Cooperative Economics/Ujamaa

Habari gani?  UJAMAA! (Cooperative economics)

Cooperative Economics/Ujamaa: Sharing and pooling our financial resources and goods and services for the common benefit of family and community participants with the goal of building and sustaining cooperative economic enterprises.

This practice Ujamaa grows from a shared understanding that we as humans on this planet are dependent on each other and that loving, sharing, and caring are cardinal virtues.

I am honestly doing some sincere self-assessment here.  On this, the fourth day of Kwanzaa,  I have to ask myself how much am I really supporting black business, enterprise, community efforts for the betterment of our cities, towns, communities, neighborhoods and, yes, our race?

As I look around in parts of the City of Oakland, of all the closed storefronts in black neighborhoods, how many of those were former black businesses?  As an artist and a former arts manager, I am wondering how many of those black arts endeavors have gone by the wayside due to lack of support and how many are going to make it beyond 2015?  Personally I cried when the Oakland Ensemble folded after umpteen years of teaching me to live the life of black art with pride and resilience in spite of dwindling funds from the public and private sector.  Arts organizations that taught me how to produce the art on a dime seemingly no longer exist.

How often have I said out loud or in a whisper that this item would be cheaper at the big box store?  Or, perhaps, I  just gave my good money to the foreign looking and talking man on the corner because he is in my neighborhood.  Did it ever occur to me the reason he is in my neighborhood with his stale bread and cheap liquor?  We as a people can be an easy prey.

We spend hundreds on hair from a foreign land, bought in a store owned and operated by someone that speaks little or no English. We put his kids through college and pay the mortgage on his house that displaced us through that magical word called gentrification.  And, yep, my man is driving a better car and is more technically advanced and advantaged.

This year I am going to at least make the effort to buy black and support black.  I will support black endeavors not only with lip service but with my dollars as well.  The amount of money we are all guilty of wasting throughout the year could indeed go a long way toward the sustainability of that group of black poets, those black theatre companies, black dance studios, black community organizers, black bookstores, black restaurants, black barbershops and beauty salons, black dress makers, and black cake makers.  I will not be afraid to buy a membership or give a donation to a black cause that I care deeply about keeping in mind that no amount is too small.

Books by Debi Mason:

What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Aging through God's Grace

Amazon.com (paperback)

Amazon.com (Kindle edition)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (NOOK edition)

ISBN-13: 978-0692236475

Release: June, 2014

Arizona Clay: A journey of self-discovery

Amazon.com (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781606964880

Release: June, 2009

Follow me on Twitter:  @DebiOak

Blessed to be a blessing ...

I am fully aware that we can’t do anything to fix the problem of homelessness in the bay area. Yet I am also moved to an awareness that says we can ignore that feeling of helplessness and do something, anything for people that are less fortunate. 

We come in contact with the homeless each and every day.  Something that I read said that many would greatly appreciate it if someone would just acknowledge their existence.  One homeless gentleman said that he would rather someone look them in the eye and say no to his request for money or food or whatever than to do what we all are guilty of – we treat that homeless man or that homeless woman is if they were invisible.

My heart grieves when I hear a saint of the Most High God say that most of the homeless are drunks or drug addicts or that they choose to be homeless. Some, maybe, but not all. I wish I could say that this thinking was not true of us on this side but I just heard it and I am sure that Jesus heard it, too. Yes, there are those with mental issues but I have to think that their condition must be exacerbated upon the realization that they have no place to go but the gutter, a trash bin or a shelter where they are disrespected and treated as so much of nothing.  Think about it. What would this condition do to a mind that is already fragile and perhaps broken?  It is time for us to change the way we look at the world. If the Lord was not on my side, where would I be?  Where would you be?

So, instead of just thinking about the idea and talking about it, I am doing it. I following my heart in obedience and making  the determination that this Christmas is going to be different for me.  I don’t have much but what I do have is a blessing from God.  So, without a doubt, God has blessed me so that I can be a blessing to someone else. This is going to be a very merry Christmas. Amen.

