2015 Word of the Year: INTENTIONAL

Intentional: done on purpose; deliberate; calculated; planned, preconceived, purposeful

John 9:4 “We must work the works of Him Who sent Me and be busy with His business while it is daylight; night is coming on, when no man can work.”

IntentionalThe word “intentional” has been heavy on my mind for a few days now. I’ve reached a point in my life where doing something just to do it has lost its appeal. When I was younger I would make exceptions for things. It was the whole, “why not, I don’t have anything better to do” syndrome. What I’ve realized is that kind of mindset allows too much room for ambivalence, complacency, and distractions to wreck havoc.

No one likes the idea of being “ON” all the time. But the one’s that are see their dreams come to pass far quicker and far more frequently than those that want to “chill” all the time. Life is to be lived but what good is living if it’s not within your purpose… if you’re just roaming the earth attracted to every shiny new toy that comes within sight. When does the excitement of new “things” that are not in line with what you were put on earth to achieve lose their zeal? I’ll tell you. When you’re exhausted from the rat race of keeping up with everyone else’s rat race. When you finally ask God why you’re still breathing? When you realize that time is the absolute most precious thing we have. Not one person with an incurable, terminal illness is sitting around wishing they had more clothes, more women, more cars, more stuff. I guarantee that each one of them wishes for more time. Even when we lose family members, we as survivors wish for more time with them.

Intentional2It’s my 2015 goal to make better use of my time. Even my chill time has to be directed. I’m spending quality time with special people creating memories. I’m appointment viewing my favorite TV shows and as of right now there are only two and half (Jury is still out on Empire, lol). I’m not surfing channels looking for shows to take up my time, I’m not going out just to go out, and I’m not reading things that don’t inspire and help me create a better life for myself. I’m working on passion so that I can get out of the prison of having to work for a vision that is outside of my own. I’m putting my hand to plow to help overcome the social and humane injustices that have plagued a community that I represent far beyond the color of my skin. The heart I have for animals and their welfare will soon be shared on a bigger platform. I’m volunteering and using my gifts to enhance other people’s visions that I support because I believe what you make happen for others, God will make happen for you. I’m writing, applying, and learning more about my craft everyday. Yes, I am intentional about mine.

Habakkuk 2:3 “For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfillment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day.”

It’s about being intentional with your time, who you spend your time with, and what you spend your time doing. Don’t be thrown off by the time it takes to get to where you want to be. Relax. Take it one day at a time and remain focused.

And let me say this: stop getting sucked into the “Lifestyles of the InstaFamous.” Please understand that people only post what they want you to know. You’ll never know the real person through social media so stop measuring your life against theirs. Stop thinking you have so far to go when you have no idea what life beyond the selfie is like for them! Social media is a lot of fun but it can get dangerous when you think of how much it influences people’s thoughts and actions. I could go on for days about this but I’m getting off topic. Let me just encourage you to take inventory of how you’re spending your time this year. Every hour doesn’t have to be planned but you should have a goal for each day and everything in those 10-12 hours should be working towards accomplishing it! It’s time out for watching everyone else’s dreams unfold. Let’s make 2015 a year to remember for what we are able to achieve… in real life!

Eph. 5:15-17 “Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people), Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil. Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is.”

Drop Your Anchor

It’s been a minute my friends! I know some of you may have thought I had thrown in the towel. Nope! I just had to regroup. The last few weeks of 2014 were chaotic. Not so much in my personal life but in the world that I woke up to everyday. My mind just couldn’t settle on one thing. I was angry about the injustices and feeling helpless in it all. I was disappointed in the faith community that I hold in high regard and want to see as leaders beyond the pulpit. I was distracted by my disappointments of not meeting certain personal goals. On top of that I had worries about family and trying to close out the year with a bang while still planning for the new one staring me in the face. I had so much to talk about and absolutely no idea what to say. I know that sounds weird but one thing that you will always get when you read my blog is transparency. The last few Tuesdays of 2014 I felt pressure to keep up with my perfect record of never missing a week. I felt the need to just write something but when I settled myself, I realized that I needed a break. I needed to clear my head, regroup, refocus and just take a breath. This blog has never been stressful before and I was determined not to let it become that way so I stepped away for a bit BUT here I am, back at it for the first Tuesday of 2015 and it’s GO TIME!!

anchorSo many people inspired this post today. I truly could write about a multitude of topics but today it’s all about “commitment.” I’m not even talking about New Year’s Resolutions. Never been interested in those. I’m talking about those things that God placed in your heart years ago. There are dreams and visions that we have carried around for years and have either never put our all into making them our reality or have never even attempted because of fear and excuses. I imagine a lot of us look like wandering ships sailing across waters too afraid to drop our anchors. The purpose of an anchor is to hold a ship in its set place. Even when the engine is not in use, without an anchor, the ship can be moved from its set place by the motion of the water. The only real security that ship has from not getting off course while it’s not in motion is its anchor. The anchor represents commitment. Where is your anchor this year? Continue reading “Drop Your Anchor”

Make ‘Em A Believer

I could moan and groan over the fact I spent an hour drafting a blog that never officially saved and at the moment I was about to post it my computer froze and I lost everything…

…OR I could decide to skip this week and chalk it up to it being a bad day.

