Have you called your mother lately?

Have you called your mother lately? Have you called you father lately? Many people leave home and get into their own world worry about material possessions and status. Forgetting about one of the most important things of all, Relationships. I am one of those people. I moved away and got so caught up in trying to make money and start my own life that I completely ignored relationships. The people that I grew up with, the people that were there for me when I needed them, I completely forgot about them. I used to say that I will never forget about anyone when I get famous, but I am nowhere near famous and I have forgotten people already. I look back on my last 4 years and I feel embarrassed because I have turned my back on everyone from back home and came to my new home and started a whole new life. One thing that you must remember is to value relationships because material things can be replaced but people can't. So take a look at your life and find out if you are turning your back on the people that matter the most. Have you called your mother lately?

Proverbs 27:9
The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.

Those Who Surround You

I'm am currently reading 1Kings which is telling about Solomon's rule. One thing that I admire about Solomon other than his wisdom was how he kept a team of great leaders around him. Many people start companies and organizations and just pick anyone to be under them. However, Solomon choose people who he knew could get the job done and done right. He choose people who stood for what he stood for and would be loyal. Great leaders know how to keep hard workers around them.
In the entertainment industry, many people roll in entourages and "teams". You may often hear someone say "me and my team" will discuss it and get back to you. Yet, sometimes the way teams are chosen isn't the wisest.
You have to be cautious about the people you keep around you. Whether you be a pastor, or the president of an organization, pray and ask God to send the people to your group that will help grow. God will bring the people in your life that will help you get the job done. So many times we hear stories about how someone on the "team" was sneaky and went behind someone's back and betrayed them. (Judas)
Nevertheless, be more careful choosing the people you want around you. Watch out for the people you consider "on your team". If they are not heaven sent, then consider them a curse.
Until Next Time...


Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” 1 Corinthians 15: 33(NKJV)

Traveling Buddy

In my life, I have done a lot of traveling. I seen small towns, I have seen big cities. With every small town or big city I have been able to see many sights and learn many lessons as well as experience many different cultures. One thing I can say is when I went to these places, I've always had a traveling buddy. God always had someone there to complete the journey with me so I wouldn't be alone. I've had my mother next to me, my father, teammates, my boyfriend, and even a nice neighbor on the plan. No matter what, God always put someone with me so I would not have to make the journey alone. He has done that on my physical trips but he has also done that when I take my spiritual trips.
What is a spiritual trip? It is a time in your life when you have to take a spiritual journey in your faith. When you have to leave your comfort zone and experience a different type of worship or perhaps experience the different people in your your faith. No matter what, God sends us a travelling buddy to accompany us along the way.
I have been reading Ruth. The first chapter was rather interesting. I encourage you to read it for yourself, but to summarize... Ruth married a woman's son named Naomi. After some time Ruth's husband died and so did Naomi's. Naomi began to prepare to go to her home town due to the lost of her son and her husband, but Ruth insisted on coming with her. Naomi was telling Ruth to go home to her own home land, but Ruth insisted on staying and comforting Naomi. Nevertheless, Naomi still pleaded with Ruth to leave, but Ruth wouldn't leave her side.

Ruth 1
^{16 -17} But Ruth said, "Don't force me to leave you; don't make me go home. Where you go, I go; and where you live, I'll live. Your people are my people, your God is my god; where you die, I'll die, and that's where I'll be buried, so help me God—not even death itself is going to come between us!"

Look back over your life. Who has God put in your life to be that traveling buddy? Who has played the role as that shoulder to lean on or that comforter. God always gives us someone to support us during our journey. Some may say "Well I experienced this alone...". Upon Jesus departure from this Earth, he left us with the holy spirit to be with us always. To be that guide we need in our life. The holy spirit says to us the same thing Ruth said to Naomi above. "Where you go, I go. Where you live, I live."

I think God for my traveling buddies, physically and spiritually. Just remember, when you go on your journeys whether it be a life mission or trip to New York, God won't send you there alone.

Everyone Is Not a Christian

Though it may be the hot thing to be, everyone is not really a Christian. Proclaiming and practicing are two different things. Some people think just because they believe there is a God that they are Christians. Some people believe that because their mother is a Christian then they are one too. Having a relationship with Christ is personal. Someone else close to you's relationship with the Lord is not considering your ticket into heaven.
We are taught to be around people like minded who can continue to be of encouragement to stay in the Lord's will and not sway. Please beware of these people who say one thing and do another. You may be hanging with a friend who is in bible study with you one day and in the club drunk the next. You may be around someone who says they're Christians but place their selves above God. Believe it or not, these people exisit and you have to stay clear of them.
The main way to be able to seek these people out is to make sure you have a strong relationship with the Lord. You must also be prayed up and study the word. It is the knowledge that will help you see that this person is not who you should be around. Watch out! Everyone is not a Christian.

Matthew 7
^{15 -20}"Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don't be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned.

^{21 -23}"Knowing the correct password—saying 'Master, Master,' for instance— isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here.'

Until Next Time

NO LOVE IN YOUR CITY

Mark 6

^{1 -2} He left there and returned to his hometown. His disciples came along. On the Sabbath, he gave a lecture in the meeting place. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. "We had no idea he was this good!" they said. "How did he get so wise all of a sudden, get such ability?"

