When You Really Matter...

One tends to think of themselves when someone mentions time. To be selfish, and say, "When will he/she make time for me!?" You want alone time, and can't seem to get it. They want to go party, and you just ain't wit' it... That's the theme song for an "opposites attract" couple-especially those with children.

Or for those of you on the dating scene... I'm going out with the guys this weekend, or it's girls night out... Yeah but what about ME!? They always make time for others, but never you. Yeah those words and actions are more likely than not, mood killers and ofttimes relationship destroyers.

The imperfect one has a Baby Girl that always asks for time, and you know... she's worth every second of it. There is a time however, when the demand is too great to fill. You can't raise a child to believe that anyone (no, not even daddy) can drop everything, every time, and attend to every request. It is foolish to raise, teach, make anyone to feel or believe that. How many times have you ever heard a mother from the hood say, "What's wrong with you!? Can't you see grown folks talkin'!?" The mothers in the hood will tell their spouses that, let alone their kids, get outta line she dares you!

Then there is the classic non-hood approach, where you ignore them until they tug your pants leg, use a louder voice, and force you to say, "You're being ignored for a reason."

There are those times when there are interruptions that do not get turned away, however. Therefore, in those occasions (children or peers) you have to be the bigger person, and just walk away. For sanity's sake, and for demonstration of what worth is all about, you just have to SHOW all parties involved that your time and effort are of worth.

The world would be more impressed by a demonstration of our faith than by a description of it! ~ via Zig Ziglar Daily Devo

How many people do you see post about faith in a social network, then turn around and brag about things that not only God has deemed inappropriate, but you as a parent would? Come on you know where this is going...

"I love the Lord, Jesus is so good to me!" in one post, then the next post is a picture of a nude, or might as well be nude woman on his/her page. Yes his/hers... Not to mention what the captions might say. Then there are those of us (Christians) that really show our hypocritical sides and paint a prettier (nastier, more evil) picture with words alone. But we are still Christians right? Imperfect or not we say that we believe... but what do we believe, and for how long?

I have witnessed lots of things via the bigger social networks, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. A young lady that I have had the privilege of coaching, and getting to know over the years posted on her wall for all to see, "Hopefully one day your life will be as cool as you make it appear on Facebook."

The imperfect one will play like the BASF of bloggers and be innovative with her quote... Hopefully one day your life will be as true, complete, and honorable as you ATTEMPT to make it in your stories, and on Facebook.

Do you really love that man/woman, do you really love yourself? Do you? Stop lying to yourself, and know that you can't lie to the One that always makes time for you, never lies to you, never makes excuses, and never breaks any promises. The imperfect one doesn't make promises anymore, and he also knows that there is only One that is capable of upholding such a standard and His name is Jesus.

Lord I don't want to be wrong. I don't want to think or hurt, or think of being hurt, but I know that only You can be that One...

Peace, Blessings, and Joy... that real PB&J

Pour Some Sugar On Me

I had awakened and early on Saturday morning, and the days of my being able to crawl into bed with my mom, and pull her eyelids were gone. My attempting such a feat as a teen would land me, as Fred G. Sanford used to say, “Five across the lips,” while shaking his fist at Lamont. Well my mom began dating a fellow that was sort of a bully, and not very kind to put it lightly. And he had been at our house a lot, and the more time you get to spend with people the more you learn about them. He had recently lost his job, started drinking, and was sponging off of my mother. Mom finally saw that he was not the same fellow that she had first met, and asked him to leave. It was not a pleasant ordeal needless to say. But there was one bright spot in his being there. It was another life lesson for me, and has made me a better father, and helped me in the prank business as well!

Our bully had decided to go out for a run bright and early on the Saturday morning that set me off. What set me off was the fact that when he returned he ate the last of my Rice Chex cereal! He just snarled at me, like what will you do about it! Did I mention that he had lost his job? Yeah I thought so. Well I am a man that believes restitution should be paid in full. I am also a very patient soul when it comes to payment, receiving and giving if need be. Well it is better to give than to receive, and it was my turn to give. You can’t eat a brotha’s Chex and then punk him out like that! Most of all you don’t treat a Mama’s boy’s mama with such disrespect! He never gave her money, and he never cooked one meal for her!

Well our friend the bully again was there every day that following week, including the weekend. He went to the cupboard to find the cereal that was purchased without any contributions from his hand, and poured a Jethro Bodine sized bowl of Chex. Used my imperfect Christian Jethro Bowl in the deal again, and my favorite spoon! Did I tell you that he didn’t have a job, and that he hadn’t paid for any of the food that he was consuming!? I did, my bad, OK on with the facts.

