My great grandmother, Mama Nannie told me a story when I was little, that quite frankly scared the living day lights out of me. It was about a lady who lived in the mountains with her family. One day the lady's husband was gone and she needed wood for the stove, in order to heat the home and cook a meal. The lady left her children at the house to go and cut the wood. While cutting the wood, she was bitten by a rattle snake.
Determined to take the fresh cut wood home, the lady wrapped her leg, with an old piece of scarf, picked the wood up and hobbled down the dirt road. Racing through her mind were all the thoughts of what her elders had told her growing up that you can not survive a rattle snake bite, and that most people die within minutes of being bitten. Not giving up she hobbled some more down the road, her clothes now were wet from sweat and her breathing was real deep and heavy. The fifteen minute walk home seemed as eternity and with each deep breath she began to think of things that made her life happy. She recalled the day she met her husband, her wedding, the birth of her children, the days of sitting around the wood stove making stew, the smell of rain and with all these thoughts she began to feel better. Finally making it home, she collapsed at the door, her children ran over to her not knowing what was wrong. They noticed the bloody scarf on her leg and she managed to tell them what happened, the eldest child wanted to go and fetch the family doctor who lived five miles down the dirt road. Sitting up the lady, told her children don't worry about me, I will be alright. Amazed at their mother's words, they began to cry, she encouraged them not to cry but to help her up. She told them I have lived a full life and I know God, but before I leave this place there are a few things that I must do.
Motioning with her index finger she told her son, to put the wood in the stove and to start the fire, so that the house would be warm and so that they could cook. With each passing second the mother found something to do, she hobbled to sink and started prepping the food, she wanted to make sure the children had food to eat until their father came home in a few days. In more ways than one she was preparing them for her death. She uttered to them where they can find certain things that they may need in the future. The clothes were washed on the washing board and the dinner was now prepared. Her words became few and her deep breaths were getting shallow by the minute. The once vibrant woman was at the end of her life and she knew it, at her request they all sat at the kitchen table while she laid on a make shift cot in the kitchen, her eyes dim, she watched the children slowly eat their food.
One of the children began to call her mother's name, the woman barely alive said I am going to sleep and when I wake up, I will be ok, everything will be ok...crying the children understood their mother was saying goodbye. Trying to make her comfortable, the children took her the cot to the bedroom. Night had fallen and the only lights were those in the sky, the stars. The children could hardly stay awake as they were torn with grief. In the middle of the night one of the children woke up to check the mother's pulse....as he walked closer he heard his mom reciting ..."The Lord's Prayer", chiming in with his mother he began saying the passage over and over. Time passed and the woman's vital signs was getting better after each time the verse was recited. Daylight came and the woman was better she was healed.
The woman is like all of us, who have been bitten by a snake in life, it could be in relationships, on our jobs, in our finances and even our health. What I found most interesting about this story is that the woman despite her circumstance kept going. She knew she had to get the wood home, she had to wash the clothes and prepare enough food for the family. What this woman had was a WILL TO LIVE. Today you may find yourself in a similar situation and the bite hurts, but God doesn't want you to give up, he wants you to stay in the race, because someone is depending on you to survive, you do matter! Speak the word over your circumstance, pray and watch God do a miracle in your life. Be encouraged, weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning, while you may have cried last night, you can rejoice, it's morning!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Coming Off The Vine
My tomato's in the backyard were starting to weigh the vine down and droop over. As the "gardener", daily I watched them, but I didn't take the time to pluck them from the vine. It was way past the time for them to be released from the vine as they were not created to stay there. CHAMPIONS we often struggle with when to leave and when to stay as it pertains to things in life.
Our minds go back and forth, with the thoughts that if we leave, we will be hurting someone's feelings or if we stay a little bit longer we will be helping someone. Don't make a decision based on a roller coaster emotion, but look at your situation and make a conscience decision as to where you are right now in your life. What were you called to do? If you answered the question and know what you are to do, then my next question is why are you still on the vine? When will you decide that it's time for you to branch off in another direction? Don't stay connected so long that you become unproductive and start to droop or shall I say die on the vine, just like you moved on in school, it may be time for you to move on with your life! The weight of others, will bring you down, release any negative thoughts and people. Focus on positive thoughts and allow it to take root into your mind.
