DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Social Networks Top Lent List
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source © OpenBible.info, Lent’s Wordle

Times have changed.

Lent begins today. And according to OpenBible.info, social media giants Twitter and Facebook have topped the list of “100 Things Given Up for Lent” by Twitterers for the past 4 years.

This year’s list is still being compiled and will be available Feb 16th; but currently trending with giving up social networking are “swearing” and “being pope”. Somebody has a sense of humor. :=)

Remember when?
Remember when folks gave up meat and dairy for Lent?

As I blogged yesterday in Mardi Gras: A Christian Holiday?, Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, which got its name because Christians would consume all the remaining meat and dairy in their homes on that Tuesday before Ash Wednesday kicked off the Lenten season.

By those standards, yesterday could’ve been a massive TwitterFest or Facebook Mania for networkers posting their last comments before taking a 6-week break through Easter.

Why?
Why are folks fasting social networking? To answer that, let’s review why folks fast at all during Lent. Actually, let’s back it all the way up to the meaning of Lent. Review:

What is Lent?
Lent is the 40-day season (46 days minus Sundays) that believers prepare for Easter through fasting, prayer, repentance, giving up luxuries, and giving alms. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (today) and ends the day before Easter.

The 40 day time frame symbolizes the 40 days in the wilderness, testing and temptation that Jesus endured before launching into his public ministry (Matthew 4:1-11). Our friend, Pastor Andy McQuitty at Irving Bible called Lent a time of “spring cleaning of the soul”.

Why do we STILL practice Lent in 2013?
Because our global family of faith looks forward to THE Celebration of all Celebrations culminating at the end of Lent: Easter/Resurrection Sunday! Easter is arguably the most important holiday on our calendar. Our entire faith is based on that resurrection that resulted in that Empty Tomb!

Why Not?
That’s the question I like to ask.
Why not break outside the norm and walk on the wild side of faith for 40 days?
I have learned over the years that there is no greater adventure than attempting to sacrifice an “essential” in order to grow closer to the One who is Essential. 40 days of giving up anything ain’t easy. Thank God we don’t have to rely on our own strength and fortitude. We can ask for His help. And the rewarding transformation that occurs is so worth it.

So, what do we do?
Some of our Catholic brothers and sisters don ash crosses on the forehead to symbolize Ash Wednesday and the tradition of repentance in ashes and sackcloth. Symbols are wonderful; though not required.

So here are some simple steps to prepare:

1) Decide
Decide whether or not to participate. Pray and ask, ‘Do I want to make this commitment?” This might seem elementary, but every journey starts with a solid decision to take the first step.

2) Release
If the answer is “Yes”, then decide one thing to release over the next 40 days.

Some are giving up social networking. Others go the traditional route and give up meat and dairy. If you’re a vegetarian, like I am, or vegan, like some of my friends, giving up meat or dairy isn’t really a sacrifice. So, maybe it’s a favorite food or sweets or a particular TV show or hobby. Whatever it is, it works best if it’s something that affects our life daily. Why? Because when we yearn for it daily, we’re reminded why we are fasting and reminded to pray.

3) Replace
Replace what you’re releasing with avenues that lead closer to God. In the scriptures, people fasted and prayed for many different reasons i.e. entreating the Lord’s help and intervention, breaking yokes, seeking the Lord’s face and presence, repentance and contrition, etc. Fasting is a spiritual discipline that’s been practiced by people of faith for thousands of years, even prior to Jesus. Lent, especially, is a season of reflection and repentance and growing closer to the Lord. If one only gives up Twitter or Facebook, but doesn’t replace social networking with times of pray, reflection, Scripture, praise & worship, meeting others’ needs, etc., then Lent is meaningless. Prayerfully define what you’re asking of God for 40 days.

Reprising My Role as Tour Guide
Just as I promised last year, (can you believe we’ve been blogging daily for a year now?!), I wouldn’t dare invite you to walk this journey with me without offering help along the way. I assure you that I intimately know my way around 40-day fasts, and I count it an honor to reprise my role as tour guide by way of LaLa Land. I’ll be praying for you and walking with you and growing closer to the Lord, just like you, over the next 40 days.

In the words of Peter, when God used him to heal the lame by the gate called Beautiful, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Acts 3:1-10.

