I don’t know about you but December always seems to fly by…Between making Christmas lists, shopping with the masses, sending out Christmas greetings via e-mail or snail mail, going to Christmas parties and other events, preparing for the New Year and regular life stuff, it seems there is never enough time to do it all and so I almost look forward to January when life is back to its regular pace…
And if you noticed, I haven’t mentioned Jesus at all…That is because with all I have to or want to do, I can forget that the birth of Jesus, God’s precious gift to mankind, is the real reason for the season…And so to prepare my heart for this season and hopefully help you prepare your heart for this season too, I have decided to list seven scriptures that take the focus off of the worldly expressions of the Christmas season and help us to focus on Jesus…
1.“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Matthew 1:23 I just love that Immanuel means “God with us.” Jesus was born so that God could be with us…Remember that the next time you feel alone because you are not…God is with us!
2. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 Look how much we are loved by God! He sacrificed His one and only Son! What have we sacrificed for God lately? Something to remember and act on at this time of the year…
3. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 Every time I see Christmas lights, I’m going to remember that God is the father of heavenly lights and that every good and perfect gift is from Him…I’m feeling better about the Christmas season already…
4. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 Although we will never be free of sin this side of Heaven, we can still accept God’s gift of eternal life with Jesus Christ who helps us not to sin…
5. “…Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have…” 1 Peter 3:15 At some point during this Christmas season, we have to know that everyone around us does not know the real reason for the season…I hope I’m ready when the opportunity arises for me to tell somebody about my Lord and Savior…
6. “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 Do you want the desires of your heart? Of course Then we have to delight ourselves in the Lord and His purposes…Now, this does not mean that we send up a list of what we want and then He delivers gifts like He is some Santa Claus in the sky…No, this verse means that mysteriously when we align ourselves with the Lord, His desires for us become our desires…and then we get the desires of our heart because they are His desires for us too…
7. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:14…This time of the year especially I have to make every effort to give glory to God and live at peace with others…I wish those in government would remember that…
What helps you remember the real reason for the season? This isn’t a traditional Christmas song but this song helps me to remember why Jesus left His home in Heaven on high to come to earth way below…
Y’all, my family is going through a storm, one of those pop up thunderstorms that we didn’t see coming… But God is still good, and I know that I know that I know that He will bring good out of bad or positive out of negative as is noted in Romans 8:28! And I’m still thankful! At this time of the year, Thanksgiving Eve, it is appropos to compile the obligatory gratitude list…I am thankful for my health, spouse, family etc….Yes, all of those are definitely true, but according to God’s word we are to:
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:1
This means that God expects us to be thankful for even the negative things that He has allowed in our lives, but we have hope in all circumstances, negative and positive, because:
We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
So with those two verses in mind, I decided to turn my gratitude list on its head and praise God for what I originally thought was negative, but God it turned into positive (And I need these reminders on today!)…I’m going all the way back to childhood…Come with me 🙂
1. Not Being a Popular Kid and Bordering on Being Chubby For Most of My Childhood…I guess I’ve always been self-conscious which doesn’t work well on the playground…If someone asks you to play with him or her on the playground, and you rehearse your answer before you reply…You will probably not be the most popular kid…You will be probably be among the weirdo kids…Or if you would rather watch the Brady Bunch [insert whatever show is popular now] with a snack instead of go outside and play kickball, you will probably be among the chubby kids…But not being the most popular, kinda chubby kid made me develop my inner qualities like compassion and kindness because I wanted to be treated without compassion and kindness…AND now that I’m adult, I have no illusion that I can just sit around and preserve my sexy…Good thing to know when you’re over 40…I have to eat right and work out…no excuses…God knows best…
2. Getting Into the Honors Program at Howard University, But Not Receiving Any Scholarship Money…Like many of my friends who spent our high school years watching a “A Different World” or attending Atlanta Football Classic games, I just knew I would be attending an HBCU (historically black college or university)! My chosen HBCU was Howard University in our nation’s capital. I had visited Washington D.C. when I was in the seventh grade, and I vowed I would return there as a college student…But it wasn’t meant to be…Although I got into Howard University and the school’s Honors Program, I didn’t receive any scholarship money…It only made sense that at point to go to the school where I had three scholarships…The University of Georgia…a dreaded HWCU…LOL…To my surprise, I had a blast in college, pledged the most wonderful sorority (Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.) in the world and got a great journalism education without worrying about being hampered by the debt I would have surely incurred had I gone to my “dream school.” God knows best…
3. Becoming a Christian, and Then Losing My Friends…When I decided to give my life to Jesus Christ and no longer depend on the fact that my father, my uncles and grandfather were pastors, I expected my life to get better…After all, if I know God, the creator of the universe, how could anything go wrong? We cool like that…I was wrong…so very wrong..Many of my friends didn’t understand why I spent more time than the obligatory Sunday morning in church or chose not to go to certain places…I cried and I cried I felt so alone…But it was during those moments that God got me alone that I got to know Him…Many of those friendships have been restored as time has passed…but I still know how to depend on God alone because of that time…God knows best…
