I’m sure that we have all heard of the metamorphosis process that a caterpillar undergoes to become a butterfly. I had heard it numerous times, particularly in elementary school and also in sermons. The process is a popular illustration for spiritual transformation. This past Friday, Dr. Mary Love noted something ridiculously obvious, that I had never considered. She said, “Butterflies can never become caterpillars again. The transformation is complete.”

Wow. That’s the ideal scenario! A complete transformation! That should be our goal! That when we build up the courage to CHANGE and to TURN AWAY, that we maintain the strength, by grace to stay CHANGED. To sin less, not committing the same sin again. That’s our aim. That’s how our lives and the lives of our families, friends and communities are changed. That’s how our culture is changed. Not by us, blending in, but by our complete Godly transformation!

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” (Romans 12:1-2, The Message Bible).

Vajaah E. Parker
VCYC President 2006-2010

Most of us are familiar with the story of Noah and the Ark, either way, take a moment and refresh your memory by reading Genesis 6.

The academic year has started for all of us and I find great encouragement in Noah being able to build the ark. I mean, if Noah can build an ark, I can get through this marking period, semester or year, to the Glory of God! Granted, Noah probably had some help, but so do we. Our greatest laborers are time management and discipline, so employ them well!

Dig a little deeper into getting work done for God by reading about Nehemiah and the Wall (Nehemiah Chapts. 1-7) after you finish reading about Noah and the Ark.

Vajaah E. Parker
VCYC President 2006-2010

Most would consider saying that the bible is sexy, is heretical. I’m not trying to be controversial, I just know that ’stylish’ or ‘attractive’ doesn’t sum up what I’m trying to convey about the New Testament publication that I held today. Perhaps, I just need a thesaurus, but for now… the bible, this bible, is downright, sexy.

Before you impeach and excommunicate me, check out Thomas Nelson’s BibleZine REAL. It is Matthew through Revelations, in a magazine format, with innovative colors, layouts, photography and fonts. The scripture is actually presented in such a way that youth, might just check out the Word of God… DAILY! And if you feel your eyes wandering from the text to other exciting graphics and scenarios, it is still copacetic, because you’ll still be reading the Word, commentary or relevant life applications.

The bottom line is that vCyc ought to be comprised of REAL CHRISTIANS throughout the A.M.E. Zion Church and if you’re a REAL CHRISTIAN then you READ the WORD. So do what you need to do and grab something off the shelves that you might actually enjoy looking at… God speaks, through the Bible. Peep it. Buy it.

Vajaah E. Parker
President 2006-2010

On November 22nd, Vajaah posted an entry called “An Investment Worth Protecting.”  One of the questions she asked in that blog was “Are we brave enough to sin less…”

I still read that line over and over again thinking to myself, “Wow!”  When I think about “my walk” I’m often soooooo stressed out because I’m not where I think I should be.  I take little me and compare it to Big Him and I sometimes get so discouraged that it would be easier to forget about my relationship with God and all that it requires.  Next to perfection, we all look so horrible.  I’m not suggesting that we become Trump Card Christians: feeling like our walk with God is better because we’ve overcome a particular sin that the next guy hasn’t.

But the idea that we can focus on Sinning Less instead of giving up because we’re not Sinless is an amazingly simple concept.  I’m not sure where the theologians stand on this, but I think its something Youth and even Youth Workers should look into.  No human is perfect.  The Bible says we were created in His image, not that we were exact duplicates of Him.  Which makes sense because when I look in the mirror, I swear up and down that my hair has a mind of its own.  I stand in front of the mirror everyday working on my hair trying to get it to do what I originally planned for it to do.  That’s what God does with us.  He stands before us all the time, working on and with us attempting to make us look the way He intended for us to look.

Sometimes there are stray hairs, and sometimes the curly ponytail won’t lay straight down.  Although the image in the mirror doesn’t match the original image in my head, that mirror image is still beautiful and I’ll continue working on it everyday.

(…not just because I’m fly LOL!)

-Ruth D. LaToison
VCYC Executive Vice President