend named Lisa.  She is such an amazing woman of God that has overcome so many personal challenges and always has a smile or encouraging word to offer.  Like many of us she is a mother, a professional, a minister, a daughter and a friend that always makes herself available to help others.  However, I am proud to announce that she is NOW doing something for herself and has made her own liberation the priority in her life. 

Below I have decided to repost her facebook message in her own words because I think that her personal TRUTH has the power to bring true liberation. I hope that her testimony blesses you like it did me this morning.  Freedom is not a state of being; it really is a choice! 

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36

Facebook Message from  my friend Lisa Yvette Jones

You know, for the first time in my adult life, I am free! I free of worry, free of doubt, free of children, I am free of stage 3 Cervical Cancer some 3+ years and forever, I'm divorced, I am 106 pounds lighter today than I was last year this time, my child, my blessed young man of valor, is in the university of his and God's choosing...I happen to love Drexel University as well, he is pursuing the academic discipline of choice, my career is booming, I traveled overseas for the first time in my life this year and have truly been bitten, on to China next September, my faith is even stronger, my joy is full and perpetual, my books are in the making, thank God...

 I am still in the making and I am embracing every moment of it...His making, the legacy of my mother, The late and Great Sister Queenie Victoria Thompson, lives on in me...her strength, her boldness, her determination, and yes... Her beauty lives on in me. This weekend, I decided to free my self of the weave and embrace the new crown of glory the Lord has blessed me with, I added a bit of me (the color)... Yes, in the words of girlfriend Toy Banks...dare to be "BOLD, CONFIDENT, and BEAUTIFUL!" 

So, hello world and look out, because you never know when this woman of freedom will step foot on your land in this great big world God has created. FB family, in this moment of transparency, it's time to really do me! How do you like me now!

What Does Freedom Look Like?

TOTAL SELF-ACCEPTANCE &  SELF-LOVE!!

Praise God for my friend, Lisa Yvette Jones, who has been healed, elevated, uplifted, transformed, fulfilled, redeemed, motivated, educated, inspired, refined, embraced, prepared, chosen, honored, rewarded, and restored!

She Loved Him- A Short Story

She loved him -- magnanimously.  But it was too much. Like a cancer, this love spread throughout her entire body and permeated every limb, every organ, and every cell. 

It seemed like her unbridled love for this man was a part of her cellular make-up; perhaps it was encoded in her DNA. She felt like her love for him was the oxygen in her blood that fed her cells and flowed freely through her veins; racing towards her heart.  

Unfortunately, it was this same love that ran him away. She didn’t fully understand it’s power at the time so she gave it to him unceasingly and without restraint; never realizing that the power of the gift was just too much for him to handle.  In fact, the truth is it became too much for them both.

This love was like a wild fire that needed to be monitored and contained and not to be left alone unattended.  She welcomed it’s consuming power, however he knew that he had to get out before the love flames spread to the dry areas of his broken spirit.  

He wasn’t quite ready for the flames to mix with the dry residue of his anger, pain and fears.  He needed to hold on to the residue because it seemed to remind him of the dark spaces in life.  Ironically, it was the familiarity of the dark spaces that made him feel  comfortable and safe.

Her love had become too intense and he had no desire to be over taken by it’s heat. This man had already had his share of heartbreak and burn wounds caused by love and failed relationships.  Therefore, he cornered a part of his heart, installed special fireproof walls and tried his best to protect himself from her flames. There was no way that he would be smitten by love again. 

On the other hand, she deeply desired to feel the warmth and comfort their love provided; she loved the light it created in the dark and lonely moments and she loved the intensity of their passion. Ironically, the more heat they generated together the greater her desire was to surrender to its’ flames. She appreciated the intensity of love. She longed for it; he feared it.

After the third attempt their love fire finally reached its’ peek and she gladly took off all of her clothes, oiled down her body for the experience and jumped nakedly into the core center of the flames. However, for some unstated reason he changed his mind right before the jump, made a 180 degree turn and left her at the scene alone once more--without even a conversation.  

She was terribly embarrassed as she stood there for the third time being rejected by the same man during the same time of year as the other two previous times.  Why had she believed him again? When would she let it go and move on? Unfortunately, she now found herself completely naked, with third degree burns on her heart, a singed spirit that reeked the smell of fear, and in more emotional pain than any flame should ever inflict on one soul.

To make matters worst, when he left her for the third time he took back all of his love and unintentionally carried a little bit of hers away as well.  Had she not learned her lesson from the two prior attempts at love with and for this man? Did she think that love made her invincible—a Superwoman of sorts—or even fireproof?

Although she was overcome by the embarrassment of her third folly she decided to completely surrender to the power of love's fire she felt shut up in her bones. Ironically, she discovered that being consumed by love wasn’t as bad as she originally thought; although there were consequences that didn't always feel good.  Through the process she actually discovered that the burning away of one’s fleshly desires the soul and spirit could actually be released.

She accepted that this process of love was perhaps designed by a higher force and higher power for the purpose of consuming the dry and barren emotional areas in her life in preparation for new life. She often jokingly referred to these areas as the Valley of the Dry Bones. In fact, she discovered that she was a genuine superhero that was only being trained, molded and shaped by this love fire that caused her seven years of excruciating pain.

Ironically, out of the residue of her pain and broken spirit she actually began her transcendence to a higher love. This new love gave her permission to follow her dreams, embrace her gifts and most importantly, honor herself. She could now rise up from the  ashes of her extinguished past love fire and soar to higher heights.  She welcomed the journey. She had become the Phoenix.     

*Photo CREDITS:  The Phoenix above was created by artist Nela. You can find her work at http://neladunato.com/illustration/phoenix/ 

*Photo CREDITS:  The opening feature photo was created by an artist named John Holyfield @ www.holyfieldstudio.com/