More Love For & and Thoughts About The Victims Of the Vegas Massacre

Playing Contemporary Country all weekend in solidarity with the Vegas victims (and because I like it).  Today's Country is basically the "new Old School" music. :-)  Love, romance, sensuality, musicianship, texture, story, boss vocals... MUSIC!  On my Playlist right now... "Ride", by Chase Rice; "Small Town Boy", by Dustin Lynch; "Your Man", by Chris Stapleton, "Livin The Dream", by Drake White; "Games", by Luke James, "What If's" by Kane Brown, and all things Sam Hunt. :-)  If I had anybody to go with, I might have been in Vegas too. 

 We really do need to stop living in so much fear that we think we need to worship and defend guns so much.  I believe it's GUILT that makes a person feel like they need to be armed all the time... they feel that if THEY were on the other side of all the dirt they've done,  THEY would retaliate. .. so they think they need to stay strapped (subconsciously, to defend against retribution ).  That, I believe, is at the heart of giving people the so-called, "right" to accumulate an arsenal like that mass murderer... and indeed, every mass murderer did.  If we really lived in the heart of the music we consider an authentically American Art form, we'd walk in true courage.  True courage demonstrates respect for life.

Solidarity With the Vegas Massacre Victims

You know... I'm happening upon songs and videos while I take a break researching phones and I think I should take a moment to express my grief over the horrific tragedy in Las Vegas.  There are a lot of art forms I really like, including a lot of Country Western.  In months back, I've posted videos of artists like Sam Hunt (who was on the lineup there), Carrie Underwood, Chris Young... Beautiful voices and awesome storytelling in the lyrics, I can only imagine the love in the crowd before this utter, UTTER horror.

Last month, I had the privilege of attending a  presentation by Rosalind and President Jimmy Carter.  When asked about their never-ending quest to influence gun control in this country, Rosalind said simply, "I hate the NRA".

It might be enough said, but there is one who TRULY has the Last Word.  As we pray for the victims and the families of this tragedy, I think it's worth re-posting my girl, Carrie Underwood's eternally true declaration, "How Great Thou Art".

Take a moment on behalf of the lost and suffering... #MakeUseOfTheSacrifices

My Take On The Cam Newton "controversy"

My thoughts on the Cam Newton controversy. A Black woman named, Gwen, jumped all over Cam and "these priviledged athletes", and it really ticked me off. This was my response. (if anybody is interested):

This hyper sensitivity about all things "women" annoys me.  Plus, I have never seen a BLACK female reporter interviewing any of the predominantly Black professional athletes, in the locker rooms or on the sidelines (beyond the highly qualified, Pam Oliver or Lisa Salters), so who's cause am I actually championing?

And as for the "now privileged "athletes, Gwen... do you think they should just be grateful slaves playing for massa and making the owners, the leagues, the vendors, the media, and everyone else trillions of dollars and just keep their nigga mouths shut?  Cam Newton in young.  Yes.  Only 28 years old. And, just like ANY of our sons spontaneously laugh at things they think are funny or ironic, he laughed.  So, he should be whipped  and put back on the plantation?  The girl,  herself, has been quietly corrected in the past, apparently for RACIST tweets,  but she too is young, so she gets a chance to be quietly corrected and keep growing.  But that's the way it's SUPPOSED to be right?.

Cam Newton laughed at IRONY.  And yes, it IS ironic for a young, white girl, who has never played professional football, to be asking technical questions of a world class, PROFESSIONAL football player.  No less ironic than a bartender getting paid handsomely to interview NASA scientists about their construction of the space shuttle.   Yes, they have the right... yes, they can read up on it and maybe ask a competent question... but the premise is inherently ironic and, without a filter, you, the rocket scientist, might spontaneously laugh.  Would the laugh be premeditated?  Mean-spirited?  Worthy of stripping him of his Nobel prize?  NO.  But, sadly, too many people, including many Black people like you, are willing to revert to the same old, INHERENTLY RACIST fallback that Black athletes, who typically come from impoverished upbringings, should sacrifice their bodies in a relatively short career, and  make everybody ELSE.... from their schools, to everybody I mentioned earlier billions and billions of dollars and not even get a slither of the pie for what takes very real skill and ability.

It's called "Supply and Demand".  Our CULTURE places a high priority on sports.  That's not THE ATHLETE'S fault! If everybody could do what they did, the market would be glutted, and arenas wouldn't be packed with people paying sometimes THOUSANDS of dollars to see them.

But they do.

...so the athletes shouldn't get a part of that?

Would YOU go to work for free?  Would YOU laugh at someone, who has never done YOUR job before walking up to you, putting a mic in your face, and asking you questions like they really get what you've trained your whole life for?

How many times has someone been promoted over you who you think doesn't know a fraction of what you do?   Would you deserve to be fired for feeling this way?  For laughing about it with someone in the breakroom?

Hateful. Angry. Jealous. Small minded people unconsciously trained in the dogma of white supremacy think that Black athletes should be "grateful" for getting proportionately paid to provide a service.  Like they should still be minstrels in the old time minstrel shows. .. or gladiators sacrificed to the Lions for the King's amusement.

