Day 3: Trap Doors


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Stop asking me to visit people’s minds. Understanding why people do, say, or think the way they do is a complicated process. And, let’s be honest: some people’s minds are mazes, some are dungeons, but they all have trap doors.

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The  “Day 3: Trap Doors” (text) by EYHCS published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

©EYHCS AND THE LATEST WORD, 2016. UNAUTHORIZED USE AND/OR DUPLICATION OF THIS MATERIAL, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO YOUTUBE VIDEOS, PAPERS, AND OTHER ORIGINAL WORKS OF ART WITHOUT EXPRESS AND WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THIS BLOG’S AUTHOR AND/OR OWNER IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. EXCERPTS, LINKS, IMAGES THAT ARE THE COURTESY OF INDULGY.COM WITHIN POSTS UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED MAY BE USED, PROVIDED THAT FULL AND CLEAR CREDIT IS GIVEN TO EYHCS AND 15 WORDS OR LESS WITH APPROPRIATE AND SPECIFIC DIRECTION TO THE ORIGINAL CONTENT.

 

Day 1: An Interview with 2016 with a Cameo from 2010


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2016: Looking back over your life, what are you looking forward to in the New Year?

EYHCS: That is an excellent question. <Ponders the question with a reflective countenance>

2016: Do you have an excellent answer?

EYHCS: Yes. <Replies with a dead and stark countenance>

2016: <fully engaged with hips seated at the front of the lounge chair> Care to share?

EYHCS: <continuing to be display a coy demeanor> Sure.

EYHCS: Change, affirmation, and fulfillment of promises are what I am looking forward to in the New Year.

2016: Wow, you don’t shy away from the complex, do you? <Centers left hand across chests in a faux humble fashion>

EYHCS: Never have and never will.

2016: How would you characterize 2015?

EYHCS: At times it was akin to Jack Nicholson from A Few Good Men with “You can’t handle the truth”. At other times it was akin to Rafiki from the Lion King with “Simba, he’s alive!” And, as the year drew to an close, it was Neo from the Matrix with, “I am going to hang up this phone and show the people what you don’t want them to see. The rest I leave up to you!”

2016: Any special resolutions for the New Year?

EYHCS: Not really. I am just grateful to be of sound mind and body after the last several years of testing and trying I have undergone.

2016: What type of testing and trying? How do you define testing and trying?

EYHCS: The simplest definition is the easiest definition. I have been tested mentally, spiritually, emotionally, physically, psychologically, and physiologically.

2010: I was there.

2016: How so?

2010: I saw it all unfold. Yet, I could not intervene. It was a battle required to define, affirm, and confirm her true character. I knew she could and would prevail. I just needed her to know the same.

EYHCS: It was hard at times. A lot of people look at me today and comment how together I seem. They don’t know how much it cost to not only appear this way, but to be this way.

2016: Cost?

EYHCS: Yes, the spiritual and mental cost. The breaking of beliefs to conquer one’s greatest fear is an enlightening and painful process. I mimicked the way Jesus’ survived and prevailed during his 40 days and nights of testing. Everything he needed to defeat external and internal enemies had already been deposited into him. So with private tears and public cheers, I marched on, until I could march out.

2016: Do you feel you’ve conquered your greatest fear?

EYHCS: Most days, I do.

2016: Willing to share it with others.

EYHCS: I feared disappointment.

2016: Disappointment?

EYHCS: Yes, disappointment. Disappointing others, disappointing myself, disappointing my ancestors <unrealistic>, disappointing my parents, and if I am honest, the disappointment of never being enough.

2016: What changed?

EYHCS: I watched my former self battle to regain control of the uncontrollable and win.

2016: How did that feel?

EYHCS: Good, no great! When the enemy saw me cower, the spirit saw me tower.

I watched mesmerized at times as obstacles became pathways. I silently praised in place as promises, visions, and dreams manifested around me and for me. I bit my tongue when necessary and raised my voice when required. I feel in love with me and I liked it! I hadn’t ever been in love with me before 2015, not really, but today I am and it’s great!

2016: Sounds like you figured some things out.

EYHCS: Some, but I have only scratched the surface.

2016: Any regrets?

EYHCS: No, this year was all about clearing up old regrets and living a life that produced no future regrets.

