Author: Geri Mason

During a zoom meeting that I had scheduled, I found myself quoting parts of a recent Sunday sermon.  As I shared, one of my viewers, who is also on my weekly email list asked me, “What happened to the blogs that you used to do occasionally after some of the sermons?”  I gave her a number of reasons why I hadn’t done one lately.  Well, low and behold, here I am today recapping with a sprinkle of personal testimony from last Sunday’s sermon, because every day this week I have repeated those words.  Our theme for the series is, “Unboxed – The Power of Innovation,” with the first installment being, “There is Another Way!”  I have never seen a pastor so eloquently tie every scripture to daily living in a manner such as this.  There are three areas to consider when thinking about the healing at the pool, John 5:1-9;  1) Examine your expectations,  2) Don’t be trapped by tradition, and  3) Operate in obedience.

Let’s ponder this!  Do you really want what you are asking for?  Do you want that new job?  Do you want that spouse which you been praying for?  Are you ready for the responsibilities that come with acquiring what you are seeking? What are your expectations once you get what you want?  Jesus asked the man at the pool one question, “Do you want to be healed?”  Of course he said yes, after explaining to Jesus all the reasons why he didn’t think it could happen.  In life, we get trapped by what has happened before and fail to realize that with Jesus, there is another way! There is another way to get that job!  There is another way to have that spouse!  Jesus said, “Pick up your mat,” and the man was immediately healed!  He didn’t have to wait for anyone to help him get in the pool.  He didn’t have to wait for the water to be stirred!  All he had to do was hear the voice of God and be obedient.  Of course all of this seems very simple until it’s time to put it into practice.  I promise you it gets easier the more you do it!  I’m a living witness.  Not perfect, but I’m a work in progress every day.  God bless you as you listen to His voice and realize that there is another way.

We get so wrapped up in doing life as usual that we forget to broaden our horizons and create new visuals for our mindset and our dreams.  Sometimes it can be hard to let go of our comfortable little space inside our bubbles. If you never experience anything outside your balloon, then you will always be recycling the stale air that surrounds you.  Yes, you need to step outside your comfort zone and stop waiting for others to join you in living your best life.  It’s nice to hang out with friends and family, but sometimes you need to take the road less traveled alone, and I did just that this past weekend when I decided to visit the “Rivers Casino Portsmouth,” which is only an hour or so away from my home.  This was something that I had on the back burner for quite a while with hopes of a group trip, but when I saw the little Airbnb that I had been keeping tabs on open up for one night, I decided to do a solo getaway, and off to the casino I went.

As an Uber driver I also made the trip pay for itself by grabbing riders to/from Portsmouth, and fortunately I ended up spending very little of my own money because one of the riders gave me a cash tip and told me which machine to play.  Although I won and lost it was a great experience along with the amazing food at the “Crossings Café!”  I would definitely return for the food, but not so much for the gambling, since I’m not really into watching money go that fast.  The bottom line is, I wanted to feel the air outside my balloon!  The next time you feel yourself getting complacent and out of sorts, jump outside your balloon and grab some fresh air.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to become a minimalist? I’ve given it quite a bit of thought lately and truly believe that I could live in a Tiny House. Recently I decided that I do not want any more material things for my home or my closets. No more visits to Goodwill.  Don’t need another coffee mug or wall picture, or clothes. As I survey my surroundings I realize that I have many things for decoration only, and so many things that no longer serve a purpose. The biggest and heaviest item is this huge desk in my office that I rarely spend time in except for meditation and bible study.  Since I’m not as active on social media and no longer need to create endless content for events or visibility, therefore my office hours are minimal.

When I moved back to Virginia two years ago, I overestimated the number of visitors that would walk through my doors: I can count on both hands how many has come, other than for my Christmas Party!  The other day I was sharing with someone about the days when folks knocked on your door without calling and how that has changed. I think I am the only person who still does that, and some of my friends I still need to call before visiting. So as I tackle this next & final phase of life, I will be letting go of things and concentrating more on my health, creating experiences, maintaining family/friend relationships, and a whole lot of eating good food. Although there are so many things I’d rather be doing, I realize that God is up to something new and age truly does change the way we see and do things!

