Mindset Pt. 7: Strippin’ For Change

So here we are again trying to make sense of this strippin ordeal but before we continue, I want to make sure we’re on the same page, so let’s do a quick re-cap again: 

Ian, Bart’s oldest and dearest friend, “reads Bart’s mail” through a dream that God gave him three days in a row, almost as if Ian was watching Bart’s secret life on the big screen for the past year.  While simultaneously we got a sneak peek of the conversation that was about to begin with Jucinda and Charli, which is where we’ll pick up.

Charli was no stranger to cussin’ (foul language), she was taught by some of the best cussers in Brooklyn: her aunts Viola and Anna-Mae and her momma, Abilene.  Even though she loved the Lord with all her heart, she still had to think before she “slipped up”.  She made a conscious effort to use words seasoned with grace (Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. Colossians 4:6 (NLT).   But Jucinda was “on 10” right now, using expletives and stringing choice words together like a cussin’ poet.  She was mad as all hell bubbling over spewing hot lava on anyone within earshot.  Unfortunately for Charli she and her little poodle Angel were the only ones within her vicinity.  Angel was so freaked out he jumped in Charli’s lap and tried to nestle his head between Charli’s arm and stomach as he shivered seemingly to avoid the lava spewing from Jucinda’s mouth.  Charli wasn’t offended at all, just concerned for Jucinda because she had never seen her this upset but the Holy Spirit led her pray to for her friend silently and to allow her to vent.  After several minutes of cussing, ranting, slamming doors, drawers and cabinets she started to calm down.

She came to the living room, sat on the couch, closed her eyes and started to sob silently.  Her entire body started to shiver like a little girl at a loss for words but who desperately needed to vent because of the hurt, anger, frustration and confusion bottled up inside so crying was her only release.  Charli never said a word, she just continued to pray for release.  When Jucinda was all cried out, she opened her eyes, looked at Charli and said, “I started strippin’ at the end of our freshman year.  My stage name is Juci.  I needed money because I’m addicted to it and minimum wage wasn’t gonna get it.  It was either dance or sell dope and I had enough of that when I was at home.   Bart was one of my regulars.  I always knew there was something strange about him, not in a freaky kind of way, because he’s a square.  He never got drunk, he was always respectful but he seemed almost sad about being there even though he kept coming back.  Something told me he was a preacher so I asked and he said no so when I saw Bart at your church it reminded me of my father the hypocrite preacher who cheats on my mother.  He even got a baby momma and he has the nerve to judge and try to preach at me.   I don’t want nothing to do with a God that lets a man hurt a woman the way he has hurt my mother and live a lie to his church members.  Bart’s fake just like my father and I could have ripped his head off when he lied about knowing me.  I hate liars and hypocrites.”

Charli could tell that Jucinda’s anger was more directed at her unresolved issues with her father than with Bart but she just let her talk.  Finally Charli said to Jucinda, “Is that all?  Girl, I’ve been strippin since I was 17 years old and that’s real.”  Jucinda’s mouth dropped to the floor. 

In the meantime, Bart finally broke his silence and said: “Man, if I didn’t know the power of God, I would swear on everything I love that you have been following me for the past year.  The truth is that I went to this strip club for my cousin’s bachelor party. I debated for weeks about going, God even provided an escape for me because the Men’s retreat was the same weekend but instead I gave into the pressure from my cousin.  I felt like a fish out of water when I was there.  It was so noticeable that one of the groomsmen asked if I was gay.  I wanted to punch him in his mouth but decided I could just see the headlines “preacher attacks another man at the strip club”.  Then this girl came out and danced like I have never seen before in my life.  Everything about her was perfect and every move she made seemed to draw me into her.  Man, she so breezey I got lightweight light headed and the way she moved (in other words she was so beautiful it took his breath away).  Man I ain’t never seen anybody move their body like.  She made it seem effortless almost like a snake wraps itself around a tree or slithers on the ground completely unrestricted.  After that night I couldn’t get her out of my mind so I snuck back to the club alone, again and again and again.  Each time I went I heard the Holy Spirit screaming at me not to go but I ignored him and it became easier to plan the next time I would go and his voice became less and less noticeable until eventually I didn’t hear him because the more I went the more comfortable I became in that environment.  The dancer’s name is Juci and she came to the Blakewood campus today while I was filling in at the front desk for a co-worker who ‘just happened’ to go home sick today.  I was outdone when she walked into the foyer with Charli earlier today.  It turns out they are roommates.  We were both giving off funky vibes that I know Charli could smell because you could see it in her face.  When she asked if we already knew each other I quickly jumped in and said no.  The hatred in Juci’s eyes felt like she stabbed me in my throat.  Man, I feel so stuck right now.  Everything that I have worked for is lost, my cousin no longer respects me, I’m a liar, a preacher addicted to porn, I grieved the Holy Spirit, brought shame on the ministry and I can’t talk to anybody about my problem because they will ostracize me and I will never live it down.” 

