WHAT KIND OF SEEDS ARE YOU PLANTING?

I just realized this morning that on April 12th, I will celebrate my 20 year anniversary of being initiated into my college sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc! I can remember the day that I “went over” like it was just yesterday. There were 7 of us and our line name was “The Blossoms of a New Beginning”. Happy Anniversary Sorors!!

The Blossoms of a New Beginning....that phrase got me to thinking about the onset of Spring which is right around the corner. I don’t think there is anyone anywhere in the USA that would deny that this has not been a long, harsh winter! I think we are all looking forward to the spring and all that it represents - warmth, rebirth, growth. Did I mention warmth? (Oh happy day!) I am already seeing the first signs of spring here in Georgia. The tulip tree that is planted near my front door is already starting to bloom and I am sure the azaleas will start to bud any day now. I love Spring!

There is one other thing that is blossoming this spring.....ME! Towards the beginning of the year, I set my 2010 New Year’s Goals and at that time, I began to plant the seeds of becoming Fit by Forty. From these seeds, I expect to see a growth in all areas of my life. I not only want to be physically fit but also, financially, spiritually, emotionally and socially. Every day, I make sure to “nurture” these areas of my life by eating more healthy, exercising, spending more time with the Lord through prayer and bible study. I’ve also been educating myself, making wiser choices with my finances and saving more (thanks to fellow Kitchen Table sister, Sharon!) Yes, I’ve been working hard and although the changes have been subtle, I am finally seeing the fruits of my labor! I’m slowly but surely blossoming into a new ME!

The bible tells us this..."So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up."- Galatians 6: 9. This scripture is referring to the principle of sowing and reaping. You will always harvest what you plant (Galatians 6:7) It’s quite simple - every action has results. If you plant apple seeds, you would be very surprised if a peach tree began to grow, right? Of course you would be...you expect to see an apple tree. The same principle applies to all areas our everyday life...physically, financially, socially, emotionally and especially even spiritually. If you plant the seeds of eating an abundance of junk food everyday and sat on the couch everyday, you can expect to gain weight and begin to have health issues. If you plant seeds of a healthy diet and exercise, you can expect to lose weight and obtain good health. Here’s another example...if you plant to please your own desires, you’ll harvest a crop of sorrow. If you plant to please God, you’ll harvest a life of everlasting joy.

What kind of seeds are you planting?

I always tell my children. If you continue the same action day after day, you can almost guarantee that you will get the same action every single time. Sometimes, you have to change directions....or plant a different seed...in order to get a different and more favorable result.

Go back and look over both your long and short term goals. Now look at the types of seeds that you are planting in order to obtain those goals. As Dr Phil always says, “So how’s that working for you?” Take an inventory of your actions and then be honest with yourself and try to determine if you can really obtain your expected harvest from those actions. If not, it’s time to start over. The good thing is - it’s never too late!

For those of you who have really been working hard at your life changes, I want to leave this scripture with you. It blessed me and encouraged me to keep going right up to this morning and I hope that it does the same for you. The scripture reads as follows: “So think clearly and exercise self-control. .....Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then” (1 Peter 1:13-14 Paraphrased-NLT) We can’t get weary in well doing....keep moving forward in the right direction and your harvest will be plentiful!

On that note, I must go...I have to get in a run before I start my workday. My first 5K is on April 17th...the “Susan B. Komen’s Race for the Cure”. Please, please, PLEASE keep me in your prayers because quite honestly....I’m scared! (LOL) Fear and negativity are trying their hardest to creep in...LOL....but I hope to have a praise report when we talk again on April 26th.



Until then,
Sasha

Don't forget to tune in on April 26th!


Tuesday's Blog: Maria our "Life Unscripted" sister is back to encourage us in the every day parts of living.

YOU'RE FIRED!

“You’re fired!” Two dreaded words that no one wants to hear. One of my favorite shows is The Apprentice because at the end of the show you know that Donald Trump is going to turn to someone, point his finger, and say “You’re fired!” When you think of the phrase, “You’re fired!” your job is probably the first thing that comes to mind. “How am I going to support my kids without a job?” “How will the bills get paid?” However, being fired may not only refer to your job.

