The Lollipop Lesson

Hey there BCU Family!

For this post, you have the option of listening to our podcast (click the BCU avatar below to listen), reading the notes or BOTH. In any case, we pray the podcast blesses you. If so, please thumbs up or leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy your study!

A number of years ago, I had my faithful traveling companions, Jaz and Peanut with me–and Peanut was in dire need of a haircut. The barbershop I took him to, not only does a phenomenal job with kids, they also give lollypops to the kids, even if they don’t get a service. How nice is that?! Once the kids chose their treats, I told them to put them away until after we ate dinner. Veggies before sugar, right?

When we got home, I thought it best to collect the lollipops and pass them out after dinner. Peanut happily produced his lollypop, while Jaz hesitated and told me her stick broke. I told her that was fine, just hand it over. In addition to the broken stick, the wrapper was barely hanging on, obviously in an attempt to quickly re-wrap it. When I asked why it was open, after I was clear about NOT opening it, she replied “I wanted to see what color it was”. Well, it’s a good thing she enjoyed it with her eyes, because she did not get to enjoy her treat, even with the sad face and tears.

I know, I know, that seemed a little harsh? Not really. Let’s take a look at four lessons God taught me from this one situation.

  • Patience: When God clearly to tells wait, He MEANS it. There is a reason that we can’t have what we want when we want it. Remember when your/a child thought could make wise choices in fashion, makeup, friends and other life decisions at the age of six? Remember how much “wisdom” we possessed at age 16? Our parents had to suffer through that period and correct our thinking. In God’s infinite wisdom, He knows when the best time is to be blessed, even though WE think we know better. Romans 9:19-21 asks how the creature going to tell the Creator what’s best? When we look at it that way, it helps us to back down and trust His process.
  • Resisting temptation: This is a tough one–I know the shiny lollypop was alluring to Jaz–and we are no different as adults. When something looks good to our flesh, we want it and now. Things that look good surface-wise, are not necessarily beneficial in the short or long term. How many of us have learned that over the years? Don’t go back there! We have to ask God for the power to leave it alone. Period. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it (I Corinthians 10:13).
  • Haste makes waste: running ahead of my instructions cost Jaz her lollypop, so it was wasted. She had to wait until we go again to get another one, which wouldn’t be for a long time. When we go outside of God’s divine will, He will allow us to do what we want often at a high price, including wasted time, emotions, money, energy, strength, resources, and then we likely have to wait a long time before we get what God had for us in the first place. Lamentations 3:26 says it is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
  • Consequences: The Bible is clear that there are consequences for disobedience. While God is good and plenteous in mercy, sometimes His mercy is not taking us out of here right away when we mess up. Recalling Adam and Eve (Genesis 3),  they clearly disobeyed and while God spared them, there was still a punishment. Esau sought repentance with tears and still lost out on his birthright and blessing (Hebrews 12:17). Is the thing that is clearly outside of God’s divine will worth losing out on blessings, favor or even missing out on Heaven? Surely not! For it is better, if the will of God be so, that you suffer for well doing, than for evil doing (1 Peter 3:17).

The bottom line: There will always be times where we feel frustrated with waiting, not understanding why things haven’t changed yet, why another trial, where is my blessing, maybe I should “help” God out–that’s natural! There will be times we mess up and go ahead of God–thank God He’s willing to forgive when we ask! And He wants us to learn from our experience rather than choose to make to wrong decisions repeatedly.

We also have to remind ourselves with the help of God, that He does really have out best interest in mind…Matthew 7:11 tells us so! And since we will never know better or more than Jesus, let’s purpose in our hearts to take Him at His Word! Amen? Amen!

Which part of what we talked about is a struggle for you?  Mine is the patience—the Lord is yet teaching me how to wait on Him. Otherwise the wait gets a LOT longer! Let me know in the comments section so we can continue our chat.

In the meantime, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and Apple podcasts!

Thank you SO much for stopping by. God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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From sadness to celebration

Hey 👋🏾 there BCU Family!

For this post, you have the option of listening to our podcast, reading the notes or both. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights:

  • The holiday season is a time of family, friends, food and fun.
  • For many of us while we enjoy all of the above, we especially miss our the loved ones who have passed away around this time of year.
  • Bouts of sadness are normal. It is human to miss the physical presence of a person.
  • My very dear friend and sister in Christ, Jewel Taylor, shared her feelings about losing her beloved mom—and then decided to do something tangible to honor her, moving her sadness to a celebration.

