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Death By Entertainment…

Hello World,

Wasn’t it surreal to watch President Obama make his way down the center aisle of the House chamber last night? He looked like a rock star as everyone was clamoring to shake hands with him. And then when President Obama introduced his wife as the first lady…I still feel like I’m dreaming sometimes when I watch him speak on television…We have an intelligent president…and he’s black…and his wife is black….Wow! But I digress…As much as I adore the Obamas, they are not the subject of this post…

If you live in the A and listen to the radio, then you are probably aware that Rev. Al Sharpton’s and Warren Ballentine’s talk programs are off the radio. Their shows used to be on 102.5 FM, but now it is a gospel station. 107. 5 is now an R&B rather than jazz station and is being simulcast on 97.5, which is used to be the gospel station. Steve Harvey’s and Michael Baisden’s talk shows, however, were saved. Confusing isn’t it?…And sad too…Apparently Sharpton’s and Ballentine’s shows didn’t have high enough ratings…All I know is that I loved my daily dose of Warren Ballentine, Rev. Al and Michael Baisden during this past election process…They got me fired up and ready to take action…Because of their programs, I wore black on the day of the Jena 6 march…I learned about people like Troy Davis and others  from Rev. Al.  I learned more about CNN commentators Roland Martin and Donna Brazile. Basically, their programs spurred my latent interest in politics, civil rights and civil disobedience…

I must confess after Obama was elected, I didn’t listen with as much dedication, but it was encouraging to know that whenever I wanted to switch it up a bit, I could plug into either Warren Ballentine or Rev. Al. And then on Feb. 16, without much of a warning, they were gone. And all that is left alleged crackheads K-Ci and JoJo whining about loving somebody for life and other similar throwback R&B groups….now I love me some R&B, but during the workday, it would be nice to hear about issues instead of being lulled to sleep by love songs and what not…it almost feels like we’re drinking the Kool-Aid if you know what I mean…This is what the WORD has to say about it all…

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6

I signed a petition to get them back on the radio. Does anyone know the status of this petition? If you haven’t signed it and want them back, take a moment to sign it. It’s easy….

On the national front, Farai Chideya’s News and Notes on NPR will be officially be off the radio waves in March although Chideya is not hosting the program in its final weeks. I sometimes listened to the engaging program as I drove to Bible study on Wednesdays. Black people from a broad spectrum of life were featured on the program, and it was delightful to hear a black woman in my age group have her say…The show was the victim of our country’s tough economic times…

Now if your views are on the conversative side, you can listen to Herman Cain on News/Talk WSB 750 from 7-10 p.m. weekdays. I am tempted to say bad things, but his bio is crazy impressive…so I will let you be the judge…

Anyway, if you see me snoozing in my car at the red light, honk your horn and wake me up…R&B all day puts me to sleep…I guess I could get satellite radio and broaden my choices…but I’m too cheap and not into techy upgrade stuff for all that…I guess my religious folk probably think I could listen to messages from pastors and what not…uhh, I think I will pass…don’t get me wrong, but I need an extra jolt during the day…and I like to be plugged into current events…guess I will be turning back to good ole Clark Howard…The Lord knows I could know more about money management…

Any thoughts?

Note: I know there are other talk radio programs hosted by black people on other radio stations…I’m just talking about the ones that have earned my interest…And I will attempt to listen to 1380 AM here in the A…but I prefer FM programs…

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The devil made me do it…

Hello World!!!

Can you believe it? It is almost the third month of 2009 already…It seems like it was just yesterday that I was in our nation’s capital celebrating the inauguration of our 44th president! To God be the Glory…

But y’all know that to every yin, there is a yang. So if there is God, there must be the adversary also known as the devil…I love thinking about God…well sometimes I don’t like thinking about God actually – particularly when it comes to something that I want to do when God has clearly told me that I shouldn’t do it…But I really never like thinking about the devil…just thinking about the adversary and his wiles make me scared actually although I know that God is infinitely more powerful than His adversary…but I’ve discovered that to not think about the devil is to give him more power because he exists…yes, he does…

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8

My father says that one of satan’s best tools is convince us that he is like the tooth fairy…that he is a figment of our imagination and doesn’t exist at all…that way he can wreak havoc in our lives and we don’t even know the source…if you don’t believe me, think back to when you have tried to do right…whether it be attending church on a regular basis, getting up every morning to have devotion, praying each day, having a testimony, etc…Didn’t it seem that there was some force that tried to prevent you from accomplishing your goal? I think that force is the adversary…

I’m an obsessive thinker…at any given moment, the same thought will be traveling through my mind over and over and over again…sometimes when I have experience this, it’s just me being me I think…but sometimes, when the thought is destructive and leads me into constant worrying and fear, I think that is a thought planted by the real evildoer (Thank God, we have ushered in change!!!)