2016: How’s that?

EYHCS: I had to sacrifice my personal self to honor my spiritual-self several times in 2015. At times, I had to confront those who only sought the best for me, but couldn’t understand the choices I was making in how I dealt with certain situations.

2016: That sounds deep.

EYHCS: It is, but the deeper it got, the clearer it all became.

2016: Has anyone ever told you, sometimes your responses produced more questions than answers?

EYHCS: Yes.

2016: Care to add any more to that response?

EYHCS: No.

2016: Well, we’re day one in of 366 days. Care to share your plan for 2016?

EYHCS: Tried that once, the human mind could not comprehend the design.

EYHCS: So instead, in the words of one of my favorite characters, “where we’re going we don’t need any roads”!

2016: I can’t wait!

EYHCS: You don’t have to. You already know what is in store. I am the one who gets to discover it. Thank you for joining me in the journey.

2016: You’re welcome and thanks for sharing, EYHCS, it was a pleasure talking with you. Take care and see you on the other side.

EYHCS: Indeed, I pray you will {Insha’Allah}! One God, many names, and I love them all!!!

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Day 72: The Tale of a Vacuum-less Pulpit


3.12.2015

I purchased a high powered vacuum cleaner about a year and a half ago.

The description promised no-loss of suction for the life of the vacuum cleaner.

The description foretold of a vacuum cleaner able to withstand even the dirtiest of carpets.

The description declared the suction would trap all grim, dirt, and particles trapped in my carpet.

I recall at the time going over the description several times, because I had received the same promise from other vacuum cleaners in the past and been sadly disappointment with the outcome.

I must have spent almost an hour looking and comparing the various vacuum cleaners on display.

I left the aisle, I returned to the aisle, I left the aisle, I returned to the aisle, and I left the aisle again.

Finally, I returned to the aisle and settled on a high powered vacuum cleaner with the promise of no-loss of suction.

It lasted a week.

I cleared the clogged-up hose.

It lasted maybe two weeks.

Then one day the suction stopped all together.

I would go over the carpet multiple times, only to see the same strands of hair, dirt, and grim settling in my carpet.

One day so frustrated with the lackluster results of the vacuum cleaner, I broke out my trusted tool set.

I took the vacuum apart all the way down to the motor.

I cleaned every crevice I could reach on the vacuum cleaner.

I put the vacuum cleaner back together.

The suction returned, but not at the vacuum cleaner’s original level.

I suffered with this vacuum cleaner for almost a year and a half.

I would take it apart, pull out my trusted wire hanger, and complete the process over and over again.

It would work for a while and then stop at the most inopportune times.

It got so bad at one point; I had to speed-vacuum, because the vacuum cleaner would constantly over heat.

I would try and vacuum an entire apartment with 2 bedrooms, 2 full size bathrooms covering approximately 1200 sq. feet in five or ten minutes before the motor would overheat.

Yet, I persisted with the vacuum cleaner.

Finally, I could not take it anymore.

I went out and purchased a new vacuum cleaner.

I went through the same process as with the last vacuum cleaner.

However, this time, I was more suspect about the promises layout in the description on the box.

I opted for the most expensive vacuum cleaner on the shelf.

I brought the vacuum cleaner home.

I diligently put all the pieces together.

I vacuum first the living room and then the bedroom.

The picture above depicts all the grim, dirty, and particles in those rooms. My new apartment is almost half the size of my last apartment.

I was shocked.

I was disgusted.

I was taken aback by how much filth had acuminated in just the few months, we had been in our new apartment.

By the way, we were still using the old vacuum cleaner.

I took the picture.

I looked at the collection of dirty.

I looked at how much dirty the new vacuum cleaner had picked up.

I was astonished.

I was sickened.

It made me consider how much dirt people carry on themselves every day.

It made me consider how much dirt exists in this world.

It made me consider how dirty our minds are even as we speak on how cleansed, purified, and holy we are in our pulpits, in our sanctuaries, in our synagogues, and in our mosques.

It made me consider the stains of unbelief, doubt, hypocrisy, deceit, deception, lies, and so much more we as preachers and teachers bring into our congregations, week after week.

We look at our struggling congregations.

We look at the brokenness of our congregations.

We look at the mounting, unemployed members of our congregations.

