DON'T LEAVE ME HANGING

Somewhere between "Jesus Loves Me This I know, for the bible tells me so" and "I need to get out of this mess" We forgot the stuff in between. As children we believed that Jesus Loved us. We talked to him. We sang of him. We did it in the open and out loud and unashamed.
As we get older and often times not wiser we tend to lose our connection to believing that "Yes, Jesus Loves Me.
Through our own agency we venture into the world and experiment. Some of us experiment with little things like... speeding, coming in late for curfew, cheating on a test. Others experiment with Alcohol, drugs & cigarettes. Then there's those who experiment with embezzling, adultery and various kinds of abuse. We experiment in cheating in various ways, lying in various ways stealing in various ways. Hopefully at some point our Conscious (that little child of God in side of us wanting to come clean and live guilt free)starts to nag at us persuading to do the right thing.
I believe most of us... we want to come clean, do the right thing and be guilt free. We just don't know how to start OR are afraid of the consequences.
Just as we fear those consequences the JOYS of shaking off the burden is so much Sweeter than the pains of carrying them. This is where Jesus comes in.
Why is it we feel like if we're in a mess, we can't call on those who can get us out of it? As a matter of fact we stay far away from the places that bring us out of our messes.
I'm reminded of a friend of mine who was going through a tough time. She said she said a quick prayer of help, then went to the bar. I said to her:
"HOW EXCITING!"
She looked at funny and asked me what would be so exciting about going to the bar.

"When you said your quick prayer, Jesus said.. "meet me at the bar!" right?"

She looked at me and said "of course not..."

"Oh, well since you asked for help and so readily went out I though he might have told you to meet him there to help set a game plan to tackle the issues you're having."

Still looking at me funny.

"I mean when you have serious issues you created some kind of plan to take care of it, right? Like finding options and ways to lessen the problem and increase your success over them."

She was having a light bulb moment.


"Girl, you know Jesus will meet you where you are if you ask him...AND listen to him. Did you pause a few minutes for inspiration? Or did you pray and just leave Jesus hanging?"
*She left him hangin'* (Those were her words, not mine)
I think when we get so deep into certain situations we figure we're too deep. So we try to dig ourselves out only to fall deeper or make no progress.

This, my friends is where that pesky devil comes into play with his mantra: You aren't worthy of his love. You aren't worthy of his blessings. You don't deserve his help. He won't hear your prayers. You're too far gone, forget about it.

Simply by being a child of GOD that gives us the right to pray and be heard. Every child has the right to ask their parent for love, guidance, protection and assistance. But we've got to be prepared to do what is needed on our end to receive that assistance. YOU MUST BE READY FOR IT. Because if you aren't, you'll ignore it. Then you'll be leaving Jesus hangin.
When I say The Lord God and his son Jesus Christ will meet you where you are... I mean THEY WILL MEED YOU WHERE you ARE!
Jesus didn't sit in a throne dressed in fancy clothes and Jewelry and drive fancy chariots. He went out to where the people were. He walked with them, talked with them, broke bread with them. If you think about it, he's just like your Homie. You know how you can use your last quarter to call your homie to bail you outta jail?
You can use your first quarter to call Jesus to keep your from getting in jail.
No matter how far gone you are, how low you've reached and how long the journey back to feeling worthy and loved may be The Lord wants you to succeed. And usually he wants it more than we are which is why we aren't willing to put in the work.
All I'm saying is.... The Lord will Meet you at whatever level you're on. But you have to wait for him to give you the GPS Directions to where is. Think of GPS as: Genuinely Positive Steps.
Before you make that move remember: Take God with you wherever you go. And if you can't take him with you, then DON'T GO. Don't Leave Him Hangin... or else his sacrifice would have been in vain

I Hope You Have A Happy Mother's Day!!

Today all over the Nation Mothers are opening cards and gifts, wearing flower corsages, enjoying fancy brunches, flower bouquets, sticky kisses from children's hands and faces smudged with the remnants of homemade breakfasts. Today Is Mother's Day. Mom's are getting dressed in their special outfits with hats and jewelry. During the Sunday Services flowers, bath salts, potpourri and other trinkets of love and appreciation will be handed out as a token of love and appreciation.

Sadly not all Mothers are enjoying these things.
For some mothers day is bitter sweet. There are mothers who lives don't revolve around their family. The strains of motherhood have become too much and they've abandoned their position to chase after other worldly interest. For some it's the love of a man.
For others it's addiction to alcohol and drugs. Others fall victim to mental and physical illness. And some to the selfish desires of the world have caused them to abandon motherhood. For those in this situation Mother's Day can be a painful memory and hated day.