Blessing Bags

Gallon size Ziplock bags

Items that could go into in the bags:

chap stick

packages of tissues

toothbrush and toothpaste

comb

soap

trail mix

granola bars

crackers

pack of gum

band aids

mouthwash

$2 cash (could be used to make a phone call, or purchase a food item)

hand wipes

you could also put in a warm pair of socks, and maybe a Starbucks gift card

Stories From Granny's Porch, 2016

Donate Now

#oakager   #soulwriter 

Books by Debi Mason:

What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Aging through God's Grace

Amazon.com (paperback)

Amazon.com (Kindle edition)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (NOOK edition)

ISBN-13: 978-0692236475

Release: June, 2014

Arizona Clay: A journey of self-discovery

Amazon.com (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781606964880

Release: June, 2009

Follow me on Twitter:  @DebiOak

Granny's Porch, 2016 : preserving the art of story

Our fundraising campaign starts today! Follow this link: 

 https://www.gofundme.com/d9anh2bg  

Opening in Oakland, California, February, 2016: Stories From Granny's Porch. This is a creative project of Oby House Productions featuring the artistry of Debi Mason. First presented on the Lyceum stage as part of the 14th Annual Kuumba Fest of the African American Council of the San Diego Repertory Theatre in 2006 Stories From Granny's Porch shares a view into the lives of those most affected by gentrification in America's cities. Told through the eyes of Granny Arilea Bell, these stories of Montezuma Streets most colorful characters come to life. Pre-production audiences have laughed out loud, shed a tear over the reality of homelessness, addiction and abuse and danced in the aisles to the jazz/blues and gospel rifts of a live combo of musicians. Want to support this project and have your name listed as a true patron of the arts? Search Go Fund Me for Granny's Porch and contribute today! We thank you and appreciate you greatly.

#oakager   #soulwriter 

Books by Debi Mason:

What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Aging through God's Grace

Amazon.com (paperback)

Amazon.com (Kindle edition)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (NOOK edition)

ISBN-13: 978-0692236475

Release: June, 2014

Arizona Clay: A journey of self-discovery

Amazon.com (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781606964880

Release: June, 2009

Follow me on Twitter:  @DebiOak

In the Shadow of 9/11

I will never forget the day. I was on my usual travel from Escondido into San Diego down the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway. I am praising the Lord as I watch the sunrise over the ocean and the cliffs  actually excited about the possibilities of the day.  I felt good and I am sure I looked better than I had in years.  I was saved, sanctified and sober. A lovely day.

My friend Mark was at his usual place selling the Tribune in the middle of the road. I always did think that this was an odd place to put a stop sign. Waiting to move forward I see that his cheerful good morning face was not there. He was but I noticed, as I sat there some five cars back, his well weathered face  had a look of something that I did not really understand.

You have to understand that Mark started my day five out of seven days a week.  I knew his story and he knew mine. We were both working a program and sometimes, I have to admit, in the year 2001 it was still a struggle for me.  Mark was what I needed to keep me sober for just one more day.  We never had long conversations just the one or two minutes it took for me to buy a morning paper and be on my way. But that one or two minutes meant so much to me and I am sure to him as well.  It was as though it was a daily confirmation that we can do this.  That strange little white man made a tremendous difference in my life and I doubt seriously if he ever realized it.

 

This day, September 11, 2001, started off strange. It was the end of a summer quickly approaching fall. Something just felt different.  I did not realize it at the time but there was a great shift happening in the spirit realm. I ignored it and turned up the gospel music and praised a little louder.

When it was my turn at the stop sign Mark leaned in and whispered, “They are bombing New York.”  “What?” I said, “Ain’t nobody bombing New York.”  He had that look of serious so I paid attention.  It really was happening and I felt like I was on some kind of drug trip. Suddenly that familiar feeling at the pit of my stomach coupled with a kind of nervousness that I knew so well, from years of being in trouble or about to be, welled up.

An idiot man behind me honked and startled me. No excuses but my first instinct was to flip him off which I did with such exuberance that when I looked in my rear view mirror I knew he got the message to not mess with me.  Making my way to the freeway entrance, I switched on the radio. Sure enough they were bombing New York.  Terrorists had high jacked a passenger plane and flown it into a building in crowded New York City.  It was later in the day that heard that another plane had crashed into the Pentagon and yet another had crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

I’m not sure if we weren’t all feeling a fear that we had never felt before. The crowded 101 was moving in slow motion. Not one car was moving faster than 15 miles per hour.  All of the cars that we passed day after day and never paid much attention to now contained real people, with real lives, with real fear etched across their faces.  We looked at each other. I mean we really looked at each other that particular morning.  It was other worldly.