We look at the broken relationships in our congregations.

We look at the fragmented souls of our congregations.

When everything is breaking in the congregation, it should signify the move of God, is hindered.

When everything is breaking in the congregation, it should signify the operation of God, is lacking.

When everything is breaking in the congregation, it should signify the reign of God has been usurped by man and not God.

We bring a message of hope.

We bring a message of perseverance.

We bring a message of long suffering.

We bring a message of belief, when we do not believe ourselves.

We go home to our McMansions.

We go home to our paid for homes, by the very same congregations unable to pay their own rents.

We go to the five star steakhouse and order the biggest steak on the menu. Please do not forget the best red wine on the menu, so we can feel closer to Christ.

We lavish up the medium rare porterhouse steaks.

We toast to our success, Christ’s has bestowed upon our household.

We are satisfied with all the Lord has done for us.

And, we wonder, why, oh why, can we not bring the people up to our levels.

We pray to God for new understanding.

We pray to God to open their eyes.

We pray to God to clear their minds.

We pray to God to help us, help them.

We pray.

Some of us even offer a struggling member a few dollars, but then we talk about it later in the privacy among other clergy members.

We make a show of it all.

Our vacuum cleaners have lost their suction.

Our vacuum cleaners have lost their promise of cleanliness.

Our vacuum cleaners no longer read like the description of Christ.

Our vacuum cleaners no longer demonstrate the ability to cleanse the hearts, the minds, or the souls of the people.

Our vacuum cleaners are sucking the people dry and the people are too blind to see it.

Our vacuum cleaners are broken.

Our vacuum cleaners filters are clogged.

Our vacuum cleaner motors are damaged.

We are spewing more dirt, than we are clearing from the hearts, the minds, and the souls of the people.

We have our champion causes for the welfare of our communities, but we create minimal changes in their lives.

We are no longer acting as the wife of Christ.

We are no longer acting as the pure bride.

We are no longer acting in solidarity with the covenant we made with Christ.

We have become the problem and not the solution.

We need new vacuum cleaners.

We need new filters.

We need new motors.

We need to remember, a vacuum cleaner is only as good the suction power, it emits.

I am happy with my new vacuum cleaner.

It delivers as promised.

I am saddened by the vacuum cleaners in many of our churches.

They fail to deliver the promise entrusted into their care.

Their bellies, their pockets, their bank accounts, their cupboards, their storage chests, and their castles are full, but their hearts are empty.

In the words of our savior, forgive them father, for they know not what they do.

For those, who actually do understand the true message of Christ, and continually violates the message, the people, and the covenant relationship, I pray every curse upon your head and upon your household as Christ decreed in his message to the disciples on countless occasions. Just as God did in the Old Testament, see Ezekiel.

To God Be the Glory!

Amen!!!

Matthew 24: 9-14

9-10 “They are going to throw you to the wolves and kill you, everyone hating you because you carry my name. And then, going from bad to worse, it will be dog-eat-dog, everyone at each other’s throat, everyone hating each other.

11-12 “In the confusion, lying preachers will come forward and deceive a lot of people. For many others, the overwhelming spread of evil will do them in—nothing left of their love but a mound of ashes.

13-14 “Staying with it—that’s what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be saved. All during this time, the good news—the Message of the kingdom—will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country. And then the end will come.

EYHCS

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Day 61: Toxicity – A Call to Break Free and Break Out


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Toxicity is a state of mind.

Toxicity is a state of being.

Toxicity is a plague of the heart.

Toxicity is a plague of the mind.

Toxicity eats away at the beauty in our society.

Toxicity eats away at the good in our society.

Toxicity is an environmental condition.

Toxicity is rooted in the core of hatred, pain, disease, famine, war, strife, consternation, and so much more.

Toxicity destroys life.

Toxicity debilitates spirits.

Toxicity ruins homes.

Toxicity separates families.

Toxicity exists, because we fail to recognize the signs of its formation.

Toxicity exists, because we fail to stand up and speak out when it rears up in our hearts.

Toxicity can only thrive, if we allow it to grow.

Toxicity can only spread, if we allow it to breathe.

Toxicity can only exist, where love is not.

Toxicity can only exist, where faith is not.

Toxicity can only exist, where hope is not.

