What's up with Worship?

Each Wednesday I co-host a show on blis.fm called ‘The Connect’. This week we were privileged to interview Whittney Jackson, an up and coming Gospel artist with a powerful voice. During the interview we discussed the topic of worship and Whittney said something that stood out to me, “Worship is a lifestyle.” And as I thought and prayed more about it, I realized that worship is how we prioritize God in our lives and not just how we feel when the slow song plays at church. This is a matter of the heart and we communicate with God through our worship.

1.      You have to learn God for yourself- Worship is an extension of the Holy Spirit residing in you. Whether you’ve grown up in church or were introduced to it much later in life, if you’re not careful, going to church simply becomes a habit [a good habit] but we have to be diligent and make a choice for ourselves about who God is and what He means to us. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (NJKV)

2.      Own your worship – The way you worship God is unique to you. It doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s worship. Sit down, stand up, raise your hands, open your eyes, keep them close; do whatever the Holy Spirit leads you to do in order to worship Him in spirit and truth. (John 4:23-24) 23 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (NKJV)

3.      Check your heart- When you are having trouble worshiping, check your heart and assess where you are in relation to God. Have you strayed from Him? Do you need to ask for forgiveness for something? Do you need to study more of His word? Is your worship only tied to whether or not God answers your prayers the way you want Him to? (Jeremiah 29:13) “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (NKJV)

The 3-year old and her plans.

Over the past few years I’ve done something around my birthday to give back to the community and I wanted this year to be no different. So, this time last Saturday I celebrated my birthday with family and friends by taking over Central Union Mission.  Volunteers signed up for two-hour shifts, kindhearted chefs were brought in to prepare lunch, and barbers donated their time, providing free hair cuts for the men of Central Union Mission.

A few things stood out to me while serving last week:

The majority of the volunteers did not want to leave when their shifts ended.  I was asked more than once “Can I stay a little bit longer?” , “I know my shift is over but is there something else I can do?” Serving does this to you—you get lost in it; something comes over you and you want to keep giving. Maybe initially, you were there for you. You know, to do a good deed; but that soon wears off and it’s no longer about you but more so about the difference being made in the lives of others.

The confidence gained by the Mission men after receiving their haircuts made my heart glad. They smiled brighter and their strides seemed a little longer. I know how I feel after a fresh ‘do’ so to see that they are impacted in the same way was such a blessing. Some of them seriously had that President Obama kind of stride after their haircuts...Okay, no one can do it quite like President Obama but you get it!

I was greatly inspired by the serving heart of little Brie, the youngest volunteer who was so eager and excited to serve! Brie started off drawing pictures on the back of the inspirational cards that would be left on the beds for the Mission men. She then graduated to 'my little helper', holding my hand, asking questions, and sharing funny stories that made her fall out laughing.

As lunch rolled around she stood beside me as I handed desserts to the older children so that they could pass them out to the 150 men of the Mission.  After about 10-minutes of holding my hand as the other children came back and forth to pick up plated desserts, she asked if I could pick her up. I picked her up and proceeded to pass out the desserts to the children.  Of course I should have known that she had a plan. She eased her way into the process and the desserts soon went from my hand to hers and then to the other children. This lasted a good 20-minutes or so before she asked to get down.  I gathered that she needed a break and naturally, I was somewhat relieved, because a 3-year old on your hip for longer than five minutes is no easy feat.

But I was wrong; she did not need a break and again, had another plan. She now wanted to help pass out desserts. I obliged. She held the hand of one of the older girls as she handed out desserts and it seemed to be going well. That got old though, and after a few trips back and forth in lockstep with an older volunteer, Brie was ready for the big leagues. She wanted to actually pass out the desserts. Again, I obliged.  Why? Because I know exactly what that feels like to want to do more. You see a need and know you can fill it if given the opportunity. And if the opportunity doesn’t already exist, you create it. Of course Brie didn’t think it through this way but I believe this is the way the heart of a servant works. You progressively seek and create opportunities to serve.  

I’m so inspired by little Brie and the rest of the children that were there last week. I’m grateful to their parents for bringing them and I pray that service will be engrained in their hearts forever. 

(Galatians 5:13) "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love." 

Check out the video below and pay close attention to the end to see little Brie in action!

"Don't get mad when God blesses your neighbor..."

On Saturday, I received a text from my dear friend with some really exciting news. Actually, what she sent was a picture with details of a major accomplishment. I saw the picture and immediately started crying. It wasn’t that I was surprised by what I was seeing; I’ve been connected to her journey, fully aware of the hard work she had put in, the prayers, the accountability etc., Here’s what got me teary eyed…

Last year, this friend took some time out to write her goals. But she didn’t just write them, she prayed about them and remained committed and accountable. One of her goals was to leave her full time job to pursue her passion in real estate, and she did that. I have to make this clear though: late last spring (2015), this friend was having reservations about whether or not she should leave her job and some folks around her were telling her to just pursue her passion on the side but she decided to trust God and completely walked away from that job in August of 2015. So as I looked at the picture, I couldn’t hold back the tears because God’s work was in front of me. My friend sought God for direction, was obedient with her finances, and what she believed God would help with was manifesting.

One of the goals she wrote and committed to last year was to become a top selling realtor with her company. Well the numbers are in and on Saturday I saw that God went beyond, beyond – totally exceeding expectations. Honestly, I think God may have chuckled a little at the goal she set for herself and decided to ‘flex’ (For those needing a little help, per the urban dictionary, flex is a phrase used by an individual to state their dominance over another).  So naturally, the tears flowed heavily. Remember the Halle Berry cry at the Oscars? Yes, that type of cry. After I got myself together (or so I thought), I called my dear friend. As soon as she answered, we both started screaming and alas, the tears started flowing again. And in between more screams and cries I let her know just how proud I am of her and as I extended heartfelt congratulations I was reminded of something Pastor John K. Jenkins said a few years ago at a revival, “Don’t get mad when God blesses your neighbor, it means He’s in the neighborhood!” I said to her “Girl, He’s in the neighborhood!” and then the tears flowed, again.

Congratulations to my dear friend Arnita Greene, my September 2015 Purpose Driven Woman. Click here to connect with Arnita.