Ian was in total shock but he didn’t show it because he didn’t want to come off as being judgmental.  Even though he prayed silently as Bart confessed he asked God for a quick word to minister to his fragile and naked friend.   The Holy Spirit gave him exactly what to say and he said: “Listen man, In 2 Samuel 11 King David’s exposure by the Prophet Nathan who “read the King’s mail” about the King’s wickedness – committing adultery with his friend’s wife and murdering the friend so he could marry the wife to cover up the unplanned pregnancy – was far greater than what you have experienced.  I’m not condoning your behavior it was absolutely wrong, but think about this: King David was also seduced by Bathsheba’s beauty but it wasn’t her fault.  She was where she was supposed to be, on her rooftop taking a bath, but King David was out of place playing a “peeping Tom” as he spied on her and allowed his lust to overtake him and he ordered her to his palace for a booty call.  God exposed David’s cover up, David immediately repented and God immediately forgave David.  David is known as the man after God’s own heart, he was a God-chaser and God had to get him together when he got off track but he still loved David.  God’s word cannot lie, if you confess your sins, he will forgive you according to 1 John 1:9 and not only will he forgive you but he will restore you even though there may be some consequences as a result of your disobedience as there were for King David.

Once Jucinda picked her mouth up off the floor, Charli continued:  “Yes Juci, you heard me right.  I am an active stripper and I’m not shame.  Stripping is in the bible.  Ephesians 4:21-24 (NLT):  Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion; And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude]. And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness. I don’t know all of the circumstances around your father, his ministry or Bart, but I do know this, God loves you right where you are, he just doesn’t want you to stay where you are.  You can’t use your Dad or Bart’s drama as an excuse to run from God. Girl, quit playing, you can’t outrun God.  God has a custom designed plan just for you but the only way to discover it is to strip yourself of the weight of your current lifestyle so you can put on the new you, but only if that’s what you want. God will never force his goodness on you.  He gives us the choice to remain miserable, unfulfilled and empty. 

I am out of time, we will have to pick it back up tomorrow.

In His Excellent Service

Tania not Tanya

Mindset Pt. 6: Strippin’ For Change

We had to end yesterday’s blog prematurely, so before we proceed, let’s rewind a bit to bring you up to speed. 

Jucinda had just been formerly introduced to her roommate Charli’s co-worker Bart.  Though they pretended not to know each other it was evident that they did based on the funky vibes they were giving off.  Bart’s funk smelled like sour milk and Jucinda’s funk smelled like fishy blood.  There was no time to address the awkward moments they all just experienced so they each went their separate ways.  We ended with Bart receiving a phone call from his friend Ian who needed to talk with them.  Let’s pick it up there:

