The Middle

Greetings, Blogland!  Well, it's been a mighty long time since I've written (about 6 months or so, to be exact), and I'm mighty glad to be back!  I have reasons and they could either make a whole lot of sense to you or none at all.  It's been super busy (and also super stressful) during my time away and I've been trying to "right the proverbial boat," so to speak. Pastor Singleton said something yesterday that really captured part of the true reason I've been away - to avoid feeling like a hypocrite.  Yep, you read right.

My pastor spoke about it in the context of being a CPA and advising clients on financial planning at past times in his life when his own finances were not in the best of condition. Similarly with me, it strikes a chord in both my professional and spiritual life.  But Pastor Singleton went on to say that God admonished him:  Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34 NIV
Now what's funny is that I had no intention of including this, but well, here it is.  So maybe it's God speaking to me as well (also an inordinate amount of pins in my Pinterest feed today also repeated this theme...).

Which brings us to the subject of this post (which I started writing on April 24th, no fooling, "The Middle."  

Middle is defined as "the point or position at an equal distance from the sides, edges or ends of something."  There is a sitcom on the ABC network called "The Middle" (one of my favorites, actually).  It is about the Heck family:  middle-age, middle class, in middle America facing the day-to-day struggles of home, life, work and raising children. The thing is, this family is always one step forward, two steps back, forever staying in the middle.  For fans of Lord of the Rings, "Middle-earth" refers to the inhabited lands of men between the seas, or Middangeard.  The central idea of being in the middle is "between."  You've heard the cliche, "between a rock and a hard place," which has sometimes felt like the theme of my life here lately...

It's very easy to be joyful and spiritually on point when things are going well, we agree?

When there is no adversity, no health challenges, no financial challenges, no issues with your children, no job struggles, no relationship struggles, no housing issues- it is very easy to stay upbeat, joyful and resolute in where your faith, hope and trust lies.  I'm sure we can all agree on that.  Some of you would even boast that you could keep it together if one of those challenges were to strike.  But what about several or even all of them and all at once??? If you're human, your resolve just might start to weaken a bit.  You might begin to wonder if God has forgotten you as the days turn into months and perhaps the months into years.  Especially if for every step forward, you find yourself getting pushed two steps back, until you find yourself stuck in the middle.  

This thought and feeling of being in the middle has been with me for awhile.  I sometimes truly cannot understand why I have been given some amazing gifts and unbelievable dreams, courtesy of God Himself, yet I live in the land of "dreams deferred."  

Several years ago (seven, to be exact), I attended an Ecumenical Worship service for NPHCC at Harmony Community Church in Chicago and heard my first sermon preached by Pastor James Brooks (Pastor J).  The title of the sermon, I believe, was "Alpha and Omega," or the beginning and the end (See Revelation 1:8; 22:13).  The sermon struck such a chord with me that it led to me going back and subsequently joining that ministry, and still this day, I remember it like it was yesterday.  During the sermon, Pastor J illustrated God being the Alpha and the Omega by having someone stand on either side of him.  As he walked to the left, there was a person in front and one behind.  When he turned to the right, again there was a person in front of and one behind.  The point he made was this:  because God is the Alpha, He is always there in front of you clearing the way, and because He is also the Omega, He is always behind you, making sure you are not overtaken (paraphrasing here, I'm without my notes).

So what does that mean exactly?  It means that for the believer, the "middle" isn't such a  bad place to be, because it means that God is protecting and shielding you as you go along your way.  It means that He's fighting battles ahead of you before you get there, and that He's also behind you, protecting the flank.  In military tactics, a flanking maneuver is "a movement of an armed force around  a flank to achieve an advantageous position over an enemy.  Flanking is useful because a force's offensive power is concentrated in its front."  In other words, the enemy attacks the flank or rear, because it is where one is most vulnerable.  But, because God is the Alpha and the Omega, you, in the middle, are never vulnerable or unprotected.  God has no weakness and in His omnipresence is able to go before you and be behind you at the same time.  Take that, devil!

