I’d like to end this post with one of my favorite songs, a Hawkins Singers  classic, “Be Grateful”:

(This is an old post that I found in my drafts. I figured it might help someone.)

This video has inspired me so much, by reminding me what my faith is all about. If I don’t live up to this message and I’m in the same place six months from now, call me out on it. I’m so serious. It’s time out for playing games in the church. I’ve been to way too many “holy ghost parties” with nothing to celebrate. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work. Who’s ready?

Response to the video:

I think part of that fail we should be expecting is that some people won’t like the cross, and turn away from the church. But the ultimate success would be seen in those who were drawn and changed by the cross. – @JoyisWar

Experts have developed a quick test to determine if you’re a potential carrier of Soulmate Syndrome. Read the following instructions very carefully and complete them accordingly:

1) Extend your right arm so that it is perpendicular to your chest and all of your fingers point away from your body

2) Bend your elbow so your forearm is parallel to your chest.

3) Rotate your wrist in a counterclockwise direction and stop when it forms a 90 degree angle with your chest.

4) Fold the middle, ring, and pinky fingers of that same hand into a fist-like position.

5) Clasp your thumb over the three fingers that you just folded.

6) Keep your arm and hand in this position, if you are a man.

If you haven’t picked up on it, this article is direct towards all of the single, Christian men out there; but I urge the women to keep reading, as well. Let me make something clear, I’m not some radical female out to emasculate or degrade men, that would make me out of order and completely discredit every word in this post. I’m writing this blog, from a place of concern, as a wake up call to a lot of the men who are sitting around anxiously awaiting their special prize– a Proverbs 31 woman.

Survey: (Be completely honest with yourself) Raise your hand if you’re a man who thinks that we’re not all butt-naked and laughing in Eden today because of the serpent and Eve’s mistake?

If your answer to that question was yes, then I strongly advise you to keep reading. If not, still keep reading Moving forward……The part that a lot of people overlook in Genesis 3 is the answer that Adam gives God when he asks about what he’s done. What Adam doesn’t say is, “My bad, Lord! I fouled up; I’ll try not to do it again”. Instead, what he says is, “This woman’s not working right, take her back and start over”. He never acknowledges that he was wrong, instead he blames everybody else that’s present. Now, Eve goes and does the thing same to the serpent, but that’s aside from the point that I’m trying to make. God gave the instructions to Adam. If he had just fessed up and said, “I know I was wrong, but that fruit was lookin’ GOOD!”, God might’ve given him another chance and just punished Eve and the serpent. However, when you deflect all of your problems onto the creation, you insult the creator; and trust me, He’s the last person you want to insult. What does this point have to do with finding your soulmate? Bare with me, and I’ll explain.

The reason why a lot of men will never find their “Proverbs 31″ is because they don’t know how to treat the women around them. No, Eve wasn’t a Proverbs 31 woman in Genesis 3, but look at how she acted in Genesis 4. Stop going around criticizing and putting down every woman you meet that isn’t “your wife” and blaming those women for your singleness. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you will instantly fall into the role of a perfect husband when the right woman comes along; what you’ll really do is make a complete fool of yourself. Instead of going around asking every woman you meet if she’s a Proverbs 31, ask yourself, “am I 1 Peter 3:7 man?”. How about a Galatians 6: 1? Or a Romans 12: 1 and 2? I could go on for days, but you get the point. Stop worrying about everyone else’s conduct and work on your own. If you sense any pride within yourself, if you’re quick to anger, if you struggle with sexual immorality or perversion, ask God to work on your heart, so that you’ll know how to treat your P31 when you find her–lest you turn her into an Ezekiel 16 (eek!).

As the title states, God’s not about to waste His ruby on a cheap band. What that means is that he’s not gonna send you a Proverbs 31, if you don’t know how to act. God loves all of his children equally, male and female, so He wouldn’t deliver any of them into the hand of destruction. If you’re a cheap band, as in you look good for a while but start to turn green and rust as time progresses, God’s not about to let you get near one of his precious gems. Work on yourself, treat all of the women around you with respect, and most importantly, learn how to submit to YOUR husband–Christ. If you do these things, God just might give you your heart’s desire.

