Boston

Questions.  I'm sure that there are so many questions this morning. Non-believers are asking if there is a God, how can He let this happen. Those straddling the fence are asking if they should stay in the world or continue to push through to the Kingdom.  And even Believers are asking, yet asking for faith & strength & comfort. However, those that do believe know these things:
1. God gives us free will yet He is still in control. He allows us to make choices and He responds to those choices. Ultimately, His will prevails.
2. ALL things, all things work together for the good of those that love the Lord. 
3. We live in society where we don't want God ANYWHERE, out of the workplace, out of schools, out of politics, out of media & television...and then in the face of tragedy, we ask WHERE'S God?             
4. While it may not be seen in our life time, while it may not be seen by the masses but only by individual persons or families, know this: GOD WILL MOVE! In His time, in His way, HE WILL MOVE!
I encourage you, to continue to pray for the city of Boston, every person impacted by this awful crime.  Pray for leadership on every level, from local to our POTUS, that righteous decisions are made & swift justice prevails.  But also, look for the smallest blessings, the tiniest of miracles and then inspired to be a blessing or make way for a miracle.  God blesses people through people.  For the evil in this world cannot succeed if we choose to focus on the good.  Tragedy can tear down or tighten bonds.  The choice is ours. 
Heavenly Father, I pray for you to move...in the hearts of those impacted, in the hearts of those who lost have lost loved ones, in the hearts of leadership, and in the hearts of everyone reading this.  Heal the wounded. Take the lost into your arms eternally.  And for those committed this awful deed, have your way, Lord. Bring them to justice, earthy justice & spiritual justice. You are the author & finisher...

Online Dating: Scene 1...Action

Good Morning Blessings!!! I hope that as you're reading this you have awaken to a day full of adventure and opportunity! Whew, I haven't written in a long time. Well, I am doing some research for the show on online dating. I am only about a week or so in and I'm feeling like I am going to burst if I don't get these initial thoughts out. Now, let me preface this by saying that I never thought of online dating as a means to the end I would be looking for anyway. However, I have heard some horror stories and some fairy tales so I decided to investigate... So, I signed up for Black People Meet. Much to my dismay, I could create a profile for free but had to pay if I wanted to actually communicate. And as I'm perusing various profiles, I'm thinking "These are the folks I meet on the streets everyday and you want me to pay for this?" So you already know after this first 30 days, my profile will be SHUT DOWN! But I digress. I tried to put a picture up that was somewhat vague and the first three photos I uploaded were denied. Interesting. My profile reads that I am interested in men, ages 35-45, athletic build and that I am looking for friends and serious relationships. But apparently, no one actually pays attention to that. We'll talk about that in further detail on another post. I wake this morning to about 35 emails from BlackPeopleMeet.com; alerts messages, flirts and views. So, after getting my little off to school and discovering how to disable email alerts, I decide to log on. One of the first messages I see is someone wanting to have a conversation, like right at that very moment? At 7am? Really? Uh, no. You have a little to much time on your hands. As I continue to look around, something hits me like a ton of bricks; that the common "I want everything to be easy for me" mentality is everywhere, even online dating. Everything is set up so folks don't even really have to put in work. Here's what I mean. On BlackPeopleMeet.com you can send a "Flirt" to someone. These are generic messages, like a quick-text on your phone that says "I'm driving", that someone can send you. But, they say things like, "You deserve flirt" or "Great Pic, Feel free to send a message". And I'm already seeing that this MAY BE an indication of the type of effort this person would or wouldn't put into courting me, let alone into a relationship. Now, you may feel like that is a little to deep of a thought, but is it really? Signs are always there, we just tend to ignore them. But later on down the line after all the "stuff" hits the fan, you'll be wondering how in the heck you missed the signs. But again, I digress. Needless to say, I will not be answering any "Flirts". You can put in a little more work than that, geesh! Now, let's talk about the usernames. ChocalataDice31 (and no I didn't make it up, yes he spelled it wrong), Blackuluscious, Ccocoisohsofine (says who?) Really????? I thought I said I was interested in MEN; grown men. Not boys with big, overgrown egos. Moving right along, your profile says you're looking for a serious relationship but your name has "The Slayer" in it. Uh, slayer of what? Hmmm, a dichotomy of sorts I would say. So in my curiosity, I sent a message and asked what the name meant. The response was "just a name." I beg to differ. There is always a motive, meaning or sentiment behind a name that your give to anyone or: anything from your children to yourself. Sigh...I find it very difficult to understand how any woman could even get past the profiles. Hey, but that's just me. Too each his or her own, right... Until next time, be blessed and be a blessing, Much Love, GodsGrownGirl

Pray Without Ceasing

1Thessalonians 5:17 says "pray without ceasing". Many of us struggle with setting aside time for prayer & devotion leaving us only to "reactive prayer" when we need God to move on our behalf sooner than later. You want to grow to pray ahead of the circumstance, to be a prayer warrior. Yet you can start small.  That same scripture in the message version reads (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) "Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live."  God also wants our first fruits so start by giving Him the first 5 mins of every hour you are awake; as your feet hit the floor in the morning, on your walk to the subway, or to lunch at noon, in the restroom on a break. Just talk to Him, read a devotion or scripture, utter praise.  If you awake at 5am and go to bed at 10pm, you will have given the Lord 90 minutes of prayer and devotion that you otherwise wouldn't have thought was possible.  God will take that habit and mold it into structuring your day around Him instead of trying to structure Him around your day.  The outcome will be amazing! Be blessed! #growngirlsrules #sistersrealtalk