All great and well, but what do we do with this information?  I'm glad you asked!  What it means, in my humble opinion, is simply that God has this.  It means that we (I) can confidently and boldly go forth with the things He has placed within us (me), because He is in front of us (me), clearing the way, even though we (I) can't see it.  It also means that even though the enemy's weapons form and try to attack us (me) on the flank, they won't prosper, because God is behind us (me).  He is indeed, the Alpha and the Omega.  

To anyone who feels stuck and at times uncertain (like me), know the middle is not always the bad place it may appear to be at first sight.  Rather, the middle means you are between God's grace and mercy as the Alpha and Omega, and that you can courageously and fearlessly move forward in whatever it is He called you to do.  Does it mean that everything will go your way?  Nope, not at all.  But what it does mean is that you can be secure in the knowledge that God has you, no matter what it looks like in front or behind you.  Ted and Sheri did a song called "Work the Middle" that illustrates what we are to do in the middle (unfortunately I can't seem to find a link to the song itself, but it's on their 2001 album, the healing starts right here - go check it out on iTunes).  

Listen, as I have always been, I will continue to be transparent in telling my story.  I refuse to let the devil's minions of pride and embarrassment deter me from sharing what God has put in me to share.  The Word says they were overcome by the word of their testimony in Revelation 12:11.  And while I by no means have it all figured our or even half figured out, I will not fail to glorify Him by keeping silent, even in the middle.  I hope that this post encouraged someone today.  I had to smile to myself as I wrote it.  We simply cannot allow the enemy to make us feel defeated, no matter where we find ourselves.  

Well, since it's been awhile, holla at your girl just to check in!  And be sure to pray for me - I have my 46th birthday coming up next week, the oldest teen graduates from high school in a few weeks, and there is all manner of things on the horizon that I am trying to wrap my head around!  Be blessed!!! xoxoxoxo

Be Intentional...

TGIF, Framily!!!!  Thank God I made it to Friday and accomplished my goal of posting every day this week!  So I want to end the week talking about being intentionally focused.  (I know wrote about focus a few weeks ago; you can refresh your memory here, but I want to talk about it from another perspective).  

There is a song out now called "Intentional" by Travis Greene.  It is a song that plays over and over in my head throughout the day.  It speaks of God being intentional about things that are happening in your life and that there's no need to worry.  Have a listen:

Nice song, right? But guess what?  As much as God is intentional about His plans for us, He expects us to be intentional as well in the things we are to do.  Especially when we beg and pray for him to enlarge our territory like the Prayer of Jabez... To illustrate this point, I turn to the March 20th sermon of Bishop TD Jakes - "Coming into Focus" (text from Luke 9:49-55). This one is for those of you who, like me, have big dreams!  (*below is the summary of my notes taken as I listened to the sermon,outline style*)  

