therstblog

well i don’t know if i rocked the mic or not, but man i had LOTS of fun, made some new friends whom i hope to keep around for a very long time, i have not been on stage in a very long time and it felt good and most importantly God was glorified in song!!

I decided after watching this video with Esther that I would share it with you! Leave a comment, below and let me know what you think?

I truly do miss the stage and have been praying, writing and talking to Esther about what it would look like if I were to JUMP back into the spoken word scene. The sad thing and the reason that I jumped ship was that with most any typical performance you must do the pieces that the crowd wants, needs… and sadly they only really loved the sexually explicit pieces. Bunch of horny folks…LOL!!! Yeah, I was one of them, i said it. Thank God for forgiveness, grace and mercy! My past is no longer a hindrance to me, but it serves as a foot stool to reach the beyond my wildest imagination… the “THING” I was created for!!!

You know I could post something and not preach a lil bit! LOL!! Enjoy the video, leave a comment and let go of yesterday- it no longer belongs to you!!!

Lose My Soul – Oakleaf from lloydowens on Vimeo.

From Texas, South Dakota, Atlanta to Oklahoma people have answered the call of 50 giving $10 and so far we are only $200 from our goal! I just want to thank ALL of you who have given.

TODAY is the deadline, so don’t procrastinate any longer… GIVE BIG HERE!!

It means so much, I will be sure and let the kinds know who their big brothers and sisters truly are!

We will have pics of the field trip as well!

There are some fifth graders hoping that YOU can come through for them! I know that maybe the thought of $500.00 seems like a lot of money, so here is another way to look at it. 50 of you giving $10, or maybe even 100 of you giving $5. Just knowing that you have helped these kids go on a field trip that they otherwise wouldnt be able to go on has to be an incredible feeling.

Look, we need you. We need your help. These kids deserve to be able to leave their neighborhood and see more of the city they have lived in all of their lives. Many of their parents have never left this same neighborhood.

Will you help?

CLICK HERE

TRIP INFO:

School: John Hope Elementary, Atlanta, GA Old Fourth Ward
Field Trip: Omni Hotel, CNN Center
Grade: Fifth Graders
Surprise Lunch: Still working out details and timing issues, but my desire is The Varsity! Many of these kids have never been outside of their neighborhoods and have not experienced one of Atlanta’s Landmarks.

I am forever amazed by the AWEsomeness of God! His love, His hand, His direction and His provoking of His people to do something larger than themselves for the same of the Kingdom. For this very reason, among others, we created the peculiarlove website. The response has been great! I just wanted to share with you two letters in particular from two families who received the gift cards that peculiarplace gave out before Christmas. If you have ever doubted the Power of Love (God), then these two stories will and should shake you up a little.

Letter #1
From: C.A.W.

Thank you so much for the gift card. I was sure it was some kind of scam until I went online and looked at the GiftCardLab and PeculiarLove websites.

We truly need the money this holiday season as it has been a very rough year for us. My husband was a contractor who is owed almost $20,000 from work he has completed over the past year. My husband continued to work at great expense to us, hoping that some or all of the money would eventually come through. However, with the economy in a downward spiral, most of the companies are filing for bankruptcy, and we will never see that money.

In November he started a salary job. We are trying to repair the damage from the past year and avoid filing for bankruptcy ourselves, but it is tough. We didn’t buy any Christmas presents for ourselves or our one year son. I will use the gift card to buy groceries and diapers.

Thank you again so much for this unexpected gift. It truly comes as a blessing in the very difficult time.

Merry Christmas!
The “W” Family
Letter#2
From: M.B.

we received a credit card from you guys and we were so surprised because we were looking forward for some extra money to give to our niece who is a very good student in elementary school and she needed some clothes for school. I called it a “Christmas miracle”. Thank you so much for this Christmas miracle. We made a very good girl happy.

I want to thank all of you who prayed with us and this outreach effort! We are believing God for 5-10 families to develop relationships with and so far so good!!! Next year, we plan to do 10,000 dollars worth of gift cards!!!

Today I had my second meeting at an amazing school. John Hope Elementary should be the darling of Old Fourth Ward, but as of right now might be the best kept secret.

With 182 students, the majority of them being boys, the teachers and admin are doing an impeccable job with these little darlings. The principle Dr. Ashley in her first year and a half has already seen to some important changes and improvements.

So why adopt a school that appears to being on a track for success? Because everyone deserves to be pushed, helped and given a chance or the tools to succeed. I am so sure that this is the school we adopt, that i have already committed to helping with as much as we can, and working on ideas and strategy to get things done!!

What do they need? Volunteers!! uniforms, supplies, did i mention volunteers, monies to be able to take field trips. I am making it a priority to engage the community of Old Fourth Ward, the students of Georgia State and Morehouse to assist us in our volunteer efforts. I plan to seek help from John Hope get a chance to experience LIFE outside of their neighborhoods.

My thoughts are all over the place, my passion for our children’s future and the restoration of a sustainable and successful public education system are second behind my passion for seeing these kids and their parents who are far from God be led to living a lifestyle centered in Christ!!!

Until later.