Is Laziness Still In Your Dream?

I was originally going to write a quote about this on my Facebook wall, but a friend probed me to write a blog about this. So many times, I see people who have dreams and have told me their dreams; but one the biggest things I see is the root of laziness. So, I ask you today, is that still in your dream?
I know you have passions and talents, but are you willing to get out of bed and work towards that dream in your heart? There's a biblical saying that goes: the soul of the sluggard desires but gets nothing; while the soul of the diligent shall be made fat (another translation is simply this: lazy people want much but get little, while the diligent are prospering). So many times, people get mad when others are prospering and they're not. I repeat my question: is laziness still in your dream.


A good acid test to see if you're downright lazy. If your alarm clock goes off, and you stay in bed for another 30 minutes to an hour (95% of the time), more & likely, laziness is part of your dream. If you plan to be somewhere at a specific time and 95% of the time you're late (and even those who wait till the last minute to do something 95% of the time), more & likely, laziness is part of your dream.


I'm willing to bet that most millionaires had a dream and/or an idea and decided to pursue it no matter the cost. Laziness was not in their vocabulary. I believe faith, perseverance, and persistence was in their vocabulary. Will you today, pursue your dream and pluck the root of laziness out of your dream and burn it so it won't keep you defeated and bitter? Will you today, have faith in the God who sees all and knows all, be persistent and persevere at all cost. Will you today declare that desire is not enough for your life. Once you get that desire, back it up with a decision, determination & discipline (most people stop at the latter), and on a daily basis, we have to keep laziness from creeping into our dreams.

How Can You Say You Love Me?

I decided to post this (even though I originally typed this May 2004 as an e-mail lesson)  because I was reflecting on my Middle School/High School life (and this lesson came to mind).  It's my prayer that this sets you free from whatever you're going through in your life or even your past. This phrase, "how can you say you love me?" isn't a new quote, in fact, it's found in Scripture (Judges 16 to be exact), but I'll address that in a moment.

I don't know if you're familiar with the story of Samson & Delilah (but I'm going to briefly recap it). Samson was a man of God and Delilah was from Sorek Valley. The Philistine kings wanted Delilah to find out what makes him strong so they can overpower him, tie him up & make him helpless (for 1,100 pieces of silver). 

Samson lied three times when Delilah asked what makes him strong, and then she says, "you're making a fool out of me."
You see, if Samson was smart, he should've smelled a rat if her only objective was to make him helpless. I'm sure for a man, if he really loves a woman he would fall into her power. Sisters, you have a lot of power (that's why they say, behind every successful man is a good woman). And I'm also sure that it works on the reverse side too. One more point, are you noticing that Delilah had only one objective for Samson (and that was to give up something that was very valuable)? What comes to mind as you relate this to everyday life? 

In the 15th verse of Judges 16, Delilah says, "How can you say you love me, when you don't mean it? You've made a fool of me three times, and you still haven't told me what makes you so strong."

She nagged and nagged, and eventually gave it. Now, how many of you were in middle school or high school (or maybe even your first 2 years in college) in the late 80s/early 90s?  This is really dedicated to you because I know you can testify to this: think back on your relationships (and it was predominantly the man pressuring the woman - your words say you love me, but your actions dictate otherwise - when they want something valuable from a woman). TV shows back then were also dealing with this topic. I see The Cosby Show plainly (when Sly was pressuring Pam to give in - or he would go to Sheniqua). Now I'm sure that many women can testify to this: when they've given themselves truly to the man they love, they ended up with their feelings hurt and the devil has overpowered them (and his demons are rejoicing). Just like the Lord stopped helping him, we lose the protection of God when we slip (no matter what the sin is). Stay put, there's a happy ending.

After the Philistines make a mockery of Samson, the Lord forgave him and granted Samson's request to die at their hands (and he would kill more of Philistines than he did in his lifetime).

No matter how far you may have gone, and no matter how many times the devil is trying to knock you off of your path, remember this one thing: the Lord will never leave you if you return to Him, forgiveness will always be there if you ask for it and confess your sin before Him. He is faithful and just to forgive you. Remember this: the devil's future is sealed, but you can decide where you go. 

