Posted on Sunday, September 7, 2014

41 is the NEW 21…At least that’s what I’m telling myself…

Hello World!!!

So all week long I have been thinking about how to spin my birthday…which is TODAY!!!!

One-year-old Jackie

There are so many other more popular ages…Everyone loves one year olds…They smell new (well, not always)…They can barely walk and talk which is good if you want to ignore them from to time…And you generally feel sorry for the little parasites because they are dependent on everybody for nearly everything…

Jackie at six…

Six year olds have fans too…They are excited by notebook paper and pencils which makes them pretty easy to please…They have started loosing teeth which makes listening to them hilarious…You can scare them easily…Even the

Me at 13…

unlucky 13 year olds are praised….The boys’ voices start to crack which is good for laughs…The girls start to stress out over boys which is also good for laughs…And you can leave them at home by themselves at least for a short time unless you have bad seeds…And of course,

Sweet sixteen…

there are the sweet 16 year olds…Every 16 year old I’ve ever met reminds me of why I loved Molly Ringwald movies…teenage angst at its best…It makes all of us feel pretty good that we are no longer in agony or have pimples which is why 16 is a pretty good age…There are tons of Sweet 16 greeting cards in every store…And they can drive you around…

21 baby…

And of course, the 21 year olds live in a constant state of nirvana…Everything is tight and right… Legally, they can do anything they please…And still people loan and or give them money because they are only 21….The 30 year olds get love

30 & Flirty…

too…They get sympathy because everyone recognizes there is no turning back to childhood…But everything is still tight and right…And people start respecting them more because they are finally stacking more paper…Even the 40 year olds get

40 & Fabulous…

props…People compliment them like crazy if they still look good and or younger…And they get no judgment if they look a little lived in or have gained a pound or two every year for the last 10 years…And they are usually deemed pretty respectable because they have pretty good jobs, wives and or husbands, well-cared-for pets, grown up houses, etc. and take fabulous vacations…

But nobody’s really checking for the 41 year olds…So what if they look good for age? They are 41 so that cancels that out…So what if they have a nice house and or apartment, etc.? They should by this age…So what if they take fabulous vacations? They should by this age…Fill in blank…

But then again, maybe 41 is the gateway age…By that I mean it’s first age that people are still surprised they are here at all…Seriously though, I’m truly grateful that God allowed mr to see 41 and any other age I’ve been or will be…Won’t He Do It?

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

Any thoughts?

Posted on Sunday, August 31, 2014

A New Book Honors Church Mothers…

Hello World,

I hope this Sunday morning finds you well and you’re on your way to church to give Him praise morning…If you have been in church for a while, particularly a black church, you’ve heard of the term church mother…A church mother is a matriarch, whether formally or informally, of a congregation…An older woman whose wisdom, earned through years and years and years of living this life, is one of the church’s most valuable possessions…Though the beauty of youth has long departed, another beauty only acquired by watching God work things out time and time and time again, has descended upon her countenance…She is a jewel…a rare gem…

Photojournalist Alysia Burton Steele is capturing the rare brilliance of church mothers in her book in progress ““Jewels in the Delta.” From her Facebook page, below are descriptions of a few of the 50 Mississippi women that Steele photographed and interviewed for her book…

Mrs. Leola, 102, was thrown off a plantation in Yazoo City because she refused to have her little girls pick cotton. She wanted them to go to school. The overseer told her she had to leave if she wouldn’t let them work because she would “ruin his other blacks” because they would want an education too. She left and said it was the best decision she ever made. All of her girls have masters degrees and one has a Ph.D.

Mrs. Rebecca, 99, talked about how thankful she was for the woman she worked for as a cook. The woman taught her how to save $2 every week for a year and make a payment on her home. She paid her house off in 15 years. It’s not much, she said, but it’s hers and she has the original deed.

Ms. Velma, 78, dragged a woman out of church after she heard the woman talking about how fine her husband was. Punched the woman between the eyes and went back in and “sat quite comfortably” in church. Never saw the woman again. Husband had no clue she did this.

