Monthly Archives: January 2022

My heart is still on home and the Parable of the Prodigal Son is…

My heart is still on home and the Parable of the Prodigal Son is so rich, "And he arose and came…

Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, January 12, 2022.

My heart is still on home and the Parable of the Prodigal Son is so rich,

"And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him." -Luke 15:20

Of all the homes I've ever known, they all had one thing in common: they already had their mind made up to love you even before you got there –what's more is that it isn't on the basis of what you've done or haven't done but rather on the basis of who they are: home.

#spirithome

In Week 1 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks for Harold…

In Week 1 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks for Harold Guyton. Mr. Guyton founded…

Originally posted on Facebook on Friday, January 7, 2022.

In Week 1 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks for Harold Guyton.

Mr. Guyton founded Mississippi Paving & Construction back in 1992. He was one of my earliest commercial clients dating back to 2003.

You'd never know Mr. Guyton was in the room unless he wanted you to know. He was kind, peaceable –meek, but not to be confused with weak, rather power under careful control. When Mr. Guyton did make his presence known, his speech was measured and direct. He'd state the objective, ask you if you could handle it and then trust you with the rest.

I remember, especially as a black business owner, how affirming his style of management felt, as though your ability to perform at a high level and deliver were obvious. Your excellence was assumed. It made you want to meet that bar and to not disappoint.

Mr. Guyton would continue to affirm you in his own quiet way: by consistently bringing you into his world and maintaining proximity to yours. In the featured photo, Mr. Guyton, pictured center, takes time away from running his multi-million dollar business to attend the ribbon cutting of my new office.

I doubt he said ten words that day but what I heard loud and clear was, "I believe in you and what you're doing. I'm here to support it." I'm grateful. #52WoG

I spoke with Mr. Guyton just last week, and recently learned that they laid him to rest yesterday. Life is a vapor. Don't waste it.

Please join me in prayer for Mr. Guyton's wife, family and loved ones.

I am a past director and current volunteer with the Mississippi…

I am a past director and current volunteer with the Mississippi Coding Academies. MCA exists to…

Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, January 5, 2022.

I am a past director and current volunteer with the Mississippi Coding Academies. MCA exists to help Mississippians to achieve high earning careers in tech fields by providing in-person, hands-on and tuition free training in full-stack programming and software development.

Our Golden Triangle Campus, located in the state-of-the-art Communiversity at East Mississippi Community College, is looking to hire one or more Senior Instructors at a starting rate of $50 per hour, more for exceptionally qualified candidates. Classes are held M-F 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM.

If you are interested and have experience in C# and / or web development technologies such as PHP, CSS and React, please send an email to mca-instructor-application@convoloop.com and address your message, indicating your interest, to Jessica Hayes so that we may arrange an introduction.

You may view the full current curriculum here: https://mscoding.org/starkville-curriculum/

Ugly House, Beautiful Home

Brainflurry - Paul Luckett Middle School Yearbook Picture
Brainflurry - Paul Luckett Highschool Yearbook Picture
Brainflurry - Paul Luckett childhood family picture
Brainflurry - Paul Luckett, Melissa Luckett with Denice and Nola at Disney on Ice

I hate my teeth.

They’ve always been a source of shame, embarrassment and have caused me to hide in some way or another nearly all of my life. Of course, there’s a lot more to my hiding than my teeth -namely that I had never quite felt good enough. And at the heart of that are some daddy issues mingled with church hurt that occurred during my formative years, but that’s another story for another time. Suffice it to say, I grew up with the misconception that you had to be perfect; attractive, flawless, never making a mistake -to be embraced, accepted and safe.

For a long time, I felt deeply unsafe.

I sought safety in a number of things that could not offer it; popularity, money and sex, only to find that it left me more insecure than before. Fast forward to my meeting Jesus in the BSU office of Dr. Gregory Jones and the overwhelming love I encountered at my absolute lowest point changed my life forever. Since that time, as I’ve walked with Jesus, He has been continually healing me, through His Word, from the lies that long tortured my soul and that have caused so much pain in and through my life. A major deliverance from feelings of inadequacies was my being given Christ-esteem: the notion that as a born again believer, my life including my identity is now in Christ. I am defined by what Christ has done and is doing in me rather than a temporary condition (like failure or achievement) while I’m in process of being conformed to His image (Colossians 3). This was a watershed moment in my life and one that has been deeply helpful. #christesteem

Another was given to me a few weeks ago: home.

As I wrestled with my appearance in the mirror, feeling unattractive (and therefore unsafe), I was reminded of times that I was safe – times that I was at home. I remembered that I have been blessed to have many homes; my mother, my grandfather’s house, Dr. Gregory Jones and his home, Greater Ebenezer M.B. Church, and the home of Willie and Mary Harris. It was this remembrance that actually inspired my expression of gratefulness for Mary Jean Harris.

Melissa and I have been blessed to travel a little and see some marvelous things. The Spirit brought to mind the mansions, grand buildings and lush hotels -some where we’ve even had opportunity to stay. Then He brought to mind the home of Willie and Mary Harris. And, it became plain to me. Of all the wonderful places I’ve seen and been, on any given day I would much rather be at the home of Willie and Mary Harris. Even though the outward appearance of the building could be considered shanty in comparison, when you were there, you were at home.

When I am at home somewhere, it’s the sense of being safe: loved, wanted and enjoyed that matters. Its outward appearance is of little concern. So, rather than focus on my on physical imperfections –the (natural) outward man that is perishing, it is better to focus on the (spiritual) inward man that is being perfected day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). The truth is, I am safe in Christ (Luke 18:28-30, John 14:3, Romans 8:35-39) and the best way to experience that safety is to be that for others. Also, in the context of those we’ve lost, being to others what they’ve been to us, is a way of always having them.

The Holy Spirit’s message to me: be a home for others.

In one place it is written, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) And with this latest revelation, I have a new and different appreciation for Mark 8:34-46 “whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” It often amazes me how the things that make for our peace are so often counterintuitive.

In those moments where my attention is being drawn to my shortcomings in the flesh and I am again made to feel unsafe, rather than focus on me and what I can do to make myself feel better, I will instead remember the wonderful homes that so many have been for me, where people are safe: loved, wanted and enjoyed, and I will focus on being that for others.

In so doing, it puts me squarely in the fortress of God’s love and allows Him to use me to share a beautiful, glorious, everlasting home with others. #spirithome