My Daddy’s Greens

 My Daddy's Greens

 

Luke 17:6  The Lord answered, "If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea,' and it would obey you!

Mark 4:31-32 (NLT) "It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds, ³² but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade."

 

Do you remember coming home to a hot pot of fresh greens? I mean, steaming hot, seasoned just right with love, and so tasty! There so are many different types of greens, but today, let's talk about the mustard green.

 

Mustard greens are a little more tart and bitter than Kale or Collards, and hold a rather pungent taste. They are extremely healthy, and contain vitamins and minerals that can help you breath easier (Vitamins E, C, and Magnesium), promote lung (Vitamin A) & heart (Vitamin E, beta-carotene, Vitamin C, Potassium, and Magnesium), and even slow the loss of Metal Function over time (vitamin E).

 

Now where am I going with this you suppose? What does this have to do with anything? My response: EVERYTHING! Mustard greens are the greens that result from the mustard seed! That tiny little seed, when planted produces something so beneficial! What can we learn here? That when we work our faith, God has so many benefits in store for us! God has given us all a measure of faith (Romans 12:3) to put to work for the Kingdom. Like the scripture says, it was the planted mustard seed that yielded a great harvest.

 

Are you waiting for your promised harvest? Have you not yet see the results of possessing the land? Then work your faith! Begin to believe God's word to be true, and place or "plant" your faith in Him and Him alone. Not man, not politics, not even your own plans and ideas, but God. Because when we trust God and are planted we reap a new breath of life (Gen 2:7), our lungs become stronger to run the race (Heb 12:1-2), we receive a heart transplant (giving us new life) (John 10:10), and most of all we don't loose our mind because it's in Christ Jesus (Phil 2:5)!

 

So what are you waiting for? Isn't it about time you reaped your harvest? Release your pungent and power-packed faith to the world! Go ahead, we're all waiting.

 

God, I thank You that You have made provision for a great harvest in this season. While the world is in oppression, we can smell the sweet aroma of Your love brewing in our lives. Add Your grace to our faith as we work together to produce a harvest for your Kingdom. Let's get cookin'! In Jesus Name, Amen.

 

~DS Brittany Bibb

Alpha Nu Omega, Inc
DS TRUST est.FA06
Lambda Chapter Sorority
2008-2009 Director of Ministry

Dealing With Fear: A Lesson From a Two Year Old

Now, I generally do not associate the term "fear" with my personality or stage of life; however, this story made me think. With graduation around the corner, the beginning of paying off loans (by myself), starting a company, doing well on the job that awaits me, etc. I tend to get nervous. Nervous that things have not gone according to plan, nervous about what's in store, and an overwhelming fear of failing. My nervousness is my fear of things not going the way I want them to. My nervousness is my fear of having to let go of my "oh so perfect plan" to that which is of His will.

The following is a lil clip I came across about Fear and our trust in the Lord. Read it. Meditate on it. Enjoy it. and Live it.

Are you full of fear?
By Mike Woodard
From: http://thelife.com/blogs/experience/devotionalforwomen/

Domonic, our two and a half year old grandson was “helping” Papa (Grandpa) do some much-needed spring clean up in the back yard. Our backyard is terraced, so when we went to the second layer he started to cry. I asked him why he was crying, and he said, “Me Scaredy!” It turned out he was scared because he had seen the wild deer wander across that part of the yard in the past, and he was afraid that they might come while we were there. I sat down and enfolded him in my arms, then asked, “Do you think Papa can take care of you? Do you think your Papa can chase the deer away?” He calmed down and seemed to like the idea that Papa could chase the “scary” deer away.

I realized I am not so different than Domonic. I have fears, too. I attempt to deal with fears in a variety of ways. I don’t tend to cry like Domonic did, but I get mad, worried, withdrawn, defensive, over analytical or immobilized, just to mention a few. In the same way that I enfolded Domonic in my arms and assured him I could take care of him, I need to experience God’s embrace in moments of fear and be reassured.

I remember one dark star-filled night walking alone, perplexed and with tears running down my face, crying out to God for help. His response was not verbal but it was so clear. It was as if God was saying to me, His child, “Who made these stars and put them in place? Do you think I’m big enough to handle your problems and fears?” In that moment my fears seemed to shrink, and in a fresh way I understood God’s presence and power. The problem did not go away but I had confidence to move forward knowing God would care of me.

