DEEP WATERS

I've had to make myself stop watching footage of the Oklahoma tornado , which tore through the town of Moore, Oklahoma like few have before. My heart is aching for the people that have lost loved ones to this horrendous storm. I am shocked by the devastation and images of Moore, Oklahoma, which looks like war-torn territory. And I have inevitably asked myself, what can I do? I. Give Salvation Army and The American Red Cross are just two ways to give financially to the relief efforts in Oklahoma.  Maybe we could go without our Starbucks lattes for a month in order to donate to this effort.  One news report  even stated that The American Red Cross is accepting any volunteers that show up on site and will train them to immediately begin working with relief efforts. II. Pray The list of prayer requests is almost endless, but here's one we can begin praying through today: Pray for emotional healing for those who have lost their parents, their children, their ...

Yesterday, I had the wonderful opportunity to share with my church family during our morning service. I was a bit nervous and didn't know how it would go over, but God gave me exactly what He wanted me to share with the mothers of our church. I'd love to share a little sampling here for my momma-sisters that happen to attend other churches around the globe... I. God Models a Maternal Love God is a Spirit, not a human being -- therefore, neither male or female. And as a Spirit, He has both maternal and maternal qualities. Remember that popular book,  The Shack ? In The Shack , author William P. Young presents God, the Father as an African American woman. Now when I first met "Papa" in The Shack , I was a bit put off. I mean, God as a woman? Well, as I searched the scriptures more, I think Young was on to something there. Let's see what the most important book -- the Bible -- says about God's feminine side... Isaiah 66:13 -  "As a mother...

I loved the movie 42 . This weekend my husband and I went to see the movie we'd been waiting to see -- the biographical sketch of famed MLB Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson , played by my fellow Howard University Alum Chadwick Boseman . On opening weekend, 42  made box office history , bringing in $27.3 million, more than any other baseball-themed movie in history. It warmed my heart to watch the start of Jackie's MLB career play out on the widescreen. I laughed. I cried. I got spitting mad. In the end, I celebrated the life of a man who lived with courage and determination . He could have given up a million times. I'm so glad he didn't. But what can we, living in the year 2013, learn from 42 ? I can think of a few things. 1. Never Underestimate the Influence of One Man or Woman History books are full of men and women who led powerful movements. In the Sixteenth Century, Martin Luther led the Protestant Reformation, seeking to make Christianity and th...

Some people eat good chocolate when they're stressed. Some run on the treadmill. Some take a long, warm bath. Me? I blog. As I sit here watching CNN coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing , wiping tears, and wondering how someone could do something some cruel, so hateful, I wonder what crisis we will watch next. And I wonder what kind of world our children will inherit . A world where fearful third-grade teachers come to school packing. A world where little children suffer post traumatic stress disorder after witnessing their classmates and teachers shot in school. A world where we worry more about mass shootings and bombings than we do possible car accidents or home invasions. Our world is broken . Our world is darkening . Our world needs hope . Today, as the world changes before my very eyes, I'm finding hope in a Savior that never changes. The Bible has this to say about Him: Jesus Christ is the same today and yesterday and forever. * I've d...

Kermit Gosnell. Have you heard this name? Maybe not. But you should have by now. According to witnesses in his grand jury murder trial, Gosnell ran an abortion clinic that went way beyond the call of duty. According to his grand jury report, "This case is about a doctor who killed babies and endangered women. What we mean is that he regularly and illegally delivered live, viable babies in the third trimester of pregnancy -- and then murdered these newborns by severing their spinal cords with scissors... This business was a filthy fraud in which he overdosed his patients with dangerous drugs, spread venereal disease among them with infected instruments, perforated their wombs and bowels -- and, on at least two occasions, caused their deaths." Horrifying testimony, but I'm not hearing much about it. Are you? Kirsten Powers, a  USA Today reporter, begins her story  of this trial with these words: "We've forgotten what belongs on Page One. Infant b...

Okay, so let me just say this: I have a love/hate relationship with reality television. I have wept over performances on The Voice and So You Think You Can Dance . The beauty I've seen in the fresh talent on shows like that has left me amazed and, at times, in tears. But as the Mama of four kiddos with so much to do and so little time, I just can't commit to reality tv. I just don't have the time to tune every week to see if the girl with the fiery voice or the guy who floats through the air like an Alvin Ailey dancer makes it through to the next level. I just don't have that kind of time... And then there's the reality television that eventually reveals the depths of every character's worst flaws -- a la Jersey Shore . You know, the kind that makes you say, "Wow, at least I'm not that much of a loser..." I personally despise that kind of reality tv. So, it was with much fear and trepidation that I watched the first episode of TLC...

I recently heard some great news from Alicen Bennett, an Arkansas Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) caseworker and DCFS liaison to The CALL *. This past January, 28 foster homes opened in Arkansas, meaning in that month alone 28 new families became available to take foster children into their care. A blessing, considering all the hoops that these families must go through -- background checks, medical exams, home studies and training classes. On the same day I heard that great news, however, I also heard some bad news. While 28 foster homes opened in January, 48 homes closed. Do you understand what that means? While 28 foster families have just opened their homes to foster children that desperately need those stable home environments, 48  foster families have closed their homes to those same children that desperately need them. Here's one more statistic: In 2012, 500 homes opened across the state of Arkansas. Sadly, in 2012, 480 homes close...