I can’t promise you silver or gold over the next 40 days. (I actually don’t believe that God shares many of His children’s obsessions with becoming millionaires. I digress…) But what I do have, I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whatever your deepest actual need is, I pray that God will meet you in that space over the next 6 weeks leading up to Easter. I pray that our lives will be eternally transformed as we are drawn into deeper fellowship with our heavenly Father.

What are you giving up?

Feel free to share what you’re sacrificing (here or with someone else), not out of pride and braggadociousness, as the Pharisees of old; but for accountability. 40 days is a bit of a stretch and we can keep each other lifted along the way.

I’m not giving up social media, as that’s not a true sacrifice for me. I’m releasing sugar. Pray for your girl. The first couple of days off sweets can be a little bumpy. LOL!

Lett’s do this,
Naima

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DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Mardi Gras: A Christian Holiday?
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Mardi Gras, New Orleans, © LA Times, Gerald Herbert/Associated Press, source

Today is Mardi Gras.
Did you know that’s French for Fat Tuesday? Sounds better in French, doesn’t it?

And the History Channel actually records it as a “Christian” holiday.
I don’t know about you, but when I think of Mardi Gras, a whole lot of things come to mind, and Christian ain’t one of them.

But I read on:
“A Christian holiday and popular cultural phenomenon, Mardi Gras dates back thousands of years to pagan spring and fertility rites. Also known as Carnival, it is celebrated in many countries around the world… on the day before the religious season of Lent begins. Brazil, Venice and New Orleans play host to some of the holiday’s most famous public festivities, drawing thousands of tourists and revelers every year.”

Smörgåsbord

Christian, pagan, Carnival, revelers! That’s a whole smörgåsbord of stuff, right?!
Smörgåsbord is Swedish for ‘buffet’, which is French for the fancy sideboard all the different food dishes were served upon back in the day. Anybody else getting hungry?

Long story short…

Similar to other prominent Christian holidays, Mardi Gras appears to have been grafted into the Christian calendar from previously established festivals. If it makes you feel better, you can say it was ‘redeemed’ into the calendar; but none of our revelers seem to have noticed. LOL!

For the full 3:29 minute video, feel free to visit the History Channel Video.

Big Party Before Lent

Basically, Mardi Gras became the party to end all parties before the Lenten season of repentance, fasting, sacrificing luxuries, and giving alms began.

Fat Tuesday preceded Ash Wednesday and was the day that families ate the remainder of all meat and dairy products that would be fasted during Lent.

Well… who fasts during Lent?
Christians.

So, who is Mardi Gras for?
Christians?

We’d have to come to that conclusion, wouldn’t we? Since we assume that it’s Christians who are fasting for the 40 days of Lent (46 days minus Sundays) in preparation for the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection and Easter Sunday.

And while the 40 days of Lent are said to commemorate Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness after His baptism and before His public ministry began (Matthew 4), I can find no biblical incident where Jesus partied all night before heading into the wilderness.

I’m being facetious. We know that Jesus knew how to have a good time. He was accused sometimes of having too much of a good time dining with sinners and tax collectors.

Would Jesus have gone to Mardi Gras?

Which makes me wonder, would Jesus have gone to Mardi Gras? And if so, what would He have thought of His followers’ party? Would He have turned water into wine? Or asked young ladies to put their shirts back on? What do you think?

Party of All Parties

You know what I want to see?

A Mardi Gras-type shindig on Easter Sunday! I’m talking folks going all out because they are so ecstatic that Jesus conquered death forever when He rose from the dead! Crank up the music! Pull out the gear! Throw some beads or rice or flowers or something! Break out the bubbly! That’s the BEST reason I can think of to celebrate! That’s the kind of party I believe is happening all the time in heaven.

Do we have to wait for Easter?

Why do we have to wait until Easter? Everyday, even on Mardi Gras, even during Lent, and for the rest of the year, why can’t we have our own mini-celebration that we have been granted life after death in an eternal paradise because our Lord loved us so much that He gave His life for us?!

Watch out! I’m bout to go find some beads and throw them!
But we can keep our clothes on. Just saying…

Onward and Upward, Fam,
Naima

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DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
God at the Grammy’s
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© Grammy winners Carrie Underwood & Mumford & Sons

Was God at the Grammy’s last night?

