Keepin It Real

New Podcast after almost a year off!!

2012-02-13T10:32:00.000-08:00

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Hi everyone, I posted a new episode to my podcast, Big Dusty's Podcast.
Please click the link below to view it.
http://bigdusty.podomatic.com/entry/2012-02-13T09_51_04-08_00
See you there!
- Daniel aka Big Dusty

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If you ever want to collab, hit me up and let's try to make it work

My mind thoughts that are in there....?

2012-01-19T17:35:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year folks! Hope your 2012 is off to a tremendous beginning! I can't speak for y'all, but I'm so glad that 2011 is over. Just about pure hell that year was. Well, not pure hell because it wasn't dark, gnashing of teeth, and worms wasn't crawling out of--well y'all get the point. I can say that the beginning of my 2012 hasn't been perfect, but today I made the decision that I'm not going to rehearse stuff that God is trying to kill. I know it's not going to be easy, but like the song writer said, "Nobody told me the road would be easy, but I don't believe He's brought me this far to leave me." Decisions I got to make are not going to be easy choices. It's never easy breaking what's been an hindrance on you for years. It's like when getting saved. Once you get saved, people think all your troubles stop. Welp, for those of us who can keep it real, we know we ain't perfect.

So my job. It could be going better. Then it could be worse. Again I can't go into specifics of what I do at work, but I can say that I'm the type of guy to like to get stuff done no matter what, you know? Taking short cuts has never been an issue for me. Don't judge me, some of y'all is just the same. Anyway, taking short cuts is not the best idea for what I do. I may not like the job, but if I want to keep this job for the time being, I got to do it right. I got to follow protocol. Like what some of us do with salvation. Some of us don't follow protocol when it comes to salvation. Notice I didn't say tradition. Notice I didn't say religion. I said salvation. We don't pray. We don't fast. We don't praise. But we do cuss, drink, fornicate, and all that...and yet say, we're strong in the faith. Yeah...So anyway, no more short cuts. With my job, and with my spiritual walk.

So that's the blog folks. Not that long I know, but I'm at Starbucks and I ain't sitting here all night just to think of something. Just wanted to post a little something something for ya...

Be sure to comment and follow the blog. Feel free to read all the other blogs. Follow my Wrestling Blog. Friend me on FaceBook. Follow on Twitter. Follow me on DailyBooth. Follow me on Tumblr.

Stay saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty

THE MOST AMAZINGST BLOG!!

2011-12-12T11:22:00.000-08:00

I’m about 5 seconds away from giving y’all the most amazingst blog, so imma give you 5, imma give you 4, imma give you 3, 2, 1…now I’m about to go WILD!!

Sleep. You never realize how important sleep is until you don’t get enough of it. Before I started working, I was sleeping all day. When I got tired, I just went to bed and went to sleep. Now with the job, sleep comes when it comes. With work, church, and finding something to eat, sleep happens, quite frankly, when it happens. I can’t count how many times I find myself yawning at work ready to fall asleep at my cubicle. When I go on break, while social networking through the phone, I’m surprised I don’t get whip lash the way I nod off.

I can’t blog much about what goes on at work, but I will talk about one thing. Smoking. It seems like everybody in the center smokes. The other day I was sitting beside a guy that smelt so bad. I’ve hung out with smokers throughout my life, but they never smelt like this guy. It was so bad folks, that when a customer beeped in on the phone, I could barely get through the conversation. I felt like I was going to die from second hand smoke. You know what’s funny about smokers though? Specifically cigarette smokers? They’re the main ones to tell you that smoking is bad or that it’s a bad habit. I remember some time ago when I lived across the street from a subway, I was walking back home and this guy asked me, “Do you have a lighter?” I said, “No, I don’t smoke.” This guy said, and I quote, “Good cause it’s bad for you.” #Areyouseriousbro?

Which leads me to another thing. Ever notice that the folks that tell you that something is bad are sometimes guilty of that something? Why is that? Why do we do that? Hypocrites. They’re all around. In and out of the church. There was an old song that I was taught when I was a kid, and I hated it. I still hate the tune of it with a passion, but the words are true. The song says, “I don’t want to be a hypocrite. I don’t want to be a hypocrite cause they’re not hip with it. I don’t want to be a hypocrite.” No I will not post a youtube video of me singing that awful awful awful awful song. Well maybe I will cause my views have been down lately, but either way…we as a people need to stop being hypocrites, especially in the church. I don’t know if we truly know how much people are paying attention in the church. The hypocrites think nobody know, while we’re out eating and talking about them. Yes, we talking about you. That’s how we do it in the church. We’ll smile in your face and give you a hug, but at the same time, if you’re wrong, we’ll talk about you. Wrong? Maybe. Fun? Definitely.

So the other night, I was on a K-Ci and JoJo trip. I’m serious, I went to Starbucks and bought All My Life, Life, Tell Me It’s Real, and Crazy off ITunes. My generation gets a bad rap of having bad music. Not all of the music was bad. Believe it or not, the 90s was a great era of music. Again, you had K-Ci and JoJo doing their thing. Then you had the Backstreet Boys and N’Sync. You had the One Week by Barenaked Ladies. You had Matchbox Twenty. You had Mariah Carey before she had ice-cream. You had Missy Elliot. You had Will Smith. You had Korn. You had a lot of good music. What Nickelodeon and Disney folks try to do in music now, where do you think they got that style from? The 90s. Something had to be right in the 90s for it to be continued to be mocked after 20 years from when the decade even started. They’re other songs and groups from the 90s that were good, I just can’t think of them off the top of my head.

That’s the blog folks. Hope you liked it and got something out of it. Be sure to leave a comment sharing your thoughts, opinions, and/or frustrations. Be sure to follow this blog. Feel free to read the other blogs. If you’re a wrestling fan, follow my Wrestling Blog. Subscribe to me on YouTube. Friend me on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter. Follow me on Tumblr. Follow me on DailyBooth.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty

LOOK WHERE HE'S BROUGHT ME FROM

2011-11-19T10:00:00.000-08:00

(Whistling in a way like trying to be inconspicuous about my long hiatus from blogging) Oh hi! Hello there. This is, um, Melvin (Melvin?) M. M. Merks. The M. M. stands for Melvin Melvin. Yes! Melvin Melvin Melvin. You see when I was a kid, my mother was so disappointed in me that she would shake her head and say, “Melvin Melvin Melvin.” And it stuck with me...no?

I have no words to explain my hiatus from blogging. Something I love to do. Something that I feel some of you actually enjoy reading. I’ve actually got messages on Facebook about my blogs and how they are enjoyed. My mom enjoys them. You know you’re doing good when your mother enjoys what you do. A lot has happened since the last blog folks. A lot has happened. First and foremost, I got a job! No not Job from the Bible, I mean job as in work, but I assume you already knew that….anyway, yes, FINALLY, I am working. Customer service before any of you ask, and I think that’s about all I can say about it without getting in trouble. Oh, and another big thing has happened since that last b-log—b-log? I got my license. That’s right, my license to kill!!! (Awkward pause) Ahem, actually I got my license to drive…you crazy!! (Awkward pause) Ok ok, I got my driver’s license, ok? There, I said it.

So yeah, a lot of things have been happening for your boy, Big Dusty, and God aint through yet. I’m really enjoying being able to drive myself around for a change. Now the only person I have to depend on to get me somewhere is me. That’s a huge weight off my shoulders I don’t mind telling you. Being able to drive myself to work, church, any place I want to eat…that’s a huge step for me.

To say I’m enjoying this new job would be lying. Don’t get me wrong, after years of not working, it feels good to be earning a check again. On the other hand this job could be setting me up for something in the future. Part of my job is talking to random strangers, something that I never thought I would do. I barely talk to my mom, sorry mom, and now I got to talk to strangers for a living? It’s crazy right?

One good thing I will say, and one of the few things I can actually publicly say about this job is that my co-workers have seen the real me. That’s a big thing for me to say because usually it takes me a long time to come out my shell, but from the first day on the job, I’ve been myself. Weather my jokes went over or not. To be quite honest, my stuff hardly ever goes over, but hey, at least I’m not walking around with a mean mug on my face like I did most of my school days. That turned people away. Now that I’m being myself people are still turned away, but at least it’s because of me and not a false image of what I was trying to be, know what I mean?

Now that I’m working and now that I’m driving, I look over my life and think, “Look where He’s (God) brought me from.” I’m the same guy that would cry when strangers talked to me because I was shy and scared to talk to people. I’m the same guy that hid myself from people because I was worried of what people thought about me. I’m the same guy that would rock back and forth crying because of depression. I’m the same guy that would cry when a mic got in my hand because I did not ever want to sing in front of people. I’m the same guy that would get told that I’m getting picked up to go somewhere and get stood up. Look at me now. I got a job. I got my driver’s license. I make videos on YouTube exposing who I really am to the world. I make people laugh and smile daily at work. I attempt to make people laugh and smile on Twitter and Facebook. As of this blog, this past Sunday, I led praise and worship at church. I lead songs at church with no hesitation. When people talk bad about me, I think of the people out there that got my back. I think of all of you that has supported me for over five years now. “Look where He’s brought me from. He’s brought me from a mighty long way!”

Thanks for reading folks. I hope you enjoyed it. Be sure to comment, share, and follow this blog. Read and comment the other blogs. If you’re a fan of professional wrestling, follow my Wrestling Blog. Friend me on FaceBook. Follow me on Twitter. Follow me on DailyBooth. Follow me on Tumblr. Subscribe to me on YouTube.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty

I'M ENCOURAGED

2011-09-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

I’ve never been one to cry over a TV show or a movie. I’ve seen stuff that makes other people cry, but I never did. The famous Fresh Prince episode when Will’s father shows up. That episode used to get my dad all the time. Never got to me. I’ve seen the Green Mile which had my sister and Dad crying. I enjoyed the movie, but didn’t have me crying. I’ve seen Toy Story 3 which got to a lot of people. Again, I liked the movie but it didn’t faze me like that. But…

The other day I was watching Tyler Perry’s Madea Big Happy Family The Movie. If you haven’t seen the movie, you may not want to read any further because I will give away some parts. Now if you know the story of the movie, it’s just like the play. A dying mother is trying to get her family together to tell them that she doesn’t have long to live. Her children, who are grown, have so much issues that they can’t get passed them to hear what their mother has to say. Anyway, the mother ends up dying. The funeral scene is taking place. For some reason, the scene got to me. I found myself sitting in the chair and the tears were flowing down my face. Mind you both my parents are still living. So it couldn’t have been that. I just know that the tears flowing down myself felt like a release.

Before I put that movie in the DVD player, my day was hell. I could be religious and say that this was all Satan’s doing, but that would be a lie. My actions caused it. I’m not afraid to admit that. I won’t admit what I did, but I do know that I knew it was wrong and I felt like crap afterwards. Besides all that I was not doing what I was supposed to do. I wasn’t checking in with people just to check in and/or to tell them what I needed. Needless to say I wasn’t in the random crazy mood that you usually see on YouTube or used to hear on my podcasts. Big Dusty was on vacation and Daniel Richerson was real down. So when I popped the movie in, I was enjoying the movie because I’m a fan of Tyler Perry’s work, and I’ve seen this movie before with my little sister. This time I was by myself. It was almost as if God needed to get me by myself to talk to me through the movie.

It was the thought of my mother that got to me as well. My mom has done too much for me. We talk about the love we get from God and the fact that we don’t deserve it, but if some of us would be honest, we don’t deserve the love we get from anybody. You got to see it from my side of things. As I’m typing this, my little sister is closing in on graduation from college and going into the real world. I’m not. I went to college but didn’t care. I took the same attitude I had in high school, which wasn’t a good one, and bought it to college. Yet Mom still loved me and wanted to see me do well. Have I ever felt I let her down enough for her to hate me? Oh yeah, but as soon as I feel like that, Mom calls me to check on me and tells me that she loves me. What kind of love is that? So it was the thought of my mom someday going home to be with Jesus, and I did nothing like find work, or find a wife, or just plain make anything of myself. That stuff is heavy for a 24 year old to think about. It was like I felt the emotion of the characters that lost their mother, even though again, both my parents are still alive.

I felt something telling me that it’s not yet too late, but don’t wait too long because soon it will be. Sometimes something catastrophic got to happen to folks to light a fire under them. I started feeling like if I wait any longer, something catastrophic is going to happen. I don’t want that to happen.

So before I started typing this I was again feeling like nothing was going to happen. It wasn’t like I wasn’t doing anything. I was applying places, not getting answers, but yet at the same time I heard testimonies at church where people applied places and immediately they were hired. You can imagine how I felt.

In the Bible, 1 Samuel 30 starts off with David and his men were going to Ziklag, not knowing that at the same time, the Amalekites burned Ziklag to the ground and took the women and children as captives. So you can imagine that when David and his men finally made it to Ziklag how they felt. The Bible says that the men starting crying until they couldn’t cry anymore. Then you get the 6^th verse of 1 Samuel 30 where it says, “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.” I bring that up because as I was feeling like I was feeling, the song Encourage Yourself by Donald Lawrence dropped in my mind. The song starts off with, “Sometimes you have to encourage yourself…” David was in a depressive state. The Bible says he was “greatly distressed.” Who could blame him? Not only were his men going through, but his own wives were kidnapped as well. Yet in the midst of all that, “David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.”

Why can’t we do the same thing? Why not follow the example of a guy who was, as the Bible put it, “a man after God’s own heart”? Isn’t David in the lineage of Joseph who was the husband of Mary who gave birth to Jesus? Again, why not do the same thing as David? If we’re saved, God is our God. So when we get distressed, and it does happen whether we want to admit it or not, we need to encourage ourselves in the Lord our God. We are the seed of David. Whether I want to or not, I at times act like my dad. Why? Because I’m his seed. Since we’re the seed of David, shouldn’t we at times act like David? The song says, “When the spirit of the Lord comes about my heart, I will dance like David danced.”

Thanks for reading this blog. Hope you got something out of it. Follow this blog. Share this blog around for those who you feel might need to read it. Feel free to check out my other blogs. Friend me on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter. Follow me on Dailybooth. Follow me on Tumblr. Follow my wrestling blog.

Stay Saved,

Big Dusty aka Daniel Richerson

YOU SAY THAT YOU ARE MY SHEEP, WHY AREN'T YOU FOLLOWING ME?

2011-09-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

“You say that you are my sheep, why aren’t you following me? You say that I am your shepherd, why aren’t you following me?” “I told my sheep to visit the sick and to take the stranger in. When you see someone who’s naked, you throw wool to cover their skin. And you say I say I am your shepherd, why aren’t you following me?”

You got everybody claiming to be a Christian, but don’t want to follow. You got everybody claiming to be a Christian, but don’t want to live it. You see most of the entertainers that receive awards thank God, yet don’t want to follow.

“Why aren’t you following me?”

Jesus wants you to follow him. Everybody can praise him. The Bible says, “Let everything that have breath, praise the Lord.” So if you’re breathing, you can praise. But being a Christian is more than praise. Don’t get me wrong, being a “praiser” is important. When praises go up, blessings come down. Like a parent that God is, he wants to be praised to perform. But how many people are praising but not following? Those secret habits that we can’t break, or should I say, don’t want to break, whether we know it or not, is hindering the way we live as a Christ follower. When we should be seeking God, when we should be seeking Jesus, we’re stuck in our habits. When we should be waking up thanking God for another day, we’re waking up stuck in our habits. We shout on preachers saying, “Jesus is a habit breaker.”

“And you say that I am your shepherd, why aren’t you following me?”

We know who can break the habit, but we’re not following him. Some entertainers know where their gifts and talents come from, but refuse to follow him. We say amen when we hear, “Without God, we can do nothing. Without God, I am nothing.” Yet refuse to follow. Sheep follow the shepherd. Goats have to be pushed. Goats have to be forced. What are you a sheep or a goat?

“You say that you are my sheep, why aren’t you following me?”

Many big brothers are annoyed when their little brothers follow them everywhere. Many big brothers try their best distance themselves from their little siblings. So we claim to be Christians, right? As Christians we have the best big brother ever. God is the father, Jesus is the son. Jesus, the son of God. As Christians we are adopted into the family. Therefore Jesus is our big brother. He is our shepherd, and he’s welcoming us to follow him. We got to stop with the secret habits. We got to stop getting away from people to get our habit in, whatever that habit may be. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Now if we want the habit broken, we can’t continue to entertain that habit. You know what gets you off. You know your weakness. If you can help it, don’t entertain it. Circumstances happen, believe me, I understand that, but that’s not an excuse. You may have to literally walk or run away, listen to music, read the Bible. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in prayer, but praying while you’re in the mood to do whatever your habit is won’t do any good because your mind isn’t in the right place. I know what I’m talking about. You’re in the mood. You’re a couple of seconds away from doing what you know is wrong. So while you’re 99% in, you try to pray. After you open your eyes and get off your knees, you still end up doing the habit. Why? Because your mind wasn’t on God. Your mind wasn’t on Jesus. Your mind was on the habit. God will keep you in perfect peace if you keep your mind on him.

“When my sheep hear my voice, they come running to me.”

Sheep knows the voice of their shepherd. So the question comes who are you listening to? Are you a sheep or a goat? What are you a sheep to? Who are you allowing to be your shepherd? Who are you following?

Leave a comment. Share this around if you got something out of it. Follow this blog. Friend me on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter. Follow me on Dailybooth. Follow me on Tumblr. Subscribe to me on YouTube. Thanks for your time. Thanks for reading.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty

I got awarded for being that dude that can spit the realest talk...WAIT, I'M NO RAPPER!!

2011-06-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

A fellow blogger, Mahina , put me up on this award thing.

The rules are:

-thank the person that gave you the award.

-tell seven things about yourself

-award other bloggers whose blogs inspire you

-contact the other bloggers and let them know they have received the award!

Thank you Mahina! I try my best to keep it real on my blogs, and I'm glad you enjoy them.

1. I don't go to the gym. It's not because of the work outs or anything like that. I am willing to do the work to lose weight, but I will never become prejudice against fat people like most Americans have become. I may be letting too much out the bag, but the reason I don't go to the gym is because of temptation. Temptation as far as seeing athletic women wearing what they wear, and me trying to focus on what I'm supposed to do. I compare it with a guy that is trying to stop drinking. The last thing he should do is go to a bar or a club, right?

2. I sweat a lot. I like to call it generational because both my dad and my mom sweat profusely. When I'm singing in the choir or leading a song, I tend to sweat a lot, and you can't imagine how many people worry about me because of it. I always tell them I'm fine. This is what I do. I sweat. That's not to say that sometimes I don't get dizzy and weak when I sing, but sweating has nothing to do with that.

3. I love comedy, specifically comedy that's before my time. That's not to say that some of today's comedy isn't funny because I do like some of the stuff today, but it's something about the old style of Dean and Jerry, Three Stooges, Red Button, Don Rickles, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Abbott and Costello, and there's probably more that I'm forgetting. I was born in 1987, and I'm naming comedians that were at their best in the 30's, 40's, and 50's. Crazy isn't it?

4. I'm a big kid. At any time you can find me watching Disney movies like Great Mouse Detective and 101 Dalmatians, or old cartoons like Looney Toons and Tom and Jerry, or nickelodeon shows like Spongebob and Kenan and Kel. I can watch shows like those and still laugh.

5. I mentioned before that I loved comedy. I also love to find comedy in various situations. If the opportunity is open to throw a quick line in to make somebody laugh, I'm liable to say it. Not only do I love to laugh, but I love to make others laugh. Ask any comedian and they'll tell you that it's a high to hear people laugh. I don't consider my self a comedian by any stretch. I consider my self a clown.

6. I'm the first one to criticize myself. I guess you can say that I'm a perfectionist. Especially when it comes to music. If I'm singing on the wrong key, or playing the wrong beat on the drums, I beat myself up about it. I know it's a fault, but it's a fault that I can't help. The worse comes when I'm leading a song. When I mess up on an ad-lib or a run, you can see the frustration on my face. I know that I'm not singing to people, I'm singing for Jesus, but again, I can't help it. Don't even get me started about watching myself on youtube...

7. I'm a huge fan of documentaries. I love watching or reading stories about the background of my favorite entertainers. I love learning the true background on what happened in the world that made an impact. Professional Wrestling documentaries are my favorite to watch. Great stories.

Now, I award:

TJ - A real student of the Bible, and very passionate about the Gospel

Kayla - She hasn't blogged in a while, but she's an awesome writer. Also she's random to boot. Nothing wrong with randomness...

I guess that's it. Thanks for reading everyone!

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty

LEBRON JAMES: THE DECISION...WAS IT REALLY THAT BAD?

2011-05-26T11:42:00.000-07:00

Before I get into what I'm going to blog about, let me say that I know it's been a good while since I've blogged anything, and the best way I can explain myself without giving too much away is that I've been going through hard times. I do mean hard, and yet I'm keeping the faith. I'm staying strong. I do desire your prayers. Like Commissioned once sang, "I'm going on in the name of the Lord."

Let me get this out the way. I know this year the Miami Heat gained a lot of fans because of Lebron. Bandwagon fans. I'm NOT one of them. I became a fan of the Heat because I heard Rafer Alston was playing for them, and that was back when the Heat had Lamar Odom.
Lebron James. Lebron "King" James. Drafted right out of high school. Spent 7 years with the Cleveland Cavs, and after "The Decision" as he called it, he's now a Miami Heat, my favorite NBA team, and they are now 5 wins away from the NBA Championship. I shouldn't be this shocked, but I'm amazed at the hatred toward this guy. I always thought it was only Cleveland and Laker fans, but it's just about everybody who is not a Heat fan. People are mad about his nickname, King. Believers are especially mad that because of the King James Version of the Bible. I admit, it's an easy target to shoot, but I think it's clever. I know this is said a lot about Christians about being to deep, but I think this is one of those cases where it's valid. Come on y'all. I can't tell y'all how many times I get called Daniel In The Lion's Den or Daniel son. It's an easy nick name to have. Like a guy named Richard being called Dick, or a guy named William being called Billy.

Now to what literally everyone is in an uproar about, "The Decision." People say that they're not mad about what he did, but are mad about how he did it. First off, Lebron James is a name. No one can argue that. He put his face with a product, people are going to buy that product whether it's shoes, insurance, or whatever. The man is money. With that being said, I have no problem with how he did it. "The Decision" generated 6 million dollars, and people are acting like the money went in his pocket. The money went to charity. Was it a publicity stunt? Yep. Did it have everyone focused on him? Yep. Was it a money generated move? Yep. Again, the money went to charity.

Then you got the people from Cleveland talking about he "turned his back on the city." To my knowledge, he was still born in Ohio. He still graduated from a high school in the state of Ohio. Correct me if I'm wrong. Lebron still reps the city even in Miami, just like D-Wade represents Chi-Town in Miami. Just like KG represents Mauldin, SC in Boston.

Then you got all these folks talking about "this never would happen back in the day," or "Michael Jordan would never do something like this." New flash: this is not back in the day, and the Jordan era is done. This is 2011. You can't expect players from today to made decisions like they did "back in the day." It's a new day ladies and gentlemen, whether you like it or not. Lord willing if we live to see 2031, I wouldn't expect players to make decisions like they do now because it will be a new day.

They say that these 7 words kill the church, "We've never done it this way before." Ladies and gentlemen can I say that those words not only kill the church, but they kill businesses in general. What Lebron did was different. It was controversial. But it was all for a good cause. Never mind the fact that he went to Miami for less money, by the way.

