The Sunday morning after my hospital discharge which was the day after my surgery there was a strong urge to attend my home church as a testimony of what God had just done. While in the recovery room being lifted from the fog of anesthesia,on Friday I was aware of the many prayers coursing their way to God’s ears, including my own. I spoke directly to Him through Jesus and here I am; able to stand in worship two days after the removal of a dangerous tumor that could have killed me. The sermon message on this particular Sunday was also something I needed to hear. Taken from Matthew 18:15-20. For more than a year I had been purposely avoiding this Christian family for selfish reasons, and therefore this lesson was one I not only needed to hear, but also one I need to heed. I can’t help but think that God wanted me in this place and time to  teach me and others what He can do.

Luckily, I was at work amongst people with whom I share my faith in many ways. Their pressing concern is what forced me to call my doctor and eventually make it to an emergency room.  In the words of the 21^st Century Psalmist, Richard Smallwood, God’s appointed angels were watching over me.

“Unseen hands guiding me
though my storm and through my rain
Healing hands holding me
Through the darkness of my pain
Wings of loving hands
Around me so i will not fear
For i can feel the presence covering me
Nothing but angels watching over me
Angels watching over me”

Yes, the symptoms had been surfacing for weeks after celebrating a milestone birthday.  Constant headaches, forgetfulness (dementia), loss of simple motor skills such as getting up from a seated position without dizziness.

© September 7,2010 – Sharon Moore Stenhouse – All Rights Reserved.

a’Kihoro SPIRITUAL CREATIONS Publishing

The Village Griot is about to take a leap of faith into a higher phase of technology. April 2010 marks the debut of the first issue of a new electronic magazine (eZine).

With this media The Village Griot will appear online in a format that allows the reader to flip through the pages just as though they are holding the magazine in their hands while utilizing the latest advances in notebooks, hand held and mobile devices. The eZine will have more articles, book reviews, stories, poetry, features, events, puzzles (crossword, word find, or hidden word), and from time to time audio and video content right on the page. Advertisement will be kept to a minimum.

The Village Griot eZine is published quarterly as follows:

• January/February/March
• April/May/June (Debut Issue)
• July/August/September
• October/November/December

You are welcome to visit www.thevillagegriot.com where you can view the test sample, and encourage your friends to do the same. If you are on Facebook you can also click a button to Become a Fan.

The eZine will be available to readers who are not Facebook users via email subscription with a link to the new publication format or simply by visiting www.thevillagegriot.com. The debut issue scheduled for April promises to be exciting and very interesting with lots to read.

Instructions for browsing the eZine will be available on the screen. Here are some of the features:

• View the eZine in full screen
• Flip the pages and zoom in on articles
• Click through the links to take you to other sites or send an email
• Print individual pages for easier reading

Contributing writers are needed. If you have the gift of writing and love to share, your talent is welcomed. Make sure you are subscribed for both The Village Griot and as a Contributing Writer. Following the debut, each issue is theme based and contributors will receive the upcoming theme six weeks before the deadline.

Mission:

As an electronic magazine, The Village Griot gives new and seasoned authors (published and unpublished), poets, essayists, bloggers, storytellers, artists and entertainers a platform to test their writing, share ideas, skills, techniques and technologies while enhancing both talent and work. Spiritually, we seek to uplift and edify through love, peace and respect for the community. The Guidelines for Contributing Writers which includes submission deadlines is provided online via the web site.

Email Sharon Moore Stenhouse with your name, writing genre and a short bio. In an effort to maintain the spiritual integrity of The Village Griot, I(we) reserve the right to reject a request to contribute.

© 2010 -All Rights Reserved

Matthew 8:24-26

My mother had a saying “If it weren’t for common sense, there would be no sense at all.” She would further expand on on the fact that all the education –book learning is what those born before 1950 called it, in the world cannot compensate for a lack of common sense. Today I call it educated ignorance.

Most, if not all of the drama and trauma we have in our lives is self-inflicted. We tend to plunge head on into situations that if we stopped and thought for a moment, would have different outcomes. Remember the definition of insanity is doing the same thing the same way and expecting a different result.

Are some problems really worth solving? Do we bend and twist our perceptions to make problems? Are some situations best when left alone? Here is an old tried and true method to determine the answer.

Common sense tells us to move on when solving the problem or improving the situation takes more than…

Five minutes

Five hours

Five days

Five weeks

Five months or

Five years

What is common sense? Many scholars, theologians, psychologists, psychiatrists, medical doctors, teachers, and even parents have tried to define the term. Let’s just say common sense is paying attention to the obvious.

