Pondering Big Change
Mar 23, 2008 Unplugged Moments
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As my family prepares for a big move to Oklahoma, I am faced with many decisions that affect the very life of my family, my business, ministry and most importantly hearing what God is saying.
With where He is leading our family may cause me to rethink what I am doing. Boy, that is a hard one for me to swallow. But sometimes measures must be taken that will stretch you beyond what you could ever imagine.
Right now I am being stretched.
In my life God takes top priority and if I cannot seek Him first and His Kingdom then I can just hang up the rest. For me it is God, me, my family (with my marriage being key), and then everything else. When I look at my “to-do” list I think somewhere along the line, I have misplaced my priorities.
You know God reels me back in so much faster now that I have waved my white flag and surrendered to His guidance and strive to be more obedient. I am not ashamed to say that obedience in necessary in this wayward child’s life. I need to walk a more obedient path in order to Glorify Him.
Ok, maybe I digressed for moment, back to the topic.
Right now I am having to rethink a lot of the things I am doing because what I do must be inline with what God has for my family to do. As I rethink these things, I see glimpses of both opened and closed doors. As I view these doors, I also see the reasons why some may be closing.
So for the next few days I will be listening to God in every way I can and journaling like crazy as He speaks to me through prayer, His Word, and His gentle whispers.
If you are reading this and you know that prayer changes things, can you take a moment and lift one up for this lost in the sauce sistah!
More on my journey soon!
Ishtar Is Not My God
Mar 22, 2008 Power Source
The following article was written for a magazine that I used to write for, Sisters in the Lord. I thought with the holiday coming, it would be a good piece to share.
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The origin of Easter has it’s roots in many pagan traditions and customs. Yet many of us celebrate these customs without thinking about the cost.
We dye eggs, go to egg hunts, take pictures with the cute bunny, follow many of the traditions, and go broke buying everyone in the family a new Easter outfit. Much of this is done without doing an accurate study on the holiday and all it entails.
When I lived in Los Angeles, the church I attended received an in-depth history on the origin of “Easter”. What our Pastor taught us changed the church’s view, as well as mine, on this celebration we call “Easter”.
As a result, we began to call it “Resurrection Day”. As time went on, I did a personal study on the holiday and determined to never call it Easter again. As a matter of fact, I stopped buying Easter baskets, dying eggs, and taking my son to have his picture taken with the Easter Bunny. The clothes tradition is one I got rid of a long time ago, because this sister girl just did not have the cash to buy all that stuff for one day.
I made up in my mind that I could no longer take the Resurrection of my Lord and Savior and trivialize it with meaningless celebrations. How could I continue to equate the name of Jesus with a goddess, Ishtar? The Resurrection of Christ had nothing to do with fertility. It also had nothing to do with the rising of the sun (not Son), or hot crossed buns, reproductive organs ( represented by lilies). As a matter of fact, all that I have read on the holiday seems to have nothing to do with Jesus and everything to do with the Father of Deception, Satan.
I had to take what had been given to me and make a choice that I knew God would honor. Once something has been given and we prove it to be true, God expects us to follow through with the appropriate action.
So it was in my life and in my household that we determined to throw out the traditions tied to “Easter” and create traditions based on the Word and the Word alone.
I don’t claim to be an expert on this, but I do claim to be a follower of Christ. As His follower, when the Truth stares me in the face, I have to accept it for what it is. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 tell us to test everything and hold fast to that which is good. 2 Timothy 2:15 goes further to say that I am to study and rightly divide the Word. As a result when the Real Truth is before me, I shall know the truth and the truth shall set me free.
This is what it is to me. This is what God has for me. What He has for you may not be according to what He has shown me.
However, we should each take the time to examine the traditions that the world hands down and determine if it is the right thing. To paraphrase what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:12, just because is lawful, does not mean that it is beneficial.
I celebrate the Resurrection of a great Savior. I don’t think that Jesus would sit and dye eggs with me or make a basket full of candy and toys; all of which celebrate man and not the One who sacrificed for the redemption of my soul.
So I worship on Resurrection day. I focus on why the death? Why the Resurrection? Why for me?
In my worship, I sing, pray, read all four Gospels on the account of the Death and Resurrection, and yes I even fellowship. However, I do so with the Son in mind. As I cook on that day, I cook with love on my mind and in my heart. As I sit at the dinner table, I look around and thank God for the blessings of those He has placed in my life. As the day comes to an end, I reflect on the sacrifice and remind myself that leaving behind a tradition steeped in pagan customs was the best decision I ever made.
That my soul knows right well.
Copyright 2005-2008 LaTara Ham-Ying
Recognizing the Sacred in the Secular
Mar 14, 2008 Power Source
What a joy it has been being a part of the Pink Collar Club. While it has grown so fast we are finding it hard to keep up with it, we can truly see the hand of God in it all.
