What's It Worth

hought for today:
Good morning kings and queens...
I saw this pic and I thought " I found Waldo!" Can I just say that this quote has fathoms it's so deep...
Let me just jump right into my word for you today.....
I'm in 2 Corinthians 6: 11-18

11 We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians. Our hearts are open wide. 12 It is not our affection, but yours that is restrained. 13 As a fair exchange, I ask you as my children: Open wide your hearts also.

14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will dwell with them
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be My people.”

17“Therefore come out from among them
and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you.”

18 And:
“I will be a Father to you,
and you will be My sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.

Now, I get two messages from this....first, let me address what people tend to say about this passage when they're seeking to justify their stuff... this is not a passage that speaks in judgement...it is a passage holding an individual accountable... noting that you cannot serve both Goad and man.
Second point and what I believe to be the crux of this passage, God gives people common sense yet, we tend to override it based on what WE WANT... we engage in the pattern of repeatedly "extending the benefit of the doubt" because there is something in it for us...even when the pain and the hurt far exceed the so-called benefits. ( oh!! I know I'm preaching to somebody today) The cost (READ THE QUOTE AGAIN!!!) "For what profits a man..." what's your price? I bet it adds up to 30 pieces of silver (the lowest price paid for a slave)

For those of you who sometimes feel I get a bit "too preachy" and that I'm too far over in Canaan to keep it 100 lemme hit you with some scripture from the book of Tupac 1: 1 T.H.U.G L.I.F.E

a second quote from the book of Tupac;
The Rose That Grew From Concrete

Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.

You have a responsibility and an accountability for your healing. Once you get up you must decide if you're going to stay up and help others grow from their concrete...
Don't just talk about it, be about it! ~KB

The ghost of "honesty"

Thought for today:
Good morning beautiful spirits,
I don't know about you but yesterday was one for the record books for me....there was too much for me to process. I came home full of frustration and "toxins" from the projection of others. I ate and crashed until about 9 PM and I've been "haunting" ever since...by haunting I mean hovering and lingering over some food for thought. I read and pray when everything is quiet and still...

My thoughts led me to think about what it means to be honest; hence the quote about society and family. If you're familiar with the 12 Steps you should know about Step 4...while not in recovery for drugs or alcohol. I am in recovery from a childhood of immense trauma. I grew up in a home with a physically, emotionally and verbally abusive alcoholic father. Domestic violence was the norm (hearing and witnessing my mother being battered by this man, , her husband, my father)
With each blow up, verbal abuse, physical incident - mom battered or excessive child punishment, police presence...my siblings and I were given the same message "don't go out there tellin' people our business..." What a message and responsibility to give a child!!!!

Step 4 Made a searching a fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

I share with my clients that I work this Step every single day...once in the morning for motivation and at night as a means of self-assessment. Some days I feel like I get things right and other days are epic fails.

Let, me get to my point and my pictures. Far too many of us are living our lives in denial and deceit...because of the toxic presence of ghosts and specters (there's a difference between the two words and now you know why I used the aforementioned word haunting)
You ever notice that people who claim honesty and to be honest have the most secrets? They practice omission or make stringent claims to be a "private" person. You ever notice that the "privacy" takes on a Wizard of Oz like wrath and anger when someone gets too close to exposing the truth and frailties?

I share my story without hesitation , no stigma, i rebuke the guilt and shame that people think I should carry. I reject secrets and lies...my closet is for clothes and not skeletons....

Integrity is doing the "right" thing no matter what.....integrity has an audience of one....and your recognition and validation comes when your soul is aligned with the righteousness of God. Integrity is not self serving, integrity is not about the look at me. Integrity sometimes may have pain or consequences attached to it....but again I must remind you that integrity is not of this world.

I may not be aware of all the bones that I have kept during my lifetime but you can best believe I know what to do with them when they're exposed....I make a hearty stock and I use it to the glory...amen..

STOP listening to the empty "honesty and subjective truths" of the people who are in the "business of telling you who and what you should be and do and be about the business of who God says you are!!!

Ok...y'all know I love to get with the "Mother's Board" at church....walk in the light, the beautiful light, come where the dew drops of mercy shine bright ~ KB I love y'all!!!

No Temptation

  

Thought for today:
Good morning kings and queens,
I start this week off with some heavy thoughts. If, you know me, you know I listen...what I listen for is the things you're saying by not saying them. If you know me, you'll also know that I am judicious with my responses to what I hear in the unspoken ( a habit learned from and in prayer)... saying all this to say.That someone said something the other day....and they don't even know they spoke volumes to what I'm about to "preach"....Yes, I said preach....pull up a chair this message is going to be a bit wordy.
Some of y'all don't believe in a Higher Power (God, Allah) or a spirit that seeks to exalt itself against it (Satan, Shaytan)....so I'm going to pose it to you like this:
At some points in life we are at our peak performance; we're up and coming, energy is positive and we seemingly have everything our heart's desire. We're "In the building and feeling ourselves"... and this is when we're most vulnerable to the attack of the "enemy". This is when the negative energy and forces come into play and the "polarity power play" begins.
Matthew 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”

11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Imagine being tempted by your BLESSINGS- you ever think that the if you misuse what you've been given it can become a curse? Of course you haven't... The enemy uses YOU to get YOU!!!! playing on your pride, your faults, your insecurities...He doesn't care what he uses as long as he has your attention...and he has taken your eyes and hearts off God.

some of us are following everything but God....some of us are looking for a God "supplement"...like He needs a "booster"....

