Strippers Know Jesus Too

So I came across a picture on Instagram of strippers praying. I see a lot of people making fun of this pic (and I get it), but when I saw it I was like “well at least they know where their help comes from”. Now I don’t know what they’re praying for, but the mere fact that they are praying shows their reverence for God which is more than I can say for a lot of folk who call themselves Christians today. I know that sounds crazy, but some people get so caught up and so self righteous, that they forget they aren’t perfect. God can do anything and He can change anyone. Prayer changes things and it changes our hearts. It removes anything that does not look like Christ and fills the holes and gaps with His Holy Spirit – all we have to do is ask. Who knows, maybe they’ll keep praying and God will change their prayers from “Lord, let them toss nothing but 50’s and hundreds, and please allow my cheeks to clap with precision, to Lord, please protect me and get me out of this place”.

But for real! Sometimes I feel like the closer we get to God, the more we treat Him like He’s our homey. Yes, He wants to be our friend and the lover of our soul, but He is also Holy and we need to show Him honor! These girls are! Even though it doesn’t look like what we think it should look like, He is there with them and He is keeping them protected! The first time I saw the pic I actually prayed for the women in it. I prayed that His Spirit would really touch them and that they would get a revelation of their worth. They are still daughters of the King and He still loves them. Just like He loves us liars and fornicators. #Bloop

A lot of times we forget how far away from the cross we are, but that it’s because of His blood that we are redeemed. We are not saved because we’re good people or because we do good things. We are saved because He loves us. We didn’t deserve it, but He cared for us so much that He died for our sins. Does He expect us to never mess up, nope. But as Christians we should always strive to look like Him. Will we fail? Yes, but does His blood cover? Oh yes!

So yeah, who knows, maybe some of those young ladies will be evangelists one day. Look at some of your favorite leaders, most of them were a hot mess at one point. I use to pose half naked in men’s magazines and now I teach kids church and I am spreading the gospel as far as I can. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with posing for XXL Eye Candy or King, but now the only man who will see my half naked body will be my husband…or if you google, but that’s neither here nor there. (what does that even mean) anyway…

I’ve always had a gift of capturing people’s attention and them listening to what I have to say, but just like I’ve mentioned before, people will listen to Ivonnah from TV and magazines quicker than Ivonnah from The Elm (New Haven is called The Elm City). I use the platform that was built to spread God’s word. Being a Christian isn’t about being perfect, it’s about living our lives for Christ and letting Him change us right? People change, behavior changes, and when someone is submitting themselves to the Lord to be better then why do we kick them when they’re down? We tell them to grow while we have our foot on their neck because we continue to remind them of where they use to be. We don’t even give them a chance to show that their behavior has changed before we go accusing them based on previous actions. We’re supposed to be a support, iron sharpens iron right? Well how about we sharpen each another and not stab one another in the chest. Amen

Granny Panties Don’t Work

A while ago in one of my blogs I mentioned soul ties & I said I’d get back at a later date, well, here’s the later date. Back in the old biblical days folks didn’t have the ceremonies we have today. To be considered married, the two became one when they had sex & their souls were tied together under God, & now they are husband & wife…end of blog lol I kid I kid, but do you see where I’m going with this? Their SOULS were TIED & the two became ONE. Do you understand that we are nothing but souls that were given flesh & bones to walk this earth to glorify God’s kingdom? That’s all we are!! But that’s a big deal! So our souls being connected & intertwined with people before it’s time, before they are our husband or wife only brings about heartache, pain & unnecessary stuff you’ll have to deal with when you do become married. It not only binds you to that person, but to all of the people that they have been with. I have my own crazy and I don’t need your crazy ex girlfriend hopping into my spirit too. No thanks.

People always say that waiting until marriage is old fashioned, that the Ten Commandments do not apply anymore, but read what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians “For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.” It says to control your body!! No excuses. You cannot say that you know God & do the opposite of what He says to do. It is not old fashioned – Thessalonians…that’s New Testament, post Jesus aka how we should be living.

Now a few years ago God tackled me to the ground & put me in a headlock, just kidding – God told me that I needed to stop having sex until I was married. This was not news to my ears, and I will not lie to you all & act like I just said “okie dokie Lord”, I didn’t. I think men are the most beautiful creation, especially a big ole Black one with a beard. Do I miss sex, YES, but do I want my marriage & the plans that the Lord has set for my life to be blessed & given to me HECK YES. It’s so much more important to be on God’s plan than to be on your own. It was a tough pill to swallow, but the Lord was very specific, & I am very thankful for it now. It has saved me from being bound to men that I would have had no business being bound to. Simply, it’s a relief! I know Aunt Flo is coming to town & on every physical I know my HIV test will be negative. *ye shrug*

Sooo, dating, I really hate when people say “we’re not supposed to date because there is no dating in the bible” yeah & your daddy isn’t trading you for a flock of cattle either, wait, that would be a herd huh? Anywho, marriages aren’t arranged like they were back then – we need to date, get to know people, see how they are, check their integrity, things like that. But dating in the church does not look like dating in the world – well it’s not supposed to.

I’m saying all this to say pull your panties back up ladies and gentlemen be the leader & make her purity (and yours) a priority whether you’re a virgin or rededicated your body to Christ. The intimacy that we long for should be the intimacy we are having with the Lord, get to know Him while we’re getting to know the person we’re dating. He will show you things you need to know about that person, He will warn you or give you the go ahead if you are sensitive to His Spirit – but that only comes from spending time.

