Month: December 2018

Let the countdown begin!! In less than 100 hours we’ll bid adieu to 2018 and say “happy new year” to everyone we come in contact with for the next couple of months. You know it’s true. Never could figure out the expiration date on the phrase. I usually stop greeting people with it after about a week, but I continue to reciprocate for as long as people say it to me. LOL

How long do you say it?

Anyway, reflection time! Overall, this year has been one of the most fulfilling years of my life. So much so that I’m starting a new blog series called #CheckYourHeart. I thought long and hard about what I should write in this blog. I’ll begin with a confession. One that I pray will help whoever takes the time to read this post. Here goes!

I’ve been a Christian for over two decades and was the biggest sucker-upper.

Sucker-upper: one who sucks up hurt and denies the feeling of pain rather than dealing with it and allowing the Lord to heal his/her heart. 

Not always, but quite often. Sucker-uppers are usually pretty strong people and can take a lot of crap without missing a beat. They disregard their feelings to get the job done and are not big complainers. When they do speak up, aww man!! They usually wish they hadn’t, and so the next time something goes down, THEY SUCK IT UP instead of speaking up to AVOID drama.

That’s not good for the heart, folks. I’m not talking about the hunk of muscle that’s pumping blood throughout the body. I’m talking about the mind or the subconscious. That place where we feel emotions, make decisions, make choices, reason. Know what I mean? I didn’t have a problem with dealing with the big things because they made sense to me. Dealing with people was hands down the most challenging. And since I’m honest, I spent a good 2-3 months being a people pleaser in 2017. If you know me at all, you know I am not a people pleaser by nature. LOL In the whirlwind of sucking it up and people pleasing I lost myself. Something (s) HAD TO CHANGE!!!

I made several necessary changes, but the most important was surrendering to the Lord. Yeah, yeah I thought I had surrendered before, and I did. Don’t forget what the Bible says about dying to self daily, renewing our minds, guarding our hearts, etc. It’s a constant thing. If you think where you are is enough to get you through the rest of your life, think again.

Carnal Justification (I think I just made that up. LOL) blinded me. Everything that pissed me off or caused me pain, I could always find someone who could relate. You know, validating my feelings. Afterward, I would suck it up and carry on as if nothing happened. As for the people who would try to come at me with Christianese or with correction, it went in one ear and out the other. Ever heard of the expression, “Pot calling the kettle black”? My heart wasn’t open to receiving. I’m talking rock solid!! I had a heart condition, but I didn’t see it until I looked harder.

One day in all my fed-up-ness (LOL), I told the Lord, “Okay, okay I give up!! I’m tired of me!!” And the transformation began. What happened, you say?

I realized there were areas in my life where I was comfortable with leaving Jesus out. I DIDN’T SEE IT, THOUGH. Before you start gasping at my ungodly behavior, you may be doing the same thing so get off Seabiscuit. (Your high horse.) LOL

We call them pet-peeves or preferences. I guess they can be harmless, but if they’re keeping you from showing love to others, you may need to #CheckYourHeart. But hey, I’m writing about my experience. I made changes immediately such as:

• No longer confess pet-peeves like, “I don’t do women because they are messy.” Started going to Women’s fellowship to shock the enemy.
• Absorb more Jesus than anything. Turned off the TV & shut down social media (Read, study, pray, meditate on the word, etc.)
• Choose the Word! Character over my feelings no matter the foolishness I faced or heard.
• Walk in love and offer grace (Grace doesn’t give us a license to sin.)
• Go to the Creator (God) rather than to other creations (people) for validation.
• And many, many more!! Daily!!

Two thousand eighteen has been an excellent year for me. I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences in the 2019 blog series, #CheckYourHeart. I’m also looking forward to your comments sharing your experiences too. Remember, we are all made in His image, and we all need Him because we are all damaged even if you won’t admit it. I’m not exempt.

I’m just blogging it out, Oh and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Check out this funny quote. “May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions.” ~Joey Adams

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

May you continue to find hope in our Lord, Jesus Christ. And may His peace be with you and your family as you celebrate His arrival.

JESUS IS LORD!!

I have three questions for you. What irked you today? What was your initial reaction? How did you handle it?