The quickest way to learn how to treat a woman is to look at Christ’s example. He never married, nor did he plan to, but that didn’t stop him from approaching every woman that he encountered with grace and compassion. Did He address the Samaritan woman by saying “Go, skeezer, take your water and depart from me!”? No! Go to John 1: 4-30 to read what he really said. If you see a sister who is struggling, show her the love of Christ and begin to plant seeds of wisdom into her life. Don’t look at her as a waste of your time, but as a little sister who’s been abused and mistreated by the world. Here’s a secret: Most women, even the ones who seem catty and bitter, want to be a Proverbs 31 from the innermost part of their being. In some cases, they just need one man (any man) to show them that genuinely good, God-fearing, bible-believing men still exist. They’re just looking for that one brother who’s willing to be patient them and show a genuine concern for their well-being–no strings attached. Why do you think so many of them seek out the stereotypical gay best friend? He’s nothing more than a distorted, perverted version of what YOU’RE supposed to be as her brother in Christ. So, learn how to take care of your sisters. In doing this, you will make up for some of the damage you’ve caused to other women while living in sin (if you ever came out). Give the gifts of wisdom and love to every woman that you meet, because if she isn’t your Proverbs 31, she might be somebody else’s; and the last thing you want to be is a player hater, for lack of a better term.

Before I close, I have to address something else that’s been heavy on my mind for a minute. Men, PLEASE, don’t go around believing or getting enticed by every woman who claims to be a Proverbs 31. The worst are the ones walking around with the shirts and  jerseys with “Proverbs 31″ printed in big letters. Not to be graphic, but that’s just as bad as assuming every woman you see with a “tramp stamp” is a freak. For all you know, she got that tattoo back in the 90′s (before it was a seal of shame). Any woman who really is or strives to be a Proverbs 31, doesn’t walk around advertising herself saying “here boys, come and get me!”. Newsflash: Women have caught on to what you’re looking for, mainly because you go around putting up want ads everywhere, and the clever ones have started to act accordingly. Here’s how you spot a fraud (you might wanna write these down):

- She advertises that she’s a proverbs 31 every chance that she gets (t-shirt, earrings, bumper stickers, twitter name, twitter bio, facebook status etc, etc)

- Every time there’s a co-ed event or class for singles, she’s there

- Hangs out in places where she’s likely to meet “eligible bachelors” (lounges, coffee shops, jazz clubs, etc.) for the purpose of meeting “eligible bachelors”

- Will give almost any guy the benefit of the doubt at least once, if he’s in the church, has a solid income, and/or isn’t harsh on the eyes

- Gets depressed after spending time around children or married couples

- More sociable, loving, gentle, and patient with men than w/ women (you’ll know this by other women’s accounts of her conduct when you’re not around)

- She’s always asking men what they look for in a woman

- Her closest friends exhibit Ezekiel 16 behavior and she seems to tolerate it

- As soon as you express the slightest interest in getting to know her or the slightest concern that she’s not your “ideal woman”, she appears to straighten out instantaneously

If a woman possesses any of these qualities, more than likely, you are dealing with a fraud. If she doesn’t go around boasting that she’s a Proverbs 31, but possesses any of those other qualities, she’s a “work in progress”. A true P31 won’t even recognize when she becomes one, because she isn’t boastful. After reading this post, which I hope you have, and taking my words into consideration, go and read Proverbs 31 to remind yourself what it says. I hope that this post has helped a brother or sister in Christ, if not, it was all written in vain. If you know somebody who needs to read this, don’t hesitate to pass it along. It just might help him/her from making a terrible mistake. God bless and Shalom Aleichem, until next time!

I posted that link, because this is my moment to be transparent. I wasn’t always the person that I am today. In fact, it took me going to a concert where all types of foolishness was taking place (i.e. Rock The Bells), to be disgusted to the point that I would finally be released from a lifelong addiction–secular music. When I say released, I don’t mean that I haven’t slipped up or gone back and listened to certain songs, because I have. Everyday, especially today, I’m learning the importance of saying “no” and not doing what’ll make other people like me. I often times feel the need to justify or qualify myself when it comes to what’s hip, especially music. In the process, I “endorse” things that are blasphemous to obtain a certain level of trust that I believe is necessary to be effective. It’s finally dawned on me that I’m doing what many youth pastors and false teachers do to “win souls for Christ”. This often used phrase is, simply, not true because 1) all negativity, falsehood, and other things of the like can produce is more of itself & 2) we as human beings are incapable of doing anything for Christ that he has not and cannot do for himself.