Why Bad Things Happen To Good People?

The inspiration for this title came from a blog post last Sunday (entitled Live To Tell Your Story) written by Shantae Charles (her blog is http://legsclosedmindopen.blogspot.com/).  This is a question many people ask (and it’s a question used as a justification to blame God or turn away from Him), and I’ve thought of this many times when it seems like the wrongdoers are rewarded (so it seems). A rapper named R-Swift did a thought-provoking song entitled American Soil, where the gist of the song is saying that we’re blaming the youth for the things that are wrong, but in reality, they got it from past generations. Another focus of the song is that we want to live how we want to live (apart from God), much like the children of Israel, until somebody spills blood on our country.

I have to agree, if we were to spiritually look at this, it starts all the way back to Cain & Abel. Abel was a righteous man, but Cain killed him. But if you really get down to it, there’s no good in us. Sure, we may do good things, but not all the time. The reason is simply because the heart is deceitful and prone to wander away from doing what’s right. I’ll use myself. I don’t good things all the time, and I’ve even done things to harm those who never did me any harm.

Now, let’s remove the spiritual aspect for a moment. Some people may ask why the school shootings? Why the bombings? Why the wars? And why (out of all things) does God allow this to happen? I believe He’s trying to get our attention, but we’re constantly telling Him to back off, leave us alone. This has been going on for generations (much like the children of Israel). We want to pray when a tragedy happens and then want revenge. But no one wants to take a look at the wrongs we’ve done to innocent people.

This is not intended to bash anyone, but it’s something for us to think about. Look at Christ (and He is the perfect example of someone who didn’t do bad things to people – though some might try to think differently). God allow Him to die because He would be glorified in the end. So in summary, why do bad things happen to good people? Because we live in an imperfect world (all the more reason to look to God for His mercy & grace).

What The World Needs Now

I was trying to decide what to write for this blog, but I was watching a DVD and this title came to mind.  After thinking about the title, I thought this would be great to write about. Some of you might remember this classic song, “What The World Needs Now Is Love.” If the truth be told, this is exactly what’s needed right now. The way this world is going, it’s causing a lot of people to show their true colors, and become downright selfish. While in this selfish state, we still want to fulfill our dreams, and get rich without thinking about the next man who also has a God-given purpose. We even OK personality discrimination by loving only our friends, or simply saying things like this: “we’re sinful people, and that’s going to happen (in short, get over it).”A lot of principles we’ve learned during our childhood have been sold out for the love of money and self. 

I still believe in what I’ve learned about love. C.S. Lewis talks about four loves which I won’t belabor in this lesson.  Many of you know me and that I would give up my life for you as well as do anything for you without wanting anything in return. I’m not saying this to brag, but this is what real love is. Anyway, I still believe when you love someone without expecting anything in return, you want people to succeed around you, you will encourage other people (and even assist) in implementing their idea, start a business, or whatever they’re purposed to do – and there are no strings attached (a perfect example of a string attached is “what’s in it for me?”). One well known motivational speaker said it best, “To get what you want, help enough other people get what they want first.” I’ve seen it so true in my own life.

I take this time to thank those who’ve mentored me and assisted me in fulfilling my purpose. Whoever you are, I want to assist in fulfilling your purpose. I would even to take that a step further and say this; my greatest blessing from God is meeting all of you and God allowing us to cross-paths. You all have imparted something into my life and I love you greatly.

Disney Fairytales

This is for the benefit of those who don't have Facebook or have not read this on my notes page. I asked "what's your favorite Disney fairytale" and I also ask you the same question. Mine happens to be Cinderella.
This really is a lesson I sent on December 15, 2006 via e-mail.

