TalulaZoeApple

Great Expectations Parte Deux

I love my blog.

It gives me the ability to peer back into my life to the date and time and really SEE how God works things out for me.

Peep this, on 11/08/10 I wrote a post entitled Great Expectations. In said post, I stated what I expected from God and what I think God expects from me - faithfulness. God is ever faithful, I am the one who continuously falls short. Well in this post I also ask God for a new job with great benefits and 1 year nearly to the DAY, I started a new job with GREAT benefits.

*In my Joey Lawrence voice* Whoa!

Ugh! Deja vu all over again!

Here I am with a list of desires from God and my second week in a row not being faithful - in worship, in giving.

Thank God for Jesus - His grace is sufficient for someone imperfect like me.

What I expect from God is His continued grace and mercy for me and my family, an amazing husband prefaced by a serendipitous encounter (*insider*), great friends, and my family together with me again. I want my business and book to be a great success bigger than my wildest dreams. After all, I am ready!

Now that is a whopper of a list but God created the universe surely he can handle my little world.

P.S. I am really excited now.

Thanks to all of my blog readers, even when you dont comment. I know you are there.

Is Celibacy A Necessity For the Single Christian?

You all should know my view on this but for discussion's sake, I'll entertain the question.

I grew up in the holy, sanctified Church of God in Christ. Girls wore no pants, make up. We were not allowed to listen to secular music. Everyone knew that sex before marriage was a grave sin.

Times have changed in the COGIC world and christiandom at large. It's not uncommon for many women to have a little Mac in their bag next to that well-worn and highlighted King James.

But how relaxed is too lax?

I have met many Christians with varying beliefs on drinking, tithing, clothes and music. I choose not to judge either way. Are there somethings that are black or white, yes or no?

I was listening to a woman who was upset that the man she had been dating and sleeping with had gotten her and 2 other women pregnant. She expressed shock over this man who knew the Word in and out. Her shock was at the fact that he was not faithful to her.

I believe the real commitment of a celibate life is not between two individuals but between you and God.  (Thanks The Old Black Church) So if you are not faithful to God, how can you be faithful to another flawed human being?

Let that marinate, while I sip some tea.  

A Christian follows Christ, follows the words of Christ i.e. the Bible.

I think a lot of Christians find sex a hard thing to give up especially when it's so easy to give in to. Many are not taught how to live a celibate life. Sex is the ultimate don't ask, don't tell for some.

And then there are those statistics. Like churches being up to 80 percent women, 70 percent of black women never getting married. You hear that long enough and even the mose faithful can feel pressured to settle for "shacking" lol. How old is that term?  Yet, some Christians love the Lord, love the Word and a little something else. lol

What say you?

 

Church Socials Or The Dreaded Singles' Event

I recently attended a singles' event at a local church. It was designed like a "play date" event. I thought why not? I had sworn off such a events previously because they are just too weird. The first one I attended, a couple of years ago , alone. It was a party-type atmosphere at a converted club. The behavior was weird. People sat around not knowing how to act. Should you dance, mingle? What dance goes with Kirk Franklin? Just W-I-E-R-D.

 

 So I and friend stopped by a festival first grabbed a bite to eat and headed over to the church. En route my friend says, "You know the game is on tonight?" So the singles' social was planned on a night when most men will be home watching the Mavericks play.

Ominous, much?

We get there and after a few boring Uno games, we mosey over to the Outburts table. A  slightly more fun game of Outburst and all the men are chanting, "Turn On the Game!"

After the Outburst game finally ends, all of the guys in unison head for the exits.

As a single Christian, I understand the need for socials in which you can meet like-minded people for a little fun, get-ta-know-ya. I think it will help if  active singles actually plan the events. May be have it outside of the church campus?

Have any of you attended a great Christian social event? Please describe.

How To Be Celibate - A Single Christian's Guide

To be a Christian is more than a title. It is more than a standing weekly appointment at some church. It is a walk with Christ. To be Christlike is to live as according to the word of God.

The most contentious and difficult requirement of of Christian life is the no fornication clause. lol There are some who adhere to monogamy as a rule or make an exception for someone that they are in love with. However, the bible is clear about a few things and no premarital sex in one of them.

