WHAT'S IN YOUR EAR?

Recently I posted a Thought for Today to my Facebook family. It simply said this, “What would you say to a person that told you Jesus can’t save you and life start when the church ends?” I then asked them if they would give this person their money; I’m sure that most of them said “No,” however they probably unknowingly did if they purchased or downloaded Jay Z’s song, Empire State of Mind.

I must admit that I, too, thought that the song was cute; I mean it even briefly had me wishing that I were from New York because it has become their unofficial anthem. In reality though I have to admit that I’ve never listened to Jay Z’s part of the song because I’m not a fan of his music; usually for me his lyrics doesn’t make sense. But I must admit that until today I was highly impressed with him as a business man…hmm...however one of my favorite movies comes to mind as I write this, “The Devil’s Advocate.” I won’t go into the true message of this movie but I’ll leave you with a slice, “You sharpen the human appetite to the point where it can split atoms with its desire; you build egos the size of cathedrals; fiber-optically connect the world to every eager impulse; grease even the dullest dreams with these dollar-green, gold-plated fantasies, until every human becomes an aspiring emperor, becomes his own God... and where can you go from there?” Suffice it to say it’s speaks to how we are as a people. Ironically this movie was also centered around New York as well.

“Would you give this person your money?” I followed that by saying, “You did if you bought or downloaded this song.” Jay Z’s latest CD sold over a million copies in a week; further lining his pockets. “Jesus can’t save you…” It pains me to think that our children and some adults are being fed from the devil’s hand and we don’t know it or realize it. It pains me that the utensil being used to feed us is something simple as two buds attached to an Ipod or MP3 player and we don’t realize it. Long ago I told someone that this new craze was really the devil’s handiwork because it feeds your spirit. I compared it to an experience that I had with my alarm clock – Short version…back when the song was popular I found myself always singing R. Kelly’s song about Mr. Big. It puzzled me why this song wouldn’t get out of my head. “Low down dirty woman, back to where you come from…” It was weeks before I realized that this song came on the radio at the same time every morning which just happened to be my wake up time; it was the first thing that fed my spirit. “What’s in your ear?” It’s true that what goes in your ears rests in your spirit. I proved that by whispering “Mommy” into Breyona’s ear as a baby; guess what her first words were? “What’s in your ear?” Have you ever left church on a spiritual high singing a song from the service only to go into a store playing secular music? Now I know I’m not the only one that has gone from singing Praise is what I do to It’s a thin line between love and hate without realizing it…Yes the devil is crafty… So let me ask you this ~ Jay Z says, “Jesus can’t save you” and God’s Word says, “If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart you shall be saved.” Now who will you believe?

“He who knows not & knows that he knows not is a fool; shun him. He who knows not & knows not that he knows not is a child; teach him. He who knows & knows not that he knows is asleep; wake him. He who knows & knows that he knows is wise; follow him.” ~Proverbs TGBTG

~Stay Prayed Up!! CLICK ON THE LINK

PARTY OVER HERE!

Party over here! My super sweet, precious daughter imagines that her 16th birthday will be like the television show My Super Sweet 16. She has such hopes, dreams and ideas for this big day; ideas that I can’t help but laugh at when she talks about it. “Mommy, I want a limousine to drop me off at the clubhouse and then I want all of my friends to blah, blah, blah.” At this point it all begins to sound like gibberish, especially since I’ve turned on the tune-your-child-out button. Sadly the show My Super Sweet 16 has given a lot of children a crazy idea that all 16th birthdays should be spent with a party that costs thousands of dollars followed by a very expensive automobile. YEAH RIGHT! Unfortunately for Bree this dream was fueled when her dance group was invited to a 16th birthday party at Terrell Owens’s house (pardon me while I suppress my flesh). The party was really great, especially the part where I foamed at the mouth over an ESPN picture of a shirtless T.O. (get behind thee flesh). Let’s see where was I, oh yeah back to the kids. After watching the entertainment, swimming in the pool, eating, dancing and mingling everyone was asked to come around to the front of the house; it was here that a Mercedes Benz with a big bow was parked in the driveway. On the ride home both Bree and Shay talked about their 16th party and what they were expecting, did I say YEAH RIGHT?!