Toxicity can only exist, where peace is not.

Toxicity can only exist, where truth is not.

Toxicity is the cause of shame.

Toxicity is the cause of pain.

Toxicity is the cause of bondage.

Toxicity is the cause of breakage.

There is no toxicity in perfect love.

There is no toxicity in perfect peace.

If you are shame, move away from the cause of your shame.

If you are in pain, move away from the cause of your pain.

If you are in bondage, get away from the things bonding you.

If you are in breakage, get away from the things breaking you.

Simply get out, stay out, and never return to a state or condition of toxicity!

EYHCS

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Day 52: The Power Force of Understanding


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A great friend of mine commented yesterday about my absence from my blog of late, with a slightly dejected, solemn, and otherwise heartbroken-heartfelt disposition. I explained as best I could where I have been in my journey to speak and write the truth. I expressed my new found commitment to my craft. Some would call it a gift. Other would call it artistic expression. Whatever, it is, I respect it and have chosen this time to hone it. Because my friend’s need was real, I write this entry today.

This is for my powerful four! You each know exactly who you are and I love each of you beyond mere words. Your presence in my life has changed me forever and I look forward to all God has for each of us throughout the years.

This is also for those that follow my blog. I have a lot of material and when the time is right, I will share it all.

The road we travel is not unknown. The people we meet are not unforeseen. The connections we make are designed well in advance for the appointed time and place. Two years ago, we all imagine a different future than the one we find ourselves living today. Four years ago, we wondered how we would make it through. Six years ago, we prayed silently for relief. Eight years ago, we stood our ground in the God we love. Ten years ago, we wondered if this really would be the fate God dealt us.

Today, we are stronger. Today, we are wiser. Today, we are becoming exactly who God intended us to be. Today is a new day. Today is our day. Today let’s live it the only way we can…through love, by faith, and in humility.

EYHCS

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Day 41 – A Powerful Trinity Force


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The heart knows what the heart knows. The soul feels what the heart knows. The Holy Spirit feeds the heart and soothes the soul. As a powerful trinity force they create a unifying path to success.

EYHCS

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Day 37 – If You Seek ME, You Will Find ME


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I looked to the hills, but did not find you. I looked to the stars, but could not see you. I looked in the valleys, but could not hear you. I looked inside, but could not feel you. I cried out your name and you came from the hills, through the stars, from the valleys, and soared through me. Who are you?

EYHCS

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Day 9 – Contradiction


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Contradicting your younger self when you are older shows growth. Contradicting your older self while you are still young shows forethought. Contradicting your present self as you are speaking about your current situation invalidates your credibility to yourself and others. When you are faced with competing ideas in your mind, allow them to battle each other until only one position remains.

Then and only then, will you retain credibility and respect.

EYHCS

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Day 7 – Redefining Dirt (Innards)


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I learned something new the other day while watching The Taste. In the culinary world, innards are called dirt. I never knew this.

Prior to watching The Taste, all my encounters with the word dirt held a negative connotation. “Go wash the dirt off your hands, off your face, and off yours shoes”, your mother would say. “The people over there spew nothing, but dirt”, your friend or pastor might say. “His mind is full of dirt”, the prosecutor, might say.

Yet, in the culinary world, dirt is considered a rare commodity and a necessary seasoning for the perfect taste. It makes me reconsider the meanings we have attached to the word dirt in our lives, in our families, in our churches, in our workplace, and in our relationships. In the words, of Marcus Samuelsson a six times James Beard winner, I am looking for a little dirt in 2015.

EYHCS

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Day 1 – New Year’s Eve Greeting and Proclamation from EYHCS


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It is a new year today. A year has passed away. We have lost some important people in ourselves. There are people we began last year with who did not make it. Some died of natural causes. Some expired at the hands of another. Some simply faded away.

We have also gained some new people in our lives. While the new people will never replace the old ones, they are in our lives to help us through what is about to come next. Mourn the lost, but worship the living. You will need them in ways you cannot foresee, today.

For me, the year went by so fast I hardly had time to realize the changes happening in my life. It may have happened the same way for you. Regardless, of how the year turned out, we each can and will begin anew. We each can and should let go of the old. Put all the broken promises, all the dashed dreams, and all the misspoken words aside. Take the public and private pain from this past year, place them diligently in a brown box, pour lighter fuel on the contents, securely close the box, and set it afire. Watch it burn out and let it go.