Bart had worried himself so much that his tension headache which started at the base of his neck had worked its way up his entire head settling behind his eye sockets.  His head hurt so bad that the bright, hot southern summer sun demanded that he wear his sunglasses.   By the time he arrived at Starbucks, he was dehydrated and nauseated.  When he saw Ian who is usually late, already seated at a table in the corner with a venti ice water and Bart’s favorite, caramel macchiato with two shots of hazelnut and extra whip, you could’ve bought him with a wooden nickel.  He thought to himself “this must be really important”.  He gave Ian a man hug and then flopped down in the overstuffed chair, took a sip of the ice water, popped a couple of Advil, put his head back on the chair and then closed his eyes.  Without saying a word to his friend, Ian knew that Bart was stressed out, he could hear him screaming though he hadn’t even opened his mouth, not even to utter his favorite greeting:  “Wassup”.  It’s not even a real word but he says it with such power and conviction that it literally stops people in their tracks because they can hear what he isn’t saying which is “What’s going on? I’m asking because I care.”  Neither of them were in a hurry and even though it was an impromptu meeting, they both knew instinctively this was going to be a male venting session, so Ian sat in silence and prayed as his friend got his bearings.   After about 7 minutes this scripture popped in Ian’s mind:   And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groaning’s that cannot be expressed in words. Romans 8:26 (NLT).  As if on queue, Bart opened his mouth and said:  “wassup brotha?”  Instinctively Ian knew it was time and he began their conversation with his dream:

“ I had a dream that you were a soldier in a desert, like Afghanistan or something.  You and the other soldiers were fighting and defeating the enemy, but at some point you got separated from the rest of the soldiers and your weapons were gone.  It almost seemed as if you were lost.  You weren’t afraid but you were starting to get concerned because it was getting dark.  As the sun began to set you got frustrated because you were tired, hungry and thirsty but mostly because you could hear them calling your name, but they couldn’t hear or find you.  You found your way to a village, but you weren’t sure if they were friendlies so you waited and watched from the outside of the village with your binoculars.  From the distance it appeared safe and you started to approach.  A man saw you and greeted you.  He spoke broken English and used hand gestures to communicate with you and he convinced you to come to some kind of large building, I wasn’t sure if it was his house, a small hotel or what but there was some type of party going on.  You were apprehensive and on guard the whole time you were there because you didn’t know if it was a set up, but the guy that spoke broken English kept assuring you that ‘everything was ok’. When I woke up the next morning I thought I was trippin’ so I dismissed it but when I went back to sleep that night, the dream picked up where it left off like it was a movie.  And this is where it started:

You were at the military base.  No one asked you where you were, they just went along like everything was normal, which was weird to you.  With each day you thought more about the party wondering if it was still going on and for some strange reason you wanted to return but you didn’t know why.  The next thing I remembered was that you and several others had R&R (rest and recreation) passes and instead of going with everyone else like normal, you somehow ended up at the party.  You were still on edge about being there but you ignored your internal warning system because everyone treated you so well, like you were someone special and you had never experienced that before.   Then I woke up.  I knew this wasn’t a random dream so I felt led to fast and pray about it, but I didn’t get an answer from God, just his peace, which let me know I needed to wait for the answer.  When I went to sleep last night the dream continued.

I saw you sneak away from the military base to return to the party that never seemed to end.  Every time you went back you picked up more of their culture (clothing, language, protocol, etc.).  It was like you were a dope fiend chasing a high but I never saw you taking any substances in the dream, but last night you seemed to be high off something and then I woke up with this heaviness on me man.  I can feel that something is wrong, like there’s a seducing spirit that has found an opening and is controlling a specific area in your life.  Without asking I already know this makes sense to you so Imma ask you ‘Wassup, man?’”

 

 Bart listened to Ian “read his mail” and imagined how King David felt when his sin was exposed by the Prophet Nathan who “read the King’s mail”:  You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.” 2 Samuel 12 (NLT).

Ironically, while Ian and Bart were “reading mail”, Charli and Jucinda were just starting their “mail reading process” except it wasn’t as calm in their environment as it was for Ian and Bart, probably because they were at home instead of a public space. 

I am out of time, we will have to pick it back up tomorrow.

In His Excellent Service

Tania not Tanya

Mindset #5: Strippin’ For Change

Jucinda heard the meteorologist say that the forecast for today’s weather was humid, hot and wet with  Even though her roommate Charlesetta (“Charli”) had lived in the big state of Texas since she was a Texas Southern Freshmen for the past three years, heavy thunderstorms still put her on edge.  Jucinda, the caring and considerate roommate that she is, offered to give Charli a ride to work if it was raining after their last class and Charli gladly accepted.  When class was over the girls ran to Jucinda’s car which was about a half a block away but they were still practically soaked.  They had just enough time to head back to their apartment so they could change into dry clothes without making Charli late for work which they did and then they headed to Charli’s job. 
a high probability of thunder storms.