As we shelter in place....use the time to build your faith.
2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV) Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
2 Timothy 3: 16-17 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Matthew 4: 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Walk in Spirit and Truth y'all ~ KB

This little light

Thought for today:
Good morning kings and queens,
I don't know who needs to hear this message this morning but I just felt this in my spirit.
Some of us seem to be going a bit stir crazy with the quarantine in place directive. Some of us are like the theme song of Good Times because of it...
Good Times.
Any time you meet a payment.
Good Times.
Any time you need a friend.
Good Times.
Any time you're out from under.

Not getting hassled, not getting hustled.
Keepin' your head above water,
Making a wave when you can.

Temporary lay offs.
Good Times.
Easy credit rip offs.
Good Times.

I just want to remind you that there is still a message of hope in the madness...the message being that this Covid madness is our opportunity to be still and think! This tough time is a tremendous opportunity to birth trust; an opportunity to come together and to share....loving and lifting.
WE ALL MAKE THIS WORK - this little light of mine...I'm going to let it shine ~ KB

Look Up and Live

  

Thought for today
Good morning beautiful kings and queens,

Wow, what can I say other than I had to choose all three pics to get my point across. I know that this COVID thing has everyone on edge and the "lock down" has everyone rapt with the question of "what's next?" ...while the issue is serious, is it worth another health issue? High blood pressure, stroke or personal injury because you're distracted?...high blood pressure has killed more people than COVID can or will....keep that in mind also note that by the time high blood pressure is diagnosed, other parts of the body have been affected. Can I just tell you complaining does the same thing but it is a disease of the spirit... Galatians 5:9 "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough."

When I hear someone lodge a barrage of complaints, I initially try to be empathetic and redirect the "energy" or should I say "entity" to the blessings of hope, the spirit of gratitude and the power of positivity or at the very least try to understand what's driving the thoughts and complaints and attempt to protect my own spirit. What I've learned is that discontentment is a force that is rooted in a spirit of tormented pride; hear me out....discontentment tells you what you should have, what you're entitle to; yet, your insecurities and broken self esteem tells you that you'll never measure up and it's not for you. It's the carrot on a stick held before a starving horse; before you know it you've worked yourself to death.

Let me remind you of the fact that there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for....and let me also remind you of the fact that your gratitude should not be a comparison blessing, contingent upon a negative. By this I mean the stuff you hear in "church script" I am grateful to see another day, somebody set their clock for this morning and didn't get another day.

So what! you're in the house; look at it this way, this COVID is our Passover, what a better time and opportunity to have communion with the Most High....amen🙏
Have a blessed day and look up and live...~ KB

Keep the faith

Thought for today:
Good morning good people,
I chose this pic for a very special reason. I am a mental health worker, more aptly, a substance abuse counselor and these trying times are causing people distress. Their four rooms (mental, emotional, spiritual and physical) are cluttered with fear and anxiety. People have lost sight of the doors and windows of hope and opportunity.

I say this to say, this is where my job and my words become crucial. I have to stay focused and true to what I believe and what I know has gotten me through.

Many of you are off work and becoming frustrated because you're dealing with uncertainty for the now and for the future. Many "front-liners who are working are tired and they want to insure their safety and the safety and well being of their families. Trust and believe I am no different and I can identify with both sides.... but I am not fearful in this time of crisis ...I am holding fast and firm to the PAUSE and the TRUTH in the statement "but, God". Allow me to explain:
They say the virus is deadly; true but God... Deuteronomy 31:8
8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

They say it's going to get worse before it gets better; true, but God.....Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Psalm 18: 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

They say people are panic buying and hoarding, leaving very little for the marginalized; true, but God... 1 John 4:18
18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. John 15:13 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

It's the "but God"...that changes your thoughts from fear to love and it is through this love that we're able to live, move and have our being.... Keep the faith y'all ~ KB

Restoration

        





Though for today:
Good morning beautiful souls,
Ask any of the people who I have had the pleasure of working with as a counselor....they will tell you that I have ALWAYS taught this lesson...

Allow me to give you a short back story on what I'm about to say...Many of the people I work with are in the early stages of their healing process. The very first thing I do is take them back to the messages they received to shape their self destructive behaviors. I highlight the point that these messages were provided by other people who are "walking wounded" and that it's not their baggage to carry . I discuss how they are in the process of rebuilding and that if they are ready to do the work they must first notice the damage and the ease and speed of the demolition done by the hands, and words of others. I tell them that it takes minimal effort to swing a hammer in the demo process.

I then teach that their tries and fails were a result of their attempts to rebuild without blueprints; in essence becoming a patch "good enough" job until something happens that shakes the foundation of their work...think of the house from the old TV show Green Acres. While my clients are chewing on their ideal and concept of construction and healing.... I then provide the essential message of hope from Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.

Noting that when you attempt to fix something using the materials from the "accident" it's considered SALVAGE...and that's what the healing process is Salvage, salvation, restoration and "righting" and who better to do it than the Most High...

I allow the person to identify their Higher Power but I stress that it must be a power greater than themselves because if they could have fixed, restored, renewed, righted themselves then they would have and there would be no need for a Higher Power.

Ok, I've preached enough...let me just note....we have power, and we've had it throughout whatever ordeal we've experienced. Our power is in the ability to recognize the things that damage our souls, spirits, psyche, what have you, and to say yes, to our healing.... Be bold and brave and tap into your power. Start your "righting" ~ KB