In a world that has many uncertainties the words from Psalm 147 can bring comfort. God is big enough to comfort His child in the midst of all possible fears!

“Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant and praise is becoming. The Lord builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite. The Lord supports the afflicted; He brings down the wicked to the ground” (Psalm 147:1-6 (NIV).

Questions: How do you respond in the face of fear? What steps can you start to take to help you face the future positively and without fear?

Love and Peace,

Brann Poe

It's so close it's surreal

Today marked the very last set of Thursday classes that I will ever have as an undergraduate at Howard University.  Commencement is like 3 weeks away.  Senioritis, as much as I have tried to fight it, has become a serious reality for me.  Graduation is so close I can nearly feel the weight of that cap and gown on my body.  I should be excited right??? And truthfully, most of the time I am.  But then there is a part of me that has no idea what is gonna happen in the future.  So many things in my life seem uncertain.  Like I just need some major, tangible, in your face evidence that I will be ok when Fall 09 rolls around.  As much as I just want to trust God that He has everything in control, I still have my anxious moments.  But, one of the cures to this is found in Philippians 4:6-7... ⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  To me, this verse means that even if everything in my world came crashing down in the next few minutes, God would give me a peace that could handle it.  So today, my earnest prayer is for peace.  Peace to handle all of the unknown and be ok with it.  Peace that can look at the situation and know that God's got it.  A peace that knows I am secure in His arms. 

 

Shout out to all of my fellow seniors...your futures are brighter than you'll ever know!

Happy Thursday!

 

Renee

So you still feeling REJECTED!? Me too!

Hello All,

Early this morning I began to read the Word and stumbled across this passage. I know we have been talking alot about rejection lately and I am still seeking healing from the recent rejection in my life. In this passage we see an illustration(parable) about men who were not only rejected but murdered in the pursuit of their goal! Jesus tells a story of a landowner who sent servants to check on his property and after no success he sent his dear son. This story parallels with Jesus' sacrifice. In the end the very person that they killed has become the cornerstone of our faith and the redeemer of our lives.

 

How can we relate this to our lives?We are merely humans and God has not called us to be a cornerstone of this faith! Well God showed me that because Jesus lives within me and He is the center of my life...whoever and whatever rejects me...whether it be ministry, a law school, a job, my friends, my parents...whatever it is....trust it is all apart of His master plan. Are you willing to do what God has called you to do just to sometimes feel down and out because you dont get what you thought you deserved? How do you think JESUS felt. He didnt deserve to die on the cross...but He was willing to give up His plan for God's plan. Listen to God...follow Him...but be prepared for rejection from this world...but continue to stand firm on the HOPE, PROMISES, and YOUR FAITH IN GOD!

 

Mark 12

The Parable of the Tenants

 ¹He then began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. ²At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. ³But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

 ⁶"He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, 'They will respect my son.'

 ⁷"But the tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' ⁸So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

 ⁹"What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰Haven't you read this scripture:
   " 'The stone the builders rejected
      has become the capstone^[a];
 ¹¹the Lord has done this,
      and it is marvelous in our eyes'^[b]?"

 ¹²Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

KEEP FASTING...KEEP PRAYING...KEEP READING...KEEPING BELIEVING...IT AINT OVER NOOOOOO!!!!!

 

-LOVE VALENCIA

--
Dove Sister Valencia Caroline Thurman
Alpha Nu Omega Sorority Inc. President
Lambda Chapter, Howard University

Increasing our F.O.L.D.
Fervor-Obedience-Love-Discernment

"I am ALPHA and OMEGA, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the ALMIGHTY" Revelations 1:8

obeDIEnce

Lately, I have been really tired. Not sleepy, just tired. It would please me to no end to lay in my bed all day, doing nothing except read easy novels and watch mindless movies. I have no desire to do anything that even seems like work.

And I have noticed that when this spirit comes, it is the hardest to go away. The only cure is to get up and do something, the last thing I want to do. When I do get up and do things, it just seems like they do not turn out at all like they should.

It just reminds me of this lesson I recieved about seasons. I think I may have mentioned it before. Our seasons with God are just like nature's seasons. We have hills and valleys, and right now I am stuck in a valley, looking up at the hill/mountain (for although it is really a hill, only a hill, it seems so large from down here). All I can do is sigh, pick up my baggage, and start climbing.

