Posted on Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Seven Scriptures to Reflect On When Life, Death, Gun Laws & Mass Shootings Don’t Make Sense…

Hello World,

It has almost been a full week since 26-year-old Chris Harper-Mercer unleashed deadly bullets in his writing class at Umpqua Community College in Oregon where he killed nine people and wounded others. Not only did he target the writing class, he added an additional qualifier as he shot those who professed to be Christians in the head, reportedly saying, “Good, because you’re a Christian, you’re going to see God in just about one second,” according to CNN. Those who did not were shot in other parts of their bodies, according to People magazine. Almost seven days later, the actions of Harper-Mercer, who also turned the gun on himself, don’t make any sense. Actually, they make less sense considering what been discovered in the days since this horrific mass shooting. This troubled young man had SIX guns on him but had access to EIGHT more guns at his apartment where he lived with his mother, according to CBS News. ALL of the guns were legally bought, The Huffington Post has reported.

Why would any one person have 14 guns? How does that even make sense? It is not right for any one person to be able to stockpile weaponry. How many mass shootings will it take before our leaders put partisan politics aside and respect the sanctity of life and death and make gun laws that at least curb if not stop mass shootings altogether?

While I cannot make sense of it all, from the gun laws, to mass shootings, to our politicians’ lack of action, I am thankful that we can turn to the Bible for comfort…Below are seven scriptures that I hope will comfort all who have been affected by these senseless mass shootings…

1. “I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears. Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.” Psalm 6:6-9…There are times when all we can do is cry and pray, but the Lord promises to answer our prayers…

2. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4…God also promises that those who mourn will be comforted and not only will be they be comforted, they are even blessed…

3.“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3…Our broken hearts can be healed if we give them to God…

4. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4…We all have dark days, days that we are living in the shadows of death (not actual death itself), but God has promised that He is leading us all the time and all the way….

5. “For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death.” Psalm 48:14….And when it is actually our time to die, He promises to guide us…

6. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39…Nothing, not even death, separates from the love of God…We will always feel and know His love…

7. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Revelation 21:4...God promises there will be a when He kills death and tears are unnecessary…I cannot even imagine, but this is what is promised in the Bible…

Let’s pray for all of those directly impacted by this latest mass shooting…

Any thoughts?

Posted on Monday, September 28, 2015

Kelly Gissendaner Will Be Executed Tomorrow Without Our Intervention…

Read to find out how you can help!

Editor’s Note: This is a previous post from earlier this year. Kelly Gissendaner’s life was spared in March, but she is scheduled to be executed tomorrow unless we act. To find out more about Kelly Gissendaner, please read the blog post below . To help her: the most important thing you can do is call the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles RIGHT NOW and tell them to show mercy. Here’s the number: (404) 656-4661, press “0” and then “4.”

Then, email them by clicking here, post a message to their Facebook here, and click here to send a Tweet.

Hello World,

Last week, when I first saw a story about Kelly Gissendaner, I quickly looked at the mug shot and read a few lines of the story “Weather Threat Postpones Georgia’s First Execution of a Woman in 70 Years” and concluded, she looks like a criminal and went on with my life…

But then through the blog post “When Is Grace Enough?” by Alisha L. Gordon on findthepieces.com, I saw another side of this dead woman walking initially through the picture above…and then through these words…

This matters, even now, as I have friends and colleagues who personally know Kelly. They’ve laughed and talked with her. They’ve walked with her through new theological understandings and guided her to completing a certificate in theological studies through the Candler School of Theology and the Lee Arrendale Prison, where she’s currently housed. The partnership between Candler and Arrendale has provided women like Kelly the opportunity to transform their lives — from the inside out. It has given her a fresh start on a life that took a terrible turn. It was a full extension of God’s grace in action. To read the rest of the blog post, go to findthepieces.com.

And then on Friday, on the WAOK radio program “Too Much Truth” with Derrick Boazman, I listened to the testimony of Nikki Roberts, a former inmate at Metro State Prison in Georgia and pastor’s daughter, who found herself in jail and suicidal…As a pastor’s daughter myself, I was compelled to listen as she cried and described her friendship with Kelly Gissendaner…But for Kelly Gissendaner, she may have taken her life…Nikki Roberts talks about Kelly Gissendaner here…

Kelly Gissendaner’s story has even found its way to The New York Times…

From “A Death Row Inmate Finds Common Ground With Theologians.”

