Techless Dateology

In the early part of last week, my husband asked me out on another date. I have to tell you, I love the fact that he still asks me out on dates so many years later. I appreciate that and makes me feel loved.

On Saturday, we prepared to head out for our date. Both of our phones were close to death (lol). It didn't matter though. The charger in his car couldn't charge fast enough but we didn't focus on it. At first, Doug seemed a little distraught because he was awaiting a call from our son concerning his transportation after work. Nevertheless, we parked (and found a great parking spot at that) and set out for a fun evening.

This date was "techless" and old fashioned. We had absolutely no technology on us. We could not take pictures. We could not receive any phone calls. We could not make any phone calls. We could not text or be texted. We could not look up anything on Google at all; neither were there any notifications from the apps on our phones. At first, after seeing and encountering beautiful things on our date, immediately I wanted to take pictures because I'm definitely a picture girl and it was hard. I kept looking for my phone only to realize I left it in the car. Then it became normal not to have it. Back in the day, before cell phones, our dates were intimate and strictly between us. Nowadays, EVERYTHING is shared and seems as if nothing is sacred between husband and wife anymore.

In the past, when we've gone on dates, we'd have one or both of our phones on us. We'd be interrupted with phone calls, texts and even rudely playing games on the phone during the date. It became frustrating and irritating. This should not be so. Our night was great without our phones. And you know what? We didn't miss any calls or texts! Just when we thought we needed to keep our phones close, we found that it is alright during intimate times to keep it far away.


Our (husbands & wives) time together should be holy, not dating as the world would choose to and respectful. Technology has changed the very way we live our lives but only because we CHOOSE to allow it. It's time to bring back the beauty of dating and keeping technology in its place. I even tell our children to leave their phones when we're eating dinner together, turning them off while in church and put up when we're having family night. It's time to restore marriages and families the way God intended. There's nothing wrong with taking pictures on dates and with our families but it is a problem when it's a constant interruption in a time that is supposed to be dedicated to one another.

This is just a little "Dateology" to turn your date night from technology to "Techless".  Have a wonderful "techless" date!

Lonely Graves

Doug and I have been married for 18 plus years with 3 children and I have NEVER missed a Resurrection Sunday with my family...EVER...until today. I had to leave out of town for a family emergency and it happened to fall on Resurrection weekend. My second oldest asked me before I left, "Mama, are you coming back for Easter?" I told him that I didn't know but most likely I would not be. Then last night I talked to Doug and he said the same child said, "It doesn't feel like Easter without mama." I went to bed thinking that it does feel strange because as I stated before, I've never been absent without my family on Resurrection day. Nevertheless, God had different plans for me.

This weekend has been very heavy but God has been kept my mind, my soul, my body and my Spirit. I wanted to be sure that I mentioned how heavy this weekend is because I want to make sure to portray that my family emergency isn't the reason I am feeling the way I'm feeling. It's Jesus! It's all Him! He is the reason for my worship. He is the reason for my tears.

I woke up this morning to my auntie moving around the house getting ready to go to Sunrise Service. We were set to leave at 5:30am but didn't head out until about 6am. When we entered the church house, it took me back to when I would go to this same church with my grandma, brother, cousins and aunties'. It always feels that way. The praise team set the atmosphere. Worship was in the air and I so needed that because of everything I was going through.

As the pastor got up to speak, it was already evident that God had a word and His presence was definitely there. He began to speak about all that Jesus had done and went on to the cross. While he was preaching (a good word at that), he mentioned about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and paralleling it to us individually; it was then God began to speak a revelation to me.

Abba, began to show me that whenever you go through a resurrection it's always a lonely place. When something/someone is actually dead and placed in a tomb no one else is buried with it or you. It is You, Yourself, By Yourself. It's a lonely grave for the dead things in our lives and sometimes we feel like we are in a grave by ourselves.

As I mentioned beforehand, I have never spent time away from my family on Resurrection day. Even though I was feeling some type of way about it; God had something special in store for me. He let me know that sometimes, when you need to be resurrected, He has to get you by yourself, alone. I love my family and I like the church we attend but it was wonderful getting back to my roots. I hadn't felt resurrected in quite some time. It's been such a dry spell for me. I've endured a lot and didn't know how to get back up though I tried it all. Although I had people around me who loved me, in some instances, I still felt alone. I didn't understand my relationship with the Christ, the Anointed One.