I reached my place of employment in time to see on the television the second plane hit the tower. None of us that were crowded around that small television could speak.  We watched the news coverage silently and then the unthinkable happened.  The towers fell.  A silent scream bubble up in my throat. Before they knew how to edit I saw what I didn’t want to see. I saw lives tumbling from that building. Bodies and body parts mixed in with everyday stuff . It was horrible and it is an image that cannot be erased even after all of these years. 

It wasn’t as though I had never seen such atrocities in foreign lands played out on the most powerful of all mediums -  the television screen.  These things happened everyday in some part of the world. Even the Oklahoma bombing paled in comparison.  As twisted as it may be, the Oklahoma bombing was an inside job. But the World Trade Center?  These were foreign folks that crossed that imaginary boundary that said that this kind of terrorism could never ever happen on our shores.  This was America after all.  This was sacred and protected territory, right?  We could never be hurt or harmed by anyone other than ourselves. Amen?

But it happened and the Trade Center did fall and three thousand plus souls were lost. No matter the color, the creed or politics their lives were erased and we were helpless.  This is what scared most Americans the most on that day. We finally realized that we’re not invincible.

My way of looking at America changed.  I like so many stopped being naïve. This country is a mess. We have in-house issues that we have not been fully addressed….racism, poverty, homelessness, gentrification, senior health and welfare, police brutality, immigration….   We have the power to change things for the better here and we don’t exercise that power.  We are so busy blaming the legislators, the president, the powers that be. We blame the Mexicans and the black folks and the poor and the baby boomers.  We blame everybody for everything and we waste time doing it. This is exactly where those that are looking from the outside in want us to be.  We are terrorized and full of fear. We are much like the lost platoon that sees movement in the jungle and they end up killing each other.

I am an American. I could not survive as a Syrian or anyone oppressed and shut out in a Third World country.  Am I privileged? Far from it. Does not anything that is happening in this city, this community, this country affect me on a daily bases? Most assuredly and most deeply.  Each day I wake up and ask the Lord to show me what I can do today to make this a better place. Even if my job for today is to write this simple treatise in the shadow of 9/11. 

#oakager   #soulwriter 

Books by Debi Mason:

What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Aging through God's Grace

Amazon.com (paperback)

Amazon.com (Kindle edition)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (NOOK edition)

ISBN-13: 978-0692236475

Release: June, 2014

Arizona Clay: A journey of self-discovery

Amazon.com (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781606964880

Release: June, 2009

Follow me on Twitter:  @DebiOak

Grey Areas...

Sometimes my mind wonders and drifts and, to be honest, I believe I have reached that age when I can afford to let it. Swiftly my thoughts soar, sometimes without real direction, moving from the beauty and wonder of trees and oceans, to bible and love thy neighbor and wondering why it gotta be that way. 

Throughout life's journey, or much of it anyway, we are told what to think and how to think and why to think. It is through these orchestrated thoughts that we are told that success and prosperity are to be found. Today, however, as I let my mind wonder, it has occured to me that this kind of thinking is what can stiffle the creativity of somebody like me. This feeling today begs the question, is this the means by which I move closer to becoming somebody else instead of my authentic self?

And what about that word criticism either by self or someone else.  You know, criticism is that deadly silver bullet that can kill a desire, a purpose, a creative spirit quicker than anything else in life. 

Oh, as I remind myself, I am of the age that has given me the freedom to be me.  I am free to wonder in my mind down undiscovered highways and byways just because. I am free to climb great hills and mountains, bathe under glowing waterfalls, tell stories to somebody that just needs to have thier existance acknowledged. I am free to travel full of the power and the love of the Lord without fear, doubt or hesitation. Marvelous!

Lately I can picture the hand of God beneath me as I soar higher and higher. I am so utterly confident that He will catch me if I stumble and I am not afraid to fail because He has my back. There is absolutely no reason for any of us to not try to do that thing that He has purposed for each of us. His unchanging and powerful hand is indeed beneath us.

It is marvelous to be a grown up and to feel God chip away at the last remnant of fear we may have. I am flying and I am content. It is ok to be you. It is ok for they to be they and them to be them. It is ok for me to be me.