We cannot go back and undo what has already happened. We can, however, make sure we operate in a manner so it never happens again. I wish each reader a glorious and prosperous awakening of all God has in store for you this 2015.

Happy 2015!

EYHCS

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HSCM Segment 4: Where there is smoke, there is fire


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I began the Holy Spirit Confession Moment series about nine months ago. Initially, I had the intention of running it for a consecutive six weeks.  Almost immediately after completing the first’s week edition, my heart became heavy. My mind began to twirl and my soul began to rise up. I had no choice, but to set the series aside for a while.

Ezekiel 1:1

 1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. (NKJV)

During the course of the next nine months, God continued to speak, the Holy Spirit continued to guide me into all truth and all knowledge. I listened through some rough times. I listened through some heart wrenching times. I listened and did my best to move myself out-of-the-way. My attempts were successful. I spent time listening, observing, and staying alert.

Then on August 15, 2014, my soul awoke and I experienced a new level in the understanding of God’s Holy Spirit as it relates to God’s omnipresence concerning my life’s journey.

Yet, I still could not fully release my gift to write openly. I posted old writings in an attempt to continue my goal of posting daily. Eventually, I stopped posting altogether, until now.

In order to open up my creative juices, I began looking for meditation materials. I found a series of audio books and listened to them faithfully for several weeks. I felt myself becoming more centered. I felt myself lifting up and lifting out. Yet, I still felt it was not time to write. However, the meditation materials helped. I began to enter what I can only call the third heaven regularly. I would fall into a deep almost trance like sleep. During these experiences, I would see faces of people I knew and people I did not know. At times, I would hear voices and full-blown conversations. At other times, it would just be a deep sense of peace. I would awake rejuvenated. I liked this renewed sense of peace feeling, settling in my life.

Revelations 3:20-22

20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (NKJV)

Last Tuesday around midnight, It was cold here in Dallas. I had just finished talking and having a cigarette with a good friend of mine when we each went our separate ways. Him headed home in the cold Fall weather colored by freezing rain and slick streets. However, I was not quite ready to go back inside. Thus, I went to my car for another cigarette before I returned to work surrounded by the heat flowing from my car vents.

Out of nowhere, a deep sense of impending danger fell over me. A name shifted through the atmosphere. It just so happens, it was the name shared by both my friend (from earlier) and my partner. Accompanied by the name were words.  One word in particular sticks out in my memory now, accident.  I attempted to wash it away.  As I battled internally, the Holy Spirit spoke to my inner spirit while I listened to music and smoked my cigarette. I do not recall interceding outwardly. I simply smoked my cigarette and returned to work filled with an odd sense of foreboding.

Not too long after returning to work my friend sent me a text he was stuck in traffic due to the bridge being blocked by black ice a few counties from his home. Government road officials had been called out to clear the roads, but in the meantime, he and all the other anxious travelers would have to wait it out. Before we concluded our call, I asked him to text me when he arrived at home. The impending danger still sat in my heart. Concerned, I continued to work.

A few hours later, I felt unusually tired and sought the comfort of my car for some rest. I set my alarm to awake me at 5:00 am.  As I slept, I entered into a trance sleep. I awoke to my car filled with smoke and the distinct smell of burning wood. I knew consciously my car was not on fire. I recall stating the same out loud as I drifted back to sleep. A few minutes later my partner called me, there was a fire in our apartment building. As I sat in my car, gathering the pertinent information, I thought upon the experience I had only moments ago. You know, “are you alright?” “Is it our apartment building?” “Is it our apartment?” As she confirmed, “Yes, I am alright”. “No, it is not our apartment building, but the apartment building next to us”. My spirit calmed inside. We spoke for a few minutes before we decided I needed to come home.

I calmly turned off the car and proceeded back upstairs to sign out for the rest of my shift. I sent an email notifying my manager and said goodbye to my co-worker. I returned to my car with a new sense of peace and awareness for the power of the Holy Spirit within. I picked up my cigarettes, pulled one out, located my lighter, and calmly pulled out of the parking garage. As, I drove home, I listened to the Holy Spirit. There was no panic. There was no sense of urgency. There was nothing, but a sense of acknowledgement for the God I love and the Holy Spirit within.

