GO GET YOUR DONKEYS: Handle HIS Business

I was honored enough to hear this Word a few weeks ago. I'm not going to go as in depth as necessary on this, simply because it really deals with a personal issue: YOUR PURPOSE. We all need to do some personal reflection on this, spend some time in the Word and some quiet time with God so we can get our own personal revelations.

1 Samuel 9:1-4a

1 There was a wealthy, influential man named Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. He was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 His son Saul was the most handsome man in Israel—head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land.


3 One day Kish’s donkeys strayed away, and he told Saul, “Take a servant with you, and go look for the donkeys.” 4 So Saul took one of the servants and traveled through the hill country of Ephraim, the land of Shalishah, the Shaalim area, and the entire land of Benjamin,

Do you notice that when Kish told Saul to go, he went without comment? I'm pretty sure that Saul had his own life, priorities, needs, and wants. But he set out IMMEDIATELY to do what his father told him.

Can the same be said of us? Are we handling our business, but not His? We should set out, WITHOUT DISTRACTIONS, COMMENTS, OR SIDE NOTES, to do what our Father told us to do. If you don't know what to do, or can't hear God clearly, then take care of the necessities. Read the Word, have quiet time, pray, be discipled.

The first step in knowing your purpose is to handle His business.

~Dove Sister DeAnna~

Give it ALL

A little birdie once told me:  "I have a lot of things I have to do, a lot of

things I want to do and a lot of things I can't do."

Interesting, right? I think so...So I said to myself, "Self?" and my self said, "What?" and I said, "Self...THAT...is a word of some sort."

I think there are three things or ideas in that statement that help to govern our lives today. So I'll break it down:

1. Have to do = Obligation or Duty

2. Want to do = Desire

3. Can't do = Either because it's not what you're supposed to be doing

(outside the will of God, so to speak, like a boundary), you THINK you are

unable to do it when, in reality, you can (lack of confidence in yourself), or someone or something is keeping you from it

Really we need to make all of those things work together in the will of God for our lives. There really are certain things we have to do, will want to do, and won't be able to do because of the reasons mentioned above.

1. Duty - Luke 17:1-10

2. Desire - Ps. 27:4-6 & Ps. 37:3-6

3. Boundaries set by God - Ps. 16:6-11

   Lack of Confidence - Ps 139:14-16

   Others blocking - Genesis 3:4

The scripture corresponds with the topic before it. So I'm going to briefly touch on each one. The last one is kind of lengthy because it's 3-in-1.

1.  We have a duty to live as Christ did. To read the Bible and follow His example…and while we're doing it, to not act like it's just something we HAVE to do. It's the way to live. Although we have to do, we also love to do it because as children of God, we want to be like our Heavenly Father. The ultimate example for how men and women of God should live.

2. God wants us to be happy. I strongly believe that. The easiest way for us to be happy is to desire the things that God desires. Desire to have a close relationship with Him. Desire to end generational curses in your family. Desire to earn a higher GPA this year. Desire to share Him with others that you may or may not know. Desire to be in His presence. But more than desiring these things actually DO them. The Bible says that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26). So as we desire the things that God desires and continue to walk out this Christian lifestyle, we'll get all we desire and then some. Things we didn't even ask for, God will give us.

3.         Sometimes we can't do something because God is protecting us, but we decide we still want to go over and see what's going on because "the grass is greener on the other side". Well, that's not always the case. Or sometimes it may be the case, but the grass is really just greener because it has so many weeds in it and along with weeds come pests and other nuisances. Then we get upset all because we didn't want to go through the "trouble" of doing the work and staying in God yard's and mowing it when He asked us to. Okay, maybe the example is a little far-fetched, but you understand what I'm saying. If God sets boundaries for us, respect them. They are there for a reason, and more than likely it is to save us, not keep us from missing out on things. Like I said, He wants us to be happy…He may be keeping you from something because you're not ready for it right now. Be patient and know that He has something lovely in store for you.  