"And they shall fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you."  Jeremiah 1:19

(c) 2015, USA

#oakager   #soulwriter 

Books by Debi Mason:

What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Aging through God's Grace

Amazon.com (paperback)

Amazon.com (Kindle edition)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (NOOK edition)

ISBN-13: 978-0692236475

Release: June, 2014

Arizona Clay: A journey of self-discovery

Amazon.com (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781606964880

Release: June, 2009

Follow me on Twitter:  @DebiOak

Happy is the man ...

is for happy...

Sometimes we just have to remind ourselves

Happy is the man whose soul is anchored in the Lord.

Happy is the man that knows peace.

Happy is the man that says, “I trust in the Lord and lean not to my own understanding”.

Happy is that man that dances a dance of freedom in the midst of a storm.

Happy is the man that can say, “I have more than enough”.

Happy is he that is not swayed by popular opinion.

Happy is he who is foundation sure.

Happy is the man that knows what the saying, “we shall not be moved”, really means.

Happy is he who knows the voice of the Shepard.

Happy is he that knows that they are chosen and set apart.

Happy is the man that understands that we are in this world but not of it.

Happy is he that knows silence and is content.

Happy is he that enjoys his own company and sees that there is indeed a difference between “alone-ness” and loneliness.

Happy is the man that takes a cue from Enoch and makes walking and talking with Lord in the cool of the day a habit.

Happy is he that knows the wonderous working power of the Holy Ghost.

Happy is he who prays like a life depends on it because it does.

         

Happy is he who prays like a life depends on it because it does.

This is happy. This is joy unspeakable.

(c) 2015, USA

#oakager   #soulwriter 

Books by Debi Mason:

What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Aging through God's Grace

Amazon.com (paperback)

Amazon.com (Kindle edition)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (NOOK edition)

ISBN-13: 978-0692236475

Release: June, 2014

Arizona Clay: A journey of self-discovery

Amazon.com (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781606964880

Release: June, 2009

Follow me on Twitter:  @DebiOak

This is what it means to be a dad...

http://www.sproutling.com/parentage/paternal-instinct/

Here, Bertie Wells shares what it looks like to parent through loss.  Click the link above and read the full story.

#oakager   #soulwriter 

Books by Debi Mason:

What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Aging through God's Grace

Amazon.com (paperback)

Amazon.com (Kindle edition)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (NOOK edition)

ISBN-13: 978-0692236475

Release: June, 2014

Arizona Clay: A journey of self-discovery

Amazon.com (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781606964880

Release: June, 2009

Follow me on Twitter:  @DebiOak

Four Women: Simone, Dianne Reeves, Lizz Wright, Angélique Kidjo

Knowing He Will ...

A Message To A 'Young' Believer

Faith is a deeply personal thing which revolves around our individual relationship with Christ.

The bible says that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.  Just because we pray doesn’t mean that God is going to pull out His magic wand  and “poof” everything is alright, bodies are healed, money is suddenly in our bank accounts and all is right in the land. Au contraire….my God don’t work dat way. 

When I first came to the Lord I wanted everything to work out right immediately in my life. I wanted all my trouble and my mess to just disappear. I cried, I screamed I fell on my face and begged but, baby, God was not moved….or so I thought. He was moved alright but not the way “I” figured He SHOULD be moved. God was in the process of cleaning me up and getting me to look at my stuff - the good and the bad and He was maturing me in a manner that made me stop looking for an easy way through everything. With all the mess that I have been in throughout my life I have been fairly "lucky".  God was letting me know that He was my sheild from so many things that could have happened.  Chil', I shoulda been dead. If it had not been for the Lord on my side....

Think about it and ask yourself, was it easy for Jesus to carry the cross up that hill and be nailed to it and to be spat upon, whipped and bruised for me? The first thing you have to understand that that’s exactly who He did it for …. YOU so that you can live a clean and decent life without worry. A life without the burden and sin of your past. A life full of faith.

At one time I found myself thinking that faith is something that I could put on like a coat or better yet an attitude. But you see, faith is a “substance” – a tangible thing that can be touched and held. It is substance that is also a growing, living thing ever stretching and expanding through every good and bad circumstance of my life.  Faith ebbs and flows, pulses and vibrates. Faith breathes.

