Diggin' For Treasure: Mining in Progress

Diggin' For Treasure: Mining in Progress

Charleston, S.C. Book Signing Announced for Diggin' For Treasure

To stay abreast of book events, LIKE our Facebook page

  https://www.facebook.com/DigginForTreasure

Breast Cancer Awareness

The person I note in my latest blog post was a faithful reader when I began this blog some years ago. She would always send an encouraging note, or send a word of confirmation.

I know that she is not just resting in peace, but she is resting in victory!

 

Blog: http://www.looknlive.com/apps/blog/show/42706050-voices-of-breast-cancer-

Diggin' For Treasure Update

 

LIKE the Diggin For Treasure  page on Facebook

 and join the author's discussion at

https://www.facebook.com/DigginForTreasure

 

 Check for updates at 

http://www.looknlive.com/diggin-for-treasure

Diggin' To Be Released October 2014

The long-awaited book project by the
Rev. Dr. Arlecia D. Simmons
will be available before the 2014 holiday season begins.

"You often leave me laughing, crying or speechless!"
 - Tonia F.

In Diggin' For Treasure, readers will get to experience her blend of devotional writing and spiritual autobiography.  The "Jewels" encountered in the book will make you laugh and reflect on how God is at work in your life!

Visit www.looknlive.com for more information.

Domestic Violence in the News

I shared a reflection on the recent Ray Rice domestic violence incident. The article can be found at
http://www.forharriet.com/2014/08/taking-one-for-team-why-we-choose-to.html

Driving While Under the Influence of Faith

New Blog Post! Got Faith?

http://www.looknlive.com/apps/blog/show/42511041-driving-while-under-the-influence-of-faith-

What Not To Wear: The Church Edition

Have you ever heard the phrase "come as you" regarding church attire?

Did you respond accordingly only to learn the way you came was not considered appropriate in that culture?

Should clothing,  or a lack thereof, prevent us from going into the house of the Lord?

This is a complex topic with various cultural and denominational perspectives, but I've attempted to tackle it in a recent blog post!

Read more at:Come As You Are blog post.

When Holidays Expose Our Growing Edges

 Is a patience a virtue of yours that is still in process? Do you lie when you could actually tell the truth? Are you more opinionated than necessary?

Do you have growing edges that could sabotage future relationships?

Read more at http://www.looknlive.com/apps/blog/show/42460753-foot-tapping-and-fireworks

Edges, Hedges and New Life

Connecting the Generations for Healing

Are you a woman? Know a woman? Love a woman? Was birthed by a woman? If any of these apply to you, then check out my latest blog post.
The elders are leaving us and we have failed to learn their stories!
As always, share it with a friend. ‪#‎please‬ ‪#‎thankyou‬

http://www.looknlive.com/apps/blog/show/42423238-when-women-s-lips-heal

If You Only Knew...

If You Only Knew...

Swimming to a Happy Father's Day

In this post, I share my 40-year journey as a child of teenage parents. What a blessed journey!

Visit: http://www.looknlive.com/apps/blog/show/42383683-swimming-to-a-happy-father-s-day

Pray Today for Church Leadership

Pray today for Christian leaders. Those who are on the court as pastors or In episcopal leadership, and those of us who serve on the sidelines.

During the final minutes of Game 3 of the NBA finals, I heard the commentator discuss the relationship between coach and players. "You have to know how to coach your best player," he said, citing how best player/coach interaction impacts the rest of the team.

I heard that midnight word in my spirit: It's not that God doesn't know how to coach, but many on Kingdom team are becoming focused on their own press. They are distracted by the cheers of the crowd and are not receiving their plays from the Coach. There is little interaction while on the sidelines as many only wait for the words: Get back in the game!

Lord, have mercy upon us and hear our prayers today. AMEN.

New Blog Post

http://www.looknlive.com/apps/blog/show/42373287-parking-lot-sermons-

When Small Things Wound in Big Ways

Yesterday, I met a woman who spent weeks in ICU after a swallowed toothpick ruptured her small intestine. She says it was there for months, and she did not know how it got there.