I arrived home about ten or fifteen minutes later to find seven to eleven fire trucks in and around our apartment complex. My partner had already informed me I would more than likely be unable to get close to our building due to the fire trucks. It still did not stop me from trying. In any regards, I eventually parked two buildings away and joined my partner in her car. We spoke about her experience.  We spoke about how she had just recently fallen to sleep. We spoke about how I knew, because I had messaged her about thirty minutes before the fire started. We spoke about the normal things of life, including, she needed to go to the bathroom, but we had not been given the go ahead to re-enter our apartment, and about her shock at being woken by loud knocks upon the door in the wee hours of the morning.

Eventually, I approached our building and locked our door after surveying our intact apartment. I returned to the car still unable to share any of what I am writing now. How could I… I thought, I was still in the moment. We spent the rest of the morning with her mother as I sat in both peace and awareness. Once back at home with my partner asleep, I sat in my living room and read a book my mother had given me several years ago. I pulled the still cellophane wrapped book from under my center table. Pulling back the cellophane, I opened the book and began reading. It felt as if God himself was speaking to just me. I went to sleep in peace. When I awoke later that evening, I thought to myself, I will write this account down, I will tell this story, but not today.

At work that night, I spoke with my friend who discussed being stranded on the road earlier that morning. He spoke about the multiple accidents in front of him. One of the accidents included up to twenty-three cars. His car and life spared. As he spoke, I recalled the encounter with the Holy Spirit earlier that day and all that had transpired in the last twenty-four hours. I smiled and I listened to my friend’s account of his eventful morning. When it was over, we entered the building and I promised him I would tell him all about the fire, but he would have to read it here, on my blog, once it had time to settle in my spirit, in my mind, and in my heart.

Job 28:20-28

20 “From where then does wisdom come?

And where is the place of understanding?

21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living.

And concealed from the birds of the air.

22 Destruction and Death say,

“We have heard a report about it with our ears.”

23 God understands its way.

And He knows its place.

24 For He looks to the end of the earth.

And sees under the whole heavens,

25 To establish a weight for the wind.

And apportion the waters by measure.

26 When He made a law for the rain.

And a path for the thunderbolt.

27 Then He saw wisdom and declared it;

He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.

28 And to man He said,

‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,

And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”

(NKJV)

I have only recounted my experience and my understanding, because it is all I have to offer. Normally, I would offer some form of conjecture, but it feels unnecessary and totally inadequate.

Stay blessed and know God is real.

Confession Moment #9: The Audacity of Public Officials


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As I wrote last month, my creative juices were in a state of flux and frustration.  In retrospect, I needed time to simply sit under the Tree of Life and listen to the messages flowing from my heart.  There have been some new insights, some new valleys, some new mountains, some new hopes, some new dreams, and some new realities.  Some of it blows my mind.  Some of it warms my heart.  Most of it provides the needed strength to carry on in my quest to understand the will of God on and over my Earthly and temporal life.  Not since 2010, has God been so real to me as he is now.  Back then, I wrote my thoughts out privately only to learned publicly so many others shared the same thoughts.  The unspoken understanding of my connections with and to the Body of Christ continually astonishes me.  If I am honest, my understanding of the power of God exists on different planes of understanding and knowing.

For this reason, I am practicing my teachings and lessons learned.  I adhere now to one of the greatest lessons my spiritual teachers deposited into my spirit throughout my life-cycle. The Word of God, should never be rushed or purposefully revealed until complete.  Relationships die, otherwise.  Spiritual growth dies, otherwise.  Healing takes a backseat, otherwise.  There is much I have to say, but only when God lifts the flood gates.  All of it reflects, holds true, and manifests through my daily encounters with God’s children more and more each day.

In the meantime, expect more posts on my continued struggle, adjustment, and full acceptance of the call on my life as I grappled with my inheritance of a spiritual mind. I openly declare, “I am grateful for and humbled by the experience”.

For now, I am sharing a post I posted on my personal Facebook page earlier this week.

 

 

Today’s confession moment centers around my early voting experience this past Monday.

Today, I took part in the general election voting cycle for early voters. There is an interesting request of our city officials. They are requesting a raise in income. Specifically, for all current and future councilmembers they are seeking a bump in salary to $60,000 a year.