Now, Lebron did apologize, but I think that was for the reaction to "The Decision" rather than "The Decision" itself.

This is my opinion. This wasn't planned, but it was the freshest thing on my mind. So here you go folks. I hope it makes up for the long hiatus. Thanks for reading. Share with all you know and don't know. Twitter and Facebook info is on your right. I'm still doing my thing on DailyBooth. Hopefully sooner than later, YouTube and Podomatic will get back active. Until next time...

Stay Saved.

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty

WE CAN'T CHANGE THE PAST

2011-04-14T11:02:00.000-07:00

History is important. Without history, there would be no today. Whether the history is good or bad, it brought us to where we are today. We all got that? Good.

Everything and everybody has an origin. We all have a past whether we're proud of it or not, it has happened and we can't change it. We can't change the fact that we were born into this world. The origin of something doesn't necessarily dictate the outcome. The history of something doesn't necessarily dictate the outcome. I'll use myself as an example. Growing up, I was shy. I barely talked to anybody. When a mic come in front of my face at church to sing, I would cry just about every time. Now, I do youtube videos, podcasts talking a lot. Now, I lead songs at church no longer crying out of fear of people.

So I bring up the subject of the origin and history of things because I saw a tweet talking about Easter being a Pagan holiday, and people using that as a reason not to celebrate Easter. Christians use Easter to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb. I've even seen posts some time ago talking about Christmas starting off as a Pagan holiday, and as everybody knows, Christians use Christmas to celebrate the birth of Jesus. You know what I say? So what? So what it started off as a Pagan holiday. So what the Catholics tried to tie both ends against the middle to keep safe. Does it hurt anything using December 25 to celebrate the birth of Jesus? Does it hurt anything that this time of the year is used to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus? No. So why make a big deal of it? Yes, I agree it's important to know the history, but there's no need to dwell on history.

If we dwelt on history, none of you Christians and Religious folks would have anything to do with me. After second grade, I hardly ever applied myself in school. In middle school, I would skip school because I missed the bus. In middle and high school, I was a master at cheating on test and quizzes. Did I pay for it? I'm still paying for it. But what I'm saying is, history happened. All that happened. The consequences from those actions have and are continuing to take it's toll. One of my many faults is that I often spend time worrying about the choices I made as if I can change what I did and didn't do. What I should be doing is making choices now that I will affect my future. My past is not good. It's wicked. Just this morning I repented to God of a bad habit that I've had since middle school. So now, I turn around from the decisions I made before and press on towards the future. My past is over. What I did was wicked and wrong, but that was then and this is now. I got to worry about now to make my future more great.

Get what I'm saying? We all got a history and a past. Some of you have a way more corrupted and wicked past than I do, but life still went on didn't it? Despite of your past, some of y'all have become very successful. Some have gotten saved and are now preaching the Gospel. Some have gotten saved and are now singing the Gospel. I mean let's look at Paul from the Bible. He started off killing Christians, right? Who knew that he was going to become a major prophet for God? Paul? The one that used to be Saul and was killing off Christians? Don't dwell on your past. Work on your now to make your future better. That goes for me too. I'm definitely preaching or "blogging" to myself with this one.

Thanks for reading. I hope you got something out of it. I hope you share with your friends, family, enemies, and everybody you're connected to. Be sure to follow me on here. If you don't have an account to this site, you can use your twitter to follow me. Speaking of Twitter, my Twitter and Facebook is on your right. You can also get at me on Podomatic, DailyBooth, and YouTube. Share your comments below, and God willing, I'll be back next week.

Stay Saved,

Daniel aka Big Dusty

P.S. If you want to email me, get at me at EastsideAfro@aol.com

WHY DOES IT FEEL LIKE SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME?

2011-04-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

Before I go on with this blog. Are y'all enjoying these blogs? I certainly enjoy writing them, but I hope you enjoy reading them. If you in fact do enjoy reading these, please spread them around to your peers and enemies. Anyway, let's go. Booya!

Now let me say now, that this blog is for me as much as it is for any of you. I'm not perfect. I have made mistakes recently. So please don't get the idea that I'm Mr. Perfect because believe me, my name is Daniel, not Curt Hennig.

People are watching you rather you know it or not. I don't mean with spy cameras, security cameras, or anything like that. I just believe that we all, one way or another, are being studied. People are paying attention how you react to things, how you confront situations, and even how you live. That's why it's important that you watch what you say, pay attention to how you live, and all that because someone is always watching.

This especially goes for Christians. I truly feel for the baby Christians out there who have to see Christianity turned into a Religion, when it's about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It's like a kid who watches the parents act any kind of way, and then at the same time the parents tries to instruct the child to do the opposite. That's how it is in the church. It's preached over the pulpit to love everyone. It's preached over the pulpit not to lie. It's preached over the pulpit not to gossip. While it's being preached, it's not being practice. Ever heard the term, practice what you preach? So what are those that are young in the faith supposed think when they see the so called "seasoned" saints lying on one another, gossiping about each other, hating each other, and at the same time, are trying to teach you what is right.

I understand that we make mistakes. I understand that we're not perfect. I also understand, however, that I got people unsaved following me on Twitter, friends with me on FaceBook, following me on dailybooth, following me on podomatic, subscribed to me on youtube, following me here on Blogger, and/or subscribed to me on iTunes. So again, I'm not perfect, but I have to do my best to represent Christ in everything I do. The old song says, "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine." The light here is Jesus. Another song says, "Everywhere I go, I take my light so that men might see Christ in me." Another song says, "Whatever you do, don't let your light go out." And another song says, "You maybe the only Jesus they see." I got people looking at me through this internet that may not ever go to church. I wouldn't be surprised if I got people watching me just to see if I will mess up, and no doubt, I will mess up. I'm human.

Let's say I was on the outside looking in. I was not saved. I was not sanctified. None of the above. I hang out with folks that proclaim to be saved, sanctified, Holy Ghost filled. I see them cussing, lying, gossiping, hating folks, and yet still proclaiming the name of Jesus. Or I see them depressed, looking beat up from life with no hope whatsoever. What would I supposed to think? I hear getting saved is the best decision I could ever make, and I see this guy looking worse off than I am now. I thought this God was a loving God, yet I see this guy over here gossiping about someone, or I see this woman over here lying in the church. Why go to church when I get this at home already?

See what I'm saying? It's extremely important to how you live your life. I'm not going to tell you how to live your life, but I will tell you that you need to realize that people are watching you. Rather it's a child or someone striving to be like you. Rather it's someone that cares about you or someone that's just waiting for something to scold you about.

I hope you got something out of this blog. Again this blog is for me also. I have to do better, and I know it. Be sure to leave a comment below. Share with your people anyway you can. Be sure to follow the blog. Twitter and Facebook info is on the right. Get at me also on YouTube, DailyBooth, and Podomatic. And I'll see y'all next Thursday.

Stay Saved,

Daniel aka Big Dusty

F*GGOT IS A "RACIAL" SLUR?

2011-03-31T08:57:00.000-07:00

Faggot. The actual definition of faggot is a bundle or bunch of anything; also a bundle of material, esp. wood, used for fuel. That’s what dictionary.com says. At the same time, it’s used at a term to describe a group of people that are homosexual.

Now that’s out of the way…

Faggot is not a racial slur. It’s not a nice word. Some may even consider it to be a cuss word, but it’s not, I repeat not a racial slur. How? I’m mixed. My dad is white, my mom is black. Looking past the race thing, my dad is a man, and my mom is a woman. They did the do and made me and my sister. Now with my dad being white, and my mom being black, my sister and I are considered a “mixed race.” Two gay men or two gay women? They can’t create a child. They adopt. Most likely that child will be made fun of for the fact that it was adopted by two homosexuals or lesbians. Now let’s just say you get a gay black man and a white straight woman, and somehow or another they come together. Nine months later, boom a child is here. Will that child be considered mixed with white and black, or with gay and straight? Will that child be called half black or half homo? Tell me I’m lying. Tell me I’m ignorant. Why? Cause I’m letting the truth be told?

That leads to something else. Two homosexuals, man or woman, adopt a child. The child comes to that age to ask the infamous question parents stay away from, “Where do babies come from?” Or let’s say a lesbian couple goes to a sperm bank because they want a child. One of them gets pregnant; the child grows up and asks, “Where do babies come from?” You can’t lie to the child. They’re going to find out eventually in life. What do they tell them? Notice I’m not using the Bible for this blog. I’m just using facts here. The sperm came from a man. Sperm didn’t come from a woman. Men can’t have a child. That’s a woman’s job. I sense an angry mob forming right now. Ooh, what can you argue with? Am I lying in anything that I’ve said?

Back to the race thing. If faggot is a racial slur, then what’s the racial slur for straight people? I’m not talking “nigger,” “honkey,” “wetback,” or anything like that, I’m talking pure straight. Straight as in “I like the opposite sex.” What’s the racial slur? What do homosexuals say to a straight person that would be considered a racial slur? I’m just asking.

I do not hate homosexuals. I do not hate the people. If I hated homosexuals, I would not be following a guy on Twitter named Andrew Sheldon who is an openly gay man. Why am I’m following him if he’s gay? Cause he’s a cool guy. Why do I follow Kevin Hart and he’s a curser? Cause he’s a funny cool guy. Why do I follow Steve Austin and he’s a drinker? Cause he’s a cool guy and one of my favorite all time professional wrestlers. Why do I follow Chris Thompson who stands up for gay marriage? Because I enjoy his videos he puts on YouTube and he’s a cool guy. So, again, I don’t hate homosexuals. I just don’t agree with homosexuality. I don’t agree with cussing. I don’t agree with drinking. Again, I’m not using the Bible, and I am a Christian.

Speaking of being a Christian, to all the homosexuals and lesbians that are reading this, don’t let what the Phelps family do put in your mind that we are all like that. Those people are religious folks that read the Bible to make their own interpretation of it and not to use what it actually says. Please don’t put us that are in a relationship with Jesus Christ in the same boat with those Religious nut jobs. God loves you. He loves me. Now I will use the Bible, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world…” The Bible never says He hates you. The Bible does say He doesn’t condone what you do, but He does not hate you. A parent may scold a child for doing something wrong, but that doesn’t mean that the parent hates the child by not condoning the actions.

Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment, and to the new readers, please do your best to keep it as clean as possible. Twitter and FaceBook info is on the right. DailyBooth: http://www.dailybooth.com/bigdusty Podcasts: http://bigdusty.podomatic.com YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/danielakabigd Share this with your friends, family, enemies, favorite celebrity, least favorite celebrity…everbody!

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty

SOMETHING'S GOING TO HAPPEN...I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT

2011-03-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

First of all let me apologize for this being up a day late. I'll do better. I'm really trying to stay consistent with YouTube, my podcasts, and with my blogs.

I was going to blog on being deserted, but I don't know about any of you, but I'm sick of typing the mopey blogs. So with that being said...

Ever get that feeling in the pit of you stomach that something crazy is going to happen, but you can't put your finger on it? Like every time you daydream, you see yourself doing something you never thought you'd have the guts to do. that happens to me constantly. You just feel something brewing and there's no way to get around it. Here's the crazy thing though, as you see these things happening in your head, you get nervous like it's happening right now. Your leg starts shaking, your heart starts pounding, your voice gets hoarse...I mean it's literally like you're about to get up and do it at that very moment.

Like tonight, I'm going to the last of a 3 night 2 day conference. I didn't go to the choir rehearsal. I didn't go to any service of the conference thus far. Yet and still, tonight I'm expecting great things. I even caught myself daydreaming about leading a song tonight. Is that weird? I don't know what that is to be honest. It's like at church, just about every time I lead a song, I just about know what the song is going to be because before hand I'm listening to the song over and over, or I can't get it out my head.

Well that's the blog. I'll be back to my regular scheduled rants next week, but for this week, this is it.

Thanks for reading. Share your thoughts and comments below. Feel free to read the other blogs and leave your thoughts on those as well. Twitter and Facebook info is on the right. Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/danielakabigd DailyBooth: http://www.dailybooth.com/bigdusty Podcasts: http://bigdusty.podomatic.com Also let's spread this around, send this to the people you know, like, and don't like.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty

A FEW THOUGHTS ON HOLINESS

2011-03-17T22:50:00.000-07:00

Know what I don't get? I don't get how traditions and customs that are man made are part of being holiness. Am I missing something? Yes! Yes, I agree that holiness is right. You won't get no arguments out of me. But let me bust your bubble religious folk, holiness has nothing to do with traditions and customs. Holiness has nothing to do with any doctrine. I'm so sick of religious folk. I'm so sick of those that don't read the Bible for themselves. They depend on what other people say the Bible said not knowing that some of what's coming out may be opinion or may be turned to gain attendance and not gain souls. The Bible says to study to show thyself approved. Not to show your pastor approved or anybody else. Read and study the Bible for yourself. Don't depend on someone else because they might be leading you astray. I used to make a habit, a habit that I didn't need to break, to come home from church and study the verses the pastor or who ever spoke used in their sermon for myself. Why? For one to make sure I wasn't getting led astray. Is that wrong? I don't think so. Is it questioning what the person preached about? Not necessarily unless they said something that does not line up with the Bible.

I was watching this video that featured Hezekiah Walker leading a church in a praise or what us pentecostal people like to call a shout. I looked down at the comments below and I saw one comment that was so religious. The individual made a comment talking about some of the dudes in the video that happened to have dreads. The comment basically said that the young dudes with dreads need to cut them off because "Holiness is still right!" Then someone responded to that comment saying that women needed to keep their head's covered in church because "Holiness is still right!"

This is why people turn away from the church and turn away from God. We try to witness to people with the customs and traditions we were born into rather than witness to people the Word of God. I talked about in blogs past how now I'm leading songs at church. My mom made a joke about how it was because I cut my hair. What's sad though is that some would probably say that and mean it. For the record, I could sing when I was growing my hair, but I didn't do it. Cutting my hair had nothing to do with me gaining confidence enough in my voice to lead songs. What gave me confidence was just going out and doing it. Getting my mind past being nervous, past every judging eye looking at me, and just sucking it up and doing it. Could I have done that while I still had cornrows and my Afro? Yep.

Another questions now comes, did my hair make me any more or less saved? Did the fact that I got my hair braided and had long hair make me more or less holy? Tradition would say yes. Religion would probably say yes. From all I've read in the Bible, I didn't read anywhere where having an Afro and braids was an abomination.

If you going to say, "Holiness is right," know what Holiness really is and please don't go by the customs and traditions you were taught growing up. Study to show thyself approved.

This wasn't exactly the blog I had planned, but here it is. Hope you enjoyed it. Hope you got something out of it. As always, my twitter and facebook information is on the right. My YouTube is: http://www.youtube.com/danielakabigd. My DailyBooth is: http://www.dailybooth.com/bigdusty. My Podcasts page is: http://bigdusty.podomatic.com. If you have an account with Blogger, go ahead and follow me here so you'll know when the next blog comes up. Don't forget to share your thoughts below. Share this blog with other people. Feel free to advertise this blog all you want. Trust me, you're not going to hurt my feelings.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty

MY THOUGHTS ON JENNIFER HUDSON, AND DANIEL RICHERSON

2011-03-10T08:20:00.000-08:00

A couple of things I want to get into, so here we go.

Have y'all seen Jennifer Hudson's new video?

When I watched it for the first time, I was blown away at how much weight she lost. One of the comments I read below the video said something to the effect that for 30 secs. he thought it was Brandy Norwood. Yes, Jennifer Hudson has lost that much weight. She looks good too. I mean she really looks beautiful. Now as I say that, the question comes to mind. I think she's fine now, but what did I think of her when she was fluffy? That kept ringing in my head as I watched the video for the first time. It's like I was forcing myself not to be attracted to this woman that went from being bigger or as big as I am now to being compared to Brandy. Hopefully, for Jennifer's sake, she lost the weight for her and her alone, and not because she was in Hollywood, or because David Otunga, her fiance, is fit so she just had to follow suit.Was Jennifer fine before? I will say this, physically she was not my type. Sound fair?

That's always been something I thought about when it came to losing weight. If or when I lose weight, would I get treated any differently then I do now? Would I have a better shot of finding a wife one day? Would I have a better chance of finding the direction I need for my life to get it going? These are the things I think about. I mean I would be the same Daniel aka Big Dusty I've always been. Obviously, after losing weight, I could get through leading a song without feeling like fainting afterward. Look at Jennifer. She could sang before and she can still sang now.

If you were able to pick it up in the last paragraph, my life is at a stand still right now. In a little over two months, yours truly, Big Dusty, will be 24 years old. In a little over 3 months, it will be 6 years since I've been out of high school. This all really hit home last night before I went to bed. I know I've blogged about this, podcasted about this, and even took some shots at myself through video, but it's still sad on my part. Something happened this morning that hit home too. This morning I was messing with my dog, Ginger, like I usually do. I came off with a comment, "I'm trying to teach you about life." My dad then asked the question, "What are you going to teach her about life?" In other words, "What do you know about life?" That coming from your father can really hit home. I'm sure he meant no harm by it, but Holy Crap did he have a shot and did he ever take it.

I wake up every morning not understanding how or why God lets me live day after day knowing that the last 6 years was completely wasted. Don't get me wrong, my spiritual life is on the rise. I'm singing with more confidence at church. I'm reading the Bible and praying more than I've ever have. If you read through the blogs, you can see that I've grown spiritually. I'm not downing that for a minute. But my natural life has been wasting away. Singing God Is, Made A Way, and I Won't Forget at church and it going over every time is not getting me off my butt and naturally getting my life on acceleration. Naturally speaking, I've been riding the breaks. Spiritually and church speaking, I've been on acceleration. I keep wondering how can I get my natural life to step up. As I'm typing this, my hands are shaking because this is hard for me to just open up about, but the truth is the truth. The smiles I make on dailybooth, the randomness I come with through podcasts and YouTube videos, is not moving my life forward spiritually speaking.

Now I can hear my dad's annoying voice--it is annoying. I'm his son. What else do you expect from me? Back on topic--in my head. "When you pray to God, you got to be specific because God has a sense of humor." I hear it every time I get on my knees to pray. The problem is, at least in my opinion, I don't have direction. I don't know where to go or where to start. Would I want to get paid doing what I'm doing now which is putting my thoughts down through blogging or writing a column? Of course I would. Would I love to make an income entertaining? Of course I would. Would I love to make an income doing podcasts or talk radio just sharing my opinion? Of course I would. So I do have dreams like writing a best seller, or playing drums in a successful band. But what's the use of having dreams with no direction? That's my problem. I have no direction. Again that's my opinion, and I'm sure, as a matter of fact, I KNOW all of you have an opinion on this.

For those that are worried and praying for me, trust me I'm not in denial. I know what I'm doing, or should I say in this case, not doing. When people ask me how I'm doing, I say I'm fine to stay away from conversation. When I'm the subject of conversations, I try my best to keep it short in sweet. That's probably why I have no friends that I can call on, because I don't open up to anybody. I've had the bad habit ever since High School of hiding my feelings from people and faking it. But as you can see through my blogs, I have a lot on my mind and my heart that's just waiting to be shown to the light.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below. I know you got opinions on me and my situation, but feel free to share your thoughts on my thoughts on Jennifer Hudson. If you're a member of this blog site, follow me so you'll know when I post another blog. If you have a Twitter or FaceBook, my information is on your right. As mentioned above, I am on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/danielakabigd and DailyBooth: http://www.dailybooth.com/bigdusty . Plus you can listen to my podcasts. I just did one yesterday as a matter of fact: http://bigdusty.podomatic.com.

Again thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments.

Stay Saved.

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty

SORRY FOR THE, UH, PAUSE. I'M BACK!!!

2011-03-09T20:57:00.000-08:00

SORRY FOR THE, UH, PAUSE. I'M BACK!!!

Hey y'all. I'll come with a real blog later, i promise. Until then, check this out

Was CBS right to cancel Two and a Half Men?

2011-02-26T18:00:00.000-08:00

So by now I think we all know what's going on with Charlie Sheen. If you don't then use these search engines called Bing or Google. I think they will help a lot.

Charlie recently went on a radio rant which was reported to be the cause of the cancellation of his successful show and a show that I'm a fan of, Two and a Half Men. During this rant he went after the higher ups of the show and blah blah. Am the only one thinking that this is not a just reason to cancel the show? I'm not condoning what Charlie did, don't get me wrong, but I thought this was show business? Wasn't the show like one of the top sitcoms on TV? So they had a show that was a money maker, and they cancel it because Charlie was honest when the host asked him a question. Way to save money in a bad economy CBS.

I know, I know, Charlie's unstable. Charlie's a drunk. Charlie's doing home rehab. Charlie's this, Charlie's that. Let me introduce y'all to a little known performer, arguably the best wrestler of all time, and he's going to the WWE Hall Of Fame by the way, Shawn Michaels. Shawn, in the mid 90's, was what Charlie Sheen is now. I don't think he did rants on radio station, but he was a pain in the butt backstage. He spoke his mind to the higher ups when he didn't like something. All the while Shawn was on drugs. See the comparison? Did the WWF/E fire Shawn? No. Did the WWF/E kick Shawn off the main show? No. Shawn was making money for the company. WWF/E was smart to know that yes Shawn was a pain in the butt, but he was stealing the show and holding the company together while WCW was kicking their butts in the ratings.

Please save the "money isn't everything" stuff, ok? While I do agree the money is in fact not the most important, it is important. Is Charlie right in the head? No, but is any actor in Hollywood right in the head? I rest my case. The only difference between Charlie and everybody else is that Charlie got caught.

Doesn't that remind you of religious people? When you make a mistake and get caught, they ride you until they or you die, but at the same time they have done the same thing or something worse than you did.

Now, I know that not many people is going to agree with me on this, but this is my opinion, and I'm sticking to it! I am American, fat and opinionated.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave your comments below. As always the Facebook and Twitter info is on your right. My DailyBooth is http://dailybooth.com/bigdusty My YouTube is http://youtube.com/danielakabigd Share this on Facebook. Retweet this on Twitter. Share with whoever you think will enjoy it.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

YOU THINK YOU KNOW SOMEONE...

2011-02-15T09:06:00.000-08:00

Before I get going on this blog let me say that yesterday was a day like I haven't had in months. I posted a new video and a new podcast. That's right, I am back in the podcasting game. I'll plug the website at the end.

Some time ago, I tweeted something to the effect that if you really wanted to know somebody, follow them on Twitter. Well recently I found out that goes with all Internet social media. It's crazy to me what some people say on here. I will admit that I was guilty of being one way on the Internet, and being another way in person. So I know how it is. It's not until you actually see someone else do it, that you realize how nuts it is. I mentioned before that I did a podcast. I'll be the first one to tell you that if you listen to my old podcasts, I was no where near like that in person. In person, you would be lucky if I said more than two words to you. It wasn't to be mean, it was just how I was. I wasn't comfortable talking to people in person. On the Internet, I could do it easily. In person, not so much. Now what kills me is how people act saved in person, then you follow them on social media...good gosh. I finally figured out why some old saints are against social media. Think about it, who in their right mind wants to mess up their reputation? One thing that will never change in this world is the fact that people are very protective of their reputation. People get real offensive when there's false gossip being spread about them. Why? Because their reputation is getting affected by it. Weather we believe it or not, people do care what you say about them. I believe there's something in all of us that care about what people say, however, it's up to us to acknowledge that something.