I don't think they really need little Ole, broke me to stand up for them... but I cannot help but speak out on ANY type of injustice, and this routine villifying of Black athletes in the two leagues dominated by Blacks... the NFL and the NBA, is so clearly unfair.  Do hockey players get attacked for their salaries?  Do white Baseball players?... Baseball players, traditionally make way more than either of these other two sports. .. the sport is far less physically battering... their careers last longer... and is NOT A sport dominated by African Americans,  but I NEVER hear anyone calling THEM "ungrateful", or "privileged", or any other such racist insinuation because somehow they DESERVE the gazillions THEY make.  Supply and Demand is fine in THAT sport, but not where Black athletes are concerned.  Hyper-vigillance and harsh recriminations are always in order where the mindset is they should be silent, grateful,  grinning darkies.

Remember when Don Imus called a group of Black female athletes a bunch of "nappy headed hoes and jiggaboos"?  They had THAT mf lie low for a minute then GAVE HIM HIS JOB BACK!... When William Bennet, THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION under George Bush, said that we could reduce the crime rate by sterilizing Black women, THAT mf NOT ONLY kept his job...as the big boss OVER THE LIVES OF OUR CHILDREN, but wasn't even required to apologize.   And we won't get into any number of the things that roll off the lips of of other people whose words have actual CONSEQUENCES for ALL our lives...  but let a "priviledged" Black athlete do or say anything other than run that ball and tote that barge and lift that hay, and it's how dare these ungrateful darkies.

Question:  As a 25 year old white girl (also young), who had also made some regrettable comments (see below), and  barely has much LIFE experience, let alone professional accomplishments... what even QUALIFIES her to interview THE ONLY PLAYER IN HISTORY to  Win a Heisman Trophy, a National Championship, AND be the #1 NFL Draft pick all within ONE YEAR???  How did THIS little girl get THAT much priviledge?!

Even THAT speaks to the racism in this country.  As recently, as the 1950's grown Black men in the south were required to address whites as "Sir" and "Mam" even if they were children!  Today, That someone as relatively unaccomplished as this girl, should even get a platform with someone at HIS level, is RACIST.  A BLACK woman would have to be a ""Rhodes Scholar"... have been Editor of The Harvard Review... and a completely vetted and approved Twitter feed to even BEGIN to have that kind of access.  Who's child is she?  What influential person gave HER that priviledge?  Hmn?...  

Ha! I would have laughed in her face too. #MakeUseOfTheSacrifices

The Waterfront Takeback Part 2. (VIDEO)

The Waterfront Takeback Part 2

As we look NOW at the riots exploding and simmering in targeted real estate areas.... BACK at the real estate objectives of our Founding Fathers, and AHEAD at a political agenda to create laws to benefit the lawmaker rather than the electorate, we have to be mindful BUT focus on the TRUTH rather than the "facts".

Riot Inciting: The Way They Take Back The Land

What Is Being Promoted In Our Children's Schools?

Why I Didn't Like "The Wiz" 2015

"Letting Storms Lift You To Higher Ground" from Genesis 6-8

OZ USED TO BE A NICE PLACE. NOT ANYMORE. HATING "THE WIZ" 2015

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Check out this Sway! "Rayelity TV is your new Inspirational Source on YouTube."

Check out this Sway! "Rayelity TV is your new Inspirational Source on YouTube."

Perry Stone explains Blood Moons.

Perry Stone explains Blood Moon significance (14 mins)

2014-2015 Blood Moons Jesus coming Perry Stone

JULIAN BOND 1940 - 2015 "A First Love"

I’ve been on a social media “fast” so I was late to the news of the death of one of my heroes, Julian Bond.  As an astute student of our history and its’ warriors, I LOVED Julian Bond. One of the most significant memories, from my childhood, which helped forged my pride as an African American, was a televised debate of Julian Bond against the Grand Wizard of the KKK.  I later wrote in my book, Evolution Of A Woman, that “It will forever amaze me that the “general public” could watch such a lucid juxtaposition of brilliance and ignorance, and still collectively side with the later.  Not me though.  I read his autobiography* after that (in college), and inducted him into my own Hall Of Fame.”  Then, I included the following tribute, which I wrote back then:

JULIAN BOND

Pensive

Reflective

Introspective

Sincere

Aware

Articulate

Deliberator

A Man,

H.J.B.

At the end, I asked, “Where have all the warriors gone?”

I couldn’t find that debate on YouTube.  In fact, it’s hard to find any videos of him when he was in his Brilliant, Tenacious, Articulate, Undefeatable prime.  Also, it’s exceptionally hard to find the book I read about him in college.  As I dig, I’m finding a book that sounds familiar, “Julian Bond.  Black Rebel” by John Neary, so I just ordered it.  But know that,  it is getting harder and harder to find accurate, comprehensive books or videos chronicling our history so be aggressive about it.   As for Bond, know that before there was Barack Obama, there was Julian Bond-- Founder of the SNCC,  CoFounder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, former head of the NAACP, instrumental in getting the Voter’s Rights Act of 1964 passed, and a key organizer of Black Voter’s Registration at the time…  denied his seat in the Georgia State Legislature after WINNING, because of his stand against America’s participation in Vietnam and his agreement with those unwilling to be drafted.  He fought for his seat for TWO YEARS, taking it all the way to the Supreme Court before he was finally given his rightful, elected seat, and, even then, Horace Julian Bond in his low key, intractable, articulate manner, CONTINUED to assail America for it’s imperialist pursuits in Vietnam and other parts of the world.  And, never shooting from the hip,  the man was always extremely well educated on any position he undertook.

