I know, I know it’s been a while.! A long while since I’ve written. Maybe you could post in the comments if you see this. A lot has happened since I last posted including my founding of a 501(c) (3) faith best nonprofit, Strengthening the Black Village (SBV).
Our WEBSITE is also on the way. Who knows, about time you see this post, it may already be up and running! Show us and me some love!
September is here! Wow! Our next parenting cohort starts the day after my birthday, so on September 19!! 🙌🏽
I love building these communities, relationships, and villages to care for our children and their parents. In our courses, we receive inspiration from African, biblical, and other cultural Proverbs, learn about different discipline methods, explore child development theories, provide support and love to one another, and so much more. We have and will continue to serve fathers, mothers, grandparents, aunts and uncles, as well as mentors and other child caretakers.
We seek to preserve, strengthen, nurture and empower families and villages of care in all stages of healthy life, from dysfunctional to loving and warm and supportive. The population closest to my heart in which we seek to prioritize are those families system impacted, and court-mandated to take parenting classes. There’s no need to wait to get to that point, though.
On the flyer below, there is a QR code to register and a QR code to donate if you wish to support our nonprofit. The classes are free with, as I said, donations and contributions welcome. Thank you!
Lord, be with us! Send those to us who need us and who need you.
Scan the QR code or share it, please, to register or have those you care for register for our culturally sensitive, emotionally enriching, spiritually fulfilling and all-around magnificent course in #EffectiveBlackParenting You can also click HEREf to register.
, taking the classes, referring the courses to others, or participating in our father mentorship program as either Mentor or mentee once we get that off the ground. We love you and look forward to building a more robust village alongside you. God bless you! Stay tuned for more to come.
Oh! In closing, to put a face or two to what we are doing, I’ve included a picture of myself and my son at a recent community vendor event hosted in South LA to promote community and small business.
“I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears” (Psalms 6:6 NIV).
Psalm 88:11–13 another prayer for deliverance. Jesus made God‘s wonders known below the earth on that day! But we pray for deliverance, because we can only make God‘s wonders known by living since we are not Jesus.
“Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction? Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion? But I cry to you for help, Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before you” (Psalms 88:11-13 NIV).
Hold on sisters and brothers! The sun, the hope, the light, the joy and the promise is coming. Don’t rush it! The shadow, the pain, the isolation, the grief, the uncertainty and the feelings of abandonment only make the glory more intense. Are you able to sit here for the last moments of Holy Saturday (or revisit) and resist the temptation of rushing onto Resurrection Sunday? It’s difficult, but I’ve always found it enriching and helpful.
I have found that suffering does build character. It does build endurance. It does create a deeper capacity for compassion and empathy
So I started this blog with Psalm 6:6 and 88:11-13 as prayer of lament. For those who are, by chance, not feeling sorrow or pain, perhaps you can pray for those who are. Thanks be to God. Amen.
What Does Scripture Tell Us About Ehere Jesus was on Holy Saturday?
Not surprisingly, the Gospels tell us little, because the original disciples did not know where Jesus was on Saturday. They believed that he was in a tomb waiting to have his body prepared for burial. Then, it was discovered that his body had disappeared and they thought someone stole him. At this point in time we pause and experience their Fear, uncertainty and great grief. Good Friday was bad enough, and now this.
As we today fight this coronavirus pandemic and see life around us all but stopped, and as we fear for ourselves in our love ones, we experience some of the same emotions as we live the story we find ourselves in.
List of scriptures I found most helpful in understanding the activities of Jesus on #HolySaturday In Canonical Order.
What I did to put together material for this blog is I searched the Internet. Big surprise! We find information in Matthew, John, Acts, Ephesians, Philippians, Hebrews, First Peter and First Corinthian’s.
Jesus Foretells What Must Happen
Just as the original apostles/disciples forgot, I had, too! I was happy to find this.
“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40 NIV.).
Oh yes, and John has a prediction as well! The dead who serve God and have faith in God yet who had died/fallen asleep before Jesus came to earth will hear Jesus his voice and live. He has gone to rescue those held captive. That part comes in a liter photo.
“Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live” (John 5:25 NIV).
Peter cause us to repentance for the wall we played in Jesus being crucified and so part of good Friday is sitting in that repentance for that shared seven, and the continued sin. Peter speaks from his own place of humanity, because he was as close to Jesus as anyone could be and yet he denied Jesus three times. Lord, and your mercy!
“But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (Acts 2:24 ).
Paul also supports the truth that Zjesus descended before he assented. Jesus had to descend from earth in order to ascend from earth since we know he did make appearances back on earth.
“(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe)” (Ephesians 4:9-10 NIV).
Jesus came as a human in order to overcome death on our behalf. He had to experience the entire human experience, which does include death, but then he went beyond that and stuff and give us eternal life! Thanks be to God! I can shower over but he had to Indore and I’m grateful that it was done.
“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death —that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” – Hebrews 2:14-15 –
And finally, Firdt
Peter is the scripture I found that the Catholics and Methodists, and probably other “protestants” agree is critical to understanding Holy Week. It talks about Jesus descending into hell to break the chains and set the captives free. This is a powerful statement, and if I think about it, I feel it even more poignantly, because it points out that Jesus was so far from heaven at this point.
People love the simple scripture that says, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). The people who find comfort and reassurance in that scripture would likely find assurance from this passage. Only Jesus can do this: break her heart and heal them at the same time.
I
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—” (1 Peter 3:18-19).
Until The Marrow
Jesus, I thank you for dying on the cross for us, for me! I love you because you first love me. You are the author of life and the finisher of our faith in the saver of our souls. What amazing love and forgiveness. Grant us a restful night that we might wake up in the morning willing to praise you through the storm, through the separation and isolation and through our enemies who seek to seporate us from you. Speak to us through the scriptures that we may feels a full range of emotions from the disciples, to the early church all the way through to the current church. Help us bring other people into this Victorious story. In Jesus name we pray, amen!
Lenten greetings of peace, love and joy! Today is a special day! It is the 13th day of Lent. It is also the day that my devotion entry has been published by #PictureLent. I will include the link to it below so that you may see my contribution as well as the contributions of the other authors all the way up through Easter. I’ve also included the text here, because what are our personal blogs for it not to showcase the gifts and talents God has blessed us with??? Make sure you let me know what you think of what you read, and how God is blessing you through this look at Psalm 128.
Walking this journey to the Cross with Christ is often demanding, rigorous and disorienting. I pray that you also experience Lent as hope-filled, energizing, and life-giving. On this, the 13th day of Lent, let us take a moment to breathe in that hope and life God provides as we breathe out the struggle and disorientation life sometimes offers. As the Psalmist prays for abundant blessings on Israel, I pray for abundant blessings upon you, your family and community.
As we walk, work, eat and drink, play and love, we seek to find the balance most pleasing to God. If we have children, we hold their hands so that they remain close to us and close to Christ. Scripture says we are blessed if we walk in the way of the righteous. So, I implore you to persevere on this journey to the Cross.
The Psalmist confidently asserts that all who fear/revere/respect and obey the Lord will be abundantly blessed. For Israel, if a person had fruitful lands and many sons, these were signs of God’s favor. Thus, the man blessed with a wife who bore many children who in turn worked the land and bore more children would have been seen as most highly favored.
Today, bearing numerous children and working the fields and vineyards may not be the symbols of fruitfulness in our culture. However, many of us, myself included, find happiness and blessing through our relationships with others, including our spouses, children, family, and friends. Lent is an ideal time to ponder the gifts God has given and still has in store for us. Now may be an ideal time to identify the gifts and talents we possess and how God is calling us to employ them for the journey.
Even today, we identify with the blessing of fruitful soil. Many of us live in urban areas where we are fortunate if we have small gardens where we may plant flowers, cucumbers, squash and potatoes. Yet, when we look around, we see the land bearing fruit. Down the street from my apartment, there is a family who grows oranges and another who grows grapefruit. Thank God for this fruitfulness.
