Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Lord's day! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. I'm happy to present another blog honoring "Women's History Month". I'm happy to honor another singer and the one and only Jennifer Hudson! Yep that name should sound familiar. What was her background like? She was raised by a single mom and had siblings her older sister and had a brother and was raised in Chicago, Illinois. She grew up singing in church like her late grandmother and grew up listening to people like Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Patti Labelle, the late Aretha Franklin and grew up listening to gospel music. I wouldn't be surprised she was nicknamed "The Voice" since she sang her first solo in church at seven years old and grew up Baptist. She later graduated from high school and briefly attended "Langston University" and "Kennedy Cole College" but dropped out of both. She later signed to independent label called Righteous records and even sang on Disney cruise ships for a number of years prior to her voice gaining national attention. Jennifer Hudson auditioned for season 3 of "American Idol" along with Fantasia, Diana Degamore, Jasmine Trias, George Huff, (he'd later be a gospel artist) and countless others. Some believe that season 3 of "American Idol" was one of the best seasons yet as so many great singers were on there. Jennifer Hudson joined Fantasia, Diana Degamore, Jasmine Trias, George Huff, and others in the top 12 as they rightfully deserved to be there and for each week of "American Idol" sang various styles of music, had different themes, and had various music mentors. Fantasia and Jennifer Hudson were among some of the best voices during that season even though they wound up in the bottom two! It was during top 7 that Fantasia and Jennifer Hudson when that happened and surprisingly Jennifer Hudson got eliminated! I'm sure that was a shock for the judges as well as the audience because of Jennifer's big voice while a month later Fantasia won the competition! What a drastic turn of events. Even though Jennifer Hudson made it to the top 7, that didn't mean her life was over. As a matter of fact, her journey was just beginning! She along with winner Fantasia, Diana Degamore, Jasmine Trias, (third place winner) George Huff, and others did the "American Idol tour" during that summer where fans got to hear Jennifer's voice all over again. After "American Idol" Jennifer Hudson's life took a drastic turn for the better. She was cast for the musical film called "Dream Girls" along with Eddie Murphy, Jamie Fox, Anika Noni Rose, (she later did the voice for Tiana for 2009's "Princess And The Frog") and legendary Beyonce solo artist and former lead singer of disbanded group "Destiny's Child"! "Dream Girls" was loosely inspired by legendary female group called "The Supremes" (Diana Ross was in that band prior to being a solo artist) and many women auditioned for that such as the late Whitney Houston, Fantasia winner of season 3 of "American Idol" and others making it very competitive. But the cast that got cast was a good fit and it was Jennifer Hudson's film debut as "Effie" and it caused her to be more famous! She won many awards for that and in 2008 she started in the "Secret Life Of Beese" along with Queen Latifah and Alicia Keys causing it do well in box office. She also released her debut album called "Jennifer Hudson" which established her as an R&B artist. She has since released other albums called "I Remember Me" in 2011,"JHUD" in 2014 and "The Gift Of Love" her first Christmas album in 2024! It seems as though her life was a fairytale but there were some significant challenges she dealt with behind the scenes. She had several family members that were murdered in late 2008 causing there to be significant trauma for her. She had two different romantic relationships such as James Payson and David Sr that didn't last and through the tragic death of loved ones David Sr got her pregnant and in 2009 had David Jr! She's now currently in a relationship with a guy named Common a Christian, rapper, actor, and activist. Jennifer Hudson's success has continued on and collaborated with five member acapella group the "Pentatonix" and starred as Aretha Franklin in the year 2021 after coming out of COVID! (Aretha Franklin died in 2018 in her seventies.) She was able to sing songs on that film such as"Natural Woman ", "Chain Of Fools" as well as"Respect" and many fans absolutely loved that movie and felt she was the "perfect fit" for it! She had the voice and looks and she won many awards for that movie. Jennifer Hudson also branched out to other areas and since 2022 has hosted her show called "The Jennifer Hudson Show" and has had many guest stars on there including legendary gospel artists Kirk Franklin and Cece Winans to name a couple! What's so cool about Jennifer Hudson is not only everything she touches "turns to gold" but she's remained "down to earth" despite her success. She knows that everything she has and has accomplished has happened because of the Lord and hard work. She has a thriving relationship with the Lord and credits Him for being where she is today and honors those that went before her. She despite not winning "American Idol" is among the third most successful "American Idol finalist" behind season one winner and pop artist Kelly Clarkson and season 4 winner and country artist Carrie Underwood! She also has broken racial barriers causing for her to be liked by black and white audiences! That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. Blessings, happy Lord's day, have a great week, and we have much to celebrate about in "Women's History Month!"

