Church Lady

Church Lady sittin on padded pews
Dressed to the nines in Jimmy Choo shoes
With a smile on her face
She slides in her place
She has a role to fill...Church Lady.

Church Lady struttin with a fan in her hand
Sideways glancin watchin the members with her man
With sadness in her eyes
She laughs instead of cries
She has a role to fill...Church Lady.

Church Lady noddin her head on que
Pastor hit her last night she knows what to do
Close her eyes and say Amen
Rock back n forth and clap those hands
She has a role to fill...Church Lady.

Church Lady touched by the Spirit of God
Jump, dance and shout but hold the facade
Run to the altar break down and cry
Straightens her back and wipes her eyes
She has a role to fill...Church Lady.

Church Lady crippled by the power of pain
Low self-esteem and shame her new name
Freedom right there and deliverance near
She  sits in silence coward in fear
She has a role to fill...Church Lady.

Mirror, mirror on the wall
Church Lady about to crumble and fall
All the deacon wives, church folk and kin
Prop Church Lady back up again
She has a role to fill...Church Lady.

Church Lady is me and could be you
If it is, now what you gonna do
Sit right there in  the middle of shame
Falling stalling playing the church game
Stand up Woman and cut the root
Abuse comes dressed in a 3 piece suit.

You have the power the fortitude of grace
To stand in authority and take your place
Rise Up, Stand Up, Speak Up my friend
Take off the mask and let freedom begin
With determination , courage, and the power of will
Come on Church Lady...You have a role to fill.

Daughters are watchin you, Church Lady.

(C) Cristi Ward Williams
 Image: Jamie-McGee

Bloom Where You're Planted

Imagine with me for a moment... a garden
A beautiful garden filled with exquisite roses, arrayed in a splendor of colors
Their sweet aroma penetrating your deepest senses, encasing you into an abundace of life.
Imagine with me for a moment...the glistening dew drops as the sunlight dances upon
each rose petal causing them to sparkle like diamonds.
Imagine with me for a moment...a rose lying in the soil dirty, tattered and torn
The richness of its color has now faded
The fragrance is faint and the life that was is now a shadow of what was to become.

Aaah...Imagine with me for a moment...YOU.
You and I are one of God's flowers planted here in earth to thrive and to flourish in this world
as we leave the fragrance of Christ in and on the lives that we touch.
Often times, we're like that rose that has wiltered under the pressures of life, beaten down by the torrents of rain which are called evperiences
Trials, pains, loss...causes us to lose our luster to shine and our fragrance becomes stale
We're crushed beneath our burdens until death over shadows us...
Just like a fallen rose, we lie in the dirt of our valleys until a hand reaches down to retrive us 
to revive and to restore...picked up by a gardener.
A loving gardener knows each one of his flowers by name
He protects, cares for and nourishes them...and yes, when one is near death, the gardener does everything possible to breathe life back into it again.

Isn't it awesome that God responds the same way!
He is the gardener of our spirits and He loves and knows us by name
He sees you in your garden for it was HIM who planted you there...So whether you're standing tall and shining bright,it's because He's breathing life into you
Or whether you've fallen in the dirt...WILTERED and WORN, BEATEN and BATTERED, TATTERED and TORN...DEATH is only a shadow for THE GARDENER is reach down in the dust, dirt and miry clay of your dispair to rescue you, to BREATHE life into you again.
A whispering touch of BREATH from the Master is all that's needed TO RESTORE, TO REPLENISH, TO REVIVE, TO RENEW you back into your orginal design.
He loves you...You're EXQUISITE to Him
He chose you...He planted you and He placed you in your garden...You're asking, "What's my garden?"