A lot of convicted felons find God while in prison. Some of their stories rise to the level of literature — Oscar Wilde, Malcolm X. Others are less sincere; parole boards around the country are treated to a lot of conversion stories.

Few are anything like Kelly Renee Gissendaner, 46, who is scheduled on Monday to be put to death by lethal injection. She became pen pals with one of the world’s most prominent theologians.

In 1998, Ms. Gissendaner was sentenced to death for persuading her boyfriend to murder her husband. The crime, which she now admits, was brutal. Many, including some of her slain husband’s relatives, want her to die. She probably will; the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency this week. To read the rest of the story, go here.

Here is a link to her clemency application

And here is link to a Facebook page supporting Kelly Gissendaner, and if you tweet about Kelly Gissendaner, use the hashtag #KellyOnMyMind…

And of course, she can use our prayers….

Any thoughts?

Posted on Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Why I’m Glad Future Supposedly Broke Off His Engagement to Ciara…Breaking Down Future’s Huffington Post Interview

Just Say No to Missionary Dating Yo!

Hello World,

So I rolled over in my bed and decided to pick up my phone and look at FB for a second or two before going back to bed…Awww, yes the perils of sleeping with your phone next to you on the night stand…Mane, I happened upon rapper Future’s Huffington Post interview that was done by Marcus Lamont Hill and posted yesterday or hours ago since I’m posting in the middle of the night…Hill asked Future, Ciara’s ex-fiancé, about Russell’s Wilson announcement that he and Ciara are choosing to be celibate in their relationship until when or if they get married and if he waited with Ciara too…Below is the exchange from the article “Future: Ciara And I Didn’t Wait To Have Sex, But We Prayed After.”

When host Marc Lamont Hill told Future about Ciara and Russell Wilson’s decision to abstain, Future said that while God never told him to wait for sex, Ciara did say she wanted to pray when the deed was done.

“God told me something else. He ain’t tell me to wait. I guarantee you that,” Future said. “We prayed afterwards though. After we did it, we prayed. That’s a true story.”

And here is the video clip of the entire exchange about this question:

Folk, I’m sleepy, but I had to do it…I had to blog about this because it brought back so many hurtful memories of dating men who weren’t bad dudes but just didn’t share the same amount of devotion I have to my faith…I tried “missionary dating” which is when you date someone and try to get them to commit to Jesus Christ through your relationship…It never worked for me although I tried several times…From what Russell Wilson has said of Ciara and what Future has said of Ciara, her faith in God is important to her…Based on what Russell Wilson said of his current relationship with Ciara, he gets that, but Future still seems puzzled about Ciara’s faith…Obviously, Ciara didn’t chose to be celibate in her relationship with Future, and it’s not up to me to judge her for her choice. But, if what Future said is true, her heart is pointed toward God…

I love a lot of things about my husband, but one of the things I love the most about him is his commitment to his faith…On Sunday morning, he beats me going to church…And he is more involved in church activities than I am…It is such a relief…I’m exhaling to borrow a phrase from Terry McMillan….

And I’m not the only one who has had this experience…Tamera Mowry, who is married to Adam Housley, shared about “missionary dating” in an interview with EBONY magazine…

I tried the ‘missionary dating’ [in the past] where you have a person with a great heart who you think is perfect and wonderful except for this one important area that you try to change. That’s unfair to that person. That person needs to be who they are 100%. And it’s unfair to you. You don’t want to drag somebody to church with you. My husband wakes up on Sundays and says ‘Hey, are we going to church today?’ It just makes [waiting] all worthwhile. I dated guys who did not share those same beliefs and it was hard. There were many nights of heartbreak and crying, and that’s not what God wants for us.

To read the rest of the article, go to [INTERVIEW] Tia and Tamera on Marriage and Motherhood.

Here is what the Bible has to say:

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers [do not make mismatched alliances with them or come under a different yoke with them, inconsistent with your faith]. For what partnership have right living and right standing with God with iniquity and lawlessness? Or how can light have fellowship with darkness? 2 Corinthians 6:14

In another part of Future’s Huffington Post interview, Future says that he was the one who broke off their engagement…I got thoughts on that too, but I will keep them to myself for now…Suffice it to say, you have to be equally yoked so it was good that their engagement ended although I know it must have been very hurtful…

Alright, I can go back to sleep now…

Nite…

Any thoughts?