Month: October 2012

Categories
life

For once in my life!

i respect the necessary

i understand patience

she isn’t out to get me

she is working in my favor

for there are some clouds that come with the rainbow

first it must rain

i’ve been through four years sprinkled with pain

i’ve had to say hello and good bye countless times

i’ve had to grow up and face the facts

some of the people that hurt me,

i let them do that

i now realize that time isn’t my enemy

she’s stood by me

quietly waiting

for me to get to today

my hope is in the Lord

not in man

and with all the emotion in my body

i am not over come

my prayers are my BEST friends

they fortify me when life seems to sink

my praise uplifts me

and there is NOTHING like my worship

you’d think we were siamese twins

because loose or win, I worship

this is a good place.

i don’t touch everything i like

i don’t like everything i see

and what i like, i wait on the Lord to give me

put yourself in my shoes,

for once in my life,

i can say…I’m GOOD. =)

Categories
life

Deadlines

If we processed how many people just drifted through life, we could sort them in life lines and dead lines.

If we categorized Christians by those who operated in the spirit, we could sort them into life lines and dead lines.

If we could send a message to all of the people in the world who misuse time, which humans can not subdue, I’d remind them that there is a deadline.

Matthew 24:36

Ivy Out

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Uncategorized

Yesterday. October 28th

This if the first year that it didn’t hit me. Two of the most powerful women to have come through my lineage celebrated birthday’s near or on October 28… Erma Beatrice Gabriel Wagner and Ms. Ruth Gabriel Wilkins. These sisters were more than women…they were iconic. My grandmother had her particular ways…but you KNEW she loved the LORD and her FAMILY. MS. RUTH was the glue that brought the HUGE Gabriel family together on Sundays and holidays. 

Oh, how I miss them. Truly, I do. But I know there is a great day of rejoicing coming. I pay tribute to two women who shaped the very fabric of my life. They showed me what a lady should look like, act like, and be. They rocked pearls and a smile better than most women living today. 

Honor your loved ones that are alive now. Cherish them for who they are and who’s they are. Let them know how you feel about them. As my mother would say, give them their flowers while they can still smell them. I owe a great deal of the the lessons I learned in my life to the teachings of these two women, for that I am grateful. God allowed me to be planted in the lineage of greatness…He’s awesome like that!

 

Ivy Out

Categories
life

Truth Serum

I really am curious about who/what is shaping our nation. There is a generation of misguided people running around here with strong opinions. Unfortunately…when people feel strongly about what they “know” they become argumentative.

I think, even though I hate studying History, I need to get back to History. How do we have a strong opinion and be complete ignorant? How do we expect respect and we speak out of turn? Where is decorum hiding? Where is respect? Who is teaching, who is learning? Where are we as a nation if our children AND legal adults are unlearned.

What you don’t value leaves your life. What you don’t learn now…will rise up again.

Where are our Elders?

Help us LORD!

Ivy Out

Categories
life

THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT

Before the world became addicted to technology…there was an application put in place for our lives: THE BIBLE.

That’s it. Nothing super-deep.

Ivy Out

Categories
life

Golden Honesty

The good thing about honesty is it keeps its own track record.

When you are faced with the opportunity to be honest with yourself, you then have to deal with the implications of that honesty. Are there things you can do better, and more importantly, are there things you haven’t celebrated enough? One of my mentors told me that I’m too hard on myself. My reaction: Really? I don’t really think I’m hard enough on myself. That’s probably part of the problem. Not having a realistic scope of what is acceptable and what is not. I blame my prior high achievement. I grew up not really “accepting” compliments based on things that I should do well naturally. I mean…I’m supposed to do well in school. I’m supposed to perform well in competition (isn’t that the point of rehearsal?). I am supposed to excel in everything I do, right? Well, kinda.

I have created a Ft. Knox around my life to shut people out who don’t enhance my life. That conversely means that I have shut myself in. I have walled up a huge defense system with no offensive mechanism. My football fans can attest…you can’t win a game without Defense AND Offense. Blocking out others maybe useful at times but it won’t WIN for you. My entire scope of winning was based on my past alone. Well, the world isn’t just built on my personal past. There are the “cloud of witnesses” looking down on me and either encouraging me or praying for me, lol. There are those who paved the way before me. (Good practice, know who paved the way in your particular field of endeavors) There are those who are running this race with me at the present time. They are not in competition with me, we all have our own destinies. There are valuable people in this world who are planted to help me advance. Our relationships are symbiotic. It is a true give and receive relationship that isn’t one sided. I am grateful for people who plant seeds in my life. I am grateful for those who served in their season and were plucked and pruned. I am grateful for those who are dormant until their harvest season. I am grateful for my heavenly Gardener who doesn’t give up on his little orchid in all of the delicate environments that I have lived in. I am thankful for my earthly gardeners who groomed and watched over me as I began to mature. I am distinctly grateful for my LIFE mentor who told me to STOP beating myself up. She, someone I greatly respect and admire, has gone through life and learned a great deal. She didn’t bottle it up, she shares it with others in hopes of seeing them elevated. She is a very pretty reflection of God’s grace and growth. Her words to me echo in my ears now.