Your garden is: YOUR FAMILY, YOUR HOME, YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR COMMUNITY, YOUR CITY, YOUR STATE, YOUR CHURCH,YYOUR JOB, YOUR SPHERE OF INLUENCE, ANYPLACE WHERE YOU ARE IS YOUR GARDEN TO TEND, TO ENHANCE, TO UNPLUCK, TO UPROOT, TO WEED OUT....
So that other's can see HIS beauty, smell HIS fragrance as they witness HIS handiwork in our lives so much so that they too desire to become A FLOWER IN THE MASTER'S GARDEN that is why, YOU MUST LIVE
THE HOPE MAY BE HOLLOW...
THE FRAGRANCE MAY BE FEEBLE...
THE DIRT MAY BE DEEP....
AND THE PAIN MAY BE PROFOUND....
BUT GOD IS POWERFUL....
HOLD ON....THE LILLY OF THE VALLEY, THE ROSE OF SHARON,THE ONE WHO WAS LIKE A ROSE, TRAMPLED ON THE GROUND, TOOK THE FALL AND THOUGHT OF YOU...HAS ENTERED INTO YOUR GARDEN, IS SCOOPING YOU UP OUT OF YOUR DIRT, GENTLY BRUSHING AND BLOWING THAT DUST OF DEBRIS FROM YOU..AHHH AS THE FATHER BREATHES AND THE SON SHINES ON YOU AND RE-RELEASES YOU BACK INTO YOUR GARDEN SAYING" READY,SET...BLOOM! 

Pink Pearls of Grace: Determined To Be

Pink Pearls of Grace: Determined To Be: Sitting here listening To the strumming of water Dripping in a flow of harmony As the rhymtic sounds of a steady stream Echoes through ...

Determined To Be

Sitting here listening
To the strumming of water
Dripping in a flow of harmony
As the rhymtic sounds of a steady stream
Echoes through the pipes
I'm determined to be


Tarnished faucets
Have weathered the storms
As the color of rust fades
The lushiness of silver gone, now dull
Yet a reflection appears
I'm determined to be.


Slapped by pain 
I'm traumatized by fear
Lying in my shadow of death
The faintest whispher escapes the cracking of lips
Through my unheard voice
I'm determined to be.


Waves of peace
Come carress on me
Like tides of an ocean
Engulf me please and let me arise victorously
In no man's image
I'm determined to be identity!


Determined before time
With purpose of destiny
Propelled to earth to be
From the matrix of God to my mother's womb
Birthed. UMPH! It's time to be Born
And I'm so determined to be.


Yea, determination, hey that's me
The sway of my hips
The tilt of my head
The way my fingertips caresses creativity into my mind
Flowers, pincurls, shaved head...beauty
Ummm! It's all me...and I'm determined to be.


(c) cristi renea'

All Purpose or Self Rising Flour?

Luke 22:31-32 (NKJV)

And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

I'm in a process...doesn't feel good yet I know it's for my good. I'm in my season of "sifting". 


Do you remember when our grandmothers would sift  flour through strainers or sieves. You now, those devices that were created to separate the fine from the coarse, the lumps from the smooth. I sure remember them, I have a few of them myself. I can remember my grandmother placing the flour in the sieve and shaking it rather hard as the fine flour slipped  into a beautiful heap into their destined place. The lumpy flour seemed to be adamant about not going through the process of being sifted. Sometimes my grandmother would take those stubborn lumps of flour, get her rolling pin , and with such force and determination roll over those lumps until they were smooth. I can still remember those smooth lumps as though it was yesterday and although those lumps had an appearance of "smooth" about them, they weren't as "fine" as the sifted flour.


This morning as I prayed and talked to the Lord through the language of my tears, I realized the pain I'm experiencing is coming from the sieve of separation. I'm being sifted and the movements of being shaken is causing friction to form as the lump of my flesh rubs violently against the fineness of my spirit. Wow...God is the potter and we are the clay and He shapes a vessel according to His blueprint and not the plans of man. He's removing the impurities from us, refining us for His glory.Each round of “sifting” reveals the things that must be removed for purpose to rise. Hidden sins, cover up's, wrong mindsets, connections that fit our flesh but not our spirits and so many other things can become lumps to us, in us and through us.Some lumps are hard to see with the naked eye, but it's still a lump and it's still there. All lumps are not huge and notable screaming, "Here I am"! Some lumps are as small as pebbles and pin heads, yet their power to cause you to fall is great. They know how to position themselves inside the cracks of your soul, derailing your rising  by causing you to sink inside of yourself.