Sounds like a strange question, doesn’t it?

But that’s how I think many of us watch our award shows… looking for some mention of God to prove that He’s in the building.

Represent!

When Carrie Underwood accepts her Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance and exclaims, “To God be the glory!”, then Christ followers all over the world pump their fists like, “Yes, God is at the Staples Center!” Or when she explains in the post-show interview that if she was ever going to sing anything, it would’ve been gospel or country, and she’s mixed the two on her albums, “I sing a lot of faith-based songs”; then believers applaud like, “Represent, Carrie, Represent!”

And when the best-selling, chart-topping, top-prize-Album-of-the-Year-Grammy-Award-winning British folk rock band, Mumford and Sons, sings their multi-platinum hit, “I Will Wait for You” with lyrics of forgiveness, kneeling down and waiting, from their multi-platinum album “Babel”, Christians celebrate like we’ve won! We’re taking back the culture.

It doesn’t matter that band front-man Marcus Mumford explains to The Big Issue that “I don’t even call myself a Christian. Spirituality is the word we engage with more. We’re fans of faith, not religion”. The fact that Mumford’s parents are founders of the Vineyard Church in the UK and Ireland and raised him in a Christian home, and Mumford & Son’s music is peppered with biblical references and themes and an occasional mention of Jesus, that’s enough! “Represent, Mumford, Represent!”

God’s Everywhere

While I most appreciate references of God, blatant like Carrie’s or veiled like Mumford’s, I don’t wait for any other artist to acknowledge who God is to believe He’s present.

One of the greatest songwriters of all time with the most published songs of all time in the greatest selling book of all time, King David, breaks down God’s omnipresence in his song recorded in Psalm 139:7-12:

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you…”

We could continue:
If we go to the Grammys, you are there; if we make our bed at the Oscars, you are there.
If we rise in Hollywood, if we settle down in New York, even there your hand will guide us…
God is everywhere. Period.
The real question is, “What difference does it make?”

Acknowledge

Whether we acknowledge God or not, He’s still in the building. He’s the Creator of the ends of the earth. Nothing slips pass Him. He sees all and knows all.

Folks spend massive amounts of time and energy speculating if artists like Carrie’s wardrobes line up with the new dress code and/or their faith or even if Mumford & Sons has faith, but when it’s all said and done, are we asking the right questions?

I submit the following:
Instead of asking, “Is God at the Grammy’s?”
Let’s ask, “Since God is at the Grammy’s, what difference does it make in our lives?”
Frankly, those are the answers I’d love to hear!

Onward and Upward, Fam,
Naima

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DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Grammys Get Something New: A Dress Code
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Fergie, Rihanna & Toni! source


CBS is cracking down on the Grammys this year. Literally.

The highly-watched network, which just hosted the Super Bowl, has issued an email for Sunday’s Grammy participants to cover all cracks, bloops and blunders!

Apparently, somebody was not happy about that.

So, they did what any respectable Hollywood rep would do: leaked the email to the press.

I find this fascinating, so I’m going to share some of it with you.

SUBJECT:
55th GRAMMYS: Standard And Practice Wardrobe Advisory

CBS Program Practices advises that all talent appearing on camera please adhere to Network policy concerning wardrobe… Please be sure that buttocks and female breasts are adequately covered. Thong type costumes are problematic. Please avoid exposing bare fleshy under curves of the buttocks and buttock crack. Bare sides or under curvature of the breasts is also problematic. Please avoid sheer see-through clothing that could possibly expose female breast. Please be sure the genital region is adequately covered so that there is no visible “puffy” bare skin exposure. Please avoid commercial identification of actual brand name products on T-shirts. Foreign language on wardrobe will need to be cleared. OBSCENITY OR PARTIALLY SEEN OBSCENITY ON WARDROBE IS UNACCEPTABLE FOR BROADCAST. This as well, pertains to audience members that appear on camera. Finally, The Network requests that any organized cause visibly spelled out on talent’s wardrobe be avoided. This would include lapel pins or any other form of accessory.

Leave Anything Out?

