"Same Mentality", by El Henry

Intro: My dear husband has written a post to share with you and I am so proud of him. Please share, comment, & subscribe! Hopefully, he'll share another post soon.

Many of my close friends and family know I am a huge Heavy D fan in every aspect, (LOL: I am a big man). Heavy D’s third studio album Peaceful Journey was a hip-hop classic. One of my favorite tracks was “Is It Good to You” (track #9). In the second verse Heavy D is asked “And what about love?” Then he says “Love's a possibility but let's make sure we share the same mentality”. I found those two lines so profound. When we're dating we can get caught up in shallow and somewhat meaningless discussions; you know what I mean - little cutesy stuff without substance. Now that I am 18 years in the game, (married and blessed – that game) I view things on a whole new level. Getting to know your spouse is vital because we are always evolving and growing (I think I am real deep now that I am 40) as a person, husband or wife.

Your spouse is not a clone of you and you shouldn't expect them to be. When discussing certain topics there may be different mindsets, which is Okie Dokie! Zina and I have so many commonalities. But last Sunday I had a different viewpoint about the topic of opposite sex friends; which caused a rift between us for a minute. In the past we both felt the same - that opposite sex friends were a No-No. However, on this particular day, after a wonderful time at Spaghetti Warehouse and going to a ballet (Swan Lake), I stated that I had changed my views. After we talked about it and I thought about it, I realized that having opposite sex friends can only work in a perfect world. So it seems, we (Zina and I) do share the “Same Mentality” (at least on this topic) and we will be doing a video on this topic soon. 

I wanted this blog entry to be from a man’s point of view. And right now today in 2015 it’s not too late to make sure you and your spouse share the “same mentality” on many topics from God, finances, child rearing, career paths, sex, and so on. Please guard the heart of your spouse. Love is awesome! So I advise you all to have a discussion about real things - those uncomfortable topics and listen to one another and grow more and more in love. Remember you won't always agree, but be sure to hear what your spouse has to say. Then dim the lights and jam to some Heavy D!

Peace Out,

RIP Heavy D

Big El a.k.a. Zina’s Man!

What do you do when your power has been shut off?

So my son called me at work on Monday around 10:29am to tell me the power in the house was out. Of course, my first thought was that it had been storming all night Sunday and even though it was sunny out now, this power outage could have somehow been related to Sunday's storm. Well, that was my wishful thinking. I knew in my gut that MLGW had pulled the plug on our electricity. Granted, I received the cutoff notice in the mail a few weeks before and had just paid $300 just seven days before the shut off. I remember thinking when I paid the $300, "I hope I am paying the right amount to keep the electricity on" (no, I wasn't paying the full amount at that time, don't judge-it's hard out here for a ...lol). I also remember a small voice telling me to call MLGW to make sure this was the correct amount, but I ignored that voice (the Holy Spirit), thinking that MLGW would call me if the amount wasn't sufficient (they had called in the past). Fast forward to Monday and poof - no electricity. Now I'm thinking about that small voice and how I ignored it and kicking myself in the butt because of my stupidity. 

So what do you do when your power has been shut off? 
1. Don't panic. Remember God is still in control and He will not forsake you nor leave you (Deuteronomy 31:8). My first thought was "great, now what?". But I quickly called MLGW to make the payment to have the electricity restored. Then I thanked God for His blessing. I let El know that we didn't have any power and that MLGW said it should be restored today, but they couldn't guarantee it; however, the workers work until 11pm. 11pm??! It was 10:30am! Was we gone be without power all day?? Lawd Jesus, what is we's gone do? Don't panic. 
2. Count it all joy. I was at work and there wasn't much else I could do, but wait. I had paid the bill and they said they would restore the power, so now all I could do was wait. El told me he was sorry that I was going through this agony and I simply responded, "count it all joy" (James 1:2-8). I knew there was a lesson to be learned in all of this. I had disregarded that small voice (the Holy Spirit) and now I was sitting with regret. Oh, how many times do we disregard that small voice of the Holy Spirit? As I listened to Tony Evans via Podcast talk to me about crises and how we are going to have problems, I thought about the problem I was having - the power had been shut off. Tony Evans went on to explain that problems are the best thing for us because they demonstrate the power of God. Wow! I don't have to worry about my source of power because God's power source is so much greater! So don't get discouraged when you have crises, count it all joy! 
3. Don't doubt God. Hebrews 11:1 says faith is the confidence of what we hope for will actually happen and gives us assurance about things we cannot see. I couldn't tell you when the power would be restored, I had no idea of the time. I knew that it would happen sometime between 10:30am and 11pm. I hoped it would be before 11pm. I wanted to believe it would be before 11am. I prayed and then I thanked God for what I knew He would do. But sometimes we do not have a time frame. Sometimes when we go to God we do not know an approximate time for when things will happen. Sometimes we don't get the answer we are praying for. God doesn't give us everything we pray for. He isn't a genie that pops out of a bottle and grants us three wishes. He is God. He is sovereign. We have to be in the will of God, not the other way around. What we're praying for has to be in the will of God as well. We can't pray for someone else's husband. That's not in the will of God (Mark 10:9). We also have to have faith. God is good and His mercy endures forever (Psalm 136:1). Don't doubt God.
4. Give thanks. I started thinking about all the things that could have happened in this situation. MLGW could have cut the power off on Saturday and it not be restored until Monday. I could have not had the money to pay the bill. It could have been hot and we would have to suffer without air conditioning. They could have said it takes 24 hours and power will be restored the next day. Our food could have spoiled if power was out longer. El could have been upset instead of understanding. But God! As I thought about all the what ifs; I started praising God for the what nots! Give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18)!
5. Be Patient. I had paid the bill and was told that power would be restored by 11pm, but I was anxious. I kept calling the house hoping the phone would ring (because it goes straight to voicemail when there is no power for the cordless phone). I was trying to rush God. I already knew the outcome of my situation - power would be restored, but I was losing patience. I was thinking about the food I had just bought that was in the freezer and refrigerator. I was worried that I would get off work and have to come home to a dark house. I was concerned I wouldn't be able to workout because I couldn't play a DVD. I was anxious. But God wants us to be patient. Romans 12:12 tells us to rejoice and be patient and keep praying. So that's what I started doing. I started rejoicing and praying and waited patiently.

Our power was restored around 4:53pm on Monday, April 20, 2015. This was definitely a learning experience for me. I have to slow down and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and then be diligent in obedience to Him. I have not always handled circumstances the way I handled them yesterday. I remember another time our power was shut off (about 12 years ago) because of an oversight in paying the bill (I am the one who handles the bill paying in our household, El oversees it). Nobody was at home and so I didn't know the power was off until I got home from work and saw the notice on the door. By then it was after 4pm and I immediately panicked. I frantically searched for the number to call MLGW. I had to get the power restored before El got home. This wasn't a cool spring day either; it was hot as hell that day. I didn't count it all joy that day. I don't even know if I thought about God except to shout out, "Oh, God!" I just knew I had to get the power back on and fast! However, there was really nothing I could do except pay the bill - I had no control after that. Thankfully, they restored the power before El got off work and he never knew anything was wrong (of course I told him later). 

God will allow some trials in our lives (1 Peter 5:10) so He can restore us. He has all the power we need. Trust in Him (Proverbs 3:5-6) even when you don't understand and He will show you the way. When our earthly power has been shut off, plug into God's wonderful, working power! 

Question: Whatcha gone do when your power gets shut off? 

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