Even as I'm blogging this morning, I understand it more...the process of sifting is necessary in the making of who we are. It's a form of consecration to manifest the purest parts of us which can only be found in Christ. So anything in us that's contrary to the "fineness" of  Christ, has to be sifted to birth His true image as He is being formed in us.Consecration, that constant process of being sifted through prayer, studying His word, fasting and deliverance of the impurities that are hindering the Spirit of God from fully activating in our lives is necessary for purpose.Sifting will add the characteristics of God and mix His Power with our purpose. Sifting makes flour lighter. Air is added as the clumps of flour are broken down. Sifting a human soul adds God’s Spirit to every particle of our being. Our burdens become lighter as our yoke becomes His. Suddenly, success begins to overcome failures. Victory shines in the life of those who submit to the process of consecration and allows God to become a part of every aspect of their life. Finely distributing the qualities and characteristics of Jesus Christ throughout our daily existence empowers us to rise above the chains that bind us to the earth and live as a part of the Kingdom of God. It mixes all of who He is into what He has called us to be illuminating our Promise, binding Him to our Purpose and exposing our great potential. Sifting strains whatever has been submitted to the process. Do not hang on to what you think life was supposed to be like or who you thought you would be. It will not survive the process and the sooner you let it go, the sooner success will be yours. Anything that is sifted is broken…even people. God desires it. (Psalm 34:18) In fact, those who are in the midst of this process are closer to the Lord than one may realize. God is drawn to your insufficiency and weakness. It makes room for His Spirit. 


Well, right now in this moment, I choose to surrender to the process of sifting. I yield myself  because I know I can rest in this sieve place. Yes, I'm being shaken, Yes, I'm being separated as the wheat is being removed from the chaff, Yes I'm being cut from soul ties and  mended with divine connections, Yes it hurts, Yes there are tears as the friction of who I am wars with who I am to be, Yes in all of these things....but somewhere deep inside my spirit I hear a greater Yes in the faintest of voice speak, "Sift me"! Today I encourage you to submit and surrender to your process so that you won't be "self-rising"  but "all-purpose" flour.

Silhouettes Of Shadows

Sitting on the steps of pain looking through the windows of rejection, my view is obstructed by the glare of uncertainty masked in the shadows of shame.As the silhouettes of doubts and fears dances on the darkness of my confusion, my heart yearns for the color of light. From the corner of my eyes, a spark flicker arises from the ashes in liturgical praise moving steadily and rapidly to the rhythm of the sound of silence. A quickening stirs in the bowels of my spirit, Shall I hope? A prophetic worship engulfs me, cleansing me from the residue of my past and the steps that led me to pain leads me to truth. The only way. The only truth. The only life. The true source of light covers my shadows and gently reminds me...the silhouettes were only outlines of what appeared to be. I'm free. I'm free. I'm free.

You, Do you know you?

Do you know you? Do you know who you are? You are more than the outer shell of what we see. You are greater than what you did, doing, done or will do. Do you know you? You are more than your bra size and the shape of your thighs. You are more than your hair and you extend far beyond the labels that you wear. Do you know you?

You are more than the pout of your lips, the swaying of your hips and the way you can stroke your fingertips You are more than lies, opinions and definitions. You are more than boo, girlfriend or wife, mother, friend, more than a means to an end.You are more than breasts, legs and thighs, if that's all he know of you, let him take a KFC ride...yea girl, you are much more than that! 

The true you, the essence of who you are goes beyond the surface of your skin, the real you is your spirit.

So instead of worrying and stressing about the shape of your body  be more concerned about the structure of your spirit. You are the content of your character and the impulse of your integrity. You are your ambitions, and goals. You are your dreams and visions. You are your thoughts and the words that you say. Do you know you? You are the respect you give yourself and own esteem. You are beautiful, not for the shape of the vessel, but for the volume of the spirit the shape carries, you are you fearfully and wonderfully made! 

Honor you, respect you, admire you, esteem you, value you because God purposed you to be...YOU!

