Rev. Dr. Delesslyn A. Kennebrew, J.D., M.Div.
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Visionary Strategist Faithful Innovator Inspirational Essayist
Visionary Strategist Faithful Innovator Inspirational Essayist
Salvation and Stilettos Blog
Salvation and Stilettos Blog
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Train Up Children and Childish Adults - Proverbs 22:6
| Posted on October 22, 2018 at 8:00 AM |
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 Greetings! BlogFam, Our verse
for today seems pretty straightforward. Train
children in the way they should go; when they grow old, they won’t depart from
it. [Proverbs 22:6] I am sure
that you have heard this verse spoken when a child, particular a child under
the age of 18, is either exhibiting exemplary behavior or when they need to be
disciplined. This verse has been quoted
time and time again to inform, advise, or remind those who have children in
their care of the importance of training children up in such a way that
develops them into positive, productive citizens and even faithful followers of
God. The implication is that when you
are intentional in doing so, the child will not stray away from those teachings
as adults. So, if this
is the “promise,” when I observe the childish behavior of so many adults, it
begs the questions of whether or not they were trained up in the way they
should go, or whether or not they have grown old enough to not depart. I mean, the adults that misbehave, were they
not trained in the way they should go or maybe the training came late and
perhaps they have not gotten old enough yet to not get off track. There are so many adults that certainly act
as if they had no home training or any other training that would make them positive
and productive people. I have met some
childish adults that make me think that this verse is not limited to the
children and youth we tend to fit into its wisdom. I wonder if it could also apply to adults who
have not yet been trained, adults that need to mature in various aspects of
their lives, adults that are not emotionally or spiritually mature enough to not
depart. I wonder if
we could use this verse for them…or for us in certain matters of the heart and
Spirit. I think there are some ways in
my own maturation that I am still learning and growing and developing into the
woman God is calling for me to be and to become. In that sense, life is training me, mentors
are training me, peers are training me, the Holy Spirit is training me, and
once I choose to fully integrate those lessons into my life, as an adult, I
will not depart. So, I guess I am
suggesting that we need to expand this verse to include room for our childish
ways as adults or at least those aspects of ourselves that have been underdeveloped
or not yet tapped into because of our own limited exposure or experience to be
able to grow up in certain ways. I can
appreciate this verse even more. It is
not just for parents and their children.
It is for ALL of us because in some way, ALL of us need to grow up. The truth is that we will never stop growing
up especially if you consider our spirituality.
We are, or at least we should be, continuously growing up in God
understanding that we will not reach our full maturity until Jesus returns. So, YES,
this verse applies to creation regardless of our age and if you are honest, you
already know that includes YOU too. I
know it includes me. We, as adults, need to grow up out of our childish ways
of thinking, speaking, and behaving in this world. We need to grow up and stop refusing to learn
new things or meet new people or visit new places or consider new ideas. We need to grow up and be open to all the
ways that God will prepare us to serve and share. We need to grow up. And we need to commit and recommit to not
depart from the most beneficial lessons of our lives. We need to commit and recommit to not getting
off track by our own laziness or lackadaisical attitudes or being led astray by
negative influences. Friends, as
adults, we need to be open to the variety of ways we can be trained up, accept
those lessons and grow up, then commit and recommit to never departing from all
that is good for us. Given our reflection
today, I offer this addition to the wisdom of the proverb - Train children [and
childish adults] in the way they should go; when they grow old [mature and not
just over 18], they won’t depart from it. God LOVES
You and I Do Too! Blessings,
Glory, and Sunshine! Delesslyn Twitter -
@AudraSunshine Instagram -
@AudraSunshine1 |
Do you want SUCCESS & SECURITY?
| Posted on August 2, 2013 at 11:52 AM |
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Do you want SUCCESS & SECURITY? Proverbs 2:7-8 He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Greetings! BlogFam, do you want success and security? I have no doubt
that many of you, if not all of you will answer YES! I am clear that the ways in which we define these
terms for our own lives might vary but at the most basic level, I do not doubt
that your first response was YES. There is nothing wrong with desiring to be successful and
there is nothing wrong with wanting to feel a sense of security. And since we have begun our walk through
Proverbs, I am glad that success and security has come up so early in our
conversation. I am glad because I know
that success is something I want to achieve and security is something I want to
feel. I have my own standards for both
and I am aspiring to more but our verses for today help ALL of us to reconsider
the essence of what we believe success and security really is and who are those
who actually achieve success and feel secure.
These verses get to the heart of what true success and security are and
I pray that you would be open to what has been written in this Proverb. BlogFam, do you want success and security? Well, consider this - God holds success in store for the upright, God is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for God guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Here is The Message Bible rendering of these same verses – He’s a rich mine of Common Sense for those who live well, a personal bodyguard to the candid and sincere. He keeps his eye on all who live honestly, and pays special attention to his loyally committed
ones. My Friends, I think we all get and would more than likely
readily accept the first half of each line of those verses… God holds success..