I urge you to take it upon yourselves to research this man for yourself.  However, like I said, the revisionists are busy.  It is very hard, if not impossible. to find key information about his legacy, but so worth the hunt.   In the meantime, here is an impassioned,  “mini history lesson” of about 5 minutes on the magnitude of this true World Shifter.    I LOVE this man, as I do so many of our other champions, male and female.  And, I am so very, very grateful for all he, and our other “Guardians of OUR Galaxy”, fought for to strengthen our hearts, our self concept, our view of the world, and secure our place in it.  God Bless you, Mr. Bond.

All I know firsthand about Mr. Bill Cosby

I feel I need to give MY "COSBY EXPERIENCE" in light of all that's been attached to his name. I do not know what is or is not true about ANYTHING. But, I have to share that in the mid-90's I was acting part time and working a regular job. On my off days, I'd tried to substitute teach in the projects because I felt my presence was "needed" there. One day, in February, I had a "Special Ed" class. As you know, "Special Ed" classes are pretty much only "warehouses" where they "dock" kids they deem useless, so this class had had NO TEACHER since the beginning of the year! -- only a battery of subs-- no books... little heat... nothing. As an exercise, I asked them what their favorite show was. They unanimously said, "The Cosby Show". I explained that the actors didn't just show up and start talking but that WRITERS created SCRIPTS for them. I explained the format of a 22 minute sitcom, the dynamics of a "writer's room" and suggested they "write" a script for The Cosby Show.

Since they neither read nor wrote, I volunteered to be the "Secretary" as we got in a circle and they dictated their story to me. Because these children watched this show so religiously, they INSTINCTIVELY knew the "formula" for the show and "wrote" the most amazing and cutest little script about Rudy breaking a window and trying to hide it. I was only at the school for one day but wanted to make an impact. I went home, typed it up, and sent it to The Cosby Show, asking if they could please have Mr. Cosby just write a letter to them congratulating them on their efforts. But, Bill Cosby did one better: He had THE ENTIRE CLASS FLOWN UP TO NEW YORK FROM CHICAGO FOR A DAY ON THE SET OF THE COSBY SHOW! This, IN ADDITION to the over $30 million dollars of his own money he has contributed to Black colleges and universities and how he very STRATEGICALLY used his career to advance our "Progress Agenda" --educationally as well as psychically -- to raise the bar on how we see ourselves and our place in the world.

This was just one of those "little things" that no doubt was one of many that he did out of that mindset that never reached the press, but which made a difference nonetheless, in the lives of a dozen or so forgotten Black boys in the projects of Chicago. I didn't get to go, however. Though Bill Cosby insisted to the school that the trip would not happen unless I was included, the scandalous Principal of the school tricked me into thinking the trip was cancelled, then took one of her relatives who SAID they were me!  Now, THAT'S the type of low level deceit that "mere mortals" are capable of. This Principal and Everybody who had done NOTHING for these children wanted to get on the bandwagon and I didn't even know they had gone until later. But, Mr. Cosby made a HUGE DIFFERENCE in the lives of those otherwise discarded babies and I think I need to make that known.

Also, I find it interesting that these charges would surface EXACTLY at the time that he was about to re-enter the television arena with a show that would no doubt, go AGAINST the negative propaganda agenda against Blacks these days. A show that would derail the "Desperate Housewives of Atlanta", "Flava Flav", "Love and Hip Hop", almost every daytime "Maury Povich-type" show and all the wretched tripe that has very effectively served to turn public opinion against us to the point where Grand Juries can condone our mass extermination. ONLY Cosby had the power do that.

Like I said, I have no idea about these horrific allegations, but I do believe that for this agenda to go on unchecked, he needed to be gotten out of the way. Much like the allegations against Michael Jackson resurfaced EXACTLY at the time ownership of The Beatles Catalog he owned came due for renewal. Hmnnnnn.... food for thought. I encourage any of you who has had a positive encounter with Mr. Bill Cosby to share it. It's important for OUR OWN self esteem.

Love all of you dearly,

Rayel

WITNESSING HISTORY... DON'T FORGET.

I confess, I have been very busy just keeping my OWN job, so I really couldn't address the Eric Holder resignation until this weekend.  :-)

All I want to do is outline a very brief BIO of this phenomenal, Black man.  A man who has almost "invisibly" made history right before our eyes because few of us really know what the "Attorney General" does, and it is not as flashy a title as "President" or "Beyonce' and Jay-Z".

But, indeed, we are having the privilege of living in a time our PARENTS... let alone, our GRANDPARENTS, couldn't even imagine-- even as they marched and prayed and fought and died for such a time.  A time when TWO Black men would effectively hold the highest offices in the "free world".

Please.  Please. PLEASE don't take this for granted.

And, as Eric Holder, moves on to the next stage of His Calling, I implore us not to forget:

• That Eric Holder is the FIRST Black United States Attorney General in history.

• He is the FOURTH longest-tenured Attorney General in history.

• He previously worked in the U.S. Justice Department as a Corruption Prosecutor and as Deputy Attorney General (2^nd in command), in the Clinton Administration.

• In 2009, he CORRECTLY stated that the U.S. is a “nation of cowards” when it comes to discussions on racial tensions here.

• Then, 5 years later, after Ferguson, MO exploded, true to his convictions, he jumpstarted that conversation, and even used his office to order a second autopsy on Michael Brown.

•  He sued North Carolina and Texas over voting restrictions that effectively disenfranchise  large numbers of minorities and the elderly.