Lately, I've been blown away seeing people I thought I knew in person being a complete 180 on the Internet. Be who you are. When I wasn't saved, I was honest about it. I knew better than to lie in God's house. I remember some years back, I was at this youth meeting, and the guy teaching asked who was saved. Some people raised their hand, some didn't. I didn't. The teacher then asked a question to the effect why aren't you saved? My answer was peer pressure. Completely honest.

What really blows me away is the language some use. I expect that from my unsaved friends, but from the ones that shout in church on Sunday, then on Monday...yeah, holy goodness. I believe that's how we stay in the bubble we put ourselves in. It's not healthy to be free on Sunday and bound on Monday. To be in Eden on Sunday then back to Egypt on Monday. BTW, yes I'm a husky man talking about what's healthy and what's not. What?!?! And just so you know, I know that from personal experience. Being free on Sunday, jumping and leading songs, then going home and searching...yeah. So believe me, I'm not trying to come off as perfect Big Dusty because I'm no where near perfection. What I am saying is, it's dangerous territory. Seeing what's going on in Egypt and the middle east, we have no time to be playing both sides against the middle. The Bible says that God would rather us be hot or cold. If we're lukewarm, the Bible says, God will spit us out his mouth.

Contrary to belief, the Bible is around for us to use it for cliches. As Donald Lawrence said, we got to let the Word do the work. In order to let the Word to the work, we got to believe it. It's hard to execute a game plan when you don't believe in it. Athletes, am I right or wrong?

So let's make a decision today that we will no longer be lukewarm. If we're going to be saved, let's be saved on AND off the Internet. Let's be saved in AND out the church. Let's be saved away AND with friends and family.

Thanks for reading people. I hope you got something out of it. Please leave your comments below. As always, my twitter and facebook info is on your right for the blog site people. My podcast site is http://bigdusty.podomatic.com/ check out the latest one. Of course my YouTube is http://www.youtube.com/danielakabigd .

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

2-21-11 WHO IS THIS GUY? OR GIRL? WRESTLING BLOG

2011-02-10T12:31:00.000-08:00

So if you’re a wrestling fan like me, you’ve probably been keeping an eye on the dirt sheets to see what’s going on. Especially with the whole 2-21-11 mumbo jumbo. Is it Sting? Is it Awesome Kong? Is it Undertaker? It’s the talk of the wrestling world. Let me say, I highly doubt its Awesome Kong because let’s face it, WWE cares nothing about Women’s wrestling. Look who the Divas Champ is, Eve Torres. I rest my case.

Most likely it’s the Undertaker, which would be the most typical WWE thing to do. I understand Undertaker is who he is, with the whole “most respected guy in the locker room” stuff, but is it just me, or is it getting old seeing Undertaker leave and come back, then leave and come back again? I don’t know about any of you, but I will not be happy if this whole thing is for Undertaker to make another comeback. Taker is coming back. That’s a given. How bout this? Figure out who he’s going against at Wrestlemania, and while whoever that guy will be is doing a promo, Undertaker shows up. No vignettes. No warning. He just shows up. That would be unique. Again though, if this whole 2-21-11 thing is for Taker, then please WWE, spare me.

Now there’s been a lot of speculation involving Sting. Is he in talks with WWE? Is he not? Is he signing back with TNA? Is he not? Is he the father? I mean there’s a lot of talk going on about Sting and where he’s going. Now if I was Sting, first of all, I would be happy that my name out there. Everybody is talking about me. As I’m typing this, the latest thing I’ve read was that Sting was close to resigning to TNA. If that is the case, I really don’t get the logic from both sides. From TNA’s side, Sting is 51 years old. Bringing him back, you have to put him in a major storyline because of who he is. The problem with that is that it leaves the young and great talent you have taking a back seat to a guy past his prime. Why not push the guys that are in the prime of their career now? Why bring in a legend that only has maybe one good year left? And on Sting’s side of things, I don’t get why he loves being on a sinking ship. I don’t get why he wouldn’t want to go to the WWE where he could go out with the reaction he deserves. Why not go out in the biggest company in the wrestling world, like it or not, and end your career in the WWE Hall of Fame? You’re not going to get the big reaction in a studio in Florida. I have no doubt the higher ups in the WWE would respect the status of Sting and use him correctly. Sting is no doubt a legend in the business. He’s no doubt a hall of famer in any wrestling hall of fame.

I will admit that I am a Sting mark. I have been for all my life. Sting has always been in my top 10 list of favorite wrestlers of all time. I want to see him go out with a bang that he deserves. Not in a company that is copying the mistakes of WCW. Plus Wrestlemania is in Atlanta this year. Perfect setup for a Sting run in, isn’t it? Ah well, wishful thinking.

I would love to hear your feedback on this. I know there are a lot of opinions on this. Feel free to share them below. Of course, as always, Facebook and Twitter info are on the right if you’re reading this on my blog site. My YouTube is: http://youtube.com/danielakabigd Also if you have an account on this blog site, feel free to follow on here as well.

Thanks for reading.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

THIS YEAR IS MY YEAR!!

2011-01-20T08:37:00.000-08:00

(Originally typed 1/14/11. Edited on the date of the post)

Well I ended last year with controversy. That’s all I got to say about that. It’s a new year so as far as I’m concern, that blog is last years problem. Yet, I still welcome your comments.

So, Happy New Year! I hope all of your 2011 has gotten off to a great start. If you’re alive to read this blog, then it has. This year has already gotten off to a fresh start for me. I’m already doing stuff I’ve never done before. That’s not a bad thing either. I’ve heard it said that if you want different, you got to do different. I’m not going to say exactly what I’ve been doing, but let’s just say that it has not been easy.

I came into this year with three goals for myself. Just three. The first two kind of go hand and hand. The goals were to make some money either by job or doing what I love to do, get my drivers license, and go out on a first date. Yeah, I know the last one seems a little like, really Daniel? Really? Well for one, I didn’t say these were your goals for me; these are my goals for me. Got me? Now, this would usually be the part where I talk about what I’m looking for in a woman, but to stay away from trouble…moving on. So far this year, I’ve drove to the library with my dad, and I’ve applied for a job. Who knows? Maybe at least 2 of the goals can be met before the year really gets started. How awesome would that be?

Now shifting to a completely different mood and subject because that’s what I do. It’s my blog. Years ago, I sang my first solo which was Victory Chant by Donnie McClurkin. To say I was nervous…you would be right. I was. I was so nervous that by the end of the song, I forgot the words. After that, I sang a couple of solos here and there, did some praise and worship, but nothing to brag about. My “stage presence” was not that good yet. Then a couple of years after that, we switched churches and came to the church I attend now, New Harvest Ministries C.O.G.I.C. I was just chillin by the drum set not doing much. Unbeknownst to me, my sister and mom was telling the music president at the time that I could sing. So one Sunday, after church, the music president called me up and told me to sing something. So I sang a little bit of Password by Canton Jones. Then bam, I became a member of the choir. I stayed in the choir not volunteering to lead anything. One night the choir was learning You Are the Living Word by Fred Hammond. I got volunteered to take a crack at it. It ended up being that I took the low part and my mom took the high part. Looking back on it, it was the right thing to do because I had no confidence whatsoever. I remember when it came time to sing it on Sunday; I didn’t look up from my feet once. I really didn’t want to do it, but I was obedient.

This is all leading up to something, believe me.

Time moved on, and the church got a new music president. Still I was fine with staying in the choir. Again, I had no confidence in my voice. I was told I was natural baritone. So I automatically didn’t even try to push myself to increase my range. Then one night, we were going to learn Perfect Peace by Marvin Sapp. Guess who was volunteered to lead it? I took a stab at it. Had no adlib what so ever. It’s not that I didn’t know the song, it’s just my mind drew a blank. So I came home and listened to the song and studied the Bible thinking I was going to lead it. Come time before service when we go over what we’re going to do before service, and I’m no longer leading it. I was told that the right song was going to come to me. The song in my “range.” Up to my move to the Midwest, that didn’t happen. I was beginning to feel not needed not wanted. I couldn’t hit the notes I was supposed to hit as a tenor. It was not a fun time.

The beginning of 2010, I made a move to the Midwest to “start a new life.” The “new life” was a same old life, different time zone. At no fault of anybody but my own. Now some good things did happen while in the Midwest. Somehow or another I gained the confidence that I was lacking. I was no longer afraid to lead a song. I played the drums with more confidence and sang with more confidence. That part of the move was fun. The main and only song I led while up there was Made A Way by Bishop Larry Trotter. I knew the song from when I learned it at New Harvest. So it wasn’t hard for me to take and lead the song. That became “Daniel’s song,” and it would go over great every time. When we went to another church and I had to lead, I took it and ran with it. With no fear. That was big for me.

So June came and I’m back in SC because I didn’t do what I was supposed to do in the Midwest. I’m back in the choir a couple of weeks later. Weeks went by and it was the same thing. Until…One night I walked in, and I heard it a familiar song playing over the speakers. It was one of my Dad’s favorite songs, God Is by DeWayne Woods. We were going over it and I, along with my dad who was sitting in the back of the church, was helping the choir with the words. Come time to find a leader, and viola, I was chosen. I grabbed the mic, and with the same confidence I had in the Midwest, I went in. No fear. It was crazy. Low and behold, weeks later, I also ended up leading Made A Way. I went from no songs with no confidence to two songs with great confidence.

Now to the point of this part of the blog, this past Sunday night (1/09/11) I went back to the church where I had my first solo. I went in thinking that I was just going to stay in the congregation and enjoy service, but come to find out, the choir was up for 2 selections. The first selection was God Is. Again to say I was nervous…again you would be right. This time however I prayed. I asked God for strength and to have His way. I went up there and just let the Lord use me. To do that in front of the people, and in the church where it all started, and for the people to see how I’ve grown up literally before their eyes, was overwhelming. I broke down afterwards.

All the glory belongs to God. That experience right there let me know that 2011 is going to be a completely different year for me. I’m ready. I hope you all are ready.

Facebook and Twitter information is on your right. My YouTube is DanielakaBigd. Thanks for reading. Share your comments below. Feel free to share with your peoples. Feel free to tweet this to your followers. It’s a new season! Let’s go!

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

The "N-Word..."

2010-12-30T22:59:00.000-08:00

So a few days ago on Twitter, there was a debate or "healthy conversation" about the word nigger, or what some people call, "the n-word." Brian White, an actor that was in Stomp The Yard and I Can Do Bad All Myself, was retweeting responses on the issue. So here's what I said:

"the whole nigger, nigga, or "N-Word" debate is a to each his own debate, in my opinion."

Low and behold, Brian White responded:

"It is systemic, no? A global issue. Look on FB right now and view 16-20 year old Asian; Latino teens using it with each other - no Black kids in sight. WTH? So basically, we intended to embrace the word so it hurt less; in theory, elevate & empower ourselves by changing its meaning...But the real net result is that all races descended to embrace that awful word; use it among their own as it is used in hip-hop."

Brian wasn't the only one that wanted to jump in. A lady named Dawn jumped in with this:

"Mos def systemic! Not just "to each his own"

Ok, let me explain something. As some of you know, I spent about 6 months in the midwest. Just about every day of my stay up there, I heard black folks use the word, "nigga" as if it was everyday vocab. During my whole life time, I've heard preacher after preacher use, "nigga." Saved, sanctified, holy ghost filled...preachers. Now the Bible talks about how we can't judge somebody on if they're saved or not. I can't judge somebody on their salvation. That's between them and the Lord. So, I'll say it again, and you can disagree with me if you want, it IS a to each his own debate.

Now let me say this. Nigger is a racial term and I understand that. It is offensive to some people. Some people have stopped using this "offensive word." Yet they still cuss. So it's ok to cuss someone out but it's not ok to call them a racial term? I didn't do well in school, but even I know that something ain't right with that equation. I believe that if you can stop saying nigger, you can stop cussing all together. But don't tell me a word is wrong when you're liable to cuss somebody out for looking at you cross-eyed. A sin is a what? Sin. So that means what ever the sin is, it's what? Wrong. So being a racist and/or being a cusser is what? Wrong. Or am I wrong? You tell me.

And another thing. What makes nigga so special that it gets to be called the "n-word?" Like it's the only word in dictionary that begins with the letter "n." Nine, number, next, nucleus, neighbor, neighborhood, neck, nasty, nosy, noise, nose...I think you get my point. I was just wondering.

Remember before any of you go in on me, this is my blog, and my opinion.

Share your thoughts. I'd love to read and respond to them. Twitter and Facebook is on the right. Youtube is DanielakaBigd.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

Treat others how you WANT to be treated

2010-12-22T14:48:00.000-08:00

So I was talking to this man, and this man hates Sarah Palin. I mean he literally hates the ground she walks on. It’s to the point where she shows up on TV, and it’s like his blood pressure rises. Watching Inside Edition on NBC, they show portions of Sarah’s interview on GMA, Good Morning America, on ABC. Sarah came off with the line that was something like, “You can’t take down a caribou with a bb gun,” and made a little smirk after it. This man asks me if I saw it on TV, and I said yeah. He says, and I paraphrase, “She’s so stupid. Did you see that smirk on her face? Just stupid.” Mind you this is coming from a man that doesn’t like being called stupid. He doesn’t like being insulted. Yet he’s insulting this woman who’s just stating her opinion after being asked a question. Before I go on, I’m not a fan of Mrs. Palin’s politics. I think she’s not quite ready for prime time when it comes to politics. Just my opinion.

Now listening to this man, I got to thinking. I tweeted this after this man went on this rampage of hate against Sarah Palin, “So if you dont like being insulted, why insult others?” Everyone knows the phrase, “Treat others how you want to be treated.” Growing up in elementary and middle school, I was the smelly kid in class. I got cracked on by what seemed like the whole class everyday. No body cared about my well being. They didn’t care about my feelings being hurt. I would stand in line, and people would automatically hold their nose. I would sit beside somebody and they would immediately be disgusted. My point is this, I didn’t like being insulted. I would come home crying. Sometimes I would cry in school. And one of the many faults in my life, I would take it out on my little sister. I become a hypocrite later in life because I would treat others the same way I got treated. The phrase is, “Treat others how you WANT to be treated.” Not how you got treated.

One would make the case, and I make this case when I’m playing around, “She can’t hear me.” It doesn’t matter. An insult is an insult weather one can hear it or not. Especially if their honest insults, not in the Don Rickles insult comic sense of insults. I told this man after his rampage, “Just come out and say it. You hate Sarah Palin. It’s not about the smirk or anything, you hate Sarah Palin.” To his credit, he didn’t deny it. Me personally, I’ve only disliked a handful of people in my lifetime. By handful I mean by like 2 or 3. Don’t bother to ask who they were because honestly, it’s none of your business, and it’s not even worth it.

The Bible says that we should love others as Christ loves us. The Bible also says that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Clean heart, clean mouth. Create in me a clean heart. As the song says, “I know the Bible is right.”

Thanks for reading this. Share your opinion on this subject by commenting below. Be free to check any of the old blogs and share your comments on them as well. Follow me on Twitter. Friend me on Facebook. The links to those are on this page to your right. Subscribe to me on YouTube: DanielakaBigd.

Stay saved,

Daniel Richerson

My God is more than enough

2010-12-22T14:41:00.000-08:00

This Holiday Season is expected to be a rough one for this country. It probably already took its toll on some of you that are reading this. I know personally, it’s taken its toll on me. Here’s what gets me through though: my God is more than enough. There’s song we used to sing that says, “My God is more than enough. He shall supply all my needs. He is my El Shaddai. He always looks out for me. Jehovah Jireh, He is my God.” I’m just crazy enough to believe all that.

If you go to Matthew 14:13-21, you’ll find view of the familiar story where Jesus fed 5000 people. All they had was two fishes and five loaves. Jesus took that and with the help of God made it more than enough. All 5000 were fed and full and there were leftovers to take home. And I’m crazy enough to believe, that if God can do that then, He is able to that now. I believe God is going to be more than enough for families that are going through this year.

I’m not saying that a fat old white man is going to drop presents from a flying sleigh, sorry kids, he doesn’t exist. What I am saying is that if you give God the very best you can, He will honor that. Now I’m also not saying that all this will happen over night. God is able to do that, but you may have to wait. Some of us need to learn the value of patience. Now being patient does not give the right to do nothing. Someone told me once; you do what you gotta do, until God puts you in position to be blessed. The Bible says that if a man doesn’t work, he doesn’t eat. People use that for people who don’t have jobs, but I think it also means that if you don’t work in the spiritual since, you don’t reap the benefits. I heard it said, “When the praises go up, blessings come down.” Praise is an action. Praise is a form of work that will get you what you need to eat in a sense from God.

So don’t be sad this Holiday Season. Don’t focus on the bank account or what little you got in the cabinet. The Bible talks about being faithful of a few things. I just choose to believe that God is going show us that He is still God. He is still the one who provides for His people. The Bible says, “I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging for bread.” What do you choose to believe?

Just remember that God is more than enough this season.

Stay saved,

Daniel Richerson

P.S. The Bible also talks about being content. We got to learn to be content in where we are. We may not have a “baller” house, but we have shelter. We may not have the drop top we want, but we have transportation. We may not be eating Fatz Café every night, but we have food in the cabinet. Like the song says, “If God never does anything else for me, He’s done enough!”

I am not a grown man...yet

2010-11-18T07:32:00.000-08:00

We know the phrase, we quote the phrase, "Age ain't nothing but a number." I got to thinking about that. I was on the phone with this lady on Monday, and she called me a grown "A" man. Yes, this grown lady actually said, "A." Side bar: if you're a cusser, than just say the word. "A?" Really? Anyway, I guess based upon my age, 23, that she put it together that I was a grown man. Why? Because of my age? My age does not make me a grown man. My facial hair doesn't make me a grown man. I do not consider myself a grown man. I'm a 23 year old boy. I have no job. I live with my dad. I am not a grown man. How's that for honesty?

In my opinion, the action makes the man more than the age. As my actions change, as my choices change, I think that's more of the man I will become. I think the more I mature get, the more I look for a job, the more I act like a man, the more of a man I will become. There's a lot have grown boys like me out there. Again, I know legally I'm a grown man, but mentally, I'm not there, yet. But I will be there one day. I still have a lot of things to work on.

What's your opinion? Share your thoughts below.

Thanks for reading!

Stay saved,

Daniel Richerson

My thoughts on the "Obesity Epidemic"

2010-11-12T06:50:00.000-08:00

Ok so for that past months, years, or what ever, America has been going through this “obesity epidemic.” The young generation is apparently getting fatter. Airlines are charging people that are last 3 levels of fatness for two seats. For those who are not fans of Gabriel Iglesias, there are 6 levels of fatness. There’s big, healthy, husky, fluffy, [dang], and aww [heck] no. I consider myself level 3.

Anyway, with this “epidemic” going on, the higher ups in San Francisco is making a law that the Happy Meals will no longer come with toys if they meal including the drink has more than 600 calories. Only about 135 of the calories can be from fat. First of all, I got two words for them people making the law, and trust me, I mean this with in the most Christian way, shut up. Ha-ha, y’all thought I was going to say suck—never mind. Seriously though, shut up. McDonalds is not the reason people are fat. Happy Meals are not the reason the youth are getting fat. It is not the government’s job to dictate what we eat. It’s not the government’s job to be the parents to the youth. The fast food restaurants do not force the food down our throats. Restaurants in general don’t make people go in and order the “fattening food.” We as people, or Americans, have to take responsibility of our choices and stop blaming the food. All of you who are parents need to take responsibility of what you feed your kids. If you want your kids to eat right, you feed them what’s right. You go to the store and buy what’s right. If you keep taking them to McDonald’s everyday, what do you think it’s going to happen? My mom used to say this all the time, “If you eat fat greasy food, you’re going to be a fat greasy dude.” It’s your choice of what you eat. It’s your choice of what you put in your mouth. Stop blaming the food at the restaurants.

Life is all about choices. If I choose to go to Five Guys and order a bacon cheese burger with the words and a regular order of fries, it’s my choice. When I go to places like Five Guys, Fatz, Applebee’s, etc, do you actually think I’m worrying about calories? No! If I’m worried about calories or my weight, why would I go to those restaurants? I’ve said for years that common sense needs to make a comeback in the worse way. It’s been gone for way to long and this so called epidemic proves it. Come on people. You watch the news and they have all this stuff about how many calories are in this or that…who cares? If you don’t want to eat it, then here’s a crazy thought, DON’T EAT IT!! Feel the weight off your shoulders? Do you feel it?

Listening to the radio, this disc jockey was saying it was a good idea that the government was going to dictate what our kids eat. Ok, first of all, what do the toys have to do with it? This disc jockey, who needs to stick to playing Gospel music because he’s comments are mostly idiotic, said that kids only want the toys anyway. He said sometimes they don’t even eat the food. So putting “healthy” food in the Happy Meal is going to make the kids eat it? Id-i-ot-ic! Clap clap clap clap clap! Id-i-ot-ic!

Let me put this in, the biggest hypocrite through all this is, Jay Leno. Everyone’s favorite Tonight Show host, especially after he took the show back from Conan. He the main guy talking about, “You know, how fat are we getting in this country?” Now I’m a husky guy. I admit it. I know my diet is not the most “healthy.” Last I heard, though, Jay’s diet is worse than mine. So a man with a diet like his is talking about the food in restaurants being bad. Come on Jay! For one the fat jokes are not funny, as most of your jokes now days are not funny. BUT I digress. You make these fat jokes, and then you have Paula Deen on your show? SHUT UP!

I would love to hear your opinion on this subject. Share them below. Let’s make healthy, no pun intended, conversation. Thanks for reading.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

Walk Your Own Path

2010-10-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

I don’t watch Oprah much or not at all. I never was a big fan of hers, and really got turned off when she denied Christ. So safe to say, it would have to be something interesting for me to watch it.

I heard Tyler Perry was going to be on, and me being a huge fan of his, this was a definite watch for me. The whole interview was hard for me to watch. It wasn’t because I experienced what he did because thank God I didn’t, but just the graphic and craziness that went on in his life was just unbearable to hear. I literally had chills listening to what came out of his mouth, and it’s amazing that he’s walking tall using his past as a spring for his fame now.

I can’t and don’t even want to imagine what it felt like to go through what he went through. This is why you got to be careful about saying, “I want to be like this guy,” or “I want to be like that guy or gal,” because you have no idea what they went through to get where they are now. I heard Shawn Michaels say this in a shoot interview where he was talking about Vince McMahon. He said, paraphrasing, that a lot of people go to Vince and ask him to “make me a millionaire” but don’t want to do the work.

There’s a phrase I heard a lot growing up that says, “You got to go through to get to.” There’s a lot of truth in that statement. All of us got our own paths to take. Me, myself, personally…I’m having trouble with my own path, so why would I want to walk in Tyler Perry’s shoes, or Donnie McClurkin’s shoes, or any other celebrity. Heck for that matter, I wouldn’t want to walk some of the paths you guys take every day. I think that’s why some people are scared to live out the best of their lives because they know that it’s not going to be a “cakewalk.” I know that’s sort of my thing now. I grew up with this mentality that life was going to be easy. I wish I could go back to that kid and tell him the truth.

Like I said in my blog on Job Core, I do have dreams. For a while I didn’t have dreams. I had dreams when I slept at night, but never had the kind of dreams of what I wanted to do with my life. Now I realize my dreams and aspirations, I’m trying to figure out how to pursue them. Why would I want anybody to walk in my shoes, when I’m still trying to figure out what my shoe size is? Know what I mean?

