Author Archives: Rhonda J. Smith

Vision for Revival

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My best friend Renee & Me at the EACH Prayer Walk

Sometimes the eyes get blurry, a little weary even, trying to see up ahead to get to the place God is leading us. We let this happen, with what we do and don’t do, and sometimes others cause this to happen, with the junk they do; we focus on them and get our eyes twisted and they blur and weary and we struggle to see. This happened to me this weekend at one of the greatest events of my life: The EACH (Everyone A Chance to Hear) Prayer Walk, a gathering of more than 20,000 Christians to pray for revival in Detroit and its surrounding region. Together were black and white, young and old, suburban and urban, tearing down divisive walls of race and space to be unified in Christ, recognizing He is the only one who can breathe life into our dead spaces. And it was amazing to see so many brothers and sisters singing and praising God for who He is and for bringing us into unchartered territory. He even vigorously cleared the clouds across the grey sky to show us a blue sunny heaven, evidenced to us that He was with us.

We got happy.

So some of us walked and talked, and walked and joked, and walked and ate, and walked and sang or prayed really, really loudly. I understand why this happened: We were excited, overjoyed, to be a part of history, of something so magnanimous, so impactful, so powerful, something that has never happened with Christians in this region. We got distracted by newness and eagerness to begin our journey down the famed Woodward Avenue. Some of us probably started walking before completely hearing the instructions on how to pray. The time was also like a family reunion, with all sorts of cousins over the generations and experiences and levels of Christian maturity. With this family mix, missed instructions and magnitude of the moment, it was natural that some fellowship, food, fun and even fame could slip into the movement.

Fellowship
This is a hallmark of the Christian faith, but when we focus on talking to each other, especially when it’s not about Jesus when we have a work to do, then fellowship can get us off focus (Acts 2:41-42). I worked hard to ignore non-prayerful greetings.

Food
There was a group that provides food for the homeless every weekend along our walk route. Some of the walkers left the Prayer Walk to get snacks and eat them as they walked (John 4:34).

Fun
Cracking jokes always seem to lighten uncomfortable moments, like walking among folks you don’t know and who may pray and worship God in very different ways. This may have been the case with the ones I heard.

Fame
The Scriptures clearly tell us to make a joyful noise to the Lord and it also says to make music in our hearts (Psalm 98:4; Ephesians 5:19). Both are okay. So as my husband led my children, another sister who approached us, and me in a quiet heart prayer, a group of praying folks shouted praise to God right into my ear, not once as if they just happened to get happy right next to me but three times as if they were trying to prompt us to get louder, to be heard. As you probably guessed, I opened my eyes to grimace these distracters. I grieved, knowing that I as much as some others had grieved the Holy Spirit.

So today I’m thankful for such a mighty move of God with the EACH Prayer Walk, an unmatched effort filled with love, unity and glorifying Jesus Christ. I’m also thankful He showed me how even seemingly good intentions can distract us from the good He intends for us. As God seeks to revive our hearts to ripen us to revive our nations, let us be mindful of the fellowship, food, fun and fame along our routes that can easily rock us off course.

What are some things that have distracted you from revival?

My One Thousand Gifts list:

#11-20
My cell phone
My iPad
The book “Faithful”
The book “One Thousand Gifts”
My husband giving me vitamins
My husband giving me almonds
My husband washing clothes
A deep freezer full of food
House shoes
Watching my 1 year old eat fresh apple pieces

Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith

Friday Feature: Help for Hurting Skin

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The other day I gave some nods and a big laugh to Vanity Panic, a post by one of my favorite bloggers, Kim Cash Tate. The vanity issue was wanting beautiful skin and, of course, Kim had to mention her hair woe. What’s a discussion about vanity if it doesn’t include hair, right? Most of us who made comments agreed that we were dealing with vanity, but we all wanted to know what the healthy balance is between lack of care and vanity. I think we need to remember that we live in a fallen world and that some things just won’t be flawless all the time. Keeping this in mind can help us not to fret over a zit and get depressed from our hair. Like anything else we care about, we have to put some diligence toward having healthy skin and hair, but obsession is idolatry.

As we work toward good health, I hope we work to heal, instead of just mask, our issues. So today I’m sharing some natural methods I use that may get to the root of your problems skin, whether you have acne, dark circles under your eyes, or oily, dry or ashen skin.

Reasons The cause of skin issues can be external or internal or both. We must be careful of what we put on and in our bodies. Watch out for bacteria that come from dirt or other pollutants, makeup and creams that can clog your pores, and processed, fried and fatty foods. As I wrote in my earlier posts, stress and dehydration can also cause skin problems. Food allergies and hormone imbalances can be factors, too.

Remedies

Know your body. Observe what triggers your skin problems. Get tested for food and allergies. You can also keep a food diary to note how your skin reacts when you eat certain foods. Don’t just do this with new foods. Include the ones you’ve always eaten because you may have never contributed a skin problem to one of your favorite foods. Once you discover your causes you can make a change.