They were both straight A students who had a full scholarship to Texas Southern, but Jucinda clearly had more perks than Charli.  She always had money for the latest gadgets, trendy clothes and she got that car at the end of her freshman year.  Jucinda’s explanation about working a part-time swing shift and receiving night differential pay made perfect sense.  They were responsible adults, made the Dean’s list consistently even though they worked part-time and they were focused but something didn’t feel right to Charli she just couldn’t put her finger on it.  She decided to dismiss her overactive thoughts and focus on more important things like trying to figure out how she was going to manage work, school and teach the teen class at Blakewood Church over the next eight weeks.  She still couldn’t believe that she actually volunteered to teach but she loved working with the youth and she knew the gentle nudging she had received was the Lord.  Her job at Blakewood as a data entry specialist wasn’t as lucrative as Jucinda’s but it didn’t matter because her scholarship took care of everything including meals and books.  Charli’s job at Blakewood took care of the little extras (e.g. entertainment, cell phone expense, etc.) and it was a blessing especially now that she had the option of telecommuting four days per week. 

When Jucinda pulled into the employee parking lot she decided to park so that she could run in and use the restroom.  When they entered the building and approached the reception area Charli wondered out loud why Bart was sitting at Toni’s desk.  Jucinda had no clue what she was talking about because she was texting and walking but when she looked up to see who Charli was referring to, the look of what appeared to be disgust on Jucinda’s face was more than obvious, but Bart turned as white as a ghost and quickly looked away.  Charli asked why he was sitting out front and he said that Toni had to leave early due to an emergency and he was asked to cover her desk for the rest of the day.  She then introduced Jucinda and Bart to each other and told him Jucinda wouldn’t need a visitor’s badge because she was only going to use the restroom.  The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife but Charli had no idea why.

Jucinda stared at Bart for so long that it even made Charli uncomfortable.  She broke the silence and   Bart quickly spoke up and vehemently denied that they did but Jucinda never said a word, she just continued to look at him as if she was looking straight into his soul, it was really weird.  After what seemed like an eternity, Jucinda said her goodbyes and left the building.  Charli looked at Bart and said: “that was really weird, Jucinda never even went to the restroom.  I thought she was gonna burn a hole into your face the way she stared at you” and then she chuckled but Bart never said a word.  It was obvious that Jucinda and Bart knew each other but they pretended they didn’t which was troubling to Charli, however, this wasn’t the time to bring it up because she had to get to work so she decided to head to her office without saying anything about that weird encounter.

asked if they knew each other.

Bart was troubled for the rest of the afternoon.  He couldn’t figure out how Juci had found out where he worked.  The “what-if” scenarios he kept rewinding had given him a tension headache and the guilt, shame and regret were almost unbearable.  He should have listened when he heard the Holy Spirit telling him not to return to the strip club.  He justified the first visit because it was his cousin’s bachelor party and when he saw Juci dance that night she was absolutely captivating.  Every move she made seemed to reel him in as if he was bait on the line of a fishing pole and though he felt convicted every time he snuck away to see her perform he felt powerless to the urges that surfaced when he thought of her and he lost to the temptation more often than not.  He was on pins and needles because he didn’t know what, if anything, Juci shared with Charli.  He thought of questioning Charli to see how much she knew but if he did and she didn’t know anything that would make her even more suspicious than she already was.  What if the members or staff at Blakewood found out, it could be the end of his career as a minister and it would bring shame and disgrace on his family, their church and as well as himself.  Now that he had opened the door of “what-ifs” the enemy began to accuse him of being perverted, a nymphomaniac, hypocrite, fraud, etc. and that he might as well give up and leave the church because God could never love an undercover porn addict?  Even though he knew better and against his better judgment he opened the door for the Committee, shudda, cudda and wudda and once they got started it was hard to stop.

Ironically his longtime friend Ian called out of the blue and told him that he had a troubling dream about Bart and he wanted to share it with him.  They couldn’t talk then because Bart was at the front desk, so they agreed to meet later that day after work.

I’m out of time, but we will pick it back up tomorrow.

In His Excellent Service

Tania not Tanya