So don’t wish to be like anybody else. Wish to be like you. If you don’t like you right now, wish to be a better you. How do you be a better you? I really can’t answer that because I’m on the path of becoming a better me as I’m typing this. I’m still trying to figure that out. I do know one thing that helps. Being saved. Having Jesus in my heart. That helps a whole bunch.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

I'm just a wrestling fan, what do I know? (10/14/10)

2010-10-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

Originally posted on WWE Universe, but I decided to share it here also:

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged period, let alone about Professional Wrestling. A lot has been on my mind about it, so I’m just going to get right to it. First of all, Kevin Nash. I’ve been a Kevin Nash fan ever since Diesel in the WWF. I’ve been a mark for the Clique for the longest time, even before I knew they were actually a group. In my opinion, he’s easily a Hall of Famer for the WWE. Now since he’s gone from TNA, wouldn’t it be crazy if he turned out to be the Raw GM? Just a thought. I mentioned Nash mainly because of his decision to go home and spend time with his family. I hope his wrestling mind will continue to help the business in the future, but his time in the ring is done, in my opinion.

Now for the guy I once called the “Loose Cannon” of 2010, Matthew Moore Hardy. When all this craziness started, I was a fan. I thought it was a great addition for his character and that he was going to finally get the push he deserves. Then Matt did something that I still think was a mistake. He came out on youtube and said that “MATTHEW (ALL CAPS!)” was a character. I think he could’ve gotten so much out of it, and he still can, but coming out and stating the obvious that MATTHEW is a character was a mistake because I feel that it could’ve gone over like Brian Pillman, where people would question what is real and not real. I guess people still will, but the effect won’t be as strong. Also through all this drama, I was hoping along with other fans, that Matt was NOT going to go to TNA. Turns out that could be a possibility. Another mistake. TNA doesn’t push the guys they have, and Matt coming in would not be fair to them. If/When Matt goes to TNA, they would have to immediately push him because that would be smart business. WWE is really losing out on this whole deal. I’ve said for the longest that the two people that deserved a push in the WWE the most are Matt Hardy and Christian. It’s done for Matt in the WWE for the time being, so hopefully when Christian comes back from this injury, he’ll FINALLY get the push for the title that he rightfully deserves, and hopefully we’ll finally see an Edge and Christian reunion which all fans have been hoping for ever since Christian came back to the WWE.

Now for this PG rating. I admit, I’ve changed my opinion on this time and time again. I’ve come to this conclusion. The PG rating is not the problem. WWE lost its balls. And I know who took them. Chris Benoit, yes that guy, and Linda McMahon. When the Benoit fiasco happened, and when Linda decided to run for the Senate, the balls of the WWE got taken away. Chris died, and you could see the beginning of the watered down product. Then with Linda running for an office. She didn’t want WWE to hinder her chances, so WWE watered down the product. All this is bull. The age demographic of the professional wrestling is male 18 to 35. I’m 23 years old, so I’m right there in the mix. WWE is catering to tweens and little kids who have to be in bed when Raw comes on anyway. It makes no dang sense. Why not cater to the 18 to 35 male demographic? The people that can actually buy the tickets? The people that can actually buy the merch? The no blood thing is just stupid. Really? Stopping a match for blood? Doesn’t that take away from the match itself? Nobody backstage think about that? I guess it makes to much sense.

I’m just a wrestling fan people. I’ve been one most of my life. I am a man, and I’m 23 years old so I fit in with that 18 to 35 male demographic that pro wrestling is supposed to cater to. I’m not a wrestling promoter. I’m not a “creative genius” that writes out story lines, but here’s how I would do things. If I’m the top company, I would try to keep the company on top by continuing using what works with the crowd. Why get away from it? The original ECW made it work for 7 years, and if it wasn’t for bad business management, they’d still be doing it today, not messing up their careers in TNA. Yes I said it. Then I would make it less of a priority for the writers to come up with character development, but make it more of a priority for the wrestlers themselves to come up with something for their character since they’re the ones that have to go out and perform. I would ask questions like, Where do you want your character to go? What ideas do you have? If the ideas are usable and good, I would try them. What do I have to loose? If they don’t work or lose money, then we end the storyline and go to the next one. Plain and simple. As for the divas or any other wrestlers that are not quite ready for prime time, I would put them through a 3 to 6 month wrestling boot camp. Those who survive go to developmental and continue to learn. Those who don’t survive will hopefully have the heart to continue trying or if not find something else. If any in the locker room doesn’t have the passion for the business, they’re gone. Again, I’m just a wrestling fan. What do I know, right?

Wrestling needs a make-over in the worse way. I do like the youth movement going on in the WWE right now. What I don’t like is Daniel Bryan jobbing for Sheamas. That’s not smart business. Daniel Bryan is over with the crowd and the internet, number one. Number two, he’s one of the best talents you have in the locker room. So why would you have him win the US Title one night, then the next night bury him. What kind of business is that? Dumb, that’s what it is. Btw, with CM Punk on Raw now, WWE would be stupid not to put Punk and Bryan in a feud. I’ll guarantee if given the right freedom, they’d steal the show on any pay-per-view or Monday Night Raw.

TNA is again proving that it is indeed WWE’s graveyard with the signing of Mickie James. I wish Mickie James nothing but the best in TNA, and I’m sure she’ll do well there.

One last thing that needs to be said. FIRE JOHNNY ACE!! FIRE MICHEAL COLE!! That is all.

Thank for reading this lengthy blog. Comment below on what you agree with or disagree with. Share with other wrestling fans.

~Daniel Richerson

First Impression: Job Corps (Hi, I'm back)

2010-10-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

Oofa! Has it really been 2 months since I’ve done the blogging? My fault y’all. I’m going to get back to doing these things on the regular. I did do a blog on wrestling yesterday, but I didn’t post it on here. Here’s the link if you want to read that one: http://bit.ly/ajyOJI

So before I share what’s been going on, let me give a brief history that some of my new readers might not know, and some of my old readers might not remember. I did go to college. I went to college, chose a major that I wasn’t interested in, and some semesters after, I quit. The smart thing would’ve been is to change the major to something that was suitable to enhancing the skills I already had, but I did just the opposite.

Fast forward!! Job corps. As some of you know, I recently went to a meeting to maybe join it. Before the meeting I was hyped up because I was thinking it was going to be awesome. I was going to travel out of state and get some training. I was going to meet some new friends. I was going to possibly meet some of you that I’ve talked to for years online. I was going enhance my skills or find a skill that I’m interested in learning and get a job in that skill and live my life until I die!! I had everybody congratulating me in advance. “Oh, Daniel I have a good feeling about this one!” “Go, Daniel, go!!” *ting*

Ever had a dream or a vision of how something is going to be and then in reality it’s not anything like the dream or vision? Here’s my reality.

So I go up to the place where the meeting was at dressed in slacks and a nice shirt. I had all the stuff I thought I needed in a nice yellow folder thinking how impressed are they going to be, and I walk in! Then I see a young guy around 16-17 wearing a hat, jeans full of holes and a t-shirt with his mom. I see another guy with jeans, and boots on. I sit beside a guy in the waiting room with a long sleeve red shirt on and sneakers. So already I was feeling like I missed a memo. Then I heard that I needed something that I didn’t know I needed. So I walk in with all my stuff in a nice folder, and the fact is I don’t have everything and I’m over dressed. The meeting gets started and it’s like a round table meeting. Basically all who was applying sat a table with the speaker at the head of it. A business meeting like atmosphere. First we watch a video. I’m watching this video and I’m like, hold up! Am I joining a college? They’re talking about staying in dorms with roommates and eating on campus and all that. For up to two years. Remember I didn’t last in college, and that was for a TWO YEAR DEGREE. This is already not looking good. My dream and expectation looked nothing like this.

After the video, the lady running it, starts explaining more about what Job Corps is. She then says that if we don’t say anything and/or ask a question she’s not giving us an application. Okie Dokie. So I don’t say anything the whole time. I can feel some of you right now gasping and saying, “Daniel!” My response, “Ye shall know the truth…” The reason I don’t say anything for one, again, it’s nothing like I expected. Hard work? I expected that. Don’t get me wrong, I was not expecting this to be a cat walk. Another reason I don’t say anything is because I’m listening to all of the other people, and most of them have dropped out of high school. I’m not going to talk bad about them dropping out of high school, so just relax folks. The fact was, I got my high school diploma. I was clean as far as crime goes. I’ve never done drugs. I’ve thought about it, but never did it. I literally felt like I was in a rehab center.

So later on in the meeting, the lady looked at me and said and I quote, “Ask me something.” I didn’t know what to say so I sat and pondered. I didn’t have a question. I didn’t have a statement ready because again none of this was expected. I didn’t know I was in a meeting for basic training, which is what it felt like to me. I didn’t say anything, so she asked me, “Why are you here?” I told her the truth that I’m 23 years old, I don’t want to depend on my parents anymore…blah blah blah. She told me the truth that I looked like a grown man. I don’t know what gave it away; maybe it was the mustache and the beard. Smart woman this one was, but I digress. She told me that if I go through with this, I’d have to go all the way, which I knew and thought I was ready to do.

Anyway, we then get some handouts. Before I go there, we get told what Job Centers are opening. Now, I wanted OUT of familiarity. One center was outside of Ashville, NC. The other center was outside of Orangeburg, SC. Both are 2 ½ hours away. Yikes. Again, not what I expected. Maybe I should stop thinking to much into stuff before actually seeing what it is so I won’t be turned down. Back to the handouts. We get the handouts, and first thing I hear about is Polo shirts and kakis. So now I’m joining a private school. I didn’t say that out loud, but that’s what I was thinking. I don’t mind the khakis but I hate polo shirts with a PASSION. Here’s the allowance: $25 bi-weekly. I get more than that now. Again, not sounding like the dream I was hoping for. Not sounding like what I was praying for. This is sounding like the Army without the exercise and weapons.

I know I know. “Daniel, stop complaining! This is all going to lead to something!” I feel you. I’m with you. Now we get to what I thought would’ve brought me back into accepting to going into this. The occupations offered. Uh…what do I do here? I’m not interested in any of this. “Daniel this is a great opportunity. You have nothing going on. You have no room to complain.” I feel you. I’m with you. You’re right. 100%. Yesterday, I go on the Job Corps website to see if I find something on there that I might be interested in. Uh…

Now I’m stuck. I don’t know what to do. Oh, btw, I forgot to mention that back in college when I chose my major, my mom played a major part. Mom suggested Job Corps to me. I’m not throwing my mom under the bus. For one I love my mom, and I wouldn’t do that to her. She’s just trying to help. Me having nothing going on, I took a shot because it was something.

Back to the meeting, so we get to the point where we fill out the actual application. I haven’t had to write that much cursive since Elementary School. I signed my name so many times. Good Lord! So it came to a point where I had to choose 3 occupations. Remember, I’m not interested in none of this. I have no desire to pursue any of this. So I chose something I might be able to make a go at. Something I’m not that interested in. Remind you of anything? Yeah, this has potential to be a bust!

I know this all sounds like I’m ungrateful. I’m not, ok? I’m not ungrateful. I know and understand that at this point of my life I need to do something. I am 23 years old. I can’t depend on my Mom anymore. I got to come up with something on my own. On the real, I just want God’s will to be done, and if I got to join the Job Corps so be it. I just know, my heart won’t be in it.

Another thing on the meeting, we were told people can’t be trusted. Be careful what you bring, what you put in your locker because people will steal. Turns out there’s a big lesbian epidemic going on at one of the centers. It seems like one cluster after another. Again, I know it seems like I’m ungrateful and complaining. The question comes up, “Ok, Daniel, not this. Then what? Because you got to do something.” Want the honest answer. I don’t know. I do not know. There it is the truth.

I would love to get paid doing something like this. Blogging. Sharing my thoughts like this. I would love one day to write a novel and have it on top of the best seller list. I would love to one day do something musically, weather its sing and/or play drums. I would love an opportunity to work backstage for a wrestling company because I feel I have a great mind for it. A lot of stuff I would love to do. I would love to do a show on stage. Maybe do a stage play. I’m crazy. I don’t have any sense what so ever, and most of y’all know that. I say all that to let y’all know, I have dreams. I have stuff I want to do. And I think it’s good that I just admitted that stuff on here because it lets me know that I am capable of doing something. I have to ask God forgiveness for lying at the Job Corps meeting because I said that I don’t know what I want to do career wise. After all that stuff I just mentioned, it turns out I have a pretty good idea, huh?

I know this is lengthy but again it has been 2 months, so I just wanted to remind some of you and introduce some of you to what I do and what I can do. I was contemplating on rather to post this or not but it’s going up. Obviously you know that because you’re reading it. People are going to take this either way they want to. I can’t control how people feel. People have always either loved or hated my blogs. I’ve got chastised and praised on the same blog. So that comes with the territory.

Continue to pray for me, and please share your thoughts and opinions. I know you got some. Thanks for reading.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

OH, is THAT what they're saying?

2010-08-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at church, the youth minister preached to the young people that are going back to school. He did an awesome job. Minister Wilson, if you’re reading this, it was great. Anyway, in his message he mentions some of the new generation songs and one of the songs I believe was called “Bedrock.” He shared the lyrics and something got to me. I realize the older I get, the more I understand lyrics. I’m a 90’s kid through and through, and I make no apologies for it. I grew up in the boy-band era. We had Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, 98 Degrees, Hanson, etc. Of course there was hip-hop, but I really didn’t get into that until like 6th grade. By that time it was No Limit, Cash Money…

Ok, let me get to the point. The major point of this blog is that you never know what the lyrics of a song actually mean sometimes unless you’ve been there or you’re intelligent enough to understand. Of course you can be intelligent enough but still lack the experience. Like that old song by Brandy called, “Have You Ever.” I always thought it was a pretty song. Nicely put together. Although I never truly understood the lyrics until I literally couldn’t sleep at night because I was in love, or until I literally tried to find the words but they didn’t come out right. Or that old song by the now defunct N’Sync called, “I Drive Myself Crazy.” Again, I liked that song. Yes I liked some of stuff boy-bands put out…sue me. Anyway, I knew the lyrics, word for word, but it wasn’t until that I drove myself crazy loving a girl the way that I did, or I lay awake at night driving myself crazy thinking of a girl.

Ok, let’s take it to church. “I Give Myself Away” by William McDowell. Anybody would say that’s an awesome worship song mainly because people go into God’s presence after hearing it and/or singing it. It’s not until you literally give yourself away, you forget about everything going on in your life, you give all of that up just let God use you that those lyrics mean something. How about this song that says, “When I think of the goodness of Jesus, and all he has done for me, my soul cries out Hallelujah, thank God for saving me.” You know somebody uses that line everyday. Some use it because it’s cliché. Other’s actually think of the goodness of Jesus, and all that He’s done in his or her life, and literally feels a joy inside of them that makes praise comes out their soul.

Sticking with church for a little bit more, this is exactly why it’s good to study the lyrics of songs your sing. No choir should ever sing a song just because it’s hot. A popular song says, “My heart is fixed, my mind’s made up. No room no vacancies, I’m all filled up.” Those words can’t have power when you’re living any kind of way. Live what you’re singing about. That’s a must. “Daniel, you got to live what you’re blogging about.” Yep, you’re right, and I’ll admit right here and now that I haven’t been doing a good job of that lately. I ask for your prayers.

As you comment, name some songs that you didn’t quite get at first until you lived it. Secular and/or church. Thanks for reading.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

Who got your back? (originally written 6/13/10)

2010-06-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

So this past Thursday, I reunited with an old friend that I’ve known since the 3rd grade. This friend bought up another friend of both of ours that back in the day was my manager. To make a long story short about the manager thing, I wrote stories back then and he appointed himself to be my manager. That’s how I’m going to label him in this blog. My old manager.

Back in the day, I guess starting in like the 7th or 8th grade, my manager knew that I liked this girl. He knew that I wrote notes to girls but never gave them out. The main thing I remember my manager saying to me was, “Man, just give it to her!” Of course that didn’t happen. I remember he wrote a note for me to give to a girl, and I still didn’t do it. Sad ain’t it? I didn’t even write the note from me, and I still couldn’t give it away. Anyway, I thought about that because thinking about myself now, I really haven’t changed when it comes to that stuff. I don’t write notes anymore, but when I have the opportunity to open my mouth and say something to the opposite sex, I don’t. Can you imagine where I would be if I would’ve opened my mouth?

What am I saying? Some of the things we don’t have are due to the fact we didn’t open our mouths when we had the chance. We hear it all the time. When praises go up, blessings come down. When praises go up, healing comes down. And so forth and so on. There’s also something we hear all the time that says, “And his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” What I see there is in order for praise to be in your mouth, something has to be spoken. Don’t get me wrong, I know clapping your hands is a form of praise, but some of us live and die by the clapping of our hands and not ever opening your mouth. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord.

My old manager would tell me when I didn’t have the guts to give a girl a note, “Man, just give it to her.” In other words, put some action on your faith boy. Faith without works is dead. What my manager was teaching me was that in order for the note to do the purpose it was written to do, I had let go of all fear, gain confidence and put action on it and give the note away. Some of us lost all faith because of fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of what other people think. Also because of fear, we lose confidence. Deuteronomy 31:6b says in the CEV (Contemporary English Version), “The LORD your God will always be at your side, and he will never abandon you.” Now my manager was a big dude, and I imagine if anything would’ve happened to me while giving away the note, I’m sure he’d have my back. It doesn’t come any bigger than God. With God on your side, there’s no need to lose confidence. In Deuteronomy 31:8, again in the CEV, Moses told Joshua, “The LORD will lead you into the land. He will always be with you and help you, so don’t ever be afraid of your enemies.”

Last Sunday from when I’m currently typing this, I led a song at church called God Is. It’s based from Psalm 73:21-26. One part of the song says, “God is the joy and the strength of my life. He moves all pain, misery, and strife. He promised to keep me. Never to leave me. Never ever fall short of his word!” Nuff said.

Philippians 4:13, “Christ gives me the strength to face anything.” Of course, I didn’t know better back then. I knew the verse, but I didn’t know that we were supposed to apply that. Plus I wasn’t saved then, but either way.

Basically what I’m saying through this blog is that the things we go through in our lives are not for our health. It’s to not only draw us closer to God, but I feel that also it’s to teach us something. Yes I understand the past is behind us. When God steps in your life, your past goes away. The Bible says, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” With all that said, your past is your testimony, and like I said, you didn’t go through your past for nothing. You can help people that are going through the same thing you went through.

Anyway thanks for reading. Comment, share with your friends!

Stay saved.

~Daniel Richerson

I miss...(originally typed 5/31/10)

2010-06-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

It’s going on two weeks since I’ve back home. What’s real sad is that it feels no different from when I left. I feel like I took a step back from going forward. I’ve heard the saying that says, “Sometimes you have to go back to go forward.” Well I feel like I’ve step back so far, the process forward looks to be no where in site. Don’t get me wrong, I’m trying to stay positive, but right now I’m just keeping it real. No pun intended.

One thing I miss is the fellowship. Having fellowship with church family and not being about church. It was just about getting together and talking. Church came up in conversation, but that wasn’t the intent. I think that’s what missing in some churches. There’s no fellowship outside the church. I’m not downing the fact that we all hug, kiss, shake hands after church service to put on the front that we all know each other and get along. I know the act. I’ve been in the game for 23 years now. I’m not going to say I’ve seen it all, but I’ve seen enough. The church is not the building. The church is the people. The building is just a facility used a holding place for the gathering of the people. Ok, now the Bible says, “Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to gather together in unity.” Just because you’re in a clique doesn’t mean you have unity. I understand that there’s no perfect church. As my mom always says, “If you find a perfect church, leave.” Every church has its fault. I’m just saying that there’s nothing wrong with talking to and fellowshipping with each other outside the church sometimes. Going out to eat, and not just eating together after a church service. Now I know that you can’t eat out with everybody at church because well, people can and do work your last nerve. Yes I said it, and you know it’s true. I know we don’t want to admit it because it’s a church and everybody gets along! The devil is lie! Please tell the truth, shame the devil. So let’s get that out the way. You’re not going to be friends with everybody, but I’m going to say this, you should be able to find somebody who you can eat and fellowship with. I hope my point is getting across. Not trying to call out a particular church, I’m just saying what I miss, that’s all. Like I told someone who accused me of talking about her through Twitter, “If you don’t call yourself out, nobody will know.”

Before I go on let me say that on the subject on fellowship that’s something I personally got to work on. Time and time again I was at gatherings, and I wasn’t the most sociable person. I stayed in front of a computer most of time and played music that nobody really listened to anyway. I made it hard on myself. Nobody made it hard for me. People invited me to a part of the conversation, and I passed. Why? The question tonight is why? I’ll tell you why. I labeled myself as a loner some time ago. Once I put that label on me, I made it hard on myself to open up at gatherings. The Bible says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Be careful what you and what you let others label you as. Just saying.

Now, I will say that I miss some people in the two weeks I’ve been away from the mid-west. Amazing that in the almost 6 months I was there, I met some people that made me feel comfortable and wanted more than I’ve ever felt in the almost 20 years I spent…anyway. To those people reading, you know who you are. Thanks for making me feel like I was somebody again. Thanks for making it easy for me to be myself and not forcing a persona just to be accepted. Thanks for showing love. Didn’t say it much, but showing was enough for me.

All right. Thanks for reading. It’s probably a little dated, but I doubt my opinion will change by the time this gets posted. Remember to share your comments and share with your people.

Stay Saved.

Daniel Richerson

Last Blog from the 618...

2010-05-20T21:52:00.000-07:00

Well they say all things must come to an end. And in a few hours, I'll officially be heading back to the 864. Again I repeat this is not how I wanted to end up at first. At first the plan was to move up here, get a job, and probably get settled. But it didn't work out that way. Without going into details, I no longer look at this move as a bad thing. I don't. When I first head that I was going back, I was depressed. That's the bottom line. Now, I'm looking forward to what's in store back in SC.

I look back on my time up here as a learning experience. I once said that my move up here was a waste of time, but it wasn't completely. I learned a lot up here. I met people that I'll never forget. I met people that I hope will remain friends for a life-time. It wasn't all good. It wasn't all bad. I laughed. I cried. I was happy. I was sad. I'm going to take what I learned up here and apply it back in the 864.

A lot has changed in the almost 6 months I've been up here. When I moved up here, I was ready for a change, and in a way, that's happened. So this is it. Goodbye 618, hello 864.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

Where are you going?

2010-05-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

This thought came to me while I was sitting in a Y.P.W.W. session at church tonight. "Can't go somewhere without knowing where you're going." Then the preacher later that night said, "You can't go somewhere unless you know who you are." Now they're plenty of ways I can go with this, but to stay out of trouble, I'm going to talk about me. You've read the blogs, the tweets, and the statuses. You've watched the videos. I'm heading back to South Carolina. I was not to happy about that because in my mind I wanted to stay here in Collinsville, IL. Then I got the offer to go to Kentucky and weigh out my options there. So it's safe to say I'm a confused brotha.

So here's the deal. We as people sometimes base the decision to move somewhere based on the people. If you're at a place where the people work your nerves, you're ready to go. You don't have to pray about it or fast about it. You made up in your mind that a move is the best thing for you. So you move. For the first couple of weeks or months, you're having the time of your life. Things are going great. Doing stuff you didn't do, or didn't have the chance to do at the prior place. You become attracted to females and feel like you've found the one. Keepin It Real here. Then all of the sudden the masks come off so to speak. The true colors come out. You realize that you are as a annoyed as you have ever been in your life. Has that happened to anybody?