Now I don't know how many of you know, but God did not tell us to climb in the first place. He gave me the power to speak, and by the power of my words I can cast that mountain into the sea. Problem is, I have a problem. I don't believe my words are as powerful as they once were. How can I talk myself out of this funk when I feel like I'm not connecting with the Power?

I once read, if you sense your faith is unraveling, go back to where you dropped the thread of obedience. Inside of obedience, if you havn't noticed, is the word die. We have to die to ourselves daily.

For me, and for everyone, remember the first step is to go back to where you stopped obeying. I know where mine is. John1:1 talks about in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God...we learn that the "Word" is Jesus, and no man cometh to the Father except through Jesus. And the Word is found in the Bible. No man cometh to the Father except through the Bible. The Bible tells us how to walk like Jesus and how to pray and how to ask for forgiveness of sins so that we can have not only salvation, but POWER.

So when is the last time I read the Bible....too ashamed. So I used to read it everyday, and all of a sudden, I was "too busy" to really get IN the Word like I was before. Reading a few verses a day isn't enough for me to get through, and that is my dropped thread.

I encouraged everyone to meditate on whether they are truly obedient to the Lord's Will.

Love

DS DeAnna Rhodes

Fear Not

Greetings All!!!
This evening I just read an interesting devotional. The one line that really stuck out to me was this: "Make the choice to stop fighting with your own weapons and PUT ON THE ARMOR OF GOD"

That's truth, right? How many times do we have battles against ourselves, against the enemy, against other people, struggles, whatever, but try to fight it on our own? It could be something "small" like committing time to God, but we just can't seem to get up (my personal struggle), but instead of doing,as my mom says, committing everything...EVERYTHING to God, we just keep doing things of our own power. I do this a lot. And I always have to remember, that I cannot do it all. I simply can't. It's literally impossible. And in the meantime, I'm just becoming tired, angry, frustrated and annoyed, mostly with myself. Sometimes with other people, who usually haven't done anything.

We need to do as the devotional said and stop trying to fight, stop trying to LIVE on our own. We can't make it without Him. That's the point of having Christ anyway, isn't it? To let Him do it all for us. We take our cues, our directions from Him. It's like before we do anything, make any decision, we kinda look at Him, like "that way?" or "that way?", but when we forget or just don't seek Him about things, instead we end up out of breath and confused, like "what happened?" Then we go back and ask God where was He? When the truth is, a lot of times we didn't ask Him to come with us.

It can be hard,but everyday commit yourself and everything else to God. It can be as "simple" as a prayer. Just remember all that He's done, remember He woke you up this morning, that morning and whatever madness that may happen, He's still in your corner and will bring you out of it. You can make it. You will make it. You have the victory already. Just stop trying to do it on your own.

Love & Blessings!!!

Adeola Oyelabi

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Daniel 6:10 "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime."

Let's consider Daniel for a moment. Here is one of the great rulers of the Persian empire, in charge of the King's affairs and of the affairs of the entire government. Now if anyone is really busy ― it's Daniel! But in spite of all this, he makes it a point to set himself apart from the world and pray three times a day.

This really got me. I mean, how busy are we ― really? And what are we really doing?

It's like this, if we are neglecting the important things of God, we're simply doing more than God intended! As we get closer to finals and graduation time, let's keep our priorities in order, and make time to talk to God! Let's be a people of prayer! There's so much work to be done!

--
Diane C. Bryce
Howard University
Bachelors of Science Candidate, May 2009
Dove Sister Fabergé
Alpha Nu Omega Sorority, Inc.
#4ΛFA08

Perseverance!

To all my graduating seniors, weary sisters, and friends that have been diagnosed with the critical epidemic...'end of the year' itis, this one is for you...

Perseverance

When all the world is looming dark
And things seem not so clear,
When shadows seem to hover 'round
Lord, may I persevere.

When it seems everything's been tried
And there's no way to go,
Just let me keep remembering
Sometimes the journey's slow.

I may just need to stop and rest
Along the path I trod,
A time to try to understand
And have my talk with God.

As I gain new strength to carry on
Without a doubt or fear,
Somehow I know things will be right,
And so, I persevere.