Mark 4:37-39 “And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”

Do you suppose Jesus gave very much thought to this situation? It probably took longer to awaken out of his sleep than to foster his own common sense solution. In this situation, he showed his caring by calming the storm. Suppose instead Jesus started questioning the whys and what for, or had to make sure everything was to his liking before offering his rebuke.

Matthew 8:24-26 adds a little more flavor to the mix. “And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm?”

Do you get it?  In other words, depending on the scope of the problem or situation, insanity kicks in if any of the timetables of five have passed and nothing is resolved.  Move on and try something different, or let it be. Sometimes tabling a problem is not a solution because the resolution dies on the table.

So next time you or someone ponders a perceived problem, or believe there is a need to improve a situation…ask; “is common sense in use?”

Faith in Stained Glass

How resolute are we as regular, everyday people? Each year we sit down and make a list of things we need to do or should have done thinking this will make us a better person. We resolve to stop doing things that are unhealthy, discouraging, unfaithful, and ungodly. What is the purpose of being resolute?

Resolute = characterized by firmness and determination, as the temper, spirit, actions, etc.

This year we leave behind a decade of world wide turmoil, political storms, wars, increased poverty, climate changes causing more quakes and tsunamis, and both natural and unnatural destruction.  The last year of this decade saw the inauguration of the first African-American president of the United States -who is also awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, the death of a lion (Senator Edward Kennedy) and his sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, the fall of media icons and politicians Going Rogue.

One of the most difficult loses for millions of people around the world in the last year of this decade is Michael Joseph Jackson.

Are we committed and determined enough to stop hatred, wars, and unkind actions? Perhaps we are willful enough to do as we please regardless of the consequences. Perhaps we are willing enough to let go and let God; let God handle needs. In other words… Have FAITH!

When you (I) sit down to ponder what you (I) will resolve to do, not do, stop or change, always (I will) remember…

• Noah was a drunk
• Abraham was too old
• Isaac was a daydreamer
• Jacob was a liar
• Leah was ugly
• Joseph was abused
• Moses had a stuttering problem
• Gideon was afraid
• Samson had long hair and was a womanizer
• Rahab was a prostitute
• Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
• David had an affair and was a murderer
• Elijah was suicidal
• Isaiah preached naked
• Jonah ran from God
• Naomi was a widow
• Job went bankrupt
• Peter denied Christ (3 times!)
• The Disciples fell asleep while praying
• Martha worried about everything
• Mary Magdalene was promiscuous
• the Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once…
• Zaccheus was too small
• Paul was too religious
• Timothy had an ulcer…

AND
Lazarus was dead!

Now!  No more excuses! God can use you (me) to your (my) full potential, and when you let go and let God you (I) won’t have to ponder over making your (my) annual New Year’s resolutions.

© December 30, 2009 – Sharon Moore Stenhouse – All Rights Reserved

Takin' dem vows...

Marriage is a covenant with God first, then it can be defined as a partnership between two people. It is very important in this day in time, as opposed to biblical time as we’ve come to read about, that we know what we are getting ourselves into. In many cultures, marriages are pre-arranged by the parents of the bride and groom. The religious belief during that time was out of duty to God, the people should be fruitful and multiply. People married very early in life, and any person who has passed the age of 20 without being married has not carried out the will of God.

In ancient Jewish culture, there existed prenuptial agreement of sorts. Called a dowry, the compensation paid to the bride’s family for the loss of their daughter and the services she could have provided to her family, had she remained with them. Families tried to provide each daughter with a dowry; property handed over by her family at the time of her marriage and afterwards owned by the wife. It was her share of the family inheritance, enough to act as an income for her should she be abandoned or widowed.

The purpose of marriage vows allow both parties to speak openly before a community of witnesses whose assurance to watch over the betrothed couple is sometimes part of the ceremony. The symbolic unbroken circle the wedding band represents completes the covenant. Here is a dissection and interpretation of what the traditional Christian wedding vows represent.

Number One:

In the Name of God, I, (Name)., take you, (Name)., to be my (wife) (husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.

Or, the more familiar version…

Number Two:

I, (Name)., take thee, (Name)., to my wedded (wife) (husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I (plight) (give) thee my troth.

• “to have and to hold from this day forward.” Nowhere in that statement does it say anything about letting go, giving up, throwing in the towel. You have just promised God that you’re in it for the long haul.

• “for better or worse,” that’s a hard one. Human beings are selfish. It is difficult for even the most ardent believer to accept even the best in people, let alone the worse. When we are hurt by the other we often become self-absorbed -often shooting from the hip, with rage and blame rather than taking a step back to look at the situation. We often fail to assess the whole situation –including ourselves, to determine the root cause. We are often reluctant to admit that part of the root cause may be our own doing, most likely from a decision we made without thinking or something we chose to ignore early in the relationship.