Every summer, the children who participate in Saint Mark United Methodist Church, Los Angeles’ summer enrichment program work in the garden. We provide cups/containers and they plant and water their projects. At summer’s end, they take home the fruits of their labor. The children also help tend the garden and sometimes take home vegetables if they are ripe. God’s ministry through us is bearing much good fruit: literal crops planted, harvested and eaten; children and families who have the means to plant and eat healthy food; and a church and community better able to appreciate the amazingness of God’s creation and the vitality of our service as stewards. Inthese endeavors and others, only God truly knows how fruitful our prayers, plantings and plucking-up will be. Lord, bless your faithful people with fruitfulness.
Let Us Pray
Lord, take our stumbling, sometimes grudging and often uncertain steps, infuse them with your grace and assurance, and remind us that you are the source of our blessings and fruitfulness. You have given us Scripture to make straight and give light to our path. We give you thanks. Bless us, O Lord, as we scatter the seeds you have entrusted to us. May they bear fruit for your Kingdom for generations to come. Amen!
Let Us Do
Fruitfulness Bag: Put together at least one non perishable food bag to give away to a person in need. Please include applesauce or some other non perishable fruit cup, and if you include a juice pouch or box, please make sure it is 100% fruit juice. Preparing one bag for each household member or group member (if you are participating as part of a group or household) would be ideal.
Let Us Reflect
In which ways has your life been fruitful (children, spouse, ministry, acts of kindness, answers to prayers, etc.)?
How is your observance of Lent pruning you for greater fruitfulness for God?
Discuss Holy and fruitful fear vs. debilitating and counterproductive fear. Which fear does God desire of us, and how does our understanding of fear impact our understanding of and relationship with God?
In the photo, you will notice that I put one verse above the cross and the other below. This is to highlight the importance of the cross in our journey with Christ. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, and we can find contentment in any situation that life throws at us. It is through the Christ and through his cross that we have this joy and assurance.
How To Thrive By 45
“How To Thrive By 45” is a pretty good study plan. It’s one of the YouVersion ( https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/3457), and study devotions I’m doing. I’ve decided to include that here and in my scripture journal today, because the scripture is my favorite. Philippians 4:12-13.
When Jesus is truly our Lord, we can find contentment and all sorts of adverseconditions as well as the more pleasant ones, and remember to glorify God in all of them. I have a ring thanks to my husband that reminds me of Phil. 4:13 which is that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. He really understands me.
Me & Hubby After 2020 Primaries
I think these are vital verses to remember as we journey with Christ and each other toward the cross and beyond this Lenten season.
God Bless You
Blessed be! Today and every day, be thankful! Be courageous! Be humble! Be love! Yes, I said “Be“ Love.
This passage has always made me sad. It’s just a for shadowing of the sadness I felt at reading of Jesus on the cross or experiencing the lamb who is the only one who could open the seven seals. We are to repent! And mean it!
https://www.bible.com/bible/111/lev.16.20-22.niv““When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.”
Leviticus 16:20-22 NIV
Lord Jesus, I thank you for inviting us on this journey. I thank you that those of us who have made it this far or at least this committed to the journey and we thank you for the power we know you will give us to go all the way with you to the cross and glory. Thank you for being the ultimate scapegoat, sacrifice and atonement for our sins. May we be better and may we become more like you. In Jesus precious and holy name we pray, by the power and the gift of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon us by God the father, amen!
Greetings of peace, love and joy! It’s been a while and I’m hoping to start blogging regularly once more. HMMM… I wonder if anyone noticed I haven’t posted in a while.
Well, it’ll be great to get back in here. A lot of exciting things has been happening as far as passing my interviews for commissioning as a united Methodist deacon, finding the Faith Foster Family Network (3FN) and CrossRoads United Methodist Church and more! I’ve even been certified as a monitored visitation coach for Department of children and family services. For today though, I’m just going to drop a little line of reflection on Psalm 127:1 Dash two. Be wise, be faithful and be courageous until next time!