Hi ladies it's me again and hope y'all are doing well. I'm happy to present to y'all another blog for ''Women's History Month'' and the lady I'm writing about today is Candace Cameron Bure! The name may sound familiar but what about her background? Candace was born in 1976 in Panorma City, California. She was born to Robert a now retired teacher and homemaker Barbara. Candace has two older sisters whose names are Melissa, Bridgette, and Kirk. (Yes that's right her older brother is Kirk Cameron born in 1970 who was on the popular t.v. series called ''Growing Pains'' from 1985 to 1992.) When Candace was young she made guest appearances on various shows including ''Growing Pains'' the show her brother Kirk Cameron was in. In 1987 when she was eleven years old, she played Donna ''DJ'' Tanner'' on popular family sitcom called ''Full House'' and that show remained popular on television until 1995. (The other guest people featured on that show were Mary Kate and Ashley Olson who played Michelle Tanner the youngest of all of them.) It would be after ''Full House'' ended that Candace guest starred on other t.v. shows and starred in movies and fell in love and married Valeri Bure in 1996 a former ice hockey player. During their marriage they had three children Natasha, (born 1998) Lev, (born 2000) and Maksim (born 2002) It would be for a number of years that Candace took a acting hiatus to focus on mothering and being a good wife to her husband. She'd co-host various shows and guest starr on television shows during her hiatus. But most of all it would be a time that motherhood made Candace think about the Lord and gave her life to Christ. She also stated that her older brother Kirk Cameron who was already a Christian by then prayed for her and contributed to her wanting to come to Christ.(Kirk Cameron late r hosted the show ''The Way Of The Master'', became an evangelist, and acted in many Christian films especially the ''Left Behind series''.) It would take awhile for her husband Valeri to come to Christ but with perseverance, prayer, and her living a godly life that her husband eventually came to know Christ as his Lord and Savior. (The rest of Kirk and Candace's siblings and parents as well as others in their family would also give their lives to the Lord and live for Him too.) It would be through her and her husband's example that their three kids would come to know Christ as Lord and Savior too. As time went on, the Lord started opening doors for Candace to get back into acting when her kids got older and began starring in many movies that were family friendly. In 2008, she starred in ''Hallmark Christmas movie'' called ''Moonlight And Mistletoe'' as Holly and continued to starr in many more Hallmark movies after that. Other Hallmark movies were ''Let It Snow'', ''Christmas Under Wraps'', ''Journey Back To Christmas'', ''A Christmas Detour'', ''Christmas Town'', ''If I Only Had Christmas'' among another Hallmark movies. She also starred in Christian films such as ''The Heart Of Christmas'', (along with Christian actress Erin Bethea. and Matthew West) ''Finding Normal'', ''Faith Of Our Fathers'', ''Unsung Hero'' (based on the life of Christians and Contemporary Christian artists Rebecca St James and ''King And Country'') After 15 years of being an actress on the Hallmark channel in the year 2022 the past four years she transitioned from ''Hallmark'' to ''Great American Family Channel.'' The reason why she did that is because she wanted to be sure that the films she was acting in not only are family friendly but most of all honor the Lord in the way she felt was important. Several Christmas movies that she starred in on the ''Great American Family Channel'' was ''A Christmas Present'', ''My Christmas Hero'', ''Home Sweet Christmas'', ''Another Sweet Christmas'', and ''Timeless Tidings Of Joy''. In addition to Candace being a family woman and being an actress she has also written four books called ''Reshaping It All; Motivation For Physical And Spiritual Fitness'', ''Balancing It All; My Story Of Juggling Priorities And Purpose'', ''Dancing Through Life;Steps Of Courage And Conviction'', and ''Kind Is The New Classy;The Power Of Living Graciously''. The other cool part is that in 2014, Candace danced with dance partner Mark Ballas on best known ballroom television show called ''Dancing With The Stars'' on season 18 and ultimately came in third place. What is so cool about Candace despite her success has never let success ''get to her head'', success never made her drift away from the Lord, and success has never kept her away from being a good wife to her husband and mother to her children who are now adults. Candace has always kept her Christian faith front and center in her private life, family life, in her acting career, writing books, and even when she competed on the show ''Dancing With The Stars''. I believe that God is honored by that and Candace I believe lives out Matthew 5;16 when Jesus said. ''Let your light shine before men so they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven''. That also lets me know that there are ''entertainers'' out there who love the Lord and represent Him in all that they do which is a real encouragement to me and pray that it's an encouragement to you ladies as well. It's also encouraging to see Candace's brother Kirk represent the Lord in the entertainment world as well in addition to him being an evangelist. That's what I wanted to share with you ladies today. Blessings to each of you ladies, have a blessed week, and have a ''Happy Women's History Month'' too.

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Lord's day! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. I'm happy to present another blog in ''Women's History Month'' and the lady I want to honor this Lord's day is the legendary Mattie-Moss-Clark. This maybe a name y'all may or may not be familiar with but who is that? Let's start with her beginnings. She was born in 1925 to the late Fred John Moss and his wife Mattie Juliet and was number of seven of nine children in her family! (Side note it was common for people back then to have alot of kids and the number seven according to the Bible is the number of completion!) Dr Mattie grew up in a Christian home all her life, got saved as a young child, and played piano at the age of six years old. When she was twelve years old, she became a musician for her mother at ''Holiness Temple Church Of Christ In Prayer'' and traveled at missions services. After she graduated from high school in 1943, she attended ''Selma University'' a private historical black Bible college to obtain training in classical music or choral singing. After graduating from there in 1947, she moved to Detroit, Michigan to be with her sister Sybil and became a member of ''Greater Love Tabernacle Church Of God In Christ. It would be while there under Bishop W Rimpson that she received the baptism in the Holy Ghost evidence of speaking in tongues and subsequently became a music director for her church and for other churches in her area! The Holy Spirit anointed and appointed her to lead choirs into the presence of the Lord in song! But she didn't stop there though. In addition to being a music director, Dr Mattie was a gifted songwriter and wrote and recorded songs with the ''Southwest Michigan State Choir'' and recorded ''Going To Heaven To Meet The King'' one of their most popular singles. With that choir, she received gold albums, wrote many songs, and recorded over fifty albums with them! Whew! She also directed the ''Cadillac Motor Company Christmas Choir'' for eleven years they sang for the NAACP (National Association