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    jackieholness

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    The Obamas Release Gospel Soundtrack Chronicling Their White House Experience…They Haven’t Yet, But They Should…

    obama family

    Hello World,

    Simultaneously while many Americans are having the darnedest time (as we should, Lord help us) choosing between Bernie Sanders & Hilary Clinton; and Donald Trump, Ted Cruz & John Kasich, many of us are also struggling with feelings of sadness and nostalgia as we collectively say goodbye to the Obamas. From David Brooks’ op-ed piece “I Miss Barack Obama” to “Proud of Obama’s Presidency, Blacks Are Sad to See Him Go,” both from The New York Times to the viral video with the little girl who bawls about not being ready for President Obama to leave the White House, it’s obvious that we just don’t quite what know what to do with all of this emotional residue….we are so in our feelings about this…Intellectually, we know it’s time for the Obamas to leave, but our hearts haven’t caught up with our minds…

    So when a situation happens like this one in my personal life, when my heart hasn’t quite caught up with my mind, I got to get some good ole gospel music out so I can saaang my blues away and then hand them over to the Father so He can make things right or at least help me accept when thangs just aine gon be right no matter what I do…Y’all don’t hear me…

    To that end, I want the Obamas to commission a gospel soundtrack chronicling their highs and lows that I can pull out when I want to remember what it felt like to have a White House in which lived a blackety black man with his proud African last name with his blackety black wife who don’t take no stuff and their blackety black kids who never got in trouble because even when their parents were gone their blackety black grandma was there….not to mention their blackety black dog Bo :). I hope I’m not right but it just feels like their time there was one of those once-in-a-lifetime type of situations…I hope America can see that other black Americans are qualified for the highest office in the land in the future, but I just don’t know…

    Commissioning a gospel album wouldn’t be a stretch for the Obama administration. I mean the First Lady just commissioned a song “This is For My Girls,” which includes Kelly Clarkson, Chloe x Halle, Missy Elliott, Jadagrace, Lea Michele, Janelle Monáe, Kelly Rowland, and Zendaya for charity. And last year, the Obamas hosted  The Gospel Tradition: In Performance at the White House. And President Obama did a very competent rendition of “Amazing Grace,” but more on that later…

     So in case someone in the Obama administration reads this post, below are my picks for the Obamas’ gospel soundtrack….First of all, the title should be “Never Would Have Made It” because the Obamas would have never made to the White House without God…

    “Victory is Mine” by Dorothy Norwood. This song captures the mood when President Obama won the election in November 2008. “I told Satan to get thee behind. Victory today is mine.” Halleluyer!

    “It’s Not Over (When God Is In It)” by Israel & New Bread featuring Jason Nelson and James Fortune. Although many presidents tried to get universal healthcare for Americans, it took President Obama to get the job done although he was challenged at every step and sometimes it looked like it wasn’t going to happen. But “When God Is In It, There Is No Limit. When God Is In It, Its Not Over.” The Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010 and ultimately upheld in the Supreme Court on June 28, 2012.

    “Get Up” by Mary Mary. In February 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama launched “Let’s Move!”, a campaign combat epidemic of childhood obesity. Read HERE to see all that she has accomplished since the campaign launch. Like Mary Mary said, “Get Up. Don’t sit there. Get Up.”

    “Go Hard” by Lecrae. Although I’m somewhat of a pacifist, I understood why President Obama had to get buck with it and ultimately kill al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden on May 11, 2011. As Lecrae said, “Go Hard or Go Home.”

    “I Don’t Know Why” by Katie Sankey. President Obama demonstrated that he was just as perplexed as the rest of us about the senseless shooting of Trayvon Martin  when he said, “You know, if I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon” during a speech he gave on March 23, 2012. No other president before him could empathize about the lives of black boys being treated as if they are disposable. “I don’t know why I have to cry sometimes, I don’t know why I have to sigh sometimes. But there’s gonna be a perfect day trouble get outta my way, I don’t know why, but I’ll find out by and by.”

    “War” by Charles Jenkins & Fellowship Chicago. So every once in a while First Lady lets us know that she does come from the Chi…Remember when in December 2013, Denmark’s Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt took a selfie with President Obama at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service and First Lady looked none to pleased, giving her killer side eye…I know Denmark is one of our allies, but Helle Thorning Schmidt looked like she was gonna get told…”You can’t have my family. You can’t have my increase. You can’t have my breakthrough.”

    “This Love” by Mary Mary Featuring Fred Hammond. Speaking of Barack and Michelle and their unbreakable bond, their love has got to qualify them as one of the most romantic couples to live in the White House. ” When after all these years it’s still the same. Just as strong as it was on the first day. This love, this love. The only love that comes down from the heavens.”

    “How I Got Over” by Aretha Franklin with the Southern California Community Choir. Not only are the Obamas the first black couple in the White House, they brought in some other “first blacks” with them such as Eric Himpton Holder, Jr., the first black Attorney General of this country and subsequently my soror Loretta Lynch, the first black woman and the second woman overall to be confirmed for the position. “How I got over, how I got over. My soul looks back and wonders how I got over.”

    “Amazing Grace” by President Obama. President Obama singing this gospel classic during the funeral of South Carolina State Senator and Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church Pastor Clementa Pinckney in June 2015 demonstrated that we have to turn to God always but especially during tragic times. “Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come. Tis Grace has brought me safe thus far, and Grace will lead us home.”

