Thinking Ministry

Am I My Family’s Keeper?

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Striking Resemblance of a Trio (Gramdmother, Mother, Daughter)

Inspiration: God, Family, Josiah Oslund (Author of “A Worship Leader’s Handbook)

 “How can I help the needs of the people if I neglect those I have been assigned to for a lifetime?” – Q. Armstrong

 

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Birth of Inspiration:
On New Year’s Eve 2013, I downloaded a FREE book from iBooks, “A Worship Leader’s Handbook” by Josiah Oslund. In the chapter entitled Family Feud: Balance vs. Priority, Oslund’s first sentence states “Your primary ministry calling is your family”.  That one statement caused me to feel conflicted. I can honestly say that for the past two years, I have been so consumed with my life and trying to play “Quaneshia – Fix My Own Life” and then the follow up “God – I Can’t Do It: Fix my Life” (taken from the title of American Reality TV Series, “Iyanla: Fix My Life”) that I spent less time being a support for my family. Yes, I was fully aware of all the things that my family was going through. For years my family (young and seasoned) had no reservation with venting to me about the issues that plagued them. I care, and I earnestly prayed for them and their deliverance. However, I felt that I did not have the energy to fully deal with my issues and theirs at the same time. In the voice of TV personality Maury Povich of the ever so popular syndicated American tabloid show “Maury(known to reveal paternity test results to guests that are unaware of the other individual responsible for birthing the child(ren),  “ Quaneshia, You are… . Self Absorbed, In Denial, Out of Order and Disobedient.” It was a harsh reality check moment, but true. Continue Reading

Thinking Inspiration

Complain Not!

Inspiration: God; Melanie A. Scott-Bennett, Esq. (Leukemia Survivor)

First, let’s define the term complain:

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, complain is defined as to express dissatisfaction or annoyance about a state of affairs or an event.

The UrbanDictionary describes “complaining” as being what hypocritical people do when something displeases them. They would rather use a verbal indication to express their displeasure of a certain thing, rather than taking a stand and doing something about it. “Ouch!”

Now there is a thin line between venting and complaining. You primarily vent to release concerns to someone that will potentially provide advice, encouragement or just a listening ear. At times your vent session can be between you and your journal. Either way, I strongly encourage vent sessions for it is not healthy to withhold all types of emotions. However, it’s only a vent session when you have the mindset to seek direction and make preparation to overcome. That next step could just be exercising your faith and not becoming a victim to your problem. Your “vent” session downgrades to complaining when you talk about it and then start planning the pity-party of the year. Continue Reading

Thinking Inspiration

Can Your Dry Situation Live?

 

 

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Inspiration: God, Mother, and Ezekiel 37: 1-14

My Story:
For several months, I had been strongly seeking God about my life and my purpose. With 3 decades under my belt, I needed clarity more than anything else. I knew that since I believed in Him and was still amongst the land of the living, then there had to be a specific plan for me for each season of my life. It seems as though we seek more of the plan when we are either in a valley situation or just feel lost in the shuffle of life’s playlist. I came to a point where I refused to live the rest of my life for the world and not my Creator.

I take “seek ye first the Kingdom of God” to heart and was seeking God for the answer. But you do know that God uses people, places and things to speak to us. But out of reverence, I went to God FIRST! Then on Memorial Day, I decided to give my mother a call and vent. Here’s the thing… I know that God has equipped me with gifts, talents and abilities. I was wondering what does God want me to do in this season? My flesh tries to figure everything out causing me to think that this one path will cause me to have substantial financial increase. I feel that since I have invested time and currently investing money in pursuing my CPA, then that’s what I should focus on. However my heart at this time is ministry. So here I am wondering what am I supposed to be do in this season? How can I work a full time job, study for the CPA exam, and be committed to my ministry assignment? Continue Reading

Thinking Inspiration

It’s 2013! Why Haven’t We Seen that Hidden Desire?

Not just in 2013, but for years to come God wants to do some amazing, BIG things in your life. Some of those things you have once desired, and some of those things are hidden in your heart. Hidden can be interpreted here in about two ways: (1) God has already ordained something for you that you currently have no idea about or (2) it’s something that every once in awhile you will acknowledge, but quickly and easily dismiss it. I want to focus on the latter. Why is the desire so easily dismissed? Maybe you think it is impossible or the process to attain it is too much to fathom. Well, those are just some of the reasons why it is still hidden. The mere fact that you occasionally revisit that desire may very well mean that it is something that you are to pursue. It could also be God’s way of reminding you that the seed has been planted. The seed wants to sprout and grow, but out of fear you keep it in the ground. It is time for us to utilize the measure of faith that we have and proclaim that if God is wanting to do something BIG in my life, then let it be, so. Pray about it and ask God to help you embrace it and speak it into the atmosphere. You can’t forget that God is an extremely creative God. If He has placed that on your heart, then He has the means and resources ready to make it come into fruition. Continue Reading