Advancement For Colored People) Freedom Fund Dinners. The other cool thing was that she was good friends with the late gospel artist James Cleveland and they both together started ''Gospel Music Workshop Of America'' (GMWA) convention took place in 1968 which was held at ''King Solomon Baptist Church'' and that convention has been held ever since that time. Dr Mattie in spite of her music accomplishments she also was a family woman too. She was married and divorced twice and had six children. Her first husband Leo Cullum Sr in 1945 and had two kids with them. Their oldest son was Leon Cullum Jr and daughter was Jacqueline ''Jacky'' Lenita. After her divorce, she married her late second husband Elbert Clark (born 1927 died in 2001) and had four daughters with him. Deniese, Elbernita ''Twinky'', Dorinda Grace, (later became known as Dorinda-Clark-Cole) and Karen (later to be known as Karen Clark-Sheard) Prior to her and Elbert's divorce in 1973, Dr Mattie had her daughters sing at their father's church which meant that they inherited their mother and late grandmother's musical talent. Dr Mattie raised her daughters and son to love the Lord and use their talents for Him. Each of her daughters got saved at a young age and their mother pushed them to sing and they practiced a ton at home too. Because they practiced alot in the house while many of their peers played outside which meant they sacrificed some of their childhood like ''The Jacksons'' did before them. (Side note the difference is ''The Clark Family'' did it for the glory of God verses ''The Jacksons'' did it for fame and to get out of poverty. Her daughters often sang the songs that their mother wrote and performed them at their church as well as other conventions all throughout the Detroit, Michigan area. That was also the year that her daughters recorded the album that ''Jesus Has Alot To Give'' through Billese records an independent record label and her daughters performed on ''TV Gospel Time''. As the years continued to progress, God opened more doors for Dr Mattie and her daughters who became known as ''The Clark Sisters'' who released more albums that caused them to gain more attention in the area. The albums names were ''Dr Mattie Moss Clark Presents The Clark Sisters'' in 1974, ''Unworthy'', ''Count It All Joy'', and ''He Gave Me Nothing To Lose'' under Sound of Gospel records. Through the release of those albums ''The Clark Sisters'' started to have more hit singles such as ''Speak Lord'', ''Expect Your Miracle'', "'Eternal Life'' etc that are still sung in many black churches today. Dr Mattie basically with the help of the Lord enabled for her daughters to become ''legendary gospel artists'' that have touched the world for the glory of God! That shows the power of a mother that can change the world through her seed! As time went on Dr Mattie turned over to her daughter Twinkie to lead with the write, produce, arrange, and direct ''The Clark Sisters'' as their popularity continued to soar. ''The Clark Sisters'' released one of the most biggest songs of all and album in 1981 called ''You Brought The Sunshine'' which brought them their first Grammy award and NAACP image award and I'm sure that was something that their mother Dr Mattie was very proud about. Her daughters were able to obtain a Grammy award without compromising their faith, talent, and them living for God. As time went by, Dr Mattie's daughters released more albums, grew up got married and had kids causing Dr Mattie to enjoy being a grandmother. She had health issues during her latter years such as suffering from diabetes, had her right leg amputated, and suffered a stroke causing her to use a wheelchair. But despite that, she continued to love the Lord, love her family, and record music all the way up to the last year of life when she transitioned from this life to heaven in 1994 the year I was born. Though she's gone home to be with the Lord in heaven, her legacy still lives on through her daughters especially Dorinda-Clark Cole and Karen Clark-Sheard (they're the few in ''The Clark Sister'' who have become solo gospel artists) Kierra Sheard, (daughter of Karen-Clark-Sheard) Bill Moss Jr, and J Moss! Through her, multiple people in her family love the Lord and are continuing on in the gospel music industry and legacy! There was a Christian musical film that was released in 2020 called ''The Clark Sisters;The First Ladies Of Gospel'' causing Kierra Sheard to play her mom Karen-Clark-Sheard and Aunjanue Ellis played the late Dr Mattie causing there to be positive reviews from ''The Clark Sisters'' and fans alike! Wow! What a beautiful legacy! That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. Blessings, happy Lord's day, have a blessed week, and ''Happy Women's History Month!''

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Tuesday! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. I'm happy to present another blog for ''Women's History Month'' and the title of it's called ''Honoring Mary Kay''. How did her life begin? Her life began when she was born in Hot Wells Texas in 1918 and died in Dallas, Texas in November 2001 at 83 years old. She was born Mary Kathyrn Wagner born to the late Edward and Lula Vastings Wagner. Her mom worked as a nurse and later worked as a manager of a restaurant which was crazy especially when back then alot of women (especially white women) didn't work outside the home especially back then. Mary Kay accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior as a child and continued to walk with Him for the rest of her life until the day she died. She claims that without the Lord she wouldn't be where she is today and her faith would shape her family and business. Mary later attended ''Dow Elementary school'' and attended ''Reagan High school'' and graduated from there in 1934. Mary Kay married her first husband whose name was Ben Rogers with whom she had three kids whose names were Ben Jr, Marilyn, and Richard Rogers and the marriage lasted until 1945 when they got divorced. For a time he was deployed as a veteran serving in World War 2 but he later returned home and he had drinking problems which caused alot of problems in their marriage is another reason why they divorced. But six years before they got divorced, when she was 21 years old she worked at ''Stanley Home Products'' store back in 1939 and worked there for the next 24 years. What contributed to her wanting to become a business woman was that while she worked at ''Stanley Home Products'' there was a man that she trained that unfortunately got promoted above her which is what led her to retirement at 45 years old in 1963. That was also the same year she got married to her second husband whose name was George Hallenbeck who helped her start a new business plan but sadly died of a heart attack leaving Mary Kay a widow. But Mary Kay's oldest son Ben Jr invested $5,000 to help with his mom's business and shortly after that Mary started ''Mary Kay Cosmetics'' that has now been in business for the past 63 years! Mary Kay also believed that God was ''her business partner'' who gave her wisdom on how to make the business and that she has the ''Golden Rule'' mentality on how to treat customers. Mary Kay hosted house parties, doing facials, and was known for having prizes for women. Women who sell various products can get a red jacket, win expensive cars, jewelry,trips on luxurious vacations, and 50% off commission. Mary Kay believed that women can work less hours while doing what they love and doing it with friends. She believes God first, family second, and career third which helped women that she mentored to keep that order