CHAMPIONS right now at this very moment, be honest with yourself and re-evaluate your circumstances and move forward! Think about what ignites you and what motivates you. As I finish typing I want to leave you with this parting thought....are you willing to come off of the vine?
Our minds go back and forth, with the thoughts that if we leave, we will be hurting someone's feelings or if we stay a little bit longer we will be helping someone. Don't make a decision based on a roller coaster emotion, but look at your situation and make a conscience decision as to where you are right now in your life. What were you called to do? If you answered the question and know what you are to do, then my next question is why are you still on the vine? When will you decide that it's time for you to branch off in another direction? Don't stay connected so long that you become unproductive and start to droop or shall I say die on the vine, just like you moved on in school, it may be time for you to move on with your life! The weight of others, will bring you down, release any negative thoughts and people. Focus on positive thoughts and allow it to take root into your mind.
CHAMPIONS right now at this very moment, be honest with yourself and re-evaluate your circumstances and move forward! Think about what ignites you and what motivates you. As I finish typing I want to leave you with this parting thought....are you willing to come off of the vine?
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Insecure One
To look at me now, you would not have known that I was once shy. You would have never known that I was overweight, had a jeri curl and even wore some very unattractive glasses and I do mean very unattractive glasses.
Words play a significant role in our everyday life, we put words in the atmosphere almost every second of the minute. Words of love, peace, confusion, and hate circulate in the air. Our words are just as valuable as our money, they both can cause you to be wealthy, if invested in the right thing or they can cause your poverty, if not properly budgeted, which could cause your demise. When you are told over and over that you are "fat" or picked on by other children, you loose your sense of being. Those words cut, they pierce your soul. Words can be the quickest death sentence, it has the ability to destroy a person in a matter of moments.
I lived behind the shadow of my older sister who was a cheerleader, ran track, was Ms. Popular and what I deem to be everything but "beauty queen." Don't get me wrong, I love my sister with my whole being, but in the wings of the shadow, I heard from older adults (non-family members), oh you are Carmen, you are the fat one, your sister is the pretty one. With my emotions running high, I just didn't think I was pretty enough or that I would ever be able to be a leader. Emotion being defined as a "state of feeling", caused me to want to be "liked."
Almost reluctant to tell this part of the story, I thought about all of the young girls who are sitting in the shadow of the wings. As a grew, I matured but there was still a sense of insecurity that plagued my mind. I would work extra hard to have good grades, besides, I felt that looks were not on my side. My insecurities took me down a path that was not healthy for any teenager. More and more I felt that if people called me over weight, then I had to live up to it, so I would deal with my pressures by eating. Here is a truth, the very thing I said I was not, I became. I fought hard not to gain weight, but the more I heard the comments the more I would eat.
My insecurities finally subsided when I started pressing in to who is Carmen....who is this young girl turned woman, who is this that's afraid to come out of the wings? Who is behind the words of hurt, what is her talent, who is she trying to be like....when will she find her own self? All these questions were embedded in my mind, until one day I decided to step out of the shadow and onto a path that had my name on it.
It was a process, but once I realized who I was and who I belonged to and my purpose, I began to walk everyday in it....no more shyness, I was a volcano waiting to erupt. I had a face, a name and a voice. My shyness was now gone and I emerged into a leader. I turned that negative energy and words into something positive...life as I knew was different, no longer were my skies gray but it was a beautiful array of colors! In my quest to come out of the shadow of someone else, I developed this zeal to speak life and to encourage others, that later would lead me to accepting the calling on my life as an Evangelist.
To the young lady or man reading this, it's okay to feel insecure but it is not okay to stay there. Insecurities will bleed into relationships and will cause you to hide from everyone. When God created you and I he saw something beautiful and while we may not always see what God sees, we are valuable and worthy.