Detoxify your body. You should make sure to cleanse your body at various intervals throughout the year—a major cleanse annually, a less stringent one quarterly, a milder one monthly, and even one weekly. You can do a juice fast, the Master Cleanse, dieter’s tea, all fruits and vegetables, whatever you believe works best for your body. We overwork our kidneys and liver, our detoxification organs, with many harsh foods we eat and they sometimes fail to flush the toxins out our bodies. A detoxification helps to flush out the lingering toxins that are seeping through our skin. As always, drink plenty of purified water to help the detoxification process and moisturize your skin.

Pamper your body. Once you get the junk out, put some good stuff on and in. I eat plenty of onions, garlic, and yellow-orange fruits and vegetables and green ones too, which are all high in antioxidants and some in beta-carotene, which clean and clear the skin. I drink dandelion root, burdock root and chamomile teas to dispel toxins from, nourish and soothe my inflamed skin. I sometimes use Witch Hazel (with low percentage or no alcohol) as an astringent, which refreshes and helps removes traces of oil and dirt.

I could say more, but I know this is a good start. I look forward to hearing how you’re doing on your healthy skin journey the natural way.

Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith

Demon Drivers

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What Do You Think? Wednesday

He must have been running, desperate to get a monkey off his back so he attacked the pedal and jerked the wheel, darting from lane to lane and came right toward us. “Jesus!” I screamed as I slammed on my brakes and my babies asked what happened. I couldn’t believe they didn’t see the demon driver or witness God’s saving power so I told them: “At the name of Jesus, God stopped the accident that only He could have stopped. There was a car on the other side of the driver and on my other side. Neither of us had anywhere to go. I just stopped and called on Jesus. He saved us.” You know this went into my gratitude journal, #640.

So on this What Do You Think? Wednesday, where are you moving in life that may cause you to collide with people around you? Have you decided to just stop and call on Jesus, realizing the collision is inevitable and you have nowhere else to go? Tell me about the demon drivers in your life and how you have witnessed God’s saving power. Thinking in this way is surely to get us adding to our gratitude.

Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith

Complain No More

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The life of gratitude is not easily lived. Filled with complaints of what didn’t happen and what we don’t have, our lives can easily get lost in a what-if world, one that didn’t happen and may never occur. For too long, as a recovering strong black woman, the what-if world is where I lived and no modern-day destroyer kept me from complaining. I just wanted what I wanted and in pursuit of it would moan about not yet having it.

What about the here and now? What about what we already have? Are we thankful for that, satisfied for now with that? I’m working being consistently thankful and satisfied. I have left the what-if world, only visiting and doing so less and less. I’m on the gratitude road, traveling to the place where my lips always sing God’s praises no matter what the circumstances. This is a place I am enjoying getting to and very much different from the anxiety-ridden road of complaint.

Two and a half months ago I took Ann Voskamp’s challenge to begin a gratitude journal, daily writing down up to 1,000 as they occur the gifts God places before me: the smell of flowers, my children’s laughter, a hard day that came to an end, anything that reminds me that God is ever-present, ever-powerful, ever-giving; He is faithful and I can be grateful just because of that. Today begins my official declaration of joining Ann on her challenge and journey. Monday now on my blog until whenever God changes the direction will be Multitudes on Mondays, the day I share items from my gratitude journal. As I share I hope you are prompted to thank God for your blessings, to do so right where you are, and maybe even begin a journal of your own. Join me in living a joyous life, one that only comes from giving thanks.

#1-10
a good night’s rest
food for Joshua’s lunch
warm clothes to dress Joshua for school
snuggling with Nate
reading two books with Nate
praying for an old friend
quiet in the morning house
a take-care of business husband
fresh fruit in the winter
warm pajamas

Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith

Amelia’s Love

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What Do You Think? Wednesday

In sixth grade Amelia sat, mostly alone, mostly sad-eyed, until I said something to her. She perked up a bit and must have liked what I said, being the next one the next day to seek to foster our friendship.

“I got this joint that we could smoke together and I can bring us one every day.”

“Amelia, you don’t have to do that. I want to be your friend and you don’t have to give me anything.”

She insisted a bit. I insisted a bit more. And this girl—with the wavy hair, light chocolate skin and brick house body who was trying to be a strong black woman, put the joint her mama’s boyfriend gave her back in her pocket, sat back and smiled. And I could hear her smile when we talked on the phone every night and see her eyes dance in the classroom and the lunchroom the weeks she was at my school. She didn’t stay until the end of the school year, but our time together has stayed with me and I hope with Amelia.

I want to be like my 12-year-old self, providing comfort, not condemnation, to those seeking acceptance and esteem and not knowing where and how to get it. But I have them both to give, through the person of Jesus Christ. You got Jesus? Are you sharing Him? How are you going to show your Amelias comfort so they connect with the love of Jesus? Watch below to help you decide how you will show someone some comfort: