The Black Side of Altus by Monetta Lazel Devine and Dr. Robbie Jean Steward
There is no feeling like the warm fuzzies of home. Knowing where you come from and the history behind those who helped form you is a magnificent feeling. Join me in congratulating Dr. Robbie Jean Steward for finishing her mother’s work by publishing “The Black Side of Altus.” The moment you open the pages of this book, you see the hard work within the details. Though Ms. Monetta is gone now, I know she’s smiling and that she is very proud of her daughter, Dr. Steward, for being diligent to complete this work of art.
I hope you enjoy the read.
Band-Aids Fix Everything
This is an AWESOME reminder how loving one another can be messy, but so rewarding.
My Joy Isn’t For Sale
“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him,
you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:8-9)
Have you ever lost something valuable?
Recently, I had a conversation with my sisters in Christ and discovered we all had something in common—we had lost precious diamonds. One dear sister told us of the tragic story of how she sat in her car one day and took off her wedding rings to lotion her hands. Afterwards, she grabbed her purse and proceeded to go inside the store, only to rush back half an hour later in desperate search for her rings.
She never found them.
I had a watch my husband bought me in 1987. That beautiful watch had 32 diamonds in it. One day the battery died and I slipped the watch inside my purse with the intent to take it to the jeweler across the street from my office. About two weeks later, I discovered the watch had disappeared.
Had I lost it? Or had it been stolen?
Most women love jewelry. When you lose something so precious, you are sick to your stomach. Sometimes we mourn over these precious minerals for years.
Don’t you feel like this sometimes when you’re robbed of your joy?
We rise in the morning with the intent to follow a schedule, not a rigid one, just one that gives us a sense of direction. We’re open for change. We don’t have preset agendas. We don’t have specific people in mind we need to set straight. Not looking for a fight. Not looking to defend one either.
Our day is highlighted by a nice hard rain from the day before. We smile because it’s sunny, the earth has been nurtured, the flowers are blooming, spring, or autumn is in the air. Birds are singing. Our family is at peace.
Then you get a phone call. Maybe it’s a nasty look. Perhaps someone misunderstood something you said. Or were you cornered into taking the fall for something you didn’t do? In a split second, your whole world comes crashing down. Everything seems to spiral out of control. Whether it’s pent up emotions, or the results of evil hands, you’re in a tizzy.
You convince yourself to take the high road. If you don’t say anything, how will anyone know what you’re going through? So you pick up the phone. You get on Facebook. You send out e-mails. But no matter how many numbers you dial, who you e-mail, or how many social outlets you contact, no one heeds your pleas for help.
The last thing you want to do is sit and cry alone. You’re miserable and you want company—someone to help you muddle through your mess.
I can remember times when a calamity knocked on my door. I won’t lie. I wanted to skip the crying and go right into fight mode. I wanted to park my Christian faith in the middle of a parking lot, or hide it under a blanket. I didn’t want to conceal it for long—just for a moment, until I landed the first blow across someone’s jaw.
It’s times like these that we’re so clouded with what’s going on around us that we can’t seem to remember scripture. For example:
17pray without ceasing; 18in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19Do not quench the Spirit . . . (I Thessalonians 5:17-19)
. . .always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:20)
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just want to stand toe-to-toe with the evil one and have it out with him. By myself, I’d surely lose that fight.
I miss my 32-diamond watch. It’s worth a lot of money. But here is what I’m determined “not” to lose.
My joy.
I have no plans to put it up for sale. There’s no bid high enough to auction this precious gift God has given me. I won’t loan it out either. There’s not enough room on my bookshelves to hold it, so there’s no room for it among my fiction novels. I won’t hide it under the cabinet or drown it out with secular music. I don’t have plans to throw it in with the wash. And I sure won’t wring it out with mop water and scrub the floors with it.
See, I can’t even mingle my joy with idle gossip, or ungodly movies, dirty jokes and foul language.
And I’m not about to plaster a For Sale sign on my front door.