What is hilarious to me is that we have entered a time when a network actually has to say, “Thong type costumes are problematic” and “Please avoid buttock cracks”.

Fam, my apologies if this offends you. That’s not my intent at all. We even covered the photo above. I’m just trying to make a point: I think we’ve entered into the absurd… and for an awards show, no doubt.

Times Are Hard

Times must really be hard for artists to show up on the red carpet in thongs and “puffy” bare skin. Folks must really not trust their ability to sing and entertain anymore to garner fans and record sales. Or maybe it’s just a music industry thing.

Nobody has to send out a notice like this for the Academy Awards. Just saying. LOL!

A Little Modesty Goes A Long Way

I’m no prude. I like fashion, and I appreciate folks looking good. I think what CBS is trying to communicate is that a little bit of modesty goes a long way.

Paul expressed to Timothy in 1 Tim 2:9-10, that he wanted women to dress modestly with decency and propriety with with good deeds appropriate for women who profess to worship God. A lot of time has transpired between the first century AD and now and standards of modesty and decency have long changed, but I think we can all agree that public thongs and boob exposure are not be considered modest.

CBS Double Standard

I gotta be honest: I watch more of the Hollywood award shows pertaining to film and television. But Kevin watches all of the music shows and calls me in if something gets interesting. So, if somebody shows up in an egg or dressed as a Roman Catholic priest, I’m sure to hear about it.

All that I can say about the CBS email is “Good luck enforcing it!” and I think Beyonce and her entourage of dancers during the Super Bowl half-time show missed your memo last weekend.

Onward and Upward, Fam,
Naima

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NAIMA LETT – BLOG – FAITH & HOLLYWOOD
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Justin Bieber
[UPDATE]
Friday, January 31, 2014

Hi Fam,

Entertainment news this week post-Grammys and pre-Super Bowl heavily focused on our fellow artist and faith fam Justin Bieber. As he experiences major growing pains, on the world’s stage, I thought it helpful to re-release this blog about Justin that I wrote this same time last year (Grammys).

As artists and shepherds of artists, we (along with many of our close friends here in Hollywood) love Justin and artists just like him/us who named the Name of Jesus in our youth. We ask you to join us in prayer with compassion for Justin as if he’s our own family, because he is. Let’s pray for him as we would our own child and brother, like folks prayed for us during our own young adult adventures. And let’s thank God social media wasn’t around yet to post our exploits every time we could’ve made the news for questionable choices. :=)

Always good to hear from you, and Happy Super Bowl. For those who asked who I’m rooting for? The Winner, of course!
Lots of love from the LaLa,
Naima

Justin Bieber with mom Pattie Mallette, American Music Awards, © Jordan Strauss, AP, source

Hollywood (and millions of tweens) are all a’flutter.

Pop star Justin Bieber made history by becoming the youngest artist to achieve 5 #1 albums atop Billboard’s Top 200 Chart before turning 19.

His album, Believe Acoustic, sealed the historical record during Music’s biggest week leading up to the Grammy Awards; though Justin will be skipping the awards this year after hosting SNL this weekend. No doubt his 34 million+ Twitter followers (the most of anyone), 50 million+ Facebook followers, & 3.4 billion YouTube video viewers are all celebrating.

Justin’s Faith

Justin has been vocal about his faith as a Christian over the years in interviews, his film/documentary and pilgrimage to Israel. Upon turning 18, recent media reports and pics have caused some to voice their concern over whether he’s staying on the path.

Do You Remember 18?

I have just one question, “Do you remember 18?”

I am sooooooo glad I didn’t have hundreds of millions of people following me at 18 while I was trying to figure out who I was as an adult and how to walk out my faith. I had been baptized as a child, but it wasn’t until my mother passed away when I was a sophomore in college that my faith became real to me, and I understood who God is, and my relationship with Jesus solidified. And all of that happened behind closed doors… not with paparazzi chasing me down the 101 or fans snapping iPhone pics chronicling my every move. Goodness!

Your Teens

And parents, “Do you remember when your child turned 18 or any teen, for that matter?”

Didn’t we become, like, alien to you? I’m sure there were times when my dad and mom looked at each other and wondered if they had actually given birth to me and my brothers once we hit our teens. We grew up in a Christian home with 2 Christian leaders as parents and a long legacy of church leaders and preachers; yet, we made a LOT of mistakes along the way to the pulpits we’re now entrusted to serve from. And our parents, didn’t you hang in there with us?

