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 

Growing up...

Happy Wednesday,  blog land! I hope everyone has been well. I fully intended to post last week but this lack of electronics or Internet access during the day is more than a notion!  By the time I get home, I don't want to see a computer! Plus, I was tied up every evening last week (go figure)... so please continue to pray for me; I've got a month yet to go on this project! 

I don't think I noted when I last posted that I had been up very late two days that week working on a project with the Tween that I was unaware of for her music class.  I didn't know until the teacher emailed her concerns because she thought it hadn't been worked on.  So we had to rework the project and it cost me two nights of sleep!  I'm pleased to report that my sleeplessness wasn't in vain as the Tween got an A on her music project and her extra credit work was kept as an example by the teacher.  So, as much as I wanted to send her to bed and just finish it for her the first night, I'm glad I took the extra time and let her finish it herself (with direction), even though it took an extra day.  She was very pleased and happy that I made her start over (because of the outstanding final result).  Kudos to the Tween!

The Teen received his first grades from the new school; I am pleased with his progress for the most part (he needs to bring up that Trig grade).  I am very happy that he seems to be adjusting to the new school and new instructors and catching up (they started earlier than his old school did).

This past weekend, I had the opportunity attended the homegoing services of a powerhouse woman who attended the church that I grew up at, Ambassadors For Christ, COGIC, where my grandmother served until she died and my aunt is still serving.  Walking in there was like walking into my past; I spent so much of my life there!  It was like a reunion of sorts, and save for the occasion, it would have been!  I almost expected to see my grandmother walking down the aisle at any minute; that's how powerful the memories were!

The services were in honor of Rochelle White, or "RoRo" as she was affectionately known. I of course knew her when I was a child, but as an adult, I had the opportunity to work with her on the Pastoral Expense Committee.  She was such a hard worker, always full of ideas and easy to work with.  I truly enjoyed working with her and it was one of the things I really missed when I changed my membership.  One of my first memories of Rochelle was when she first started coming to AFC and bringing her two little boys with her, Stanley and Freddie.  At that time, she didn't say too much, just sat in her seat (which continued to be her seat over the years), and corralled her boys (who had loads of energy).  As time wore on and she joined the church, I had the opportunity to watch the boys grow up (they are in my brother's age group and they are friends).  I watched them from toddler/primary years up until Stanley went away to college. When that group of young people were teens, they revamped the young people's choir (in the mid 1990s) and really found their own voice and their own place.  My brother was one of the lead singers and directors, and little Freddie was a director, drummer and was beginning to learn keyboarding.  I supported them like the proud big sister that I was. Then as time wore on, I got married and changed churches, they all began growing up themselves, getting married and having their own children.  So when I saw them all grown up on Saturday, particularly Stanley and Freddie, with their own families, I felt a burst of the pride that their mother must have felt every time she looked at them!  I marvelled that those same two little boys who used to come to church and sit with their mother were now grown up, married and parents to their own little ones who they take to church with them.  And that's not all - little Stanley is now a minister and little Freddie has his own gospel group!  I know Rochelle was proud and I am too!  So kudos to the now grown up White boys; you did your mother and all of your AFC family proud!  May God continue to bless you richly as you continue your mother's legacy of hard work for your church and instilling a solid value system in your own children!

Sunday I made it to second service at... wait for it... Victory Apostolic Church!  Pastor Singleton's sermon was on "Growing Up," which was so fitting given my experience the day before.  I will briefly touch on the things that stuck out in the message to me (The scripture text was Ephesians 4:11-16 for reference).  

• Growing up means living long enough to reach adulthood (in light of recent events in Chicago, we know that adulthood is not promised to all children);
• Grown ups accept responsibility without complaint and take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences thereof;
• Spirituality is a large part of growing up (1 Corinthians 3:1-3; Hebrews 5:12-14);
• Maturity in Christ is about how you submit yourself to God every day;
• He noted the 3 Hebrew boys of the old testament and how they were spiritually mature even though they were only 17 years old (See Daniel 3);
• Being spiritually mature means making decisions for God irrespective of the outcome (which is pleasing to God);
• Pastor Singleton also spoke of defining moments: they display what you are made of - they don't make you (the opposite of what is often stated today) - they are the intersections in life and others lives' are often impacted by your decisions (sometimes years later);
• live with foresight (looking forward to weigh the consequences to make good decisions today) instead of with hindsight (looking back and wishing for do overs);
• EVERYONE has their own "trial by fire;" even Jesus (when he went into the mountains after his baptism and was tempted by the devil) - while you can't control the fire itself, you can control what you do while in it!
• And after the fire, God will take you higher (see what happened to the 3 Hebrew boys in Daniel 3:30)

What  a great sermon!  And, just what I needed as I prepare to embark on some new chapters in my own life that will require even more growing up than I already have done. After church on Sunday, I signed up for Discipleship 101, the first class in Victory's 4-year Discipleship University.  I was all proud of myself; I didn't actually read the brochure until the next day and I found out that the class is 34 weeks.  Come again????  I was almost ready to pull out!  Which brings me to the second thing - I joined the "Journey Sisters" ministry at church (orientation meeting was on Monday night), where we will have accountability partners for support and encouragement as we work towards our personal goals for the next year.  When I went to the first meeting back in September, I was in such a bad place, but felt that it was where I needed to be.  Today, I'm in a much better place (been watching God move in my life as I have become a tad more spiritually mature and learned to yield in obedience), so I was looking forward to the meeting and just sharing more with the women of Victory (I don't really know a lot of people yet).  So I'm excited about my journeys - they will lead to more growing up, I'm sure.  The third thing, well, you're just going to have to wait for that!

So to everyone that is in the midst of your trial by fire, I say to you, just hold on.  I know firsthand that it is completely unbearable at times and you feel like you can't make it or take not one more step because you are just hurting and feel as if you have the weight of the world on your shoulders.  I've been there more times than I can count, especially in the last 2 years!   But I can promise you that He is there with you, every hard step of the way, and He will send people to you to encourage you.  Some days it's like the song from the old Santa Claus is Coming to Town cartoon:  "put one foot in front of the other," (you can hear it here for a bit of nostalgia).  Sometimes all you will be able to focus on is getting through the one day, real talk.  And that's ok.  One day at a time.  Being spiritually grown up puts you in the direct line of fire, but you have to go through the fire to have your testimony. So stay encouraged!

What does growing up mean to you these days??? Holla @ Darvi and share your thoughts. Have a blessed week!