What You Thought Was Dead Can Now Come Back to LIFE on EASTER!!!

Hello World,

Happy Easter or Happy Resurrection Day! However you choose to refer to this day, this is the day that Christians the world over celebrate the most important day in our faith! Today we celebrate that while death is a powerful foe indeed, the power of death could not and cannot compare to the indestructible power of the Lord Jesus Christ! HE IS RISEN! We no longer have to live in sin, be ruled by destructive habits and or addictions or walk through this earth alone! We have a savior and a friend in Jesus Christ! Like the Baptists, I’ve got a reason to shout! Like the Pentecostals, I’ve got a reason to get my dance on! Like the Methodists, I’ve got a reason to be in silent awe! And then do it all over again! JESUS! JESUS! JESUS! Please find yourself in somebody’s church today because the Lord has a blessing for you, and you don’t want to miss it!

And speaking of blessings, I was reading the resurrection story in Matthew 27, and I read some verses that I don’t recall reading before…Do you know that Jesus was not the only one that God rose from the dead? According to Matthew 27:51-53, “51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.” Many theologians have differing opinions of what this miraculous occurrence meant, and it is not mentioned if these people remained on Earth or ascended with Jesus back to heaven.

As a lay person or a regular ole Christian or maybe even as a writer, these verses are further evidence that the death and resurrection of Jesus is not just about spiritual good that is just good for Heaven, it is also a good that makes sense right here on Earth! What do I mean? Using my sanctified storyteller imagination, I imagine that one of the dead was a mother who had passed away while giving birth to a son who had never known his mother except through the stories of family and friends. On the day that Jesus rose, this child was able to meet his mother for the first time! I can also imagine that one of those dead was a beloved husband of an elderly widow that had not seen him in decades unless she dreamed about him at night. Can you imagine how elated she was when he came to her during the day? Or what about the young woman that died suddenly after a brief and mysterious illness leaving her family and friends to question why God allowed this tragedy to happen? I imagined that they wept after she confirmed that even death could not keep her from the ones she loved! I’m sure this day of resurrection was a day of overflowing joy!

So what does this mean for us today? First of all and most importantly, we have a risen savior that promises to give us eternal life with Him in heaven. And while we are here on Earth, Jesus can break the chains of sin, sickness, addiction and destructive habits and give us joy and peace that sustains us through everything! AND he can bring back to life what we thought was dead…Maybe you dreamed of launching a business but you no longer have the financial backing to get it going. Don’t worry. Just pray! He can bring this dream back to life. Maybe you’ve been set back by setback after setback. God can restore your life! Maybe you are still grieving the death of a loved one years later and have been unable to really move on, God can show you how to live and not die!

What you thought was dead can now come back to life…

Any thoughts?

I Was Pregnant: The Reason Why I Blogged Irregularly After August 2021…

Hello World,

Back in September, I posted this editor’s note at the beginning of my blog post Is Gospel Singer Kelly Price Missing Or Not? Lawyer Says ‘No’ While Sister Says ‘Yes’ Plus Secret Marriage Details…See below…

Let me start with the obvious: I know your girl has been gone a minute…like over a month. I’m not going to go into a long explanation, but I will say that I’m going through a life change that warrants a rearranging of sorts. This life change does include getting back into blogging, but it may or may not be regular depending on a host of factors. But I do hope you can rock with me nevertheless…And at the right time, I will share more my dear readers…I promise…

Well, the right time has come: In the beginning of August 2021, I learned I was pregnant after years of undergoing fertility treatment. At the end of August 2021, I learned that I was pregnant with twins which was crazy because that was not a part of the plan…at least my plan…!! And on “Twos”day,  February 22, 2022, I gave birth to my identical twin girls Michaela, 4 pounds 2 ounces, and Mattison, 3 pounds 14 ounces, at 4:42 and 4:44 p.m. at 33 weeks plus three days pregnant. In fact, had my pregnancy continued to full term, I would given birth to the twins on Friday, April 8 so it’s fitting that I chose today to tell y’all what’s been going on with me and why I’ve been neglecting my humble corner of Al Gore’s Internet…

I tried blogging regularly, but each time I tried, I just didn’t have the energy to sustain my efforts which perplexed me because I’ve been  blogging since September 2008, when I wrote my first blog post…However, last week, it occurred to me why I just didn’t have the energy for it: All of my creative energies were devoted to creating my twins…And a lot of energy was required as I endured morning sickness which truly happened any time of the day, and as my pregnancy progressed, it was even triggered by showering. Yes, I allowed myself to get a bit funky to avoid being in the shower. LOL! I had food aversions and cravings. There were headaches. And a general feeling of malaise most of the time. Lower back pain some of the time. Heartburn from the pit of hell. (I learned that heartburn means that hair is being created. My girls have to thank me one day for being born with plenty of hair!) Many nights I had to sleep sitting up so the acid reflux wouldn’t be as bad. Lots of swelling, particularly from the waist down — so much so that  I was only able to wear one pair of my shoes, sneakers, and by wear, I mean jamming my feet into them and leaving the laces pretty much undone. And by January, my blood pressure started fluctuating. By February, those blood pressure fluctuations turned into severe preeclampsia and there was concern about my platelet levels. And that led to an emergency C-section on the perfect day to have twins!!

