Hi y’all!!
I have LOVED visiting your blogs this morning!! The best thing about She Speaks for me is all the “girl time.” Don’t misunderstand. You will walk away with the tools you need to fulfill your callings, and you’ll walk away renewed and refreshed in your relationship with God, too! BUT…you’ll also have a wonderful time of fellowship like only we girls know how to do!

I’m a sanguine and so I love people! Often, I’ve found that women stay away or they’re afraid to approach us at conferences. I hope by now you’ve determined that we are different at Proverbs 31. We’ve worked hard to show you our warts and all. Why—to prove that we are just like you. We are women who love the Lord and desire for others to know Him. We are a sisterhood who longs to lock arms with other women as we work together in building the kingdom of God! We love chocolate, which causes us to struggle with our weight. We do not live in a spiritual bubble. We experience disappointments, troubles, and heart-breaks, too. And we are certainly not perfect!! In fact, I believe the only reason God allows me to be a part of the team at Proverbs is because I’m lacking so many of her godly qualities.

So, introduce yourself! I want to know my sisters. That’s why I’ve enjoyed reading your blogs today. It reminds me that I’m not in this fight alone. God has called an army of women around the world to work together for His cause. Isn’t that the coolest thing ever? Only God could have thought of that. In fact, as I look at the sea of women God brings to She Speaks every year, I’m always amazed at how a group of women that large can all be in love with the same Man and not want to keep Him to herself but share Him with the world!!! Again, only something God can do!

By the way, I’m a hugger too. So get ready to have your neck hugged off! Can’t wait to see all of your sweet faces!!

Labels: According to Micca

I admit it. I did it! I got a spray tan! I use to laugh at people who got a spray tans. However, they have come a long way and my looks great!

All of my life I’ve been a “professional” tanner. With olive colored skin, I could run through the back yard as a child and get a tan. As I grew older, I began to lie in the sun. I knew all the positions to lie in so that no spot went un-tanned. I’ve used all sorts of tanners and gimmicks to get that perfect all over tropical golden color too.

In my teenage days, I would coat myself with baby oil and lie on an aluminum blanket. That’s not all. I have used mayo to draw the sun too! It moisturized the skin and protected it from sun damage…or so I told myself. And even though my hair is dark brown, I used lemon juice to enhance those natural highlights. Of course, red is the natural highlight for dark brown hair, but I was convinced the more juice I used it would eventually make me a blond! It never happened!

In those days, I considered tanning my summer job! Now, that I’m older and wiser, I’ve tossed out the baby oil, mayo, lemon juice, and aluminum foil for sunscreen when I’m in the sun. I don’t know what I’m more concerned about…skin cancer or wrinkles! Since the natural sun and tanning beds produce both, I’ve resulted to the spray tan.

A few times throughout the summer gives me enough color to wear my sun-dresses without causing damage to my skin. Nope, I don’t look like a large carrot. The color is a nice brown shade. It last up to 7 days and only cost $10.00 a session on Sundays at SunCity. If there’s one near you, I’d recommend it. Besides, I’d rather spend my time shopping than sweating in the sun for a tan today and damaged skin tomorrow! Wouldn’t you?

Labels: According to Micca

Once a year, my husband and I teach “Preparing for Marriage, by Denise Rainy at our church. The newly engaged couples enter the class room absorbed in the details of matrimony. Up until our class, all of their preparations are filled with romance…picking out the dress, the invitations, the flowers, the cake, and THE HONEYMOON!

Our class is designed not to just prepare them for their wedding day, but for their entire marriage. It helps them ask, is this the person God has chosen for me to marry? Why did God create marriage? What are my roles and responsibly to my spouse? It’s tough stuff. But…it prepares them like nothing else.

One of the lessons is on dealing with conflict. It teaches the couple how to “fight fare.” My husband has his own advice for resolving conflict. “Couples should fight naked!” He believes if the wife would agree to this, the fight would be over. His theory has not been tested in our home.