Today my mom would have been 58. I miss her more than I ever have over these 23 years. When you grow up without a parent, you spend a lot of time in your imagination. I imagined what it would be like graduating with her there or getting married…

But for the past few years, especially since I had [my daughter] Rae, I imagine how she would have reacted to each of her grandchildren. That has been the hardest.

Baby Jewel and her beautiful Mom, Veda Lynn Steward.


I haven’t mourned her in a long time. But today, I’ve decided to allow myself to do so. However, in the spirit of WWVD Day (What Would Veda Do? – thanks for the idea Tarah), and despite being a bit achy, I will pick one of her favorite things to do.

We loved movies. We’d watch them all day if we could. And popcorn. And potato chips lol. I imagine that we would have all piled in the bed with my kids (after shopping for them, of course) and watched movies together. So that’s what we’ll do tonight. Pile in the bed with popcorn and potato chips (I’m really going to need a dustbuster) and watch movies until we pass out. I predict that:

part0 4
Richie, Ryan and Rae

-[My oldest son], Richie III will wiggle & talk through the entire movie.
– [My middle child and only daughter], Raelyn will fall asleep first.
-[My baby], Ryan will be chunky and cute.

And I’ll imagine that my mom would have been smiling from ear to ear, while wrestling my hand to get into the popcorn bowl.

Rest in Power Mommy.
Jewel

In loving memory of Veda Lynn Steward 11/23/1960 – 08/13/1995

BCU Family, in thinking about this post, Psalm 30:11-12 comes to mind. “Thou [God] has turned for me my mourning into dancing, Thou has put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness”. To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever. See how talking to the Lord can bless your heart in a matter of moments? He is SO wonderful!

What are your thoughts on Jewel’s idea to honor her mom? What do you do to honor those who have passed away? Please head down to the comments section to share your thoughts so we can continue our conversation!

In the meantime, if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter,  and Instagram! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and Apple podcasts!

Thank you SO much for stopping by. God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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Bonus post & infographic: Six fools at a glance.

Hey there BCU Family!

Typically, you have the option of listening to our podcast, reading the notes or both. For this post, because of the conversational format, please tune into the podcast recording and refer to the written post for the highlights. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights:

  • Previously, we’ve talked about wisdom and foolishness. Foolishness is a behavior that does not come from, nor line up with the Word of God (See James 3:13-16).
  • While choosing to walk in foolishness seems “logical” and may “work” initially, anything we do outside of God’s Word will eventually and always have a high price tag. And the cost of living foolishly will be paid--either in this life, and without repentance and salvation, in the life to come.
  • Foolishness is a type of unbelief and unbelievers do not inherit the Kingdom of God (See Revelation 21:8).
  • We’ve previously examined three types of foolish people: the Scorning fool, the, Simple fool, and the “Talkative” fool.
  • Today, we’ll look at six additional types of foolish people and behaviors they practice.

IMG_2273

Listen BCU Fam, this breakdown of these foolish behaviors is so enlightening to me! I confess, I recognize some of this unwise conduct we’ve been talking about in some past decisions I’ve made. EEK! But I do thank God for His mercy as He patiently waited for me to find my way back to the wisdom of His Word, which is always right.

God desires to give us wisdom–we just have to ask! (James 1:5).  That doesn’t mean we won’t have challenges, but if we are applying His wisdom, we’ll come always be in His perfect will, hence, our decisions will be perfect. Perfect doesn’t mean without tribulations, rather we are walking in God’s perfect will for our lives (See Romans 8:28).

What about you? Did any of what what’s here reverberate with you? Please share your thoughts in the comments section the BlenCouragesU.com website where we can continue our chat!

As we wrap up,  if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter,  and Instagram! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and Apple podcasts!

Thank you SO much for stopping by. God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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7 benefits of investing in wisdom.

Hey there BCU Family!