•  He launched 20 investigations of abuses by local police departments (lonnnnnnnn, lonnnnnnng overdue).

•  And, he used his position to lobby Congress to reduce prison sentences for nonviolent drug crimes.  The sentencing of which, overwhelmingly, disproportionately hurt minority communities.

In the days ahead, before his ultimate departure, he is expected to address some other hot buttons in the Black community—racial profiling and the long abused, “851 tool”, which coerces defendants into forgoing trial by threatening lengthy prison terms.  Having worked for 5 years, myself in the Criminal Justice system, I know firsthand of the routine employment of this tactic.

Eric Holder is a “Baad, motha, shut ‘cho mouth”!  J And, has been for a long, long time.

I’ll reluctantly forgive him for spending a big part of his career defending corporations, but I don’t care what the “mainstream” media does to try to discredit or defame him, Eric Holder is a MAN.  A man of courage, brilliance, and absolute anointing.  A WARRIOR MADE for such a time as this, and he represents the TRUTH of the BEST of who we are and what we are capable of.  The reality is that he is a Lion—a King in the jungle.  But even Mufasa can only contend with the scores of hyenas for so long.  There comes a time when you have to make choices to be able to  complete your Purpose.  This office was clearly only part of it.

I am personally very, very proud of this era of Warriors—including Obama and Holder.  History is being re-written daily by terrified liars.  WE must record this history in our OWN hearts… and on PAPER… and in all of these new, digital technologies to preserve and advance it to our children.

Eric Holder is a part of OUR story… right along with Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman… and many, many others.  DO NOT let the fact that he is our contemporary make him “common” to us.  These are NOT “common” times.  These are, indeed, HISTORICAL times—UNPRECEDENTED times.   And, there is absolutely nothing “common” about him or this space in African American… indeed, AMERICAN history.

Please share this with your children.

Reflecting His Light,

Rayel

FROM CHICAGO.... TO FLORIDA.

THE MOVIE!  :-)

From this...                       






To this...

Many of you have been wanting to know what inspired the "sudden" move from Chicago to Florida.  I started writing this Palm Sunday, after my first week here.  Then, I provided an update today.  I believe this "story" will blow you away!  Make sure you let me know what you think.....



Palm Sunday, April 13, 2014

Thank you all for all the love and well wishes on my recent relocation to Florida.  I love and appreciate you all, so I want to answer all of your questions, which no doubt, emerge from a place of shock and "what the heck is she doing now?!"

It's been a whirlwind of Blessings so, as we enter into the week when, over 2000 years ago, my Savior, Jesus Christ, prepared, with great anguish and trepidation to enter into the last leg of his earthly journey (Easter), this seems like a good day to sit down and finally chronicle this, most recent leg of mine.

Ok.

So, it went something like this:

A few years ago, I had a burning desire to leave California and run back to Chicago to "save" my nephew.  Many of you already know that.  And, if you've read my earlier blogs, you also know how that went.  In short, I learned what my Pastor told me before leaving, "You're not the Savior".

But, I also wanted to conduct my Youth ministry there, and I had prayed extensively and gotten more than one confirmation that, even though God warned me it was going to be a difficult assignment in a very dark place, He promised He would send "Kings to the brightness of my shining" (Isaiah 60:3).  In short, It wasn't going to be fun or easy.  I'd encounter a lot of difficulties and opposition, but He would send me help.  My dear friend, Bill, who made his transition, on my front steps, on Valentine's Day, was one of those Kings.

Though I didn't know Bill yet, I left  sunny, Southern California with the knowledge, like Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, that I was heading into a cross carrying experience.  Jesus was praying fervently in a garden.  I was literally pooside at the Indian Wells Country Club the day before I left to drive across country with my three dogs.  And from almost the time I arrived in Chicago I was targeted over and over at almost every turn.

But, I was warned.  Like I said, God SHOWED me in a dream and described, in scripture, what I would go through.  People didn't like me on sight!  As soon as I'd walk IN, you could see the a cloud cover their faces.  Employers, family, churches, landlords, politicians....  One person even exclaimed, when I walked in for an interview, "You're like sunshine!"  Then, proceeded to have me apply twice and turn me down twice!  --for a volunteer media position that I've done PROFESSIONALLY for over a decade!  ("The Light has come into the world but the people loved the darkness more than the light because their deeds were evil"  -- John 3:19)

In the space of two years, I had four jobs of four months each.  I would always be the top producer, but in some cases, the companies would go out of business.  Along the way, I'd have managers that would just "not like me".  They'd complain that they "didn't like the way I bounced on my toes when I walked", or "didn't like the way I used my hands when I talked".  They commented that I was too thin and "If I'd known you were this skinny I wouldn't have hired you."  They complained about me always smiling and asking how people are doing.  "We're busy!" They'd bark.  "We don't have time for all that!"

When I was giving the bikes away in my ministry's bike drive, some of the adults in my neighborhood whispered that I must be a child molester.   My family made a complete mess of my nephew's life, blamed it on me, cursed me out and put me out.  My cousins assumed I must be like the cousin in "Soul Food" who came back and slept with somebody's husband, so they spread lies about me and all shut me out.  One guy, who I hadn't spoken to in 16 years, showed up and spread particularly vicious lies about me through my family-- which, ASTOUNDINGLY, since I have ALWAYS been BLINDLY AND TENACIOUSLY loyal to my family-- they believed!  That all but broke my heart.