Life can be tedious, hectic, drama filled and challenging. Life can be joyful, inspirational, amazing and full of laughter. My goal is to remember what Psalm 127:1 tells us: we need to live life on purpose and according to God‘s ultimate purpose. #Psalm127 #YourWillBeDone #ComeHolySpirit #LiveOnPurpose #InVain #NotInVain #LordLeadMe
“Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain. In vain you get up early and stay up late, working hard to have enough food — yes, he gives sleep to the one he loves.” Psalms 127:1-2 CSB https://www.bible.com/bible/1713/psa.127.1-2.csb-
We are in the second week of Eastertide, and I haven’t blogged in weeks. Lent was so heavy this year. So much death, so much injustice, so much disillusionment and of course so much to do! I know my sufferings were nothing compared to that suffered by our Christ on the cross, but Lord!!! Jesus, it was tough. I hope you made it through intact, and that your struggles, Temptations and blessings remind you of the Jesus who chose us and loves us whoever and wherever we are. I’m praying for us all. It is a season of resurrection, new life and new Hope and I hope you are experiencing just that today.
So, What Do I Have To Say Tonight?
Created by Ainise ‘Isama’u
Confirmation Experience 2019 is taking place as a partnership/collaboration between Saint Mark and Holman! These are both united Methodist churches in Los Angeles. Let’s pause for a brief exclamation for those who may not know what Christian Confirmation is. No, it isn’t only for Catholics. (A Question/sentiment I get a lot).
In the United Methodist Church, we believe in infant baptism, because we believe that baptism is a gift of grace from God. Just as God chose us even before we knew to choose God, the infant is baptized into the body of Christ without knowing to choose to do so. However, at some point, everyone must make a choice. So, at adolescence, we have a right of passage where youth choose to accept the grace freely given and accep membership in the church inherited. These beloved young people take a series of classes where they learn about God and the church, receive practical instruction on discipleship and ministry and experience life as members of a community and at the end we pray they choose to become full and active members of the church. The choice is theirs.
Session ONE Is Tomorrow
Session 1 is going to be fun, and if it goes well, it’ll definitely set the tone for the rest of the sessions. It will of course be the longest, because it includes our mission project. The youths and their teams, including a mentor and parent/guardian per youth, will work together to create Manna Bags.These bagsWill comprise of non-perishable items the families can carry with them and pass out as needed when out and about in their cars. Following that, we will have pizza, and then, our first class, which is all about loving together, living together and traveling together will take place. Rather befitting! A huge part of this will be starting off by identifying ways we can pray for one another and our world, be present for each other and those hurting in our world, share our gifts with those who need them, serve each other and others, and bear witness to the grace and the love of God with all we come in contact with. This is all life together, and we hope to impart to our young people and those who surround them with the belief and knowledge that Christianity is an active faith calling for active discipleship and storytelling. We have to know who we are before we can tell others and invite others to travel together with us. So, keep us in your prayers!
Until I Write Again….
Be wise, gentle, courageous, bold, faithful and hopeful. When we seek God, God is found and when we don’t feel the presence of God, let us keep reaching and praying and asking that God reveal God’s self to us. Christ has risen and so too have we. Not fully, but within from the holder of the grave. God bless you.
Greetings! How’s your week going? It’s only Tuesday and it’s already Tuesday! I’m not sure about you, but I’ve pretty much did nothing but work today and it’s been pretty fun. We’re ironing out our Easter production and celebration for the children, still getting ready for summer and for Youth Confirmation. I’m not going to speak a lot on any of that, because I have in previous posts and will again. What I’ll do today is upload some of the flyers for the event so you can see and comment if you wish. Some are still works in progress. I’m rather wordy, which you probably noticed. That might be good for blog posting and for sermons, but not so much for flyers. Still, I know I like to get all my information in one place, so I tend to cram it in.