He got the milk out of the fridge, again the milk that he had spent nary a dime on, and filled the bowl. Then he grabbed the sugar bowl, and put about five table spoons full on his larger than life bowl of cereal. He sat down and took a bite. Of course I had to stick around because I had grown to be a rather testy teenager. My Granddaddy told me that it took a man to dish out a beat down, and more of a man to stay in the fight and take one. Well I wasn’t going to miss this one, and was willing to take the beat down! He yelled through the house like the house was on fire and told my mom that the cereal was bad. A grown man whining to the woman of the house, the one that he was sponging off of, and had the nerve to wake her and tell her his cereal was bad. I would like to punch him in his grill to this day, for the way he treated my mama! Lord forgive me for imperfect, and unrighteous thoughts.

My mother came out to check on him. He was worse than a two year old, and said, “This cereal is no good.” My mother coming to his rescue began to investigate the crime scene. She checked the milk first. “It’s not out of date, it smells ok,” she took a sip, “it tastes ok.” So then she took some cereal out of the box, “The cereal doesn’t taste bad,” she remarked. So on to the sugar. “It tastes like salt,” she exclaimed.” Wow, probably because it is…” she said holding back tears from laughing hysterically inside! He got up and was ready to kill me, and I smiled as I walked by him with my baseball bat in hand. I praise God for allowing me to be surrounded by friends that prevented me from using another smaller Angels bat on the bully while he was talking trash to my mother. I walked past him straight to my room, and my friend had told his dad that he thought I was going to do something bad. He went into our house, and passed out drunk on my mother’s sofa. I didn’t go to a juvenile detention center, and our bully tried to come back drunk, and promptly got served a butt whoopin’ by the same man that kept me from hitting Juvy. God is too good. All stories should end well, and have a hero. Live the righteous life imperfect Christian, and God will be your hero, and the final chapter will be a victorious one!

Well brothers and sisters, be blessed with a sunny and peaceful Saturday, and give love, as you are loved, and even when you don’t feel loved. For what greater love do we know than the love that was given to us when He laid His life down for us, now that is a man who knows about the beat down!

Peace Blessings and Joy… That real PB&J

A Million Ways, But A Trick Ain't One...

OK the imperfect one had a very adventurous weekend. He got to dance with the devil in the pale moon lite, and spend most of the night out. He was in a borrowed vehicle so he did not drive much just hung out on the Parkway. It was a very lonely night, it was one of the most difficult he has had to deal with. The moon was at three quarters, and the imperfect one was not in the best of spirit. Friday night was one of the worst nights he's had in a long time. He went home Saturday morning, and spent all day wallowing in self pity. Definitely not worth it. After two days of stupidity, and a day of horrible sickness, he determined that it was time to put the fatuity in full repose! Yes imperfect brothers and sisters, it is time to get the poison out of the blood stream.

Well Forrest Gump was a classic movie, and had some great, and unforgettable line in it as well.
Who doesn't know what you're saying when you say, "Run Forrest RUN!"? Who hasn't said to a fool heading in the wrong direction, "Run Forrest RUN!"?

Well good friends the imperfect one has one for you... Life is like a canned jar of Habaneros, you never know which one will burn you most!

You can do a million different things schrimotions, you can grille them, boil 'em, fry 'em, sulk in 'em... all those little emotions!

Well Forrest we knew it was real when you said, "I do love you Jenna," pronounce slowly and with a long "A." We knew it, but it was just to bad that Jenny didn't know it until was a little too late. Forrest spent his whole life waiting and Jenny was a wildflower that just didn't grow in the right gound. In fact she allowed her blossom to be exposed in full but let her blossom get wind blown and destroyed, poor Jenny? Poor Forrest? How many times have we known that there was a love their, a true love and we just ignore it? How many times can we reject the love of God and have Him take us back? Well I know that God is a God of second chances, a reconciling God, and a God that will never leave us nor forsake us no matter how much doltishness we manifest over the years.

Well Bubba, and Forrest here's to you... a team, one that only needed a verbal agreement, not lawyers. Forrest, Jenny here's to you for not needing a law enforcement officer for a second degree trespass, just a sweet goodbye when you realize in the death of it that you wish that you'd said stay. But even as hard as it was for Forrest to be turned away by Jenny he was there. No matter how many times you are turned away imperfect brothers and sisters, no matter how many times you turn from God, He is always there. I just pray that we do not wait until our death beds to see His love. He did love you Jenny, and the imperfect one does love You Jesus.