The guy promptly, and literally dropped dead.  ("Touch not my anointed ones and do my prophets no harm."  --Psalm 105:15.  It wasn't Bill, by the way.  Bill was my friend.  This was someone else.)

I spent three years in Chicago, literally shut out of my family, estranged from friends I hadn't seen in years, kicked out by my first landlord after the Supreme Court upheld "Obama Care", citing that now they'd have to pay their employees insurance and give them raises, so rather than raising my rent $200, they were not going to renew my lease.  I was their only Black tenant.

Sweet home, Chicago.

But, God is the master orchestrator if you're yielded to Him.  He had brought me back to Chicago and placed me on the north side for a season.   I comforted myself with the admonition that, "a prophet is not without honor, except in his own hometown and among his own household."  (Mark 6:4).  I accepted what I could do as well as what I couldn't.

 While on the north side, I got to know, love and pray with my Yale educated neighbors and the smattering of Latin Kings around the neighborhood alike.  Kendra, across the hall, roasted garlic for me when I had a cold.  John, downstairs,  burst out of his apartment ready to fight for me when he heard me falling down the slippery stairs one night.  He thought I was being assaulted and ran out totally prepared to do battle.  Likewise, the local Latin Kings trusted and looked out for me, as well.    Maybe the Latin Kings were some of the "Kings" God promised to send!  :-)  If I came in at 2 in the morning, they'd be out and, as intimidating as a group of them walking toward you at 2 in the morning might be, it was all love and "how you doin?".    When one of them got shot and killed, I conducted a prayer circle with them on the sidewalk.  It wasn't the first prayer circle I'd conducted with them.   I rode my bike from group to group preaching and pleading they seek God's plan and reconsider retaliation.

Whether, in their grief. or at other times, stifling giggles through a blunt fogged high, they always listened to me with rapt attention.  One time I said, "I know you all are trying not laugh at me right now."  "They released the witheld chuckles.  "Yeah, cause you're funny!" they laughed.  But, quickly and seriously followed it with, "But, seriously.  We really appreciate you talking to us like this.  For real."  I sought out their teardrop tatooed faces before I moved and gave them hugs goodbye.  John called in contacts for me on my job hunt.  God's always provided angels.

Then, God landed me in Dixmoor, next to Harvey, IL where there were sooooooo many kids I was stunned.  Good Lord!  There's a lot of kids around here!, I thought.  I'D thought my ministry was supposed to be in Chicago proper.  I didn't anticipate taking new, white friends to church or having street corner prayers with Latin gangs, but then, that's God.  You can't put Him in a box.  Not by color or background, geography or anything!  And, opposition comes with the territory sometimes, but it should not be prolonged.


Though I was rejected by family, jobs, the local "power brokers" of Chicago and such, God brought the people to me who He sent me there for AND, He sent those instrumental to His assignment, to assist me.  Like I said, there was John, who set up an interview with one of his Yale buddies when I got dropkicked by the manager who "didn't like the way I bounced on my toes when I walked.".  There was Bill, who supported EVERYTHING I did with the kids of Dixmoor.  There was my girl Cindy, who I met on my first job back there.  She also rallied to find me another job after I got spit out of the first one.  Out of the blue, one of my cousins (the only one who stayed in touch), called and offerred to rent me a house in Dixmoor, right after the North side landlords punished me for Obama.

"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all else will be added unto you."  (Matt 6:33)


I went back to Chicago because I felt God told me to.  It was encumbent on Him to provide for me.  That's His WORD and His word NEVER returns void.

I wrote a sermon once on letting rejection POSITION you.  I was being POSITIONED.  And, I reminded myself often that all of the other rejection I was encountering was just God telling me not to get comfortable.  I was only passing through.

But, then there was Dixmoor.  I won't get into how much I sowed into the lives of the young people there.  Truth is, I got way more out of it.  I FELL IN LOVE WITH THOSE KIDS!  Our evening bike rides and later our Saturday night weekend winter pow wows became the highlight of my life!  They touched me.  With their sweetness, their little kid enthusiam, their teenaged burgeoning adulthood, their trust in me.  Their love.  If I had to stay in Chicago, there is no other community there I'd rather be than in that little neighborhood I became a part of.  In fact, on the day I left, the Village called me.  They said a teenaged girl had been put out of the house and needed a place to stay.  They already knew I'd helped another child out of a difficult home situtation and wanted to know if she could stay with me.

Too late.  The movers had just left my house.  My season there had ended and I was headed toward Florida.

But why Florida?  Why now?

Well...

Therein lies the next leg of the journey.

Ready?...


Ok.


A prophet came to visit this little church I attended in Hammond, IN.  He prophesied, among other things, that The Lord was going to relocate me to Florida.  I was stunned because I had no fond memories of Florida from my undergraduate years in Tallahassee, and never intended to go back.  But, he was right about everything else, so I had to consider it.  He said, the people in Chicago don't understand my anointing and are afraid of it.  I think, "same reason Jesus was only able to perform a few miracles in HIS hometown..."

Fast forward.  The last job takes the marketing territory I built, and kicks me out.  Their business drops in half, so they call me back, try to pick my brain, but doesn't rehire me.   The winter sets in and brutally shuts down the country.  I'm stuck.   Bill dies on my front steps.  Trememdous loss and trauma.  My kids rally around me but I'm truly ready to leave.  Even one of "my kids" tells me I need to look out for myself.  "There are no bunk beds in the coffin," this wise littl eleven year old says.  In other words, "If you let this place kill you, you're dying by yourself, so you better save yourself."  Money's short by now.  I'd developed symptoms that looked like Fibromyalgia.  I was in pain everywhere and so was one of my dogs, who I had to carry up and down icy, snowy stairs everyday... and fall sometimes.