Let me take a moment to shout out the entire Labor & Delivery Team at Piedmont Hospital Atlanta where I gave birth to my twins girls. In fact, it was ladies night (really ladies afternoon) as not one man except for Handsome Hubby from my Ob-Gyn, to my anesthesiologist, to the nurses (and there were at least 15 or so women there as each baby was assigned a team) was in the room where my main doc, who also has my same name although spelled Jacqui, delivered the twins. Additionally, as it was a high-risk pregnancy due to my age (48) and the fact that I was pregnant with twins, I have to thank Georgia Perinatal Consultants because their care also contributed to the healthy delivery of the M&M twins (our nickname for the girls).

My mother told me that once I would delivered by twins, I would forget all that I went through in order to give birth to them. My mother is right about most things, but I didn’t forget. However, I will say this: It was worth it. My handsome hubby and I ABSOLUTELY ADORE our twin girls. Right now, my handsome hubby and I are feeding them every three hours so we sleep when we can which is not a lot, but we are enjoying getting to know our twins especially since they spent three weeks in the NICU before they were released! Since they are preemies, according to our pediatrician’s advice, we are slowly introducing them to the outside world. And since you are my dear readers, I am introducing you to the M&M Twins. See a few pics from our journey below…

Just a few days before we celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary, we discovered we were pregnant! This is us hiking on the grounds of Montaluce Winery & Restaurant in Dahlonega, Georgia where we celebrated our anniversary. I’m working on getting back into those shorts now. While I can slide them up my hips, I cannot zip them up yet, but in time, I hope to do so 🙂

By Thanksgiving, I looked pregnant and I felt it was the right time to announce my pregnancy…Praise God from whom all blessings flow…

My favorite photo from my maternity shoot in February. It’s amazing what hair and makeup and a darn good photographer will do…Thanks to my hair stylist Venet Charles, my makeup artist Ashley Means and James Hill Photography!!! I had no idea that just a couple of weeks or so later, I would be giving birth although I absolutely felt ready to pop at that moment…

The M&M Twins stayed here during the first week on this earth. Those are their two beds. They were eventually elevated to their own private room as they progressed…

This is Handsome Hubby holding them for the first time…I hated seeing them hooked up to various monitors, but such is the path of preemies…

We took this picture of them shortly after they arrived home…No wires!!! Praise God!!!

This is just a few days ago on April 1. I imagined they had the below conversation…

Mattison: Sister, what you think about slap-gate?
Michaela: Zzzzzzzz
Hello April 👋…The deadline for slap-gate discussions has now passed…😁😆🤣… #MandMTwinsChronicles

Handsome Hubby and I feel as if we entered into our personal Promised Land…

So…regarding blogging…I’m back…I’m literally brimming with creative energy now that my body is my own again…However, for the time being, my time is not my own (these twins and their feedings own it)…so dear readers…I’m asking and praying that again you will still rock with me as I try to get on my regular blogging schedule (Sundays and Wednesdays and sometimes more and sometimes less) because I LOVE blogging the cross section of faith, relationships and pop culture!!!

And so there you have it…The Reason Why I Blogged Irregularly After August 2021…

Ain’t God Good?! Won’t He Do It?!

This Bible verse comes to mind this morning as I blog:

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,  to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21

And if you please, please pray for the twins…

Any thoughts?

 

Seven Scriptures to Remind Us that Jesus is the Real Reason for the Season…Still…

Hello World,

Like the treasured Christmas tree that my husband and I lovingly decorate each Christmas season (we bought the tree during our first Christmas together as a married couple in 2013), the post below, which I originally wrote in 2012, is still relevant especially as today is December 1!

I don’t know about you but December always seems to fly by…Between making Christmas lists, shopping with the masses, sending out Christmas greetings via e-mail or snail mail, going to Christmas parties and other events, preparing for the New Year and regular life stuff, it seems there is never enough time to do it all and so I almost look forward to January when life is back to its regular pace…

And if you noticed, I haven’t mentioned Jesus at all…That is because with all I have to or want to do, I can forget that the birth of Jesus, God’s precious gift to mankind, is the real reason for the season…And so to prepare my heart for this season and hopefully help you prepare your heart for this season too, I have decided to list seven scriptures that take the focus off of the worldly expressions of the Christmas season and help us to focus on Jesus…

1. “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”). Matthew 1:23 I just love that Immanuel means “God with us.”  Jesus was born so that God could be with us…Remember that the next time you feel alone because you are not…God is with us!

2. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 Look how much we are loved by God! He sacrificed His one and only Son! What have we sacrificed for God lately? Something to remember and act on at this time of the year…

3. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 Every time I see Christmas lights, I’m going to remember that God is the father of heavenly lights and that every good and perfect gift is from Him…I’m feeling better about the Christmas season already…

4. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 Although we will never be free of sin this side of Heaven, we can still accept God’s gift of eternal life with Jesus Christ who helps us not to sin…

5. “…Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have…” 1 Peter 3:15 At some point during this Christmas season, we have to know that everyone around us does not know the real reason for the season…I hope I’m ready when the opportunity arises for me to tell somebody about my Lord and Savior…

6. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4…Do  you want the desires of your heart? Of course 🙂 Then we have to delight ourselves in the Lord and His purposes…Now, this does not mean that we send up a list of what we want and then He delivers gifts like He is some Santa Claus in the sky…No, this verse means that mysteriously when we align ourselves with the Lord, His desires for us become our desires…and then we get the desires of our heart because they are His desires for us too…

7. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.” Luke 2:14…This time of the year especially I have to make every effort to give glory to God and live at peace with others…I wish those in government would remember that…

And what is the Christmas season without beautiful music? Check out Jonathan McReynold’s rendition of “O Come All Ye Faithful.” His voice is simply angelic…

Any thoughts?