Here are some steps you can follow in your home:
1.) Use “I” words instead of “you” words. For example: it’s best to say... “I feel embarrassed when we are late for church.” Instead of… “You make us look bad when we’re late for church.”
2.) Before bringing up a situation for discussion, write it down on paper first.
3.) Next, without blaming one another, list how each of you have contributed to the problem and then list some things each of you can do to resolve the problem.
4.) List past attempts to resolve the problem that didn’t work. (Don’t blame)
5.) Take turns speaking and listening. The listening spouse should repeat back word for word what they’ve heard the other communicate. Then ask, “Is this correct?” It’s a sure way to get your thoughts and concerns heard.
6.) Discuss and evaluate your list of solutions. Be as objective as you can. Talk about how useful these things can be to your marriage and situation.
7.) Agree how each of you will toward your selected solution. Be as specific as possible. You can’t read each other’s minds.
8.) Set regular dates to discuss your progress. If you’ve gotten off track, go over the solution agreed to and start again without judgment of one another.
9.) Pay attention to your spouse throughout the week. Praise him/her when you see positive effort.

My husband and I have been fortune to teach this class. Year after year, these tools have taken root in our hearts and minds as we’ve put them into practice. We can testify to their success. We wish you and your spouse triumph as well as you work toward resolving conflict in your marriage.

Labels: According to Micca

What blessings are you anticipating from God? Are you anticipating the blessing of a baby? Perhaps it’s healing from a long time injury. Maybe you’re anticipating His guidance toward future decisions…whether or not to take that job, sell your house, marry that person, or which school to attend.

In my devotion today, I quote 1 John 3:21-22. "Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask; because we obey his commands and do what pleases him."

Within this verse we find an important statement that must be considered in order for God to hear and answer our prayers.

1.) “If our hearts don’t condemn us, we’ll have confidence before God.”

A true follower of Christ has the Spirit of God living within. The Holy Spirit works like a heavenly referee. Our heart or our conscience, by way of the Holy Spirit at work in us, will express disapproval of a certain behavior or attitude in our life. For example: Before you and I made Christ our Savior and Lord, we could get angry with a friend and think nothing of it. Now that we belong to Christ, the Spirit of God convicts our hearts and conscience of our anger toward our friend. Until we deal with that wrong behavior or attitude, the Holy Spirit will press our hearts or conscience until we make all things right. The conviction of our heavenly referee is not to discourage us but to keep us right with God.

In order for you and me to approach our Holy God with confidence, our hearts must be pure and without conviction of sin. The prayer of David is a great example you and I can follow.
David cried out in Ps 139:23, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

Lately, I have been praying a similar prayer. “Search me, O God, and show me my sins so that I may confess them. Then, O God, lead me in your everlasting ways.” Can you pray a similar prayer, too? Once our hearts do not condemn us, we can go before God with confidence making our request known to Him.

If sin persists, there may be some things I need to “put off” and others I need to “put on” to maintain purity.

Ask yourself:
1.) What do I need to put off? (These would be things that are detrimental to your spiritual life or things that are good, but don’t lead to bearing fruit.)
2.) What do I need to put on? (What things can I do that will help me know and conform to the image of God and allow me to grow in and participate in His work?)

While unconfessed sin hinders our prayers from reaching the ears of God, those He blesses are those who “obey his commands and do what pleases him." (Look back at 1 John 3:22).

Those who desire to please God will seek a renewed and steadfast spirit. This kind of spirit is passionate about God and serving Him. They do so out of love; not duty. They know their purpose in life, they walk in obedience out of gratitude to their God, … and they can anticipate His blessings on their lives.

Labels: According to Micca

We have a guest speaker, John Franklin, at my home church speaking on prayer and revival through the month of May. It’s been more than a blessing so far. It’s been challenging and life-changing for me.

The first week, John talked about where we are as a nation. All evidence indicates that we are under the judgment of God. This week, he talked about how God’s people should respond.