I Can't Breathe!

I have heard two people within the last month say, "I can't breathe!" I said it back in January when I had pneumonia. It's like drowning, you want to get to the surface, but the surface seems so far above you. You want to get to the surface, but there is a tremendous weight that is holding you down. Your chest feels heavy, your extremities are weak, you just feel like giving up! The struggle is too great, so what do you do?

Yes we all need our "own" time from time to time. No one likes to be smothered. There are times when I am grateful to have a good looking woman trail me, or have my kids on my heels, and at others, I just need to chill. Let that Ox have a few days off, give him some meadow to roam in as long as he's roaming alone. He can't have calves if you don't make him mad enough to go through the fence, or if you don't open the gate and push him out, give him some room. And again on the other hand, sometimes he needs to be shadowed, makes him feel important. Mama is the same way fellas! When the yoke is on it should be light, not tight! Then the burden will be easy when you work together in the Lord!

Ready for the soap opera? How many husbands put their wives out of their home, and leave them hanging? For those women, I have a little Madea anx built up in me! If you helped turn that house into a home, then you should be entitled to your share. If you deserve to be put out, then he should at least give you ample time, and help you even if you are totally wrong! To each their own, but somethings just do not make sense! People should be more civil.

I have had more friends divorce this year, or speak of divorce, than I have heard of through my entire years as an adult! Why all of a sudden this surge in die-vision? Well it's not all of a sudden, it's just that I am noticing it now, and more people viewed me as good imperfect Christian husband. My wife is saying wow, if you only knew! Well the lack of vision, the lack of appointment, and focus as one have all gone away! If you are married you cannot look at your future, and future agendas with just your eyes, and one set of eyes in mind! You cannot look through the one set of physical eyes, but instead you must look through the spiritual set that is now a trifocaled univision! WHAT? Yes a trifocaled univision...Three sets acting as one! Each spouse must look at the greater vision that God has given them. That vision must connect with your partners vision, to ultimately bring forth the ultimate vision, and that is how to please God as a UNION! You see this Union is not just between you and spouse! You put two pieces of toast together and hold one piece up, what does the other piece do? It falls to the floor or the plate. If you put some adhesive (smooth jelly, or some spicy mustard depending on the sandwich LOL) on them what happens!? They stay together. You are one slice, and he is home slice! God is the adhesive in case some of my imperfect Brothers and Sisters are slower than I am. This is why the Word says to be "equally yoked." You can't go one way, and have your partner going another. When we do this good people we drag or get dragged! So what is your vision?

And it shall come to pass in the last days, God declares, that I will pour out of My Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy [telling forth the divine counsels] and your young men shall see visions (divinely granted appearances), and your old men shall dream [divinely suggested] dreams.
Yes, and on My menservants also and on My maidservants in those days I will pour out of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy [telling forth the divine counsels and]predicting future events pertaining especially to God's kingdom]. (Acts 2:16-18 Amplified Version)

God declares that He will pour our His Spirit first of all, so whom is it that we should be waiting for? Our spouse? No, no! You first lady of the house are a prophetess! You young man of the house shall be a visionary, and you aged and experienced shall dream, and see the next generation do greater things, you are the pathfinders, and the trailblazers, the pioneers! Wow, that almost sounded like an ad for a used car lot! At any rate, I ask as the imperfect Christian, why is it that you imperfect brothers and sisters are not moving? You are not moving for fear of failing! You have heard it a million times...you only fail, when you fail to try! But we (conviction poured on the imperfect one first) are afraid of what someone might say, we are afraid of the spouse being displeased, we are afraid of what society will do with us! If you have to separate then do so! How many people have or could do this:

Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. (1Corinthians 7:10 & 11 NKJV) OK is this the chauvinist God again, or does this apply to men as well? Well in ancient customs the man had to put his wife away, and the woman was not to leave. But again I use an old cliche` "Absence or Distance makes the heart grow fonder..."

Can we seek the civility in Christ and be reconciled to one another just as He reconciled us to God the Father? He redeemed us, but for what? So, we could slap Him in the face and say thanks but no thanks! I don't know what weight you are dealing with, I don't know what sea it is that you are drowning in, but I know the Lifeguard that can save you.

Oh and try some PB&J for that toast up there! Peace, Blessings, and Joy my imperfect brothers and sisters!