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Andraé Crouch: My Tribute…

Hello World, crouch

When I discovered late Thursday night that Andraé Crouch, called “the greatest hymn writer of our age, the modern-day John Wesley,” by Billy Graham (according to LeVar Burton in this video) passed away, I knew I had to honor him in today’s post…What I most admired about Mr. Crouch was how he shared his gift of music in song after song decade after decade…From the time he was young until he got old, he didn’t stop until he literally could no longer continue…And so though my words may not be as inspired as his music, the best way I can honor him is to share my words…

Dear Mr. Andraé Crouch,

I don’t know if you will read my words from all the way up in Heaven, but I still want to write “My Tribute” to you…

Praise God! No longer do you have to sing “Soon and Very Soon,” because you are now in the very presence of Our King! “I Don’t Know Why,” our Father took you when He did, but I know you are up there singing, “Can’t Nobody Do Me Like Jesus” like you could never sing it before!

Since you were ushered into the Heavenly gates on Thursday, you now know for yourself that “Jesus is The Answer” for this sinful world, but you no longer have to live with sin. Your earthly clay has been removed, and now your soul can soar! Because I still live in my earthly clay, bound in sin,  sometimes, I want to despair. But I am so glad you reminded us the “The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power” to save me from my sin. And “Through It All,” I pray one day I will be right where you must be this Sunday morning.

Even though the angels have probably welcomed you into your eternal rest, you probably declared to them, “I’m Gonna Keep on Singing” because that is just what God created me to do! And I’m so grateful that God allowed you to leave a precious legacy of music, because although your earthly body is no more, still “We Need to Hear From You.” And with that, “Let the Church Say Amen.”

Blessings,

Jacqueline J. Holness

Below is a video in which Mr. Crouch shares his testimony about when God gave him the gift of music at a Billy Graham crusade in 1975…

Below is more information about the funeral arrangements for Mr. Crouch:

A celebration of Andraé Crouch’s life will take place on Tuesday, January 20th and Wednesday, January 21st at West Angeles Church of God In Christ, located at 3045 Crenshaw Blvd in Los Angeles, California. Both services will be open to the public.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Viewing: 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Tribute Celebration: 7:00pm

 Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Viewing: 10:00am – 11:00am
Celebration of Life: 11:00am

In lieu of flowers, please send tax-deductible donations to:
Andraé Crouch Memorial Fund
c/o New Christ Memorial Church
13333 Vaughn
Pacoima, CA 91340
www.newchristmemorial.org

Cards and letters may be sent to:
New Christ Memorial Church
Attn.: Mauri Jones
13333 Vaughn
Pacoima, CA 91340

Also, if you live in the metro Atlanta area, Gospel Announcer Larry Tinsley will be honoring Mr. Crouch’s music during his “Sunday Morning Praise” broadcast 6 am to 12 pm on V-103.

Any thoughts?

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See “Selma” Starting This Friday!!!

selmaHello World,

As a proud resident of Atlanta, the birthplace of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I will be among the millions, hopefully, that will flood movie theaters this weekend to see “Selma,” the movie about the history-changing marches that Dr. King led from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, which will be screened nationwide starting this Friday!!!

Actually, Atlanta was one of four cities (New York, Los Angeles and Washington D.C.) in which the movie opened on Christmas Day. As I was in Memphis on Christmas Day, I ended up seeing “Annie” (wholesome and entertaining) over the Christmas holidays with my family so I have not seen “Selma” yet. But my friends who have seen it, praised it, saying, “I cannot express how good this movie was. Please go see it when you get a chance,” “I saw it. I was in tears. I sat next to an older gentleman who was actually on the bridge on Bloody Sunday,” and “I saw it opening day. It’s heartbreaking and redemptive.”

Below are a couple of interesting articles about “Selma” screenings in other cities….

“‘Selma’ Movie Highlighted By Chattanooga March to Special Screening.”

“Bentley, Montgomery Residents Take In ‘Selma” at Premiere in Alabama Capital Where March Forged Changes.”

Also,  I interviewed Dr. Bernice King, the youngest daughter of Dr. King and CEO of The King Center for the Superwomen Issue of “Atlanta Tribune: The Magazine” in March 2014. In addition, I interviewed Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. King and daughter of his King’s younger brother Rev. A.D. King in my blog post “Let Freedom Ring: Dr. Alveda King Remembers Her Uncle Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

And below is a trailer of “Selma.”

See y’all at the movies!

Any thoughts?

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Two Signs Your New Year May Not Be Off to the Best Start…

watch night

Hello World,

If you were shot in the back during your church’s New Year’s Eve Service like Tonia Barnes was while she worshiped at Macedonia Ministries in Jackson, Mississippi  or called the “n-word” like six black friends who left a church’s New Year’s Eve Service to get something to eat at Shatila Lebanese Grill and Hookahat in Arlington, Texas were, your New Year may not be off to best start…Thankfully, Barnes has been released from the hospital and the waiter who referred to the friends as the “n-word” has been fired…Prayerfully, in spite of what happened on these people on New Year’s Eve, God will bring good even out of that…

As for my church’s New Year’s Eve Service otherwise known as Watch Night Service, all went well although I am struggling with what the pastor preached during the service…The pastor spoke on…

5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Hebrews 13:5-6

If you know anything about me, one of my worst faults I have to admit is coveting…I’m a habitual coveter…In fact, one of my earliest posts “I’m Such a Hater aka I Sometimes Break the Ten Commandments”   (I began coveting as a scrawny six year old…) is about this very word…I remember when my book was released in 2012 and I was working like crazy and God was blessing me with all kinds of opportunities, sometimes I still got discouraged because other authors seemed to moving be farther faster…In fact, I even called an author friend, and she told me that days earlier she had had a dream about someone running a race and the runner got off track because the runner kept looking at the other runners…She told her husband she wasn’t sure why she had that dream, but when I called her, she knew that dream was a message for me…Isn’t God awesome?! He knows this child of God (me 🙂 ) has got it bad when it comes to coveting…

So the next day, I reflected on and prayed about what these two verses mean, and I was led to this sermon “The Path that Leads to Contentment.” Marvin A. McMickle noted…

Covetousness and contentment. If ever there were two words placed within the same verse that seem to point in totally opposite directions, it is those words found in Hebrews 13:5. One word seems to imply a persistent and relentless pursuit for something more than one already has. Covetousness is a condition in which a person’s heart, mind and soul are preoccupied with getting and gaining more and more of the things of this world. At an even deeper level, to be covetous is to be so concerned with what someone has of possessions or abilities that we cannot be satisfied with whatever it is that we have.

Pointing in the opposite direction from covetousness is the word contentment. I do not know if you and I will ever reach this state in life, but the writer of Hebrews seems to suggest that it is an ideal state in which to live. To be content is to be satisfied with what you have. To be content is to be at peace with who you are. To be content is not to spend all day complaining about what is wrong in your life. To be content is not to mope around in self-pity because of what you have not achieved, or what you have not acquired, or what you have not attained.

To read the rest of the sermon, go to preaching.com.

So how do we go about making the best of our talents and being ambitious while being content at the same time?…How do we determine how are efforts are panning out if we’re not checking out the  competition which often leads me to coveting? I’ve got more reflecting and praying to do….

Any thoughts?