So pratically, how does one accomplish this feat of will. The answer is YOU do not but with the assistance of the holy spirit you can!

These are some helpful tips.

1. Decide in your mind that celibacy is the right thing to aspire to.
2. Read your bible for strength and inspiration.
3. Fast and pray. Fasting is refraining from food and/or drink for a specific amount of time to give yourself in prayer to God. Denying the real and necessary urge to eat puts you in the right spiritual frame of mind to deny yourself sex. You are also giving yourself the freedom to love someone free of the cloud of sex. Sex is not love.
4. When starting out, refrain from things - music, movies, people - that put you in that loving feeling.
5. Get busy!!! Become faithful to God is service, giving, living. An idle mind is truly the devil's playground.
6. Hang out with like-minded individuals. It is my honest opinion that folk who are loose in the caboose secretly envy those who refrain. I believe they subconsciously try to undermine your position by enticing you to give up on celibacy. Why? Misery loves company.
7. If you feel like you just cannot hold on any longer, take the time to pray. My personal prayer is, "My body belongs to God." When you realize this truth, you will not give yourself away to someone not in God's plan for you.

I personally have been celibate a long, long, long, long, time. lol These tips have helped me to keep myself free from fornication.

Are there any celibate readers? How do you handle this situation?

Patience Is Power and Other Epiphanies

2010 is definitely the year of epiphanies for me. This year God is dealing with me on the virtues of patience, trust, and walking by faith.

I used to be the panicky type. If something is wrong, I would panic until it was right again. This panic would lead to a rollercoaster of emotions that was unhealthy and plain unproductive.

I am currently pre-employed. (This is what I'm gonna call it until I am working again). During this time, God has been blessing me with amazing opportunities to write and have my articles published in a newsletter, meet and interview incredible professionals, and network with amazing people. During this time, I also have financial obligations to meet. This is a very real reality and could put a downer on anyone.

Long story short, I was expecting a payment that I kept getting the run around on. I really needed it by tomorrow. I called and was told it was gonna take 4 more weeks. I spoke with a supervisor, blah, blah, blah. Last word from them, it would take weeks.

Ironically, the phone cut off.

I just heard something say PUSH - Pray Until Something Happens.

I went into my closet (see bible) and prayed until I could not pray. I got up and fell asleep.

I went to check my account with them  tonight and the money had been released!!!!!!

I write about faith, praising God in advance, and when my back was against the wall, HE DELIVERED!

I now know what the old folk meant when they would say, "God will make a way out of no way!"

He is my SOURCE!

 

What I Expect From God Is. . .

. . .the fulfilment of His promises to me. This is my public declaration that I believe that God is my provider, I expect Him to provide.

This is not an ultimatum but a statement of faith and thanksgiving.

Marvin Sapp has a song entitled, "Praise Him in Advance." In it he states, that he has had is share of ups and downs but he has learned to praise God in advance. So while things are still tumultuous and uneasy, I am praising God in advance.

I need a good job, residual income, health, energy, faith, grace, my family blessed, my friends blessed. I expect these things in the here and now. So I am thanking and praising him in the here and now.

I just wanted you guys to know.

What do you expect from God.

I Have Finished the Race, I Have Kept the Faith - Susan G Komen Race for the Cure

Lord this Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Run/Walk is an allegory for my life.

The Walk

I have been training for about a month - walking for 2-3 miles 4x a week, lifting weights 3x a week. generally, losing a few pounds here and there. So the big day arrives and. . .

. . .nothing. No fanfare, no team, not even a friend to watch me cross the finish line.

But hey, I am wearing my white and pink T-shirt, I have a pink flower in my hair so I am ready to do the darn thing.

I can't find a park. I end up parking 3/4 of a mile away and walking to the event. I then have to walk around the mall to the start line.

The walk begins. . .very. . .slowly.

There are people with costumes, pets, children. Its a great environment. The sun is on the opposite side of us and the weather is divine.

 

The Last Mile. . .

 

. . .was the hardest EVER.