I also took an EQ, emotional intelligence, test today. I did OK. We don’t need to get into that though. I also purchased the book that goes along with that, which is Emotional Intelligence 2.0. I know they’ve been saying for years now that the IQ is less accurate as a predictor of intelligence and success especially for minority populations, but I was amazed at how much more important EQ is. If I remember correctly, it’s something like only 20% of the most successful people had higher IQ versus EQ, or emotional quotient. That’s vital to this period of reflection, repentance and revitalization.
Let Us Pray
Christ, may we all know ourselves and love ourselves as your children, created in your image and capable of greatness! Your will be done. Amen!
Breathe deeply, ask God to provide peace, patience and endurance, and remember why we work and strive every day to build the kingdom of God. Lent Is a season of preparing our hearts and minds for Christ death and resurrection; emptying out so that God can fill up. Advent comes before Christmas, end it tends to be more festive and feels more joyful. Both seasons, however, tend to get too hectic and frantic and busy and it is hard to keep the peace and hope of the season. Like Christianity itself, I see this as backward, but in a good way! God does not value what the world values and conversely, Easter is the season that should bring us much joy, because although Jesus being born as human is a critical point in our history, Jesus dying and suffering so that we can have eternal life is why we are here. Lent, perhaps can never be joyful and festive, because the focus is on repentance and on the struggling walk to the cross. But, Easter is a season, not only a day. Easter Season (50 days beginning with Easter Sunday) deserves at least as much joy and recognition as Advent and Christmas.
So today, I am talking to myself as much as other ministers and pastors. I am speaking to parents and teachers and all those who get busy with the practicalities and duties of the holidays. May we all find those moments to be Mary seated at the feet of the Messiah listening and enjoying the word of God and resist the temptation to always be Martha, hard at work. May we be aware of this tendency to do rather than be so that we can resist. How do we balance the two? Trust me, I am no expert, but I know the ONE who is, and I am praying, come Holy Spirit, come!
I am taking a moment away from work and I hope that this post will calm me and bless you. As I prepare for youth confirmation, Easter and into the summer, may I continue to have the wisdom and ability to take these moments to write and keep this discipline. May be a blessing and not another chore to add to the list.
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
Passing On The Faith
Speaking on passing our faith down to the next generations, Every summer, Saint Mark LA Host to summer reading program. This year, I have named it Marks of Heroism 2019. We will learn, play and pray together five days a week for six weeks during the summer. Here is the brochure I created. it is one of the fliers and announcements that will be on display after church on Sunday so that more of our church family made yet involved with all that we are doing and all the Holy Spirit is doing through us.

S
Judges 2:8.10
ince I’ve been focusing on our youth confirmation so much these past days, it is not a shock that tonight my heart is set on why we as Christian leaders focus on making disciples for Christ. It took me back to the Old Testament, of course. After a faithful generation rose and served, an unfaithful generation often followed and I was thinking of Joshua here. After Moses and Joshua another generation died, but people forgot about God and failed to follow. Maybe that generation dropped the baton and got too comfortable. I cannot say. I’m sur the situation was entirely too complicated for us to assume we know anything. I do know that our example today can help brighter tomorrow for our children, and create a more hopeless world for our children. So I press on. We press it on.
We plant, water, nurture and reap, yet only God can really produce the harvest.
Let us rest well so that will have the energy, endurance, patience and wisdom to keep doing God’s good work, praying and playing with our children, and loving God above all! Amen.
I wonder if I didn’t say anything, would you notice I didn’t post yesterday! Mostly, because my son was out of school, it just slipped my mind that it was even Monday. Still, I got plenty of work done including my worship plan for Sunday, and had dinner with my brother-in-law, who is in from San Franciscot, and the rest of the in-laws. Tacos is always a family favorite though noone makes them quite like Marlon, ask my son! I hope you are all having a great week thus far.
I have to get back to writing these budgets and getting ready for Sunday, but I need it to get to my outlet, which is writing for fun. So, let me talk about a couple of books I am or have read, and influence me.