I am thinking to myself, it got there via something placed in your mouth.Daily we ingest small words of discouragement or objects of ‪#‎fear‬ that rupture areas within us, including self esteem, hopes, and dreams.

Be careful when you eat, physically and spiritually. Chew carefully and selectively.‪

As always, continue to look and live!

Please assist me by completing this 5-minute survey. Thank you!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QQJBRY8

ADS

Are  you already exhausted by your summer plans?

Visit our blog at:

http://www.looknlive.com/apps/blog/show/42352054-summertime-and-the-living-is-easy-

For This Child We Prayed

 Read my latest blog post at:

http://www.looknlive.com/apps/blog/show/42339094-when-heaven-tweets-you

Tribute to Maya Angelou

http://www.looknlive.com/apps/blog/show/42320936-maya-angelou-a-mother-of-many-daughters

Visit the ministry web site at www.looknlive and check out the latest blog post:

http://www.looknlive.com/apps/blog/show/42259670-jewels-for-the-journey-decisions-decisions-decisions

Lead Me to Calvary

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Those are the words of one of my most treasured spirituals. Whether sung by Gospel legends or the Jubilee Choir at the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, those words have moved me since childhood.

Of course,we were not physically there. However, I learned as a child that Jesus Christ had us all on his mind as he hung on Calvary’s rugged cross. 

As a child I knew about the story of Christ’s Crucifixion and Resurrection, but it wasn’tuntil adulthood that I learned about “Maundy Thursday” (Holy Thursday) and began to personally observe Ash Wednesday and the weeks in between.
The word “Lent”was not in our vocabulary as Baptists, yet time and space would allow it to find its way into my lexicon and Spiritual life.
For me, this has been an interesting Lenten season where much reflection has taken place. It has been a time to reflect on health, life, ministry, family, and any andeverything in between. It has been a time of searching and waiting. Oh, but waiting must be saved for Advent. Right?

In past years, this would have been a time of running around to malls looking for theperfect dress, matching accessories, and shoes. Excuse me, looking for the perfect dress-es. As a child, I was blessed to have one for morning worship and another for the infamous afternoon Easter program. These days, none of that matters. While the idea of new clothes and new life in Christ are rooted in Baptism, most of us never learned the complete facts about this ancienttradition. We simply donned bonnets, new dresses, and looked forward to unwrapping Easter baskets.  I was a spoiled child and often received two or three baskets of sugary goods.

Resurrection Sunday or what I only knew as Easter Sunday has always had special meaning forme.  At the age of 12, it was onResurrection Sunday that I was baptized into the Body of Christ. You know, I was “at the age of accountability” and it was time to go down in the water.  Revival was held that week and I was instructed to “seek” God kneeling before the congregation. I’m not quite sure what heart change occurred at that time, but I recall wondering if I had been down on my knees a suitable amount of time.The mothers and deacons watched closely.

It was also the morning I watched as one of the older deacons went to the phone to learnhis daughter was unresponsive. She was my godmother and beautician, so her death on the day has never left me.  Althoughit was 27 years ago, the memories of that morning are still very fresh.  Back then it was a time of mixed emotions, but today I know that death had no victory.

Death does not have the final say! It did not at Golgotha or in April 1986 when it stopped by Meeting Street Road.

“Lest I forget Gethsemane; Lest Iforget Thine agony; Lest I forget Thy love for me, Lead me to Calvary.”

Anniversary Day!

Three years ago today, I preached my Acknowledgment of Call sermon and was licensed to preach at First Calvary Baptist Church. However, it was in Iowa where Pastor Boyer allowed "Sis. Arlecia" to "share" with the congregation one Sunday morning in 2007. After a few years as what some call "a bootlegger," I was OFFICIAL! Looking forward to what the coming years will bring!

Tomorrow we launch our inaugural Women in Ministry Fellowship!  What an amazing way to celebrate this ministry anniversary!

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Today we highlight National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Access our reflection at: 

http://www.looknlive.com/apps/blog/show/41361777-national-black-hiv-aids-awareness-day



Find a testing site today by visiting http://hivtest.cdc.gov/
 

Get Educated, Get Tested, Get Involved, and Get Treated.

