Dear Diary: A Christian Girl's Take on Life

  Dear Diary, Have you ever fought relational battles (battles with your relatives and friends - non-romantic relationships)? More than likely you have - I believe people have fought at least one of these battles in their lifetime. I feel like I have been fighting these battles all my life but I now have a different perspective on them. Before I share my current thoughts on this new perspective, I would like to give you a little background on some of my battles. Growing up, I was always compared to others, I was always told to be like others, I was made to believe that I was not good enough and that I would not amount to anything. I tried my hardest to prove myself, I tried to make others see that I am perfectly imperfect just the way that I am, I tried my hardest to make others see that the thought of me that they had in their heads is not me - but nothing seemed to work. Do you know that feeling? Where was all that animosity coming from? Why can't people be accepted just the ...

  Dear Diary, I was listening to the song “Glorious Day” by Passion Conferences and when it came to the verse, “You called my name and I ran out of that grave. Out of the darkness into Your glorious day!” When I say that verse spoke to me, I mean it really spoke to me. It led me to ask, “Is there a grave that is holding you down?” When I say grave, I mean metaphorical grave and not the literal grave. Your grave can be your failures; your past mistakes; anything that is holding you down; anything that seems to be draining the very life out of you; anything that is causing you to question who you are and who God says you are; anything that is preventing you from stepping into your God-given purpose. That is your grave. So, what is your grave? Identify your grave and call it by name. Let that grave know that He called your name and you are stepping out right now. Let that tomb know that you’re not looking back. I know it may seem like you’re boxed in within that four tiny walls but I’...

  Dear Diary, What are you addicted to? What is giving you your high or your fix? So, my students recently conducted some research on the different types of substances and they presented their findings to the class. They were required to identify what the substance does to the brain and the human body; the implications for abusing the substances as well as the long-term effects. They presented on alcohol, tobacco, heroin, opioids, marijuana, just to name a few. All those substances have one thing in common - they give a certain high which keeps them going back for more. In an effort to get that same high, they continually take the substance and even begin increasing the dosage. Now, imagine if we were to get that high on God. I would like you to take a moment and visualize it...Okay, you get the point - so, let us move right along. I remember feeling that “high” when I got saved. I was on top of the world - I was floating. I was spending quality time in the word, I was praying, in ...

  Dear Diary, Okay...so here I am studying the book of Exodus, and I came to the realization that there are a lot of present-day Pharaohs. I find that rather unsettling, and we all need to do better - beginning with us Christians. “Present-day Pharaohs” - yeah, you must be wondering what I meant by that. Well, present-day Pharaohs are those people who call on God when things get difficult and even go to the length of making promises to God. Crazy right? I am not finished yet. They make promises, and as soon as they begin to see a break in the cloud, they go back to their old ways and forget about the promises that were made. Is it a matter of forgetting, or is it that they do not care? I hear a lot of “YOLO” these days.  Let me give you more context. In Exodus 8, frogs were all over the land of Egypt because Pharaoh hardened his heart and refused to let the people of Israel go. Frogs were here, there, and everywhere. Just try and picture that for a moment... The visualization ...

Dear Diary, Should a Christian get a divorce? What constitutes for a Christian to get a divorce and is he/she condemned forever? Is there life after that divorce? Can a Christian remarry even if their “Ex” is not dead? What will the church say? What will people say? What does the bible say? These are all questions I wrestled with or should I say I still wrestle with.  The topic of divorce in the Christian community is a major one. Some people are totally against it while others are for it. Some say it is okay to remarry even if their “Ex” is still alive while others believe that they shouldn’t. But - how do I feel about it? I do not agree with divorce, especially as a Christian; however, I am a divorced Christian. Can I share my story? You know what, let me share it anyway but this may take some time.  My marriage was a tumultuous one and even before marriage, the relationship was very tumultuous. I got saved the same time I found out I was pregnant. Crazy huh? I always dreamt...

  Dear Diary, Parenting is h-a-r-d! Should I say it louder for the people in the back to hear? Parenting is hard! Yes, I said it and before you come for me, let me explain myself. As a single parent - single black, Christian parent, raising a little boy, who spends 99.9% of his time with me, I’m saying it’s hard. It’s not hard in the sense where I have a very difficult child who drives me up the walls. Well, at times I do feel like I am being driven up the wall. I wake up each day trying to train my child in the way he should go while praying that when he is old, he will not depart from the training - Proverbs 22:6. And - it is not easy, not even the least bit! I wake up praying that God will grant him the wisdom, knowledge and understanding that he needs to make godly friends, good decisions, walk in sexual and moral purity, and respect those in authority throughout his life. Sometimes I find myself being anxious about the influences outside of the walls of our home. The influence...

  Dear Diary, Happy New Year ! Sorry for my tardiness! Wow, what a year 2020 was. I did not expect that at all, did you? That isn’t even a question - sorry for asking. The world was hit with a number of things last year one of them being the pandemic. It was unexpected and many people lost their loved ones - my condolences go out to them. Even though we had to go through all of that, I must say, some good actually came out of it. The pandemic gave birth to a fantastic bible study group I am a part of. We have members from different countries praying, fellowshipping, and studying the word of the Lord every week from Monday to Friday. Such a blessing! For each of us, the pandemic may have given birth to something good or something bad, it all depends on the angle from which you are looking at it. It’s now 2021 and we are still affected by the pandemic. I know many people were hoping that it would be gone by now. People postponed vacations, weddings, and a lot of other things in the h...