Another one of my favorite TV shows is “CHUCK”. In one episode, while Chuck was talking to his best friend Morgan, Morgan got upset because he discovered that Chuck had been lying to him a lot. Morgan also happens to be Chuck’s boss and Morgan was so upset that he turned to Chuck and said (bet you can guess it), “You’re fired!” Chuck replied, “What, from my job?!” Morgan’s response surprised me because he answered back, “No, from being my best friend.” Whoa! Now while you may have been fired from your job before, have you ever been fired as a friend? I can only imagine what it would feel like to be told that, “You’re not doing a good job as a friend anymore so I’m going to have to replace you.”

I’m sure that we’ve all had times when we feel like our friends are failing us or we’ve failed as a friend, I know that I certainly have. But I don’t know anyone who’s been physically fired as a friend. Have you ever thought about what it would be like if God ever fired you as a friend? He wouldn’t, because He is a kind, loving, and a merciful God, but what if God treated us like we treat each other? “I’m sorry but you never talk to me anymore so I’m going to have to let you go as my friend.” Have you been spending time with God in the way that he desires of you? I recently came to the realization that I haven’t been talking to God like I should, or spending adequate time with Him.

God has given us a willful nature and He doesn’t force us to do anything, He always gives us a choice. I realized that I was choosing television and Facebook, over Him, on a daily basis. He really wants to spend time with us, and I wasn’t making the time for it. God convicted me of this and I am now working to further strengthen my relationship with Him, and make sure that I am always talking things over with my Best Friend.

Spring is upon us and with that comes the beautiful weather and new life in the form of flowers and budding trees. Everything seems so new and fresh. It has inspired me to want to refresh my relationship with my heavenly Father, and my friends. This is one of the major goals that I would like to accomplish this spring, and I hope that you will do the same. The last words you want to hear are… “You’re fired!”



Till next time,
Tovah

I'll be back on Friday, April 23rd, with a little more about my life as a high school junior!


Monday's Blog: Sasha is back with more inspiration for us to live "Healthy Lifestyles"

REFRESH THE OLD

A couple of weekends ago we had a rainy and chilly Saturday. You know one of those days were you want to stay in your jammies and piddle most of the day. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do since my youngest daughter had spent the night over her sister’s house, which meant I had the entire house to myself. Well, almost, we do have two cats. Now that my granddaughters are with me during the week, I do miss the quiet time I’ve been accustomed too the past couple of years, so the question was, “What was I going to do with this time?”

Now I must be candid with you, washing clothes, rearranging closest, dresser drawers, and ironing was nowhere on the list of things I might do with this day! But that is what I ended up doing. Somehow I started pulling out summer clothing and discovered there were certain items I had not worn last year or the year before. Why? I don’t remember, but what I found was that I was going to have a fresher wardrobe than I had anticipated.

My finances have not yet lined up with what I believe God for them to be. Many don’t know this but a part-time job I had for almost 10 years ended in February. So right now I am not able to add the new pieces to my spring and summer wardrobe that I would like. And there was a part of me that wanted to be sad about this. Why? Because I feel that I work hard for the Lord doing ministry work and have sacrificed a lot to raise my youngest daughter and I should be able to buy new clothes. Now mind you, these were just my feelings, they have nothing to do with the reality of God in my life. I’m just sharing my emotional state with you because as women we can let our emotions get the best of us and easily lose sight of God’s reality. The purpose of “The Kitchen Table” is to let our sisters know that you are not alone in the things that you feel or experience. So, I just wanted everyone to know that when it comes to the makings for a “pity party” you are never alone. LOL!!

Now God’s reality in my life is…..He has kept every single promise that He has ever made to me!!! Thing is, He never promised I would be able to shop the way I desired. He never promised I would have a vacation and travel every year. But He did promise He would supply all that I have need of. Do I need new clothes? Honestly, “No.” Would I like a few new pieces? “YES!” Will I get new clothing this season? I don’t know? Reason being, my checkbook says, “No,” but since my checkbook does not have the final say, we will just have to wait and see.