Kept going to church.  John Hannah and his associate Pastors preach a sermon, "It's Time To Move!"  Stresses even if you think you don't have enough money or resources or whatever (which I didn't), trust God and do it anyway.  It's time to move!  They cite the Hebrews with the mountains on one side, the desert on the other, the enemy behind and the Red Sea ahead.  Trapped.

.... but then God parts the sea.

That's my daily reminder.

I'd also re-read, "The Prayer of Jabez" by Bruce Wilkinson and started praying the prayer before Bill died.  Things started happening in the extreme-- including Bill's death.  It becomes more clear to me that God is taking me to a new level in Him.  Bigger assignments.  I need to be tougher, thus, He allowed me to go through allllllllllllllll the difficulties, including Bill dyng in my presence.

It's clear that it's time for me to move but then I learn that my mother needs a double hip replacement, "my kids" want me to attend their 8th grade graduations in June and one of them has a particularly challenging situation that I've assisted.  Situations are changing again and they're wanting me nearby as well.

Two days cement God's will.  I try again to go back to the old job.  Even for less money so I can be there for everybody else.  God says no.  My mother callls and assures me she's got plenty of support and I should go.  My Godmother, calls from the Ft. Lauderdale area and says the dogs and I can land with her, and the very next day, Friday, a resume I sent out down here, callled for an interview.

I packed up a 4 bedroom house in two days.  I book a moving company with just three days notice.  We load the truck on Monday and prepare to hit the road right after.  

I go to the doctor about my pain but no time to follow up and limited resources anyway. While there, my friend, Donna texts me that she can send me a donation toward my move.

My friend, Perez, stops by.  He's been working on my BMW.  It starts, but it still won't stay on.  I decide to leave it, along with pretty much all of my furniture and drive my Ford instead.  He offers to drive with me THAT DAY!  He goes home, gets his brother to watch his dog, and DRIVES ME AND MY DOGS THE ENTIRE WAY TO FLORIDA!  TWENTY-FOUR HOURS!!!!  Thank GOD!  Because Im in so much pain there is NO WAY I would have made it.  Not AT ALL! We get to Ft. Lauderdale Wednesday afternoon, I book a flight for him from the car and take him directly to the airport back to Chicago, land at my Godmother's, get ready for the interview.  I'm still in pain and exhausted but I get up the next morning and make the interview ON TIME.  The woman I interview with couldn't be nicer.  She says I'm "an amazing woman"!  No mean-mugging.  No glares at how "skinny" I am or complaints about how I walk.  She calls me for a followup interview with the owner before I even get back to my Godmother's!

That was on a Thursday.  The next interview was Monday.  They made an offer Tuesday morning.

I saw a FAMU (my alma mater) license plate frame on a car and left a note.  Turned out it was a sweet, young girl, Class of 2013!  (A REAL baby.  :-)  She asked, "Do you have a church home?"  I visited her church today.  Met others.  They referred me to a good Chiropractor, a Day Spa, I took the offer letter and am "this close" to getting a nice apartment in a resort-type community complete with pools, spas, lakes, ducks, a fitness center and dog parks.  :-)

I've sat and chatted on the beach, ridden my bike, and on the way to Florida, I met a woman in a gas station, in Tennessee,  who opened her own assisted living facility.  I told her I had a business plan and idea to create a "Safe House" for young people who can't go home for whatever reason.  Maybe they're runaways, thrown-aways, or whatever.  I told her I was headed to Florida and didn't reallly know why but that God told me to.  She informed me that Florida was a top state for runaways!  Said, soooo many teenagers run away to Florida and they have a horrible, dangerous life.  She said, maybe THAT'S why God was sending me to Florida!  And she'd be happy to help me.

Oh!  And get this!  After I got the job offer, I was having trouble finding an apartment that would take all three of my dogs.  I called the owner of the company and told her I was having trouble finding a place at my price point.  She said she would HELP ME find a place!  She called a friend of her's that 's a realtor and said if they couldn't find something, then we'd talk about raising my salary.

Now, you know that is NO ONE BUT GOD!

I don't profess to alway obey God fully or all the time.  God KNOWS I screw up!  But, He also knows I try.  I really do.  And, I've become more willing to do the "illogical" at His direction.

God told Abraham to "Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family, go to a land that I will show you"  (Gen. 12:1)  

I did that when I left 17 years ago for California.  

Now, I'm doing it again.  And, once again, He's parting the sea.

Chicago really beat me up this last go round.  My body.  My Spirit.... the weather gave me arthritis in almost every joint...  got an extreme Vitamin D deficiency from the lack of sun, I shoveled so much I got pulled ligaments and pinched nerves, I fell down the stairs a bunch of times  trying to carry one of my dogs, who also got arthritis in that tundra... but I'm declaring COMPLETE restoration of EVERYTHING the devil thinks he stole from me!  Completely and SEVENFOLD!

I truly learned to let go of "things".   To get out of there, I left furniture, my classic BMW, fur coats, exercise equipment.....  thousands of dollars worth of "things", but I literally felt like my life was on the line.  It was!

But, I KNOW it can't compare to what's in store.  And, I don't just mean materially.