Typically, you have the option of listening to our podcast, reading the notes or both. For this post, because of the informal format, please tune into the podcast recording and refer to the written post for the highlights. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

Podcast highlights:

  • Previously, we’ve talked about foolishness and identified different types of foolish people. Today, we’ll focus on wisdom.
  • Wisdom has MANY benefits; we are focusing on seven (7) of them.
  • Wisdom is the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting.
  • Knowledge is information gained through experience, reasoning, or acquaintance.
  • Understanding having the power of comprehension; achieve a grasp of the importance or explanation of something.
  • God set us up to be victorious in this life. That doesn’t mean we won’t have challenges, but if we are listening to His wisdom, we’ll come always be in His perfect will, hence, our decisions will be perfect. Perfect doesn’t mean without troubles, rather we are walking in God’s perfect will for our lives.

Scripture references:

1.  Powerful decision-making ability

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding (Proverbs 4:7).

2.  Soul-love and goodness

He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good (Proverbs 19:8).

3. Life and favor

For whoso findeth me findeth life and shall obtain favour of the Lord (Proverbs 8:35).

4. Better than money

How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver! (Proverbs 16:16). 

5. Happiness
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom and the man that getteth understanding (Proverbs 3:13).

6.  Rewarding
My son, eat honey because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to your taste:So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward and thy expectation shall not be cut off (Proverbs 24:13-14).

7.  Keeps you as you age

 Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. (Proverbs 19:20).

So, how do you get this wisdom?

For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:6).

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 1:5). 

BCU Fam, do you see the benefits of choosing wisdom over foolishness? Going the wise route may not be popular, comfortable or make sense, especially if we are comparing what God told is with the  world’s “wisdom” which is full of bitterness, strife and confusion. In fact James 3:13-16 reminds us that type of wisdom does not come from God,  but is earthly, sensual (based on self and its desires apart from God’s word), and devilish! With God’s help, I want to stay away from making choices that have those three connotations. Anything that is earthly, self-seeking and devilish does not set us up for the rewards of making good choices here AND will cause us to miss Heaven. NO thanks!

I opt for widsom!  How about you?

Please share your musings in the comments section the BlenCouragesU.com website and we can continue our chat!

As we wrap up,  if you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter,  and Instagram! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and Apple podcasts!

Thank you SO much for stopping by. God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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Examining the fool’s mouth

Hey there BCU Family!

Typically, you have the option of listening to our podcast, reading the notes or both. For this post, because of the informal format, please tune into the podcast recording and refer to the written post for the highlights. We pray the post blesses and encourages you. If so, please thumbs up AND leave a comment! Thank you and enjoy the post!

  • So far, we’ve contrasted wisdom and foolishness.
  • Wise people are defined as being discrete and judicious in the use or applications of knowledge.
  • Fools are defined as being mentally inept; dull in understanding or stupid. (yikes).
  • In addition to the typical “foolish”, there are different types of foolish people.  In our past two podcasts, we talked about the simple and the scornful foolish person. 
  • This time, let’s look into the mouth of the foolish person.

Scripture references 

The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall (Proverbs 10:8). 

In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them. (Proverbs 14:3).  In fact, that same pride brings destruction (See Proverbs 16:18).

A fool’s lips enter into contention and his mouth calls for strokes. A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul (Proverbs 18:6-7).

In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise (Proverbs 10:19).

A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards (Proverbs 29:11).

The tongue of the wise uses knowledge aright, but the mouth of fools pours out foolishness (Proverbs 15:2).

The heart of his that has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness (Proverbs 15:14).

BCU Family, I’ve always loved the Proverbs—such wonderful and practical life advice which is applicable to anyone. I have to tell you this is the first time I have done a focused study on the “black and white” of wisdom and foolishness. We’re either walking on the side of wisdom, which comes from God, or in foolishness which comes from the enemy. And who knew there were so many varieties of fools? Prating, scornful, simple and mouthy fools?! Let’s avoid ALL of that and go with the wisdom God gives us simply for the asking (See James 1:5).

What are your thoughts about our topic du jour today? Did anything here resonate with you at all? Agitate you? Did it bring a spirit of conviction? I know the study pricked my heart–and that’s a beautiful thing! Let’s chat some more in the comments section below.

If you have not subscribed to BlenCouragesU.com, please do so! It’s free and a good place to get the encouragement, inspiration and information based the Word of God! Additionally, you can also see what we are up to on Facebook, Twitter,  and Instagram! You can also listen in and subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher Radio , Google Play, and Apple podcasts!

Thank you SO much for stopping by. God bless, keep and make His face to shine upon you as you #StayOnTheWall!

Love,

BCU

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