Almost a year ago, I was given a vision (I now know it was from Satan) to create an avenue for all different areas of entertainment and arts to come together and be affective as one unit. Little did I know, I was going to allow myself to be used as a vessel for destruction. Similar to the way that Satan tried to tempt Jesus that day on the mountain, I was shown what my life could become if I surrendered myself to this vision. The ironic thing is that the name assigned to this brand, of sorts, was FAME is GOD. When you read that, you probably said to yourself “Whoa, Amber! What were you thinking?” I know, this is the point that I’m trying to make. When you entertain the devil’s embrace, he can show you things in such a way that you don’t even realize the monstrosity of a mess you’re about to create (i.e. Genesis 3).  I came to this title, because we were trying to think of a way to include Fashion, Art, and Music into one acronym. Suddenly, the word “fame” popped into my head and I ran with it. This is where the cloud of confusion really came into play….We somehow wanted to include God into the title because we were saying that all of these different things (fashion, art, music, and entertainment) come from God. While that’s true, in a sense, because He’s the creator of everything that exists, I still should’ve known better than to use such a blasphemous statement as “fame is God” for a title. I turned the GOD into an acronym for Guiding Our Destiny, and there we had it.

If I had the least bit of sense, I would have realized that the title didn’t come by happenstance; but it was a reflection of what was happening inside of me. I had turned fame into my idol and, as a result, I was willing to go against the Father to obtain it. If we had gone along with our plans, we probably could have made a name for ourselves w/in our city and opened many doors in our lives. However, I know that if I had continued on in this direction, I would have eventually lost sight of what’s most important-YHWH. Man was created to be the glory of God, but we’ve somehow turned it around to make our god the glory of ourselves. So many things that we do as people are done for the recognition, respect, or attention of others, but why does any of that matter? If you’re not directing that attention right back to the Father, then you’re no better than Lucifer himself.

Now that I’ve realized my TRUE calling, I’m ready to move forward with my life and go on about my kingdom business. It’s not about me anymore. It’s not about what’ll gain me recognition. I’m finally ready and willing to surrender my life to YHWH and let him have complete control. I’m ready to be a vessel used for his glory alone. I just wanna make my daddy proud So, in closing, keep pushing through the hard times, even if it seems like your labor’s in vain. If it’s the will of the Father, it’s worth every once of pain. Remember that the race is not given to the swift or the strong, so keep running. I hope that I can one day use my story to encourage somebody else. God bless!

“We Don’t Give a Bleep” Coming Soon…..Stay Tuned

Via DerajMusic

Article on DaSouth.com

The Green Screen

Jerrell’s Myspace

Jerrell’s Twitter

Filed under: Uncategorized ]]> http://mouthofbabes.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/my-new-favorite-rapper-jerrell-johnson/feed/ 0 mouthofbabes JERRELL_PB&J_cover tgs http://mouthofbabes.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/asians-for-christ/ http://mouthofbabes.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/asians-for-christ/#comments Fri, 21 May 2010 20:53:43 +0000 LoveBaby Jones http://mouthofbabes.wordpress.com/?p=168 ]]>
I have always been a fan of Asian culture, in general, my favorites being Japanese and Korean The way that they train their children up to be driven in academics and respectful towards elders is admirable within itself. Not to mention, the seed of creativity is planted and nurtured from a young age. Before I go off on a tangent, let me get back to the task at hand. This week, while perusing around Bandcamp, I happened to come across some fresh talent in the realm of Christian music. These two bands, The Nehemiah Band and Amp, are proof that Christians can get down too. They have a fresh, contemporary sound that this generation can get into. When it comes to music, or any artistic genre for that matter, it’s all about penetrating the soul of the listener and reaching that sacred, most vulnerable place of the conscience. A lot of people manipulate the power that music has to accomplish evil and implant counter-morals for personal profit. Therefore, it’s nice to see two groups of young Christians doing the exact opposite. The Nehemiah Band’s LP “Break of Dawn” sheds light to the pressure that young, church bred Christians often feel to live up to the standards that their parents set before them. As a result, one often ends up with a false sense of what it means to be a follower of Christ–the idea that church attendance and good deeds make one closer to God. Many, when they finally are awakened to the deception of religiousness, fall astray and seek to fill that empty void by worldly means. What God wants His children to know is that while we were blind to reality, He was always present. In those moments when we couldn’t see or hear Him, he was quietly planting seeds of wisdom that can only bloom when we fully surrender our lives to Him. Songs such as “Do It My Way” struck a tender chord in my heart and caused me to reflect on my childhood growing up the church, but never fully grasping what everything meant and the significance of my salvation through Christ. Their music can be best described as edgy, folky, hip-hop, soul. Since my description can hardly suffice, take a listen for yourself.