…OR I could just repost an old blog and make up some deep meaning behind why I’m recycling a previous post for today. (Not that I haven’t done it before. It’s just that it was for a specific purpose. The only purpose for me doing that today would be done with the frustration of having my thought perfectly aligned and ready to go only to have it disappear in an instant.)

… OR I be determined not to be distracted by taking my focus off what’s important and dwelling on what’s least important …my emotions!

stick to itLife is always about perspective. My original writing for today was all about staying focused and not allowing yourself to get off track by circumstances or people. Well, here was a true test of my faith. I choose to be a living example of what I originally wrote in my lost draft. Here’s the thing I’m learning, our behavior is not for God. God is less concerned with our actions than he is with our heart. How we live is important to drawing others closer to God. Men and women can’t see our heart, only God can do that. So people only know what we believe and what we are about by our actions. Start acting like what you say you believe.

Over the past few weeks, Nehemiah 6 has been a reoccurring theme during my study time. Nehemiah was focused on completing the plan that God designed just for him. While he worked, other men got wind of what he was doing and summoned him to meet with them. He repeatedly turned down their requests to meet for the sake of staying on track with the work he was doing unto God. Frustrated at being rejected, the men shared with him the rumors circling about what he was doing and why he was doing it. They were all lies made up by people who had no understanding of what God had promised him. Instead of letting them be a distraction and trying to defend his name and his mission, Nehemiah never left the wall and was even more determined to finish what he started because of their ill intentions. Continue reading “Make ‘Em A Believer”

Big Picture, Small Frame

Everyday I ask God to show me what my focus should be on for the day. Who’s going to need my attention? I pray that my eyes and ears are alert to hear from Him and distinguish His voice from all others. I ask that I decrease and that Holy Spirit increases so that I don’t block anything that He has planned for the day. I must admit, sometimes I get ahead of myself and I start to measure who I am against who I know I want to be. I see the big picture all the time! It’s very difficult for me to focus on each step during the process. There’s nothing wrong with big picture thinking as long as you don’t neglect the many, many steps in between. Continue reading “Big Picture, Small Frame”

Follow the Leader

When God gave me the vision for BASH Films, I had no idea where it would lead or how I would get started. It all began with a grad school assignment and quickly flourished into something much bigger than me. I remember asking God to show me examples of people who are doing what I believed He was calling me to do. You see, I work in entertainment and faith based content back then was pretty much non-existent. The shows that were centered around faith were “churchy” music video shows that only “church” people would watch. But God was calling me to the masses. He wanted me to infiltrate a massive machine that glamorizes promiscuity, drugs, material wealth, and beyond. His vision for me was to represent women in the light that He had created them to be instead of what the limelight had molded them to be. I couldn’t see a pathway to do what He wanted me to do so I second guessed if it was even Him who gave me the vision. Was I crazy? I needed to stick to the script, work my way up the ladder, and be grateful to be in the business period. Continue reading “Follow the Leader”

Perfect Timing

So the last time I was here, I wrote about my drive home and how God spoke to me about being prime real estate. It was just another example of how he was using my love for shopping as a teaching tool. Well on that same ride home, He spoke again a few moments later. I guess you could say it was a lively conversation that day. I couldn’t figure a way to tie it all together so I decided to save it for the next week. Sadly, it turned into a month later but I believe the message is timeless and ironically something I needed to read for myself today! Continue reading “Perfect Timing”

Prepare Yourself

There’s nothing like having someone in your life that pushes you to go beyond where you think you are ready to go. I’m fortunate to be under the leadership of Pastors Mike and Dee Dee Freeman who consistently and unashamedly teach their partners how to live life God’s way. This past Saturday was no different. I attended Pastor Dee Dee’s “Women Walking in the Word” meeting and the lesson was on preparation. I could get into all of the details of the lesson but I’d rather just get to the point… Continue reading “Prepare Yourself”

Child-like Dreams!!

I had such a vivid imagination as a child. I could transform my reality in seconds and take on the make believe life as if it was the real deal. I would be a school teacher one minute, a princess the next, a mommy to my two favorite baby dolls, a hairdresser… you name it, I could dream it up and act it out. Somewhere along the way real life took over. I no longer found the time to imagine… to dream. Responisibilities, career, relationships took up my time and imagining a different life seemed so childish. That is until until my first lady, Dr. Dee Dee, did a lesson on “Dreams Do Come True.” It was such a powerful lesson, I wish I could post it for all of you to witness. I even used a portion of it in my documentary because of the huge impact it had on my life. Continue reading “Child-like Dreams!!”

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