• Can’t have a new blessing with an old order,  you have to refocus or you will have chaos
• Restructure, reorganize and order is the answer to anxiety
• It doesn’t mean that you can’t do it or can’t have it, just not with the old order
• Are you organized for what you prayed for?
• Need to refocus for where you’re going, not for where you’ve been
• Chaos= out of order for the weight load you are carrying
• Had to follow someone without focus
• Money without focus will have you in poverty!
• Sometimes you have to leave good things behind because they don’t fit where you are going
• Focus= discipline
• Almost as bad as no focus is wrong focus     
• Wrong focus is committing to the wrong thing; right efforts in the wrong matters
• Anytime something moves, you have to refocus
• Focus is important
• What is your center/priority?
• Focus on the center then deal with the parameters
• What have you set your face on?
• You have the power to bring your life back into focus
• Where God is taking you, you have to get your life into focus
• If it hasn’t happened by now
• If you’re going to win any kind of fight, need to focus
• In this season, I need to focus (not enough time or money to do everything)
• In the text, Jesus seemed aloof because he wouldn’t go to Samaria (and get out of focus) 
• The disciples came and told him that someone was casting out demons in His name and he was not one of the disciples and Jesus was unconcerned.
• See also Philippians 1:19: Paul said as long as they are preaching Christ, I rejoice whether sincere or not
• Is your lens too wide?
• If your lens is too wide, you are out of focus
• Focus is too important to be compromised
• Do you not know how strong you are when you are focused???
• Gotta get (my) YOUR focus!
• Have to choose what you let hurt you and what keeps you up at night
• No one is strong when doing too many things at one time
• The greatest resistance comes near the greatest opportunity; fight with greatest focus
• Don’t let ego drive you out of focus
• You are like FIRE when you are focused!
• If you can focus with a little, you can be blessed with more
• Show God you’re an investment
• That’s what tithing is all about
• When focus on God first, all other things can be given to you
• Can be focused in one area and out of focus in another
• Sometimes the whole front end of your life can be jacked up but God will break the order and save the best for last
• People are drawn to your season of miracles, but will they love you out of season?
• Move from season of miracles to season of message
• The real test of commitment is to go through the seasons
• Every stage requires a bit more from you (also stages of Christian walk)
• Miracle Stage – Message Stage- Movement Stage (consecration enough to have moments with God) – Mission Stage (after movement stage, Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem)
• The real test is your commitment to loving God when you don’t like what He’s done
• Can you love me when you don’t like me?
• In order to be on a mission, you have to set your face
• Requires discipline
• Where is your mission?
• It will take you to the cross, sacrifice, self-denial, something is more important than you
• Whatever that is, it is your mission
• To be focused is intentional & have priorities 
• God is intentional, no matter what it looks like
• Time to get in focus and stop worrying about parameters and distractions
• One way we show focus is through tithing (give what’s right, not what’s left)
• What will you do with more focus?

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  Bishop Jakes is an awesome teacher!  Now, his style isn't for everyone, but for me, who is a student at heart, I love learning new things, especially a new life application to scripture.  But I urge you to give it a shot; here is the sermon in its entirety: 

What am I saying with all this talk about being intentional?  Let me show you!  

A little more than a year ago, a friend of mine who was gearing up to study for the CPA Exam (4 parts) asked for prayers from her friend circle.  We began praying for her, over the course of the year, some of the exams had a positive result and others not so much.  Her family experienced some health challenges with one of her children, resulting in a huge and devastating setback on this quest.  She took some time to regroup and focus and meanwhile, I began to pray even harder and with even more specificity.  Intentional and focused prayer, while she engaged in intentional and focused study.  Today (May 5th), I got the call that I had been waiting for:  all parts of the exam were complete and passed!  Amen!!! I am STILL high off that happy news today about my answered prayers!  You know why?  Because as long as my friends are getting blessed and my prayers on their behalf are being answered, it means that God is still in the blessing business and mine is coming too!

In my own world, I am in the midst of embarking on some new ventures, which I will share details about later.  But I do ask for your prayers that God directs my path as I intentionally train my focus on them.  This sermon has been the kick I need stay focused and intentional about the things I need to do to make some of these dreams of mine a reality.  I'm so excited about it all, I could burst!  But I must stay focused... I have big dreams, y'all!  And so should you.  

I can't remember exactly where I've heard this before, but it's something to the effect of: God may plant the seed and direct your path, but you still have to do your part.  As my old pastor, Pastor James Brooks, preached back in 2010 when I first visited his church, He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  Meaning that He is before you and behind you as you walk the various paths of your life and destiny.  He is the author and finisher of your fate.  But you have to walk the road.  In the words of Ted and Sheri, "He starts it, and He finishes it, but you've got to work the middle."  I was trying to find a link to the whole song, but I'm only able to get a snippet (sorry!) here, track 10.  I hope you can get the message though - you have to do your part.  God gives you the dream but you have to do your part to make it a reality.  Well how do I do that?  By being intentionally focused...  Remember, "I can do ALL things through Christ, which strengthens me" - Philippians 4:13.

So who is going to be intentionally focused with me in this season?  Holla @ Darvi and let me know that you're standing with me (put me on your prayer list and when I share my testimony you can add it to your answered prayer list!).  Be blessed and have a wonderful weekend!  xoxoxo