April Showers...⛈️☔🌴🌹🌻

Hello Church Fam,

I know...it's been a "hot minute" since I have posted anything on here. Your Boy as been pretty busy...🏃🏾‍♂️‍➡️

A lot has happened since my last post: new president, financial drama, bird flu the price of eggs, war, arguing with the Pope, 45-47 comparing himself to Jesus, taking over the government and economy of Argentina and Iran, the price of groceries! The price of gas! And NIPSCO (Northern Indiana Public Service Company) and BP (British Petroleum) both locking out their employees.

God's Word tells us in II Timothy chapter 3 that, "...all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (v. 12). But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. (v. 13). If we are not witnessing these verses coming to fruition right now...but here's the real kicker: our ancestors witnessed similar travesties and some that were even worse! 🤯However, I am still gonna stick to my mantra: "Keep the faith! God is still on the throne!" 👑

This month is not as weather crazy as March, with snow in the morning and sunny skies in the afternoon, or experiencing all four seasons❄️🪻🌞🍂 in 24 hours, but the weather is more intense due to storms ⛈️ and tornadoes 🌪️. Last night (April 17th) was a prime example of how intense April can be (even though I slept 🛌🏾💤 through the WHOLE thing! I hope and pray that all of you were and are safe. 👏🏾

As children, we were often told, "April showers 🌧️bring May flowers🌷 " in an attempt to comfort us as we had to endure intense rain and thunderstorms. The hope was that we would focus more on what the rain would produce as opposed to what was happening in the moment.

That's the same message that I believe that God wants us to hear today. Paul tells us in Romans 8:18 that "...our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us". I Peter 5:10 goes on to let us know that, "...the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself will RESTORE you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.". Hey Y'all, I wanna be clear here...I ain't talking about what happens when we get to Heaven...I'm talkin' 'bout what will happen right here, on earth🌍...where we are right now👇🏾 . Our present circumstances are preparing us for what God has for us in the future. Some of us need to be stronger, wiser, more patient, better listeners, more compassionate, less slothful, more peaceable, less greedy and stingy, or flat out...more loving. This is our preparation time...this is our April...is raining, it's storming, things in our lives are being tossed around by spiritual tornadoes and torrential winds💨🍃. However, remember what both Paul and Peter tell us: "April showers bring May flowers". God is getting ready to open the windows of Heaven and pour out a blessing that we won't be able to contain, but that question is: Are you ready to receive it...or are you just sitting around, feeling sorry for yourself and complaining?

Dawn loves the Tyler Perry movie, "The Family That Preys". In that movie, Alfre Woodard reflects on the life of her best friend, played by Kathy Bates. Bates has just died, and Woodard imitates her friend who asked her a very pertinent question: "Are you living or just existing?" As I close today, I am asking you a similar question: "Are you enduring the rain...in anticipation of the coming blessings...or are you simply complaining about the weather? Let's prepare ourselves for what God has in store for us! (Jeremiah 29:11). Stay prayed up, keep looking up, and keep trusting God! 🙏🏾