While sitting at work this morning, the Disney story of Cinderella came to mind. This might be for you or somebody you know (if it's for somebody you know, pass it to them). Thinking back to my elementary school days, my uncle (who was only 2 years older than me) had a Disney children's book collection that I loved to read when I would visit him & my grandmother (which Cinderella was one of them - yes, I was an avid reader). Some of you might actually remember this (the cover was pink). Now that we're older, we might think it's a woman's story, but anyway, some of us might feel like Cinderella. Allow me a moment to explain.

In the beginning of the story, Cinderella is living with a stepmother and two stepsisters. They mistreated Cinderella. Now, when it came time for the ball (which Cinderella wanted to go to), they told her no and she had to clean up the house. The mice made Cinderella a dress from the stepfamily's unwanted jewelry and fabric. Cinderella loved it, but when the stepfamily saw it, they ripped it to shreds.

A moment to pause: Now how many of us have been mistreated (whether it's your place of employment, or you're the outcast of your own family, whatever the situation). I could imagine that if this were a real story, that God had His hand on Cinderella (and had something better for her even though she didn't understand), because she endured hardships just for being her.

Anyway, a fairy godmother came to Cinderella and rearranged her wardrobe for her to go to the ball (where the prince would be).

A moment to pause: this makes me think back to when an angel appeared to Mary when he said to her, you have found favor. Cinderella got a dress that was better than the first one. Now that's God's favor!

At the ball, the stepmother, stepsisters and Cinderella were there and at the stroke of midnight, Cinderella runs out leaving her glass slipper behind. The prince seeks to find out who that slipper belongs to. He tried it on the stepmother, he tries it on the two stepsisters, but it doesn't fit them. So, they reluctantly try it on Cinderella, but it fits. As a result, the prince and Cinderella live happily ever after.

A moment to pause: As you can see, those who will be first will be last and those who will be last will be first. So, to encourage you my brother, my sister; Don't grow weary in doing good (despite how people will treat you), for in due season you will reap if you don't faint (remind me of this periodically). The Prince of Peace is watching over your life, just be faithful to His Word and to what He's called you to do.

I pray that all you have a prosperous 2011. God has truly been good to us despite our shortcomings, but He is faithful to forgive us, so let's launch from where we are sitting right now, and press for His high calling.

Listen To Me

I was asked by my editor & fellow author Shantae Charles to write a poem about the effects of an incident that occured at her school. This would be the poem I'd write the following night (which was a Thursday) and I shared it at her school on Friday. To say the least, her students, Shantae & I had a thought-provoking discussion after I read the entire poem. I'd like to dedicate this blog post to the ladies (especially those who are mothers and those who are soon-to-be a mother). Whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, I'd like to know what's the first thing that comes to mind as you read these lines. This is an excerpt of the poem (from my book Take It From Her).

I know you can't see me, but I need your attention
You can't hear me, and there's something else I need to mention
I'm the life growing inside of you, therefore listen to me
If you don't care about me, then live as if you are carefree.

Listen to me, I have a heartbeat
Listen to me, I have hands and feet
Listen to me, I am heaven's gift to you and the world
Listen to me because I am your baby girl.

My Forgive Me List

This list (near the bottom) is an excerpt from my first book (Take It From Me). I'm typing this because I'm hearing & seeing comments from people (women specifically) that ALL men have evil plans for women, as well as men always hope for something more in a woman - meaning, men don't want to be JUST friends (according to Steve Harvey's new book).  I try to be a good friend (without wanting anything in return), but I always take a bullet for something I didn't do (and then I hear, "you haven't met the right one" or "you'll make a great husband" - in other words, it's my fault). In return, the same ones who issue the bullet still fall for the men who actually have evil plans for women. Don't worry, I'll type more on that in my up & coming book. With that said, here's part of my forigve me list.

Forgive me for not having gold and/or brass teeth
Forgive me for not calling sisters B's & W's
Forgive me for not being a great singer like R. Kelly
Forgive me for not being good looking like 50 Cent
Forgive me for not wanting to have sex before marriage
Forgive me for not being a father of numerous children
Forgive me for not pimping you like a hot commodity

And with that said, what do I have to offer you (and I've yet to find a woman who can answer this question)?