Category Archives: Multitudes on Mondays

Word Power

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Mine was a word weekend, filled with messages from movies, conversations with friends, dreams I got to meditate on long without interruption from alarms, electronic and human. And these words soothed and stretched me, made me contemplate my life, what it is and what I want it to be. Words have the power to do that.

The filling started Friday in a packed theater for the power-packed movie Courageous, the new feature film by the Kendricks brothers. I’ll give more of a review of that on Wednesday, but this film challenged my faith and made me want to make the most use of how I fill space with words. Perhaps with a more raw approach so did Higher Ground, the film based on the memoir by Carolyn Briggs that I saw on Saturday.

Vera Farmiga in Higher Ground, picture from the New York Times

Higher Ground detailed the coming to Christian faith story of Corinne, a woman who meditated on words, created images with them, wrote songs, felt alive and free with them. It was others who tried to control her with words and the Word, the Bible itself. When we don’t know for ourselves the freedom found in the Word, bondage is a guarantee. With the Word at our disposal, we, like Corinne, search for something more, something better and turn out bound and empty, discovering what we had was exactly what we needed. When our faith is true, the Word, Jesus Himself, has penetrated our being and given us all we need. Though I love words, I recognize they have no writing power for good and no effect on me for bad when I am filled with the Word and subject to Him.

My One Thousand Gifts List

#251-260
Sitting in the big chair and feeding Justus a banana
My husband’s diligence in getting the car towed and repaired
Christen’s gratitude for me reading to her and her having more gratitude
Justus’ language explosion
Tabitha calling to ask if we needed her to pick up something for us from Target
The labor cost being the lowest at the mechanic we chose (and this was the mechanic Tabitha told us about unsolicited and the only one we could get in contact with)
Not paying as much as initially anticipated to get the car out of the impound lot
Listening to, advising and praying for a friend in distress
Nicole’s heartfelt note about her view of me as a wife, mother, minister and friend (Proverbs 12:17)
My hubby speaking sweet desires to me

Don’t Go There

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My morning burst forth like a classic night terror movie scene. With crisp precision, my eyes popped opened, scanned the room and wondered why I saw him, felt that way and what I was doing there. We just talked, but nothing about the encounter was holy and I hesitated about leaving, wondered what life would have been like if our paths hadn’t diverged. At that moment I woke up, transported back to reality and left with a memory of what happens when we allow ourselves to “go there.”

We go to our past, pick up the scraps and try to piece them to our present, not recognizing we are jeopardizing our now and future. We are Lot’s wife, knowing we have—even being forced—to leave our old way yet looking longingly back and finding that the look paralyzes us (Genesis 19:26). We are a pillar of salt, a lump, unable to make moral decisions even though God has saved us. He came into our cities of sin, told us where to go and why, but we want to stay. So we become an unusable seasoning, salted by God to create great flavor in the world but our turning keeps us from being sprinkled (Matthew 5:13). Still belonging to God He again steps in to save us, sending us a dream, a friend, a song, a verse, a sermon, anything to warn us to not go there, to come away from there so we don’t wreck our lives.

Whatever place you have a yearning to go that will threaten your life, protect yourself before you turn back. Get an accountability partner, avoid triggers (like listening to certain songs or hanging with certain people) and dwell on the right thoughts, with the right people and in the right places (Philippians 4:8, 1 Corinthians 15:33; Psalm 91). We recovering strong black women need to do these things because so often we think we are strong then we fail (1 Corinthians 10:12). Even if we struggle, we must remember God is faithful and will jolt us back to reality, saving us from needless heartache and helping us maintain our ability to sprinkle the world with our flavor just as He intended (1 Corinthians 10:13).

My One Thousand Gifts List

#241-250
Joshua’s stomach feeling better
A self-inspiring blog
Sharing One Thousand Gifts with Christen and seeing her moved by it
Reading Nichole’s essay and her excitement about writing again
Getting my two books by Priscilla Shirer
Swiftly reconciling with my sister after reacting to an old offense
Feeling free after confessing my fault to my sister
Running with Joshua
Playing Hangman with Joshua
Playing the Matching game with Joshua and Nathaniel as Justus ate an apple and watched us

Cultivating Contentment

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Usually, I murmur and complain about the same things: the children being children; my husband working late; me being a married single mother most days; and me not having enough time to do everything I need or even want to do. I even occasionally employ the joy-killing duo when other stuff doesn’t go my way. Maybe this sounds familiar to you, you too busting into a dissertation about your children’s failures, parenting disparities, unmopped floors and bushy eyebrows. Last week was ripe for murmuring and complaining, but I didn’t pick from that tree. Instead I created a tree of life:

“The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life…” (Proverbs 15:4)

I didn’t consciously create that tree last week, though I had practiced planting for months. I had gotten tired of hearing myself fuss when I already knew what that child was going to do, that my husband’s schedule was our current reality and that I rarely get to do everything I want or need to do. God had shown me that interruptions to my plans are the moments I was supposed to get. I have to take those moments, teach in those moments, grow in grace in those moments, laugh and understand that no one would die in those moments, except my flesh, if I let it. So I had worked hard at having a ready response for my children’s predictable behavior, celebrating my hardworking man, joking about the layers covering dirt on my feet and rejoicing that my hair still grew. Each day when my husband asked me how my day was, “It was good” easily entered my mind and fell off my lips. While last week tired me out, I shared with a friend that I was not weary. And at the end of the week I declared “This was a good week.” I noticed then that I had not once murmured or complained about my situation. I rejoiced that I had learned to be content.

