Relationship status updates used to be easy. We didn’t need a computer (which was good because it wasn’t that long ago when access to personal computers was rare) or a cell phone (another good thing since we used “house” or pay phones). All you needed was to select a box by the response of Yes or No on the note, “Do you like me?”, that had been passed to you in class. If you checked yes, the two of you were “talking” or whatever we labelled having a special friend in elementary school who thought you were pretty. If you selected no, you weren’t and life continued.
How have you responded to your relationship request from the Divine? Did you respond “Yes”, “No”, “Not yet” or have you decided to ignore the invitation (which is a “No”)? What’s the point in being in a relationship with the One? There are no false pretenses. The Divine sees the real and authentic you and accepts her (Eph. 1:4). What’s another benefit to accepting the modify your spiritual relationship status? Its eternal (Ps. 136). The One I’m talking about will not walk out on you. What’s another benefit? It is an all-consuming, unselfish kind of love (John 15:13). The kind of love that’s there when you wake up and there when you go to sleep. The kind of love that wraps around you like a blanket on a cold winter night and that holds you through your storms. This is not a hook-up it is a Covenant where the Divine says you are mine and I am yours. So Beloved, what’s your relationship status? Mine is set and sealed from now and throughout eternity. I suggest you ensure yours is also. Blessings, Rev. Antoinette
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Disclaimer – I am not a ‘tree-hugger’; in fact, I’m sure a few of my more earth conscious friends just spat out their coffee over the title of this post. To them I say, don’t give up on me, obviously I’m learning something from you. Some of the things I’ve learned from my earth conscious (green) friends: 1. We have 1 planet; it the one where we live so why not stop messing it up? 2. Everything has a purpose. If you end the life cycle of something, how can you be sure what else that will impact? 3. If the cures to what ail us are in parts of the earth and we destroy those parts aren’t we killing ourselves as well? I hear you, what do the above questions have to do with spirituality and how is loving the planet a spiritual concept? In my preacher voice, I’m glad you asked. A principle of spirituality is stewardship; managing resources, especially exercising diligent management of those resources that belong to another but have been entrusted to us. I’m a creative woman, but I cannot create a planet and if I can’t create a planet, I certainly can’t create a galaxy. Since science has yet to replicate the creation of the universe, I’ve reconciled in my mind that the universe’s creation was by performed another source. Furthermore, since that source created the universe (and neither I nor science can), the created belongs to the Creator (Ps. 19:1; Ps. 24:1; Job 24:11; Neh. 9:6). At best I’m a part time manager in the Creator’s storeroom (Gen. 2:15). Why should I exercise good stewardship by loving the planet. . . because its’ not mine but the planet has an owner and that owner has commissioned us to properly manage the planet where we live. Blessings, Rev. Antoinette Growing up, my father figure was my grandfather. His loving spirit, quiet nature, deep faith and focus on our family made me feel as though our home was a mansion and as if I could do anything.
Why, in a woman’s devotional, am I writing about the parental love from a man? Because strength comes from strength; love comes from love and faith comes from faith. Mine comes from grandmother, mother and my grandfather. Were we the ‘traditional’ household with 2 parents, 2.5 children (I’ve never understood what ½ a person was), a dog and a white picket fence, not at all but love flowed from every inch of space I occupied. Our rowhouse (now called a townhome) was a palace and I was a blessed and loved princess. If I were to list the lessons I learned from my earthly biological father, the list would be very, very small but if you ask me to list the things I learned from my heavenly father the list would stretch for miles. From my heavenly father, I learned real love is: unselfish (2 Cor. 8:9); forgiving (Isaiah 43:25 – 26); cares for others (Romans 15: 1 – 2) and is eternal (Psalm 136). My father’s love for me is beyond compare but the good news is that His love for you is just as strong, just as far reaching and just as eternal. Even if like me, you never knew what it was like to be a Daddy’s girl because of biology, this Father can change your life. Blessings, Rev. Antoinette I am not an architect, even my dollhouses needed work but despite me being inept at building physical structures I am a huge proponent of building bridges with others. Why a bridge, because bridges join. There are so many things that separate us: geography, economics, language, belief systems and, unfortunately even in 2018, race. But just because we’re historically been separated doesn't mean we have to stay that way. We can choose unity, sisterhood and chose to love by building bridges. By building a bridge we publicly and privately declare we refuse to allow what we've been indoctrinated to believe about those things to continue to be the rationale for separating us from each other (1 Cor. 1:10). Bridges are not impossible to build but they require work. Work by listening without judgment. I choose to build bridges by treating everyone as though they are equally beautiful, intelligent, gifted, deserving of love and worthy of respect. What about you? How are you building bridges? Blessings, Rev. Antoinette I've been blessed to have had a tribe of strong women who have encircled, nurtured, inspired, taught and mothered me throughout my life. When I was a young child, they held my hand (and when needed, paddled my rear); as a teen, they guided me through the difficult years and affirmed me; as a young adult, they helped me learn to love the woman in the mirror and as an adult, they stand alongside me speaking life to me (Titus 2: 3 – 5). One was, of course, my Mom, another was my grandmother, other aunts, older cousins and the family who became family not by blood or marriage but through friendships with the matriarchs of my family. Now, its’ my turn to mother. I mother the one the Divine allowed me to carry for 9 LONG months, another who came to us when he 'adopted' us and more who were added to our tribe through mentorship. What about you? Who has mothered you and who are you mothering? You are their legacy and they are yours. Although we can, and should, celebrate it every day of the week, this weekend, we shout our appreciation through the streets, over the airways and across the web. Mothering is so much more than being an agent of biology, it is sacrificing, guiding and loving. Happy Mother’s Day to all those who have birthed and breathed life, joy, love, peace and contentment in the life of others. Blessings, Rev. Antoinette I love the play made into a movie "Dreamgirls". My favorite song from it is "I Am Changing". At some point (or at various points), we all have to change. Outlooks change, when we were children, we thought as children but when we became adults, we put away childish things (1 Cor. 13:11). Our bodies change, we grow from being a dot on a screen to embryos to babies and from babies through different phases until we become adults. Our spirituality changes and once we were led by our own desires and now we submit our will to the will of the Divine (Ps. 40:8).
