This past weekend after Christmas, I went with my sister to West Oakland to pass out food, clothes and prayers to the homeless. We went to Wal-mart the day before and bought a bunch of warm sleeping bags, got warm clothes from Goodwill and loaded up our car to do what we could the next morning. When I got out to the streets, my heart was shocked and broken at the same time. People were lined up waiting for us to give them any kind of help they could get.
As I opened up my bag full of clothes the homeless swarmed quickly to take what was best for themselves. All the clothes disappeared in a matter of minutes. I was sad, because I wish I had more clothes to give but I only had so much.
I met a grandmother “Franky” who had 7 grandchildren to take care of. Zara and Kimothy were precious young girls whom I met. One wanted to be a doctor, the other wanted to be a dancer and I only prayed in my heart that they would be given the opportunity to pursue their God given dreams. Every child deserves a chance in this life, no matter what their parents did, no matter what un-fair circumstances they are given, we must do what we can to give every child a reason and purpose to live out their destinies. They are all precious in God’s sight.
“The message of Jesus Christ is a message of hope, a message of mercy, a message of life in a dark world.”
Two years ago, I wrote a song called “LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL” on my first album. I was listening to this song again this morning, and I was reminded of how life is not perfect, but life is definitely worth living. Many of us go through hard times, struggles and suffering. Many of us have had hopes that were shattered, dreams that never became a reality, and situations in life that never turned out the way we expected. Maybe our health failed, our relationships were broken, our finances tanked, our dreams slipped away, or we were wronged unfairly. Whatever the case, life never seems to turn out the way we think, but life can still be beautiful.
My Personal 9-11
23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” Matthew 1:23 – He was born to die, so we can live.
Loving Father, help us remember the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds and the wisdom of the wise men.
Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world.
Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings,
and teach us to be merry with clean hearts.
May the Christmas morning make us happy to be Thy children
and the Christmas evening bring us to our beds with
grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus’ sake. Amen
URBAN ARCHANGEL – THIS IS HOW I LIVE MY LIFE EVERY DAY
CREATED BY MY NEW BROTHA IN CHRIST – Jahan
We all desire change in our lives. Whether that is to change something about ourselves change our habits, or even change the world. There are a lot of things that we can’t change, but there are other things that we constantly try to change with success or to no avail. With 2009 before us, the word “change” keeps coming to my mind. I desire change, but what will it take to see this change happen?
10 years ago I had an encounter with a Higher Power that led me to change many things in my life. 10 years later, I realized I am changing yet once again. When I was 16 years old I thought I had everything a teenager could want. I had it all: money, drugs, power, friends, influence and everything the world could have offered a MTV adolescent. Yet, it’s when it seems we have achieved everything, at that moment, we feel that we actually have nothing at all. That’s how I felt. I had everything, but in my heart I had nothing.
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