Food for Thought: "Check Your Space"

Dedicated to Bunny Brown... thanks for the card, Oldgirl.

As I mentioned before, Spiritual Blogger Keisha "Kitten" Isaacs, author of the Ink on the Sheets blog, has an excellent ministry that heavily utilizes our current technology. Every Monday morning, she sends out a inspirational text message.

I had a chance to talk to her last night. We were chatting away on Facebook chat near the midnight hour. She gave me her phone number and told me to call her.

*Lee catching a crook in her neck from sitting up too quick in the bed*

It was one of them "What in the world?" moments.

I guess she sees me crouched in a corner of the city in sackcloth dumping ashes on my head and wailing inside, and wants to help a sista get up off the floor...

So she took it upon herself to talk to me and straighten me out. And to pray about some things with me.

I do appreciate that, Keisha. I felt better this morning. Thanks for the "LYLAS" moment.

I found this text particularly inspirational. She gave me permission to post it up.

I found the part I highlighted in read particulary important.

I'll give my thoughts afterwards.


Hey Queen,

Greetings from LYLAS 4 Life Ministries, "A modern day ministry, delivering the word of God through technology to unite, empower, and uplift sistahs in Christ." In addition to your weekly TextScriptz, I send you God's love, peace, and blessings. I pray we have a tongue seasoned with honey rather than spice.

My soon to be three year old nephew and I were watching The Wiz yesterday and I found there were so many spiritual lessons to be learned from that movie. However, today I’d like to focus on the Scarecrow and the self-doubt that was instilled in him by the constant discouragement of the crows.

Many people have grown up in families where negativity is as natural as a stomach growling from hunger pains. It simply was a way of life for them. In fact, positivity would be viewed as a foreign language for some. I see it daily when I speak positive affirmations to the boys that I work with. Unfortunately, they cannot see the young princes that I see when I look at them. Instead, they see what they feel or what others have spoke into their lives, and it isn’t always charming. Like the scarecrow, they are filled with so much potential but lacking confidence because of that deadly thing called doubt.

What’s interesting is that the scarecrow felt he didn’t have a brain and yet he was literally loaded with wisdom. There were powerful words stuffed inside of him that helped make up who he was and who he would be. However, the negative words from those devilish crows had deceived him for years until Dorothy came down that road bringing hope with her.

Sistah, when you skip down the road are you bringing hopeful words or hateful words with you? Do you help pull out the greatness that is tucked inside of others or do you contribute to their uncertainty about themselves, life, and God with your words and actions? Are you singing praises of a mighty God and that all things are possible through him or do you reinforce their thoughts that they can’t win, they can’t break even, and they can’t get out of the game? Are you a WORD deliverer my sistah; do you come with the gift of God’s word when you speak? Let’s be careful what we say to others because “reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (Proverbs 12:18). We are surrounded by many people who are like the scarecrow in need of someone to run off the crows and bring healing to them through Godly words. So speak like sistah….speak life!

Loving You Like A Sistah (LYLAS),

http://www.lylas4life.org/
http://www.textscriptz.com/

First of all, if you are not subscribed to that text service... uh, why don't you get up on that. It is very helpful. We're quick to roll up on the blog drama... why don't you roll up on something useful?

That is, if you want courage instead of corn in your life.

(I'll take courage over corn any day. An Oldgirl needs all the courage she can get, you see).

I liked the analogy of the scarecrow. Keisha knows how to snatch the take-home lesson out of the simplest things...

That part in red, though... that got to me.

First of all, I am thankful that their is NO ONE in my personal space who personifies the negative aspects of that passage.

Ain't nobody contributing to my uncertainty about myself, life, and God with their words and actions.

Ain't nobody reinforcing my thoughts that I can’t win, I can’t break even, and I can’t get out of the game.

Ain't nobody kicking hateful words my way.

Plus, I'll like to add my own 2 cents to all this. And feel free to let me know if I'm off base on this.

People who are not in control of their own emotions have a tendency to want to try to control the emotions of others.

People who are not happy with their own lives will try to control the lives of others.

So putting all this together, I ask you a question.

And be sure to check all around you, check your pockets, check under your feet... in other words, check your personal space...

Check. Your. Space.

What kind of friends do you have around you today? What kind of influence are they having on you today?

Something to think about on a Thursday morning...