In my little fortress there is one way in and no way out. That leaves me with one solution. To relive the pressure on myself, I have to decompose the bricks. One by one, I am honest about my growth. I am honest about my accomplishments. I recognize where it is that I’ve come from. I most certainly am grateful to God for the ability to see far beyond my current situation. I am going to remove the bricks of my fort and build a monument of gratitude. I will use what I’ve experienced and been taught to enrich others. I will take time for myself. If I don’t preserve the self I have now, someone else will be burdened with my final preservation. I’m not ready to lay down and die, so I have to wake up and live!

If you can share my thoughts on “living” and not “existing” then know that you are human too. Every plan doesn’t end well. Every day doesn’t slaughter your to “done” list. Each vision doesn’t come quick. Ahh, but every day you have a reason to celebrate. Start there. Live celebrating the fact that you still have life!

Brick by Brick,

Ivy Out (With special reverence to Ms. Jade Gold)

Categories
life

Giver’s Lesson

Taking the responsibility of encouraging people may very well be a big decision for some. Taking the responsibility of encouraging SELF is a deficiency to others. Often times, I regard encouragement as a self-less act. You are giving of yourself for the uplifting of someone you’ve encountered. The act of “pouring out”.

The gospel song “Give Myself Away” comes time mind. Isn’t that what’s taking place when you are giving of yourself to others? Do you consider yourself a “giver”? if you do, this comes natural. However, I hypothesize, based on personal feedback that “receiving” is difficult for most givers. We feel like there is no one there to pour into us.

I used to feel that way until very recently. Of course I recognize the counsel of the Most High never dissipates. (Matthew 11:28 NLT – Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.) But there ARE people who pour into you in THEIR way. Sometimes we don’t recognize others’ contribution to us, because it’s not in the manner in which we choose to contribute.

Did someone who you haven’t speak to in a while acknowledge you? Did someone send up a prayer for you? Did you get a text from a friend, or an extended conversation? Random acts of kindness do not come in the way we give them, they are governed by the person who is giving at that time.

 

Those who are closest to me!
My Mom and I this summer =)

Hope that was clear…it was a priceless revelation to me.

Categories
life Uncategorized

Away With Formalities

We all have terms of endearment for those we are close to or care about. I have a nickname fetish, personally. If you are significant in my life (or have been) you have probably been called something other than your government name. None of these names are malicious or negative, they simply display a verbal connection. Our parents are no different. We don’t call them their names out of respect, we rarely call them Mother and Father…those names are harshly formal. As children began to talk…they slaughter certain words. We then adjust to shorter more simple forms of certain words. As we grow old, we form bonds with these identifiers.

I call God the Father – DADDY! (I believe in the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son -Jesus Christ, and The Holy Ghost)

I call Him Daddy because we have an intimate relationship. It’s a term of bond or relationship. I pray daily. Most of the time, for others, but I TALK to God. I tell Him about my day, how I feel, I ask questions, I converse with Him. I wait for answers. Not just when I need, or when others need, sometimes just to talk to my Daddy. That’s what happens with my earthly father. I come home (they don’t live in the same city that I do) and we catch up.

Do you have a relationship with Daddy? There is no time like the present to start one. Doesn’t always have to be a “formal” or scripted prayer. Talk to Him!

Ivy Out

Categories
life

OVERJOYED

Isn’t it wonderful to know that we can overflow with Joy?

Have you ever been so full, you thought you would burst? I have. Yesterday was one of those days. Now don’t get it twisted…as a human being we aren’t shielded from those things that happen to us all…but ALL IN ALL my day was great. I am excited about my assignment. I am excited about encouraging young girls and seasoned women! I am excited about the WORD OF GOD manifesting in my life!

This will be short because I have another to share later…”Part Time Christians”…Being a Christian isn’t a convenient monicker or bumper sticker. It’s a WAY OF LIFE. The word says we can’t be luke warm! I remember thinking I could live how I wanted and “straighten up” when I got older…ABSOLUTELY NOT! The Lord wants your obedience to His will and way right now! There is a danger in thinking we are immune just because we know Jesus
! Salvation isn’t something we loose because of choice…but we can sure SUFFER because of choice. BUT…that’s not this post…

Ivy Out

Categories
life

Words are puzzle pieces.

Have you ever wondered why pictures are worth a thousand words? Why language…as it advanced…was filled with more words than pictures? Why, as we grow older, our books are filled with more words and pictures seem to confined to book covers?

It’s a WORD that plays into your puzzle, into the conundrum of life. (Conundrum:
According to dictionary.com 1.
a riddle, the answer to which involves a pun or play on words, as What is black and white and read all over? A newspaper.
2.
anything that puzzles.
Origin: 1590–1600; pseudo-L word of obscure orig.)

Words create our pictures! I can’t help but celebrate the fact that words are immortal! The Word of God, is written in the Bible. It has transcended ages…once orally spoken…then written to continue its mission.

It’s is in this vein that I address the WORDS coming out of our mouths! WHY, speak negative things into our lives? Some of us do it unconsciously. We’ve create this pattern for so many years that its an automatic response! RECONDITION your reactions!

Proverbs 18:21 tells us that the power of life and death is in the tongue. Creation begins in the heart…out of your heart you speak. It’s time to create the fertile ground for greatness, SPEAK IT! When stuff happens, SPEAK AGAINST THE NEGATIVE. Practice today..just say positive things today! I promise the sheer positive energy of a great WORD environment will make you smile!

Ivy Out