formula. Mary Kay's business grew from a small unknown business owner to becoming one of the most known businesses all over the world! What y'all have to remember is when this business got started in 1963, not many women black or white Christian or nonChristian, worked in the business world. Black women were underpaid while white women were not encouraged to pursue life beyond graduating from high school and having a family. That's what it was but God had bigger plans for her and bigger plans for those Mary touched with her business. This business was built by a woman and for women and since then many women have become Mary kay consultants. Some of them worked regular jobs and as their business became successful were able to quit their jobs to devote to this full-time. (Side note mom used to be a Mary Kay consultant for a season when I was younger and I did too for one year 2022 until early 2024 until God released me to do other things too.) She has won countess awards such as ''Horatio Alger Award'' and won the Golden Plate Award for the ''American Academy Of Achievement''.In the midst of her success as a business woman, she married one last time to a man named Melville J Ash in 1966 when she was 48 years old and remained married to him until his death in 1980 when she was 62 years old where she remained widowed the rest of her life until her death in 2001. She in 1996 was inducted to the ''Junior Achievement Business Hall Of Fame'' and started the ''Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation'' to help fight against domestic violence for women and cancers that affect women as well. Despite the success that Mary Kay Ash had, she never lost her sense of being ''down to earth''. Here were some key principles that Mary Kay Ash lived by; 1 Live by the Golden Rule, 2 Define your priorities, 3, Trust your instincts, 4. Continue to learn and improve 5. Practice discipline and time management, 6. Be open to change 7. Make everyone feel important 8. Be enthusiastic 9. Remain humble 10. Be generous in praising people. I believe those principles are what helped Mary Kay Ash stay grounded despite the growth of her business. We know that alot of times when people get successful they get what I call ''the big head'' and forget how to relate to people much less honoring and loving God. The other cool thing about Mary Kay was she wrote Get well, Sympathy cards, and Encouragement cards to her business partners and clients and added ''The Cross In My Pocket Poem'' along with the cross on her cards! She supported her church financially with the wealth God blessed her with and with attendance as well as encouraging others to grow deeper in the Lord. Mary Kay Ash did not allow success to make her not forget the Lord her God a very good lesson for us all to remember. She remained active with her business despite her old age and finished her course when she went home to be with the Lord at 83 years old in 2001. When she died, there were 800,000 representatives in 37 countries with a total annual sales of over $200 million dollars! What a beautiful life and legacy of a woman who kept God in the center of her business that still goes on today long after she has gone to heaven! That also shows that one can be successful in their business while keeping God at the center of it all and prioritizing family too. That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. Blessings to each of you ladies, have a blessed week, and ''Happy Women's History Month!''

Hi ladies it's me again, happy Lord's day, and happy first day of ''Women's History Month!'' The first lady I'll be writing a blog about this month is one and only legendary gospel artist Mahalia Jackson! She was born in 1911 and died in 1972 when she was in her early sixties. How did her life begin? Mahalia was born in New Orleans, Louisiana born to the late Clark and Jackson though they both were unmarried. Later her father left and her mom moved closer to Mahalia's late grandparents who were former slaves to help raise her. Mahalia and her siblings were raised in the Baptist church and were raised where certain things were not allowed in the house such as secular music, no card games, no juke joints, or no drinking. Dancing was only allowed in church; it was moved by the Spirit! After Mahalai's mom died when she was five years old, she and her siblings were reared by their late mom's sister Aunt Duke who continued raising them until they were grown. Mahalia attended elementary school when she was five years old only to have dropped out of school when she was only ten years old! Music was in her home life growing up and sang in the kids choir at her local church. Mahalia also learned to have a good hard work ethic and learned how to scrub floors and mattresses and sometimes had to help clean homes. Mahalia also gave her life to the Lord at a young age and vowed to serve Him for the first of her life from that moment on. When Mahalia was twelve years old joined the Junior choir and often attended church on Sundays and Wednesdays. Mahalia had a very difficult relationship with her Aunt Duke and got so bad that one of her other aunts named Aunt Hannah requested her to move in with her to Chicago, Illinois! Well Mahalia took her up for her offer and they left New Orleans, Louisiana and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1927 known as ''The Great Migration.'' What was ''The Great Migration?'' That meant that many blacks who lived in the South moved North for them to have better opportunities for them to be around whites mostly because there was unfortunately racism in the South. Mahalia was asked to join the 50 voice choir at ''Greater Salem Baptist Church'' she attended there which caused quite a bit of comotion there. As time went by Mahalia continued singing not only at her local church but got invited to sing in other churches in the area and people began to realize what a lovely contralto voice that she had. She continued working odd jobs during the early years of her recording career just to make ends meet before she started to do music full-time. By that time she met a guy named Isaac Hockenhull whom they dated for a year before they got married in 1936. He wanted for his wife Mahalia to sing Jazz because he didn't believe that gospel music was ''artful''. She auditioned for a secular gig which she absolutely hated and turned down working with Louis Armstrong Earl Hines much to her husband's disbelief all because Mahalia refused to sing or work with secular artists! That's how truly committed she was to the Lord and to gospel music! Mahalia later got discovered by producer whose name was Mayo Ink Williams who helped produce singles she'd be known for such as ''God's Gonna Separate Me From The Wheat And Tares'', ''You Sing On My SInger'', ''God Shall Wipe Away My Tears'', and ''Keep Me Everyday''. That would also be the time that Thomas A Dorsey often accompanied to play for Mahalia and even wrote the majority of the songs that she would be well known for. Mahalia later became music director at ''St Luke's Baptist Church'' and continued growing her salon businesses to the point it became successful she needed to hire more people to take care of it while she was gone traveling on weekends for her music gigs. As time continued to progress things didn't go well in Mahalia's first marriage to Isaac and sadly they divorced in 1946. But despite that, God continued opening up doors for Mahalia and by the year ''Moving Up A Little Higher'' was released a year after Mahalia's divorce and it sold $50,000 copies in Chicago and sold two million copies nationwide which was a big deal for a gospel artist