Our Expectations

So, why, Fam, do we have different expectations for Pattie Mallette’s 18-year old son? Because he’s a superstar? Can we pray for Justin as we have prayed for our own teenagers? Can you pray for him like you prayed for me?

Pattie told The Today Show this morning, “It’s tough letting go and letting our kids make the mistakes that they need to make… I have to trust that he’s made good decisions in the past and hopefully he’s learned from some of my mistakes.”

There are family and friends right now who are reading this blog whom, I know, prayed Proverbs 22:6 in faith back to God on my behalf, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Our Prayers

When we see Justin around and about, as he grows up with this very generation he is called to influence and serve, let’s pray in faith back to God on his behalf, “Lord, Your daughter Pattie trained up Your son Justin in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Can we do that?

And we send well wishes to Justin and Pattie and the whole family today. Congratulations on making history.
Go forth,
Naima

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DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Thank You
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Thank you, Fam…

… for all your heartfelt birthday wishes and love sent from near & far yesterday.
Mad appreciation!

It’s moments like these that remind me that the most important part of our lives are our relationships: our relationships with God and our relationships with one another. We are created to love each other, and I am so grateful to experience this journey of love with you.

Loving Each Other

Before His betrayal, Jesus washes His disciples feet, breaks bread with them, and implores them to love each other:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

Loving each other is so crucial that Jesus says everyone will know that we are His disciples by how we love one another. And that love for each other is to be as sacrificial as His is for us.

Your Sacrifices

Many of you, right now, are making sacrifices for your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers, and I want to say “Thank You” on their behalf. God sees you. And others see and know that you are a follower of Christ because of those sacrificial acts of love.

I thanked my husband yesterday, who is not a morning person (AT ALL! :=), but daily makes the tangible sacrifice of love to get up at 2 AM for his gig. That commitment, first to God, then to his family, sure does communicate love.

So, Thank You

So, hear this from me today: You are appreciated. You are treasured. And your sacrifices have not gone unnoticed. Your love is evident and true and it’s a witness to a turbulent world who’s searching for it. You are making a difference. Thank you.

Go forth,
Naima

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DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Birthdays Keep A’Coming
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© Naima Lett, Confessions of a Hollywood Christian

Is it just me or have birthdays hit overdrive?

Before I can finish one, the other has pulled up a seat, ordered an appetizer, dinner and dessert-to-go! These jokers aren’t slowing down, are they?!

Remember when…

Remember when we couldn’t wait to grow up?

I do. I’d slip my tiny feet in my mother’s heels, stumbling, trying to model down our hallway.
Then, one day, those heels actually fit, and she had the hardest time keeping them off my feet.
Next, I was strutting down the catwalk in high school and the heels couldn’t be high enough.
Now, I still love them, but they don’t always love me back.

As a matter of fact, I’m sure my right pinky toe called me something the other day that I can’t repeat over a pulpit. She went all Harlem Nights on a sister cause I tried to extend my cute 2-hour pumps into 4.

“And how old do you think we are?”, she snapped. “This is some old first-job-out-of-college rookie move! I’ma need you to take these fashionista bonecrushers off. NOW!”

It was not a pretty conversation. LOL!

At Your Age

I had my annual physical and exchanged emails with my doctor trying to get clarity about test results that came back in what looked like a foreign language: creatinine, glomerular filtration, alanine aminotransferase… Huh???

When our discussion migrated towards children, she hit me with the “At your age (sorry), you need to start trying right away!” I cracked up. So did my husband when I showed him the correspondence. When did we end up in the “at your age!” category? Guess we better get to trying… which is the best part, right?!)

What a Beautiful Year!

This is a beautiful time, Fam! It really is. We’ve lived through losing just about everything you could possibly lose on this side of heaven and realized the true meaning of living and loving and honoring God with our all.

I have nothing more to lose. Do you know how freeing that is? It’s incredible! Like cartwheels and back-flips fantastic! To live life to its fullest on a daily basis, knowing why we’re here on this earth and fearlessly moving forward in that purpose. I pray that kind of clarity, simplicity and truth for each of you. I pray God’s peace for you.