In another perspective there are Mother's who have dedicated their lives to their children and grandchildren insuring they have the best possible chance of taking advantage of opportunities that may come knocking. They've sat in principles, police stations and Pastor's/Bishop's waiting rooms disappointed, nervous and frustrated. Only to end up bailing out kids again and again and again.


Mother's have opened their hearts, homes and wallets to children who can't stay out of jail, can't keep a job, can't catch up on bill, can't provide a stable living for themselves.
We have mama's who are bed ridden and house bound for the physical ailments of life with children who steal their savings, pension, and social security. Their homes are falling in around them, they hire other agencies to care for their mama's because they're too busy, too tired or just don't give a damn.


It's amazing to me how some mothers can care for all their children and all their children cannot care for one mom. It's a shame and an abomination to us all when mother's aren't properly cared for. Fore them, this day can be memories of sadness and feelings lack of gratitude and appreciation.

I believe that Mother's who are successful at raising their children to be good and positive influences in their communities and in society are the success of our Nation.
President David O. McKay said: . "No Amount Of Success Can Compensate For Failure in the Home."

Home is where we learn the basics of how to deal with the world. Done properly we're taught discipline, to share, be patient, communicate, cooperate, cook, clean, negotiate, obey, appreciation, a good work ethic, how to budget and save money, and how to be a good neighbors. We're also taught important gospel Principles, How to pray, have faith, forgiveness, our worth, being accountable for our actions and choices. I'm not suggesting only Mother's corner the market in teaching these things but as mothers when we leave the possibility of teaching these things to others outside the home we risk failing a child in the long run.

A happy mother's day shouldn't be once a year in the Month of May.
A happy mother's day should be every time a child brings home good grades, offers to help with house work or yard work. When a teacher or principle calls announcing how much your student has improved and added to the school community. Graduation from Educational or Religious classes. When they've gained employment. They call excited about a scholarship or promotion they've rec'd. Dropped what they though were friends who ended up going in a wrong direction. A phone call because they're bored but wanted to speak to you instead of the BF or the BFF. When there's an issue and they talk to you for the very best advice.
A happy mother's Day is when they leave the nest to start out on their own. When they're able to feed themselves, pay their bills and make decisions on their own that result in their success.

Happy Mother's day is being able to cut or in some cases Saw the apron strings and watch your child flourish and bring elements to the world you never knew they had in them.

Today all over the country we celebrate Mother's day. I hope for all the mothers of this world, those who gave birth, those who haven't given birth but take on that role no matter the circumstances, that Mother's Day is more than just 1 day in the month of May. May you have many of them throughout the year and your lives. I have enjoyed all of mine!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

A Child Of God Went Home Today...

Let me first state I am not a sympathizer. But as a Christian who believes we are all children of God, regardless of how we all feel about him, the truth is Osama Bin Laden is a child of God. And as the world rejoices at his death I believe the Lord weeps for his life. The world has hated him and his deeds. The were indeed of the most kind of evil.
We all watched in horror on 9/11/01



And we Cheered at the promise and threat of revenge. We swore that we would have our justice.



It's been almost 10 years and to the world Justice has been served.
And it's happened at the end of much heated political situation


Amongst my friends I have heard the following:
"Finally got the son of a *****! Have a great time in hell Osama!"

"Did The Apprentice get trumped by Obama's speech?"

There's much rejoicing. We Rejoice in the name of REVENGE! We Rejoice in the name of PEACE! We rejoice in the name of KARMA! We rejoice in the name of JUSTICE! And why not? That S.O.B Osama Bin Laden was killed. It's been long coming and the American public has waited almost 10 years to celebrate the news! It is a time for REJOICING!

OR Is It?

As Christians would this not be a time for mourning? Mourning, grief, sorrow. He, just like Hitler, just like Gandhi or Martin Luther King, or Timothy McVey, Pope John Paul, Gordon B Hinckley, Mother Theresa is a Child of God. Was he evil at heart? Was he a victim of someone else's agenda, hate, bigotry? No one is born evil it is learned.
Think for a minute of what his life could have been like with the right influences and examples if he possessed the same leadership qualities. What good could he have accomplished. What lives could he have blessed had he chose to go another way or lead a different life. There should be anger and weeping at what could have and should have been. But instead there is much rejoicing. I don't post this to judge or chastise or to fault those who do rejoice. I too am caught up in gladness. But I'm also saddened at the life that has been lost. When I say life lost I mean the good that COULD have happened at the hands of Osama Bin Ladin.

As the world rejoices at getting once last villain of evil off the streets and in the ground I just have one question. It's the same question one of my Sista's asked:
Who is going to do our lost brother's temple work?. Where do we draw the lines of our Christianity?
God Bless us EVERY ONE cuz we ALL need it.