especially back then. She continued producing more projects which caused her to give up her beauty salon and give up her role as music director at ''St Luke's Baptist Church'' and more and more doors continued to open for her by the grace of God to continue singing in concerts in both Christian and secular halls. On October 1st 1950, Mahalia Jackson made history by being the first gospel artist to have performed at Carnegie Hall because prior to that time, only secular artists had performed there. More and more doors continued to open for her as she in 1954 sang at ''Royal Albert Hall'' in London in 1954 and later became the first gospel artist to have signed with a secular label called Columbia records! In 1956, at a ''National Baptist Convention'' she met and befriended the late Dr Martin Luther King Jr and remained friends with him until his death in 1968. Mahalia continued to support and sing for Dr King Jr's ''Civil Rights Movement'' which helped make her more famous and God allowed her to continue to minister in song through various secular arenas as well. Some of the arenas were ''Newport Jazz Festival'' and ''Jazz On A Summer Day''. She continued singing, supporting Dr King Jr despite his multiple arrests, and continued traveling all over the world to proclaim the gospel of Christ through song. She even encouraged Dr King Jr to share the ''I HAve A Dream Speech'' in 1963 though he intended to share a different speech. Out of loneliness she started dating Sigmund Galloway and eventually married him in 1964 in her living room. While being married to him, she suffered many physical health ailments causing her not to tour or record albums for a year which was overwhelming for her. Things in her second marriage went from bad to worse causing him to abandon her and causing him to threaten to abuse her which she could take no more and in 1966 they divorced but she managed to keep that private. One popular gospel song that Mahalia Jackson was known for singing was ''Precious Lord Take My Hand'' written by Thomas A Dorsey, a well known gospel classic that urges a Christian to look to the Lord for help and to bring them home. That became one of Dr King Jr's favorite anthems and by the time Dr King Jr died in 1968, she sang that at his funeral. Mahalia's health troubles continued to escalate but despite that she kept ministering the gospel even though doctors urged her to cut down on performing which she did. She toured in countries like Japan, Caribbean, Liberia, and even in India where her shows were sold out! That was unusual for a gospel artist to tour in countries especially back then but that was the anointing and the favor of God in her life. Mahalia later toured in Germany where she became ill and was flown back to Chicago, Illinois where she was hospitalized and later went home to heaven in 1972 in her early sixties. Many politicians and celebrities gave her eulogy as well as many mourners who were touched by her music and her music was heard by loud speakers at her funeral. Even though she's gone home to be with the Lord, her music still touches people's lives today and her legacy still lives on. She was inducted to the ''Gospel Music Hall Of Fame'' in 1978 six years after she went home to heaven and in 1997 was inducted to the ''Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame''. She also was known for being the ''Queen Of Gospel'' that inspired by gospel artists male and female gospel artists after her. Wow what a legacy and what a way to kick off ''Women's History Month!"' That's what I wanted to share with you ladies and can't wait to share more this March on ''Women's History Month''. Blessings to each of you ladies, happy Lord's day, and have a blessed week everyone.

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Tuesday! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. It's been awhile since writing for ''Black History Month'' due to some complications and sadly this is my last blog to write for honoring ''Black History Month'' until next year in 2027 but I will be honoring some black women for next month in March for ''Women's History Month'' so stay tuned for that. The last blog I'm going to write about is honoring Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Now some of y'all may be thinking. ''Didn't we honor him last month?'' Yes we did because we honored his birthday this year on January 19th this year but I want to emphasize other things about him for ''Black History Month'' that maybe I didn't highlight last month. First let's start with his beginnings. He was born Michael King Jr in Atlanta Georgia on January 15th 1929 to associate pastor Michael King Sr (born 1899 died 1984) and to organ player Alberta King (born 1904 died 1974). Dr King Jr had two siblings, a sister named Christine King Farris (born 1927 died 2023) and Alfred Daniel King (born 1930 died 1969) meaning that Dr King Jr was the middle child of his three siblings. Dr King Jr also grew up during the ''Great Depression'' as a child but despite that, his dad Reverend King Sr thrived as a minister despite that. His father Reverend King Sr also took over ''Ebenezer Baptist Church'' after his father-in-law Reverend Adam Williams went to heaven. Also during the 1930s, Reverend King Sr flew to Germany on a trip where he learned about Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther and saw the impact he made on Germany. Because of that, Reverend King Sr changed his name from Michael King Sr to Martin Luther King Sr while changing his son's name from Michael King Jr to Martin Luther King Jr! Whew! Also Dr King Jr watched his father stand up for blacks being treated unjustly such as not allowing the police to call him ''boy'' or returning items to stores when the clerks wouldn't treat them with respect. That would impact him for the rest of his life understanding the importance of standing up for what's right. Dr King Jr as a child along with his siblings were pastors' kids and grew up attending ''Ebenezer Baptist Church'' where he memorized hymns and Bible verses. One song that he grew up listening to and singing as a child was a song called ''I Want To Be More And More Like Jesus'' which would be an anthem throughout his lifetime. He grew up singing in the junior choir, took violin and piano lessons probably because his mother was musically inclined. The other thing about Dr King Jr was that he was a very smart student to the point that he skipped two grades such as his freshman year and senior year in high school causing him to graduate at the age of fifteen in the year 1944! Whew! He later after graduating from high school attended ''Morehouse Bible College'' (same college that his father Dr King Sr attended years earlier) and graduated from there at nineteen years old getting his bachelor's degree. It would be while attending ''Morehouse Bible College'' that Dr Benjamin Mays (born 1894 died 1984) helped Dr King Jr overcome his religious doubts, help Dr King Jr build a strong relationship with the Lord, as well as applying the gospel to help with social issues especially in regarding to the injustices that blacks endured at that time. Also Dr King Jr gave speeches both in his high school and college years which many believed he was ''well beyond his years''. He later attended Divinity school in Boston where he got his Masters degree before later transferring to ''Boston University''. While he was studying to get his doctorate degree, a friend introduced to a Christian black lady named Coretta Scott (born 1927 died 2006) and went on their first date together. Funny thing is Dr King Jr fell madly in love with Coretta before she fell in love with