Stick with the enemy you know, because you know what their tactics will be.  You know how they are going to come at you.  You have been there and done that, and got the T-shirt to show for it.  It’s very familiar ground, therefore, it may be less stressful than the unknown.  Many times in life, as soon as you start doing well, the enemy peeps its ugly head in to see where he can stir up some mess.  Where can he shower some doubt and disbelief?  So, be careful when making changes, because you could end up jumping out the frying pan into the fire.  At least with the frying pan there’s a cushion between you and the fire, which means you might have a chance of not burning up completely, but once you get into the fire, there’s no return.  We always think that the grass is greener on the other side until we get over there and realize that it’s artificial turf.  The grass is really greener on the side that is watered properly!

When I tell you that life has been life-ing, this is no understatement!  God’s got me all twisted up like a pretzel wondering which end is truly up.  I’m sure some of you are in the same boat.  My only recourse is to trust Him by sticking with the enemy I know.

There are days when I know what I’m doing, and then there are days when I wonder what I’m doing.  Although I love my newfound freedom of not having to plan or execute anything, I must say that I feel like an empty nester. You know those feelings you have when you have spent your whole life nurturing and raising a child into adulthood and they go off to college or they step out and build a life of their own, and you wake up and realize that your whole world revolved around them.  That’s kind of what I feel occasionally when it comes to “Geri Speak.”  I miss writing speeches and sharing my stories of trials and triumphs, and I miss having something to look forward to that excites me, because nothing gets me more excited than preparing for and presenting a speech.

I am keenly aware that this is a new phase of life for me and I firmly believe that I have taken it in stride with no real complaints, however I must be honest and admit that a part of me is slowly dying inside.  “Geri Speak” has been my life since I was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 30 and shared my story in a local magazine, thus opening a door for my speaking career.  Now at age 69, after stepping away from promoting “Geri Speak,” I’m able to fill my time with other enjoyable endeavors, but the speaker in me is oh so lonely!  I know God has other plans moving forward and I’m putting forth my best effort to hear clearly what that might be as I continue to enjoy the new doors that have opened so far.

The other day I was talking to a friend and she shared with me how someone told her that she was operating from a place of entitlement, because she told them that she had been waiting on God for so long for one particular thing, and now she’s at a point where she decided she’s not going to really pray about it anymore.  My friend admitted that she was thinking, “God I did all of this. I said all the right things. You bless me with all of these other things, but the main thing that I want you have not even given me yet, so I’m going to stop asking for it.”

After hearing her say this, it made me take a look at my actions over the past few months and I had to admit that I’ve had that same attitude as well. Even though I didn’t say it in those words, once I heard her explain the conversation that she had had with a friend, I realized that I had been feeling kind of entitled also. But it wasn’t so much about what I had asked God for, rather it was the fact that I had done so much and given so much and followed these guidelines, and did this thing right and that thing right. My blessings were starting to pour and overflow to be a blessing for others. And then unexpected negative things started happening in my life and I was like, “but God, I did all this. I made all this happen. I’ve been following all these rules and thought I was doing all the right things for all the right reasons. So how dare you God!”  Yes. I was beginning to feel entitled as well.

So we have to be careful with our thoughts because He hears! You might not have told anyone how you were feeling about the fact that God didn’t do this or that, but you did say it in your mind. You don’t understand why this happened and how dare life send you this thing after all the effort you put into doing the right thing. So let’s check ourselves. OK?

