My Third Chapter Assignment:

Live simply.

Dream big.

Be grateful.

Give love.

Laugh lots.

On Turning 60 Three Years Ago

Another year has flown by at what seems like record speed. Believe me, I am oh so grateful for these years of my life. Like so many of us, I should not be here to tell the story nor to give the praise. It is still amazing to me that I was saved by the Lord’s favor and generous grace upon my life. He truly did not have to do it but he did and I can say that I am experiencing a love like no other at this hour.

These are some hard times for some. The economy is in the dumpster and as I grow older the world seems to be so full uncertainty. I would be lying if I said that there were not days that I have to turn it all off because, if I let it, ABC, NBC, CNN and CBS would truly be happy to rob me of my joy. It is just too much. I see the pictures of hunger, and lack and just about every mental illness imaginable and I have to shake my head and lift up a praise and say that I am grateful that I know a man and his name is Jesus. Funny, but as the years pass, I don't seem to feel that I am helpless to do anything about it any more. All of this bad news miraculously is positioning me on my knees to pray for those that don't know the risen Lord. I know that prayer is indeed the answer to all things so for complete strangers I pray that chains be broken, burdens lifted, eyes opened, minds regulated, ears cleared, grace granted and for anointing to fall.

Everyday more and more people, young and old, are running to the alter and begging for answers and wondering in the depths of their spirits what it is that they must do to be saved. The desire for salvation is great and the call to worship is loud. If I have one birthday desire this year it is that all Saints around the world will recognize that they are beacons of light shinning as examples to the lost in a very dark world. We are His emissaries, ambassadors and we speak boldly of His love, His grace and mercy. We must stand with fellow believers and proclaim the truth of the Word and vow to never be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So on this birthday, I know that somebody is watching to see how I make it through these times when nothing of this world is giving up any answers to the whys and how comes of life. To tell you the truth, I have come of age to know exactly what is meant by " Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." I would be lying here as well if I said that I don't have concerns and that everything is tremendously wonderful in my life right now. But as I stand on the truth of the Word of God. I look around and I can't help but pray and by doing so my prayer life is strengthened and lengthened. And because my prayer life has been refreshed, my faith has been increased and my gratitude is sincere.

Sacred Ears

Ode to a once great love affair

What do you do when someone you knew dies?

So much left unsaid.

Unforgiveness.

Never knew

The weight of it

The time and space of it

until death came calling.

One more day

Surely he wouldn’t just go

Like that anyway.

Unfinished business.

Words left unsaid…

Even after all these years ..

Damn, this makes me feel empty.

What do you do when someone you knew dies?

Stolen kisses …

And I still hate rainy days.

Can’t  tell a soul -

Or can I?

The cut was deep

The pain sharp

Me breathless and hopeless

Unloved and unlovable.

What do you do when someone you knew dies?

That great love -

An affair long ended

Afraid to love or to be loved – again?

Never knew the weight of it

The time and space of it

Until death came calling.

Am I finally being released?

Is that the emptiness I feel?

The heavy stone gone

Once fragmented and disconnected

Stepping lighter and brighter now -

Free

What do you do when someone you knew dies?

You forgive and move on.

(c) 2013, Debi Mason, USA

One of dem dayz!

I am not a particular fan of days like today, you know.

One of dem dayz

That spied reflection sure gave me a start

But I'm glad to be breathing and gotta beating heart.

Why in the name of Jesus did I get out of the bed

Is the only thing rolling around in this head

Yep,

One of dem dayz

Watch my lips somebody

I'm just curious

Seems mighty mysterious

Everybody still looking the same

Hey, what's your name?

but ain't nobody gettin' wid it

Is what I'm sayin' really all that lame?

(Said hello and you would have thought I spat on the person's feet.

Humph!  Made we want to take my friendly little gesture back in a heartbeat.)

Yep,

One of dem dayz

This day, this time, this time

I just don't seem to fit

Feel like I'm about to fall in some dark pit

and speaking of feet -

Lord, have mercy,

All run over and molded to a strangers toes

Whose shoes are these walking on this unrecognized dusty road.

Saturday night quiet

Don’t give up: Saturday night quiet

Don’t give up, the song says.  There’s a place that you belong.  Rest your head - you worry too much.  There will be times when things get rough.  Just don’t give up.

Move on to another time, another town? Finding it hard to settle down?  Just don’t give up.  You are not the only one.  There is no reason to be ashamed.  “You still have us”, they holla.  “It is not as it seems.  We are proud of who you are.  Just don’t give up.”  It has never been easy.  Don’t give up no matter what you do.  Believe there is place for you.  

Don’t give up.  Whatever you do don’t give up.  Never thought that you could fail.  You changed your fate.  You changed your name.  It seems as though nobody wants you when you lose.  Don’t give up,  you are not beaten yet.  You can’t lose…no, not this time.

Don’t give up you still have him.  He don’t need much of anything.  Just your faith and your love.  Don’t give up because somewhere there is a place where you belong.