John pointed out that certain modes of thinking and behaving can cause us not to hear or respond to God correctly. So, from time to time you and I need to have our circumstances and our perspectives altered in order for these modes to be broken. Only then, will our relationship with God become dynamic and we become vessels useful for His service.

I thought about the ruts I get into that have me chasing my tail around and around in circles. One rut I find myself in most is being too “busy.” Sometimes I’m so busy that I lose my perspective on life and ministry. I end up spinning my wheels instead of accomplishing the will of God in my life. But I can’t seem to break-out of the rut no matter how hard I try. I know what I need to do---what behavior I need to change—so I make my promises to God accordingly. For a few days, I find relief. But then, after a short period of time, I find myself back in the same old rut.

I know better really. I know that I can’t change my behavior or my perspective no matter how hard I try. That’s God’s job. Only the One who has created us can re-create us. And He’s the only one who can get us out of a rut—so no need trying to pull yourself up by the bootstraps.

According to Mr. Franklin, the first thing you and I need to recognize is how our ruts not only steal our peace and joy; distract us from being effective, give us a false perception, and keep us from hearing God, but they can lead to sin. Not always. But even if they don’t lead to sin, they are not good for us. They can sap our time, energy, and witness. “So how do we break-out of a rut?” John asked? I sat on the edge of my seat anticipating the answer. “We must repent.”

“Repent!” I thought to myself. “That can’t be it. I try to confess my sins daily, and I’m still stuck in a rut.” As I tuned back in, John was defining the word repentance. “It’s a process over time of requiring energy to acquire God’s perspective of my sin until I see it as He does.” In simpler terms, to “confess” means to agree with God about my sin. Hummm…it’s not until I see my sin as God sees it that I truly “get it.” Get what, you ask? Get how it breaks the heart of God who has been nothing but good, loving, kind, and gracious to you and me. In other words, until I come to the point of grief and am sickened by my sin, I will not turn away from it. I’ll only return time and again.

That’s only the first step toward repentance, my friend. There are a few more steps to take before we become passionate about our relationship with God again and become clean vessels He can use—perhaps to bring about revival---not only in our own hearts but in the heart of America.

Stay tuned!

Labels: According to Micca

“Ring-ring.”

“Hello?”

“Get the camera and get over to Mitch’s condo as fast as you can.” The voice on the other end of the phone was my husband’s. I thought I had trained him not to scare me like he just had, but apparently, I was wrong. Before I could ask “why” my mind quickly filled with all sorts of possibilities that might explain the panic in his voice. Let’s face it. When a condo owner is only 22, a lot can go wrong from lack of experience or lack of responsibility.

As I searched our bedroom drawer for the camera, my husband explained the situation. Mitch’s heating and air unit had not been working properly so Pat called the “fix it” man and met him at the condo. What they discovered was surprising.

The elderly man that lives below our son was having trouble with his unit, too. For weeks, his heating and air man worked to fix his unit—but without success. The reason the worker was unsuccessful is because he was trying to fix a unit that wasn’t broken. Oh, the old man’s unit was broken alright right. But the heating and air guy wasn’t trying to fix his unit. He was trying to fix our son’s!

I understand that people make mistakes. I certainly make my share. It wasn’t that the so called professional didn’t know what unit went with whose condo, but in three weeks time he never once caught on that he was working on the wrong unit! In the south there is only one response to this type of situation. We say…“Well…bless his heart.” Which translated means, “somebody should have gotten him professional help as a child because his light may be on, but nobody is home!”

The worker cut the wires to Mitch’s unit, and then, rewired and connected them to the old man’s thermostat inside of his condo. The old man now had control of Mitch’s unit which led to his complaint. “Dad, I can’t turn my air off! It just keeps running and running.”

The old man continually ran what he thought was his unit but the temperature in his condo never cooled. Hummmm??? However, you could hang meat in Mitch’s condo. The damage was estimated between 700-1000 dollars! That’s why my husband asked me to bring the camera. We wanted our guy to fix our son’s unit but we needed evidence that the responsibility belonged to the old man’s fix-it guy. Thankfully, he agreed to pay the bill.