My Gift To You

The most precious gift I can give you today is God’s Word, which is able to transform our lives.

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:14-21

This year, may you know how wide and long and high and deep is Christ’s love for you. Straight up!

Lots of love from LaLa Land!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, at my age, I need to start “trying” right away, :=)
Naima

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DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Fearless
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Fearless. © source

Something happened last year.

I followed God down a seemingly impossible path and lost an obstacle along the way:
fear.

What you talking bout, Willis?

Most people wouldn’t describe me as fearful. Yet, I can honestly say that I left a certain fear behind in 2012.

When the Lord initially spoke to us about planting a ministry in Beverly Hills that “looks like heaven, sounds like heaven, loves like God loves and lives like Christ lives”, my first inclination was to get on Interstate 405 and start running in the opposite direction. LOL!

Hey, Flo-Jo-Jonah!

Was I bold enough to try and pull a Flo-Jo like Jonah (Jonah 1)?!

You gotta admit. Jonah had some verve! Who gets a God-given assignment (to cry out to a lost people and call them to repentance because God cares for them) and then decides to disobey and break out on his own mission? Jonah did.

Fear of Success

But Jonah didn’t run because he was afraid of failing. Jonah ran because he was afraid of succeeding. Have you ever been there?

In Jonah 4:2, Jonah says he knew God would save the people if Jonah went and preached repentance and they repented: “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity…”

Jonah didn’t want the mission to succeed. He didn’t want God to forgive the people.

Fear of Failure

Here’s where I differ from Jonah. I really wanted God’s mission to succeed. I’ve interceded for His creative people and expected an intervention for a long time. And I actually believed that the vision God gave us could change our world. But that also meant my world would change.

Sundays would be on lock down. Kevin and I would be committing to living and doing life with our community in LaLa Land. Our children would be P.K.’s (preacher kids). And I’d be “That Chick” in our industry, you know, the one who speaks for God.

But I could go through all of that, give up my life, and still have no guarantee of success. I could take all these risks and get no tangible return… (intangible would be learning to trust God more, lean on Him, turn to Him for daily provisions, etc.) For God didn’t promise us an easy road. He promised that daily we’d be conformed into the image of His Son.

Jonah ran because he selfishly wanted God to hold a grudge against the Ninevites. I wanted to run because I selfishly didn’t want to fail. I was doing fine as the actor-producer-writer who did ministry on the side. Why mess that up?

Loving Others

What I could not escape though was this overwhelming conviction that my life is not my own. And if truly I am a follower of Christ and I want to live like He lives, then I too must be willing to love others and sacrifice for them.

That kind of love, by the way, drives out fear! 1 John 4:7-20 says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us…”

Perfect love is what countered the fear of failure… that, and actually failing. I was trying to do things in my own strength and that just never works out, does it? Have you experienced that? Coming to the end of your own abilities and realizing that only God’s plans are going to work? That was 2012. I ended up having to let go all of my own plans and get on board with God’s plans.

Fearless

2013 is so different, Fam. I want to encourage you today.

If you feel God’s tug to step out on a Mission: Impossible and you’re lacing up your Usain Bolt track shoes to run in the opposite direction, press pause. 2012 was one of the most challenging of my life, but it was also one of the most significant and rewarding. We are in the center of God’s perfect will for our lives and we are loving and walking with God’s people, just as He ordained. We have a great group serving with us. We are fearless.

That’s what I desire for you.

So, I leave you with the question that my wonderful husband Kevin asked of me that caused me to retire my running shoes: “All these years, all the training, all the experience, what else did you think God was preparing you for?”

Fearless,
Naima

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DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Super Bowl, Cheerleaders & 1.6 Pounds
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San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens, Then & Now.

Fun Friday!

A couple of months ago, I posted Upgrades: NFL Cheerleaders inspired by NY Daily News’ NFL Gallery – Then & Now. Many of you let us know how much you enjoyed that blog, and some may have missed it altogether.

So, on this Fun Friday before the Super Bowl, we’re updating “NFL Cheerleaders” in light of the drama over the Ravens’ cheerleader who says she was benched for less than 2 lbs of weight gain. Yikes! Either way, enjoy. And go 49ers and Ravens!