As a part of the Executive Board I am always honored by the articles of my fellow Board members. I am often convicted, healed, delivered or a combination of all three, by what I read.
I wanted to share this post by Carolyn D. Townes in the hopes that it helps all women of God who are also entrepreneurs.
“Unless you are an entrepreneur or spirit-preneur as I am, one of the hardest things to do is to reconcile your faith life with your work life. We seem to compartmentalize all aspects of our lives, living them out as if we too were divided into several pieces. Today, is my work day, tomorrow is my play day, and Sunday is my day of worship. We have somehow separated the sacred from the secular. What we fail to realize is that all is sacred in the secular world. God is in all ? our work, our play, as well as in our worship.
As women influencers, we are called to marry the two ? the sacred and the secular. We must live our lives as whole and divine beings, not depleted pieces of our true selves. As a member of a religious order, I have to look at my faith life a bit differently. My entire life has become a prayer ? so I don?t have to stop and pray. I have embodied the spirit of prayer so that when I am asked to pray for someone, no matter what I am doing, I can offer it as a prayer.
If we can just take a moment to stop, look at our surroundings and remember that we are part of the majesty of our Divine Master, then we bring our faith and spirit life into the other parts of our life. We tend to live depleted lives; lives broken up into sections like a theatre ? one moment the balcony, and the orchestra the next.
When we develop a relationship with God, we can then recognize God in all areas of our lives; not just on Sunday morning. Our Lord Jesus died for us to have more than Sunday morning religion; he died for us to have a deep and abiding relationship with him and God the Father.
So just for today, think about your life and where you fit God into it. Is God in one part but not in another? Is prayer only for emergencies and not for gratitude as well? Do you answer the call to love at all times, no matter who or where or when?
To lead is to serve, and to serve is to love.”
The Ultimate Blog Party Is Live and Poppin’
Mar 9, 2008 Whatever
Welcome to my corner of the Ultimate Blog Party Sphere! You have found Mom Unplugged, a blog about a mom who has removed her Superwoman cape and is living a more abundantly authentic life.
Here at Mom Unplugged you will laugh, cry, think and think more. It is my hope that you leave here encouraged to live life on the authentic side.
OK so I am supposed to introduce myself so that you can get to know me a little better. Well, I am LaTara Ham-Ying: Wife, homeschooling mom, podcaster, entrepreneur, coach, writer, ministry leader, and always God’s Child. I have been married to Rupert for five and a half years. Alexander and Brehane are the two boys at home and my step-kids live across the globe from America to Italy.
We are a naturally vegan family. That means that we live as naturally as we can in Chicago and we follow a vegan diet. As-a-matter-of-fact, both of my sites, Vegan Family Living and Natural From Home, are dedicated to these subjects.
I have been writing for over 25 years, with Christian non-fiction, book reviews, devotions and poetry being my main genres. I also write about natural living and vegan cooking. Currently I am a book reviewer for Hope for Women magazine, an expert writer over at Moms Talk Food Network and I have a story published in an anthology titled “Skydiving for Parents”. You will also find a much of my writing over at the that Pink Collar Club where I serve on the Executive Board as the Natural Living Coach.
I want to invite each of you, as you peruse and find out why I am out of the socket, to have a slice of my key lime or sweet potato vegan pies and a cup of my lavender lemonade with fresh mint sprigs.
photo credit: stshores24
While you are here, you may want to check out a few of my favorite posts:
I have to give thanks the gang over at 5 Minutes for Mom for organizing this event: The Ultimate Blog Party.
When I checked out the prize list I was very impressed. Of course I did not join the party just for the prizes; I love meeting new people and that is my number one reason for coming to the party. But oh, the prizes!
In looking over the list, I think my top three picks would be:
1. A Blog Customization from Sweet and Simple Designs for Mom Unplugged.
2. The Web cam donated by Liz over at This Full House
3. Since I love all things natural, my next choice would be Burt’s Bee’s Naturally Ageless Skin Care line donated by Geggie .
We are live and poppin’!
Poverty Mindset Part 2: What I Let Go Of
Mar 7, 2008 Unplugged Moments
This is part 2 of Guilty As Charged: I Have a Poverty Mindset.
Erykah Badu has a song called Bag Lady and one of the verse goes like this:
Bag lady you gone hurt your back
Dragging all them bags like that
I guess nobody ever told you
All you must hold on to
Is you, is you, is you
In order for me to get out of this mindset I have had to remove a lot of the negative triggers from my life. I am still removing some today.
I had to let go of folks in my life who were stuck at ceiling thinking. What I mean is this: Sit back in your chair and look up. What do you see? Unless you have a skylight then all you see is the ceiling. So many get stuck in believing that they will never get beyond the ceiling of life. That’s “ceiling thinking”!
