HOW TO STAY FAITHFUL IN A FUNKY WORLD (CATHOLIC VERSION)
PERSONAL STORY
Faith is one of those things. You either have it or you don’t. It’s not something that is bestowed upon you like knowledge. It’s not something like an education, that you have continual evidence that you’ve achieved it. It’s a growth process that requires a decision. Either you’re in or you’re not. Most Christians repeat the same description any time they’re asked about faith, “it is the substance of things not seen and the evidence of things hoped for”, which does nothing to help the wavering Christian. Who would then ask, “where do I find it or how do I get faith?” To which the Christian would answer, you guessed it – “Faith comes by hearing”. Again, zero for the student. My foundations for faith have always been gospel music and my Bible. I use them to define, justify and grow my faith. And for the less than half a century that I have been on this earth, they sure have come in handy. Like the time I went to sleep and left a tri-wick candle burning or the time I almost got locked in a government building over the holidays. Get the scene, Christmas Eve Washington DC is experiencing its biggest snow storm of the decade, four feet of snow is expected. Employees are granted a 4-hour early release. Public transportation is announcing special schedules. Everyone is scurrying about to get food and get home as soon as possible. Everyone, but me. I was a contract employee paid only for hours worked. If I didn’t work, I didn’t get paid. No pay – no food, no water, no lights – you get the picture. So I prayed and God said “stay”. I worked my full 8-hour day. Approaching the building exit doors, I found the lobby dark, stanchion off and unmanned. No security guard or secretary. My heart started to pound, my pulsed raced. Fear flooded in with statements like – Your going to get stuck in this building for three days alone without food for three days. There’s no one to help you, you may as well give up. If you call the cops, you will be the laughing spectacle of DC and you’ll probably go to jail. – In response I started talking to God. I was in panic mode so it was very short and to the point. “oh, Lord! What am I going to do?” Right after I said that, the elevator bell sounded. I was both scared and hopeful of who or what was going to get off. It was an Asian woman named Tamar. I’d never been happier to see another human being in my life.
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BIBLICAL STORY
As long as I listened to fear, nothing happened. As soon as I prayed, God answered. I prayed because I knew if I asked, He would answer. That’s faith. He always does, even when I don’t like the response.
I view the bible as instruction and the characters in the bible as our role models. Take Judith for instance. Judith is a book in the Catholic Bible, not found in the Protestant Bible. (No big deal! Protestants just think of it as an ancient story. Don’t get side tracked.) But get the scene – Judith is a rich Israelite widow that lives in the attic of her home. She gets wind of how the camps councilmen have decided to handle the crisis of having their water supply cut off by the King’s General Holofernes. Basically, the councilmen have given God an ultimatum. A big no no. After this Judith makes three moves that impress me. Three moves that require enormous, unmovable faith. The first thing she does is scold the councilmen, the three elders of the camp for giving God an ultimatum. She rips through these guys! I mean she tears them a new one. Judith’s reprimand of the elders makes a night time soap opera look like a Disney cartoon. The next thing she does in faith that impresses me, she walks into the enemy’s camp. She leaves her camp and just walks over to the enemy’s camp. She isn’t bearing gifts. She isn’t surrendering. All Judith has is a big “Hey Y’all!”. Yet she remains safe and sound, unharmed by the enemy. The third and final move Judith makes is she severs the head of the general of the enemy’s army. Yep, she cuts off his head and carries it back to her camp. The enemy flees and the Israelites are saved.
INSPIRATION / ENCOURAGEMENT
You have the option of possessing the same faith as Judith and I. It’s a decision. A decision to get to know God, one on one. Not to get to know him through church, a priest or a pastor but through your own prayer life and observation of divine actions in your life, despite how small. Then you will live so happy and self-assured, people watching you will think you’re crazy. They’ll try to use carnal reasons to explain divine grace. Get a journal, get a prayer and let me know what happens.
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A former school and community agency counselor and creator of the 7-Step Method, Anita’s helped guide people from the ages of eleven to fifty through their own life issues, personal transformations and professional endeavors. With an old soul and a comedic, honest voice. She uses many southern colloquialisms and colorful expressions to unwrap personal stories of surviving a homicidal alcoholic father, a mother in denial and four physically and emotionally abusive brothers and relates them to guiding principles and healing techniques.
Through her powerful and uplifting interviews at ThatAnitaLive.TV and The Emotional Happiness Podcast women get to see and hear real women with resourceful stories living relentless lives after life's most devastating events. Through her charismatic and compelling speaking, Anita helps women use the tools and resources they already have to reveal and release success blockers such as childhood trauma and family dysfunction so they can build self-confidence, boost their self-esteem and feel free to live true to their own personality, spirit and character.
In her newly released ebook, 7 Simple Steps to Beat Emotional Baggage, Anita shares actionable techniques that will walk women through letting go of the past and rising above the glass ceiling to reach higher levels of success and satisfaction in life.
From nine-to-five, Anita is a Senior Acquisition Support Specialist, possessing over nineteen years of performing and administering program management and cradle-to-grave commercial and federal contracting activities for acquisitions ranging from $500,000 to over $2 Billion. She has progressively worked her way up the federal acquisition lifecycle and commercial supply chain through various positions from pre-award and requirements definition to commodities buying to contract close-out. In her career, she has mastered the art of transitioning to level-up.
Anita is a graduate of Limestone College, Virginia State University, and Strayer University with a B.S. in Mathematics, an M.Ed. in Guidance & Counseling, and an M.B.A. in Contracts & Acquisitions. You can find Anita online at ThatAnitaLive.com, Twitter, Periscope, Instagram and Facebook. Her handle is That Anita Live on all four social media platforms.
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