What Is It?

What Is It? Is it the fact that I am a woman?  Is it because I am black?  Is it because I'm not skinny? Or, is it actually a combination of all these and more?  I just don't get it!  Why do people feel they have the right to just blatantly disrespect you as a person?!?

For instance, this morning I was in line at Starbuck's and this lady walks up with four bags of coffee and lays them down on the counter and almost pushes me out the way.  Now she didn't touch me or anything nor did she speak a word.  In fact, she was so tight lipped that you would have needed a crow bar to open her mouth.  Her demeanor just let me know that she was coming to the counter whether I moved or not.  Her stance was as if she was saying, "I belong here; so move over!"   But I am thinking to myself, "I was at the counter first!  My order has already been placed!  What in the world?!?" 

And no, I didn't place a coffee order.  Otherwise I would have moved to the side of the counter where you are supposed to pick up coffee orders. 

Perhaps this whole encounter wasn't even about me.  Maybe it was more about her than it was about me. But what does this tell us about people and thus, about ourselves?  That is still one for me to ponder because I have to admit, more often then not, when I encounter people of different cultures and/or ethnic backgrounds I often wonder if they a treating me or attempting to treat me in a disrespectful manner because I am a woman, a black woman or a healthy black woman. 

So, what is it?

© Yvette L. Allen-Tatum

Be Ye Imitators of God

^1-2Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. (Ephesians 5 The Message Bible).

I was meditating this morning on this Scripture and I started thinking about how people always want to copy other people.  Many times they copy or desire to copy other people because they want to be like them.  They want something they have which is usually fame/fortune/popularity and the alike.  Often, I have found that many people who think they have made it won't give you (me/us) the time of day.  They want you to get it on your own.  Their attitude speaks, "I started at the bottom and I don't see any reason why you shouldn't have to start at the bottom as well."  What a lousy attitude!  

But remember, I said that these are people who "think they've made it".  This usually is not the case.  When you examine them more closely, they really have not had the measure of success they would like for you to believe and that is one of the very reasons why they cannot afford to let you get but so close.  Moreover, the little success that they have achieved they don't know how they got there so they cannot tell you what they did anyway.  It was all shear luck.  Besides, who wants to follow a person who cannot replicate their own success?!?!

Yet copying someone who has a proven method or a proven practice/tract record is far better than copying the people noted above.  In fact these people are so confident/proud of their accomplishments they have no problem sharing their highs and their lows.  These are the people we want to follow!

The next two points I want to emphasize won't take up much space on the page and that's because I don't think it will take much to convince you that these words are true.  Check your motives.  If our motives are in the right place then we can't go wrong.  Reflect on the Scripture noted above; God's motive was LOVE!!

What motivates you today?  For me, it is seeing God's people achieve success in every area of their lives.  And though I am still working on mine, I have no problem helping you and encouraging you in yours.

Be an imitator of God!  His success record is phenomenal and His life is an open book, The Bible!

Yvette L.Allen-Tatum
A.K.A Jesus Girl

© Yvette L. Allen-Tatum

Jesus Girl

I am finding as I draw closer to Christ I am developing into a Jesus Girl!  I could say Jesus Woman but that sounds so mature, controlled and wound up kind of tight.  In fact, God spoke the word to me "Jesus Girl!"  I believe Jesus Girl is appropriate because of the giddy-childlike love I have for Him.  I don't ever want to outgrow climbing up in His lap or sitting at His feet.  Moreover, I don't want to ever outgrow Him.  I have a yearning and a longing in my heart for Him just like a little girl has for her Father.  I treasure the fact that I need Him and He actually enjoys my dependence upon Him.  It is through my relationship with Him that I find independence from people and that it is sooooo liberating!!

Today in my quiet time He so invitingly invaded my space.  I treasure these times.  I pray that I always posture myself so that He always feels welcome and invited.  You know there are times we attempt to set the atmosphere for Him to come in but for whatever the reason, nothing to do with Him but everything to do with us, He cannot come in and be with us.  I pray today for you and for me that the Lord is always, always welcome into our space (our lives) and that we take full advantage of that opportunity.  When He comes, stay long enough to allow Him to touch you.  Don't get so excited and overwhelmed by His presence that you don't get (receive) what He came for...YOU!  Stay in His presence long enough to allow Him to speak to you, to touch you, to pamper you, to love on you, to spend time with YOU...

Don't you want to be a Jesus Girl with me?  We could actually start a movement!!

Selfish

How many times does a person have to call you selfish before you begin to believe what they are saying about you?  I know, I'm a big girl and a bright girl; I should be smart enough to know that the only things I need to believe about me are what God say about me.  But it's not easy when you hear it all the time; or at least it feels like all the time and you just can't seem to get away from it.


Yet somehow, I'm actually a little more convinced that the problem is with the person and not with me.  Oh don't get me wrong, it does throw me for a loop sometimes, but I am usually able to bounce back and think.  I'll have me a Selah moment.  I ask myself, "What's wrong with you?  What insecurities or imperfections are you dealing with today about you that is causing you to lash out at me?"  


Well, this will be one of those things to ponder and one of those things to grow from because I refuse to let anyone stop me from getting to the place that God would have me to be.  No, I won't run over you, I won't abuse you, I won't lie on you, I won't lie to you, I won't cheat you, etc., but I will drop you like "Hot Fries" before I allow you to bring me down!