If you step outside of your confines, you will see that the sky is the limit to what you can have. So I have removed folks who have “ceiling thinking” from my life.
What about those that you can’t necessarily remove.
I can’t get rid of my husband and my mother. And in their own way, each one has hindered my mindset of valuable self worth. My husband, as knowledgeable as he, lack the ability to support me in the way I need to be supported when it comes to business. My mother will talk negatively about anything she does not understand.
How do I handle them?
Prayer and a lot of love.
Sometimes you will have the naysayers who come right from your home. It is time like these that I think about how Jesus must have dealt with Peter and his lack or faith and Thomas and all his doubting. He did it in love, unconditional love and by getting on His knees for comfort and peace.
Eventually either they will get it or they will just leave it alone. I have learned that it is ok either way.
Another thing I had to learn to do was treat myself as God would. With a sense of dignity, respect and, yes, love!
I have self-sabotaged myself for way too many years and in turn I have slapped God in the face because I have told Him that He created me for nothing. I am worth nothing - I will never go beyond the ceiling in my life.
I have had to take steps to remove this thinking. The most important step has been scripture memorization and praying them out loud often.
One of the most important steps for me in removing the poverty mindset has to surround myself with the right people. People who are more positive and proactive in their thinking. People who see beyond the ceiling, even if that is their current circumstance in life.
I have also had to learn to take an honest look at my finances and take hold of them. I have been letting them lead the way for far too long.
Yet, another important step.
In my post yesterday I stated that God was giving me morsels as I move beyond the poverty mindset, and that I was not ready for the whole enchilada yet.
The reason why this is so is because I would fall right back into the same mindset all over again. I still have to heal from all the junk that is here.
I look forward in anticipation to getting my whole enchilada.
More to come!
What do you need to let go of?
Guilty as Charged: I Have A Poverty Mindset Part 1
Mar 6, 2008 Unplugged Moments
Today I was listening to Moms Morning show and the topic is about Money and pricing yourself according to what you are worth. As Kelly was talking I had to reflect on my life and where my mindset is.
I am guilty as charged. My mindset is so ingrained in the poverty mode that I find it hard to come out of it. Over the past few months this has been my struggle.
How do you move beyond what you think you are into who you actually are?
For me my poverty mindset comes from years of living in a pit I was not thrown into. How I got there is not important right now. I have dealt with that and if you want to know more visit my pit healing blog where I learned that forgiveness is just a start. For now I want to deal with my here and now.
As a result of being thrown into the pit I became a person who would shirk from all things good in my life. People, relationships, and yep, even a mindset of being worth more than I valued myself at.
As a single mother I had to stretch a dollar so far that the poor dollar would just scream for mercy. I learned how to make $50 in food stamps work for me and my son for the whole month. After I paid rent all I had left to my name was $90 for the whole month.
Even once I started making more money as a Day Care owner, I still lived with that mindset of not being worthy of more. Sure I made good money but to this day I couldn’t tell you where it went. I spent it all; never saved a penny.
Why?
My poverty mindset!
This mindset was the reason why I had to give up my day care and send my son to live with my mother for a year in Oklahoma. That was one of the darkest moments of my life in the pit.
I just did not value myself enough to say “ENOUGH” when a situation loomed before me and I was to set in my poverty ways to save money to just get out. So I lost something very valuable to me - the ability to be a motivating force in the live of children. I loved keeping my babies!
There were many more situations that occurred and I see now that it was this funky mindset that caused me to live as I did and in some ways still do.
My good friend, Angelia White, publisher of Hope for Women Magazine has been such a supportive force in helping me to see that I am worth so much more than what I value myself at. Over the past few years she and I have been one another’s cheerleaders and God give us both a little insight into the life of the other. We share it, deal with it head on, sometimes coming to tears, and then we heal from what the other has done because of God’s divine leading in our lives.
Angelia has been the one to say “LaTara, you gotta get out of this. You are worth so much more. When will you believe it for yourself?”
The light has been turned on and now I can see my way clear to a mindset that is rich in God’s blessings for my life. And He is giving me the morsels slowly.
Why?
I am just not ready for the whole enchilada yet! In my unplugged moment I so receive that. I have to in order to learn the lesson and move out of a chapter in my life I really don’t want to repeat again.
I had to let go of a lot of things in my life that defeated a mindset of proactive self-worth. I will discuss that tomorrow.
A scripture that I fall back on often in my poverty thinking moment is Psalms 139. Let me paraphrase a few verses that I have learned to put LaTara right in the middle of.
I, LaTara, am fearfully and wonderfully made. This my soul must know and believe. My Creator wrote my book, knitted me together and designed me with a sure Destiny in mind.
Do you have a poverty mindset?