The Making of a Pearl

The making of a pearl is not an easy task. It takes isolation, irritants and intrusion copulated with the right time for a pearl to be. Somewhere lying on the ocean floor, deep in the waves of isolation lies a living oyster submersed in the residue of murkiness. Encased in it's hard shell of protection it sits alone becoming to be. Oysters don't have legs or fins, so their movements are restricted. They are often pushed, bumped and carried to other places by predators,animals or currents.
      


As they open themselves to feed or breathe, a particle of a foreign object that is floating in the water becomes ingested by the oyster and lodged inside its shell. The intrusion of this particle irritates and sickens the oyster until it  form deposits of layers called nacre to try and regurgitate or push the irritable particle out. With little to no avail, the particle remains logged in between the shell of an oyster and it's flesh mantle. As much as the oyster wants the particle out and for the irritability to cease, the particle struggles to free itself for it know what lies ahead, so it pushes and strains to get out by piercing the outer mantle flesh yet to no avail.


The oyster surrenders to this intrusion, this foreign visitor embedded in it's identity, realizing that the struggle only ends in the moment of surrender.  It is in this moment of now  the oyster can overcome by birthing what is to be. The particle dies overcome by the strength of the oyster's surrender ,entombing itself within the oyster's shell. The mantle flesh tissue continues to grow until it surrounds it's dead intruder's body providing a sac over it's remains by covering it in it's mantle.


As the mantle lays upon the intruder, that which is dead begins to form into the shape of something else.  For it's own protection the oyster produces layers upon layers of nacre, the substance from which it's made, touching and immersing this dead thing by allowing the light of it's being to cover the darkness of death until a pearl is formed.
This process is so rare because many oysters die from the irritants of the intrusion. What about you my friend?
As the trials of intruders penetrate your life causing you much discomfort, what will you do? Will you fight and struggle against the irritants or surrender to the process. 


Rape, divorce, life experiences can cause our shells to become hard but you can't  allow your circumstance to kill you or your spirit. Whatever you're going through right now, I know it's irritable and causing pain but I encourage you to surrender and allow the tests to crucify your flesh and learn every lesson in the test for it is then that you are able to  lay the mantle of your spirit upon your trial intruders and birth pearls out of your pain.Pearls are precious, priceless and pretty and so are you.


"The most beautiful pearl is nothing more, in fact, than the brilliant sarcophagus of a worm.”


You are much more than a worm, you are God's pearl.


Matthew 7:6, Matthew 13:46, Revelation 21:21, etc...

                                           
There's an amazing move of the Lord's Spirit  this morning that's causing  my flesh to descend as my spirit ascends to the holy hill of His presence. I move by faith one step at at a time drawing closer to an undeniable love that is beckoning me to come. With each step of faith, my heart races ahead of me yearning for the closeness of my Lord. I'm surrounded by the beauty of His holiness, knowing in this place I'm undone yet, there's a sweet surrender of peace as I hear the rhythmic sounds of  LOVE'S melody being played on my heart strings in perfect harmony with the Savior. The regulated succession of my strengths and weakness can't hinder or restrict the beat of my movements for I am in completed time with Him. Time is at a mere standstill in this place but is moving rapidly over heaven's balcony, winding itself through corridors of past, present, future and then racing to catch up with now, this place I'm in. Here my soul is quiet and I'm stilled by His presence as I rest in the symmetry of Holiness, alert and aware of the sounds and silences consummating their union giving birth to sweet pattern of time repeatedly creating the rhythm of now.


I cry to Yahweh with my voice,
and He answers me out of His Holy Hill.-Psalm 3:4

 A Hidden Pearl

The outer shell of an oyster is undeniably hard and some are extremely sharp but once they are cracked open and laid bare to be exposed , there's a rare and precious treasure that brings nourishment to the soul. Pearls are often found lying encased inside of hard places. The hard places of abortion, low self esteem,sexual abuse, divorce, feelings of unworthiness, abandonment and many other hard places, pearls are lying hidden and covered by the hardness of life, trials and pain. I'm praying that we can break the outer shell of ourselves by knowing who we are in Christ as He allows us and the world to glimpse the treasure of spirit and discover the hidden pearl that lies within us.