    “This Place” by Tamela Mann. 106-year-old Virginia McLaurin fulfilled her dream of visiting the White House and meeting the First black family in the White House this past Black History Month. “Been a lot places seen a lot of faces. But I never been in this place.Time and time again never thought I’d win. But I never been in this place.”

    “Got Get It” by Mary Mary. Didn’t just you just love how Malia Obama gave Sasha Obama the thumps up sign while she was chatting it up with actor Ryan Reynolds during their first State Dinner earlier this month? “Go get it, Go get yo blessing.” A sister duo for the first sisters 🙂

    Of course this is not an exhaustive list, but you get the idea…What would be on your The Obamas soundtrack?

    Any thoughts?

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    Actor & Filmmaker Tyler Perry To Host & Narrate ‘THE PASSION,’ a Musical Event Airing Live From New Orleans TONIGHT

    passion

    Hello World,

    FOX will present THE PASSION, a two-hour musical event, airing LIVE from New Orleans TONIGHT at 8 p.m. /7c , that tells the 2000-year-old story of the last hours of Jesus Christ’s life on earth. Hosted and narrated by actor, writer, producer, director and New Orleans native Tyler Perry (“The Haves and The Have Nots,” “Gone Girl”), the special will feature a cast of today’s biggest stars performing a variety of popular music, arranged by executive producer and hit music producer Adam Anders (“Glee,” “Rock of Ages”).

    Set in modern day, THE PASSION will follow the dramatic and inspirational story of Jesus of Nazareth, as he presides over the Last Supper, and then is betrayed by Judas, put on trial by Pontius Pilate, convicted, crucified and resurrected. The story will unfold live at some of New Orleans’ most iconic locations, while featuring a procession of hundreds of people carrying a 20-foot, illuminated cross from Champion Square outside the Superdome to the live stage at Woldenburg Park on the banks of the Mississippi River.

    THE PASSION is both wonderfully entertaining and genuinely inspirational,” said David Madden, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company. “We are so thrilled to have the multi-talented Tyler Perry join us for this epic music production. He is the perfect host to lead the cast – and viewers – through the streets of New Orleans in this contemporary re-telling of a timeless story.”

    jesusmarypontius

    Below is the cast –

    Below is a video snippet of what you will see TONIGHT at 8 p.m./7c on FOX!

    Any thoughts?

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    ‘Miracles from Heaven,’ the New Movie from Bishop T.D. Jakes & DeVon Franklin, Premieres Today!

    See the Trailer Here!

    poster

    Hello World,

    Just in time for Easter, “Miracles from Heaven,” starring Jennifer Garner, opens TODAY! Below is a synopsis of the new movie.

    Anna Beam (Kylie Rogers) lives with a rare, incurable disorder that leaves her unable to digest food. Despite the dire diagnosis, devoted mom Christy (Jennifer Garner) relentlessly searches for a way to save her beloved daughter. Everything changes in an instant when Anna tells an amazing story of a visit to heaven after surviving a headlong tumble into a tree. Her family and doctors become even more baffled when the young girl begins to show signs of recovering from her fatal condition.

    Garner said “Miracles from Heaven” has restored her faith. Below is an excerpt of the USA Today article “Jennifer Garner Finds Faith, Again, in ‘Miracles From Heaven'” by Elysa Gardner.

    Faith has long played a role in Garner’s life: She and estranged husband Ben Affleck had their three children baptized at the same United Methodist church she attended while growing up in West Virginia. “My parents and little sister and her family still go there,” Garner says.

    But “I think I had become complacent in raising my children, almost as though (I thought) they were going to receive the ground beneath their feet that heaven had given me through osmosis,” she says. Returning home after filming, Garner raised the subject with her kids, “and they said, ‘Well, we want to go to church.’

    In addition to Garner and Rogers, “Miracles from Heaven” also stars Martin Henderson, John Carroll Lynch, Eugenio Derbez and Queen Latifah. The movie was produced by Joe Roth, Bishop T.D. Jakes & DeVon Franklin of Franklin Entertainment.

    Below is a trailer for the film.

    The movie is based on the true story written about in “Miracles from Heaven: A Little Girl, Her Journey to Heaven, and Her Amazing Story of Healing,” by Christy Beam which was published last year. Below is the book description.

    In a remarkable true story of faith and blessings, a mother tells of her sickly young daughter, how she survived a dangerous accident, her visit to Heaven and the inexplicable disappearance of the symptoms of her chronic disease.

    Annabel Beam spent most of her childhood in and out of hospitals with a rare and incurable digestive disorder that prevented her from ever living a normal, healthy life. One sunny day when she was able to go outside and play with her sisters, she fell three stories headfirst inside an old, hollowed-out tree, a fall that may well have caused death or paralysis. Implausibly, she survived without a scratch. While unconscious inside the tree, with rescue workers struggling to get to her, she visited heaven. After being released from the hospital, she defied science and was inexplicably cured of her chronic ailment.

    “Miracles From Heaven” will change how we look at the world around us and reinforce our belief in God and the afterlife.

    Below is a video featuring the real Christy and Annabel Beam.

    Any thoughts?