As we drove back to the real world I shared with them that my concept of birthday parties for them have changed dramatically. Am I being mean? No. I made a decision that the Jackson’s will have an annual gathering that will cover everything from birthdays, to graduations, to family BBQs and all; this way we can lump our celebrations into one party. Why? Let me explain. Picture this – if you are the one that’s hosting the party no matter how many people lend a hand, it is the host that ends up too tired to fully enjoy the party, not to mention that the host is also the one that ends up a little light in the pocket. After the party is over it is the host that has to clean up, put the scraps of food away, and end up pissed that insensitive people carried away all of the food without any regards to whether the family would like to eat later. At my last party not only did they haul away all of the food, but when the plates ran out someone found the foil and used up all of that too. Skanks! From now on I’m going to invest in the birthday girl, the husband or myself and give us a present that we will never forget. I will no longer spend my money to entertain someone else for MY birthday – noooo. This year I’m going to teach my family that to celebrate another year of life doesn’t mean exhausting ourselves and our money entertaining others; it means making lasting memories for us…Even if I’m riding on clouds of money between now and the next year and a half before Bree turns 16, I doubt that she will be driving the streets of Atlanta in a Benz or anything in that price range. For me I would rather see the expression on their faces as they stare at the ocean from the balcony on a luxury cruise ship or while sitting on the beach in Hawaii or sitting in a penthouse suite with a few members of the family & close friends. I would rather make memories of them taking a picture with Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, or some special background in Sydney. I would rather be in Brazil learning something that I didn’t know or teaching them to ski in Aspen. I would rather see my dollar being changed to another currency rather than seeing people carrying plates of food that I’ve paid for out of my house.

Memories…My girls and I will always remember the time we spent in Puerto Rico, a celebration for passing the CRCT. We combined that with my niece graduating from the 8th grade and Bree’s graduation from the 5th grade. “Let’s have a pool party in the clubhouse,” they shouted. “Sure, let me just call to cancel these,” I said as I placed four airline tickets on the table. “What would you rather do?” The screams told me that they would rather be in Puerto Rico. We turned a business trip into a vacation; my best friend joined us and the 5 of us toured Old San Juan, the Bacardi factory, we enjoy the food along the strip of the small town we were living in and had fun trying to order chicken in Spanish at Church’s. Pool party or Puerto Rico? We have pictures & a video of us relaxing in the Jacuzzi, playing in the pool and enjoying the waves in the ocean. I still find the strange looks amusing when Shay says, “that smells like Bacardi.” I stop and wonder if I should explain that we toured the factory and smelled the different flavors of Rum. Will they believe me? It doesn’t matter. I know that a tour of Puerto Rico and the original Rum factory have given them lessons that they will always remember. Ahhh. Life was good and it was money well spent. I can’t wait until our Super Sweet “vacation,” but in the meantime where can mommy go for a little R & R…? TGBTG

~Stay Prayed Up!! CLICK ON THE LINK

God is in the Small Stuff

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! WOW 2010!! It seems like only yesterday that I wrote my article The Brilliant Mind of Others to ring in 2009. Many of you know that my first article of the New Year is usually a revelation received for which I am always honored to be the vessel. Just looking back at the titles over the years says a lot about what I’ve learned: 2005 Enjoy the Fruits of Your Labor; 2006 ABLIEVR: 2007 Shake It Off; 2008 Life is too Darn Short. Last year God dropped into my spirit an amazing revelation while watching a Katt Williams DVD and from that The Brilliant Mind of Others was birthed. This year something as annoying as a beeping sound in my truck was the basis for the powerful message sent by God.

Long story short – Around the middle of last year I began to notice a beeping sound in my truck. It’s the same sound that is made when I start the ignition but leave the door open or my seat belt unfastened; a warning sound. Every time it came on I would pull over, exit, and go around opening and closing every door. In the beginning doing this worked but after a while it wouldn’t and the beeping continued continuously for about 2 or 3 minutes or until I pressed the reset button 2 or 3 times – annoying. Finally after putting two and two together I discovered that it only happened when it rained; apparently a short in the wiring. As it got closer to the truck being paid in full what started out as a problem only when it rained turned into an all the time problem. The few mechanics that I asked had no idea why it was doing this – a couple suggested a fuse, one agreed that it was possibly the wiring, but no one wanted to touch it. Frustrated and ticked off I was beginning to believe that the old saying is true, “Everything starts happening when it’s almost paid off.”When I couldn’t take it anymore I realized that I had two options – I could pray about it and hope that God hears me in the small stuff or I could take it to Ford and let them charge me an arm, a leg, and two fingers. Knowing how God likes to show off I decided to put Him to the test (hey He said it first...) My prayer was simple; something similar to the Faith Evans' song, "Lord I come to you I ask you to grant my request. The prayer I pray today is different from the rest..."

I don’t know exactly when it happened but in the beginning I thought it was just another fluke. I thought, okay, it’s a dry day and the sun has dried up the moisture that had shorted out the wire. Later that week it stormed; no beep. Another dry day and no beeping sound. This went on and on until I realized that God must have fixed the “small stuff.” I couldn’t believe it but in my heart I could because He’s just that kind of God. This was His way of showing me that what I think is small is just as important to Him. It was this “small stuff” that reminded me that all He asks is that we have faith the size of a mustard seed. So this year, 2010, take your big stuff and imagine that it’s small stuff and then give it to God ~ He’s listening and He’ll take care of it. TGBTG

~Stay Prayed Up!! CLICK ON THE LINK