him and stated on their first date that he knew ''she was going to be his wife''. Of course that statement frightened her but nevertheless they kept on dating for the next several months and eventually got married in 1953. Dr King Jr was 24 years old while Coretta was 26 years old when they got married and they remained married from 1953 until the day of Dr King Jr's death in 1968. Eventually after they were married, he got into pastoral ministry and finished his doctorate degree which is why he is known as ''Dr King Jr.'' During their marriage they had four children whose names were Yolanda ''Yokie'' King, (born 1955 died 2007) Dr King 3, (born 1957) Dexter Scott King, (born 1961 died 2024) and Berniece King (born 1963) many of them followed in their father's walk with the Lord and roles in ministry when they all got older. Dr King Jr and other black ministers created the SCLC (''Southern Christian Leadership Conference) which was inspired by the late Dr Billy Graham's crusades (born 1918 died 2018) who also befriended Dr King Jr and even asked him to pray at some of his crusades. It's also reported that Dr Graham at times helped Dr King Jr with bail money when he got arrested. The bus boycott took place in 1955 when Rosa Parks (born 1913 died 2005) refused to give up her seat to a white and got arrested which angered many blacks. Because of that incident, they along with Dr King Jr arranged the ''Bus Boycott'' when blacks refused to ride the buses until the busing system became racially integrated. The bus boycott lasted for 385 days and it became so intense that Dr King Jr's house got bombed that potentially could have put his wife and baby girl Yokie in danger but thankfully were protected. Dr King Jr's role in the ''bus boycott'' helped establish him being a Civil rights leader and formed him to being a ''national figure'' as well too despite his young age! But it wasn't easy though. Dr King Jr would be arrested a number of times so much so to the point that sometimes his family didn't know where he was and at one time President John F Kennedy had to demand his freedom. It also was bad that the FBI often recorded his conversations and it got to a point that they wrote a letter to him ordering for him to end his life and had threats to kill him! Whew! There continued to be various marches of peaceful protest and the reason why Dr King Jr did peaceful protests is because he didn't believe in violence. He was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi about his ''nonviolent'' act in India as well as the teachings of Christ mentioned in Matthew 5;44. During some of the peaceful protests some police and firefighters used water hoses to stop blacks and sent dogs to bite them as well too but it was broadcasted on television and many couldn't believe the brutality of what was going on during those marches. On Washington DC in 1963 Dr King Jr gave the speech ''I Have A Dream'' and some of the things he said in the speech that he has a dream that ''black boys and black girls'' would hold hand with whites and that his kids will be known for the content of their character versus the color of their skin. His speech was broadcast in front of many who were watching in person as well as folks watching from their television at home. That speech was not only inspired to help blacks but as well as to bring unity to all cultures which is why the speech is so captivating, something that moves me to this very day.) The following year in 1964 at 35 years old he won the ''Nobel Peace Prize'' making him the youngest person to win it and President Lyndon Johnson created the ''Civil Acts Right'' outlawed discrimination for blacks in hotels, restaurants, employment, theatres, schools, voting, or religious institutions. Dr King Jr prayed hard, worked hard, and fought blood, sweat, and tears so blacks and whites could be together something I highly admire. After his brutal assassination in 1968, the ''King's Museum'' would be done in his honor, something I believe every American should visit at some time. Dr King Jr most of all had the heart of our King Jesus whose all about racial unity this day something I honored both of them about on Dr King Jr day. I always figured I'd save the best for last for ''Black History Month'' honoring Reverend Dr King Jr a man worth honoring and remembering. That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. Blessings to each of you ladies and have a blessed week everyone.

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Tuesday! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. I'm happy to present another blog for "Black History Month" and that is the one and only Tamela Mann! What was her background like? Well she was born in 1966 in Fort Worth, Texas, was raised by a single mom Eppe, and is the youngest of 14 kids! Whew! I know, right? Her mom raised her and her siblings in the "Church Of God In Christ" (COGIC also the black Pentecostal denomination. Her mom didn't allow Tamela nor her kids to listen to secular music like R&B, Jazz, or the Blues but only allowed her kids to listen to gospel music. Tamela likely listened to gospel artists such as the late James Cleveland, the late Edwin Hawkins, the late Andre Crouch, "The Clark Sisters", and Shirley Caesar just to name a few. The ''Assemblies of God'' was mostly handled by white Pentecostals) and started singing in choirs when she was eight years old. She also got saved at a young age and sang James Cleveland's "I Don't Feel No Ways Tired" and ever since she sang that solo she knew she was called to do music full-time. After graduating from high school, she worked odd jobs to support herself and met three Christian men that changed her life forever. She met David Mann, Darrel Blair, and Kirk Franklin! (She knew Kirk Franklin long before he became famous!) Her and David Mann were friends first and later fell in love and got married at a Courthouse in 1988 because they couldn't afford a "traditional wedding ceremony ". (They later renewed their marriage vows in 2013 on their 25th marriage anniversary where they had a "traditional wedding ceremony"!) They've been married for 38 years now and they raised five kids who are now adults. David had two daughters from previous relationships Porcia and Tiffany and raised Tamela's niece Sonya (her mom died when she was young) and have two kids together David Jr and Tia. They also have eight grandkids too and they probably spoil them like most grandparents do lol. But when their kids were under eighteen years old, Tamela, her husband David, their friend Darrel, and others joined the gospel group called "The Family" led by Kirk Franklin throughout the 1990s! In late 1992 and early 1993, Kirk Franklin who was a struggling music minister signed to a then new label called "GospoCentric records" (led by Vicki Mack Lataillade and Monica Bacon) and released a number of hit records in the 1990s along with "The Family". The albums names were 1993's "Kirk Franklin And The Family", "Kirk Franklin And The Family Christmas", (1994 The year I was born lol) "Whatcha Lookin 4", (released 1995) and "The Nu Nation Project" (released in 1998). (Side note Kirk Franklin released another album in 1997 but it was collaborated with "God's Property" not "The Family" and were known for the hit single "Stomp".) Tamela and her husband David along with other back up vocals for "The Family" were instrumental to gospel artist Kirk Franklin's early success which caused them to travel a lot, collaborate with other gospel artists, win awards, and produce some hit singles. Some hit singles from Kirk Franklin And "The Family" were "Why We Sing", "Silver And