As I began to look at what clothing I had, versus what I didn’t have, my entire attitude began to change. And the blues that were trying to get me realized they were no longer welcome. As they were leaving I had them send a text message to despair, sadness and woe-is-me, and tell them to turn back around because the party was off! ~Smile~

My excitement began to grow as I looked at familiar pieces with fresh eyes, and spent my day, gleaning a new wardrobe from what I already possessed. It turned into a time of refreshing the old or that which had become familiar. The next day I wore this beautiful blouse (it was one I hadn’t worn in a couple of years) with a new chunky necklace I had yet to wear, and headed off to church. Did I feel beautiful? You better believe it! Was it because of the clothes? NO! It was because of my attitude. While pulling out the different items, I began to realize what I had. Not just in clothing pieces, but what I had in Jesus. What it means to be the daughter of a King. I remembered that the clothes didn’t make me, but it was the love of God that made me. It was the death of Yeshua that made me and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God. So that is why I felt beautiful and strutted my stuff. I was wearing designer, but it was designed from the inside out.

During service a couple of older songs were sung, and I realized how much I loved them but it had been sometime since I heard them. When I got home, I started rummaging through my CD drawer and found not only those songs, but many more I had not listened to in awhile. Since then I’ve made a play list of some of my favorites and I’ve been listening to them with a refreshed ear. You know how it is when you get a new CD; you keep playing that new favorite, over and over. Well, I’ve been playing my new old favorites, over and over.

Sisters, often what we think we need, must have, or want, is already in our possession. We just need to refresh or adjust our attitude about things. I love wearing a new outfit for the first time and there is a special feeling that can come with that, but I realized the Sunday before last, that nothing tops the feeling of knowing who you really are. I cannot remember ever having a new outfit that made me feel the way I did, in the outfit I gleaned from the storage box from under the bed. Why? Because it had nothing to do with the clothing, it was all about me.

Spring is the season for new life and growth. It is a time when we open the windows, let in the fresh air and clean away all the old dust of winter. It is also a time to paint, garden, change out the draperies and bed covers, and just all around freshen things up. We often equate this with spending money, but I wonder how much we can refresh by refurbishing what we already have? Do you remember everything that is in those boxes you stashed away a couple of years ago? Take a look, you might find that you have a few gems you have forgotten about.

Just as we have boxes in the attic, basement, under the bed and the spare room that we have forgotten about, I think we also have things of God we have packed way and forgotten about? I know that I always feel really good about my home after a good spring cleaning, and especially when I change out accessories or paint a new wall. So, what about if we approach our spiritual lives the same as we do our spring cleaning and planting? What if we pull out the boxes that hold our experiences with God and house His faithfulness that we haven’t really thought about in awhile? What if we get rid of spiritual junk that is cluttering up our hearts and taking up precious space where faith could rule? What if we pulled up some of the weeds we have let creep into our hearts and replace them with the good seeds of the promises of God? What if we did a good spring cleaning on our inner self? What would that mean for us? Sisters I think it would mean something different for everybody, but the common thread would be, “It would bring us closer to our Father!” And it doesn’t get any better than that!!!

I pray you have been inspired to look at what you have with new eyes. I challenge you my dear sisters to start spring cleaning in your soul. I challenge you to refresh, and refurbish that which you already have and get rid of the old that is trash and taking up space. How? Just as you would in your house…one project at a time!



Blessings & Love
Ponnie

I will be back at my regularly scheduled slot on Wednesday, April 14th "Living Single & Loveing It" Hope to see you then.


Saturday's Blog: Tovah is up with "Life of a High School Junior"

NEGLECTED!

Neglect: n, to give too little care or attention to; to slight.

Often when we hear of neglect, it has to do with the care of children. This is a major problem not only in the USA, but in the world. In the USA we can gage the problem by our overwhelmed foster care system and child abuse cases that are reported or come to light. Another large area of neglect is our health. Health insurance does not insure that you will not neglect your health. Eating right, exercising, getting enough rest, eliminating as much stress from your life as possible has nothing to do with whether you have health insurance or not. These are the two most common forms of neglect we hear about and are often addressed by the media in some form or fashion.