The times are moving fast now….near the end of this road.  It has been hard and yes the tears followed but always hear, don’t give up.  Rest your head. You worry too much.  Don’t give up oh please don’t give up.  Your time is close and your blessing is standing there.  Here is your  bridge. It is waiting for you to cross. 

Don’t give up.  You still have him.  He is proud of who you are.  It has never been an easy road.  Just don’t give up.  Believe there is a place where you belong.  Don’t run just stand. Fight.  Peace be still.  Peace be still.  Don’t give up.  Don’t give up.

Things are never as they seem.

International Women's Day is March 8, 2012

Celebrating the voices of those that came before us.  Those that stood and created the foundation upon which this bold, black woman of God stands!  Celebrating my woman-ness today.  Holding firm to the hands of those that will come after. 

Sojourner Truth,  1797-1883

Ain't I A Woman

That man over there say

     a woman needs to be helped into carriages

and lifted over ditches

     and to have the best place everywhere.

Nobody ever helped me into carriages

   or over mud puddles

      or gives me a best place. . .

And ain't I a woman?

     Look at me

Look at my arm!

     I have plowed and planted

and gathered into barns

     and no man could head me. . .

And ain't I a woman?

   I could work as much

and eat as much as a man--

   when I could get to it--

and bear the lash as well

   and ain't I a woman?

I have born 13 children

     and seen most all sold into slavery

and when I cried out a mother's grief

     none but Jesus heard me. . .

and ain't I a woman?

     that little man in black there say

a woman can't have as much rights as a man

     cause Christ wasn't a woman

Where did your Christ come from?

     From God and a woman!

Man had nothing to do with him!

     If the first woman God ever made

was strong enough to turn the world

     upside down, all alone

together women ought to be able to turn it

     rightside up again.

Love Is....

I had the nerve not long ago to ask God to give me an understanding of love.  I’m not kidding.  Love always seemed so elusive to me. Something that I admired from afar and never understood.  And I thought in my child mind that God was going to bring into my midst one of the most loving and caring relationships I had ever experienced.  He did but not the way I was thinking at the time. 

Well, God in His wisdom and true love for me brought to my attention that the opposite of evil is still love, the opposite of fear is still love, the opposite of hate is still love and we as human beings have an incredible capacity for both.  For the first time in my life I am keeping my mouth shut and my eyes wide open. I am witnessing story after story of hope, compassion, love and courage, valor and victory and that wee small voice says to me still…love this. 

God is telling me in no uncertain terms that love is and has always been all around and through me.  Jesus is the love I had been searching for.   The most complete and everlasting love.  That kind of love that makes you want to scream and shout and tell the world from the roof tops….”I love!”  The kind of love that makes you laugh out loud and sometimes even quietly giggle.  And cry tears of an absolute joy that cannot be put into mortal words.  That kind of real thing love.  And I’ve had it all along right here.

Love is….

Love is, at the risk of sounding corny, a sunset over the ocean and God’s way of saying thank you for being His obedient servant this day.  For I truly believe that when you can appreciate the red and gold and purple and blue of a perfect sunset you understand that there is really a God that loves you. 

Love is…

Love is the sound of a baby’s laughter.  The child can’t even say his own name yet he already knows how to laugh out loud. Is it just me or doesn’t it make you wonder..…did he learn how to do that in heaven? 

Love is….

Love is that old soldier that stands on the corner with a sign that claims his veteran status and his homelessness.  I give him a couple of quarters every time I see him and I don’t even think that he might be using those quarters to buy a beer.  It is that look on his face when I tell him that Jesus loves him and I  know that I have made his day just a little bit easier and I have planted a seed and that is all that matters. 

Love is…

Love is looking in the mirror and understanding for the first time in your life that God does not make mistakes and that you are truly wonderfully and perfectly made.

Love is…

Love is coming to the understanding that not only is this the greatest story ever told but it is also the greatest love ever to be experienced.  Jesus….the same yesterday, today and forever. 

Love is.

Love is looking at the shining faces of two young people that can’t seem to look at each other without smiling that kind of smile that says that there is a secret that only they know.  A smile that says that they know how to sit quietly together without saying a word yet volumes are spoken between them.  A touch of a hand and plans are made and a future is established.  A twinkle in the eye becomes a declaration that says…”come let us grow old gracefully together.” 

Love is….

So that thing that has always been elusive to me has become crystal clear in my mind and in my spirit.  Love is knowing that Jesus loves us with all of our faults, all of our ugly past, our lumps and bumps and bad decisions.  He has given definition to the word unconditional and has let us know that the two words…love and unconditional are indeed synonymous.  For in order for it to be true love it must be unconditional. And through His unconditional love for me I have learned to love myself. God cannot lie.  And this knowledge alone has freed me to love another human being.

Jesus loves us unconditionally and he will sustain us through many a mistake and bad decision and will always inhabit our praise. 

Love is…

Love is…

Life.

(c) 2009, Arizona Clay, Debi Mason, Tate Publishing LLC