“…for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” Philippians 4:11

This verse came to my mind this morning after God told me to strive for contentment. I had just experienced the greatest feat of discontentment in my life—a whole week without murmuring and complaining, even under the guise of sharing the busyness of my week—and this God commands me. I was perplexed, my party crashed and there was no more celebrating until I examined the verse and noticed the phrase ‘whatever situation.’ I sensed God telling me to prepare for ‘whatever situation,’ any that I had yet to encounter. There would be new situations coming. I had conquered the usual ones, but there would be more to test my contentment. Just because I had learned to be content in certain areas did not mean that I had arrived. No one arrives until they see Jesus face to face. I look forward to that day but until then I have to go from contentment to contentment, continuing to learn to be satisfied with the moments that come my way and knowing I can do so—not in my strong black woman strength but only that which comes from Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 4:13).

My One Thousand Gifts List

#231-240
Christen helping me with the boys on Sunday morning
Christen watching the boys while at her play rehearsal
God keeping us safe on the highway when our car stopped in the left lane
Kyle and Saretha coming back to wait with us on the highway until the police arrived
Kyle and Saretha driving us to Andrina and Floyd’s
A friendly and helpful police officer
A hard working husband
Getting home safely through about seven inches of snow
A warm house
Andrina and Floyd bringing us home

Never Forget

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“Never forget” were the words that stood strong and rang loud this weekend as the world observed the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Most of us will never forget that tragic day when terrorist suicide bombers crashed planes into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon and attempted to fly into another building in Washington, D.C. We remember where we were, what we were doing and how we felt. My husband and I had a late work day so we slept in and were then going out to breakfast. I woke up first and decided to turn on the television, something I rarely do. It was about 10 a.m. There on the TV screen was silence and a view of one of the Twin Towers smoking. A few seconds later I saw a plane crash into the second tower. I hollered Flynn awake to see if he could shake me out of my disbelief. I wanted to believe that I was watching the making of a movie, but upon hearing the panic of the news commentator I knew I was seeing footage of real time attacks. I saw objects ejected from the first tower like they were thrown out. We all eventually learned that was exploding debris and people plunging to their deaths, probably panicked, not knowing how else to escape the impending ruins. We know more than 3,000 lives were lost, thousands more affected directly, and we all were changed from the 9/11 tragedy.

We must never forget the day folks woke up but not to do so again on this side of life. We must never forget that their deaths caused us all to have new lives most evident in the way we travel and interact with folks we think may be terrorists. Folks died but many of us still struggle to live thankful and fear-free lives; we are well aware that another 9/11 could happen and we could be among the casualties.

“Do this in remembrance of me.”—Luke 22:19

Jesus said this, the one who died a cruel, tortuous death so that all humankind might live. “Do this in remembrance of me,” he said so we never forget his being flogged and dogged to death—crucified—so that we might have new life, that we might survive—thrive—never to wallow in death but to rejoice in the new life that He brings. When we die in Christ we wake up to a new life of yes to Him, being our best for and through Him, putting down our angst for and through Him, shutting down the attitude for and through Him. When we say yes to Christ’s death we make it possible for Him to live in us, to forsake our strong black woman ways and stave the part that makes us want to forget that we have died to our old self. And we must never forget death for from it always springs new life, and, sometimes ironically, we are the better for it.

My One Thousand Gifts List

#221-230
Being in pajamas all day
Cuddling with Nate
My husband being able to relax
Joshua and I writing letters to Daniel
Joshua’s thoughtful letter to Daniel
Joshua’s excitement about writing to Daniel (after first hesitating about doing it)
A civil meeting
Hearing a great sermon
Dinner with the Beelers
Andrina and Floyd babysitting

Labor Time

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Happy Labor Day!
This is the day we celebrate workers and their contributions to the economy with parades, picnics, barbecues and doing a bunch of nothing if we choose to. This is the day we rest from our labors, and I’m doing that well! But even as we rest let us not forget that we never rest giving our time to God.

It’s Time to Take Time (AKA Commitment to God)

I give a charge to you
One to drive you toward a coup
A feat to beat the devil
at a game where he’s maimed for years.

He’s slashed our senses
cut our cord connecting us to the master,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

We feel his fire
right here on earth
and seek escape from his flames
but we play the game just how he wants.

Had a rough week at work
So we seek support.
We go to church and hear a word
though we haven’t been in two months
won’t return for two months
because things have been going really well.
We’ve been busy
completing reports and such
not leaving much time for lunch or the Lord.

But then it happens again:
Satan rocks our world
spins us in a twirl
and we remember how we felt two months ago.
So to church we go
to bible study we go
and we keep this flow for a few weeks.
But we’re still weak
can’t seem to keep
God where He needs to be
to provide that relief
that stability we need
to have and live a healthy life.

So I give a charge to you
one to drive you toward a coup
a feat to beat the devil
at a game where he’s maimed for years.

I ask you to tithe to God
10 percent of your time
show Him that you mean “He’s mine.”
Jesus took the time
died on a cruel cross
so I could say “He’s mine.”
So I ask you to make the time
for Jesus.
Let us please Him
show Him that you mean “He’s mine.”
Give 10 percent of your time
to study and pray and praise the Word,
God’s Word.
It’s His Word,
not work
or another word or work
that will help us to be where He wants us to be.

So this is a charge to you,
one to drive you toward a coup.
You will beat the devil at a game where he’s maimed for years
if you commit your time to God.

By Rhonda J. Smith
Copyright March 19, 2001

My One Thousand Gifts List

#211-220
God giving me several angles to write about my dad
Becoming more free in my expression of love to God
Pouring in to Bobbi
Being a “blessing” to Tabitha by “being there” for her
Joshua and Nathaniel being able to play outside
Seeing Nathaniel discover in the outdoors
Eating popcorn
Having family devotions
Joshua finally understanding how to give praise reports
Joshua being excited about keeping a gratitude journal