Category Archives: What Do You Think? Wednesday

Obligation to Serve

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What Do You Think? Wednesday

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”—James 1:27

In this verse we see three special obligations for Christians: to care for in their affliction orphans and widows, two of the most vulnerable groups there are, and to not allow the world to negatively affect us. When we continue to see what special obligations the Bible details for the Christian, we see just how other-centered, based on being Christ-centered, we should be. This leaves no room for the strong black woman with all her self-prescribed notions. Help me develop this list of special obligations so we are armed with biblical notions of what we should commit our time, talent and treasure to.

So far we have obligations to 1) brothers and sisters in Christ; 2) the Bible; 3) orphans; 4) widows; and 5) righteous living. Won’t you add to the list? Please, tell me what special obligations you think the Christian has.

Obligation to the Bible

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What Do You Think? Wednesday
We have lists, if not on paper, in our heads and driven by our hearts; we (recovering) strong black women know what we want to do and how to do it. We don’t need anyone dictating and orchestrating for us. We often have our minds made up and these made up minds may lead us far from where we should be IF we haven’t governed our lives according to the Word of God. And we need to live according to the Word of God.

Today I am thankful for the Bible, the book that gives me parameters for living, a daily guidebook created so I can listen to God, walk in His way and stay in my lane, the one He chose for me even before He created the earth. I find it liberating not to have to develop a blueprint for my life, then on my own have to seek out the contents to build my life and manage them to maintain my life. The blueprint, the contents and their management are all found in God’s Word and cemented with a relationship then constant fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. The main obligation for the believer in Christ—whatever her challenges may be—is to follow the Bible. This is the great starting point. If we start elsewhere, we are guaranteed a faulty finish.

For the next few weeks I plan to continue discussing some of the special obligations I believe the Bible clearly states that the believer in Christ has. Won’t you please join me in that discussion starting today? What do you think are the special obligations that the Christian has? On this Thanksgiving eve, what do you think Christians should be thankful for?

Special Obligations

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What Do You Think? Wednesday

With my mom being admitted to the hospital, me having an emergency root canal, Joshua breaking a bathroom sink off the wall and my book deal contract negotiations coming to an abrupt end, Monday had enough challenges for an entire year. Have you had a day like that? Well, challenging as it was and has been since, I praise God for His word and my brothers and sisters in Christ who have rallied by my side. These friends have called, texted, visited and babysat, checking on my mom and allowing me to see about my mom. They have put in the forefront of my mind another example of the “special obligations” that we as Christians have to our faith.

I use the term special obligations because this phrase stood out to me in a recent article about the Christian presence at the “Occupy” protests. The Christians interviewed said they had “special obligations” as Christians but didn’t feel a need to mention Jesus or evangelize as they participated in the movement. This got me thinking: What are our special obligations as Christians, particularly those of us who are seeking to shed our strong black woman ways and have chosen to privilege Christianity over personal strength, blackness and womanhood and any other worldly moniker that we have held dear? Please read the article and make sure to tell me what you think.

Homeschool Attack

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What Do You Think? Wednesday



I’m 42. I’ve been saved 16 years, sold out for Jesus for 14, married for 13, and a mother for nine, and even with such experience I welcome advice, even that which is unsolicited. I know I don’t know everything and there are plenty of people older than I am who have been walking with Jesus, married and mothers longer and I know they simply know some things that perhaps I don’t. But let me tell you, I have had a hard time lately wanting to be gracious (though I have) to the people who balk at my husband’s and my decision to home educate our oldest son. These people have never home educated their children and have offered why homeschooling is bad for my child, including poor socialization, asked when I was going to put him in school and suggested I enroll him in good schools that they know of. Their unsolicited advice suggests the following that appall me:

1. World socialization is better than biblical socialization
2. My son would be happier at school than at home
3. That the ultimate goal of home education is institutional education
4. That any school outside of a home school is a better choice for my family
5. That any school outside of a home school will help my son reach his goals, no matter what they are
6. That they know my son better than my husband and I do
7. That they know what’s best for our family structure
8. That my husband and I were whimsical with our decision to home educate
9. That my husband and I didn’t hear from God
10. That, even with us not being in a crisis and them not having asked any questions for clarification, other humans know better for us than we do for ourselves; that humans know better than God

These implications, and many more, appall me because, quite frankly, I feel attacked. I recently read the tweet “There has to be a safe place for girls” in a brutal world that devalues their bodies and men do with them what they want. I say there has to be a safe place for all of us to be safe AND for those of us who are counterculture but not living in sin. There should be a safe place for us to make the Spirit-led decisions we need for the health and growth of our families. But, according to Scripture, this will not be the case. We will be persecuted for righteousness sake (Matthew 5:10; John 15:20). That’s it. I should expect nothing less. There is no ongoing Kumbaya experience for the Christian choosing to live a biblical Christian life, whether you home educate or not. You will be persecuted for whatever you do for righteousness’ sake. The question is “Are we going to reclaim our strong black woman ways to challenge those who challenge us or are we going to accept the attack and respond to educate not to annihilate?” Tell me your thoughts. What do you do when people attack you and your Spirit-led decisions?

Bound for Glory: Book and Contest

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What Do You Think? Wednesday

A few weeks ago I told you about the amazing writer Patricia Raybon, whose new book the One Year® daily devotional God’s Great Blessings is now available. In that post I mentioned that she is a contributor to the book Bound for Glory: Celebrating the Gift of African American Spirituals through Expressive Calligraphy, which is now available in stores everywhere. It’s a gorgeous book of penetrating imagery and words that give another layer of creative texture to these meaningful songs. Listen to Raybon’s interview with the book’s author, Timothy Botts, and let me know what you think.

Would you like to win a copy of Bound for Glory? Three winners will be selected on November 7, 2011. Simply fill out the entry form here.

Also, just for conversation here, what is your favorite spiritual and why?