TNB’s Official Website

TNB’s Bandcamp

TNB’s Myspace Page

The second group, Amp, which hails from Gaithersburg, MD, has a much different flair. J Han and Chung Lee bring the rhymes and Sam Ock brings the vocals (he also spits a verse himself from time to time). The trio recently came to together, seeing the power in numbers, to create their first group effort–an EP titled “Amplify”. The name for the group and the EP both come from a poster that reads “Amplify Christ” which can be seen in a few of their Youtube videos. I see this group going great places and I’ve only heard 6 songs from them. Be sure to check out all of their websites which I will post the links for below.

Amp’s Bandcamp

Amp’s Myspace Page

Amp’s Youtube Channel

Amp’s Reverb Account

I can’t end this post without mentioning my mans, Jin, and his incredible comeback! I say “my mans” like I know dude personally, but I almost feel like I do. I’ve watched his entire career progress from his days on 106 & Park to his short ride with Ruff Ryders. I remember crying tears of joy when Jadakiss handed him his Ruff Ryders chain. I was so blessed to come across his myspace one day a few months ago and find out that he had handed his life over to Christ. His new mixtape, Say Something, shows that dude still has it. My favorite track is “Beautiful Story”  because it’s a very honest and detailed description of his journey to reach this point and who doesn’t like a good story?

Jin’s Myspace

I hope that you all enjoy these three rare and unique gems as much as I did God bless! And remember….God is Love, Baby! ♥

I wrote the above quote in a tweet earlier today and it completely sums up how I’m feeling about the black community. Whether it’s Sean Bell’s murder, the census, a politician’s comment, etc., we’re so quick to pull the race card and jump to conclusions that are simply….FALSE. Stop jumping on youtube, twitter, facebook, or whatever social network you can get your hands on, and going off on topics or incidents that you have no information about. Somebody’s commentary on a TV show does not count as information; that’s what we educated individuals like to call an OPINION. If you’re sitting there giving me an opinion on an opinion, that makes everything that you’re saying null in void; therefore, you just wasted several precious minutes of your life and mine. I’m writing all of this to say, cut it out! Every white person in the world is not racist, and even if they were, they could not possibly bring more peril to your life than we have brought on ourselves. Remember, something can only be offensive to you if A) It’s been brought to your attention & B) You agree w/ what’s being said to some extent. Let’s spend less time focusing on others, and work on ourselves. When you have your stuff together, you can effect change–no one is impressed by your mess. Also, let’s stop suggesting that we all come together and address the problems in our community, if no one actually plans on doing that. Now, either come together or stay divided; whatever you choose to do, start DOING it and stop talking about it. Peace and hair grease! — The Love Baby

I found out about this amazing band from B.Reith talking about them in a video. Their latest album, “Beautiful Things”, is one of the best contemporary Christian albums I’ve heard lately–well, ever. I suggest that you visit their official website and myspace page for more info on tour dates, new projects, and other things of that nature. The video that I’ve posted below is just a small snippet of what you can expect from the album.

I often find myself DESPISING Gospel Rap/HHH mixtapes, mainly because they tend to be wack. This mixtape, however, was such a pleasant surprise. If you enjoy live music, you know– horns, bass, guitar, keys, drums, this is definitely the mixtape for you. There’s a process you have to go through to download the actual mixtape. Don’t worry, it’s not difficult; just go to their website and follow the instructions. Enjoy!