Goodness!
And Mercy!
And Joy!
And Peace!
And Perfect Health!
Strength!
Love!
And, every good thing will FOLLOW ME all of the days of my life and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever!

UPDATE:  MAY 31, 2014

Ok!  So I got the beautiful place with the lakes and the ducks, pool and palm trees..... a friend GAVE me leather furniture here that fit my new place BETTER than the furniture I left.....  He also helped me get excellent medical attention to deal with my pinched nerve and all my "Chicago ailments" and I'm getting better and better.  In fact, God has not let me lack for anything!  Although I left Chicago with limited resources, God provided ALL of this within my FIRST TWO WEEKS HERE!... the job, the home, the therapists....  I keep thanking Him daily!

I've gotten to the place where I basically can't use a cellphone.  The radiation has had my fingers burning since January and having 15+ kids in my living room every Saturday ALL on their cellphones the whole time surely didn't help.  My home was a virtual homing device for every cellular signal from every carrier!  I have developed almost a complete intolerace to radiation... but now I know and am doing what I need to detox and restore my system.

Though I left deeply wounded by my family, I recognized that I was in good company... Jesus, Joseph, David.... and recognized it was part of the "Preparation" God was building in me, so, by faith, I consciously forgave and prayed for them everyday.  One of the fruits of my prayers is that  my mother had the hip replacement and STUNNED all her doctors and therapists with how quickly she recovered.  Within two weeks, the therapists shook their heads and said, "It's a miracle!  There's nothing else we can do for you.  You're fine!"  Last week, I called my mother and she had just gotten back from a party.  God never fails.

I met a Haitian minister here with a small, Haitian church who asked me to assist hm in starting an English speaking service.  Presently, I'm still getting myself together and unpacking but I already know ministry is a main reason God sent me here.  I'm listening and still being carried.

Since last October, I put a note and a prayer in my daily Calendar.  The note read, "This is my opportunity to step out on faith.  Without faith, it is impossible to please God!"

The prayer was the Prayer of Jabez as well as adapted prayers from the book, "Releasing The Prayer Anointing", by Larry Lea.

It reads:

"Oh Lord, that you would Bless me, indeed and enlarge my territory.  That your hand would be with me, and that you would kep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!" -- 1 Chron. 4:9-10

"Lord, keep me safe from the pain and grief that sin brings.  For the dangers that I can't see, or the ones that I think I can risk because of my experience (pride and carelessness), put up a supernatural barrier around me.  Protect me, Father, by your Power!

I declare Your Kingdom to come and Your Will to be done in my life, my relationships, my works, and my ministry for,

I have your Wisdom.
I have the Discipline of a Disciple.
I Prophesy!
I Visualize the Life You want for Me.
I AM Well Taken Care Of.
I Relax in My Spirit.
I Trust You.
I Worship You in Spirit and In Truth.
I Let Go & I Let YOU.

YOUR WORD INSTRUCTED ME that "whatever things I ask when I pray, to BELIEVE that I RECEIVE them and I will HAVE THEM!" -- Matt 11:24

YOU also instructed me that when I stand praying TO FORGIVE ANYONE I have ANYTHING against. -- Matt 11:25

Therefore, In JESUS' name, I FORGIVE _________________ for they know not what they do.  And, I release them to their highest good.  I send the LOVE OF CHRIST to them and I BELIEVE I RECEIVE ALL THAT GOD HAS FOR ME!  In Jesus' name!  Amen!"


I invite you to take this on for yourselves.  I saw the movie, "Dauntless" when I got here.  There's a scene where the initiates are asked to jump off a building into a black abyss several stories down.  They don't know if there's a net or not to catch them.  If it's not, it's surely death, but they do it.  I thought to myself, "why would you put that kind of trust in man but not God?  If you've made Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior and He is Calling you to do something... whatever it is...  Whether it's something broad like moving across the country or something "local" like, getting out of an unGodly relationship, why wouldn't you trust the Creator of the Universe?  The one who has every hair of your head numbered?  Who clothes the lillies of the field and who has ALWAYS brought you through?

The world is full of counterfeits and counterfeit allegiances, but only the devil would call for you to risk your life pointlessly like that.  That's why it's called, being a "daredevil"!

God would never ask that of you.  If you abide in Him and let him abide in you, He will never lead you to do something that will not be for your good and His Glory because "ALL things work together for the GOOD of those who LOVE Him and are CALLED according to HIS PURPOSE."  --Romans 8:28

Seek first the Kingdom of God AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, and ALL ELSE will be added to you."  --Matt 6:33

That doesn't mean that you won't go through tough times.  No great man or woman of God yields a testimony without a test... but if you keep your priorities straight, HE WILL ALWAYS provide a net!

I LOVE YOU and I BLESS YOU ALL... IN JESUS' MIGHTY NAME!


PEACE!  :-)
Rayel

Life's Little "Rayelity Checks": Shifting The World

Life's Little "Rayelity Checks": Shifting The World: We lost one of our lifetime's "World Shifters" this week:                                    Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.  T...

Shifting The World

We lost one of our lifetime's "World Shifters" this week:  
                                 Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. 

Those of us who share this "Boomer" generation have witnessed the belly of the beast, and its evolution, through South African apartheid and American segregation.

