The Phases of Becoming

Nothing is as it seems when we consider our family of origins. Some of us have a natural tendency to bend in one direction and others seem to have a supernatural inclination for the other direction. Which one is the right one can be a burdensome task to attempt yet most of us have no choice but to confront it. It confronts us and we are then required to respond. The choices of another places in the hot seat creating absence, neglect, or worse. And rather than become something we can not control, we choose what we can control.

And this journey seems to continually bring us to what we can either control or not control. We can either give in or give up. Fight or relinquish yet either choice we make, we must live with the outcomes. In our return to sermon delivery, I have found myself in quite a bit of a pinch. Words could not describe the experience yet it does not feel any less tumultuous than the days of confronting absence or peace; lost or found. Times in prayer can incessant or interlaced with the affairs of life. Study feverish or random as a squiggly line on an Etch-a-Sketch! Yet this is the becoming that I am, this is the becoming that we are.

While we may feel that we are becoming unraveled that would contradict the word of God. Isaiah 64:8 NLT, “And yet, O Lord, and you are the potter. We are all formed by your hand.” What dare we repeat, rehearse, and digest in our souls, the same verbage that will sustain us. No matter what we feel and can see, we are…”I am formed by your hand! I may not understand, perceive, or clearly see or hear what I want to hear, yet I grasp and arrest that what I see is formed by our hand. And in your hand, I stand. God, you give understanding, perception, vision, and hearing when I need it. So I accept that this is a moment to walk by faith and not by my senses. You’ve never dropped me before and you will not start now. (John 10:28)”

Being plucked out of darkness and planted in Christ, we have the power to become. And yes, we hit rough places along the journey, yet we are on the journey. That counts for something so count the testimonies, the miracles, the breakthroughs, and the highlights of hope and triumphs that God has wrought. Celebrate with their people of faith to be strengthened and lifted in spirit to continue on. Breathing means opportunity, seize this opportunity to press into your becoming that you may see God’s treasure within be revealed in your life.

Blessings, Pastor Ceci

The Mediocre Reality

When giving my kids chores or instilling healthy practices, my kids start with groans sometimes or with deep silence. Ignoring their response and speaking directly to their desires that are beyond the work that is required, we keep practicing the disciplines. Sometimes they ask, “when will this be over?” They hope for an end to the experience of the work yet I seldom hear this question as they enjoy the reward that follows the work. 

Groaning and questioning is not a wasted experience but it can be a hindrance to gaining the benefit of the experience. Allowing the frustration, confusion, fear, etc. to escape through the process of questioning, analysis, and groaning is truly understandable. Yet remaining in the experience of it leads to the inquiry of why make that state a place of comfort? 

In John 5:6, Jesus would ask the question, “Do you want to be made whole?” Presumptuously, we may say “Of course!” or “What kind of question is that?” Pivot with me to consider the question from the constant and unbearable experience of groans, frustrations, fear, and confusion. In the reality that I have lived without wholeness so long that I don’t think I ever knew what it was or what it is supposed to be, this is a question that I may have never asked. We tend to ask for relief but not for wholeness. Seeking a break instead of breakthrough leaving the clothing and framing of the experience behind. Continual pain makes us short sighted and this leads us into hopelessness.

So rephrasing the first question, “In the mediocre reality that keeps up the groaning and question, is it preferred because you have remained there?” This is what Jesus posed to the man lying in mediocrity. The greatest breakthrough is on the other side of the greatest suffering. No one has suffered a crucifixion as Jesus did on the cross. Jesus’ death rendered a resurrection that provided resurrection to all who will believe. He took on the mediocrity of the flesh to endure the groans and questions to intentionally model what it means to leave it behind. And because he did, he has given us the how for our escape as well as the power to do so.

this is not the reality God has for us...

We’re in our seeking season as a ministry. We are looking at our journey to this point in our life and preparing our hearts for what the next leg of our faith journey will impart to us. And for every place that we are uncovering a complacency of an old mindset, belief, or manner; here is Jesus' question to us. We convene annually to gather at the feet of Jesus embracing healing of our souls for the prospering of our lives. And if we travel from our homes, spend our resources, and feign the appearance of thirst just to lie at the pool, then all of this effort is a waste. Yet it is not a waste of the material of what can be seen with the natural eye. The man in John Chapter 5 had a bed, a regular spot to chill by the pool, and he had some friends that were in the same place with him. Yet what he was wasting was his soul - his mind, his will, and his emotions were elsewhere leaving his spirit abandoned within him. Without Christ coming to challenge his usual, the real waste through God’s eyes was his identity, testimony, and future impact.

Christ knew his inner conversation which required the right question. This man was looking for the stirring of the pool for relief and Christ was looking for the stirring of the heart to make whole. Every person attending this annual conference has a desire that is beyond what can be conveyed to another person in words.  In the text, the man never answered the question yet Christ answered the man directly. Our identities, testimonies, and future impact are beyond the mediocre reality that we have settled for.  And our charge is praying that we all be ready to receive the direct answer to the root matter that causes us to breakthrough! Are you ready to be made whole?

Pastor Ceci

Weathering these conditions

Last month, I spoke about the weather changing quickly. And not in a kazillion years would I have perceived the kind of change that has happened around me would happen. VaShette Shalon Davis, wife to Nelton, and mother of the Davis family, was a midwife in our ministry and my beloved sister. This month’s entry is in honor of her memory and contribution to the kingdom of God as well as The Midst.