As always, continue to look and live!

World Cancer Day

Last weekend, I spent Saturday morning in a hospice center during the final minutes of a loved one’s life. Although he did not transition due to cancer, there were likely others there wrestling with the “Big C.” 

As we stop to acknowledge World Cancer Day, I am mindful of all who journeyed through this world with a cancer diagnosis. I learned many years ago that cancer does not discriminate. As a news reporter, I interviewed cancer patients in all age groups.

 Recently, I Googled the name of a baby whose parents I interviewed in 1997 due to his rare cancer diagnosis. Thankfully, he is now a teenager and his cancer is in remission.  I wish I could find similar follow-up narratives on all I have known with cancer.

While it appears there are miles or years to go before cures are discovered and tested, I know there is still a healer for all manner of disease. 

May we continue to pray healing and comfort for all impacted. Today, I speak the names of all who transitioned from labor to reward, now resting with the one who also heals through death.

I speak encouragement to those striving to live abundant lives even in the midst of doctors’ appointments, chemo, radiation, and the unknown. 

 For more information on Look 'n Live Ministries, visit www.looknlive.com.

Remembering Dr. King and the Other Dreamers in the Movement

I will always remember the song Mrs. Harley, my elementary school music teacher, taught us about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We learned the song in a modular unit in the back of the school, which was also attended by my mother and her siblings. Much had changed for the Title I school, but teachers like Mrs. Harley always made us feel special while making do with  minimal resources.

"He wanted peace and love all over this land." We sang our parts and reflected on the man and his dream. He was a great man!

As we approach the celebration of the national King Holiday, I honor the sacrifice of Dr. King and remember the sacrifices of those whose names will never enter the historian's inquiry.

I shared these reflections in a guest column published at:

http://m.chronicle.augusta.com/life/your-faith/2014-01-17/remembering-faith-king-and-all-those-who-worked-freedom

As always, look and live! Visit the new Web site at www.looknlive.com

What is Your Legacy?

 Check out the latest entry at our new Web site: www.looknlive.com

Blog

New Addition

Excited to announce the launch of our new Website: www.looknlive.com

Weekly Prayer Call and Reflection - Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 8 p.m. EST

What About Your Friends?

Psalm 41:9 Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,
   who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me. 

Reflection: A quick review of my Facebook Timeline suggests the New Year has arrived with a few “friends” being in love or like “under new management.” Oh, some will remember that 1989 Miki Howard tune where she sings about changes taking place in her love life. My 15-year-old self would sannnnngg, honey, like I knew what she was talking about. I didn’t even know the half. 

For some, both romantic relationships and friendships are currently in transition.

In recent years, friends once labeled “best friends” are now identified as simply “friends.” Time and circumstances have changed the dynamics. The older I get, it seems like the fewer genuine friends I have. My granny says we often just have “associates.” 

While our FB friends may equate to hundreds of people, our real friendships may be limited as way to protect ourselves from hurt or manipulation. I am cautious when someone is quick to establish a relationship with me; I want to know their motives. I want to know what their intentions are. I want to know if they can be trusted with hearing my hopes and dreams. I want to make sure that what takes place in this passage above does not happen to me.

God has blessed me with some of the most amazing friends who are more charitable and patient than I deserve. However, I have come to realize that while earthly friendships are important, the most important relationship is the one I have with God. My earthly friends would call and have me committed if they ever heard some of the conversations we have. In the words of the familiar hymn, “there’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus. No not one, No not one.” If you’re reading this today, my prayer is that you will also know the love and friendship of Jesus. It is also my prayer that friends after God's heart will be sent your way!
 

Prayer: Lord, please continue to bless those friendships that you have ordained for my life. May I be able to discern those relationships that are not in your will? Thank you, Lord, for sending people into my life that will help me to accomplish all that you have given my hands to do. Bless my friends and those who extend their love and kindness toward me. Keep them in your care and allow our relationship to bring you all the honor and glory. Amen!

As always, Look and LIVE in harmony!