Build

I like how God illuminates something that I did not see before.  For the longest of time, I thought I was given a crummy life.  When you think about it, it was not pretty.  It wasn't God's fault.  African-Americans can foster the acceptance of an unhealthy family system that has a lot of man made ills in it.  I can say that my family was vulnerable way before "Life" hit it.  It began with having children far too young to parents who were not committed to each other.  When they did commit, the union was plagued with infidelity and drug abuse.  Because the money of two had now become one, we were plunged into poverty.  My mother married a man who brought to the cesspool of our lives his own addictions.  Now that our lives had been thoroughly messed up, my mother dies.  The natural ails of a home happen.  My mother was sick.  I became a teenager.  Kids had to get through school.  College had to be applied for.  Christmas came.  I needed glasses.  Someone broke their leg.  Life happened in the midst of  the horrible life that man made happen.  I see now, that my life was not made bad.  It was vulnerable before the storm hit.  Now, that I understand that the house was weak from the beginning.  I don't mind that it was blown away in the wind.  All we can do now is build.


We build by Nicole Nordman
http://youtu.be/N9vSoefIrR4

And the Horse You Rode In On

Sometimes, you can be attacked by one person.  Other times, you are attacked by a system.  Every bully has his or her sidekicks.  Bullies don't come without their own self-made "Amen" corner.  When the Bully attacks, the sidekicks egg him on to do hideous things he would not do on his own.  The children of Israel were not just being pursued by Pharoe, but they were being pursued by Pharoe and his entire army.  Can you imagine that?  Now, God gets involved.  He drowned Pharoe, his sidekicks, down to his horse.  When God delivers you from an abusive system, everybody gets whooped.  Even the tool you use to be abusive gets chastised.  God is complete in his judgements.  He is not like man.  God delivers you from the very source of your troubles, down to their sandals.  When the Israelites reached the shore, Miriam sang, "Horse and Rider have drowned in the sea".  Step back and let God handle it.  He can do much more than your simple tongue lashing can do.  He can do more than your few words can handle.  He can deal with your bully and the ...................................horse he rode in on.

Praise is intoxicating.

Praise is intoxicating.  You have to be careful with praise because it can run you into walls, throw you off cliffs and leave you in the quick sand with a smile on your face.  Praise can be inappropriate and at times, dysfunctional.  You can see it in the eyes of faithful fans.  They float in on cloud nine and live in a fantasy world.  They praise their idol more than they acknowledge their own family.  No one is rated higher and even God has to take a back seat.  You have to understand that praise is passable.  You take it and pass it own to God.  He is the only one who can really handle it.  He truly is the only one who deserves it.  For most people, Praise makes them think that they are right, and that may not be true.  Praise can be given you because it makes you softer and easier to deal with.  Real Praisers know that if they praise you for walking on the tightrope, you'll do it.  You'll only notice that they are laughing when your on your way down.

Done

I fail to realize how one can move on in life without being done with a portion of it.  People don't like it when your done.  They want to sing you that same song with the hopes that you will sing along like it 's all fine and dandy.  People don't like it when you are done.  They want to keep you in a cage or on a leash so that they can pull you out for their own entertainment.  The word, "Done" is one of my favorite words because, it denotes the finality of my involvement with you.  It says to me, that I love myself enough to keep myself from being hurt by you.  It tells me that I won't end up being abused and misused by people who have no other means of survival than your imprisonment.  Sometimes, you have to just get done.  Well, .....................I'm done.