Now, the question comes, should we let people dictate our location? Because lets face it, not everyone you run into in your life is bad. Contrary to belief they're are still good people in this world. I mean I know, oh, 3 at the most. I hope y'all get where I'm going. I can't figure out where I want to go. I can't figure out where I want to end up. I think I've made up my mind, and then a couple of instances here and there and I've changed my mind. I do know I need a job. I do know I need to get something going. Don't get me wrong. I love these blogs. I love the podcasts. I love the videos. But as of now, I'm not going paid to do those. Somebody asked me if I had a website and I got paid for the hits. I said not yet, and then I got a please!

What are your thoughts? Have you or do you know anybody in this situation? Leave your comments.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

I'm still laughing...HAHA!!

2010-04-22T06:29:00.000-07:00

Well, folks. I watched a couple of videos debating Kirk Franklin's appearance in the Monique Show about a month ago. One guy got offended that Kirk Franklin was laughing at Monique's jokes which happened to have some cussing in it. Ok, so you're judging a man laughing at something that's funny to him? So am I wrong for laughing at Dave Chappelle? Dave is one of the vulgar dudes out there, and yet I consider him one of my favorite comedians. Family Guy. I love Family Guy. Do they go to far with the Jesus jokes? Yeah they do, but I'd be lying to say that when I'm watching the show and I hear or see something funny, I'm not laughing. Look, if you're like me, funny is funny. I see something funny, I'm going to laugh. Weather it's a joke with a punchline, or if I see somebody slip going up or down the stairs. Now, can I be honest with you people? Most of the so called "clean-Christian" comedians and tv shows are corny. Yes I said it. Some of those shows are dry and corny. I know what some of you are saying. Ephesians 4:29 "Stop all dirty talk. Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what you say." Trust me, I understand. That happens to be one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Now do I think Monique is funny? HECK NAH! I've always thought, and I still do, that Monique is corny. She's never been funny to me. Now like I said before, I like Dave Chappelle. When it comes to vulgarity, Monique and Dave are right there at the same page. So I can't judge Kirk for laughing at Monique. Kirk and I got something in common. We both love music, and we both are clowns. So Kirk laughing at Monique is not surprising. Who am I to say what Kirk is supposed to laugh at? Some of us need to laugh.

Now another thing that people are tripping off of is the fact that Kirk is "conforming." Because Kirk went on a show like the Monique show and laughing at her "vulgar" jokes, he's conforming. Ok. Oh btw, Marvin Sapp was on Good Morning America, and Fred Hammond was on the View. I guess they were conforming too. This guy got on Kirk saying that he was on the Monique show just to sell his CD. Are you faulting the man for that? Yes, Gospel music is a ministry first. But it's still a business. The man gotz to get paid, sir. I know I know, "It's not about money, It's not about fame..." Yes, I like that song, too. But you cannot tell me that if you were in Kirk's shoes, you wouldn't take the opportunity and present your music to the world by going on a "secular" show like the Monique that gets millions of viewers for a chance to sell music. Don't sit there and lie with your religious self. Please don't get me wrong. Romans 12:2 "Don't be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him."

Now I agree with one lady who said that today's Gospel Artist need to get more serious with the Gospel part of the music. I agree whole heartedly. But I'm not going to question ones faith for going on a show and laughing at the jokes. Yes cussing is wrong, but that's what Monique does. That's what Jay Leno, David Letterman, and all them do. Cuss. Yet you've seen the Clark Sister's, Kirk Franklin, and others perform on those type of shows. Now let me throw this in, just because it doesn't reach you doesn't mean it's not reaching people. Stop trying to base facts on how you feel. Me personally, I cannot stand "God In Me" by Mary Mary. I think it's garbage. Now just because it didn't reach me, doesn't mean it didn't reach you.

What am I saying? Just because you can't watch shows like Family Guy and laugh, and I can, doesn't mean you're more saved than I am. We're not all going to like the same music, tv shows, etc. I know some church folk that can't stand Tyler Perry. Yet, I know some church folk that love Tyler Perry. Tyler cusses. He does. But for me to criticize him for cussing, something I used to do a lot, would be foolish. Me to judge his salvation would put me out of place. Tomorrow night as a matter of fact, Mom and I are going to see his latest play, "Madea's Big Happy Family." I'm expecting a great time. Am I going to laugh at jokes that might have some cussing in it? If it's funny, yes I am. Sue me.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

P.S. Just an update from the blog, It's Over. I am going back to SC, but only for 3 weeks, then I'm going to spend some time in Kentucky. Where am I going to end up? I'm hoping it's back in Collinsville. But it's God's will, not mine. Continue to pray for me.

It's over...

2010-04-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

Life as I know it now is done. All that talk about, I don't want to go back to SC. I'm enjoying myself up here. It's all become road kill. As a birthday present, I'm going back to South Carolina. See the reason I moved up here was to get a job and "start my life." In reality, I wrecked my life to the point where I went on a 5 month trip to Collinsville, IL. I've called this a dream. The problem with dreams is that you have to wake up. Come May, I'm waking up. No one to blame but me. I've had the time of my life up here. Met people I'll never forget. Had more fun at church than I've had in years. All that, and I forgot the reason I came up here. On second thought, I didn't forget, I was just looking for a hand out. Word to the kids reading this: Don't look for a handout. Trust me. Not a smart idea. I moved up here and even created an email and renamed my twitter ID with the area code of Collinsville. All that ONLY to not look for a job, not put forth an effort to look for a job...now i'm paying for it. Going back to a place where I will sit on my talent again. I will once again be in an atmosphere that's more depressing than...I will once again be in an atmosphere where I'll be comfortable doing nothing with my life. Why? Cause I didn't do what I was supposed to do the 5 months I was up here. All the laughs, all the conversations, and I didn't do the one thing I was asked to do when I moved up here. So, Ginger, Uncle's coming home.

~Daniel Richerson

Big Dusty vs Daniel Richerson

2010-04-07T00:38:00.000-07:00

I said I was going to blog and I am sirs and ma'ams. Here's the proof. See, what this is? A blog. Wonderful invention it is.

Now you've seen them all. Dondria vs Phaffatt. Magic vs Ervin. Beyonce vs Sasha. I'm sure there's more, where people have like a split personality. Not necessarily a spirit, I don't want to call it that, but more like a persona they put on to hide who they really are. I guess that is considered a spirit, but I'm not trying to make this like a demonic thing. Granted with some people it is demonic. (*coughs* Jay Z *coughs*)

So, Big Dusty vs Daniel Richerson. To me there is a difference. Now just to remind or tell y'all the simple story of how Dusty came to be. I was in the 7th grade sitting in Home Ed, and two boys out the blue started calling me, Dusty. The reason being is that they thought I looked like "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, who is a Hall of Fame professional wrestler from the 80's. So that's basically the origin of Dusty. Years went by, and more and more people started calling me Dusty, so I took it as my own and added the "Big" part to it. When it came time to pick online handles, Big Dusty usually always came to mind. It become it's own persona. Big Dusty was somebody Daniel Richerson could never be. Big Dusty had guts. Big Dusty said what was on his mind and wasn't afraid of the reaction. Daniel Richerson is still this shy kid looking for love and attention.

Through most of the day, 4/6/10, I didn't post a status. Why? Daniel Richerson was lacking attention and wanted it. Big Dusty don't care either way. He'll say just about anything just to say it and not look for a response. Daniel will say something and if the response is negative, hiss heart broken. Very easily at that. The question comes, is Big Dusty a spirit or a different persona I created for myself? A mask in other words. Who do people like better? Who do people love better?

As most of you know, I love pro wrestling. Through the good and the bad, I've watched most of the time. I've heard wrestling personality Eric Bischoff say something like this, "You got to live the character in the ring and out the ring for it to truly work." Question again. With all the deaths that's happened within the wrestling community, could part of the reason be that the character took over the true persona and the performer didn't know how to control it?

Big Dusty is just a character. Daniel Richerson is the person behind the mask. It's almost like the Sherman Klump/Buddy Love type of thing with me, except Big Dusty is not evil.

I use Skype, btw add me: danrich618 , and I posted this status before I went to bed last night. "On Twitter/Facebook, I'm Big Dusty. In real life I'm Daniel Richerson. Daniel Richerson needs some growing to do. Big Dusty is there already." This really was the origin of the day break I took and the origin for this blog.

I recently got a new nick name, Double X L. I don't know who he is yet. Hopefully he's a good guy. I've heard it said that if you're called something enough, you start to believe and become it. Be careful what you call somebody because somebody with low confidence will take it and run with it. The Bible says that the power of life and death lies on the tongue.

Continue to keep me in your prayers. I surely need it.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty

April Fools...why is this a holiday?

2010-04-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

I've been out spoken on how I hate April Fools day. One reason being is the fact that I'm easy. I don't like being got. I take it to seriously. Anybody else like that? I looked up the history and it goes hundreds of years back apparently. Either way, my opinion, I put this day up there with Valentines Day. Waste of time. People play pranks on each other every day. People show love to their significant other everyday. Why oh why do they need a holiday? What, to do it "bigger and better than ever?" Give me a break. I may sound like a hater, well...

Well that's it. Can't think of nothing else. Bye!

~ Daniel Richerson

P.S. I hate the new YouTube layout. HATE IT!!

Ramble Dusty Ramble!!

2010-03-18T22:42:00.000-07:00

Well hi! Sorry to my blog readers for the long hiatus. Didn't have anything to write or blog about. If I did think about something, I did a podcast. So for this one I'm just going to wing it. For those looking for something deep, check out the other ones. This one, most likely, won't be deep at all, but who's to say I won't drop nuggets here and there. We shall see. LLLLLLLLLLLLLets go!

Let me talk about my time up here in the Mid-West so far. I will admit that there's been up and downs. My body has felt it. I got a good feelings things are looking up for me though. Spiritually they're looking up, and still hoping for that job as soon as I get off my fluffy butt and look for one. In case you haven't figured it out, or if you just want me to come out and say it, here it is. The same thing I was doing in my last few years in South Carolina, I've basically been doing here in Collinsville, IL. Am I proud of that? No. Now when I say the same thing, I mean as far as job goes. Everything else has been AWESOME!! I do miss Fatz though. Great place. So yeah, lets hope that the job will get going like it's supposed to. I'm going to say this, and I truly mean it. I do not want to move back to South Carolina. I especially don't want to move back to South Carolina with nothing to show. Know what I'm sayin?

Relationship wise. What's going on with that? You just read that I had no job. You figure that one out.

Ok I took a break. As if y'all know or want to know that. Either way, I am back to finishing the blogging of which I started. Make sense? Good.

I really got to push myself to work on this story. It's a good story so far in my opinion. Not only because I'm writing it, ok well that is part of the reason, but I think it's the story line is good. I always like to write stories as if I'm the character and I'm in a particular situation. Anyway, I know God gave me a gift to write, and don't get me wrong, I love writing blogs, but I always wanted to write a story and have it published, you know? Like be that guy on the best seller list. I believe it can happen. But for it to happen at all, I got to get to work. Yes I KNOW i need a job, but I still want to work on this story. I will get it moving again. Y'all read it here. If you see me not working on the story, we'll post a dailybooth picture to prove that me and you really met.

Am I the only one that can't listen to Kim Burrell anymore? I literally can't get myself to enjoy her singing. Ever since I heard about that new album, I was like bump that! It may seem wrong to some of you reading this, but I just don't agree with the fact that she's an assistant pastor, and national leader in the COGIC, and yet has a secular album in the works. AND the fact that Kim Burrell has support from other leaders in the COGIC. To each is his own, but as for me, Kim Burrell in my ears? Not if I can help it. Praise the Lord.

I know this wasn't the most structured blog, but it's all I got for this one, k? k. Thanks for reading. Show your love. Comment. Share your thoughts.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

I feel for Chile and Haiti, but...

2010-02-27T09:12:00.000-08:00

Matthew 24:6-8 says, "You will soon hear about wars and threats of wars, but don't be afraid. these things will have to happen first, but that isn't the end. Nations and kingdoms will go to war against each other. People will starve to death, and in some places there will be earthquakes. But this is just the beginning of troubles." Chile got hit with a massive earthquake. And there's rumors for a tsunami to hit Hawaii. But the Bible says these things will happen before Jesus returns. So as my favorite wrestling faction, D-Generation X, asks all the time, "Are you ready?" Now I'm not going to be foolish and say that Jesus is coming back on this certain date or that certain date, but I will say that He's definitely on his way back. I feel for the people of Haiti and Chile, but the Bible says don't be afraid. I guess what I'm saying is, us believers should be celebrating. Jesus is returning soon! Some of you reading that don't know better are going to bad mouth me and say something like, "Why should we celebrate people's lives being taken away by the weather?" Like I said, I feel for the people affected by it. The reason we're celebrating is because the Bible is right. The Bible is true. We're celebrating because we're, at least those of us that are saved, are going to be soon be caught up to meet him in the air. I pray that this is a wake up call to all the lazy saints. I pray that this is a wake up call for people contemplating salvation. Now one reason that we all should be celebrating is because we're breathing. Psalm 150:6 says, "Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD." How can that be said any plainer? You're breathing. You're alive. So...

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

Genuine love

2010-02-19T07:26:00.000-08:00

Genuine love. dc Talk put a song out that is called, "Luv Is a Verb." Specifically, love is an action verb. That's important to know. Is anybody like me? Sick of hearing loved talked and not showed? I understand that it's important to let the people you love know that you do love them. I have no problem with that at all. My problem is when Love is said but never done. 1 Corinthinans 13:4-5 says, "Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud, or rude. Love isn't selfish or quick tempered. It doesn't keep a record of wrongs that others do." If you love somebody, you got to learn of to forgive and let go. Don't do what some church people do and hold stuff over peoples head like you've been perfect. That's not love.

1 John 4:8 says, "God is love, and anyone who doesn't love others has never known him." Wow. The 10th verse says, "Real love isn't our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven." John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Now check out this verse. Back in 1 John 4:20. "But if we say we love God and don't love each other, we are liars. We cannot see God. So how can we love God, if we don't love the people we can see." That'll preach huh?

There's an old song that says, "Looking for love in all the wrong places." I quoted the verse that says, God is love. So what are you waiting for? We all got a testimony, and some are more tragic than others. Some of us live or have lived the type of life that makes it hard to accept love from anybody. That's why we have to be careful to judge people because we don't know their story. It irks me when people judge by the cover or where a person is from. Stop it. You ain't perfect either. I'm learning myself that even though people don't show love to you, you still got to show love to them. 2 wrongs don't make a right.

Y'all stay saved,

Daniel Richerson

Lust

2010-02-05T11:37:00.000-08:00

Lust is defined as intense sexual desire or appetite, or it can mean a passionate or overmastering desire or craving. If there's one thing hurting the Christian men today is lust. Why is that? Why do you think that is? Is it the fact that because we're saved and filled with the holy ghost that we're immune to lust? Or we're immune to messing up?

Look at David from the Bible. The Bible says that David was a man after God's own heart. With all that said, if you read in 2 Samuel Chapter 11, David had sex with Bathsheba who was married to Uriah. Bathsheba got pregnant. David tried to hide this by telling Uriah to go home and sleep with Bathsheba. Uriah didn't do it, so David being the King put Uriah in position to get killed. Note again, this is the same David that was a man after God's own heart. So then you get to Chapter 12, still in 2 Samuel, and God was angry with David. So He sent a prophet, Nathan, to tell David a story. Starting at verse 1 and going to verse 4, in the CEV, it says, "A rich man and a poor man lived in the same town. The rich man owned a lot of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had only one little lamb that he had bought and raised. The lamb became a pet for him and his children. He even let it eat from his plate and drink from his cup and sleep on his lap. The lamb was like one of his own children. One day someone came to visit the rich man, but the rich man didn't want to kill any of his own sheep or cattle serve it to the visitor. So he stole the poor man's little lamb and served it instead." Now, David was furious at the rich man. Then Nathan nailed him. Starting at verse 6, "Then Nathan told David: You are that rich man! Now listen to what the LORD God of Israel says to you: 'I chose you to be the king of Israel. I kept you safe from Saul and even gave you his house and his wives. I let you rule Israel and Judah, and if that had not been enough, I would have given you much more. Why did you disobey me and do such a horrible thing? You murdered Uriah the Hittite by having the Ammonites kill him, so you could take his wife. Because you wouldn't obey me and took Uriah's wife for yourself your family will never live in peace. Someone from your own family will cause you alot of trouble, and I will take your wives and give them to another man before your very eyes. He will go to bed with them while everyone looks on. What you did was in secret, but I will do this in the open for everyone in Israel to see.'" What's done in the dark, comes to the light. Lust caused David to lose a child. The child he made with Bathsheba. Lust don't care how big you are or how small you are. You let lust take control, it will. No questions asked.

1 Corinthians 6:12-20, Paul said, "Some of you say, 'We can do anything we want to.' But I tell you that not everything is good for us. So I refuse to let anything have power over me. You also say, 'Food is meant for our bodies, and our bodies are meant for food.' But I tell you that God will destroy them both. We are not supposed to do indecent things with our bodies. We are to use them for the Lord who is in charge of our bodies. God will raise us from death by the same power that he used when he raised our Lord to life. Don't you know that your bodies are part of the body of Christ? Is it right for me to join part of the body of Christ to a prostitute? No it isn't! Don't you know that a man who does that becomes part of her body? The Scriptures say, 'The two of them will be like one person.' But anyone who is joined to the Lord is one in spirit with him. Don't be immoral in matters of sex. That is a sin against your own body in a way that no other sin is. You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no longer your own. God paid a great price for you. So use your body to honor God."

Wow. That said a lot right there. Just the simple fact that our bodies are a temple should make something click to say, "Hold up. I can't degrade this temple for a few minutes." But some of us men are like the first verse of the song "Love Lifted Me," which says, "I was sinking deep in sin very far from the peaceful shore. Very deeply stained within sinking to rise no more..." I think sometimes the simplicity of the Word throws us off. Meaning that we look at the simplistic view of it, that we don't care to apply it. That's where trouble happens. Now I know this is not just a male thing. I'm sure it happens in the female community as well. I'm using male because so many male Gospel artists have fell into the trap of lust. Some of us regular men have fell in the same trap. The only difference is the Gospel artists got caught.

For those who have fell in the trap, and are in the trap of lust, Galatians 5:16-26 says, "If you are guided by the Spirit, you won't obey your selfish desires. The Spirit and your desires are enemies of each other. They are always fighting each other and keeping you from doing what you feel you should. But if you obey the Spirit, the Law of Moses has no control over you. People's desires make them give in to immoral ways, filthy thoughts, and shameful deeds. They worship idols practice witchcraft, hate others, and are hard to get along with. People become jealous, angry, and selfish. They not only argue and cause trouble, but they are envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild parties, and do other evil things as well. I told you before and I am telling you again: No one who does these things will share in the blessings of God's kingdom. God's Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind,good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways. And because we belong to Christ Jesus, we have killed selfish feelings and desires. God's Spirit has given us life, and so we should follow the Spirit. But don't be conceited or make others jealous by claiming to be better than they are."

I'm not trying to throw stones here. I'm just saying that none of us are perfect. For all have sinned, right? The problem is we put people on such a platform that when or if they fall, we don't forgive them. Nobody is perfect. In order to follow the Spirit, you have to have the Spirit. In other to have the Spirit, you have to be saved. What must I do to be saved? Believe. Acts 16:31 says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” I heard recently that all confession means is agreeing. You agree that you were sinning. You agree with God that Jesus died on the cross and so forth. To those who have the Spirit. Follow it. You have to make the decision, "You know what Satan. The Lord rebuke you in the name of Jesus. I'm following Jesus today. I've decided to make Jesus my choice." Now if you do mess up, go to God for the forgiveness. God will forgive you.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

I couldn't leave this alone...

2010-01-28T09:22:00.000-08:00

Really, I know I should probably back off from this subject but I can't help it. I love Gospel Rap, and I hate when ignorant people say that it can't be used. Here's my thing. You say it's demonic. You say it's no good. You figure since it's rap, they're automatically doing the same thing all the other "big named" rappers are doing. So when we dance in church, automatically, we're of the devil. Automatically we're in the clubs having an orgy with our clothes on because dancing is in the church. We sing in the church, so automatically we're talking about sex. Automatically we're cussing and drinking and having sex outside of marriages. That's what other singers do, so obviously singers that do it for God are doing the same thing. (Granted, some are, but that's not the point of this.)

The same people that say you don't have to stop dancing when you get saved, you just changed partners...say that you can't rap in church. It is written, "Use your gift to the glory of God." So what you saying is, when a person that raps gets saved and full with the holy ghost, they can't use they're gift of rap? But when somebody is a singer and they get saved, automatically, we want them to put out a Gospel album. I can't count how many times I've heard people say, "Jennifer Hudson needs to do Gospel." Automatically we want the best singers to do Gospel. I said in a past blog that salvation is an inside job. It's not the music that's bad people. It's the inside of the person that's doing the music. If the person is of the devil then the music is going to be...hello?

Ok, so you listen to rap when you weren't saved, now that you are saved, you say, "I can't listen to rap anymore." Well bless your heart. I'm not going to fault you for that. But let me say this, just because it didn't reach you, don't mean that it can't be reached to reach other people. (Preach Daniel!) When I was in high school, I had friends that listened to hip-hop that couldn't stand rock. I also had friends that listen to rock that couldn't stand hip-hop. So people are not going to like what you like. You may like the Canton Spirituals. I for one wouldn't pay a penny to hear them. But that's just me. The Canton Spirituals is obviously not meant to reach a person like me, but that doesn't mean they can't and haven't reached other people.

I heard somebody say that he doesn't like Tye Tribbett because he jumps around on stage like the secular artists do. So we can dance in the church because we "changed partners." We can sing in the church because we "changed partners." But how dare you have fun on church and get the crowd into it because the world does that. Uh...excuse me. The world dances and sings. Gotcha biscut as my little sister would say.

Come on people think. That's all I'm saying think. Wisdom is a heck of a thing if you use it. Every Gospel is not meant to reach you! Just because it's not reaching you doesn't mean it's of the devil!! I couldn't stand country in the world, so why would I listen to Gospel country? It's not meant to reach me. It's not for me, but that doesn't mean that somebody that's into country that's not saved, can't get saved by Gospel country. Y'all don't hear me...

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

Confidence

2010-01-25T06:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, so this past Sunday at church, or for you dated readers 1/24/10, the first lady, got me up to the front to sing "How Great is Our God" lightly during altar call. For one let me say, that I hate singing lightly. To me, if I got to sing light, I might as well hum. Anyway, I started out singing, and I didn't realize the mic was off. So I turned the mic on, and started singing, and I saw expressions change. I got through it, and that was that. But for some reason, when mom and I headed to the car to go home, my mood changed for the worse. I felt like my joy was gone away just that quick. At first I thought it was that I was rubbing people the wrong way. Which is something I never want to do. I understand that not all people is gonna like me, but I don't want to purposely give them a reason. Talked with mom and tears were shed. (Side Note: BTW, if anybody on Earth has the spirit of discernment, it's a true mother. For some odd reason, they always see through you.)Later that night, I was watching, don't judge me, Alvin and The Chipmunks. As they were singing, I realized what my problem was. It wasn't the fact that I was worried about rubbing people the wrong way, although that didn't help. It was the fact that I've never really been confident in my voice. I'm confident I can play drums, and write like this, but singing is something I just can't get confident in.

Deuteronomy 31:8 say, "And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed." Another word for dismayed is discouraged. With the Lord with me, I should've been confident in the gift He gave me in the first place. Doubt is a heck of a drug.