God is a shield… God guards… God protects…
God is a rich mine of Common Sense… God is a personal bodyguard… God
keeps His eye on all… and God pays special attention… Actually, I am confident that no one would
have any objection to God being all of the above. Furthermore, there is a certain level of excitement
that rises in me when I think of the many ways that God is present in my own
life in these ways. And all of the above
are ways I know that I have experienced God.
However, just as I invited you to reconsider the ways in
which we think about or even define success and security, I must do the same as
I take in the entirety of each line of the two verses for today. For these verses do not put the entire responsibility
of my own personal success or security on God.
These verses call for us to live in certain ways in order to have
success and security. Have you ever included in your own thoughts and ideas about
success and security how you should… live upright…walk blamelessly… act justly…
be faithful… live well… be candid an sincere… live honestly.. and be loyally
committed to God? Well, do NOT feel bad!
Most of the people reading this post have never added ALL of these as
terms to their success and security….maybe partially one way or the other but
never ALL. BlogFam, in other words, when we answer YES to the question
of whether or not we want success and security, according to this Book of
Wisdom, we cannot just wait around for God to make all of this success happen
or provide the security without taking responsibility to be in right
relationship with God. And NO, we do not
seek to be in right relationship with God just for the benefits of achieving
success or having additional security.
Success and Security are bonuses to the primary goal which is being in
right relationship with God and being the kind of person who is ALL of those
things at the end of each line in our verses for today. So, brothers and sisters, will you reconsider your
definition of success and security? I know
that you want both. But will you strive
to be the type of person described that God will make successful and keep
secure? I pray that on today, you would move forward as men and
women who are successful and secure in God.
I pray that the ways in which we define success and security would now
include our own responsibility to live righteously. I pray that you would trust God to be
everything God said God would be and that you would also walk and talk and
think in ways that would bring God glory.
I pray that you would challenge traditional notions of success and
security in your spheres of influence such that we can all raise our consciousness
to the true standards for achieving success and feeling secure. BlogFam, do you want Success and Security? Well, LIVE RIGHT!!! God Loves You and I Do Too! Delesslyn |
A Proverb A Day Keeps The Foolishness At Bay - INTRODUCTION
| Posted on August 2, 2013 at 10:34 AM |
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A PROVERB A DAY KEEPS THE FOOLISHNESS AT BAY… August 1, 2013 Greetings! BlogFam, today actually marks the beginning of the absolute
most exciting month of the year for me.
It is the month of the National Holiday that is probably only on me and
my mother’s calendar. It is the month
that makes me feel happy for 31 days straight.
It is the month of August, the month that I was born. Now, I will not go into the details of the
day, the time or the year because that is not as important right now as knowing
that the entire month is so very special to me.
And today is August 1. I am approaching a very significant birthday numerically and
it was important to me to wisely choose the series for our reflection during my
favorite month of the year. I have
[obediently] selected the book of Proverbs, the book of wisdom. In fact, I do believe that A PROVERB A DAY
KEEPS THE FOOLISHNESS AT BAY…and as I embark upon turning another year older, I
certainly pray that the foolishness of my youth or even the foolishness as long
ago as last year or as recent as last week is “at bay.” I want to make wiser choices as I mature in
age and I know that Proverbs has always been a great place to start. And, so, on today we begin a new series walking through the
book of Proverbs, personally selected verses that I feel impressed to reflect
upon such as the verses for today - Proverbs 1:10, 15-19 – My son, if sinful men entice you, do not give in to them… My son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; for their feet rush into evil, they are swift to shed blood. How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it! These men lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush only themselves! Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten
gain; it takes away the life of those who get it. WOW! I honestly feel
like these verses are pretty straightforward and need no further explanation. My son or daughter, if sinful men or women entice you, do not give in to them… This verse leaves no room for any of us to take the time to
decide or discern or weigh our options of whether or not following the path or
engaging in conversations or considering the ways of our foolish friends or
family members is the way to go. If we
are enticed, intrigued, or being influenced to do anything contrary to the
word, the will, or the way of God, we are NOT to give in to them. Period.
No further explanation or discussion needed. But we do get a few additional notes for why
we need to NOT give in. AND we do NOT
need to give in to sin because when we do – We lie in wait for our own blood; we ambush only ourselves! Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten
gain; it takes away the life of those who get it. We take away our own life!
Let me say that again. We take away our own life! When we sin, we ambush only ourselves and we take away our
own life! Now this statement does not necessarily mean we will physically
die, although that is a possibility. But
I believe that our lives can be taken away and we can lose out in so many other
ways due to sin. We can lose our family
and friends. We can lose our reputation,
our freedom, our integrity, our positive influence, our passion for life, our
desire to dream, our will to keep going in spite of anything that would deter
us from being our best selves. And above
all, we lose fellowship with God. PLEASE BE CLEAR: Sin always takes away from us and we will
lose something every time…..even if you cannot “see” it. BlogFam, it is the beginning of a new month, my favorite
month of the year and the proverbial challenge on today is – If sinful men or women entice you, do NOT give in to them… YOU will lose something every time. GOD LOVES YOU AND I DO TOO!!! Delesslyn “The Birthday Girl” And yes, I do celebrate all month! LOL! |