I mentioned to one of my mentees that growing up, I think every house in our neighborhood had the following decorative items: a giant family Bible with flowers in the pages and a record of who was born when written in it; a big wooden fork and spoon on a wall in the kitchen; paneling in the basement and near the front door was a photo of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was always the same photo of Dr. King: a side profile with him in a dark suit with a white shirt and dark tie. Although I’m sure someone had another photo framed and displayed, in my neighborhood, everyone had that 1 photo.
As the MLK holiday approaches, I not only think about his work and sacrifice but what we can do to continue carrying the torch of justice and freedom. Justice, for me, includes voting rights (including the reinstatement of voting rights for those who have paid their debt to society), access to quality health care, receipt of a living wage and combating racial profiling. What does justice have to do with faith? The One who created us all, created us with worth (Romans 12:10), charges us to pay people fairly and timely (Deuteronomy 24:14 – 15) and requires us to welcome “stranger” (Leviticus 19: 34). What about you? How are you carrying the torch? Blessings,
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I wish I could tell you I always “get it” the 1st time, but I have quite a few friends (and family members) who can attest otherwise; aha moments are very real for me. As we begin a new year, I look forward to a lot of aha’s since I’m looking forward to being amazed and surprised. Why are aha’s spiritual? Because they force us to admit we are not in complete control of things and we don’t know it all (in the words of my late grandmother, what we don’t know can sink a ship). I find one of the best things about not being in control is knowing who is in control. I can trust the One who is in control to keep revealing things to me (including things I don’t know about myself). Every day has the potential to be filled with wonder and opportunity (Lamentations 3:22 – 23). This year, I encourage you to grow, intentionally, carefully, wisely and purposefully. Let the Aha’s begin! Blessings, Rev. Antoinette This may surprise you but, I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. Is it because I think they are unspiritual, etc.? Not at all; I simply grew tired of telling myself the same lie year after year. The 15 pounds I’d vowed to lose 10 years ago wait to greet me in the morning (and I’m pretty sure they have sublet parts of me to their in-laws).
So, in my preacher voice, what do you do when you sincerely desire to do better but refuse to keep jumping on the resolution train? Pray, plan and proceed. Why pray, because if our desires are not in line with the perfect will for our life, our plans will bring us harm. What good is it to have the riches of the world but lose our spiritual core (Matthew 16:26)? Some of us, on a daily basis, watch an unending drama played out by financially strong but morally bankrupt people and wonder what is wrong with them; wealth without honor is as beneficial as pearls on a pit bull. Why plan? Because at some point, we have to come out of our prayer closet (or from a posture of prayer) and develop a strategy for what we’ve been praying about. If we want to be debt free, it may help to open the mail and see how much debt we’re in. Why proceed? Because faith-filled word without faith empowered actions are useless (my paraphrase of James 2:17). If we want a new job, its good to pray about it but at some point we will need to apply for the job. Proceed in confidence because we’ve already prayed about it and developed a plan. What about you? What are you praying, planning and proceeding in this year? Blessings, Rev. Antoinette |
AuthorRev. Antoinette Gatewood-Sykes, Inspirational Speaker Archives
May 2019
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