Posted on Sunday, September 7, 2014

41 is the NEW 21…At least that’s what I’m telling myself…

Hello World!!!

So all week long I have been thinking about how to spin my birthday…which is TODAY!!!!

One-year-old Jackie

There are so many other more popular ages…Everyone loves one year olds…They smell new (well, not always)…They can barely walk and talk which is good if you want to ignore them from to time…And you generally feel sorry for the little parasites because they are dependent on everybody for nearly everything…

Jackie at six…

Six year olds have fans too…They are excited by notebook paper and pencils which makes them pretty easy to please…They have started loosing teeth which makes listening to them hilarious…You can scare them easily…Even the

Me at 13…

unlucky 13 year olds are praised….The boys’ voices start to crack which is good for laughs…The girls start to stress out over boys which is also good for laughs…And you can leave them at home by themselves at least for a short time unless you have bad seeds…And of course,

Sweet sixteen…

there are the sweet 16 year olds…Every 16 year old I’ve ever met reminds me of why I loved Molly Ringwald movies…teenage angst at its best…It makes all of us feel pretty good that we are no longer in agony or have pimples which is why 16 is a pretty good age…There are tons of Sweet 16 greeting cards in every store…And they can drive you around…

21 baby…

And of course, the 21 year olds live in a constant state of nirvana…Everything is tight and right… Legally, they can do anything they please…And still people loan and or give them money because they are only 21….The 30 year olds get love

30 & Flirty…

too…They get sympathy because everyone recognizes there is no turning back to childhood…But everything is still tight and right…And people start respecting them more because they are finally stacking more paper…Even the 40 year olds get

40 & Fabulous…

props…People compliment them like crazy if they still look good and or younger…And they get no judgment if they look a little lived in or have gained a pound or two every year for the last 10 years…And they are usually deemed pretty respectable because they have pretty good jobs, wives and or husbands, well-cared-for pets, grown up houses, etc. and take fabulous vacations…

But nobody’s really checking for the 41 year olds…So what if they look good for age? They are 41 so that cancels that out…So what if they have a nice house and or apartment, etc.? They should by this age…So what if they take fabulous vacations? They should by this age…Fill in blank…

But then again, maybe 41 is the gateway age…By that I mean it’s first age that people are still surprised they are here at all…Seriously though, I’m truly grateful that God allowed mr to see 41 and any other age I’ve been or will be…Won’t He Do It?

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

Any thoughts?

Posted on Friday, July 4, 2014

Another Peachtree Road Race for the Books…God Bless America!!!

Hello World,

Just sharing a bit of my July 4 Passion – Atlanta’s annual AJC Peachtree Road Race….I love it so…And I had my time best time ever – 1:06:14!!! More proof that older is better 🙂 #40andproud

I hope wherever you are today, you are enjoying the bounty of God’s blessing on our country…And may we continue to be one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all…

Any thoughts?

Posted on Sunday, June 8, 2014

A Sudanese Woman Awaits Appeal of Death Sentence for Her Christian Faith…

Hello World,

What are we willing to sacrifice for our faith? As I know that mostly Americans read my blog, I would imagine that most of you, most of us, very rarely if at all, consider true sacrifice as a part of our faith unless it’s Easter. By true sacrifice, I mean giving up something that is very costly, such our lives even, because we profess to be Christians…

However, in other countries that don’t ensure religious freedom, Christians must live in the tension of having faith in God while knowing they may be forced to give up their very lives because of their faith…

Such is the case for 27-year-old Mariam Yehya Ibrahim, a Sudanese woman who has been sentenced to death for refusing to reject her faith in Jesus Christ. According to a CNN article, Ibrahim has been in jail since January 17 and was convicted of apostasy on May 15. Complicating matters, Ibrahim was pregnant when she was jailed and gave birth to her second child, a girl, last month. In addition, her nearly two-year-old son is in jail with her. Her husband, Daniel Wani, who is Christian and an American citizen, told CNN, her case is now being considered by a Sudanese appeals court.

Although Ibrahim’s father was a Muslim, she was raised as a Christian by her mother, an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian, after the father abandoned their family when she was 6 six years old. Apparently, her Muslim relatives are the ones that turned Ibrahim into authorities.

In addition to waiting on the decision of the Sudanese appellate court, Wani is also seeking assistance from U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte from New Hampshire, his home state.

As American Christians, we need to be, at the very least, praying for for Mariam Yehya Ibrahim and Daniel Wani. And as we pray, we should also consider what are we willing to sacrifice for our faith?

As the saying goes, Jesus is not willing to bear the cross alone…If you don’t believe me, read John 15:20-21…Remember how I told you that servants are not greater than their master. So if people mistreat me, they will mistreat you. If they do what I say, they will do what you say. People will do to you exactly what they did to me. They will do it because you belong to me, and they don’t know the one who sent me.

And there are many stories in the Bible and beyond that demonstrate that some of us may have to pay for our faith with our lives…

I’m not a “gloom and doom” Christian by any means, but we have to know that having sincere faith in Jesus Christ will cost us something…

So I ask this question again: What are we willing to sacrifice for our faith?

Below is a video detailing some of this couple’s story…