The sun is smack dab on our faces, my feet are starting to hurt. We round the corner and then we see it.

The Finish Line. . .

The drums are beating, the music is blaring and it's over.

Not. So. Fast.

I decide to take a short cut *insert allegorical moment** and end up up walking thru the mall. Somehow I ended up back where we turned to see the finish line the first time.

All in all, I think I walked like 6 miles instead of 3 - really.

My Life

On a happy note, when I got home, I got a call for an interview. So God shows up when He shows up. May not come when you want Him but He is always on time.

Say a prayer for me blog family.

P.S. this week I have received tweets from both Don Lemon of CNN and . . .wait for it. . .TJ HOLMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*swoons*

The Art of Prayer

Prayer really does work so why do I forget to do it sometimes?

I used to pray a lot and about everything. I did not always get what I wanted but I always got an answer.

Lately, I have been very frustrated about things - my professional life, love life, finances. I kept thinking how in my own strength I could change these things. Until I had a FaceBook epiphany.

Yes, a FaceBook Epiphany^c - yes I just coined that phrase, copyright pending. This occurs when a level headed friend who is not familiar with your situation says something simple that seems to have been the evident answer you could not receive.

 

The friend just plainly responded, "Let's pray." Light bulb moment.

I immediately stopped what I was doing and prayed about the situation. Why fret and worry about others' actions that you cannot control? The bible says,

"¹The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." Proverbs 21:1

 I write all of this to say whether waiting to hear from a job, a friend, a loved one, prayer is still the best option. Each individual involved has their own mind and reasoning for doing things that you cannot control. I prayed for God's will in every area so that no matter what I will have peace about the situation. This even goes for my love life. I want God's will and direction for that, too.

It is time I spent more time practicing my art - the art of prayer.

Failing the Test and Learning A Lesson

I allow things to really aggravate me to the point of knocking me off task sometimes. This is a problem.

I was over at Full Complexity's blog and read her post about something really similar. We must be living parallel lives. God led us to each other's blog for encouragement.

I drove through traffic and in circles to make it to this important event downtown only to realize the event did not have parking. I would have to pay and I had no cash on me. I would have to drive at least 15 minutes out of the way to find a cash station. All of this happened after having a really tough/disappointing day at work.

All I needed to do was bite the bullet, say a prayer, and drive to the cash station and make my way back. I, however, became overwhelmed with all the things I had been going thru and thought this is just one more thing that has not worked out for me.

I started to cry. . .really. I thought, God, why do things like this happen to me, why am I disappointed so much?

 And then it came to me, like an epiphany - no Chrisette Michele - that it was only a test. The enemy tries to throw little roadblocks in our way to keep us off task. In the grand scheme of things, this was only a minor setback but I allowed myself to connect it to other minor setbacks to create a giant snowball of setbacks to cry over.

The event was so informative and I got to do something I always wanted to do.

I believe God is showing me through it all to just trust him. He knows my end from the beginning. The setbacks are just a test of my faith. Do I really believe the ending of the story leads back to HIM?

I do!

Woman Rebukes Robber in the Name of Jesus. . .

. . .and robber leaves.

Well, there really is power in the name of Jesus.

"The man in the hooded sweatshirt wore sunglasses and started pointing a gun. Chadwick remembers the exchange she had with the man. "We thought it was a joke," she said. "He comes in and says, 'Give me your money!' And I said, 'There's no money. It's all gone.' And he said, 'No, I'm serious. I want your money!' And I said, 'No.'"

The gunman became irate and started pounding on the glass counter with the gun, but Chadwick wasn't fazed. "I looked him straight in the eye and I said, 'In the name of Jesus, I command you to get out of my store. You are bound by the Holy Spirit and you are leaving.'"

As Chadwick argued with the gunman, her customer, Kathy Vereen, soon had attention pointed her way. "He started backing up and then he pointed the gun at me and said, 'Get down on the floor.' And I remember thinking, 'I don't think so,'" said Vereen.

The frustrated gunman turned and left the store with nothing. No shots were fired and no one was injured." SOURCE

Well, there you have it.