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Of Heaven, Hell & Revelation…

Hello World!!!

In spite of the title of this post, I am determined to make this a fun and whimsical post  – hopefully, it will not be sacrilegious…I’m sure somebody will let me know if it is.

So tonight, we start studying the book of Revelation in Bible Study. I’ve never been too excited about this book. All of the symbolism just goes way over my head. And the battle between Good and Evil is downright scary even though Good wins. Have you taken a look at Revelation lately? There is mention of creatures covered with eyes, a beast with horns but with the voice of a dragon, plagues, men gnawing their tongues in agony, a fiery lake of burning sulfur and I could go on…pretty scary stuff – as scary as any scary movie I’ve ever seen. Also, I have childhood memories of watching this creepy movie, Thief in the Night, in church one Sunday night. In the movie, this woman discovers her Christian husband has been raptured, and she is living in the last days of the Antichrist. Everyone must get the mark of the beast, etc. Imagine seeing that as a six year old – no wonder I have tried to avoid the book of Revelation pretty much since then. (Aside: I have heard people speculate that Barack Obama may be the Antichrist…My answer to that is – why the black man gotta be the Antichrist? I mean…)

By the end of Revelation, however, John, who wrote the book, describes his vision of heaven. He said “it shown with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.”  According to John, the sun or moon are obsolete in heaven as “the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” There will be no need for health or life insurance (Thank You Jesus!) as “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things have passed away.”

So when is this post going to get fun and whimsical? Keep reading! 🙂  As the daughter of a pastor, I have heard many a gospel song over the years – one in particular comes to mind. I remember riding with my father to church one Sunday and this song came on, Walk Around Heaven, by Cassietta George. In the song, George said in Heaven, every day will be Sunday…I remember telling my father just then that if in Heaven, every day is Sunday, I just as soon not go. He laughed and asked me to explain why.  Here’s the thing. I truly enjoy going to church on Sunday, and on some Sundays, I love going to church. But when it’s time to go, I leave and sometimes very happily… I just want don’t want heaven to be an eternal church service where we are reading scripture, passing the offering plate, listening to long, rambling testimonies, listening for when the pastor is going to shut down the sermon, wondering why our pantyhose is itching, etc.

I want Heaven to be like a tropical island – a place where the water is so blue that it is nearly indistinguishable from the sky. I want to be able to walk up right up to God and talk to Him as long as I want to about anything that comes to mind. Why didn’t Erik Estrada from “CHiPs” marry me when I was a little girl? Why are some really mean people rich and some really nice people poor? Why does there have to be war? And for goodness sake, who let the dogs out? (Yes, I’m being silly) I hope in heaven everyone is their best self – whatever that means. And I hope we’re not just spirits walking around in heaven. I hope that we still have our bodies – toned up though.  And I hope there is male and female for reasons I won’t go into here, ha, ha…

So what is your idea of Heaven?  When I listen to that song, Zoom, by the Commodores, I think of Heaven…It’s a beautiful song really. Uh, oh, I can hear you singing, “Zoom, Zoom.” 🙂

Any Thoughts?

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Lead By Example – Black Men Represent, Represent!

Hello World!!!

I love me some black men! I will say it again: I love me some black men! Now before you think this is a post about dating, let me stop you right now! No, it isn’t. However, the subject of love and relationships may enter this post. But as much as I love the brothers, I feel like SOME of the brothers could do better in a few areas. Read on before you get mad. 🙂

I, like many other black Americans, am still grappling with the fact that the president-elect of the United States of America is a black man. (Yes, I know that he is officially biracial as many would like to note, but y’all know the deal…) And so, there must be a legion of lessons to glean from this most incredible moment in history.

What comes to mind at this moment is how President-Elect Barack Obama’s background mirrors the stories of many in the black community and he has still managed to make it to the highest office in the land. First of all, he is the product of a single parent household. I cannot vouch for other areas of the U.S., but in the A, many, if not most, of the black men I come across are the product of single parent households. Though my father is Jamaican, he is also the product of a single parent household. And by single parent, I’m talking about a single mother. At various forums and in personal conversations, I have heard and believe that growing up without your father, particularly for men, can really impede a person’s progress in a variety of areas. But with Barack’s example, I hope that black men who suffer from this deficit realize that they, too, can rise above their personal history and “jump at de sun.”

With Barack as an example, I hope that black men start to realize that marriage isn’t the kiss of death. According to a very vocal and dear friend of mine, she thinks there is some sort of disconnect when it comes to black men and marriage. She constantly tells me that in working in her profession, she has noticed that marriage for white men is like a rite of passage starting anywhere from age 25 or so and up. It’s just understood that an average white man will get married, and marriage is probably a rung on the ladder of success for him. For black men, she noted, marriage is like a hit or miss endeavor in which an average black woman has to engage in a game of “catch me if you can.”  Well black men, take a look at Barack, having Michelle at his side has definitely been an asset – don’t you agree?

And while we’re on the subject of our First Lady-Elect, Michelle Obama, I want to point out a gripe I’ve heard from black men. I was told very recently by a black man that part of the reason that black men sometimes don’t want to get married in the same way that white men get married is that black women tend to be unwilling to submit in a marriage whereas white women are more compliant. Umm, I don’t know for sure obviously, but I don’t think that Mrs. Obama is waiting for husband to get home so that she can say “whatever you like” like that woman in the movie, “Coming to America.” She may even be “running things” while making her huzzband feel like he’s really the one in charge. (Aside: If I were Michelle, I would go on up to my nearby flea market and order me a red baby doll T with words ‘Mrs. Commander-In-Chief’ printed on the front, but I digress, I digress.) Here’s the deal, due to slavery and other remnant societal conditions, black women have had to be more assertive and black men have been made to feel less than, but we can still do this. Yes, we can!