Psalm 73:26 says, "My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." This is the problem of singing to the crowd and not singing to God. You forget that God is the strength that gave you your voice in the first place, so you choke and can't figure out why.

Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." What's sad? Most of us know that verse by heart, but don't take time to apply it and believe it. We don't think about this while we feel under pressure.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Now we had just talked about that in Sunday School that morning. Crazy how we read the Bible, but don't apply it. (Preach Daniel)

If you read Philippians 4:13 in the CEV, it says, "Christ gives me strength to face anything." It is written in the Bible that nothing is to hard for God. I have to accept the fact that God gave me this voice that I have. You have to accept God gave you your gift, and he also provides you with strength to face any negative situation you might be in. Now I said that I felt like my joy was taken out. You let the devil steal your joy, you feel weak. That's why the song says, "Don't let the devil steal your joy. Joy in the Lord." Notice I said let. All the power the devil has, you give it him. Simple is that. Jesus said that all power is given unto him. So the devil has no power, unless you give him some over you.

1 John 3:20-21 say, "For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God." That says it all right there. God is greater than our problems. He's greater than our feelings or heart. When they say, take it to the Lord and leave it there, they know that God is greater than the it. Put your confidence or full trust in God, and He'll take care of you. Some how or another, I forgot that.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

Grace and Mercy

2010-01-18T17:16:00.000-08:00

Romans 3:24 (CEV) says, "But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins." I don't know about you, but as I like to say, that'll preach right there. Grace and mercy. Grace is favor or good will. Mercy is compassion. Grace and mercy is the reason we wake up in the morning after we've sinned the night/morning before. James 1:15 (CEV) says, "Our desires make us sin, and when sin is finished with us, it leaves us dead." We also know that it is written in the Bible that, "The wages of sin is death." Everyone who is reading this should've been dead, but because of God's grace and mercy, He allows us to wake up every morning. And like I said in an earlier post, Lamentations 3:39-40 (CEV) say, "We're still alive! We shouldn't complain when we are being punished for our sins. Instead, we should think about the way we are living, and turn back to the Lord." Most of us have heard the song Amazing Grace. Think about the words. "Amazing grace/how sweet the sound/the saved a wretch/like me." A wretch is a miserable, unfortunate, or unhappy person. All of us have been there, and those of us who have accepted Jesus in our lives, know that it was by His grace. There's an old song that says, "Your grace and mercy brought me through. I'm living this moment because of You. I want to thank You, and praise You too. For Your grace and mercy brought me through." Another song says, "Where would I be, if not for Your grace carrying me through every season?" This is personal to me. I know I've done stuff not that long ago, and I mean that, and when I wake up the next morning it's like, "Somebody is praying for me. Thank you God for grace and mercy." So don't take the fact that you're still living after your sins for granted. The reason you're still living, is because God is giving you another chance to turn back to Him. He your savior wants to be, be saved today!!

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

DJ Official "EnterMission

2009-12-28T08:18:00.000-08:00

Entermission the debut album from DJ Official available in stores now!.

After producing for over 10 years and serving as traveling deejay, Official finally has the opportunity to reveal the dynamic of his skill-set on one project. The album is purposed to influence Christians to think about the Great Commission (Matt 28:19) and the Great Commandment (Luke 10:27) on a local level. As Christians we have a personal mission field, which consist of those that God has placed in our sphere of influence. With a missional mindset we can affect the people around us with the Gospel message by the way we live and conduct ourselves in our everyday walk. This is a message that needs to be heard and with everything from Reggae, Downsouth, East Coast, Commercial, Underground, Electro, and Rock/Hipster featured on the album there is something for everyone!

EnterMission features over 20 artists such as Lecrae, Flame, Sho Baraka, JR, Tedashii, Trip Lee, R-Swift, Thi'sl, Jahaziel, and more! Every single track on EnterMission is produced by DJ Official.

To buy it on iTunes, click here

To order the physical album, go here

You can listen to the singles, read about the album, and create your own version of the album cover here

There are three versions to choose from:

Just because you're not used to it, doesn't make it evil

2009-12-23T07:08:00.000-08:00

One night I couldn't sleep and this is what I put down:

It's about 1:32 in the morning. I probably should be sleep, but I couldn't because I kept hearing this in my head. Why are some of us scared of branching out from our comfort zone? Back when T.V. first came out, the world embraced it while the church was afraid so automatically it was a sin to watch it. It was the devil. Besides seeing it as a way to spread the Gospel to people that probably wasn't ever going to go to church, they decided to judge it because it broke away from tradition. In the Bible, Matthew 14:22-33, Jesus walked on water. Verse 26 in the CEV says, "When they saw him, they thought he was a ghost. They were terrified and started screaming." The disciples thought Jesus was a ghost because He was walking on water during a storm. They didn't know how to react so they immediately said that it was evil. I've heard it said that what the devil meant for evil, God can turn it around for your good.

Back in the day, T.V. was considered evil. Now what do we have? T.B.N., The World Network, The Gospel Music Channel, etc that spreads the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. Also back in the day, it was considered a sin to go to the movies, again not seeing the value of telling a story to change lives. We strive to be like Jesus, or we say we do right? Jesus used parables. Parables is defined a short simple story from which a moral lesson may be drawn. So Jesus used stories to bring his point across, right? So why not use movies to preach the Gospel to people that may not walk into the four walls of a building with a steeple? Tyler Perry, T.D. Jakes, and others are doing it. Yet movies are of the devil?

Now to the subject close to my heart, music. Anybody that know me, know that I have a passion for music, and music is a controversial topic in churches. If its not of the "traditional," it's not welcome. I love the so called "traditional" songs. I was raised on them. But years ago a genre of music started called hip-hop. The church is in an uproar about it still today. Hip-hop is different from any other genre, and the church don't know how to embrace it, so they're scared and automatically its of the devil because it's different. They say the origin of hip-hop is demonic, and it can't be used to spread the Gospel, right? There's a person in the Bible by the name of Paul, but before he was Paul, he was Saul. Saul persecuted the followers of Jesus. Acts 9:1-31, Saul got converted to Paul and became a leading missionary. What the devil meant for evil...So Paul's origin didn't stop him. Yet God can't use hip-hop because of it's origin? No, it has to be something else.

So because they don't understand it, it's bad. We are so caught up in what we call tradition, that a generation is passing by because we're afraid of the culture. Lets say you wanted to witness to Japanese people and you only spoke Spanish. That most likely is not going to work. You have to become all things to all men that you might save them, right? Speaking Spanish to a Japanese speaking person is not going to go over because he doesn't understand. This hip-hop generation doesn't understand the C.O.G.I.C. Hymnal. You have to put the Gospel in a way for them to get it. But you don't see Gospel rap in the church because the traditionalist see it as "watering down the Gospel," and the only reason they see it that way is because they're afraid and don't understand hip-hop. They don't understand it so automatically it's evil. It's of the devil.

Acts Chapter 10, Peter was sitting on the roof to pray and he got hungry. He fell asleep and had a vision. Heaven opened up and a huge sheet fell that had animals, snakes, and birds. A voice said to him to rise, kill, and eat. Peter then said, paraphrasing, "How can I when it's unclean?" Peter was raised under the Law of Moses which taught that some foods were not fit, or clean, to eat. But then the voice said, again paraphrasing, "What God calls clean, don't you call unclean." Then you go down to verse 28 (KJV), "And he said unto them, Ye know that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean." Verse 34 and 35 (KJV), "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." Verse 42 and 43 (CEV) say, "God told us to clarify to the people that Jesus is the one he has chosen to judge the living and the dead. Every one of the prophets has said that all who have faith in Jesus will have their sins forgiven in his name."

I hear all the time that there's no God in hip-hop. Back in the day they said there's no God in T.V., or there's no God in the theaters. What the devil meant for evil, God can turn it around for our good. There's nothing new under the sun. What these traditionalist don't understand is that they are doing the same thing their elders did to them. This is where wisdom comes in. Wisdom, or common sense, will tell you that times change. The style of clothing has and will continue to evolve. Music as well. The word of God is the same and will be the same forever. The Word says that only Jesus can judge. The Bible also says, "With loving kindness have I drawn them." Love and kindness. Salvation is not in music, it's not in the clothes. As the late great Bishop G.E. Patterson once preached, "Salvation is an inside job." Search for it on youtube, it'll speak to you, I promise. Anyway, Salvation comes with belief in your heart that Jesus died on the cross for your sins. All this judging we do as the church, and we have no heaven or hell to put anybody in. Jesus saves. Not us. It's that simple. Who are we to say that God can't use hip-hop? He uses you don't he? Because of Adam we were all born into sin. God saved you from your sins, and the same mouth you used to speak death is now speaking life through the grace of God.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

Nothing serious, just me

2009-12-15T07:25:00.000-08:00

What's up? The past few blogs have been more serious note, but I just thought that I come to you on the regular tone. As some of you know, I'm moving to Collinsville, IL. For those who don't know, SURPRISE! Actually that's the reason I got a haircut in the first place. I'm looking for this move to be a fresh start for me. I don't want to go to a new place with old baggage. That'll preach huh? Anyway I started packing already and I'm almost done actually. BTW the move is gonna happen the beginning of next year. So you can say that 2010 is gonna be a new year and a new start for me. Now I don't know if this move is gonna be a good change or a bad change, but it's a change I'm looking forward to. I spent most of my life here in SC, and I've really become lazy. I think a move to a new place could really be the umph I need to get off my fluffy butt and do something. Plus I'm going to be with my moms, and she isn't gonna let me be lazy, or she'll send me back here. In all honesty, I don't want that to happen

Now I said that I don't want to go up to a new place with old baggage. So to all that is reading this, which I'm hoping is a lot of people, I forgive you, and I hope you forgive me. I wrote a blog on forgiveness and I used the verse where it says that if we don't forgive others, God won't forgive us. Let me talk about that a little bit. I didn't want this blog to be serious, but either way. Forgiveness. When God forgives you, he gives you a clean slate right? We say we strive to be like God. Back in the 90s there was a fad going around with people wearing bracelets with W.W.J.D., which meant What Would Jesus Do? He forgives and chooses not to remember, right? So why is it, when we say we forgive, we still hold it over that person's head? They asked for forgiveness. They admitted their fault, and have repented. Yet we hold it over them for the rest of their lives. I don't know, it just doesn't make sense to me.

For those that are wondering I'm still writing as far as stories go. I'm not posting it like I did with others because, well, wouldn't it be tight if I could get them published? Also with the move, it'll give me a chance to come back with the Podcasts!! I haven't done one since April, ain't that something? So I got a LOT to cover, and trust me, I will. Get ready!

I got a new video in the works, and I think it's going to be crazy awesome. I can't wait to finish recording the clips and get to editing it. Also the move will get me a chance to post more videos. Better than ever.

Haven't been able to watch sports lately, so I really have no true idea of what's going on, except what people post on Twitter/Facebook. I watch shows on V Cast mostly. I've become a big fan of The Office and The Cleveland Show. The Cleveland Show grew on me because the first few episodes were horrible in my opinion, but like I said it has grown on me.

So that's what I got going on at the moment. I wasn't even going to type this. I was getting ready to watch a DVD and be lazy until lunch time came along, but aren't you glad I didn't? Yes, I know. Alright, so y'all be good. Facebook it. Twitter it. btw, I'm going to delete my MySpace as soon as I can. I mean, what's the use anymore?

Stay Saved,

Big Dusty aka Daniel Richerson

God chose you, but what are you choosing to do?

2009-12-05T11:22:00.000-08:00

Many are called, but few are chosen. We hear and quote it all the time. Some of us have been prophesied to with the ministers saying, "You have been chosen by God..." Ok, so you know that, but are you choosing to do what you have been chosen by God to do? In high school, or school in general, I was assigned projects, but most of the time I CHOSE, key word, I CHOSE not to do it. What happened? I got an F. The class didn't end because of it. The teacher gave me the assignment and gave me the freewill to do it or not. The teacher didn't infringe on my free will. Now God gives us all assignments. He tells us what to do, and what not to do on that assignment. Then it's our choice to do it, or suffer the consequences.

In 1 Kings 13, this un-named prophet, had an assignment. He was told to eat no bread, drink no water, and don't return to Judah the same way he got to Bethel. No that wasn't the whole assignment, but I'm using that part of it to make my point. This prophet was met by an old prophet that claimed an angel of the Lord said go with him and eat bread and drink water. The old prophet was lying. The prophet from Judah went with the old prophet and did eat bread and drink. So while they were eating and drinking, the LORD spoke to the old prophet and said because the prophet from Judah disobeyed, he wasn't going to be buried in the family cemetery, which was a big deal back then. So when that prophet was on his way home, he was met by a lion that killed him. God warned him not to eat bread or drink water, but because he decided to believe the first thing a old prophet said, he got himself killed. What the prophet should've done is go to God for himself and ask what he should do. (Side Bar: Everyone who says their sent by God, may not always be sent by God.)

Noah was told to build an ark for him and his family to keep them safe from the floods. The ark was built, and they were safe. When you do what you're told to do, you get rewarded. That's common sense. There's a lot of examples in the Bible of consequences of the choices that were made, good and bad. Choices begin with your mind. You make the decision to choose right or wrong. Most of us, know the difference between right and wrong. You got to want to do right, then you have to choose to do right. Some of us want to do right, but yet choose to do wrong, and wonder why there's no peace. Change starts at the mind, then you gotta put action on it. William Shakespeare said this, "The choices we make, dictate the lives we lead." The choice is yours.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

You're still breathing!

2009-11-13T07:35:00.000-08:00

I was looking through the C.O.G.I.C. Hymnal the other day because one of the hymns has become one of my favorites to sing, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness." The verse it's based on is Lamentations 3:22-23 which says, (CEV) "The LORD's kindness never fails! If he had not been merciful, we would have been destroyed. The LORD can always be trusted to show mercy every morning." While reading that, I thought to myself why not read the whole chapter, and I did. When I got to verses 39-40, it said this, "We're still alive! We shouldn't complain when we are being punished for our sins. Instead, we should think about the way we are living, and turn back to the Lord." That'll preach.

We sing a song, or used to sing a song, that says, "God's not dead. He's yet alive!" People would shout on that. Here's something else you can shout on: You're not dead. You're yet alive! What am I trying to say? God could've took you out in your sin, but you're still here. So while you're breathing, you have another chance to "turn back to the LORD." Then you can sing the third verse of "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" which says, "Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth. Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide. Strength for today and bright hopes for tomorrow - Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!"

Another song I love, that is also based out of Lamentations chapter 3, says, "As I look back over my life I can see how Your love is guiding me. Even though I've done wrong you've never left me alone, but you forgave me, and your kept on blessing. This I recall to my mind therefore I have hope. It's because of Your mercies that we are not consumed. Because thy compassions fail not, they are new ever morning. Great is thy faithfulness."

Now sometimes you're not being punished for your sins. You're going through tests and trials, but you're still living. So you still got a a reason to shout. Psalm 150:6 says (CEV), "Let every living creature praise the LORD. Should praises to the LORD!" I heard my pastor say this. He said, "Death is just a doorway for the saints." That's true, but what if you're not a saint? Then death is a doorway to eternal torment. So while you're breathing, "think about the way you're living and turn back to the LORD."

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

Forgiveness

2009-10-06T11:54:00.000-07:00

If you have ever watched anything connected with Tyler Perry, rather its his movies, T.V. Shows, or his plays, one of the messages you can definitely find is forgiveness. Webster defines "forgive" to mean to give up resentment against or the desire to punish; to stop being angry with. I know of people that hadn't forgiven people that's died and gone on. Now the Bible says in Matthew 6:14-15, "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." By those two verses alone, you see it's important that you forgive others.

If Joseph's brothers, after all he went through, what excuse do we have? Joseph's brothers were jealous of him because "Israel loved Joseph more than all his children." (Genesis 37:3) Most of this brothers wanted Joseph killed. They even sold Joseph. After all that Joseph forgave them. Some of us can't even forgive someone for stepping on our toe. We must have a forgiving spirit. Specifically for your enemies. Proverbs 25:21-22 says, "If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his heard, and the Lord shall reward thee." In other words, you're killing with kindness, and by doing that, you can cause a change in your enemy's life.

That last part of Jeremiah 31:34 says, "...saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." Yet when some of us "forgive" somebody we hold it over their head. Some of us really got to learn to let stuff go. God forgives and forgets, why can't we? Some of us really got to learn the value of patience when we forgive. For the most part, people are not going to change overnight. Ecclesiastes 7:9 says, "Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: For anger resteth in the bosom of fools" That is where wisdom comes in. Having wisdom gives you patience. We don't like being called fools, so stop being one. I know from personal experience that holding in anger causes sleepless nights. It causes you not to be comfortable in your own home, or in your own church. Stop letting what other people did to you keep you from moving on with your life.

We all know about the Taylor Swift/Kanye West situation. Despite what Kanye did, Taylor has to forgive and move on, or it will eat away at her career. She probably has already, I don't know, but I'm just saying. For me to move on with my life, I got to forgive all the people that's ever talked down on me. I got to forgive everybody that's broke my heart. I believe that if one does not learn to forgive, it can lead to the grave. There's no need going to the grave holding grudges. You have a life ahead of you, and forgiveness is an important step to living.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

If We Would Just Give God His Time....

2009-08-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

You know sometimes, we go to church expecting to get out a certain time. We go to church expecting the usual things to happen. We go to church ready to go home and catch the game on TV. We go to church because it's a ritual. But...What if we would go to church with the purpose of praising and worshiping God? What if we went to church and the spirit of the Lord is showing himself strong, and we actually let the spirit move besides having to follow the ritual order of service? What if we actually let go and let God and stop using it as just another quote? I believe some of us got too contemporary, meaning we look for inspiration and not substance. Can you imagine if people would come to church not for the performance and actually let the Holy Ghost move? We've made church a ritual where we come to church at 11 in the morning then we get out at 1 in the afternoon. Wednesday nights, we come to church at 7 and get out at 8:30 or 9. We shed a few tears, then we come home saying God moved, but no substance is getting in. We always talk about how church used to be, well, what's wrong with us? Back in the day, people would actually work the altar and people got delivered, filled with the Holy Ghost, healed, etc. They would stay at church for hours, not just to do it, but they were praising and worshipping God, getting saved, getting filled with the Holy Ghost, and wasn't doing it for show. We got to get back to letting God be God, and not let God move for 10 minutes then move on because we got to follow the program. Sometimes we got to throw the program out. People are hungry to get saved. People are hungry to be filled with the Holy Ghost, but what are we as the church feeding them?

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

Breaking Generational Patterns

2009-07-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

Remember when you said, "I don't want to be like my parents?" Then all of the sudden you find yourself slowly following the same pattern of your parents habits, specifically bad habits. Lets just say that one of your parents had bad money spending habits. You say to yourself that you'll never be that bad. Then you take a look at your wallet and you realize that you're doing the exact thing you said you wouldn't do. I think now is the time to break the pattern. We should all strive to be better than our parents or whoever is raising you. It's crazy some of us know that, yet we're still stuck in the pattern.

A lot of us know how to talk, but we can't walk. Heck, some of us can't even crawl. It's time to start crawling. We've talked a good talk for too long, but because we haven't done anything but talk, nothings being accomplished. For example, I've said for weeks that my room needs to be cleaned, but I spend most of my time watching DVD's or playing my PS2. So, you guessed it, my room still isn't cleaned. Some of us say we need to pray, but we still stay depressed and let life beat us down. Some of our spiritual lives are so dirty, and we know we have to get back to the Bible, but we're still being Sunday Christians.

We got to get to the point where we are so determined to not follow the paths of our parents. One major problem is that we don't want to go through the rough times to not be like our parents. Like the saying goes, "No pain, no gain." The Bible says that faith without works is dead. Which leads me to a question. Why are we relying on things that are dead to get us through? In the play, "Tyler Perry's: What's Done In The Dark," the character Cora said this, "Sometimes we hold on to stuff that God has already gotten past." The Bible says that if any man be in Christ he is a new creature. Old things are passed away.

We all got our own life to live. Our parents already lived or are living their life, let's not relive it for them. It's time to break the pattern. How do we break the pattern? First go to God and ask for direction. Then follow that direction. Please don't get to thinking that this is going to be an over night thing. That's not likely because you have to break away from things that we're comfortable with to truly break away from generational patterns. That old addiction that you can't seem to get away from? Time to let that go. The Bible says that we are slaves to whatever masters us. A lot of us are still controlled by what our forefathers did. A lot of us are controlled by the addictions we won't let go. A lot of us are controlled by the television, Internet, or whatever else we use to get entertainment. If we would just let Jesus be our master...

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

Off The Chain

2009-07-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

While in Illinois visiting my mom, this lady, Ms. Evelyn, started talking or rather preaching about being “off the chain.” Now, my generation uses “off the chain” to mean the same thing as cool, awesome, hot, etc, but Ms. Evelyn took it to a place I never thought about, and she told me that I should talk about it in one of my blogs. So here I go.

A chain can be used in many things such as machinery, bicycles, fences, and so forth, but in this instance I’m going to be talking about the chain that they use on prisoners. Chain as in a fetter. A fetter’s a shackle or chain for the feet. A fetter can also be described as anything that confines or restrains from motion. In a nutshell, a fetter or chain is a restraint. When I first started looking up verses to help me out, the story of Samson came to mind. His restraint was a woman named Delilah. Samson was in love with Delilah so that he let the fact that Delilah was trying to weaken him blow over, and for a minute it worked. Delilah got him to confess that his strength was in his hair. Samson fell asleep in Delilah’s lap and a man came in and shaved his head. How many of us are lying in the lap of what’s trying to kill us? That’ll preach. Anyway, with the hair went Samson’s strength. How many of us have let the chains in our life take our strength? I’ve heard Tye Tribbett say it like this, “We love stuff that we know is trying to kill us.” Hello?

So going back to the word fetter. An old hymn, specifically Hymn 121 in the Yes Lord COGIC Hymnal, that the churches used to sing says this, “Jesus breaks every fetter, and he sets free.” That song came from the first part of II Peter 2:9, which says, “The Lord knoweth how to deliver..." In other words, the Lord knows how to get you loose from the chains binding you up so you can be “off the chain.” With that you could sing the old worship song that says, “I am free/Praise the Lord I’m free/ No longer bound/No more chains holding me/My soul is resting/It’s such a blessing/Praise the Lord/Hallelujah/I’m free.”

Now many of us have our own Egypt to deal with. We’re singing about getting back to Eden, but we’re still bound up under Egyptians. I found these verses, Exodus 6:6-7, that say, “I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God, and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” Now if God did that for the slaves under Pharaoh, don’t you think he’ll do the same thing for you and make you “off the chain?”

Some of us are dealing with the chain of not reading and studying the Bible. The Bible is the truth, and John 8:32 says, “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” Further down in that chapter, in verse 36, it says, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Bottom line, if you read and study the truth, the Bible, then God will make you “off the chain.”

Some of us cause chains to stay and tighten because we continue to stay in sin when we’re supposed to be dead to sin. Romans 6:1-2 asks this, “What shall we ask then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” We ask God to free us, but God is saying to stop living in the sin you’re dead to, and you will be free. Romans 6:14 says, “For sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Yet, we still give sin more power than we should.