The dismantling of each system marked, in part, by the ending of President Mandela's 27 year incarceration and The Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Now, here we stand, at the close of 2013, presumably the "apex" of our lives, witnessing the passing of many of those who fought, and gave, so generously, so painfully, so sacrificially for freedoms we are now witnessing being taken away-- most notably, The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which our Supreme Court stripped down significantly, just a few months ago on the grounds of being "unconstitutional".

What is important to realize, is that what kept segregation, slavery, and indeed, ALL of the "quasi-slave" systems intact, was the freedom given individual states to abide by Federal Law or not. Thus, the South, could debunk any challenges to its tyranny with immunity.

In June, when The Supreme Court, overturned Sections 4 & 5 of The Civil Rights Act, they gave 9 Southern States that right back. The right to re-write electoral laws without Federal approval-- a step so far backward as to almost undo the entire struggle... Destroy perhaps its most crucial gains.  A move akin to reversing the lynchpin that made apartheid illegal.

This weeks' death of Nelson Mandela, marks more than just the end of an era. It's the death of yet one more guard at the gate of justice.  And with each death... 

C. Delores Tucker, Civil Rights Leader and former Chair of The Black Caucus of The National Democratic Committee...

Constance Baker Motley, The first Black female Federal Judge...

Thurgood Marshall,  who served on The Supreme Court from 1967 to 1991, and who, as a lawyer won the pivotal Brown vs. The Board of Education case which integrated America's public schools...

August Wilson, Pulitzer Prize winning Playwright who chronicled important aspects of the American experience... 

John Tweedle, Pulitzer Prize winning Photographer, who cemented in our hearts and minds all of the iconic images of Dr. King and the  Civil Rights struggle...

Johnny Cochran, top Attorney who, beyond leading O.J's defense, was a prominent, early advocate of police brutality victims and was, at the time of his death, leading a legal charge  against the holocaust of Christians in the Sudan...

Lee Thompson Young (The Amazing Jet Jackson), who shared the distinction, with Raven Simone, as one of only two Black actors to carry a Disney television series, in the title role... 

John & Eunice Johnson, the founders of Johnson Publications, which for many years were the only magazines bringing the triumphs and rallying cries of Black America, and indeed, the world, into our living rooms...

 Hans Massaquoi, former Managing Editor of Ebony Magazine, who also penned his experience growing up in Nazi Germany, reminding us that world history is indeed ALL of our history...

 Don Cornelius, who helped validate our "groove"... 

And then there were Hadiya  Pendleton and Trayvon Martin, who represent the rivers of young, Black blood coursing the sidewalks of the world, calling out, like Abel, for vindication and all of our salvation.

These are just a tiny few of those gatekeepers and symbols we lost in recent years.  And, with each loss, if no one steps up to take their shift, the gate becomes more and more unprotected. Our gains, more and more vulnerable to raid.

The Civil Rights movement got us into "The Promise land".  It was a faith-based movement led by the REVEREND Dr. Martin Luther King, the REVEREND, Andrew Young, the REVEREND Ralph Abernathy... And so on and so on. Even the role of the Nation of Islam placed Spiritual principles at its core.

We cannot exclusively complete, in the flesh, what began in the Spirit.

God led the Hebrews out of slavery, through the wilderness, and into the Promise land.  And once there, they said, "We've got it from here, God!"  As a result, they got carted off to Babylon.

WE are being carted off to Babylon as we speak.  As we drive.  As we go about our day to day lives apart from God... thinking we're "in" now and  "we've got it from here".

The Hebrews had to fight to keep what was given to them, but they could not do it apart from The One who gave it.

We are living in very slippery times and the ONLY way to keep our footing is with regular time on our knees and teaching our children to.  Teaching our children the legacy of our history AND how God brought us through it, empowering us to be the best we could be and parting the sea when we reached the end of our abilities.  Being living examples of compassion and assistance to others, discipline, tenacity and prayer.

Does that mean no harm will ever come to them?  Sadly no. Every single person remembered here was somebody's child, including Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for trying to help others, in fact, a NATION!  And even God gave His only begotten Son so we might be redeemed.

But neither if them did it in their own strength-- but rather by complete reliance on God-- for their direction, endurance, and absolutely for their courage.  That is the key to the only lasting revolution.

If each of us do that, and look to God to direct our steps, we will be effectively led to do our part as a "World Shifter".  He will strengthen us to do our part to "Protect The Gate", because as evidenced by the virtual repeal of the Civil Rights movement, the devil never gives up.  We fought him with The Word, unity and tenacity in 1964, but just like he fled Jesus in the wilderness, he only "left until a more opportune time". (Luke 4:13)

One thing that is clear is the UNITY of the enemy's camp.  God's people need, once again, the UNITY that got us over... the UNITY of the Bus Boycott, the March on Washington, and more.  If we get back on our watch with regular time with God,  teach our children to, and dismantle all these manmade church separations, we can gain direction on how to repair the many breaches our gates have sustained.

We've tried it "our way".  It's time for ALL of us, regardless of race, class, or geography to get back on our watch for the preservation of our Souls!  And injustice to ANYONE ANYWHERE, injures the SOUL of not only the victims, not only the perpetrators, but all of those who look away and say, "Oh well".

The world is suffering more than a financial collapse, more than a moral lapse, but a "soul sickness". It is time to get back on our post to get the strength and direction to fight.  To get off the defense and get AHEAD of the battle.

"If My People, who are Called by My name, would humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and forgive their sins, and heal their land." (2 Chron. 7:14)

What do YOU think?

                                           ...Be love... and love will follow.
                                                                               -Rayel