Lastly, we can’t put ourselves in compromising positions & think that we’re so strong that we can resist the temptation…we cannot. Well we can, but only for so long. Paul also says in 1 Corinthians (Paul stayed warning the church about sex) “Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” It is the only one that CLEARY AFFECTS, the affects are evident & like one of my girlfriends pointed out, it’s the only sin that becomes not a sin. It’s the trickiest one so you know it has to be important. The Holy Spirit is in you. That means we’re dragging the Holy Spirit into our mess!! Runnnnnn!!!! Run! Run! Run! I’ve been talking to a guy & I’ve had to run …cause he’s fine, & young & athletic &…yeah you get it. It’s just not safe lol. We can try little tricks like wearing granny panties or not waxing, it doesn’t work, trust me. So ladies put your pretty panties back on & keep your appointments just do not go to his house at all times of night & by no means spend the night! Or just don’t go to his house at all!

I digress, I am not here to repremand or talk down, I’m talking to myself too, hello…young fineian. But there’s a reason why we are supposed to be hidden in Christ. He needs to get through Christ & pass His inspection in order to get to us. Trust Me, God will not let a janky dude through if we are truly hidden in Him, only we can. Now can we be sexy & appealing, of course men are visual creatures, but we need to know how to catch without throwing too much. I heard on TV last night “if things were easy to find, then they wouldn’t be worth finding”.

I Gotta Get Mine, And You, You Gotta Get Yours…

Hey Hey Hey! Yeah so, I’m supposed to be writing a history paper, but I cannot go on until I get this off my chest. For months I’ve felt ummm stopped up, stuck, in a muck, in a rut, just like someone pushed the pause button on my life. Only to find out that it was God, He was giving me specific instructions about my life, but I was ignoring Him because I was afraid of the repercussions of man. Let me tell you something, just like a spouse, or a boyfriend or girlfriend know just what buttons to push to get a reaction out of you, the LORD knows exactly what you need to get you to where He wants you to be if you are not listening. Now God is a gentleman, He won’t FORCE you to do anything, but He does know how to deal with each of His children in a very specific way. Like a parent, He deals with us all according to our needs, our personality, our knowledge and our attitude, things like that. For instance, I let Christian (my son) get a tattoo for his 16th birthday, I know people will not agree but I know my son, and I know the significance of what he wanted. It’s a beautiful tattoo to remind him of my grandfather who was his bff. Now when I have more children, they may want one at 16, and I can hear it now “but you let Chris get one!” and I may have to answer “yes, but you want Tinkerbelle on the back of your neck, no ma’am”. Her pappy and I will have to deal with her accordingly. With that being said, God always tries to give me slight nudges, little pushes to say “go that way”, but unfortunately He usually has to smack me down on my face in a pile of tears and snot for me to listen…I know, I’m trying to do better, but it’s the truth, I don’t always listen! I like to live on the edge I guess (like this paper that’s due Wednesday that I haven’t started).

Anywho, I finally decided to listen, and ever since I did I’ve felt like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, I’m seeing and hearing more clearly, and I just feel FREE, like doors are opening and nothing is holding me down. I don’t know why people think that being a Christian is all about rules and regulations, it isn’t! It is about FREEDOM in Christ! You are so much more free when you are obedient to His word, especially when He gives YOU a specific word for your life. You can’t let others tell you what you need to be doing in order to be in line with Christ, and you can’t lean on other people’s anointing as your own and expect to reap the benefits! You cannot walk in someone else’s calling and expect to be blessed! You have to walk in the path that God has carved out especially for you even if others don’t understand, even if you don’t understand. Hello, lean not on your own understanding…we say we trust God yet we question His judgement lol that just sounds ridiculous! WE don’t trust HIS judgement…let’s let that marinate…

OK, yeah so as I say all of this, I must say that you gotta get yours when it comes to the Lord. Not in a selfish, self serving way, but in a way that is reflective of Jesus Christ. Praise and Worship for instance, is not a show for you to sit, listen and be entertained by the vocal styling of the best singers of your congregation. Because really, the Lord can pass you the mic at any time and ask you to sing wit yo non singin’, voice crackin’ self. Yes!! It can happen, you know why, because the person with the best voice may not be anointed, or they may be in the flesh, but your praise is so pure that it sounds beautiful to ears of God. Now an anointed beautiful voice is a blessing Halleujah!! but that cracking pure spirit is just as amazing.

We don’t go to church to always receive, receive from the pastor, receive from the praise team, just soak up all the goodness of “church”. It’s not about tingly’s when your favorite praise leader starts singing your favorite song. It’s about you getting yours, however you need to, if you have to lay out in the floor, or cry out to the Lord!! Now, I do not in any means mean to make a spectacle of yourself and put on a show, don’t be foolish. But whatever it takes to get what you need, you need to do it! No matter who is watching because they should be getting theirs too and not be paying attention to you! Today I was on my FACE and I’m sure my tracks were showing, but if you saw my tracks, then you weren’t where you needed to be in the Spirit. When you’re fighting for your life it is NOT the time to be cute! You have to put in work, not just wait for church to usher in the Spirit to get what you need. You should be able to do it on your own, in the car, in the grocery store, on the highway, in the shower whenever you need Him!!

Punctuality and an order of service is not what one should be looking for. Do not stifle the Holy Spirit in order to stay on your agenda, or your schedule. Funny, I wrote that two months ago but today the Spirit moved one way and changed the course of the service and who are we to complain? Should order be in the church? Yes, of course but don’t try and dictate what the Holy Spirit is trying to do. The Lord obviously wants you to get something – TAKE IT!