Personally I’ve been on both spectrums of neglect. I’ve been neglected and I’ve also been neglectful. The neglect that I have incurred in my life was not my fault and nor did I have any control over it at the time, but I take full responsibility for the times I’ve been neglectful of me. Today I want us to take a look at a major source of neglect that might be in our lives and what we can do to turn that around.

Most often we look at neglect in the physical, emotional or natural state of being. And we don’t talk a lot about our spiritual neglect. Yet this is a huge problem for Believers, and especially for women. Why women? Because we are always busy. And busy has a way of running wild just as weeds in a garden. Anything that is neglected long enough will have tell-tale-signs of the neglect. If you do not weed your garden your plants or flowers will begin to die and the weeds become the prominent thing you see. If the outside of your house is not painted after a certain amount of years, the paint will start to chip and you lose your curb appeal. If you don’t dust or mop a floor for weeks you begin to see the dirt. If we don’t bathe, we have an unpleasant body odor. After awhile neglect always becomes evident, it is something that can only be kept a secret but for so long. It is the same with neglect of our spiritual wellbeing. We can only go so long, before the evidence of neglect starts to show up as, short tempered, cranky, flustered, frustrated, critical, moody, sad, touchy and just plain mean spirited.

Spiritual neglect is something we don’t like to talk about, because it would mean that we have to fess up to falling short in an area that is very important to our every day lives. As women we like to put on the face of “I have it all under control.”

Just recently I started to feel frustration in just about every area in my life. I found myself moving into the realm of being critical of others and what they weren’t doing versus what they should be doing. This is a red flag for me, and I had to STOP and take a good look at what was going on. Well, it didn’t take long to see what the problem was. For the past few weeks I had become neglectful of my daily spiritual life. Or to put it in real terms, “Neglectful of my relationship with the Lord!” And this translates into me doing things in my own strength, which leads to frustration and then discouragement.

My dear sisters, it is so easy for “life unscripted or our busyness” to creep in and take over. It is so easy to say, “I’ll read my bible later,” and later never comes that day, or the next day or the next. Feeding our spiritual self is something we must do in order to not become weak, or unhealthy. How long are you going to go before you feed your natural body or drink water? How long are you going to stay awake before seeking sleep to rejuvenate yourself? Without food, water and proper rest, our bodies and minds do not work very well. So is the same with our spiritual body. If not nurtured, feed, refreshed and watered, it begins to get weak and is more subject to attack.

How do we make sure not to neglect our spiritual selves? For one discipline is a key component. But I’m not one to tell you to work a formula to get that discipline. Formulas to God are a setup for failure every time. Relationship is what He desires from us. I’m not going to tell you to read a certain amount of the Bible each day. No, I’m just going to tell you to pick it up and read. I have had times where I have read the Bible for less than five minutes because a particular scripture jumped out and became my mediation for that day. Prayer is very important, yet I’m not going to tell you that you have to get up and pray an hour every morning before your day gets started. Why? Because that can be a setup for failure too. What happens when you oversleep that one morning and you can’t, how do you feel the rest of the day? Often guilty. God doesn’t want guilty, He just wants time with us. Prayer (our form of communication) is something we should be doing throughout the day. Might we need a more concentrated block of time to discuss particulars? Of course! But what is stopping us from praising God in the shower and expressing our love for Him as we are drying off? Why do we feel we have to wait until we have that blocked time before we can really talk to Him?

Since our individual lifestyles are so very different we each have to figure out (with the guidance of the Holy Spirit), what would work best in how we spend time with the Lord. But do keep in mind, that if we approach spending time with God as being in a relationship, things will have a more natural flow to them. We just have to purpose to make the time, and stop looking at being with Him as we do caller ID, “Oh I’m doing something right now; I’ll get back to them when I have a moment.” That is not how we treat those who are important to us.