Gold", "Whatcha Lookin 4", "Melodies From Heaven", and "Revolution" just to name some. But God had more things for Kirk Franklin And "The Family" and after the 1999 "The Nu Nation Project" tour, "The Family" disbanded after that causing Kirk Franklin to be a solo artist! (In 2000 he collaborated with "One Nation Crew" and released an album with them before going completely solo.) But God would put Tamela and her husband David in the life of legendary Tyler Perry in 1999 after "The Family" disbanded and therefore started their acting career! In 2000, she debuted in the stage play called "I Can Do Bad All By Myself " and in 2001 was in the comedy film "Kingdom Come ". She has since starred in many films such as "Madea's Family Reunion'', "Diary Of A Mad Black Woman ", "Madea's Class Reunion ", 2012's remake "Sparkle" (along with the late Whitney Houston, Jordin Sparks, Ceelo Green etc) just to name some. She and her husband David starred in "Meet The Browns" a known television sitcom with David as Deacon Leroy Brown and Tamela playing his daughter Cora Simmons. That show y'all was one of the funniest shows of all time as Tamela's husband David played Deacon Leroy Brown used to shout obnoxiously. ''Cora stop being nasty!'' I know, right? Yep, that was the show! But Tamela also became a solo gospel artist in 2005 through her label called Tillyman Music records (She and her husband own an independent record label) and has since released multiple albums. Other albums such as ''The Live Experience'',(2007) ''The Master Plan'', (2009) ''Best Days'', (2012) ''One Way'', (2016) ''Overcomer'', (2021) and recent album ''Live Breathe, Fight'' (2024) Tamela and her husband David also released R&B album ''Us Against The World/The Love Project'' in late 2018. Some of her well known singles are ''The Master Plan'', ''Take Me To The King'','' Change Me'', ''Through It All'', and ''Speak Lord'' just to name some. She's also won multiple Stellar, Dove, Grammy, and NAACp image awards (National Association For Colored People) just to name some. Tamela is a living proof that if one puts God first, family second, and works hard one can live the life of their dreams. She's a strong Christian, wife, mother, grandmother, gospel artist, business owner, and actress and plans to be faithful with God's mission in both her life and her family's life. As a bonus, she and her husband David have always worked together professionally, something I pray that me and my future husband do too. (I pray for him to be my writing and ministry partner in addition to him being my friend, lover, and future father and perhaps grandpa to our kids and grandkids.) That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. Blessings to each of you ladies and have a blessed week everyone.

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Lord's day and happy Superbowl. I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. To continue on honoring "Black History Month" of a wonderful black man named Paul Robeson. He was born in Princeton, New Jersey to William and his wife Maria. Paul Robeson was a pastor's kid and often sang in church. Despite his upbringing it was plagued with hardship resulting in Paul's mother dying of a house fire when he was just six years old! It also put Paul's father William on an even difficult spot to provide financially for Paul and his three brothers. But Paul continued to thrive as a teenager and performed in theatre such as "Julius Caesar" and "Otrello" and also was a great athlete and excelled in football, basketball, and track! Whew! I believe a proper nickname for him is called "A Jack Of All Trades!" That's rare for a musician to also be good as an athlete. Most people black or white or another culture, are good at one or the other, not both! Paul proved to be the exception to the rule and when he graduated from high school he got a scholarship to Rudgers! That was a big deal especially back then when he became the first black to have ever done so. That would be while he was still in college before graduating he met the woman who became his wife whose name was Eslande Goodie and they married the following year in 1921 until her death in 1965. (They met when he was attending ''Columbia University'' where he was studying law She worked at the hospital to make ends meet until Paul's career took off in the mid to late 1920s. He also played on the "Akron Pros" and later the "Milwaukee Badgers!" Can y'all believe that? It would also be during that time that he took some time off school to sarr in a musical play called ''Taboo''. Others believe that when he did this would open doors for him to become an actor! Wow! A man of many gifts! After quitting football in 1922, he focused on his acting and music career. He was in a stage play called ''The Emperor Jones'' as Brutus which caused his acting career to go to another level. In 1927, Paul and his wife gave birth to their only child whose name was Paul Robeson Jr who later followed in his father's footsteps. As the years continued to go by he continued acting in many stage plays and starred in many movies. He also became known as a great singer with his rich baritone voice and 66 albums and had a total of 195 singles making him a well known singer. He also has been known to have traveled all over the world doing concerts and acting causing him to gain fans not just in America but all over Europe. Wow! That was a big deal for a black especially back then to have had fans ''beyond his culture'' and have fans all over the world. That just lets us know how truly famous he was both in America and around the world! Despite his success Paul had his fair share of hardships. He endured many marital challenges due to some extramarital affairs causing him and his wife to have been close to getting divorced. But by the grace of God they remained together until her death. Paul also spoke up against racism and injustice which made many people uncomfortable and tried to silence him. Paul also got involved with political had Pro Soviet views, activation and challenged the government Because of that the Supreme court took awais passport in 1950 and didn't restore it until 1958 so he couldn't travel all over the world! Whew! But after his passport got restored in 1958 he spent a good amount of time touring and living in Europe for a good amount of time until he returned back in 1963. As he got older he had some health issues but did what he could to help with the ''Civil Rights Movement'' as best as he could. Another constant in his life was his faith in God that helped him overcome the odds. It was also his faith in God that kept him from being bitter at racial injustice that was so prevalent during his lifetime. The other beautiful thing about Paul RObeson was that he loved his family dearly and his son Paul Robeson Jr (born 1927 died in 2014) married his wife Marilyn and had two kids David (died in 1998) and Susan who was born in 1953 making Paul Robeson Sr and his wife Eslande proud grandparents. His son Paul Robeson Jr honored his father's legacy while he was alive and after he died in 1976 in his late seventies. Throughout life's ups and downs, Paul Robeson Sr stayed true to God, helped his fellowman especially against racism, excelled in arts as well as in education, being an athlete in many areas that blacks at that time could have never imagined doing. That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. Blessings, I hope y'all enjoyed the blog, and I can't wait to share more blogs with y'all as we continue on honoring ''Black History Month''. Blessings to each of you ladies, happy Lord's day, and have a blessed week everyone.