What I have in my posession is worth more than silver and gold and sparkling diamonds. My joy down plays the hand-me-down rags I wear around the house and causes me to sing. It doesn’t frown at my bad breath if I choose not to brush my teeth until three o’clock in the evening. It keeps me company when things become a bore. It makes me smile at the little things. It tickles me until I can’t stand it, making me cry and roar with laughter when God exposes the many miracles he wants me to see. My need to complain gets lost between the birds’ singing and the sunshine beaming. And instead of curling my hands to make a fist and fight my next opponent, I’m kneeling in prayer with a smile on my face.
I may not be able to stop solicitations for my joy, but I will definitely use my God-given right to refuse any price offered for it.
So, I declare, no matter what circumstances I find myself in . . .
My Joy Isn’t For Sale.
Scripture Reading:
Philippians 1:3-5 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
Philemon 1:7 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.
Proverbs 10:28 The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
1 Thessalonians 2:17-20 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.
1 Peter 1:8-9 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
2 John 1:12 Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
Donna B. Comeaux
Freelance Writer, Poet, Novelist
May 12, 2015
A Mother’s Day Healing
While many of us celebrate Mother’s Day, rarely do we stop and think of those who didn’t have fond memories of their mother. Scars of childhood heal, but aren’t forgotten. Instead of refreshing those old wounds, I want to help you think deeper about this day that has been set aside to commemorate our mothers.
God gave birth to each of us and formed us with intricate and meticulous detail. He knows the number of hairs on our heads, our mannerisms, our past, and our future. He’s forgiven our wrong and he’s not ignorant of the wrong set against us. Though many of our homes weren’t homes at all, still we pressed forward. I can’t help but remember the story of King Josiah and the evil all around him at a very early age. Yet, King Josiah didn’t sulk or retaliate. He got busy cleaning the household of God, encouraging those around him to do the same.
Each one of us has a place carved out just for us. When we reach out and take the hand of another and pass along peace, love, and goodwill, we get it back from a different hand, and thus, we are reminded that no man is an island. Though we may want to, we can’t go at life all alone. Together we make up the body of Jesus Christ. I may be a shoulder, but you may be a hand, and your brother might be a knee. It doesn’t matter what part you play, what your role in life may be, we all fit together to form the body of Jesus Christ. And each part of the body encourages the other to press ahead. And no part of the body is superior to the other part, for there is only one head—Jesus Christ.
Haunted memories of your mother should be traded for the spiritual blessings you bestow upon others. Giving speaks volumes about God’s love reigning in you. A rose from your garden and placed upon the collar of the least expected expresses love beyond words. An e-mail message or a handwritten note to someone you’ve never had the pleasure of knowing fills their lives with immeasureable assurance that our God is still alive.
When we allow God to free us from our past and unleash our future, in spite of many trials and downfalls, we can’t help but focus on the hope within us. This hope is love, joy, peace, and contentment, and to one day be free from bondage and rest in him.
Like our preacher once said, “Your past explains you, but it doesn’t lock you in.”
Look forward to the coming holiday and rejoice. Your past is overshadowed by your future. “For God so loved the world that he gave up his son.” No matter what you’ve been through, your memories bring you to your knees in spiritual thanksgiving that God never forgot about you. Your very life attests to his mercy.
Stand in the place God has carved out for you. Be a good mother to those around you in spite of your past. Sow good seed. Love and don’t grow weary. For God reached inside your mother’s womb and intricately made you and placed you where you are today. Give him glory for bringing you out of your past and into His future. Make your day special by giving to the motherless.
Make this day and everyday special in his sight. For God is love . . . and he is in love with you.
Happy Mother’s Day.
Scripture Reading:
II Corinthians 5:16-21
15and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. 16Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. 17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Matthew 12:48-49
48But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! 50“For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
Jeremiah 1:5-8
5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” 6Then I said, “Alas, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth.” 7But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak. 8“Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.
Donna B. Comeaux
Freelance Writer, Author, Poet
http://www.awriterfirst.wordpress.com