Read more about Steele’s book and see some of the photographs of the women in the The New York Times article “Chronicling Mississippi’s ‘Church Mothers,’ and Getting to Know a Grandmother” by Samuel G. Freedman…

And below is a video about the book…

So when you see one of the elderly ladies at your church today, maybe you shouldn’t just speak and keep on going…maybe you should get her talking and learn from the wisdom only she can share…

Any thoughts?

Posted on Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Seven Scriptures We Can Apply to Ferguson…

Hello World,

I must confess I have neglected my humble corner of the World Wide Web lately because of a variety of reasons…

I’ve attended two funerals this month and have begun planning to honor a sorority sister that passed away a year ago in October and another sorority sister that passed away in 2005 resulting in my emotions ranging the spectrum…I have written two articles, a column and worked on my book which has made me feel like I have no words left for my blog (in other words, a good old-fashioned case of writer’s block)…It seems that our home is going through some sort of mid-life crisis or entering old age as we have worked on getting our stove, refrigerator and air conditioner fixed…and other developments, I cannot mention here just yet…And of course, my one-year wedding anniversary this month has had me in contemplation of what is to come…

In sum, I’ve had a good ole dose of life this month as I do every month…but somehow this month, this mixture of life has been more potent than other months…y’all pray for me as there are a few days left in the month :).

With all of that said and or written, I remain committed to viewing this world through the lens of Christian faith and writing about my view here on my blog…So on to today’s post….

I’ve noticed that when faced with negativity from numerous sources, I tend to feel powerless and attempt to direct my energy in another direction where I hopefully will have more power or retreat altogether…That is how I felt when I witnessed (via television) and read about what happened in Ferguson…For all of the progress made in black life in the United States, it seems that black men remain targets…However, I can no longer no retreat or redirect…

Below are seven verses we can apply to Ferguson…

1.“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28…When will we learn that all races are equal and loved and created by God? I have to wonder if Mike Brown would have been a white teenager, would he have been gunned down in the same fashion or shot at all?

2. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8…Since black men seem to be targets, black men must have a “double consciousness” that while we (United States citizens) are free to live equally above and below the law as we please, the consequences for black men will likely not be the same…Much has been said about Mike Brown being a cigar thief (which the police officer had no knowledge of before observing him) or “no angel” as if any transgressions he may have committed are justification for being shot and left in the street like a dead dog…The devil is busy…Be aware…

3. “Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.” Romans 13:2… All should of us should attempt to be law-abiding citizens, but given the unfair treatment of black men in the justice and legal systems, black men, unfortunately, have to be even more careful about obeying the laws of this country…I hate to say that, but as my nephew gets older, I will tell him this again and again for his own safety…

4. “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.” Isaiah 40:30…To be a black man in this country is know that stereotyping, ignorance and downright racism is real…We have to encourage young black men in particular (see above) as they, like all young people, are in the process of finding themselves and prone to make mistakes as they learn lessons…

5. “In your anger do not sin.” Ephesians 4:26a…I truly believe that one of the reasons that Dr. Martin Luther King’s efforts were so powerful is that he employed the tool of non-violence. The juxtaposition of having dogs, clubs, tear gas and more unleashed on the peaceful protesters of the ’60s showed the world just how unjust those that literally fought to maintain the racist and unequal status quo were…As organizations plan more protests in the wake of Ferguson, I hope they employ the method of non-violence…

6. “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12…All of the strife between various races, economic groups, political parties, neighbors, plaintiffs and defendants, etc… All strife period can be traced back to the father of strife…the devil…In other words, we need Jesus…It is only with Jesus that we can win against the power that wants to divide and conquer us…

7. “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:20… This world (although I love it with all of its faults) will never be the way we want it to be…That is no excuse to not keep fighting for justice…However, we must realize it is only in heaven that we will experience perfect justice…And maybe God has allowed it to be that way to point us toward Him…

Any thoughts?