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Muhammad Ali was always an anomaly to me. When I️ first heard of him he was Cassius Clay. That’s what his parents named him. He was a good looking man. Our family actually met him and he held my Wanda in his arms during a visit to a Baltimore mosque on Wilson Street near where … Continue reading Ali had the heart of a champion

I’d be the first to admit the love we have for the Lord is feeble at best and at worst is our human attempt to at least mimic the awesome love extended to us by the God of the universe. God’s love for us is beyond the capacity of our mentality to take it in, … Continue reading Worship is love rising

and grace my fear relieved’   It was 1972 when Aretha Franklin filmed the movie, “Amazing Grace,” over a two-night period at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, accompanied by the Southern California Community Choir. It was her hope that this project would propel her into the movie arena as a star. … Continue reading ‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear

On May 25, 2020, people began to protest vehemently in the light of the murder of George Floyd, 46, by former police officer Derrick Chauvin; while onlookers begged him to stop and fellow police officers stood by, as if giving silent assent. It certainly wasn’t the first time police in this country have been accused … Continue reading George Floyd: As if marching could make a difference

  I went to Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.; those were some of the best years of my life. I loved everything about being there and I knew it was just the right place for me. I was working three part time jobs so I could go full time and complete my degree in … Continue reading ‘But if I ask’

I’m the mother of a son. He’s a peculiar young man. He grew up in the same household as my daughters and yet he’s quite different. Not a birthed baby, but a bonus since he was seven months old. He made our family complete. He was so uniquely male. He kept cats under the back … Continue reading The mother of a son

When you ask me to pray for you I may do a number of things. I might ask what you’d like me to pray for. That’s for your benefit. I rarely do that unless it’s catastrophic, and if I can see you’re at your breaking point I’ll pray right then with your hands in mine, … Continue reading When you ask me to pray

It was a Tuesday, April 21, 1987. I’d been to early prayer at church and shuttled all the kids to school. Since I had a short breather before a doctor’s appointment – just a regular checkup – a nap seemed most appropriate. It was that good kind of sleep that only happens when it’s unplanned, … Continue reading An extraordinary moment of Grace

I love The Message, the way the late Dr. Eugene Peterson captured the breadth of the words in scripture. One of my favorite passages is out of Matthew 11:28-29 But before Peterson even embraced his artful description, John Newton alluded to grace having its own unique sound. Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved … Continue reading The sound of grace

A traditional Black church testimony might go something like this: First giving honor to God, to Jesus Christ who is the Lord of my life and to the saints of God with whom I fellowship. I want to thank God for my early rising this morning, that my last night bed wasn’t my cooling board, … Continue reading A reasonable portion