• “for richer for poorer,” what I bring to the table is not material. Sinful man lusts after material things, which can be lost and destroyed. After assessing the fire, we realize that all material things were lost however, what remains is the relationship we have with each other.

• “in sickness and in health,” doesn’t just mean physical health, we are talking about mental and cognitive health as well. Should we be so quick to look the other way or run when something goes wrong? Aren’t we bound by the first covenant statement in the marriage vows to assess the health of the relationship? Then, once an assessment is made are we not bound by that same covenant to administer the necessary aid for corrective healing?

• “to love and to cherish,” means that first I have to like you as a person before I can love and cherish you. Often we fall in love with an image of the person, not the person himself or herself. As humans, we are the highest degree of animal on the planet –at least according to science. We think, therefore we reason. Now if I don’t like you that means I have a problem with your persona (personality). Your personality is what makes you uniquely you; including all the warts and funk that linger in your spirit. When you like someone, you will find forgiveness of that person’s sins comes much easier than it does for someone you dislike.

• “till death do us part.” Some might say that this is the spiritual death of the marriage, not the physical death of one of the partners. If we live within the marriage covenant, will a real spiritual death occur? If we take the time to really get to know the person, whether we share the same values or even if we like each other, the only death that will separate the two should be physical.

Now I suppose when couples write their own vows, as has become common in today’s pop culture, they can work their way around the original covenant.

Do you know people who have remained married for years, even decades? Ask them how they did it and they will tell you it wasn’t easy but they managed to stand by each other… including standing in the gap.

I have to confess that I am divorced. The marriage vows didn’t mean as much to my ex-husband as they did to me, although this marriage was a truly unique example of being dead in spirit from the very beginning. You’ll have to read my two books Amani na Mapenzi: Love & Peace (2007) and Amani na Mapenzi: Love & Peace Volume Two (2009) to understand the true story.

© 2009 Sharon Moore Stenhouse – All Rights Reserved

A Reflective MJ

One thing that continues to trouble my soul since June 25, 2009 is the fact that Michael Jackson was not trying to die.  He had too much to live for -first and foremost, his own children, along with his passion for healing the world through healing children.  At 50 years old, he was aware of his abilities and had his own concrete plans to live long into old age.  During the announcement of his then, upcoming concert tour he told the audience “This is it, this is the final call.”  What’s sad is that he wasn’t talking about leaving this earth, he was talking about working himself into a frenzy to perform the quality his fans had become so accustomed.  He was telling us… ‘I’m getting old, and as much as I’d like to keep going, I’ve got to slow down.’   And, as usual with Michael being the exacting professional, he gave it everything he had… including his life.

There are many young people, especially African-American 35 years and younger, who remember only the sensationalism brought upon him at the hands of others, or his ever changing physical appearance.  They refuse to listen to his music, thus they are robbing themselves of his talent, his genius, his message.  In a conversation with a young woman whom I consider highly intelligent,  she admits that she doesn’t remember anything else about Michael Jackson except that he was a child molester.  When I quickly responded to her that no, he is not, her reaction was “Yes he is.  Look at all the publicity and the trial.”  Here’s how the rest of the conversation continued…

“Don’t you believe he’s a child molester?” she asked.

“No, I do not.” I responded.

“Why not, it has been proven.” she continues “He was arrested and had to stand trial.”

“He was acquitted on all counts.” I responded.

“Just because he was acquitted, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.  What about the child before?  Why did he settle that one out of court?  How can you say that he is not a molester?” was her rather agitated response.

My reply…”The God in me will not allow me to view him as a molester.  I have never for one moment believed that he could hurt a child.  He’d hurt you before he would harm a hair on any child.”

The young lady tried to paint a different scenario by asking “What if it was your child?  Suppose your child came home and told you they slept in someone’s bedroom, with an adult.”

My response went something like this… “First, my child wouldn’t be with an adult I didn’t know and trust.  I wouldn’t accuse the trusted person of molesting the child until I found out the facts, was absolutely sure, and had concrete evidence (both physical and psychological).  Even if I were suspicious, I wouldn’t push the issue without being absolutely certain something portentous happened.  I would have to speak to the adult (with or without the child present).  Jumping to conclusions does not mean anything out of the ordinary happened.  It speaks to my friendship and trust in the individual.”

And my young friend said…”Well, you are certainly different that I am.”

For the many who don’t know Michael and can’t imagine him beyond the entertainer, here is a glimpse into the man.

2001 Heal the Children Speech at Oxford University.*
This is part 1/4 of the audio w/full text. You can continue to listen to parts 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4.

* Heal the Children Speech on YouTube

© 2009, Sharon Moore Stenhouse – all rights reserved.