For those that sometimes use negative words, be careful of what you release into the air, someone may hear it and go in a shell. Stick and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt....that's a LIE! Elie Wiesel quote says it best "Our words can kill as well as heal." CHAMPIONS, today let's choose words that will HEAL. Words that will bring life and not death to any situation.
CHAMPIONS, I am praying for you as you walk out of the shadows and into the light!
Words play a significant role in our everyday life, we put words in the atmosphere almost every second of the minute. Words of love, peace, confusion, and hate circulate in the air. Our words are just as valuable as our money, they both can cause you to be wealthy, if invested in the right thing or they can cause your poverty, if not properly budgeted, which could cause your demise. When you are told over and over that you are "fat" or picked on by other children, you loose your sense of being. Those words cut, they pierce your soul. Words can be the quickest death sentence, it has the ability to destroy a person in a matter of moments.
I lived behind the shadow of my older sister who was a cheerleader, ran track, was Ms. Popular and what I deem to be everything but "beauty queen." Don't get me wrong, I love my sister with my whole being, but in the wings of the shadow, I heard from older adults (non-family members), oh you are Carmen, you are the fat one, your sister is the pretty one. With my emotions running high, I just didn't think I was pretty enough or that I would ever be able to be a leader. Emotion being defined as a "state of feeling", caused me to want to be "liked."
Almost reluctant to tell this part of the story, I thought about all of the young girls who are sitting in the shadow of the wings. As a grew, I matured but there was still a sense of insecurity that plagued my mind. I would work extra hard to have good grades, besides, I felt that looks were not on my side. My insecurities took me down a path that was not healthy for any teenager. More and more I felt that if people called me over weight, then I had to live up to it, so I would deal with my pressures by eating. Here is a truth, the very thing I said I was not, I became. I fought hard not to gain weight, but the more I heard the comments the more I would eat.
My insecurities finally subsided when I started pressing in to who is Carmen....who is this young girl turned woman, who is this that's afraid to come out of the wings? Who is behind the words of hurt, what is her talent, who is she trying to be like....when will she find her own self? All these questions were embedded in my mind, until one day I decided to step out of the shadow and onto a path that had my name on it.
It was a process, but once I realized who I was and who I belonged to and my purpose, I began to walk everyday in it....no more shyness, I was a volcano waiting to erupt. I had a face, a name and a voice. My shyness was now gone and I emerged into a leader. I turned that negative energy and words into something positive...life as I knew was different, no longer were my skies gray but it was a beautiful array of colors! In my quest to come out of the shadow of someone else, I developed this zeal to speak life and to encourage others, that later would lead me to accepting the calling on my life as an Evangelist.
To the young lady or man reading this, it's okay to feel insecure but it is not okay to stay there. Insecurities will bleed into relationships and will cause you to hide from everyone. When God created you and I he saw something beautiful and while we may not always see what God sees, we are valuable and worthy.
For those that sometimes use negative words, be careful of what you release into the air, someone may hear it and go in a shell. Stick and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt....that's a LIE! Elie Wiesel quote says it best "Our words can kill as well as heal." CHAMPIONS, today let's choose words that will HEAL. Words that will bring life and not death to any situation.
CHAMPIONS, I am praying for you as you walk out of the shadows and into the light!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Remembering to Pray
Today is a sombering day, yet a day of reflection. A day where ten years ago we questioned our freedom as Americans, we questioned our security at airport terminals,train stations and bus stations.
Ten years ago, we watched in shock, we looked in the sky and for once in our lives felt as if what we once knew as freedom, was stripped from us in a moment. We can't help but to remember the visuals of how the streets of New York were covered in billows of dust, or how we saw the second plane hit or how we saw people running, even jumping for their lives.
Emotionally America connected with the family members who had lost loved ones, we watched with tearful eyes as loved ones were searching for their, mother, sister, daughter, father and friends. Although ten years have passed we have not forgotten about what happened to those in New York, DC, and Pennsylvania.