By Anne Stortz from Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." (Galatians 6:9)

Agape,

DS Poe

It ain't over yet

So, I can say that this has been quite a rough week for me.  I have really had to deal with the pain that comes when your will doesn't match up with God's will.  Especially when the devil tries to convince you that your defeated because things didn't work out the way that you expected them to.  But as Jeremiah 29:11 states, "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future".  I really had to remind myself that God never intends to hurt us or cause pain, it's just a part of the process that we have to go through...and in the end, it all works out for His glory.  I honestly can say that I am still not 100% ok with where He has me, but growth can't come from being comfortable.  As my dear friend told me, we have to look at the fact that God knew I couldn't handle this a month ago, but today I'm strong enough to take it.  I don't know what you may be going through at this point in life, but just know that it's not over until your victory is won! Because in every situation, you have the victory!

 

Verse I
I know the odds look stacked against you
And it seems there's no way out
I know the issue seems unchangeable
And that there's no reason to shout
But the impossible is God's chance
To work a miracle, a miracle
So just know

Chorus
It ain't over until God says it's over
It ain't over until God says it's done
It ain't over until God says it's over
Keep fighting until your victory is won

Verse II
He never said it would be easy
But you're a winner in the end
Jesus defeated all your enemies
Way before the fight began
But the impossible is God's chance
To work a miracle, a miracle
So just know

Chorus

Bridge
When people say you can't, remember
(He can, He can)
When you don't know what you're gonna do,
Please remember
(He has the master plan)
He will free you from your sin
And give you peace within
So hold your head up high
You're gonna win
(You're gonna win)

Chorus

Vamp
Keep fighting, keep praying, keep fasting
It ain't over, no
Keep pressing, progressing, keep moving
It ain't over, no
Keep reading, interceding, keep believing
It ain't over, no
Keep trusting, keep trying, keep travailing
It ain't over, no
Keep living, keep giving, keep going
It ain't over, no (8x)
Keep fighting until your victory is won

 

God Bless and have a wonderful weekend!  


Renee

Hey Fam

Greetings fellow disciples,

 

[ I was talking to a girl in class today and she was telling me about her event. I'd never seen any flyers but she has hundreds of people on her facebook group going. I asked her how she did it and she said from word of mouth...]

 

Our week is fast approaching and our our facebook group has 39 members but about 10 non ANQ committed attendees. So I have an idea:

 

there are about 30 of us, see, so if we were to all invite our entire friendlist (guesstimate 30x300friends that would be 9,000 invites - minus like 2,000 or so common friends and another 2,000 non HU ppl - it's all estimation) that leaves 5,000 people- even if we took another 3,00 away we can still draw souls. Nevermind the rejection cuz wonderful Brann has hid that list!!!

 

So let's try it fam!! This is our week!! This is it!!! Let's get pumped - if you're hype, they're hype!!!

 

Then on top of that we're about to have some bomb flyers and we know ppl and we can talk it up like Jesus was coming (and He is, you know!).

 

We have faith that God can touch this campus, but we've got to endure and have enough ministerial commitment and fervor to bring 'em!!! I'm hype, yep, but I'm not doing the most - let's do the most for our God!

 

Love,

DS Ekpin

 

Who ratings do you want?

Hey this is a devotional that a dear dear wonderful friend of mine sent me yesterday...it ministered to my life and i hope it can yours...

 

Galatians 1:10 (New International Version) 

¹⁰Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. 
 

To be a servant of Christ is the best choice anyone can make, however once you decide to become a follower, the enemy follows you! Trouble, trials and joyful and peaceful moments all come with the Jesus Christ package, but what keeps believers going is their unwavering faith and hope. The reward that God gives abundantly exceeds anything the world gives. Awards, recognition, popularity cannot match the rewards from God. However you have to be a servant to Christ. You have to die to yourself. Which brings my point; being a Christian requires so much, that the approval of men won't cut it. If one is preaching the gospel and faking it, only for show and money and popularity, then they haven't reached their full reward. Approval and opinions of people waver, which is why when we do all things, we must do it so it is pleasing to God. When the devil is busy , or when society rejects you for standing up for Christ, one thing that must be remembered that , we are doing all things to please God, because if we strived for righteousness, just to please men, it will be a waste. I love the end of the scripture, because you can sense the humor in it. If one was only trying to please men, there are far easier, more pleasing things to the flesh, than living for God.

Amen my sister...Amen-Valencia

--
Dove Sister Valencia Caroline Thurman
Alpha Nu Omega Sorority Inc. President
Lambda Chapter, Howard University

Increasing our F.O.L.D.
Fervor-Obedience-Love-Discernment

"I am ALPHA and OMEGA, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the ALMIGHTY" Revelations 1:8