In addition, the proposition includes a request for future mayors of the City of Dallas to $80,000 a year, in the event, they are elected while holding another City of Dallas office.

Proposition No. 8. reads as follows:

Increasing Compensation for the Mayor and Councilmembers. Shall Chapter III, Section 4(a) of the Dallas City Charter be amended to increase compensation for councilmembers to $60,000, effective upon the swearing-in of city council members in June 2015, and for the mayor to $80,000, effective upon the swearing-in as mayor of a person who did not hold the office of mayor on November 4, 2014?

Initially, I felt a slight rage growing in my belly. For one, the proposition is 8 or 9. If you are bold enough to ask for a 60 percent increase in salary at least be bold enough to put it in plain sight and not at the end of the ballot. Especially, considering the average corporation will only offer you a 1% to 5% annual merit increase assuming they are unable to find a justifiable exclusionary excuse to honor their standing policies on the meager raise that is.

The minimum wage for the average citizen of Dallas County is $7.25 per hour or $15,080 per year. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins proposed an increase for contract employees employed by the City of Dallas back on March 24, 2014 of this year. The proposed pay rate was $10.25 per hour or $21,320 per year. I recognize the proposed increase, still misses the mark. Many would still fall beneath the true poverty lines set by U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Here is a current poverty base line list as of January 24, 2013 available on DHHS’ website: 1 person = $11,670; 2 people = $15,730; 3 people = 19,790; 4 people = 23,850; 5 people = $27,910; 5 people $27,910; 6 people $31,970; 7 people = $36,030; 8 people = $40,090, and for each household-member over eight the DHHS recommends you add $4,060.

I didn’t see an increase for the average City of Dallas resident on the ballot.

Hmm…

Bear with me for a minute with the math. Let’s suppose for a minute the average family is 4 people. Each family member of the starving family of 4 has $5,962.50 to live on throughout the year or $496.86 a month. If they pool their money together for an average 2 bedroom apartment according to the allowed amount under Section 8’s Rental Certificate Model their rent will be $800 per month, but their model includes utilities in the rental calculation of $800 a month, which most apartments do not provide as part of their rental agreement. Let’s continue the same level of generosity as DHHS. We will assume the unnamed family of 4 can procure electricity, phone service, water/sewer service, and rental insurance for $400 a month.  Before they even consider food, a family car, or public transportation costs their monthly expenses for rent and utilities are at $1,200 a month. Now each family member has $196.88 dollars for the month. Which takes priority? Food, clothing, transportation, health insurance, or none of the above

Don’t judge the one’s looking for a numbing effect with alcohol or drugs. After all, it is about all they can afford to cope with their harsh realities, because not everyone believes in God anymore. His methods and teachings rarely surface anymore in governments or politics unless the sayer is attempted to constrain the rights of the people.

Currently, Dallas Councilmembers receive a salary of $37,500 per year. However, most councilmembers have other sources of income earning 3 or 4 times their meager City of Dallas salary. Let’s continue our mindset of generosity in our calculations for a moment as DHHS is with the mass populace. Suppose the average councilmember only manages to double their City of Dallas salary to $75,000 per year. The same councilmembers’ family of 4 receives $18,750 per year or $1,562.50 each month.

The basic difference: the average City of Dallas councilmember receives $12,787.50 more per year per family member than the average City of Dallas resident. By the way, research the last 4 or 5 years of corrupt politicians in the City of Dallas. $75,000 is a low ball figure.

My point in all of this is an insurmountable level of audacity of our public officials, in light of the current state of our economy for any self-respecting City of Dallas Councilmember to propose a wage hike without at least putting forth a similar proposition for the least of us. And, please do not be fooled by Proposition No. 4 my fellow same gender loving family, friends, and Face bookies. We are already a federally protected class after the Supreme Court decision of 2013. Stop waving carrots and calling them lobster.

I am utterly offended, because many unsuspected voters will vote for the proposition while they debate a $1.00 cheeseburger from McDonald’s or a 10 piece chicken nuggets from Burger King for $1.49. Some of us believe the reference to the blind refers to a spiritual blindness. Not true, sometimes we are civically blind. Voting for Proposition No. 8 while in financial poverty makes you civically blind and spiritually deficient for your fellow-man, woman, and child. Yes, I said it and I meant every word.