As I gradually take down the holiday decorations and gently brace myself for the New Year, I realize that I got everything that I wanted and nothing that I asked for, because I didn’t ask for anything!  How awesome is it when God shows up and shows out beyond your wildest dreams.  Yes, I had some things on my mind that would be nice, but I had not really put them on my vision board or announced it to the universe.  It was sort of my private little wish list.  Then one day I said to myself, “Why not check into a couple of those things that have been on the back burner and bring them to the forefront?”  And low and behold, once I spoke to the universe, things happened so fast it scared me.  I literally had to sit down for a moment and take it all in just to make sure that I wasn’t rushing into something that was my choice and not God’s choice.  Part of what made it so scary is the fact that it all happened in late December.  I kept seeing and hearing stuff about how God still has time to do a miracle before the New Year, but since I don’t make New Year resolutions, and I hadn’t really asked for anything, I kinda chalked it up to folks simply sharing their belief system for those who were still waiting on God to do something.

Although my cataract surgery naturally had to be planned (New Vision – Dec. 19^th), however, getting a (New Vehicle – Dec. 23^rd), and starting a (New Job – Dec. 26^th), was totally an end of year decision that God made so easy I knew it was nobody but Him!  After being approved for my vehicle I sat on the offer for 30 days before acting upon it, and in reference to my part-time job at Chic-Fil-A, I had randomly applied on Indeed back in September and I literally forgot about it when I didn’t receive a call or email.  How about I pop back on the site in December and see that they have requested a 15 minute interview and I get hired on the spot!  Yes!  God still has time to work a miracle no matter how late we think it is in the game.  Never give up.  Go for the goal even if it looks like a last minute decision.  Sometimes the last shot is the one that saves the team.  My wins this past month has been a win for so many others.  As I move forward in 2024, all I want to do is give God the honor, the glory, and the praise for what He has already done and ask Him to help me be a good steward through my gifts, my time, my talent, and my tithes!  Don’t ask and you shall receive!

Some of you may have noticed that the most outrageous ideas seem to be the ones that take off.  The minute you say, “Ain’t no way in the world…” that’s when stuff starts to happen.  How many times have you looked at a product or service and thought, how ingenious even though it started from a crazy idea?  Do you realize that everything we see was a thought at one time?  Do you know how many thoughts we have during the day and night that could seriously change the way the world operates?  The problem is our mind.  We spend so much time thinking and over-thinking the ideas that come to us.  Can you imagine what would happen if we went with our first thought and then lost our mind while we continue working on that thought?  I have had the most success with the things that I gave the least amount of thought.  I’ve also succeeded at something and started to over-think it, and the rug got snatched from under my feet. I remember the days when my life was planned down to the hour.  I am so happy that those days are gone.  I still write stuff down, but nothing on the list is mandatory.  It’s a list of things I would like to get done.  Of course I have a regular routine of eating and sleeping, which all of us probably do.  But I don’t get bent out of shape if my day is thrown off by a phone call or an emergency situation.  I just make the necessary adjustments, ex: pack a quick snack, cancel an appointment, wake up a little earlier, or go to sleep a little later.  Whatever it takes to get the job done is what I do.  My mind switches daily to the task at hand.  I don’t overplay situations.  I don’t ask a lot of questions.  I go with the flow.  Life is so much easier when you lose your mind. If you have been following my blogs, then you know my writing style is so outside the box.  Keep checking me out, you never know where it might take you.

Photo by William Fitzgibbon on Unsplash

Think about this!  If I tell you something that concerns me and you express an interest in my concern by listening and making suggestions, then it’s obvious that you have a vested interest in the outcome as well.  Does that make sense to you?  I know there are some who will just forget about the matter once the conversation is over unless I bring up the subject again, and there are also people who will check back with me to see how things are going.  However, being the person that I am, I find myself always joining a circus where I have no clowns!  Some of this has to do with the fact that I am extremely organized and want the same for others, in addition to being an over thinker and very caring person.  There are times when I have to remind myself that this is not my fight, my problem to solve, or my cross to bear.  I need to learn how to take information that is given to me and use it for its intended purpose, while allowing others to operate in the way that works for them.  Remember, you cannot expect you from another person.  God made only one!