Our hearts still cry, and even in the cry we can find HOPE! Hope that is being restored to those that lost HOPE in AMERICA. After 9/11 everyone came together regardless of race and religion and PRAYED. Today let us remember to pray for the families of the victims, the families of our first responders and to even pray for our enemies and in that prayer, we will be confident and ask GOD to continue to heal our land.
May God Bless America!
Ten years ago, we watched in shock, we looked in the sky and for once in our lives felt as if what we once knew as freedom, was stripped from us in a moment. We can't help but to remember the visuals of how the streets of New York were covered in billows of dust, or how we saw the second plane hit or how we saw people running, even jumping for their lives.
Emotionally America connected with the family members who had lost loved ones, we watched with tearful eyes as loved ones were searching for their, mother, sister, daughter, father and friends. Although ten years have passed we have not forgotten about what happened to those in New York, DC, and Pennsylvania.
Our hearts still cry, and even in the cry we can find HOPE! Hope that is being restored to those that lost HOPE in AMERICA. After 9/11 everyone came together regardless of race and religion and PRAYED. Today let us remember to pray for the families of the victims, the families of our first responders and to even pray for our enemies and in that prayer, we will be confident and ask GOD to continue to heal our land.
May God Bless America!
Friday, August 19, 2011
The Abandoned Home
Most of you know that my full time job is a realtor and recently on the way home, I noticed this adorable white bungaloo on a street that I frequently travel. For the last four years, I would drive on this particular road and to my knowledge I never saw the home.
I kept recalling in my mind, who moved this house here? Aww, shucks no one moved it, it has always been there, hidden. For years it lay hidden on a busy street buried behind overgrown trees, bushes, trash and debris. Ironically on the same street were beautiful homes with well manicured lawns, swing sets and children galore, it rung with happiness. Yet there was this one abandoned home. Despairity was written all across the home. It was if someone put up the caution tape and said do not enter for YEARS! No one knew it was there, until someone came and cleared all the mess up. Roots and weeds were destroyed, years of abandonment had now come to and end.
The home was power washed, gutters and windows were cleaned all of the junk, gunk, grease, dead bugs everything was gone. The home was totally restored. No longer is that home hidden in darkness, but the home now is the prettiest HOUSE on the street, its as if it has the sunlight always beaming on it.
How many times have we passed by this house. Are we too busy in our lives that we neglect those that are on our streets and in our neighborhoods? Chances are that we know someone like this house. All the years of neglect caused abandonment to the home and no one wanted to be bothered with the home because it looked like a disaster. BUT someone took the time and helped to establish the home. CHAMPIONS remember someone took the time to MINISTER to US. No we are not perfect just FORGIVEN!
It is my prayer that we not only look at our homes and clean it up but that we look on the busy streets of life and see who is that is calling out of despairity and asking for help. Who is it, that just wants someone to speak a word of encouragement to them so that they can find hope and a chance to live. Who is it that is seeking restoration?
CHAMPIONS YOU ARE VALUABLE AND GOD LOVES YOU!
I kept recalling in my mind, who moved this house here? Aww, shucks no one moved it, it has always been there, hidden. For years it lay hidden on a busy street buried behind overgrown trees, bushes, trash and debris. Ironically on the same street were beautiful homes with well manicured lawns, swing sets and children galore, it rung with happiness. Yet there was this one abandoned home. Despairity was written all across the home. It was if someone put up the caution tape and said do not enter for YEARS! No one knew it was there, until someone came and cleared all the mess up. Roots and weeds were destroyed, years of abandonment had now come to and end.
The home was power washed, gutters and windows were cleaned all of the junk, gunk, grease, dead bugs everything was gone. The home was totally restored. No longer is that home hidden in darkness, but the home now is the prettiest HOUSE on the street, its as if it has the sunlight always beaming on it.
How many times have we passed by this house. Are we too busy in our lives that we neglect those that are on our streets and in our neighborhoods? Chances are that we know someone like this house. All the years of neglect caused abandonment to the home and no one wanted to be bothered with the home because it looked like a disaster. BUT someone took the time and helped to establish the home. CHAMPIONS remember someone took the time to MINISTER to US. No we are not perfect just FORGIVEN!