I don’t mean to be too hard on this poor guy. I often get my wires crossed too. And my friends and family respond with, “Bless your heart.” But the truth is I haven’t met one single person yet who didn’t have a few loose wires. I guess it’s what makes us interesting. It’s definitely what makes us human--right?

Labels: According to Micca

There seems to be a pattern to the way children view their mothers. When we are five years old we want to be just like her. When we are ten, we think we can out smart her. When we are thirteen, we are convinced we are smarter than our mothers. At seventeen we want her opinion about everything but without her knowing it. By the time we marry and give birth to our own children, we’ve become best friends with our greatest mentor.

My mother wasn’t perfect. But I don’t dwell on her imperfections. In fact, they don’t even come to mind when I think of her. Instead, I recall how loving and sacrificial she was. I don’t think she had a decent wardrobe until I graduated from high school. She always stood up for me—even when I was unaware of it. She could be trusted too. I learned that my girl-friends didn’t always have by best interest at heart, but my mother did. When I chose to listen to her, I found she was always right. People say that I look and act more like my mother than my other siblings. I take that as a compliment.

Today, I pester my children the way my mother use to pester me even though I swore I never would. “Are you reading your bible? Did you brush your teeth? Sit up straight. Be sure and say, “thank you.” Did you do your homework? If you wouldn’t marry him, don’t date him. Don’t eat so much junk. Make good choices, they determine your future. And wear a coat!” She always meant well because she loved her children, and so do I.

Every Mother’s Day I fret over what to get her…a meaningful card, flowers, a nice pair of ear-rings. This year I think I’ll give her what every mother longs to have from their children…my honor and blessing. I’m not sure how I’m going to offer that just yet. Perhaps I’ll write down what she means to me and then put it in a frame. Maybe, I give her a blessing of some sort throughout the year. I haven’t decided just yet. You could help me by sharing your ideas about how to honor and bless your mother. I’m sure other readers would love to hear your ideas, too. Then each of us could choose from a bouquet of ideas! Come on you creative thinkers…let’s bless our mothers!

Labels: According to Micca

This section from, The Grandmother’s Bible, by Dawn Scott Jones, spoke to me today and I wanted to share it with you.

“We long to be first, to be the center of attention, to have control. We hate to admit it, but we can struggle with insecurity and jealousy and sometimes become threatened when others succeed. We find secret satisfaction when our rival fails. We yearn for significance, to accomplish something great.
But Jesus redirects our earthly rationale by teaching us that being great means serving, choosing to be second, stepping out of the limelight so someone else can shine. We are on our way to greatness in God's perspective when we roll up our sleeves and offer our gifts wherever they are needed.”

This attitude of “being on top” is not only seen and felt in the secular world but in ministry, too. Why—because we are fleshy people. Our flesh side or our human side longs to be number one, the shining star, the top dog. But the truth is there is only one super star and His Name is Jesus Christ.

We are all His supporting actors in a story not about us, but all about Him! If we really want our name to go down in history, we must step into our God-given roles making the star forever look good.

With this mindset, I’m able to fight my human side that longs to be first, and fight for the cause of Christ among the multitudes who are also striving to make our great God known. Besides, ministry is NOT a competition. We are all on the same team seeking to score one for the kingdom of God. Seeing others in ministry as competitors should raise a red flag.

The Word of God says that envy is rooted in evil.

“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21)

When you and I seek to be on top or feel threatened by others success, then we are allowing our sinful nature to control us. On the other hand, those who are walking in the Spirit of God will bear the fruit of the Spirit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” (Gal 5:22-26)

Whether you work in ministry or the secular world, as children of God this is how we are to live. We are to view others as teammates, not competitors, working toward the same goal—lifting up the name of Jesus. This quote by Ronald Regan sums it up. “"There is no limit to what a man or woman can do or where he or she can go if he/she doesn't mind who gets the credit." That’s success according to God’s economy because it allows us to work together as teamates as build the kingdom of God.