Change is normal, natural and needed. As a baby, we wore child-sized clothes and shoes but those do not work for fully grown people. The same rationale applies spiritually, as adult women our spirit woman needs more than bite sized devotionals and child sized prayers; we need something to cover every aspect of our life and to shield those we love. How do you get to adult spirituality? Change your mind, actions and focus. When we change, we exchange and open ourselves to grow. Are you ready to change? If so, let's change. Blessings, Rev. Antoinette Although I love the warmth of summer (along with opportunities to get to the beach); there is something about the renewal during spring that is undeniable to me. For a few moments, please consider with me what occurs during spring: · Temperatures begin to increase leaving the frost of winter in the prior season · Flowers begin budding, indicating life is being restored to what seemed to be dead · Grass leaves its brown coat behind and emerges in a fresh, green gown · Birds who’d left for warmer climates return and begin building nests to care for their growing family Just as we experience the renewal of spring seasonally, we can experience it spiritually. We experience being renewed spiritually as: · Our hearts which were made cold due to harsh encounters are warmed by the love of the Divine (Gal. 2:20) · New opportunities are granted which allow us to ‘come alive’ to previously unrecognized possibilities (Phil 3: 12 – 14) · Despite circumstances, which left us feeling ‘burned’, we emerge stronger and more determined, not only to survive, but to thrive (1 Cor. 9: 24 – 26) · We plan for and anticipate a bright future (Isaiah 40:31) Renewal is available for all of us; all we need to do is accept the offer. Happy Renewal! Blessings, Rev. Antoinette
Have you ever been in or been to a parade? No, I’ve never travelled to NYC and seen the Thanksgiving Day Parade or travelled to California for the Tournament of Roses Parade; my parade experience is limited to having stood on the sidelines, in the brutal January cold, with a group of mentors and our mentees during Baltimore’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade, but even with my limited experience, I have a few observations about parades. 1. There are participants and spectators – both parties have an important role and both have to respect the role of the other 2. Not all the participants have the same role; some participants help the person(s) who are the people we should watch 3. There’s a lot of waving; focal people (persons) wave at spectators and spectators wave at the participants 4. They point to something; parades aren’t the main event – they are celebrations of something else That’s a lot like our spiritual life. Not everyone with us or surrounding us has the same role; if we understand our (and their) role, we may find things work out a little better. Sometimes we are a spectator and sometimes we’re the one others are looking to for guidance. Every now and then a wave occurs. Whether it’s a wave of emotions that rushes over us (Eccl. 3:4); a wave of excitement running through us; a wave of difficulty challenging different aspects of our life (Deut. 31:6) or merely us waving to get the attention of the one we need – waves happen. Its important to remember we aren’t the most important thing, who we point to is (Matt. 5:16). If we successfully point others to the One or help others see the One who loves, we’ve fulfilled our role in life. We’ve been in the parade and can enjoy the celebration at the end of the path (Proverbs 11:30; 1 Peter 4:10). What’s your role in the parade of life? Blessings, Rev. Antoinette For those of us who, in one way or another, observe Lent the time is more about what we do, not what we give up. Whether note you observe Lent or any other festival, the principles of self-evaluation, sacrifice and focusing on our goals can still be helpful. Giving up somethings are easier than others. If I say, I’m giving up pretzels, for me that’s not a huge deal as its not my ‘go to’ snack, but if you hear me say, I’m giving up coffee. . . please know that’s an entirely different story (and please, be patient with me because I will require it). But, as I said, the important thing isn’t so much what you set aside but what you do (or what you take in/on). Are you going to spend more time reading things that feed your spirit-woman? What about spending more time meditating (Matthew 6:6)? Perhaps you’ll spend more time helping others (Hebrews 13:16). When you’re in your time of consecration, what is it that you are you drawing closer to (James 4:8)? What am I focusing on during my time of consecration? Drawing closer to the Divine, strengthening my daily walk and learning a little more about the ultimate purpose for my life. I can give up coffee for a lifetime (well…maybe not a lifetime) but if I don’t focus on what my spirit-woman needs to continue in her growth, all I’ve done is make myself (and those close by me), angry. What about you? To what (or whom) are you drawing close? Rev. Antoinette |
AuthorRev. Antoinette Gatewood-Sykes, Inspirational Speaker Archives
May 2019
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