There are days when I just know that I am close to God. I am walking in purpose, His anointing is on me, I am blessed and a super saint. Yep, I am full of faith, walking in it and talking about it. Then there are days (many days) when I am like David in a cold, dark cave, hiding from the enemy. 

After being cast out by Achish, David fled to a cave in Adullam [1 Samuel 22:1-3]. He is overwhelmed because of the desperate situation he was in. He was obviously lonely, but he found refuge in the Lord. He felt that this cave was a prison to him. It was in this place, it is said, that he composed Psalm 142:

I cried unto the Lord with my voice; with my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication.  I poured out my complaint before Him; I laid before Him my trouble.  When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then Thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.  I looked on my right hand and beheld, but there was no man that would know me. Refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.  I cried unto Thee, O Lord; I said, “Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.  Attend unto my cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I.  Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Thy name; the righteous shall compass me about, for Thou shalt deal bountifully with me.” (21KJV)

By-d-way, anyone that says they never felt like this is lying….don’t trust them.

So my point is this.  Faith is 'the' substance and it is also a process. The more I trust God in his timing the greater and deeper my faith is. The more I believe what He says in His Word that He does indeed hear my cry and He is faithful to me as I am faithful to Him, the deeper my faith is. The more I consult Him on everything in my life including what am I going to eat today because of my diabetes – the deeper my faith is.  The more I am confident that He will heal me - the deeper my faith is. Before I develop a major creative endeavor, I go to God. Through error, time wasted and money lost I have learned over the years that when I don’t go to God first I am generally operating outside of His will and that project is doomed for failure.

Maturity is faith. I am not afraid and I am willing to accept the exact answer I need at any given time. I trust God will never harm me, leave me or lie to me. Many times His answer is not now or just a plain and simple no and I am ok with that.  I have some great and wonderful projects in my heart that I want to accomplish in my life time.  I am a creative spirit and I cannot sit idle for too long. Faith comes in when I realize that my creative and splendid ideas may not be God’s intention for my life THIS day. Every morning I ask God to show me what he wants of me THIS day. Show me who is it that I am to share the gospel with THIS day. Who can I pray for THIS day? What poem, sonnet, blog posting can I write THIS day that is going to encourage somebody and let them know that they are greatly loved and cherished by my God? I stopped telling God what I am going to do and have learned to let God tell me. And if I am not to compose that thing, so be it. It is God's will and not my own. I still want to write the great American novel some day and that is coming because my Daddy said so. I still want to establish the Oby House but I will only do those things when it is God’s will and He has made the time right. God told me one day to not get it twisted. He does not serve me and He is not at my beck and call. All I could say was “Yes, Lord!”  Who am I? Did I create the heavens and the earth and all therein?

No one ever said that a walk of faith was easy. But the rewards are splendid.  I never in a million years thought that my family would come to me for prayers and encouragement or to just sit and talk over life’s difficulties. I never thought in a million years that I would know peace and joy unspeakable in this lifetime. I really never understood or could see my life without turmoil in one form or another. I have peace and I know real love and more now. I am truly blessed.  I may not have a fancy house nor do I drive a fancy car. The miracle is that I have what I need and I am satisfied.

Let me share with you a devotion from Dr. Charles F. Stanley as printed in the In Touch Magazine (July)

The Power of Patience

Picture waiting in a checkout line that hasn’t moved for 10 minutes. Many of us would feel frustrated. We live in a generation that expect instant results.

Everyone struggles with some degree of impatience. We’re born with this trait – think about a 3 month old who wants milk in the middle of the night. The inborn reaction is to fuss at the first hint of discomfort and keep at it until the need is met.  Patterns from our old flesh nature, like impatience, make this a continual battle for most people, but one that is very worthwhile to fight.

Let’s consider the biblical definition of patience.  The word can refer to both longsuffering and perseverance – that is not giving up or yielding under pressure.  It reveals itself when we are willing to wait without frustration while suffering or experiencing some strong desire.  What’s more, patience means accepting whatever the Lord chooses to give (or not give) and willingly receiving it on His timetable.  In the meantime, we should pray, obey, and persist as we seek God’s direction.

The danger of impatience is that we might miss the Lord’s perfect plan and blessing. But when we trust our Father’s will and timing, we’ll know inner peace.

What causes you stress? Carefully examine whether you are taking matters into your own hands or releasing the circumstance to almighty God.  Follow Psalm 37:7, which says, “Rest in the Lords and wait patiently for Him.” Seek His way and His timing. (Chil’) anything else can be destructive.