4. Losing My Job Right After I Bought My First Home…I must admit I was frantic when I lost my job at a newspaper months after buying my first home…Up until that time, I had been living with my parents and while I paid for my own bills like for my car, clothes, etc., my parents didn’t force me to pay rent or anything although I was a college graduate…All of a sudden, I had to pay more bills with less money…During that year or so, I was depressed…I ignored some bills…I took some jobs beneath my education just to get by…But I also had time to explore my creativity like taking a class on “The Artist’s Way” and seeing a career counselor…And when it was all over, I learned that God was my resource not that job…I learned that I didn’t even want a traditional newspaper job anymore…God knows best…
5.Wanting to Get Married at 30 Years Old, Only to Get Married a Month Short of my 40th Birthday…My mom got married when she was 30 years old…Why would my life be any different? Well, chile, what I did I know? As it turns out, nothing at 30 years old…I had to date some good ones, some bad ones, some crazy ones, etc. before I was finally ready for the man God had for me…Those 10 years were heartbreaking, but they were also precious…a gift of human experiences…I wouldn’t want to go through them again, but I learned so many things about myself and other people that only be taught in the classroom of life…Plus, those years fueled my writing life like nothing else…As any writer knows, pain is the best inspiration…God knows best…
6. Taking Seven Years to Get a Book Deal…In 2002, I had an idea to write a memoir about developing a personal relationship with God, and in 2003, I began trying to get a publisher for my book…It wasn’t until 2010 that I got a book deal…Yes, seven years after I started…But it took all of that time to show me the book needed to include other women and not just me…When I became a Christian, I searched bookstores looking for Christian life books written by black women…I found one or two here or there, but I knew there needed to be more…Once I got some Christian living under my belt, I wanted to write one for a black Christian woman who, like me, wanted to know how other black Christian women walked out their faith…What I learned by being rejected over and over again was that I needed more experiences than just mine…My book includes the testimonies of 24 women in ONE book…This is so the book I wanted for myself years ago…God knows best…
7. Taking Seven Years To Get a Book Deal…Yes, I know already wrote that…But I have more to share on this topic…In 2007, my dream publisher (I still walk around with the business card of the acquisitions editor of this company.) at the time was interested in my original memoir, but my book was ultimately rejected because I didn’t have a platform….I.Almost.Died…At least it felt like I was nearing death because I got so close to realizing my dream only to wake up to the cruel reality of life for an unpublished author…But I didn’t let that rejection stop me…I got busy on developing my platform…This blog was birthed as a result of that rejection…This blog has become a way that I connect to others across the nation and the world…a place to dream…a place to vent…an online history…I love it so…And it is one of the reasons that I got a book deal as I met former “The View” co-host Sherri Shepherd, one of the women featured in book, because of this blog…
So what “negative” things are you thankful for today? Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
And if you need to praise God while you are going through the storm like I do, here is a song to help us do that!
I know Thanksgiving is still over a week way and we have over a month till Christmas, but it’s still time to start planning for the “most wonderful time of the year!” One of the ways that I get in the mood for the Christmas season is Christmas music – old and new! Well y’all know that the Winans are a musical dynasty which has resulted in Deborah Joy Winans portraying a musically gifted (although troubled) Charity Greenleaf on my favorite show OWN’s Greenleaf. So guess what? Her real life brother (not Jacob Greenleaf LOL) Juan Winans and his wife Lisa Winans(formerly Lisa Kimmey) are announcing the release of their Christmas EP, “A Little Soul for Christmas,” onFriday, November 16via Parkside & Papergirl Entertainment.
The EP’s lead singles, “Rest” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” are available for listening now. Juan and Lisa Winans married in 2007. After leading believers in worship for over a decade together, the Grammy nominated couple are returning to their first love as gospel music recording artists.
“We want to combine the platform and expertise we’ve gained from our years as successful recording artists with our understanding of the needs of the church from the context of music and worship. God has anointed us to walk in both for the purpose of advancing His Kingdom in this generation,” says Juan Winans.
Juan Winans began his career with the Billboard #1 Gospel Album, “Winans Phase 2: We Got Next,” which birthed the hit single “It’s Alright (Send Me);” and continued on to write and produce for a myriad of Gospel, Pop and R&B artists includingMary Mary,Lalah Hathaway,Smokie NorfulandMichael Bolton. In 2016, Juan Winans and his sisterDeborah Joy Winans(“Greenleaf”) began a series of tours in the original musical Born For This: The BeBe Winans Story.
Lisa Winans(formerly Lisa Kimmey) is best known as one third of the trailblazing Contemporary Christian Music trio, Out of Eden. The group was active from 1994 to 2006, producing seven albums through Gotee Records and received two Dove Awards. During Lisa’s tenure with Out of Eden, she appeared on UPN’s 90’s sitcom “Moesha,” and hosted original programming for GMC (Gospel Music Channel). In 2006, Out of Eden retired and released a greatest hits compilation. The trio reunited in 2014 for a special Gotee Records compilation album with a cover of House of Hero’ssingle “Constant.”
“Juan and Lisa are dear friends who will lift and encourage people from all backgrounds through their music. Their devotion to Christ combined with the excellence in their presentation creates a dynamic environment where lives are changed,” saysDr. Rice Brooks, co-Founder Every Nation Churches.
Celebrating the true reason for the season “A Little Soul for Christmas” will fill your holiday with sounds of peace, love and joy. This essential addition to your holiday music collection is available wherever music is digitally sold on Friday, November 16.
Check out “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Juan and Lisa Winans below:
The track listing for “A Little Soul for Christmas” is as follows:
Hello World,Then we have to delight ourselves in the Lord and His purposes…Now, this does not mean that we send up a list of what we want and then He delivers gifts like He is some Santa Claus in the sky…No, this verse means that mysteriously when we align ourselves with the Lord, His desires for us become our desires…and then we get the desires of our heart because they are His desires for us too…
Juan