christmas

Answered Prayers

/ LaShona Sellers / Leave a comment

As we sorted through our tree ornaments, this one made me pause:

“PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING. WORRY ABOUT NOTHING. Philippians 4:6-7”

I thought of how often I chose prayer over worry this year. There were many invitations to stress over what was wrong. In some cases, I chose the weight of worry; more often, I chose the posture of prayer. This is an answered prayer and I am grateful.

“I am standing in the answered prayers

Of those who spoke to my existence before they even knew my name

Crying out to God on my behalf for promises they would not see

Speaking blessings and wisdom for generations  to come

Planting seeds of faith  with every step of obedience

I am walking in answered prayers

Persisting in intercession for those who will come after.”

-LAS

Tidings of Comfort and Joy

/ LaShona Sellers / 1 Comment

Tis the season, friends. And no doubt it’s…different. I found myself close to ‘Bah Humbug’ until I was struck by the words of an old familiar carol:

🎶God rest ye merry gentlemen Let nothing you dismay Remember Christ our Savior Was born on Christmas Day To save us all from Satan’s pow’r When we were gone astray Oh tidings of comfort and joy Comfort and joy Oh tidings of comfort and joy🎶

So today I offer tidings of comfort and joy To the believer and the unbeliever To the cheerful and the grieving To the hopeful and the discouraged To the gathered and the lonely

And I pray we all remember and come to know Immanuel, the One who was, is and always will be with us.

“…She will give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).”- Isaiah 7:14

“…and He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”- Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Celebrating The Light

/ LaShona Sellers / Leave a comment
“The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”- John 1:4-5

So grateful for His Light. The Light that shines on my dark places, freeing me to walk confidently in purpose. The Light that gives hope when circumstances are unsure and life doesn’t go as planned. The Light that gives discernment, making me wise as a serpent and innocent as a dove (Matt. 10:16). The Light that compels me to love, to serve, and see others the way He does, extending the same grace He has so faithfully extended to me.

Praying the Light of Jesus shines into your darkness, gives you hope for tomorrow and draws you to receive the gift of His love. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, friends!

Giving

/ LaShona Sellers

She looks battle weary. Her face bearing the scars of addiction, her head bowed. She walks the line of cars, the blessing of a busy intersection and a red light.  Quickly she walks, hoping some kindness might be extended to her- a meal, a few dollars, an encouraging word. This day I can offer only a hello and a prayer. She cries and grabs my hands, her gloves stiff with cold. “In Jesus name,” she agrees. “I know He’s going to take care of me” she says. The light has changed, the cars behind  honk with impatience, we say quick goodbyes. Each day I pray, that her absence means she’s found a warm  and safe place to lay her head, that she is bravely fighting her demons, that healing and recovery are in her view.

This woman is just one of  thousands of homeless men, women and children  in Baltimore. The need is heartbreaking and overwhelming but there are individuals and organizations on the front line meeting these needs everyday. If you are considering where to give this holiday season, consider adopting a woman or family (mother & children) at Marian House. They are truly helping women move from dependence to independence.

Resolution

/ LaShona Sellers / Leave a comment

You’re probably thinking, “Resolutions! Let’s get through Christmas first.” Well this is another kind of resolution. If you’re in the Baltimore area, the Creative Alliance is offering “Writing Resolution,” a workshop of writing exercises given by author Jessica Anya Blau on January 7, go to their site for tickets and have a look around while you’re there. In an ideal world of affordable college educations, I would go back for a masters in Creative Writing but in light of reality I’m constantly on alert for any type of writer educational opportunities. Ironically when I was working on my masters in HR Development, I had two friends majoring in Creative Writing and helped both with assignments, if I knew then what I know now…yes, hindsight is 20/20. On other fronts, I haven’t blogged recently over on Barnabas Blessings and I feel some kind of way about it, not sure. I think the Lord is trying to teach me something about writing as writing and writing as ministry. I strongly believe when you’re putting your writing (or any gift) out there as a kind of ministry or spiritual encouragement, you should be hearing from God, if not then it’s just your own glory show.  Not to say that everything you do shouldn’t give glory to God …thinking…thinking…just thinking.
I’m proud to say that I finally completed a long term goal yesterday…to de-clutter my son’s room. Who knew a 5 year old could accumulate so much stuff! Stuff he lost interest in ages ago and stuff he probably didn’t remember he had. Two little tidbits I took away from that 4 hour job: 1) Need to cut down on the fast food kid meals, those little toys just create more stuff and 2) I can no longer give, in good conscience, those little cheap birthday goodie bag toys b/c they too just create more stuff. He seemed happy, almost relieved when he walked into his new room. I’d like to think that in some sense he’s like his mommy in that he felt better without all of the clutter. So here’s to hoping that we’ve made progress in our quest to teach him it’s better to give than to receive and that life is not about “stuff.”