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.    2 Timothy 1:17

This is a verse that I say to myself over and over again when an obsessive thought whirs in my mind…There are several verses in the Bible in which God tells us it is not His will that we worry and be in fear…Here is another verse that calms me down…

 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him,  and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Because I know the Father, He is constantly leading me, and I can trust that He is leading although I have no idea where I am going…Here’s another way of looking at it…In my finite human wisdom, I can’t possibly know everything and everybody and whether this person or that person intends to hurt me or not…but God does…and IF you have given your life to Him, He has got your back….and your front and your sides and over and under you for that matter…surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…Praise Jesus!

My favorite apologist, C.S. Lewis, wrote a fictional account of a demon and his apprentice and the ways they tried to influence a newly converted Christian man to do wrong…think of the whole angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other shoulder scenario. I read “The Screwtape Letters” some years ago, and it is a brilliant depiction of what could be going in the spiritual dimension.

I don’t know much about the Minister Joyce Meyer, but I have been reading about her book, “Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind” on the Internet…I found an excerpt of the book in which the struggle of a married couple is described. The devil planted destructive thought patterns in each of their minds based on their individual backgrounds, personalities and fears, and their marriage was suffering as a result…Of course, that was the adversary’s goal…

In fact, I sometimes gage whether I am in the will of God by how much opposition I experience in a particular situation…A few years ago, I wrote an article about the book, “The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life,” by Bruce Wilkinson. I even met the man. Although it was a religious article, I wasn’t working at a religious publication. Anyway, my boss was…well to put it nicely – let’s just say we didn’t get along…While she was reading through the article, she yelled at me from her office, “When you pray the Prayer of Jabez, do you pray for a new boss?” She cackled after she finished her statement…I am saved, but a few choice words ran through my mind (let’s just say one word rhymed with witch)…And then she gave me a hard time about the number of sources I had in the article and other stuff…it was opposition for sure…but the article was published as God intended…

Anyway, I could say more, but I won’t…

Any thoughts?

P.S. One way to defeat the adversary is to praise God…Here is one of my fave praise songs!!! This a great song for when you’re “going through.”

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A Love Supreme…

Hello World!!!

Although it’s Friday the 13th, I’m claiming that this day will be a beautiful prelude to the best Valentine’s Day ever…Can’t nobody love me like Jesus, but the love of a good man is what I am focusing on today… 🙂

I know this verse has been used on countless wedding programs, but I still love it so I will include it here…

His mouth is sweetness itself; 
he is altogether lovely. 
This is my lover, this my friend, 
O daughters of Jerusalem.

Song of Solomon 5:16

Here’s hoping all of us will indulge in a little sweetness tomorrow!!! Also, in honor of Valentine’s Day, I have decided to list my top 14 love songs…keep in mind that I’m pretty fickle, and this list changes pretty frequently…but this is what I’m feeling today in no particular order…

1. “Look What I’ve Got” by Betty Carter – I fell in love with this song when I first heard Carter sing it on an episode of “The Cosby Show.” Remember that episode when Vanessa and her girls wanted to form a singing group…Classic!

2. “I Like The Way (Kissing Game)” by Hi-Five – This song makes me think of 1991 when I was still in high school. Young love, young love…R.I.P. Tony Thompson! We love you!

3. “A Love Supreme” by John Coltrane – In the liner notes, Coltrane discusses his love for God, which is the true LOVE SUPREME, but I think the song is still a really cool romantic song…

4. “The Sweetest Thing” by Lauryn Hill – My girl may or may not be crazy, but she is still the dopest singer of my generation – hands down! I probably need to start praying for her again…

5. “I Like” by Guy- Nikki D. and I LOVE this song…It reminds of us of the day that we skipped high school and rode all through the A in a jeep with the top down…simple pleasures….good times, good times…

6. “Let It Flow” by Toni Braxton – Yeah, it’s a song about love gone bad, but we all know what Frankie Beverly has said is true…Joy and Pain are one in the same …

7. “Adore” by Prince – I know that Prince is out there, but he is still a sexy little man…Can’t nobody even compare…

8. “Scandalous” by Prince – This song is like butta baby…

9. “When 2 Are In Love” by Prince – Pure genius…

10.  “By Your Side” by Sade – When Samantha dances with that devil Richard on the roof of his penthouse as this song plays, I just melt…Oh yeah, I’m talking about one of my favorite shows ever, “Sex and the City.”

11. “At Last” by Etta James – Ms. Etta knows she was wrong for going off on Beyonce like that, but in a strange way, I understand…that’s her signature song…at least someone could have asked her first if she wanted to sing the song…

12. “A Sunday Kind of Love” by Etta James – People sleep on this song…This is what I want truly…someone I can go to church with and go home with and make it “do what it do…”

13. “A Song For You” by Donny Hathway – Although I love this song, somehow it always makes me a little sad for some reason…maybe because of Hathaway’s tragic and mysterious death…

14. “Could You Be Loved” by Bob Marley…Ain’t nothin’ like an island romance, and this song was on the soundtrack of my Island Romance ’97….

I have decided to include the video for “I Like The Way (Kissing Game)” by Hi-Five…It reminds me of when life was uncomplicated, and I need to remind myself of that today…Happy Valentine’s Day!