I am through.

Stay blessed and alert.

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Day 278 – An Omnipresent God (Revised)


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Could you really live a life where your every move and word were pre-designed?

A place where God actually showed forth his power, his majestic omnipresent,  his full knowing of things to come, and his promise of forever; here and after the temporal Earth.

What would it look like?

How would you cope with such a reality?

How would you coexist in the Netherlands of the world ?

How would you live knowing a book full of words left the page and entered your heart, long before you spoke your very first verbal word?

How would you…

Could you?

And, what would it say about your faith, if you found out you could not handle the power, the majestic omnipresent,  the full knowing of things to come, and his promise of forever?

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The  ”Day 278 – An Omnipresent God ” (text) by EYHCS published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

©EYHCS AND THE LATEST WORD, 2010-2014. UNAUTHORIZED USE AND/OR DUPLICATION OF THIS MATERIAL, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO YOUTUBE VIDEOS, PAPERS, AND OTHER ORIGINAL WORKS OF ART WITHOUT EXPRESS AND WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THIS BLOG’S AUTHOR AND/OR OWNER IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. EXCERPTS, LINKS, IMAGES THAT ARE THE COURTESY OF INDULGY.COM WITHIN POSTS UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED MAY BE USED, PROVIDED THAT FULL AND CLEAR CREDIT IS GIVEN TO EYHCS AND 15 WORDS OR LESS WITH APPROPRIATE AND SPECIFIC DIRECTION TO THE ORIGINAL CONTENT.

Day 271 – Meditation Series: Compromise


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We walk through life striving to compromise for the sake of peace.  Somehow in the process we lose a piece of ourselves.  Someone recently asked, what is the difference between a compromise and self-devaluation.  My response spiritually inspired:  Compromise is altering one’s preference to accommodate another.  Self-devaluation is allowing another to violate your fence to keep up the neighborhood connection.

Have you allowed someone to infringe upon your property rights?  If so, make a plan to recover what should not have been given or taken?

 

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The  ”Day 271 – Meditation Series: Compromise” (text) by EYHCS published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

©EYHCS AND THE LATEST WORD, 2010-2014. UNAUTHORIZED USE AND/OR DUPLICATION OF THIS MATERIAL, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO YOUTUBE VIDEOS, PAPERS, AND OTHER ORIGINAL WORKS OF ART WITHOUT EXPRESS AND WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THIS BLOG’S AUTHOR AND/OR OWNER IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. EXCERPTS, LINKS, IMAGES THAT ARE THE COURTESY OF INDULGY.COM WITHIN POSTS UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED MAY BE USED, PROVIDED THAT FULL AND CLEAR CREDIT IS GIVEN TO EYHCS AND 15 WORDS OR LESS WITH APPROPRIATE AND SPECIFIC DIRECTION TO THE ORIGINAL CONTENT.

Day 270 – Meditation Series: The Essence of Light


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Light is transformational.  Jesus is the light of the world.  He came, lived, walked, died, and through resurrection he transformed the world.  He did.  We are miniature version of Jesus in the Earth.  We are thus, also light.  Is your light hindering progression or transforming depression through elevation of your inner lighthouse.  The light never diminishes.  It is our lack of spring cleaning that covers the windows within from shining the light with-out.

 

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The  ”Day 270 – Meditation Series: The Essence of Light” (text) by EYHCS published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

©EYHCS AND THE LATEST WORD, 2010-2014. UNAUTHORIZED USE AND/OR DUPLICATION OF THIS MATERIAL, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO YOUTUBE VIDEOS, PAPERS, AND OTHER ORIGINAL WORKS OF ART WITHOUT EXPRESS AND WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THIS BLOG’S AUTHOR AND/OR OWNER IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. EXCERPTS, LINKS, IMAGES THAT ARE THE COURTESY OF INDULGY.COM WITHIN POSTS UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED MAY BE USED, PROVIDED THAT FULL AND CLEAR CREDIT IS GIVEN TO EYHCS AND 15 WORDS OR LESS WITH APPROPRIATE AND SPECIFIC DIRECTION TO THE ORIGINAL CONTENT.