Other times we can't or think we can't do something because we lack confidence. Confidence in ourselves or confidence in God. Or how about combining them and doubting the God in us. Don't do that. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Not only that, but God is continually doing a good work in us. That means that even if you don't have confidence in yourself, at least trust that God is working in you. But…then if you trust He's working in you, you might as well have confidence in yourself (while ultimately giving all praise, glory, and honor to God) because He's working in and through you. Doubting yourself is, essentially, doubting Him. (Wow. I better speak to myself!!! Praise the Lord and pass the peas!! Ok God…I see you!)

And lastly, is others blocking us from things. I chose the prime example of the fall of man for this one. Satan blocked Adam and Eve from obeying the Lord and they just believed Him. The consequences of people blocking us and of us ALLOWING them to do so can be dire. If something or someONE is blocking you from Christ or from something He has for you, you may need to reconsider the role it's playing in your life. Because we need to be directly connected to Christ. That's the most important thing.

YAY, all three points. So yes, as the birdie said, "There are things we will have to do, things we want to do, and things we can't do." Consult God on all of them. He'll never steer us wrong and has our best interests at heart (Jeremiah 29:11).

~~Dove Sister Adeola Oyelabi~

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Bread

Matthew 4:4 says that people need more than bread for their life; they must feed on EVERY Word of God. You can know all about bread; you can have it everywhere in your house and even offer it to others, but that can't help you. Bread must be eaten. If somehow you are unable to eat it, you will die (I mean, maybe not in these days, with the variety of food we have now, but you get the picture). That's just how it is with the Bread of Life, God's Word; mere knowledge of it and preaching it to others won't help you. Thinking about it and having it everywhere will not suffice. You have to FEED on it and take it into your heart and life. It must be eaten daily to secure a strong and powerful spiritual life. EATEN: looked at, smelled, put in one's mouth, chewed, tasted, and digested. We have to think about if we are merely reading God's Word and taking it at face value or scratching the surface, or daily digesting it wholly. We don't want digestive problems: irritable bowel, indigestion, heartburn, all those things that come. We want to be healthy; we want to have a healthy relationship with God.



Banana Bread

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter                1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sugar                                        1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs                                                   1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup flour                                             3 large bananas, mashed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts                       1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bread pan. Cream butter and sugar; add eggs one at a time; set aside. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in whole wheat flour to dry mixture and add to cream mixture. Fold in bananas, vanilla, and walnuts. Bake 50-60 minutes.

~Dove Sister DeAnna~

Sin's Power is Broken

Hey guys. So there was no entry yesterday. Sorry. It was because 1) I had two meetings, a wedding, and a get-together to attend; 2) there was no theme for this month, because we only had one Saturday, and 3) NO ONE HAS SENT IN AN ENTRY! C'mon guys. I don't want to be the only one writing, ya'll are going to be tired of my thoughts and ramblings after a while. I would love for this to be an interactive community. So write! Or at least comment and send prayer requests and praise reports. Love you guys!

Today, I am going to write about one of my favorite passages in the Bible. Actually, I'm going to just paste it in here from, you know it, http://www.biblegateway.com/, in the (ya'll know me) New Living Translation. It sounds just like I would say it. Here it goes, Romans chapter 6:

1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? (ain't he sarcastic) 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.



5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.


12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.


15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.


19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.


20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.


Amen!! I have nothing to add to that. It was perfect. Our events for this week are:

Monday: ANQ Sorority Iota Chapter (Georgetown University) Greek Jeopardy @ 7pm in the Intercultural Center


Tuesday: Iota Chapter Brother 2 Sister Panel Discussion along with Greek Week Panel @ 7pm in the Intercultural Center

Wednesday: Iota Chapter Coffee House: Open Mic @ 7pm in the Uncommon Grounds in Leavey Center


Thursday: Word Up Bible Study Bus Boys & Poets "Artist Spotlight" Bring Your Talent @ 8pm

Friday: Prayer at the Flagpole--1pm

Saturday: AIDS Walk at the National Mall @7am
               Iota Chapter Greek BBQ @ 3pm in the Village A Community Area
               Christian Sisters United @ 4pm in Blackburn Room 148/150

~Dove Sister DeAnna Rhodes~