Wednesday Radomness!

Happy Wednesday.  Hump Day.  Just over half done with the work week (if you're a Monday-Friday worker), countdown to the weekend.  Yeah, all of that!  I tried something new with google and the ads; let me know how it looks (I haven't seen them yet...).  Anyway, I gotta catch you up on all that has happened in the past week...

So today was the day after election day here in Illinois; we had a number of key races going on (besides the Presidential Primary).  It was an exciting day for me because I was able to get the Teen registered and he was also able to vote (because he'll be 18 prior to the November election).  Now, of course he was a bit miffed at me because I made a big deal out of it (with pictures and everything) and the registrars also made a big deal out of it.  So he was NOT a happy camper!  He gave me the full teen unaffected stare:

Now ask me do I care?  Survey says:  "No!"  It was a monumental occasion and deserved to be captured!

This past weekend, I had the distinct honor of joining the ranks of the Top Ladies of Distinction (TLOD); a professional humanitarian organization that services youth and adults. I am so very excited about this new chapter in my life and hope to make a real difference, (even more so than I already have with my current affiliations), in the very near future.  I was inducted at the Area III Conference in Skokie, Illinois, and enjoyed the remainder of the conference:  professional development workshops, business meetings, presentation and celebration of graduating seniors, and fellowship with the other ladies.  Of course I took a ton of pictures, but here is my very first one as Lady Darvionne:

Don't I look excited????  If you are interested in seeing what the Top Ladies are all about, you can check out the national website here.  Now that the festivities are over, it's time to get to work, and I'm up to the challenge!

I left the conference early enough to make it to the second service on Sunday (y'all know I don't play about church on Sundays) and I'm so glad I did! To me, my week just goes better when I start it in church, ya know?  The sermon was titled:  What will you do with Jesus?  The text:  Matthew 27:15-26.  The heart of the message?  In the words of that old Bill Withers song:  Who is He and what is He to you (relationship)????

Monday night found me in Week 7 of my class (yes, the weeks are flying by).  We are still in the old testament, and the lesson was on Atonement (studying the books of Exodus, Leviticus and part of Numbers).  And it was a great class with lively discussion (as usual), but that's not really what I want to talk about today.  Today during some downtime at the project, I had occasion to do the reading for next week's homework, which is on the subject of Leadership.  And given that I just cast my vote on yesterday for my choices of the leadership of the country and in some of my state and county offices, I figured it would be a good time to share that lesson with you.  Ready?  Let's go.

Each lesson in the workbook begins with a scripture and then a section called "Our Human Condition."  The one for this lesson reads as follows:  "We cannot tolerate political disorder and confusion.  We swing between desiring unity born of faithfulness and want to 'do our own thing.'  We need leadership.  Please, somebody give us a sense of direction."  Now I felt this discussion to be apropos, given that we are voting this year to elect the new leader of the United States.  In this lesson, we begin with the book of Joshua, which is a transitional book, taking Israel from the time of Moses into the promised land.  From there, we move into the book of Judges.  Now, this was a time where Israel had no king and God was the ruler of the people.  However, if you're even just a tiny bit familiar with the old testament, then you know that this didn't work out so well... According to the lesson, the recurring pattern during the period of the judges was apostasy (abandonment of faith), punishment, penitence and peace.  Sounds kinda like the cycle we're in at the moment...

Throughout the bible, God has used unlikely people to be his instruments.  The judges were no different.  The three noted in the lesson were Deborah, Gideon and Samson.  Nothing extraordinary about them, yet they were called and used to fulfill God's purposes for His people.  Anyhoo, the lesson goes on to say: "God calls leaders to give people a sense of direction and purpose.  When the leaders are godly, they give sound direction; when they are disobedient or ambivalent, they lead people astray."  The lesson then goes on to ask questions, and the one that stood out for me, was this one:  "Describe what would happen if in your country or your church or your household 'all the people did what was right in their own eyes' (Judges 21:25)."  Kinda sounds like what we are seeing today, huh?  

I know this is a bit different from my usual type of posts, but still important nonetheless. Whatever your political affiliation/viewpoint, it is extremely important that you vote, but also and perhaps even more importantly, that you pray for whomever wins the election (for someone must win and someone else will lose) that they lead with integrity and wisdom and that God will heal our land.  We are truly in need of some healing around here!  "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land."  2 Chronicles 7:14

We have some work to do in this country; I am growing increasingly concerned about what the future will look like for my not-so-little people.  So as you go about your daily life and say your prayers, throw some in for us - it's critical!

Am I concerned for nothing?  Oh, and we lost another this morning, Darryl Coley, who had one of the most wonderful voices in gospel music.  Don't believe me?  Check out this beautiful song by him here.  Anyway - am I concerned for nothing??? You know the drill, Holla @ Darvi!  Be Blessed!

xoxo