It is my prayer that we not only look at our homes and clean it up but that we look on the busy streets of life and see who is that is calling out of despairity and asking for help. Who is it, that just wants someone to speak a word of encouragement to them so that they can find hope and a chance to live. Who is it that is seeking restoration?
CHAMPIONS YOU ARE VALUABLE AND GOD LOVES YOU!
Rubic Cube
Boy did I love that Rubic Cube at first it was the best thing, pretty soon it became the worst thing in my life. Constantly trying to get everything to line up was a bummer.
Turn after turn, that cube worked my last nerve. After countless hours and months I finally had everything lined up, all colors were in sync. To the CHAMPION that is struggling with the twist of life and it seems that every time you get close to getting all the colors lined up, something else shows up. Be encouraged and know that it is working out for your good.
Every path you have taken, every turn, every disappointment, every heartache, every struggle helped to make you who you are. Clothes don't make you, your job, your current status, but what's inside of you that has been given by the creator makes you who you are, it makes you a CHAMPION! Never give up, be strong and courageous.
Turn after turn, that cube worked my last nerve. After countless hours and months I finally had everything lined up, all colors were in sync. To the CHAMPION that is struggling with the twist of life and it seems that every time you get close to getting all the colors lined up, something else shows up. Be encouraged and know that it is working out for your good.
Every path you have taken, every turn, every disappointment, every heartache, every struggle helped to make you who you are. Clothes don't make you, your job, your current status, but what's inside of you that has been given by the creator makes you who you are, it makes you a CHAMPION! Never give up, be strong and courageous.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
A Nightly Prayer
Father God,
I pray that every vision that you spoke over your people would come to pass. I pray that not only will it come to pass, but you will supply the resources to fund the dreams. May we continue to walk in harmony with you, may we continue to seek you daily.
I pray for those that have been hurt and that have not let it go. I pray that you would break the chain of unforgiveness, that you would take the sting out of the hurt and teach them first to love you and then themselves so that they in return will be able to love others.
I pray for a healing of the mind, every negative seed that was planted I pray that God your words of love, joy and peace would overtake those dark spots and the seeds of life will take root and start to grow.
I pray for those that have had to deal with rejection, whether it was from a loved one, co-worker, church family or a neighbor. God has not forgotten you, he has been the one who has consistently and constantly been by your side. Don't be upset by what people did, wipe the dust from your feet and move on into your greater.
Father we are effected by tough economic times, I pray that even in the midst that you would continue to provide. Thank you for your unlimited resources that will hit our hands and when we do receive it we will tell you thank. Help us to be better stewards over what you have given us.
I pray for the one that is lost through darkness, the one who once knew you but decided to take a different path, that you would put a nudging in their heart that they would return back to you.
Father, thank you for hearing our prayers!
In Jesus Name,
Amen!
I pray that every vision that you spoke over your people would come to pass. I pray that not only will it come to pass, but you will supply the resources to fund the dreams. May we continue to walk in harmony with you, may we continue to seek you daily.
I pray for those that have been hurt and that have not let it go. I pray that you would break the chain of unforgiveness, that you would take the sting out of the hurt and teach them first to love you and then themselves so that they in return will be able to love others.
I pray for a healing of the mind, every negative seed that was planted I pray that God your words of love, joy and peace would overtake those dark spots and the seeds of life will take root and start to grow.
I pray for those that have had to deal with rejection, whether it was from a loved one, co-worker, church family or a neighbor. God has not forgotten you, he has been the one who has consistently and constantly been by your side. Don't be upset by what people did, wipe the dust from your feet and move on into your greater.
Father we are effected by tough economic times, I pray that even in the midst that you would continue to provide. Thank you for your unlimited resources that will hit our hands and when we do receive it we will tell you thank. Help us to be better stewards over what you have given us.
I pray for the one that is lost through darkness, the one who once knew you but decided to take a different path, that you would put a nudging in their heart that they would return back to you.
Father, thank you for hearing our prayers!
In Jesus Name,
Amen!
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