Labels: According to Micca

Last weekend I had the privilege of serving alongside some amazing women of God. Amy Carrol and I traveled to Hixson, Tn to speak at a women’s conference at Dallas Bay Baptist Church. The women’s ministry directors, Amy and Angela had a wonderful vision for the weekend. The theme was Live, Love, and Laugh—and that’s just what we did! Their hearts for God and women to have an on-going relationship with Him was evident in all their hard work. Angela, out of obedience to God, challenged us by sharing a personal struggle she and her husband are going through. Then, she worshiped God by singing the most beautiful song. Angela reminded us that whatever we go through in this lifetime is only temporal. But God is eternal. He should be all we long for.

Stephanie Parson from GA was our worship leader. Usually Stephanie sings with a group called, Freedom’s Call ,but last weekend she sang alongside of a group of women from Dallas Bay. Stephanie has an amazing gift. Even though she was center stage, all eyes were on God. I’ve served with Stephanie before in GA and it was such a joy and privilege to have that opportunity again this past weekend. She is a precious lover of God.

The best way I can think of to describe the weekend is that God showed up and out. We had a great time. We laughed and we cried but most of all we were changed. After sharing about the fears we have as women that prevent us from truly living as He intends, Amy spoke about finding rest in God—both physically and spiritually. Then, I closed the weekend challenging the women to lay all the pieces of their lives at the feet of Jesus so that He can make our lives complete in Him.

I strongly believe that when God’s Word is shared, it deserves a time of response. The truth is God is the true communicator—is He not?! I asked the women at the end to come forward in response to what God has been speaking to their hearts. 56 women responded. Several surrendered their lives fully to God. They confessed sin, asked for rest, cast off their fears, confessed that God was enough, and longed to fly above their circumstances on the wings of the Most High God! From this response, I have no doubt that God truly communicated to the women and brought hope, healing, and change.

Sometimes I have to pinch myself. It’s hard to believe that God allows me to be a part of His work let alone speak His Name. But then, I recall his disciples were but simple men just like me. (Except I’m a woman of course!) Serving God often feels to me like it must have felt to the disciples. As Jesus moved through town to town, he invited his followers to go with Him. They ate with Christ, slept with Him, and watched Him minister to many. So for me, I’m just hanging out with Christ like they did. I go where He goes. I sleep where he sleeps, and I watch Him minister to the needs of women today. And in every place we go, I stand in awe and wonder of my God; my Savior; and my King.

Labels: According to Micca

Welcome! I realize that my devotion today may be hard to swallow. I understand. No one likes hardships, and yet, no one is exempt from them. God’s Word teaches us that adversity is one of His greatest tools for shaping us spiritually.

I have to confess…I want to be mature spiritually. I just don’t want to be shaken nor do I want to go through a trial to get there. But these are the ways of God. Perhaps this story might explain it better. God really is at work in your life and mine—not trying to destroy us—but to make us a thing of beauty…a display of His glory!

“There once was a little piece of wood once complained bitterly because its owner kept whittling away at it, cutting it, and filling it with holes, but the one who was cutting it so persistently paid no attention to its complaining. He was making a flute out of that piece of ebony, and he was too wise to cease from doing so, even though the wood complained bitterly. He seemed to say, “little piece of wood, without these holes, and all this cutting, you would be a black stick for ever—just a useless piece of ebony. What I am doing now may make you think that I am destroying you, but, instead, I will change you into a flute, and your sweet music will charm souls and comfort many a sorrowing heart. My cutting you is the making of you, for only thus can you be a blessing in the world.”

If you’re going through a hard time right now, think back on a past hardship in which God brought a new song from a painful experience. Ask Him to do it again. Then, rest in His care as He finishes this melody and never forget…He is faithful!

Labels: According to Micca