And let’s put this baby mama and baby daddy stuff behind us, if you big and bad enough to make a baby with somebody, be big and bad enough to stay with that somebody and create a family. (I know this is impossible and even unfavorable in some cases, but do your best.)  Being a part of an intact family is truly a beautiful though imperfect thing. Even at this age, it’s comforting to know that I can stop by our family home and that both my Mom and my Dad will be there to support and encourage me. Families are the fabric of this society, I am starting to learn. And don’t we have the most precious first family! (At least as of Jan. 20!) Sasha and Malia are sooo adorable! Every child deserves to have the covering of a mother and father!

I could say a tad more, but I’m sleepy!

Any thoughts?

P.S. This poem by one of my favorite poets, Nikki Giovanni, is a bit outdated, but I love its message. I love black men. Take a listen. Ms. Giovanni once sent me a card in which she complimented a poem I wrote about being stood up. I was in early ’20s. It really happened:)

 

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Dreams Do Come True…Yes, We Can!

Hello World!!!

Obviously, the news of the day, maybe even the century, is that Senator Barack Obama is now President-Elect Barack Obama…I can scarcely take it in…Thankfully, I don’t expect that anyone will be calling me at 3 a.m. tonight as I am blogging away and unprepared to think about anything except for the magnitude of this moment! (Get it? Let me know.)

I, like many other Atlantans, felt the urge to usher in this historical occasion at church, specifically Ebenezer Baptist Church, the home church of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  I wanted to ponder the dream and the dreamer!

So because it is late, and I actually do have to do some work tomorrrow, I will attempt to share some of the memorable moments of the election prayer rally.  Again, this is not a journalistic masterpiece, just some snippets that I happened to write down. (Be nice:)

Like any good service, the choir ignited the crowd by singing songs well known in the black church including, “Victory is Mine,” “This is the Day That the Lord has Made,” and “He Has Made Me Glad.” After the therapeutic praise session, Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer said to all of us, “Why of all the places we can be tonight, why would we be in church?  Because we know how we got here. We’ve come this far by faith! We’ve come tonight to thank God for this moment, to thank our ancestors for this moment, to thank God for the life and memory…of Rev. Martin Luther King.” Warnock invoked the names of Fannie Lou Hamer, Schwerner, Chaney & Goodman and John Lewis. Finally, he said that we’ve gone from “Bloody Sunday to Triumphant Tuesday!”

Throughout the night, spontaneous chants of “Yes, We Can!” threatened to stop and did stop many of the speeches from the pulpit.

Rev. Al Sharpton asked Martin Luther King III and Bernice King to come to the pulpit as he spoke in an effort to “honor our mother and father so that our days will be long.” He referenced Mrs. Coretta Scott King and Dr. King as a mother and father in the Civil Rights Movement, and said their work made it possible for Obama to be judged by the content of his character rather than the color of his skin. He led the crowd in a rendition of “Amen” – you know that song when the soloist says something like “Amen. Let the church say…” And the crowd responds “Amen.” One of his verses of was “Yes, We can y’all.” Finally, he said, “We started at the outhouse and now we going to the White House.” (Let the church say, “Amen!”)

John Lewis relieved some moments from the Selma to Montgomery march, but one of those spontaneous chants interrupted him. Oh yeah, let me not forget that two humungous screen TVs were set up at the front of the church for everyone to watch the results on CNN.

Bernice King shared a now remarkable memory with the audience. She recalled a conversation she had with her mother following the Democratic National Convention at which Obama was first introduced to the country. Mrs. King told her daughter via phone, “I think we’ve got somebody.”

Bishop Eddie Long said we “wouldn’t have jack” without the Civil Rights Movement. (He was referencing the ‘palatial palace’ that is the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church campus.)

Judge Greg Mathis, who got more applause than some of the pastors, said Obama’s greatest victory in the whole change campaign was the change he inspired “in the hearts and minds of those who once oppressed us.” “We must now do our part by dropping our guns and picking up our books and joining the movement of justice.” He asked the sisters to “demand respect” from men, and he asked the men to “Stand Up, Man Up or Shut Up.” (I didn’t say it. He did.) He said that he could say that because he has street cred. If I heard him correctly, he said he was once in jail and 15 years after leaving jail, he became the youngest judge in the country.

I must have heard that song, “Never Would Have Made It,” at least three times during the night. Me and the funny man sitting next to me don’t care if we hear that song again for at least a few days, ha,ha! He would probably say longer, but I like the song actually.

Byron Cage sang “The Presence of the Lord is Here.” It was like a rock concert with black people.

Dorothy Norwood said she sang a remix of “Victory is Mine” just for Obama. Someone from the crowd yelled “REMIX” like they were Puffy (P. Diddy or Diddy or whatever he calls himself now) or something as she started to sing. Can y’all believe that Dorothy Norwood said, “Remix?” She said the new version is in stores as of today.

When CNN reporters announced that Obama won the election, I alternated between jumping up and down like I was on “The Price is Right” and falling to my knees. Consequently, I stopped taking notes.

Other dignitaries at the rally included: Dottie Peoples, Deanna Brown (daughter of James Brown), SCLC officials, Andrew Young, Rev. Joseph Lowery and Christine Farris (Dr.King’s sister). Rev. Warnock said Jennifer Holiday would be performing later in the evening, but that did not happen by the end of the rally.

America’s first black president… “my soul looks back in wonder…”

Any thoughts?