Now run and tell dat'!

Wasteful

Let's talk about being wasteful today!  I cannot stand to be wasteful and I definitely don't like it when anyone else is wasteful with my stuff.


This morning my husband was printing some information from the internet.  Well,  let me back up to set the stage.  I woke up this morning to come downstairs to greet my husband before he left for work this morning.  After saying, "Good morning!" I sat down at my computer and turned it on.  A few moments later something started printing at the printer.  He said, "Did you print something?"  I said, "How could I have printed something?  I just sat down to the computer and turned it on.  You must have printed something.  What did you print?"  He said, "Oh, I did print something."  I should have know right then and there that he didn't want me to know that he had printed something.  So, after a few pages I'm like, "What are you printing?"  He said, "I only printed one page."  I said, "Well, it looks like more than one page to me!  Read at the top of the page to see how many page it is going to print."  He said, "Fifteen, I didn't mean to print all of that."  I said, "You need to cancel the print job then.  You always do that; don't know how many pages you're printing and then act surprised when it prints."

He went on to complain that I was selfish and didn't like to share my "toys".  I said, "I am not selfish but I don't like being wasteful!  Besides, you aren't going to replace my print cartridges or the paper.  I'm the one that will have to go running to the store when everything runs out!"  So he left me $20.  I guess he thought I wouldn't take it.

Was I wrong?

Checking In

It's been a while since I've been out here.  I've been really busy but it has been fun and I have been enjoying the ride.  God is truly awesome; to see Him blessing you and blessing others right before your very own eyes is just amazing.  Yet sometimes I wonder should we really be amazed by God.  Hear me out...If we truly believed that God will do what He said He would do then why are we so surprised by what He does for His people?

Well, that's not really what today's blog is about, but I thought I would put that question out there.  Today I want to propose that we each take ourselves on a journey for the remainder of the year 30 days at a time.  Sometimes we plan goals for ourselves and they seem so HUGE and insurmountable; that we give up before we even get started.  Therefore, I am suggesting that we, you and I, make a decision today to make lifestyle changes but to look at them in 30-day blocks (increments).  Also, don't set a definitive end-goal at the end of the 30 days.  Praise God at the end of the 30 days; rejoice and be glad.  If you accomplish that lifestyle change at the end of the 30 days then move on to the next one; if not, then keep going with the current task at hand.  Don't put it down until you have accomplished the task!!

Here's the next part of the challenge:  make these lifestyle changes spiritual in nature.  I know there are numerous things in the natural realm that we want to work on but consider this, "When we clean ourselves up on the inside, the outside can only benefit."  So my first 30 day challenge, remember, the purpose of this entire blog for me is about being transparent, so my first 30 day challenge is to fast from cursing.  Yep, I said it, I curse; and sometimes I get on a roll with it that those who know me by the Spirit would not even recognize me.  I realize now that I need to hate it, cursing, just like every other sin.  Not only that, as a Minister of the Gospel, my language definitely needs to change.  In fact, my brother James has told me in the third chapter of his book, "That blessings and cursings should not come out of the same mouth."

As much as I desire to lose weight and get my body back that is hiding on the inside underneath all these extra layers, I desire more to be clean and fit for the Master's use.  I hope my transparency helps you in some way to examine yourselves.  Remember, as we draw closer to God He will draw closer to us.  And think about it, to be close enough to the Father to feel His hand upon you, for Him to breathe on you, to feel His heartbeat, nothing, nothing will be withheld from you.  Truly, the best is yet to come if we only believe.  I believe!!

Be Careful

In ministry, we often get excited about opportunities to speak or to be a part of something (i.e., conferences and the alike).  We typically, if not you at least I do, take these invitations or view these invitations as an "Oh moment!"  We're like wow, thank you God, somebody actually sees in me what I know you put in me.  We think this is my opportunity - this is my chance.  Little do we know:  (1) it's usually never about us.  Yes, it is true, what God has for us is for us.  But when God uses us (the gift of ministry in us) it's never about us, it's always about someone else.  (2) God is stretching you in that area of ministry.  Now this one is the one that is a BIG pill to swallow.  Why you might ask?  Because stretching means testing!!  Well, that's all I have for now.  Peace and Blessings!!

This is my first day of blogging...really my first attempt at blogging.  I thought this would be a good place, format, way for me to express myself that typically does not work well on Facebook or Twitter.  One of the key reasons is that I really don't want to be limited to the number of characters (or words) I can use.  I want to be able to say what  I want to say and how I want to say it.

I may not have much for you today, right now, because I need to gather my thoughts and determine exactly what I want to express.  I guess the main thing you need to know about me is that I love the Lord and I love God's people.  While I am not a perfect person I do strive for it; yet not in the eyes of man but in the eyes of my Heavenly Father.  You see, I only want to be pleasing in my daddy's eyes.  That's all that really matters to me.  With that said, I already know the next thing that will happen - the flood gates will open  and all eyes will be on me waiting to see what I will do next.  Really, waiting to see how, when and if I fall so that they can say, "SEE!"  Well, in the words of Steve Harvey, my comment to the nay-sayers in advance is, "Don't Trip!  He Ain't Through With Me Yet!!"  That's it and that's all for now.  I think I like this.  I just may come back.