If you look at Romans 7:1-6, it talks about that in marriage, the wife is bound to the law of her husband as long as he lives, but after or when the husband dies, the wife is loosed from the law. So while the husband is alive, the wife can’t marry another man, or she’ll be committing adultery, but if the husband is dead, her marrying another man would not be adultery. You get to the fourth verse of the 7th Chapter of Romans, and it says, “Wherefore my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be raised from the dead, that we should bring fourth fruit unto God. “ Then verses 5 and 6 say, “For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in the newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” In other words, God can deliver you from the chains of the flesh, and make you “off the chain.”

Do y’all know that we have been called to be “off the chain?” Galatians 5:13 says, “For, brethren, ye have been called into liberty…” Liberty is freedom, and if you go up to the first verse of that chapter, it says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” You are “off the chain,” stand in it. You’re called to be off the chain.

Some feel like the chain of darkness has you bound up. Colossians 1:13 lets you know God can and will deliver you from the power of darkness and bring you into the kingdom making you “off the chain.”

So now you’re off the chain. You’re free. Please don’t be malicious about it. 1 Peter 2:16 says, “As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as servant of God.” For those asking, “What is the malicious word this guy is using” Well the dictionary defines it as harboring ill will or enmity; spiteful; malevolent; malignant. Basically, don’t use your freedom to look for revenge. You do something like that, and you can be a chain to your own self. Some of us think we know everything, and some of us think we can help God…that’s a chain. Some try to predict when Jesus is coming back…that’s a chain. We don’t know the day or hour Jesus is coming back. Yes, time is winding up, but don’t get crazy and predict the rapture. Some believe that we will be the people to see the rapture. Well ok, Awesome, but what if we’re not? Again no man knows the hour of when Jesus is coming back. We just have to be ready either way.

Chains are not a good thing. Chains can hinder things like church growth, or our Praise and Worship. How? We’re supposed to enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and enter into his courts with praise. Do we? Chain. We worry about what’s going on at home or whatever and don’t bring our minds in for praise and worship. Chain. We don’t give God 110% because we are worrying about the chains that have you bound. The late Bishop G.E. Patterson used to say, “Jesus is a habit breaker. Now I got this for you, “Jesus is a chain breaker. With Jesus, you are off the chain.”

Now to be truly off the chain, you must be saved. You must be born again. If not, then the chains of sin still got you on hold. Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” The key word in all that is believe. Acts 16:31 says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” And once you got Jesus, you got the key to break the chains. Now, you’re off the chain.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

I talk to much, yeah and? Sue me...

2009-07-05T19:19:00.000-07:00

Some of you that know me in person know that I don't usually say a whole lot. When I do talk, I get told I talk too much. When I don't talk, I get perceived as being mean. People can never be satisfied. The word "content" don't even exist. We don't know how to stay content. We are never satisfied. I have been silent in public for too long. The only reason I stayed quiet was because I didn't want to come off as an idiot. When I was little, people thought I was some kind of a mute because I hardly said anything. The power of life and death lies on the tongue. We quote that all the time. In order to use that power, you have to open up your mouth and say something. You have to talk. You stay silent, you have no power. That'll preach. Anyway, no longer will I stay silent to try to please anybody. I will run my mouth. I've been silent and letting the devil run things, but the Devil is a lie. You know, people be having the best day so far, and you with your Holy Ghost self can mess it up by judging. You go to church ready to go. Ready to give God your all, and one "Holy Ghost filled" person says one thing negative to you, and it messes you up almost completely. Words have power. Either life or death, words have power. I said I'm no longer going to stay silent, and I'm not, but in the midst of my talking, I'm going to do my best to speak life. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is a crock of toilet crap. While I was in school, specifically elementary and middle, I was the smelly kid. I got talked about more than any kid deserves. I've cried in school more times than a teenage girl after getting dumped. I'm not hard. I'm as soft hearted as they come. I got talked about so much that my self esteem got lower than jokes about mentally challenged people. So I know how much power words can have. People may try to shut me up, people may tell me I talk to much, shoot I might even get told to shut up by people I "respect," but as long as the Bible is right, as long as I got this mouth, and as long as my tongue is in my mouth, I'll shall talk. Talking's what I do. Trust, it's what I do. The days of me being quiet because I'm worried about what people think is over. I've been through 22 years of life being silent, and because of which I have no friends. It's hard to have friends while staying silent. Trust me, I know. I've been hurt by words. I've been hurt by people. Heck, I've been hurt by the church. Through it all, I've been silent. No more. Say I talk to much. Some of you don't talk enough. Hello?

Stay Saved,

Daniel aka Big Dusty

No Joy, No Strength. No Faith, No Strength

2009-06-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

So, so? Are you guys like boyfriend/girlfriend? Steady dates? Lovers? Come on sporto, level with me. Do you slip her the hot beef injection? WHOA THERE! Where did that come from? haha...Breakfast Club if you didn't know. Best high school movie ever made, in my opinion. Besides the fact that no black people were in it...come on VH1, let it go.

By the way, I had a great time on my trip to Illinois. Nobody asked me how the trip was going while I was on the trip, and the same people that didn't ask while I was on the trip of course asked me when I came back home. Can we say irritated? CHEA! Anyway, before the flight home, my sister, Alisha, and I were at this lady's house. I shouldn't say this lady, but I forgot her name. (Ma, help me out) Apparently mom has been showing this lady my blogs. I got nothing against that, you know. The more the merrier! Actually I should say bored, but either way. The lady gave me two topics for future blogs. 1 being "Off The Chain" and the other being "Jesus had to pray, what's wrong with you?" I'm not going to talk about either of those on this blog, but just for the heads up for the next one. :D!

What I am going to talk about is no joy no strength, no faith no strength. I know I said in a status/tweet that I was going to mention prostitution in the church, and in a way I still am. You hear it said all the time, "The joy of the Lord, is my strength." Yeah, that really sounds good, don't it? But, do you really carry the joy of the Lord or do you let the Devil ride? (Shout out Deacon Moody, the coolest deacon I've ever met.) Do you carry joy, or do you carry hate? Some of us, including me, need to check ourselves. We say the right stuff, but do we really mean it? A lot of us are weak because of our lack of joy. By the way people can sense that, which is why you can't get through to people. We often use the Bible verse, "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy's gonna come in the morning." That's true, don't get me wrong. I truly believe that, but I think and believe that we can cause the night to linger longer than it has too. For some of us, the morning could've been here, but we let the Devil influence how we think and feel. Thus we stop believing. Thus we start to doubt. When people go to the altar to give their lives to the Lord, the verse found in Romans 10:9 "That if thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved." A lot of people confess but they don't believe, and I think that's how we lose joy. In our heart, we truly stop believing thus we lose joy. Faith is also important for strength, because if we lose faith, we lose joy. My pastor defines faith as this, "You got to see it before you see it if you're ever going to see it." Now the Bible says, that life and death lies in the power of your tongue. So with faith, you got to see it, but I feel that speaking it will add more confidence to your faith. Now if you're gonna have faith, doubt has got to go. Trying to have faith with doubt is like trying to have a classy show on VH1. It's not going to work. I'm just saying if you're feeling weak mentally, maybe you need to get some joy in your life. Use your faith and speak that you will have some joy in your life. How to get joy, you ask? Jesus. Jesus can give you joy. As the late Rev. James Moore would say, "I know Jesus can give you joy! JOY! JOY!"

Moving on to something completely different. Obama and this fly. Really people? Is the news that slow? Even Peta got on Obama about it. I didn't know people cared much about a fly. If Obama had stomped his dog to death, then I would understand the drama. If Obama would've bit the a head of a live chicken, I would understand the news coverage. BUT he killed a fricken fly...let it go people. Let it go. Now let me say this, in honor of Peta, the next burger I eat, I'll do it honor of the fly that was killed.

So I can't think of nothing else to say. Thanks for reading. Thanks for showing this around. If only I could get some comments, ahem. Just asking. Anyway, I'll see y'all next time. Whenever that will be.

Stay Saved,

Daniel aka Big Dusty

P.S. If you noticed any mistakes, don't judge me. I didn't finish college.

Still blogging, even while in Illinois

2009-06-02T06:18:00.001-07:00

What's good y'all? I'm still getting used to the Central standard time, but I'm getting there. I sent out a tweet yesterday saying this blog was coming and I didn't get one response...it's not surprising, but it's all good. I'm going to keep doing this because it's my way to vent, and if you want to read and comment, the choice is yours. Let's get to some randomness.

I saw the movie The Secret Lives of Bees for the first time yesterday. It didn't make me cry, but if you're the type to cry at movies, this one would get to you. I think it was a good movie, but I kept getting frustrated. The main character, played by Dakota Fanning, ran away from home with the maid, Jennifer Hudson, and stayed with this family in South Carolina. To stay with the family, the main character told a lie, I guess to get the people to feel sorry for her. Why I kept getting frustrated is because I wanted know when the main character was going to get caught lying. Of course, my little sister, Alisha, didn't tell me anything. On purpose. Ain't it frustrating when you figure something is going to happen in a movie, but you can't find out when it's going to happen by another person? I know it is for me.

Changing the subject completely because it's my blog and I can do's what I wants. When people find out that I'm older than my little sister, they look shocked. Yes I'm older than Alisha. Yes she's in college, and I'm not. Yes she is more mature than me. La di freakin da, I shall not be judged for continuing with college and not being as mature as my sister. I shall not be judged for being and acting shy in public. Should I be myself every where I go? Yes, and I'm getting there, but until then, don't judge me. You judgers. Read the Bible sometime.

Speaking of the Bible, don't trust anyone else to be your source to know what the Bible says. Read the Bible for yourself. If you keep depending on other people for your source to the Bible, odds are they're going to lead you astray. Read and study for yourself. The Bible is the truth, and the Bible says that the truth shall make your free. How you going to be made free if you don't know the truth? So, the prop 8 situation in California. People are in a uproar for the decision to ban same sex marriages. I even see people jumping on the Bible and taking it out of context. That in itself is not surprising. That's why I say read and study the Bible itself. Is it wrong for a man to love another man? No. I love my father. I love my pastor down in South Carolina. I love the brother. I love you. Is it wrong for two men to live together? No it's not. If anything it's a good idea to have a roommate to split the rent. College dorms have two men living together all the time. The TV Show Full House is a prime example. Danny, Uncle Jessie, and Joey lived under the same roof. Now, is it wrong for a man to have sex with another man? Yes. I believe that sex is made to reproduce. I've heard it said and I'm going to use it now. I don't care how much two men rub against together, ain't no baby coming out of that. I don't care how two women much rub against together, no baby is coming out of it. I've always thought of it as a jigsaw puzzle. In a jigsaw puzzle, you can't put or leave a piece where it doesn't belong or it's going to incomplete. Men have a penis, and women have a vagina. That's a given. A penis is like a stick, and a vagina is like a hole. Follow me here. Putting the stick in the hole is common sense. It's not common sense to try to put a stick in a stick. It's not natural, and it doesn't work.

Transitioning as only I can, I got two words for Lebron James: GROW UP.

Being up here with moms has been a cool thing so far. We've definitely shared some laughs, and I can guarantee some more laughs are coming. It's 8:52 CST in the morning as I'm typing this and, as soon as my sister wakes up, she's making breakfast. I made breakfast yesterday, and it went ok. I was paranoid because I'm used to messing up all the time, but besides that it went ok.

Back to the NBA, we got the Lakers and the Magic in the Finals. Both of Shaq's former teams. I think the series has potential to be a good one. I think Magic has to do sorta what Lakers did when Shaq was in the line up. Go inside out with Dwight Howard. Also Magic need to stop making Turk a point guard. Turk needs to pass the ball. Rafer Alston needs to be on his "A" every game. If need be, go a little And 1. Rafer is a playground legend, and I think if he brings some of that in the Finals, the Magic is in good shape. Now for the Lakers. Play as a team. Play defense. Get the rebounds. Trust each other. Easy. I think the Lakers take it in 6. Lakers are easily the better team, and I think the championship experience will take them to the trophy.

Well that's all for this week. If y'all did read, I appreciate it. Stay in touch for more blogging next week.

Stay Saved,

Daniel aka Big d

Genius question of the year plus other randomness

2009-05-25T07:02:00.000-07:00

So here I am about to go to sleep, to take a nap if you will, and I realized that I forgot to turn my cell phone on when I woke up earlier. I turned it off in the first place because I didn't want to be bothered with text messages and other stuff. Sure enough when I turned the cell phone on and was about to go to sleep, I heard the ring tone telling me a got a text message. Here's what it said, "Why do christian rappers sell albums? Why [do] they charge for the message God has given them? Churches dont charge the service. Why should christain rappers do so?" First of all, I think text messages need the value of a spell check. Second of all, what? "Why do Christians rappers sell albums?" To make money, genius, like all artist. It takes money to go to Africa to witness. It takes money to pay for this little thing called gas? Ever heard of it? It's used to fill cars. "Why [do] they charge for the message God has given them?" I don't think this is a fair question. Again, it takes money to do things. Bottom line. Yes God can make a way out of no way. Yes, God is all we need. But God didn't make us to be lazy. Look at it this way. Let's say God called me to be a playwright. It takes money to pay for actors, band, the set, etc. Even though there's a message in the play, it would be foolish and stupid for me to put on a play and not charge money to see it. If the actors don't get paid, they're not going to stay on tour. Bottom line sir. Music is a business. Gospel/Christian or secular. It's a business. If the music does not make money, the record company doesn't make money. And if the record company doesn't make money, do you think they're going to keep the artist on the label? Heck no. "Churches dont charge the service. Why should christain rappers do so?" Like I said, music is a business. Comparing hearing a message off music your bought and going to church to hear the message is non comparable in my opinion. You do go to church, or you should go to church to hear a Word from God. And I guess you do buy Christian music to hear a Word from God. Churches don't and in my opinion shouldn't charge for services. Remember church is not the building, church is the saints. We use the building to come together to praise and worship God. Ok. So why would you charge money to come together with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to fellowship? Just wouldn't make sense. Now, why do christian rappers do so? To make money. Now is that what it should be all about? No. It is about reaching souls. It is about leading people to Christ. But I think that buying music from Christian artists should be looked at as investing in ministry. I said before, it takes money to go to other countries and witness. It takes money to pay for gas to drive across the country to witness. It takes money to buy equipment used to record the music.

Anyway, Happy Memorial Day!! Once again got the iPod going ready to go. As I'm typing Dad got the ribs in the oven because it's wet outside. Later I'm going to making the baked macaroni-n-cheese. To keep it healthy, we'll having a salad along with everything else. Dad and my little sister are having deviled eggs. I'm not because I don't eat eggs from hell. Also, I don't like boiled eggs at all.

The NBA Playoffs are still going strong. Personally I think the games would be so much better if the games were officiated more consistently. The referees have been "straight garbage" to quote Stephen A. Smith. It has to make it hard for the players to play like they want to because it seems like the refs don't know what a flagrant is or isn't. Either way, as I'm typing this, Orlando is up 2-1 in their series, and Lakers are up 2-1 in their series. My opinion, the Nuggets need to keep Kenyon away from any offensive play. He's a jinx on offense. He's a great defensive player, and that's a given. But on offense, he's a screw up, and if the Nuggets lose the series, I'll put most of the blame on him. On to the other team, Kobe is overrated. Yes I said it. Now as far as the other series. Lebron is doing his thing, but his teammates need to step it up. James can't do it by himself. Magic is taking advantage of that. That's why Magic is up 2-1 right now in my opinion.

Illinois, Big Dusty is coming!! That's right! My sister and I are heading to Illinois for a couple of weeks to visit moms up there. This will be my first time on a plane since I was little. Am I scared? Pshhh...you better believe it, but my sister says it will be ok. Now I'm a little skeptical also because I'm on the plus side of things when it comes to weight. BTW, if you hate fat people, you hate America. Right now, fat is as Americana as bad Will Ferrel movies. But anyway, yeah I'm worried that my weight will be an issue, but my sister assures me that it won't. Mom says it won't be an issue either. I'm definitely going to need some prayer and supplements.

Those ribs are smelling good right now, I'm not going to lie. I'm going to tear them up!!

I've been more consistent on working on my the story I'm writing. I still don't have a title for it, but I believe it'll come to me sooner or later.

So, y'all have a good day today. Hope y'all eat good and well. I know I will. Y'all be good now, ya hear.

Stay saved,

Daniel aka Big d

Youtube, church, NBA and more. Let's move!!!

2009-05-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

What's good my blog readers? Once again got the iPod going. Let's get this moving.

On Duty by Da Truth.

My YouTube channel is gaining dust. My last video didn't get any buzz at all. I guess if I had more clout, the video about nothing would've got more hits. I'll try to come up with something here soon. I'm also overdue for a podcast. My bad y'all.

Sing by Micah Stampley

What a time we had at church this past Sunday. Our youth leader poured out his soul to us. It was youth Sunday so the kids did most of the stuff. It was a good rest for those of us in choir/praise and worship team. I was on the Praise and Worship team this past Wednesday Night. I was told, I did a good job.

National Anthem by Jimi Hendrix

So the youth leader's subject for his message was "Tag, you're it!" At first glance, I thought it was cheesy. I had no idea where he was going with it. That's what I get for judging before getting the meat of it because the message was awesome. We had some good ole' fashioned chuch after he spoke. He used an example of the game tag where you tag someone and it's their job to tag someone else, etc etc.

It's Raining by Israel and New Breed

He said in a nut shell that's how we should be. When we're praising and worshiping God, we have no idea who we're having impact on. The person beside you might be going through something, and your praise could be just the impact or "tag" if you will the person needs. I think that when we do go to church, we should looked forward to getting tagged. Tagged by the message, tagged by the atmosphere. All and all, it was an awesome time. After church people were tagging each other saying, "Tag, you're it." Ok, I admit, I found that cheesy. Sorry. The little kids were actually playing tag. Bless their hearts.

I'm Still Here by Dorinda Clark-Cole

So now both the Eastern and Western Conference finals of the NBA are set. We got the Magic vs the Cavs and the Lakers vs the Nuggets. For the East, I got the Cavs winning in a close series if the Magic played like they did in Game 7 against the Celtics. For the West, I got the Nuggets. Charles Barkley said it best that the Lakers are not consistent. Through out the playoffs the Nuggets have been consistent. Even when they lost, they still played well. So going by that, it would be Nuggets vs Cavs in the Finals. With that match up I would have to give it to the Cavs because they are a bit more hongry I think.

My Walk by Canton Jones

For those reading this on MySpace, or if you're reading this and you still go on MySpace religiously, I got one question...why? Facebook and Twitter are calling begging you to answer and come to 2009. MySpace is falling off and I don't think they're ever going to up there where they was.

Turn It Around by Israel and New Breed

So as I'm typing this it's almost 1:40 in the afternoon here in South Carolina. My sister is still sleep. Now I have no idea what time she went to bed, but either way, this isn't surprising. My sister can literally sleep a whole day away and not feel bad about it. When she told me that she wasn't going to eat breakfast, I didn't know she also meant lunch. I mean, I take naps during the day, but I would have to go to bed extremely late to wake up after noon. Usually no matter what time I go to bed, I'm up at least before or at 10:00 AM. Don't know why, but that's how it usually works.

You Are My Daily Bread (Live) by Fred Hammond

Ok, thanks for reading good people. Hope it wasn't too boring for ya. Get at me on Twitter, BigDusty864 is my user name. Be sure to comment before you leave and follow me here on Blogger if you can. Holla!

Stay Saved,

Daniel aka Big d

No more holding back.

2009-05-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

Got the iPod going with some music. Now to get moving with this blog. If you go to a church and you don't feel love in the atmosphere, that's probably not the church for you. 2 places you should feel love is with your family and your church. I'm not saying that's the only places, but it's a shame if you can't feel love in one of those two places. I think that goes especially for a church. I know what some would say that maybe it's you with the problem. Ok I feel that, but what if it's the church with the problem. There's a difference between phony and real when it comes to love. People make the mistake of getting confused of the two. When you're in company of people that are supposed to love you, and all you feel is uncomfortable the whole time, sometimes it's not you. Sometimes it's the company you hang with, or the church you go to. This next statement is sad but I feel it's true. Not every church is going to feel like home. That's extremely sad, but trust me, I know what I'm talking about. We all know that you can't be friends with everybody. That's just common sense, but if you can't walk in a church and feel comfortable, something is wrong. I'm sorry. Like I said, sometimes it's not you, it's the church. That's why it's important to have the gift of the holy ghost and the gift of discernment, Christians.

Now for some random thoughts. Is it just me or has the NBA Playoffs been more like the WWE? My bad, I didn't mean to insult the NBA like that, but it has been rough. Flagrant foul here. Flagrant foul there. I mean why not just take the NBA Playoffs and take it to the streets? It's just about there now with all the rough housing going on. Hey, I don't mind it by any means. It makes for better television.

Speaking of the WWE, I still don't understand why it's turned into Playhouse Disney all of the sudden.

Maine has become the 5th state, I believe, to legalize same-sex marriage. America, we are in trouble. Psalm 9:17 says, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." I rest my case.

Tomorrow is Mothers Day. Much respect to the real mothers out there that are still going strong. For the mothers that are slacking, do better. No more excuses, just do better. I know my mom did a great job. My sister is doing great. I'm struggling but I'll get there someday soon I hope. I know I better get there. Being bored and tired all the time is getting old. Either way, back to mothers. Hope y'all have a blessed Mother's Day and hopefully we as the children don't make it a one day thing any more. That we'll celebrate y'all everyday.

This past Thursday (5/7) was National Prayer day. Excuse me if I'm wrong, and I am at times, but shouldn't everyday be National Prayer day? Shouldn't we be praying for the nation everyday, especially in this day and age? I'm just saying. Old cheesy song I learned at daycare when I was around 10 or 11 said, "Read your Bible, pray everyday and you'll grow grow grow." Notice it didn't say one day out the year. Everyday. Come on now people.

For those who are reading my story, first of all thanks. Second of all, sorry that I haven't posted anything lately, but I got good material in my head. So as soon as I get that down on paper, I'll post some. Ok? Ok.

I'm up to 55 followers on Twitter, and I have no idea how. I ain't complaining though. If you happen to be on Twitter, come on and follow me. BigDusty864 is my username.

My sister saw the new Star Trek movie. She said it was good. When I get enough money, I definitely want to see it while it's still in the theaters.

Ok, that's all I got to type for this one. I can't think of more things to talk about, and plus it's close to 1:30 AM. Leave your comments and share your thoughts on what I talked about. Follow me on here if you have an account, and I'll catch ya next week God willing.

Stay Saved,

Daniel

NBA, Wolverine, Swine Flu...what else you want?

2009-05-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

So the end of what some people call the best playoff series in NBA history just ended with the Celtics beating the Bulls in Game 7. I admit that this series up to this game was classic and it definitely lived up to the hype. But game 7 was full of sloppy play. Mainly coming from the Bulls not taking advantage of the mistakes by the Celtics. How many easy lay-ups can one team miss, I mean my goodness! Bulls guard Ben Gordan was playing like he was the only Bull on the court at times when he could've easily passed the ball to a teammate. All in all, in my opinion, Game 7 was boring. A terrible end to an otherwise fantastic series. As far as the second round goes, I think Magic takes the series easily. EASILY!!

Tonight, I paid for me and my sister to go see the new Wolverine movie. 2 thumbs way way up for this one. It was a great movie. Literally action from beginning to end. There's a couple of other movies I wanted to see like The Soloist, and Star Trek, but I'm not upset for deciding to see Wolverine. As far as prequels go, this one works great. If one was to see this movie then see the first X-Men movie for the first time, they wouldn't be confused. Also I have to say that out of all the X-Men movies made thus far, this was the best out of the 4. No doubt about it in my opinion. I admit I did jump a little in my seat on certain parts. I got a soft heart, what can I say.

