Month: October 2015

 Over the past few days, several conversations have caused me to pause. For the life of me, the shelf life of those moments expired as quickly as they came. What did remain was the value and quality of those conversations.

I honestly believe that people have removed the premium from positive conversations. Real conversations. Not texting, but talking. This is a day and age where it is not uncommon to have an entire conversation with people and forget the sound of their voice entirely. We have resorted to shortening words, removing punctuation, and reducing emotional responses to emojis. I am not saying that is a bad thing, because I am certainly in that number, but what happens when you need to hear someone’s voice? What happens to the relief you receive when you don’t have to worry, when the timber and mellow tone of someone’s voice puts your very soul at ease? Where is the butterfly feeling you get when a certain someone puts in actual effort to select you from their favorites (insert my wiishful thinking) and waits for you to answer…merely to say they were thinking about you?

There is an art to conversation. There is a science to learning people. There is ALWAYS something new to learn about people you know (and an entire world of “get to know’ for stranger). There is always something to teach. We teach others how to love us, handle us, communicate with us, and respond to us. While technology makes short hand and written communication instant, I am old school when it comes to phones.

Tap into the past today. Call someone and say something nice.

Ivy Out

Very often, the very thing I ask God for overwhelms me. I know humor is a human characteristic…but I truly believe that the Father has a sense of humor. Really, I do. I also know that He is sovereign and I am not. I am flesh and bones. That qualifies me for error. No one will ever have to remind me, I am aware of it every day. I am also aware that when I relinquish control, that I never really had, to the Divine King of Kings life seems to be more delightful. Life without God is not living…its hell.

Today I had a revelation while looking for peace. If I can’t find it, it usually means I’m already there. That means I have to adjust something within me to recognize it. Most of the time what’s required is a shift in perspective. Now that may be a simple combination of eleven words, but the reality is MACK TEN TRUCK HEAVY. Why, you ask? Think about the last time you had a brain that was racing. INDY 500 thoughts zooming in front of your psyche at a million miles per minute. Nonstop configurations of to-do lists and unfinished business piling up like dirty laundry and colorful monthly planners. Now in this scenario, you are also juggling connections with people. Some connections feel awesome and comfy like a wool sweater on a cold day. Others, like the glass plate being juggled by a clown on a pogo stick, they bring angst. Now these are beneficial connections in transitional emotional places. Paired with the original image, you can imagine why peace is a goal. I mean, I am human. In ADAM ALL FALL. That’s why I am soooo grateful for the second Adam – Jesus Christ. Had the second Adam not come and provided grace, mercy, favor, saving, comfort, and direction, that picture of hectic chaos would be my final image.

But God.

I began to blast Christian music in my ears and quieting my mind by focusing on the word Jesus. In my mind I kept repeating the word Jesus. I needed to focus on the solution and not the problems. In reality, nothing that disturbed my peace really had power over me. I just forgot. I forgot who I was. I forgot what I had come through in the past. I forgot what I had already been strengthened to perform. I forgot how many seeds I’d already sown. Nothing I was stressing over was bigger than the ever present GOD that I serve. I was searching for peace, and it was all around me. I really just had to center my thoughts. Today, I had to talk it out. Once to my cousin, my prayer partner, my God-logic when I have these memory lapses, my fellow visionary. But even greater than that – I talked to God. Audibly. I got in a quiet place and talked to the One Who Saves. I gave Him the Word He left for me. I reminded myself that TRUST IS A VERB. Say it with me: TRUST IS A VERB. Within the hour, I began to notice that my chest was a little lighter. My breathing was little deeper. I read the Word earlier today, and my theology textbook, and it began to play in my head. JESUS IS THE CHRIST.

**I found two entries to a book I never finished. Here’s one. It blessed me to re-read it. I believe it’s from 2013. Enjoy. Ivy out. **

At the end of the day, I found my peace. It was already here, I just needed to focus on the right thing. (Have you ever tried to focus on a dot, far away, when your eyes were out of focus? It is not fun!)

Do you also need to shift your perspective? Let’s pray:

::Almighty God! You ARE love. You ARE greatness. You ARE ever present. You are the reason why we breathe. Lord, sometimes we forget to focus on You and not our confusion. Employ the Holy Spirit to comfort us when we lose sight of what’s important. Push the Paraclete to bring joy back to our remembrance. Remind us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. We trust You, Elohim. We rest in You. We love You and thank You. We leave this place lighter than when we came. Amen.::