I hope that today I have encouraged those of you who feel that you have fallen behind in your Bible reading to get over the guilt trip. Don’t worry about trying to read the Bible through in 1 year, just read it. If your life has become very chaotic in the mornings and you have been feeling guilty because you haven’t been spending 1 hour each morning with the Lord that you too will get over that guilt trip. Romans 10:17 tells us that “Faith comes by hearing the Word” and it has been very beneficial to me to call a woman of great faith and listen to her talk about the Word of God. A call like that kills two birds with one stone for me, I get to fellowship with a sister and I’m encouraged in the ways of God! Often when I get off the phone, I continue the conversation with the Lord, or read.

The beauty of relationships is that they are never the same every day. If they were, it would be very boring. God doesn’t want formulas from us; He wants us to want Him. So make the time, and let Him take the lead. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Repeat after me…”NO MORE NEGLECT OF THE SPIRITUAL ME!”



Love & Hugs
Ponnie


Friday's Blog: A little more from Ponnie. I hope you stop by.

WHAT'S A MOTHER TO DO....When Kids Have Spring Fever?

Well spring has sprung, the lawns are green, flowers are blooming, and the kids are acting as if they have lost their minds. I don’t know if there is a correlation between the spring awakenings of that which has been asleep during the long cold winter months and the spring unleashing of pent up energy in today’s children; but I surely can make a case for it in my home. Currently the weather in Philly is extraordinary, the sun is shining, mid 70’s with a light wind. This is the weather that I would like to live in 365days a year. With this weather comes the roar of motorcycles, loud music that vibrates your house, Rita’s water ice and ……restless children. I love the spring, it is my most favorite season but nice weather does not impress me. I don’t feel the need to rush out and “enjoy the nice weather” as many others do. I’m satisfied with my windows open, a cool breeze, and a good book or movie. However I am aware that children do like to go out during this time of year. The last blog I wrote about choosing where to take kids that don’t break the bank. During the spring children are happy with just going to the park and running around. Which is great but as a parent I too would like to enjoy myself but the sliding board and monkey bars don’t bring me the joy and excitement they did 25 years ago. Saturday we went to the zoo, an outing that we make once a year. I enjoy the zoo as much as my children do, its good exercise and educational. At times I did envy my almost 3 year old AJ as she enjoyed the cool breeze in her stroller. After 2 ½ hours we had covered the entire zoo and my mission had been accomplished, all 3 of my children were now ready for a nap including my 11 year old.

Sunday I wanted to take them to the park but that pent up energy released itself in some not so suitable ways. My 11 year old felt is necessary to write on my walls with marker which is the latest in a series of offenses. She may not get out again until 8th grade graduation. My 5 year old poured water in the television which is now out of commission and my almost 3 year old was under the impression that I enjoyed the sound of her whine. If this is any indication of what the spring will bring, Lord help me! The one good thing is that my neighbors finally brought a new grill. I would gag and almost vomit every time they grilled on the old one. If it was 80 degrees out I would close my windows and put the air just to avoid the stench of their grill. I have learned to be appreciative of the small things.

Spring is also the time of “spring cleaning” which I have yet to do. I so badly want to repaint and redecorate my home but my broods of wall artists have left me reluctant to do so. Every day I discover a new Picasso on my walls. Usually its crayon but my 11 year old decided to take it up a notch to marker. I think I might lose my mind if I redo my home and someone writes or draws on my walls. I don’t plan on this being a boring spring. I want to have fun but how much is up to my children, especially Zoe. Zoe and I are going through a rough patch right now so I ask that you keep us in your prayers. Zoe may lose out on a lot due to her behavior but I have to tow the line because if she gets bored it sets her up to get herself in trouble which is what I don’t want to happen. Tina is going to Kindergarten in September so every day she asks me if it is September yet; each and every single day. So for me this is sort of a bittersweet spring as Tina will officially become a student and every spring thereafter will be a transition to a new grade. I can only pray that I assist all of my children in the Spring transition and shower them with love as the rain covers the earth.



Peace & Love
Michele

Until next time....Wednesday, April 21st!


Thursday's Blog: Ponnie has something special for you ladies, be sure to tune in!