#oakager   #soulwriter 

Books by Debi Mason:

What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Aging through God's Grace

Amazon.com (paperback)

Amazon.com (Kindle edition)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (NOOK edition)

ISBN-13: 978-0692236475

Release: June, 2014

Arizona Clay: A journey of self-discovery

Amazon.com (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781606964880

Release: June, 2009

Follow me on Twitter:  @DebiOak

Dad

Dad never wanted his picture taken. I am not sure I really understand why.  I don’t own a photograph of my father even though he lived in our household for all of the years of our growing and becoming.

Strange.

Perhaps my father preferred to live in the shadows; incognito. He knew the reason.  All I know is that it translated in my mind when I was a kid that he was  ashamed of us or perhaps he didn’t like us very much.  I don’t know.

Strange.

This is the only visual memory I own. All I have is this caricature drawn by my brother around the time of my father’s demise.  Funny but I have carried this around in one of my bibles for years. As a matter of fact it is in the bible that I use for church every Sunday. It doesn’t matter if the preacher calls for a scripture from the New Testament or the Old, flipping through the pages of this well-worn book, I see this face.

Strange.

But I love this cartoon face of my father. It occurred to me recently that this is a profound statement being made on a once a week bases. This picture is reminding me that I never really knew the true man.  I didn’t know where he came from nor who his people were or are. I didn’t know much about his likes and dislikes, either. I mean I never had a full-fledged conversation with the man. It’s human nature to  think the worst when we are left alone to compose the story out of a few negative  scenes in time. But let me be fair. Sometimes I look at this picture and see a kind old man that was a dying breed.   He was an honest to goodness tailor. That’s something special, isn’t it?

Strange.

So I have this caricature in my bible as though I am holding him captive. I somehow don’t want to forget this bit of my root. There are so many questions that I wish to have answered. This must be what an adopted child feels as they grow with a desire to know their true birthparents.  A made up story about my father just won’t do at this late date of my life. I long to know the real truth with each passing Sunday and the flip of the page of this well-worn bible.

Strange.

Perhaps if I knew the who, what, when, where, how of his story my own who, what, when, where or how would be revealed. Maybe the gaps in my own story would be filled in. Those grey areas full of questions would fade. Maybe.  Maybe not.  Maybe the need to know his story is not the real issue. I mean my life really wouldn’t change drastically if I knew. Would it?

Strange.

It has come to my mind that I still have some forgiveness issues to work through regarding my father, something that I thought I had done many moons ago. I thought that nailing the sin and mess of my past to the cross was truly enough. I thought that all of that work I did with my psychologist back in the day was sufficient.

Strange.

I then had a “ah-ha” moment. I was not holding on to my father’s memory by carrying this cartoon face around in my bible. My father was holding me hostage with every Sunday flip of the page. I might as well have been going around with a huge question mark hovering above my head.  I was refusing to let go of those painful unanswered questions and the longer I am holding on to that space the more I am refusing to let Jesus come in and fill in the blanks.  So I ask myself, do inquiring minds really need to know everything?  No, they don’t.

Strange.

I am pretty positive that someone reading this is saying that this is elementary. Un-huh. But here’s the deal. The difference between me and you, dear saint, is that I am willing to be transparent in hopes that I can help somebody and so that me, myself and I can be healed. So many of our relationship issues with each other, our co-workers or our family members stem from forgiveness issues.  As we spend time in prayer, fasting and honest self-examination, let us remember that forgiveness is the gate by which we must walk through to get to the glory of salvation. We are so good at lying to ourselves about our issues but we cannot lie to the One that sees all and knows all.  It is time to release that heavy burden of unforgiveness and truly get on with it. The bible says:

“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?   Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times: but, until seventy times seven.”  Matthew 18:21-22 KJV

#oakager   #soulwriter 

Books by Debi Mason:

What I Thought Was So Just Ain't - Aging through God's Grace

Amazon.com (paperback)

Amazon.com (Kindle edition)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (NOOK edition)

ISBN-13: 978-0692236475

Release: June, 2014

Arizona Clay: A journey of self-discovery

Amazon.com (paperback)

Barnes & Noble (paperback)

ISBN-13: 9781606964880

Release: June, 2009

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