I awakened on a regular day looking forward to sharing with her as we had many times before. I was confident that we would plan to catch up and hold space for each other. A couple of days had passed since a quick check in, so I was excited to speak with her. Our calls left us feeling hopeful and strengthened, this was a part of our self care. And as I saw the phone call on that day arising from my prayer place, I hadn’t changed my hope though it was from my brother (her husband). And upon the hearing and accepting the news, I knew that I would never be the same. 

In the moments that immediately followed, I heard my sister’s voice again telling me what to do. If you had an encounter with Midwife VaShette, you remembered her presence and even her words. She had a way of being there but not intrusive, challenging but not confrontational and bold while not abrasive. Yet I didn’t want her words, I wanted her presence. And in this moment of heartbreak, I was humbled to recall her presence again.

This daughter of God and vessel of bearing forth (midwife) made a difference wherever she was. God had knit us together without our consultation. And as we grew in this knitting so we grew in spirit and truth. In kingdom midwifery, ministering to the wombs/hearts of people takes considerable care of the person while ministering healing, deliverance, and strength to them. It encompasses the part that other offices can take for granted, midwives must care for the bearer and the promise. And God chose her hands and life to this wonderful ministry. Being a kingdom midwife requires a relationship with God’s truth and spirit that the fear of God must be ever-increasing for obedience and fulfillment of God’s will. So the threat of the enemy charges midwives, not diminishes for they are sometimes the last line of defense.

Witnessing the accomplishments and victories of Midwife VaShette, you would know that you were in the presence of greatness. In a poem that I wrote during this time of mourning, I said she was “mighty and never tiny” because of the greatness that exceeded her physical height. People believe that her being a therapist was why she was so effective in ministry, it was who she was as a person. She made therapy effective and attractive because it was a tool that she masterfully used. She was a daughter who gave definition and regard to the office of the midwife. In Exodus 1:20, the people grew and multiplied for the office of the midwife. Giving glory to God, many lives were made better for her presence on the earth. Honoring her place in the kingdom, we will always honor and remember her as a Kingdom Midwife.

Weathering these conditions of unforeseen changes, Pastor Antonio & I, thank you for your prayers and support. The absence of landmark people in our lives is altering in every way and with a great reduction of visibility. Initially, the most prevalent awareness is absence. Scripture wisely directs us, as the household of faith, to mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15) supporting harmony within the congregation. Please accept this request from us to please remember Midwife Davis’ family in your prayers. For it would be great regard of this scripture that would bear for the Davis family as she has done for many others. During our annual conference, where she was to speak, we will give special acknowledgement to the family. We hope that you will join us during this time. 

Pastor Ceci

The Podcast Episode

Quick Changes

Even as the weather changes quickly, so God will cause our changes to occur quickly. Bringing us into a new awareness of Him, a deeper awareness of ourselves, and a clearer awareness of our circumstances. Whether you've been intentional or not in engaging God, God is engaging you. Why? Because it could serve us to keep us actively participating through faith. Or it could be our own negligence in participation that we missed what God was going to do. And lastly, the most loving thought, God wanted to surprise us again with His love; even if the change was not favorable to us.

Summer is around the corner here in Texas. There have been graduations and promotions. Schools are letting out at the end of this month and many things must be prepared for the kids. No matter the age of the kids, children will always need more than we expected. Many of us thought we were ready, but something changed quickly. We can expect that the same will happen with the summer camps, family trips, work schedules, etc. The idea of changes is often not about the changes but about the timing and the cost for the changes. We are resilient people and we adapt but sometimes, this is challenged.

And this is when change can seem unfavorable to us. Being moved quicker than we’re ready requiring more than what we have prepared, now we become flustered and possibly frustrated. Yet could there be a different response? Could we come out of the pressure of the change and go beyond it?

Over the years, I have told my daughter that I would do something with her. She says okay and we make arrangements. Upon arrival of the moment, there is a conflict that requires us to change direction. Not that we must change the intention to go, we must change the direction we were going in. She displays frustration for the one thing that she was expecting. And I calmly share with her the other things she asked for and how now one of the other things will be addressed. It is different from what was planned, yet she is still getting a desire fulfilled. We were going to go one way yet another way was afforded to us quickly. Wrestling with this idea, she has to decide if she will enjoy the change or sulk through the change because the change is happening! Sometimes, she fares well and other times, she does not. Either way, the change occurred and one of her many desires were fulfilled even if she refused to enjoy it.

Are we sometimes, this way with quick changes. We did not prepare for it or it completely surprised us, and yet the change is happening. Proverbs 4:18 reminds us that our choice to live the way of righteousness grows brighter every day. This is despite the changes yet it also reflects the impact of changes. When I consider my daughter’s response, I wonder if she can see my heart’s intent or just the disappointment. Do our responses to these quick changes reflect our trust of God in allowing the changes or our disappointment that blocks our view of Him?

In the blog graphic, there is a light that reveals a perspective of the person that they could not see without the light; it even showed the larger room. That is what a quick change can do for us. It can give us not only a view of God but a view of ourselves that we have not seen before creating another opportunity for the way to shine brighter that we may continue onward.

Pastor Ceci