³But in the next breath they were cutting him down: "He's just a carpenter—Mary's boy. We've known him since he was a kid. We know his brothers, James, Justus, Jude, and Simon, and his sisters. Who does he think he is?" They tripped over what little they knew about him and fell, sprawling. And they never got any further.

^{4 -6}Jesus told them, "A prophet has little honor in his hometown, among his relatives, on the streets he played in as a child." Jesus wasn't able to do much of anything there—he laid hands on a few sick people and healed them, that's all. He couldn't get over their stubbornness. He left and made a circuit of the other villages, teaching.

Jesus told us in this passage that in your hometown, you are going to have a harder time impressing and trying to witness to them. These people know you from your youth and will only see you as what they know you for. I especially feel this passage with my career. When it comes to my family (not my immediate family), I do not get much support with what I do. Of course they smile and say good job, but that is as far as it goes.

The locals in my city are closed minded people and do not want others doing better than them. They won't stop to support anything I have going on either. I find that you get the most love where no one knows you. Its crazy how fast people will embrace strangers and turn away someone they really know.

When it comes to witnessing, its going to be harder to tell family and neighbors about doing the right thing. They know you, and they know your past. If they know about your extra marital affairs, they will judge you for it. If they know about your time in jail, they will call you on it. Do not let that stop you from telling them what thus says the Lord. Just remember Jesus encountered the same thing with His family.

Until Next Time...

Crazy Women

So I have a homegirl that I'm cool with and is having a hard time finding a man. She is always saying that there are no good men in the world anymore and that she is preparing her self to be alone for the rest of her life. From the type of person she is, I would be willing to tell her the same thing. Prepare to be alone. Many times, women or just people in general want to blame others for their situation in stead of taking full responsibility. This particular young lady is very loud and obnoxious and will jump at the opportunity to fight and argue. The Bible tells us clearly to stay clear of this kind of woman.

People ask me all the time why to I even bother kicking it with her. I just answer, I learn from Jesus. He didn't kick it with people that were just like him. He went around people who needed better examples of love in their life. I feel that is what I represent. I'm not going to just keep telling her to change, but I will use my daily walk to be a witness to her. The Bible shuns loud and quarrelsome women. In today's society, our media highlights those type of women as if its a great thing. It is indeed entertaining to watch The Real House Wives of Atlanta, or watch Real World, or other reality shows that showcase unrulely women, but at the end of the day it is a bad example of how one should carry themselves.

Proverbs 21:19: It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.

I found this last scripture rather funny because it is so true. A man would rather live in uncomfortable conditions than to be around a woman who just argue argue argue. I completely refrain from arguing. I lost a boyfriend in my past due to picking arguements and nagging and always accusing him of something. I learned from that situation right away. Since then, I have had happy relationships and none of them ended on bad notes.

If you are a contentious woman, change your ways. If you are with a contentious woman, break free of her or pray for a change. Until next time...

Parting Ways

The best way to find out the type of person you are is to look at the people around you. I did that about a month ago and I did not like it. About two months ago I wanted to get serious about my walk with Jesus. Of course, I was still falling short, lukewarm for a better phrase, but I was really lining things up and trying to see what I needed to do to make life better for me. I remember a sermon one of the Sundays saying that a lot of the times, its the people around you that could be holding you back. With this in mind, I did an evaluation on the people I hung around. Sure enough they were not on the same page as me, they weren't into doing the same things I was trying to do, and they were bad influences on my life. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was time to part ways.
Yes, that's right! It was time to say good bye. And it was hard too. I'm in the entertainment industry and got a lot of my popularity from being around these people. I tried to push off and ignore God telling me to remove myself from around these people (because I cared a great deal for them), and all it did was get worse. Rumors about me started from within my group, bad reputation, back stabbing begin, money snatching happen. I got out of there as soon as possible when I saw all that. Because of my disobedience, the whole split became a bitter break up and has become an all out war. I can only imagine the peace that it would probably be if I left when God told me too.
(Message Bible)Proverbs 23:6-8
Don't accept a meal from a tightwad;
don't expect anything special. He'll be as stingy with you as he is with himself;
he'll say, "Eat! Drink!" but won't mean a word of it. His miserly serving will turn your stomach
when you realize the meal's a sham.
In Proverbs 23:6-8 it tells us to leave those type of people alone. Its actually talking about people who use money, food, and entertainment for selfish ambitions to do evil. I would say I was in that situation with the group I parted from. And since I decided to walk in my own path, the devil has become busier than ever trying to convience me that was the wrong move. One of the guys in the group actually said that I'm doing worse without him. I could attack him as a person for a remark like that, but I won't. Firstly, its not Christ-like, secondly its only Satan trying to make me think I did the wrong thing.
It is so necessary to leave behind those that are not equally yoked. These types of people hold you back, they block blessings, most importantly they don't and wont understand your walk with Jesus. You have to surround your self with like minded people that aren't trying to get in the way of your walk with Jesus.
It takes a certain boldness and an extreme amount of faith in the Lord to break away from "friends" you been around so long. In the end however, obedience is rewarded. For me, I received a peace of mind, career revelations, and I am not under an umbrella of wrong doing. If this is your situation, I sincerely pray for your strength in letting that person go. Whether it be friends, mate, or even (yes even) family. Just know that God is trying to change you and use you to be an example in life. You have to allow him to do so and that can't happen with hindrances.