The grave is a dark place, cold, hollow, deep, scary and most of all lonesome. Where is the comfort in the grave? Where is the love? Where is the understanding? We have to know that all of that is there in spite of what's going on around us. I had really been down...for a long time. I'd been searching for the One they called Jesus to come a save me from all that I was going through. Today, I ran into Him and talked with Him as He healed my mind, my heart. He met me at the same "tomb" Lazarus was buried in and called me forth. I couldn't stop crying. I couldn't stop worshiping. I couldn't stop lifting up my hands in awe of Him. It wasn't what I was going through that had me in tears. It was the gratefulness of the resurrection in me. He loves me enough to call me out of that dark place. Now I can walk around in
total victory in Christ Jesus.

I hear the Spirit of the Lord saying right now, "Don't worry about the grave you're in because Jesus is coming to RESURRECT you. He's going to call you forth and you shall walk around others with the victory as proof Jesus is real and He is powerful enough to call you from the grave."

Our God is Awesome! Our God is Great! There is no one like Him! None on this earth! Give Him praise and yell Hallelujah!

Blessed be the name of our Lord and Savior in the highest! Have a beautiful resurrection!

Infirmity, Healing and Grace

On my way to one of my favorite places to write and drink a latte, I ended up behind this vehicle that had a license plate number on it and it reminded me of a scripture. God has mysterious ways to reach out to me. I love it! I'm sure this guy had not one thought that his license plate was in form of a scripture. After I sat down, I looked up the scripture before I began writing. The scripture didn't speak to me and I was like, "Okay God, I know you wanted me to go here. What's going on?" He then spoke and said, "I want you to read the whole chapter." Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Got it! I started writing and said to myself that I would read it later because I really had to get some work done. Well, it's two days later and I'm just now reading the scripture.

As I start from the beginning of John chapter 5, it begins to speak to me immediately and God follows up after every scripture speaking to my heart. The beginning of John chapter 5 talks about the pool of Bethesda and the impotent man who had the infirmity for 38 years.

Jesus approached the man and asked him will he be made whole and the guy came up with all kinds of excuses, which were valid (especially to him) of why he isn't whole. He had avoided Jesus' question. Why? Did he not believe? Did he feel like he deserved his condition? I ask that because Jesus told him later in the temple to go and sin no more unless a worse thing comes upon him. Had he become comfortable in the condition? Did he become familiar with the infirmity? There are a lot of questions that arises as to why he avoided Jesus' question. Nevertheless, no matter how he felt about any of it, Jesus could have cared less. All he wanted to know is if the man wanted to be healed.

Jesus never responded to his excuses. He just said, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." He took away ALL of the man's excuses.

What excuses are you making for staying in the state that you're in that you're not even sure if you still want to be in? Jesus doesn't care how you got here; He wants you healed and to sin no more. All of us who has been addicted to something at one time or another can attest to wanting to stay in the sin and yet feeling enough disgrace to want to get out of it. We know it's not good for us but we keep going after it. Why? It's a force stronger than ourselves that is pulling us. We've admitted to it, ask for help for it and really try to come out of it and yet find ourselves back in it. Part of us enjoy it because of the temporal pleasures of it and what it takes us away from while the other half desperately wants to let it go. Something has to break. Something has to give. Will it be the infirmity we break or give ourselves over to it?

Choices, we all have choices to make. When we make a choice to do something or have a made up mind, we put things in place to keep us from the addiction. If we do not choose to break the addiction it will manifest into an infirmity. We have to choose to break the addiction. We have to choose a better way for ourselves. We have to choose to take responsibility. We have to choose not to find a cowardly medical way out of it...
Side Note: We always want to look for a name for something we're dealing with and attach it to us. A name to attach itself is very dangerous. Once we give it a name it becomes a living organism, whether physical or metaphorically and anything that is living contains power to do exactly what it's designed and named to do. Also, in naming something or finding a name for it is nothing more than a scapegoat. The scapegoat takes the blame and all of the responsibility which leaves the recipient free from anything they've done and or will do in the future. Back to the message...
Once we decide to choose to let the addiction go, it is then we are free. It's not saying we won't make another mistake but it is saying that we've decided to bring Jesus into our lives, our mess and help us out of the situation. It all starts with a choice.

When we have made the choice to invite Jesus in and allow him to heal us, we move from God's mercy to the Father's grace. When Jesus says for us to Rise, Take Up our Bed and Walk then we need to choose to do just that and walk out our healing. There are those who believe that we shouldn't walk around proclaiming that we are blessed because of what we've done and the kind of life we lived. They will fight our healing, our deliverance. It will be the ones closest to us because they're the ones we hurt the most and felt majority of the impact. It will also be the ones who have preached healing to us and then still hang our past over our heads. It will also be us because we will condemn ourselves for being happy but we don't have to because Jesus has set us free! We have the right to be happy and the grace to live it.

Rise! Take up your bed and Walk!