NFL CHEERLEADERS:
Talk about upgrades.

What a transformation over the last couple of decades!

More glitz.
More glam.
More enhancements.
More exposure.

Is it me, or does every outfit look like a bikini now? Bikini with stars, bikini with fringe, bikini with fur… for Christmas, of course. By January, the shiny leggings might make an entrance. Or maybe the 49er Girls will break out their FlashDance leg warmers for the Big Game Sunday!

I’m making fun.

But seriously, I understand that these are real dancers with real talent in real careers. The competition is tight, and there’s unbelievable pressure now to look a certain way. There are no more big sweatshirts and long skirts to hide extra belly jelly.

Everybody can see everything when you’re in a bikini… with cowboy boots.

Benched Before the Super Bowl

There are serious consequences for gaining extra pounds, according to Baltimore Ravens’ 5-year veteran cheerleader Courtney Lenz (pictured above in the updated Ravens uniform). For gaining an extra 1.6 pounds – to be exact!

Courtney, the only 3+ year veteran who wasn’t chosen to cheer in the Sunday’s Super Bowl, told Access Hollywood this week, “I’d been benched earlier in the season for a little bit of a weight gain. We do get weighed every week during the season, and you can’t fluctuate at all. They don’t allow fluctuation. I gained, I think it was 1.8 pounds… During the season, I was 124. That was consistently, they wanted me to get back down to 121, 120, which is what I was at when I was 18, 19, when I started on the team. When I got benched, I think I was 125.4 or 125.6.”

Courtney, 23 years old, says that she received disciplinary action and was required to hire a nutritionist and seek counseling at her own expense. She also finished her college degree and decided to retire at the end of this season, still assuming she would go to the Super Bowl. But that invitation was not extended, and she believes it’s because of her weight.

Yal see the picture above. Does Courtney’s 125.6 pounds look like she needs to be benched?

Pure Absurdity

I get it. Most people want to see dancers who are fit. We’ve all seen some spandex situations that have caused pause. But if this story is true, it seems so absurd to me. Are we really going to require all dancers, regardless of body type, to maintain a 120 pound body weight? Who has to go to counseling for going up to 125 lbs? C’mon, confess. Would you be in counseling right now?

In my original post, I reminded us, dancers, cheerleaders, athletes or not, that we are called to be light i.e. Matthew 5:14-16 says “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

I asked us, whether in a bikini with sequins or in a business suit or work uniform, wherever we are, let our light shine so that others glorify God.

Pray, Fam

In addition to that, today, let’s send up prayers for Courtney and all our fellow dancers who are shaking and baking for our entertainment in bikinis with stars & stripes.

I still wish our culture had a different standard and appetite, and that the NFL had some women in high places who could sit in on some meetings and make arguments for less exploitation of our ladies. I still pray that the Lord will empower His daughters, who are already on the cheer squads, to shine brightly as His light in their relationships and witness, in the same way that His sons, who are on the field are holding it down in the locker rooms.

I still ask that, instead of judging the dancers, that we pray for the team owners and decision makers, since the artists have no control over most of the major choices.

But I also want to ask us to pray for this absurdity and obsession with tenths of a pound to come to an end. How many dancers have to become NFL road kill for gaining 1.6 pounds before we say enough is enough? The dancers do have a choice to go after these jobs, but I also think the way our whole culture thinks needs an upgrade.

Upgrade This!

Let’s upgrade and renew our minds and ask if our entertainment is worth our fellow artists enduring months of therapy for weighing more than 120 pounds. Would we be fired today, if our jobs required us to weigh 120 pounds? Super Bowl Sunday is the 2nd largest food consumption day of the year, after Thanksgiving! How many of us will gain 1.6 pounds just from guacamole and chips? OK, I digress!

To end on a lighter note (Absurd! I tell you, Absurd!!!), I suppose the Super Bowl cheer-leading uniforms may don some sort of faux fur this weekend in New Orleans. I admit, I halfway expect somebody to run down the field in leather and/or feathers. But maybe that’ll just be Beyonce and Destiny’s Child.

We’ll see,
Naima

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© 2013 Naima Lett. All Rights Reserved