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Tuesday! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. I'm happy to present another blog for "Black History Month" and it's about "Honoring Mandisa's Life". For those of you who may or may not know the precious, anointed, and vocally talented Mandisa went home to heaven two years ago which greatly impacted the Contemporary Christian music world. I was in such shock when it happened and didn't hardly say anything about it but now that two years have passed the Lord had released me to write a blog about it. What was her background life like? Mandisa was born Mandisa Lynne Hundley in 1976 in Citrus Hills, California to John D and his former wife Ruby. Mandisa was the youngest of four children having two older brothers and one older sister. Mandisa's parents later divorced while her father remarried and it was rough on Mandisa and her siblings for awhile. Mandisa got saved when she was sixteen years old and has walked with the Lord from that moment on until the day she died in 2024 and went to heaven. She graduated from "El Camino Fundamental High school" in 1994 and for a season attended "American River College" in Sacramento, California where she studied vocal Jazz. She later transferred to studied at a black college called "Fisk University" located in Nashville, Tennessee prior to her graduating from there in 2000. Prior to her becoming a solo artist, she was a member of the "Jubilee Singers" and sang back up vocals for Contemporary Christian artist Sandi Patty, country singers Shania Twain and Trisha Yearwood and even sang at Christian speaker and author Beth Moore's worship team. Then in the summer of 2005 Mandisa auditioned for season 5 of "American Idol" in Chicago, Illinois! (Season 4 of "American Idol" had just concluded and auditions for season 4 took place in the summer of 2004.) She sang "Fallin" by R&B artist Alicia Keys and got a golden ticket to Hollywood but her time on "American Idol" wasn't without its challenges. One of the judges Simon Cowell made a comment asking. "Do we need a bigger stage this year?" (Side note, Mandisa is also known for her powerful dynamic voice too!) What meant was he made was a snarky comment about her weight if y'all can believe that! I know right? But prior to Mandisa making it to the top 24 in the year 2006, she told Simon she forgave him for what he did and surprisingly he apologized to her after that! Whew! God works in mysterious ways! Mandisa progressed from the top 24 unto the top 12! How far did she go in the competition? Well she made it as far as to the top 9 contestants! Who else was on that season and who was the winner and runner up? Some of the other contestants on season 5 of "American Idol" were Paris Bennett (her mom Jemecia and Grandma Ann Nesby were part of gospel ensemble "Sounds Of Blackness") and country artist Kellie Pickler! Kellie Pickler came in sixth place while Paris came in fifth place! The winner was Taylor Hicks the second guy to have won the competition (Reuben Studdard won season 2 of "American Idol" in 2003.) while Katharine Mcphee was the runner up! (Side note all those contestants, winner, and runner up have gone on to be wonderful recording artists from that time on.) Though Mandisa got eliminated, she sang on "The Tonight Show" and did the "American Idol" summer tour with Taylor Hicks, Katharine Mcphee, and the rest of the top 12 contestants! It would be after the "American Idol" summer tour, she was discovered by major Christian record label Sparrow records and released several albums after that. Mandisa was featured on Contemporary Christian artist Toby Mac's "Lose My Soul" song from his 2007 album "Portable Sounds" along with gospel artist Kirk Franklin. In 2007, Mandisa released her debut album called "True Beauty" that featured eleven songs on there with singles from the album called "Only The World", "God Speaking", and "Voice Of A Savior". She also was featured on the Christmas song "Christmas Day" by Contemporary Christian artist Michael W Smith from his 2007 Christmas album "It's A Wonderful Christmas "! Also in the year 2007, she released her first book called "Idol Eyes:My New Perceptive On Faith, Fat, & Fame". Mandisa released several more albums such as "It's Christmas" her only Christmas album released in 2008, "Freedom" released in 2009, "What If We Were Real" released in 2011, "Overcomer" released in 2013, and her final album "Out Of The Dark". Some of her hit singles were "My Deliverer", "Good Morning ", "Stronger", and "Overcomer" just to name a few. She has toured and befriended a number of Contemporary Christian artists such as Toby Mac, Matthew West, the "Newsboys", and Danny Hokey just to name a few. She released her final book in 2022 called "Out Of The Dark:My Journey Through The Shadows To Find God's Joy" that addressed her struggled in a much deeper level. Mandisa had always been transparent about her depression, mental health, weight struggles, and even dealing with singleness. Because of that, it made her so relatable to her fans as well as outsiders as well too. Even though Mandisa never married nor had kids, she has made many friends over the years, had close connections with family members, as well as had many fans that were like family to her. I remember when I saw Mandisa in concert which took place in 2021 when she toured with the "Newsboys" and other Christian artists as well too. Mandisa had issues with her physical health mostly due to her weight which had been up and down over the years leading many to believe that possibly contributed to her death and arrival to heaven in 2024. Many Contemporary Christian artists as well as fans expressed their prayers and condolences to her family members and many paid tribute to her which was so precious. I hope and pray that this blog blessed you and it shows how God can use a vessel mightily for His kingdom and how talents used for Him can touch the lives of many people whether they know Him personally or not! That's what I wanted to share with you ladies today. Blessings to each of you ladies, have a blessed week, and happy "Black History Month!"