My day started off great and on schedule. I even had time to walk the dog.  I used that time to have a long chat with the Lord. Sang some praise songs and then . . .

WHO LET THEIR DOG POOP IN OUR YARD, AGAIN?!? That was the question that popped into my mind as I looked up and down our street trying to find a medium size dog (according to the size of the doodies) walking with the human being who allowed such a tragedy. Now mind you, I noticed the pile of dog doodie right after I tossed my dog’s doodie into our trash can. (Today is trash day, so our trash can is sitting in front of our house.) I’m not going to lie, seeing that doodie in our grass stirred up a little some anger.

As I reached for the extra poop bags in my pocket, I mumbled to Scout all of my feelings about the person who so rudely left that doodie. Seriously, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to pick up after your dog. But, I get it. Picking up dog doodie is pretty gross, but it comes with the territory, right?

Why do some people think it’s okay to:

1. Let their dog walk in someone’s yard?
2. Poop in someone’s yard?
3. Not pick up after their dog?

I’m not ashamed to tell you that I wasted a little time looking out of my window hoping to see the doodie leaver walk by with their doodie maker. I remembered seeing a guy walking two dogs while I walked Scout and thought I would politely ask him if he was the doodie leaver. THAT’S A LIE!! I wanted to say, “Yo, I caught you, foo. Don’t be letting your dog doodie in our yard!!!!!” LOL

I considered making a “do not leave doodie in my yard” sign. Then I thought I should check with our HOA (Home Owners Association) to see if I could actually put the doodie sign in our yard. Then I thought about posting something on our neighborhood community page about my recent doodie incident. So many things came to mind. Then I realized 30 minutes had gone by.

I had to laugh at myself because I let something minor distract me. The doodie had been done, and there was ABSOLUTELY nothing I could do about it except what I did. I picked up the doodie. LOL I picked up someone else’s mess because I didn’t want it there. I can still try to find a solution but allowing it to distract me from what I needed to do and allowing it to annoy me is something that didn’t have to happen.

So what am I really saying?

Whether they’re planted by the enemy or a test from the Lord, distractions are inevitable. The only thing we can control is our reaction. Don’t get me wrong!! We ain’t called to be punks!! LOL There are times when we will have to deal with stuff, but BEWARE of our desire for instant gratification.

Okay, I’m going to share a funny story that someone told us as an example of instant gratification.

One of the young pastors (not the senior pastor), let’s just call him Pastor N, at our church, told us a hilarious story about how he reacted to someone, let’s call him Dude, who taunted him while he pumped gas one day. After enduring many insults including “big boy,” Pastor N offered Dude a few choice words which included profanity. BOOM, INSTANT GRATIFICATION! Later, when Pastor N told a trusted friend about the incident, although the friend empathized, he said Pastor N was wrong.

Pastor N knew he was wrong. As he told the story, he confessed that he’s sensitive about his weight and a few things had happened that day that left him distracted and not focused on the Lord. I love his transparency, though. I have great respect for a pastor who’s willing to tell a recent story of transgression. That takes a lot of guts. And it was one of his better sermons if I say so myself. By the way, Dude rolled up his window in fear and drove away.

The commonality in these two stories is disrespect. Pastor N and I felt disrespected, and we both desired to handle the situation to feel better. Here’s the part where people may disagree. As followers of Christ, we should choose character/integrity over our feelings. Again, we’re not called to be punks. But if our actions cause more conflict to feel instantly gratified, then we need to dig a liiiiiiittttlllle deepa (deeper). In other words, we need to check our hearts.

I guess my point is, love even when it’s hard for you to love. We can handle a difficult situation without causing irreparable harm to our character.

Will there be a POOP WARS pt. 2? I sure hope not, but I have a feeling I’ll be scooping poop out of our front yard for as long as we live here. I can’t control what people do, but I can definitely control my actions.

I’m not exempt, I’m just  . . .

Blogging it out. Oh, and don’t forget to tell me what irked you today. By the way, that sign can be purchased at www.dogpoopsigns.com. LOL

I just may buy this, or maybe they’ll send me one for free for promoting their website.

#checkyourheart