Festive In Death, by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)
Amazon
Lieutenant eve Dallas is a homicide Lieutenant! She is a victim/survivor of the foster care system around 30 years from now give or take. I don’t want to give away too much of a story in case I’ve wet your intereste, and you’re going to go read this 50 books series! Of course, this is fiction, which allows her to be a super superhero. Nevertheless, she overcomes horrific trauma to become an amazingly dedicated public servant. I can empathize, which is why I identify so much with her and love the series. I, too, grew up in foster care, and it was definitely ugly. I find this example to be both intimidating and inspiring. I can’t figure out if it helps me get to work or if it makes me feel like I’m completely not doing anything. Perhaps both. Still, I’ve read this series over and over again.
I like this book in the series particularly, because it forces Eve to have more balance then she tends to and it forces her to celebrate the holidays, which she would pretty much just let fall by the wayside if it were up to her, or so she’d have us believe. She’s a hard ass, but not brittle. Remember my post of Saturday? If we don’t take a rest, it increases The chances of our being brittle and broken… Well, good thing she has people to give her that same message, because she definitely needs it. My guess is most do; especially if, like me, you’re a Perfectionist/Type A personality.
As Eve gives thanks for Rourke, her husband, I give thanks for Marlon, mine. True LOVE definitely makes a difference and when we find it, we have to hold on tightly especially through treacherous and torturous storms. She is irreverent, belittles even the idea of faith in God and cusses entirely too much… She is imperfect. She lives every day of her life fighting for justice and she definitely knows her WHY. I want that confidence and won’t stop until I have it. Lord, I won’t let you go until and unless you bless me (Genesis 32:26j.
Pinterest images for Genesis 32:26
Eat That Frog, by Brian Tracy
Eat That Frog Cover
Perhaps it was the image of eating a disgusting frog that first got my attention! I love this book and have quoted from it quite a few times on Facebook and Instagram. When I suffer from anxiety, I list everything I need to do and that leads to inactivity, because then I get overwhelmed and anxious and I start to feel so small! It is a vicious and sometimes seemingly endless cycle. Can I get an Amen!
I was just talking to my husband about the fact that I don’t want to take the bus to the gym, work out, then either walk back from or take the bus back from the gym because it takes too long. I realized though that of course I spend so much time worrying about it and worrying about what I have to do that the time I think I’m saving, I’m wasting anyway! During that time, I’m beating myself up for what I’m not doing, and doing things that don’t necessarily need to be prioritized or… So, I have to remind myself daily and multiple times daily to eat that frog.
Which one? Bryan tells us the biggest one, but when everything is vital and urgent, that can’t be that easy to figure out all the time either. So, I am working on it.
This quote from Mark Twain inspired the title
What do you think? How do you get unstuck?
Finally, I have been titled Sunday’s sermon Indulge Yourself.
Bible greeting card for Joel 2:12-13
My sermon will actually be on Isaiah 55:1-9, so this is the background text for a series. Lent is a time to unclutter our lives, clean out the junk and mess and return full heartedly to following Christ. Repentance is not a happy emotion in the way we are used to thinking of it, but in repenting, we enter the abundant life. We are invited to indulge in water and bread from heaven, and unlike physical water and bread, when we partake of these, we never hunger or thirst again. I love this promise and I’m comfortable walking and sitting in the reality of the almost and not yet partial for filament of this promise. As long as I am here on earth, I will hunger and thirst again physically and spiritually. I don’t walk perfectly with Christ all the time and sometimes I feel abandoned. Even knowing that I may be doing things to block my blessings does not lessen the anguish of these moments. So , I cry come Holy Spirit, come!
Let Us Pray
God, thank you so much for sending your son to be born and live amongst us, to die and fight for us and to rise up again that we might have eternal life. Thank you Holy Spirit that you continue to walk with us and sit with us and live with us so that we may have the wisdom, courage and compassion of Christ in the world. Thank you that you continue to help us walk in the way of Christ. Jesus, we love you and we praise you. We give you all the honor and glory. Thank you for your sacrifice and for your perfect example. We are not worthy in our own power, and yet, we continue to try and to be our best, because that is what you ask of us. Amen!