I think it's safe to say that there's a scare going on in the World right now with this swine flu. Let me remind the believers of 2 Timothy 1:7 which says: For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. This was the verse that came to mind when I think of the fear going around. The Bible also says that God will never leave you nor forsake you. The Bible also says that no weapon formed against you shall prosper. Let us not forget whom we are serving. Let us not forget who is running things. Don't let the swine flu put fear in you. God has the final say so. Always remember that.

So I got a long day tomorrow. Got Sunday morning service then right after that we're heading down to St. Stephens, SC for a service my Pastor is speaking at. I'm going to be tired as I don't know what, but I also believe that I'm going to have a good time too. I got my mp3 player with me for the bus ride, so that'll keep me not worrying about the length of the ride.

My iPod should be coming in Wednesday of next week, and I can't wait!!

Well, I'm going to call it a blog and a night guys. Like I said, I got a long day tomorrow, and I'm tired. Thanks for reading.

Stay Saved,

Daniel

Eddie Murphy's last good movie, and more...

2009-04-25T18:14:00.000-07:00

Shabuya!! What's up y'all? Coming at ya drinking decaf coffee. It's not bad. Of course it has some added sugar in it so I'm still going to be a bit WIRED! I watched Dreamgirls earlier today and sadly it's the last good movie Eddie Murphy has made thus far. Meet Dave was ok, but it left a lot to be desired. Norbit was just trash. Eddie Murphy's movies usually all have funny moments, not Norbit. I couldn't even laugh at Kat Williams or Eddie Griffin. If you haven't seen Norbit, you didn't miss anything. Imagine That I think has potential to be funny, but it's still not the Eddie we fans want to see. The premise to his movie A Thousand Words has potential to be hilarious, but we shall see. I didn't see Shrek The Third, and I understand that he's recorded voice overs for Shrek Goes Fourth. I just wish that Eddie didn't have to depend on animation to make a good movie, you know?

This past Friday night was night one of a Women's Conference the church was having and it was fire. We as a music department pierced the atmosphere that I think lingered throughout the rest of the service. Everything was done decent and in order. We, the choir, sang a song called Capacity by Jonathan Nelson. Part of the song goes like this, "God erupt inside of me. Inhale, exhale, freely breathe into me. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe on me." So after we finished, the speaker of the evening got up and led us into another go around. Then she started preaching. Oh my goodness. It was like mixing the preaching styles of Juanita Bynum and Marvin Sapp. I can't remember exactly what she spoke about, but I do remember that she talked about needing the Holy Ghost. The altar call was amazing as well. It was just a great night and I can't wait to see what Sunday Morning has in store.

The NFL Draft was tonight. No I didn't watch it, but I followed through twitter. I did however watch the NBA Playoffs. First was the Nuggets vs Hornets. At the beginning, I thought it was going to be a blowout by the Nuggets, then the Hornets came back and it turned out to be a good, close game. Then it was Spurs vs Mavericks. I don't care for either team, but I can say that I dislike the Spurs more than I dislike the Mavs. Tim Duncan would seem like a better player to me if he would stop whining. You're going to get called for a foul, it happens to everybody who plays in the league. Anyway, the Spurs lost by 9. The player I'm starting to like on the Mavs is Jose Barea. That little joker can ball. If he keeps playing like he's playing, look out for the Mavs in the playoffs. Now to the game I cared most about, Miami Heat played Atlanta Hawks. Heat dominated! Wade played in another dimension. Look out for the Heat in the East. They could go further than what other people think.

I know I haven't put on a video in a couple of weeks, and that's my bad. I can't think of anything. Also I mentioned twitter. You can follow me on twitter @BigDusty864. Cheap plug, ftw!

I did a podcast the other night. Go to soundclick.com/bigdusty and check out the masterpiece!! Ok it's not that great, but check it out anyway, will ya please?

Next week, I plan on ordering my first iPod!! Well that's exciting for me...

After I finish this, imma go back and work on my story. I'm trying my best not to get slacking on this. That's a bad habit that has cost me not to finish most of the stories I've written. BTW the new story can be read at bigdstories.blogspot.com

I think that's about all I got for this week. Be sure to keep me in your prayers and I'll continue to pray for y'all. Y'all be good. Stay strong. Stay saved.

~Daniel

4/24/09 Podcast

2009-04-24T05:10:00.000-07:00

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7544536

Prayer request for Yungtown, singing on Youtube?, I'm back on messageboards? All that and a little bit of singing, not my best, and more! Enjoy! Be free to advertise...

:D

HOOPLAH!!

2009-04-18T20:26:00.001-07:00

So I didn't put any real thought to what I was going to blog about tonight. All I can say, and I'm sure all of my regular readers know this, is expect the unexpected. A DVD I ordered came in today, ECW Blood Sport. It had, apparently, the most brutal matches in ECW's history. Should I say original ECW's history. In the new ECW, I guess we can say that most of the matches have been brutal as in terrible. Anyway, I think the DVD was good. The matches was just what you'd expect from Extreme Championship Wrestling which is bloody and hardcore. WWE should look at this DVD and look at the crowd reaction. WWE should look at the history of ECW and look at the family atmosphere that was in the locker room. When you hear the ECW wrestlers talk they call their fellow wrestlers brothers. WWE doesn't have that. I've said this before,and I'll say it again. If you're not going to do right with the name ECW get rid of it. The originals took pride in ECW, and what WWE has done with it, is disrespectful. Extremely, pardon the pun, disrespectful.

Transitioning as only I can...A song that I really am loving now and a song that I've quoted through prayer night after night is "Running Back To You" by Fred Hammond when he was in Commissioned. Now, I don't know what Fred was going through when he wrote this, but I know it fits with me. My favorite part of the song is, "I'm running to you Jesus. Please take me home! See I've been in this run, way to long, and I can't do right any more. I'm tired of pain and I don't like fear, but Lord I want to be more sincere. I never should have left your side. Return me to your guiding light. When you return up in the air, I don't be left out here. I thank you for your saving grace. When I see your face, I'm running back to you." i get out of this song that, no matter how many mistakes you make, you can run to Jesus and he'll accept you with open arms. I know I've made mistakes, and still do. So yeah, I just love this song. Search for it on YouTube. Running Back To You by Fred Hammond.

Again, transitioning as only I can...Update on the cough. It's just about gone. I still sneeze and cough here and there, but it's not as bad as it was. So thanks to all that were and is praying for me. I appreciate it.

To the readers of my new story, first of all thanks for reading. I'm sure you're wondering what's the title going to be, or where am I going with the story. To tell you the truth, when I know, you'll know. I'm just going with the flow right now. So just be patient and hopefully if I keep at it, I'll figure out something. Now to those who don't know what the devil, I'm talking about. Just go to my other blogspot: http://bigdstories.blogspot.com

I'm up to 42 followers on the crack known as Twitter, and to tell you the truth I don't know how I got 2. To all followers reading this, thank you for following. I'll try to keep it interesting. My twitter is @BigDusty864...not that I'm promoting for more followers or anything like that.

Ok, I really got to head to bed now besides trying to figure out more randomness to type out. Got two services tomorrow, and I expect a mighty move of God in both. Y'all be good.

Stay Saved,

Daniel

Easter blog with other random thoughts

2009-04-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

A little later than I originally wanted to post this, but hey it happens, you know? You do get tired. As a matter of fact, I'm tired now. Go figure, huh? I haven't had an energy drink in a while. (sighs)

So for Easter, or as some of us call Resurrection Sunday, Dad and I are heading down to the ginormous city of Camden, that's the one in South Carolina, to go to church with my Grandma. Mom and my sister are already down there just chillin'. It's been a while since I've been in an old school church service, and that's just what I'll be expecting tomorrow. I want to have a good time, don't get me wrong, but the chance of me hearing a song from the past 3 years are slim to none. Probably going to hear Easter speeches as well. Anybody remember doing those as a kid? Easter used to be the only time of the year you'd get a new suit. Am I right? This year I'm wearing something from the closet because I don't feel like wasting my time shopping for a new suit. I'm like this now, if it's in the closet, and it fits and looks good, why waste money? It's crazy, this is the one time of the year when the kids that don't dress up for church will come looking like something out of Steve Harvey's closet. I guess it makes sense because we are celebrating that Jesus rose from the dead. Speaking of that, did anybody else have to sing that cheesy song? "He arose, He arose, He arose from the dead..." Ah, I hated that song. Even as child, I was like, "What is this cheesy stuff we singing?" Again we're celebrating the fact that Jesus rose from the dead, and I don't want to imagine what the world would be like if he hadn't got up.

Another thing about Easter that I don't understand. Easter egg hunts. Eggs + celebrating Jesus = Easter? I don't get it. I just don't get it. Now, not to brag, but I used to DOMINATE Easter egg hunts. I'll always remember that there was an Easter egg hunt at my old apartments, and it was being held at the office area. Now the reason I remember this one is because I was first one to get in the basketball gym. All them plastic eggs, by myself. My friends, I was LOADED!! I also remember other kids coming in all late, and getting mad that I got them all. Good times, good times. One of the happier times I had as a kid.

As most of you guys know, I play drums. Don't do it much now because I'm in the church choir. Now, here's the kicker. My old church wants me to go back and play drums for them. I found out this morning, that my mom's church in Illinois, at least the Pastor's wife, wants me to play for them. At the church I am now, my playing time is slim to none. When I do play, I'm not ready. So when I do get my license, I'm going to be in quite a pickle.

I asked my dad this, I think it was yesterday. Gasp, yeah, I know, I asked dad a question go figure. Anyway, I asked him, when it comes to relationships, specifically when it comes to women looking for the "right guy," do the bad guys out number the good, or do the good out number the bad? I know the way television and society puts it, there's more bad than good. I personally think it's more of an even number than we all think, but we're all so "media blinded, that we can't believe that's the case. I heard my dad comment on the common used phrase that says, "All men are dogs." He basically said that you shouldn't be judged from what some other knuckle head did. Here's my thing. Women that say that have been hurt so bad, they are blinded to good. All they know is bad, or "dogs." So let's say that I was attracted to a woman that was in a bad relationship before. I go to talk to her, which would be a God sent miracle, but let's say I actually do go and talk to her, and you can tell she's resistant. Now what do I do? Do I continue to pursue? Do I do my best to convince her that I'm not another stereotypical guy? or Do I just be myself and treat her with respect that she deserves and let God handle the rest?

You know, living saved ain't easy. It's a battle every day. Especially when you're dealing with past issues and demonic spirits. Why would one want to live a life as hard as this? Let's face it, and be honest. Being sinful is easy. Living in sin is a piece of cake. But there's a phrase that comes to mind and it says, "No pain. No gain." Going to to Heaven is not easy, but the reward is worth it all. Going to hell is easy, but it's something you'll regret when it's too late to do anything about it. To answer my question from before, why would one want to live a life as hard as this? To get to Heaven. Nobody told me this road will be easy, right?

Ok y'all, that's all I got for this one. I hope you enjoyed it. Share your thoughts below. Remember, you can follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/bigdusty864
Stay Saved,

Daniel

4/06/09 Podcast

2009-04-05T21:54:00.000-07:00

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=503070&songID=7493349

I go from talking about a little over 20 people getting saved to talking about WWE's WrestleMania. Random transition, I know, but I'm a random guy. Will I be judged for that? I thinks not...

Cough, cough, go away come again...NEVER!!

2009-04-03T19:21:00.000-07:00

Another week has gone by, and another week I've dealt with this cough. It's hard to sing with all your might and deal with a cough. And the weather here ain't helping. It keeps getting hot and cold, hot and cold. Now I know God doesn't hate anybody, but sometimes it feels like God has it for the upstate south carolina area. I know ever since I can remember, the weather has not been consistent here. So it's really no wonder a lot of people get sick. Like I said in one of my videos, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsVdm4hNiMg, if you're going to come to the upstate area of south carolina, please, for your own health, pack for every season of the year. Trust me, on that. Like I said, I'm still dealing with this cough. I've gone through like 2 bottles each of NyQuil and Dayquil. I've had cough drops galore. Before you ask, no I haven't been to the doctor. The reason I haven't been to the doctor is because I have no health insurance. I have no job. As much as my dad worries about money, I don't want to add to the trouble. So, that's why I haven't been to the doctors. I'm asking for prayer for me. I hinted to this earlier, I'm in the choir at church as most of y'all know. I've been dealing with this cough for weeks. I don't even know how many. I'm believing God for a healing, and until then, I'm going to continue to the best of my ability sing in the choir.

So I was in my boy Yungtown's live chat room for the last like 20-30 minutes of it and a discussion came up on what is missing in today's Christian music. My answer to that question was substance and realness. I think people have the the tendency to write and say something because it sounds good to the listener. Now let me say that I do think that a small part of any music artist goal is to entertain, but that shouldn't be the major goal. The major goal should not be to necessarily preach, but I think it should be to teach and give some substance to the hearers. Weather if its your testimony, or if it's something that caught your eye in the Bible that touched you and you want to share it. All Gospel artists, I feel, should pray and talk to God before going to make an EP or a mixtape and ask, "What is it you want me to say to the listeners?" It's not about us, but it's about Jesus. I know everybody is saying that line now, but it's a true statement anyhow.

Is it just me, or are the so called top teams in the NBA falling off a little bit? A few nights ago, Lakers lost to the Bobcats. The Celtics barely beat the Bobcats the other night. The Cavs got murdered, MURDERED, tonight (4/3/09) against the Magic. So, are the top teams falling off, or are they saving it up for the playoffs? I'm going to throw this out there, and don't be shocked if it happen. I can easily see a team that doesn't have a winning record, winning it all. Yes, I said it.

I'm working on a story, again. Yes I know I've worked on plenty of stories throughout the years, and most of them, I didn't even finish. There will be no judging of me not finishing stories. Not cool. So yeah, I'm working on a new one. Don't have a title for it yet. I'm waiting to see where I go with the story first to come up with a title that works. If you want to see what I got so far check out my other blogspot: http://bigdstories.blogspot.com

If you're not following me on twitter, shame on you. You're missing out!! Not really, but if you want to follow me, my username is BigDusty864. Also, if you like what I'm doing with these blogs, feel free to advertise. I don't mind at all. Get at me on AIM as well: Bigddrums. I don't get much ims anymore. Of course I don't im them, but no judging. No judging.

So y'all please, pray for me. Not only for the cough, but that I get off my lazy butt and do something. Rocky Balboa said it best, "If you stay in a place long enough, you are that place." That's how I'm starting to feel with this house.

I'm done. Just one more nugget. Joshua 1:8 in the New Living Translation says, "Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do." I think that verse explains itself, don't you? Y'all be good.

Stay saved,

Daniel aka Big Dusty

Random thoughts from a random king

2009-03-24T23:33:00.000-07:00

I know my sister won’t be too happy about this. I had 3 cups of coffee. So when I try to go to sleep…WHOO it’s going to be a TIME! Let’s see what’s there to talk about. Twitter is blowing up. I’m up to 16 followers. 16 people that care what I’m doing. I’m just…I’m just so touched. If you happen to have joined the new crack known as Twitter, follow me at twitter.com/bigdusty864. Big Dusty because as most of you know is my nick name and 864 because that’s my area code. Fantabulous ain’t it?

As some of you know I’m a fan of the longest running circus show known as professional wrestling or sports entertainment if you will, and to say that the product is watered down has to be the understatement of the decade. Let’s look at the positives first. WrestleMania is coming up, which is arguably the biggest wrestling/sports entertainment show of the year. I personally think 3 of the matches have potential to be classics: Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker, Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy, and HHH vs. Randy Orton. A lot of people would add in the Money in the Bank Ladder match, and I would too if it wasn’t for the fact that Mark Henry is in the match. I mean seriously, how in the world fat man with 2 bad knees going to climb a ladder? And if he can climb the ladder, how is the ladder going to hold him? I’m just saying. The other matches promoted on the show, the 25 diva battle royal to crown a “Ms. WrestleMania.” TIME FILLER!! Ladies and Gentleman during this match take a quick nap because that’s all it’s good for. Before I get comments about being a sexist, let me say this. Raw and ECW have good Diva talent. SmackDown, ehh, not so much. The only positive about the divas on SmackDown is that they’ve gained Gail Kim. My only thing about that is, who did Gail Kim tick off? Another match at WrestleMania is Chris Jericho vs. Ricky “The Dragon”, Jimmy Snuka, and Roddy Piper. Ok yes it’s cool to see the legends, but do you really expect to see a quality match? I thought so. The other title match is the triple threat match with John Cena, Edge, and Big Show. The match itself, I don’t think will be the worst match in history, but I have to say that the build up to this match has been crapacles. Seriously, why is Vickie “I look like a sick dead dog” Guerrero still around? I almost forgot about the tag-team lumberjack match to unify the tag-team titles. The match has potential, but one has to ask if the Miz is ready for the big stage? I for one don’t even think he’s ready to work for TNA. That’s just me.

Enough about that. So we got a fence for the dog now. Don’t judge me for the transition, just roll with it. It’s taking Ginger a while to get use to it. She still used to somebody being out there with her amongst other things, which I won’t get into. Now if any of y’all seen my dog, Ginger, you’ll know that saying she’s little is another understatement. She’s not Chihuahua little, but she’s more like a German Sheppard that won’t grow. So with a dog that short, intimidating is not a word you’d use to describe her. Which takes me back to a time where this guy came knocked on the front door. Now it’s not nice to judge a book by it’s cover, but you could tell this dude was a Lord of the Rings die hard. Anyway he knocked, and Ginger barked like most dogs would do in that situation. I open the door, Ginger got out. Remember, Ginger is short thang. The guy at the door, tried to protect himself with a clipboard like Ginger was a pit. He said he was scared of dogs. Let me explain something to you. If you’re scared of a thing you can easily pick up and drop kick over a condo, you might as well stay in the house and become a loner. That’s pathetic.

I know this is probably old news, but apparently Snoop Dogg has become a Muslim. I really don’t understand the connection between Islam and Hip-Hop. Now, back in the day, black people join up with Islam for the brotherhood because times were different then. I asked my dad about this and he said that it’s a black thing. I don’t know if that’s accurate because Eminem isn’t black, I don’t think. Maybe I’m color blind. Either way, again, supposedly Snoop is now a Muslim. Snoop with a bow tie. Snoop is going to look like a broom going to prom. Bless his heart. I notice a lot of hip hoppers, when they’re in “trouble” go to Farrakhan for help. Maybe it’s the fact that we as Christians spend our time judging, and don’t spend it helping. Less face it, some Christians are not approachable people. I get that vibe around church people all the time, and it’s a shame. It really is. So in essence if Islam is more open to help, how can I blame Hip-Hop superstars for going to Farrakhan for counseling and help? After thinking about it, I know why some Christians aren’t approachable. The Bible says to let your light so shine, that men might see your good works. Glory the Father which in heaven. The light represents God. Some of us Christians are not letting God shine like he should. The light is dull in other words. Time is too short for us to be letting the light dull. We got to let that light shine. Especially in these last and evil days. I’m saying that because I know my light has been dull. So we all must do better.

Quick thoughts. The “Brady Rule” is living proof that the only way you’re going to see real American football is in your backyard. Having 3 cups of coffee late at night was not smart, I don’t know why I let y’all talk me into it. Y’all should definitely check out Tyler Perry’s “The Marriage Counselor,” which is now on DVD. It’s really really good.

Well that’s all I’m good for. I’m going to try and go to sleep. Y’all continue to prayer for me as I’ll prayer for yous. Share your thoughts to what I talked about. Y’all be good now, ya hear?

~Daniel aka Big d

Deep thoughts then my usual randomness

2009-03-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

So apparently Rhianna and Chris Brown are back together. Rhianna is a pretty girl, but obviously something ain't functioning up there in the head. Oprah said something that I actually agree with. She said, "If he hit you once, he's going to do it again." With that being said, I know it's possible for Chris Brown to get save, but many of the true saints know that just because you said yes to Jesus does not mean your issues are going to stop. I understand that you got to forgive, but don't go back to the problem. That's where a lot of us mess up when we claim we've gotten rid of the habit or issue without killing the source of the thing to begin with. If you don't drop or get rid of the source, then you can expect the thing to come back stronger. It's like a plant. The way to kill a plant is not by chopping off the top. You got to get to the root of that plant to kill it. I wish the best for Rhianna and hopefully she'll smarten up.

I talked about this in the last podcast I did, which can be found at here. Trying to stop abortion is not the problem. You got to get to the source. What's the source? The source is having sex before marriage. Abortion is nothing but a cover up so you don't have suffer the consequence of your actions or sins. I've said this before, and yes I stole it from Tyler Perry. If you can lay there and do it, stand up and take the consequence. None of this choice crap. You had the choice, in some cases, to do the do. Now an argument I hear is from rape victims. I understand why they would want the abortion, but let me say this. Don't punish the baby for the sin. Don't punish the baby for the rape. Think about this, what if Martin Luther King was aborted? What if Obama was aborted, although some of you wish that was? What if Abraham Lincoln was aborted? What I'm saying is, you don't know what the baby could become. Think if your all time favorite comedians was aborted, where would the entertainment world be today? Would it be better or worse? Nobody knows. Just trying to make y'all think that's all. And let me say this, condoms is yet another excuse to try and cover up. Again, if you laid there and did it, and you had a choice to do it, and you got pregant, be woman or man enough take care of the baby. For parents, please don't push for abortion if your child makes a mistake. The mistake is in the sex, not the baby.

I'm up to 7 actually followers on Twitter! I'm moving up. Hey, maybe by next week, I'll be up to 10 or more. Who knows. By the way, my twitter is twitter.com/bigdusty864.

So what have I been up to? Well, now I got to go to the bathroom, so I'm going to end this soon. Still no job. No license, and it is because lack of trying. Sue me. I'm going to Moes after church Sunday. BTW, I officially can't stand the stuff crust pizza from Pizza Hut. I just think the crust is disgusting.

Ok, well I'm going to watch the rest of SNL, Saturday Night Live, and then go to my room for the night.

~Daniel

Follow me everything is alright...

2009-03-07T17:20:00.000-08:00

That's right my people, I'm on Twitter. I have only 4 followers as this is being typed, so if you're on Twitter, follow me at http://www.twitter.com/bigdusty864. If you're not on twitter, that's your choice. Well that's all. Nah, I'm just kidding...

I also signed on to this site iseecolor.com. I have no idea what's on there or what's the site is about. All I know is that it's supposed to help me and a good friend of mine expose some underground bands. So keep that situation in your prayers.

So like I said before, I'm on twitter. (Quick commercial break, check out this video. It's about twitter...in a way). And I'm following the world renowned rapper and the conceited Sean "Diddy" Combs. He's living proof that any Christian parents that may be reading this, you must be careful of who you let your kids listen to. I've seen and read Diddy bring up God like he's saved, then in the same breath cuss like he's in a Kevin Smith movie. Hypocritical? I think so. The Bible talks about not cussing. One verse that's become one of my favorites is Ephesians 4:29. You can look it up and read it for yourselves but in a nut shell it says don't cuss. Don't say any filthy thing. That only thing that should come out your mouth should "minster grace to the hearers." Now that's the Bible. How you going to claim to be a God follower, and continue to cuss. I don't know.

Now let me say this. In Proverbs 26:11, it compares a dog returning to his vomit to a fool returning to his sin. All I'm going to say about that is that time is winding up. Jesus is on his way back. Now I not going to be stupid and try to predict when because Jesus is going to come when we least expect it. He could come tonight. He could come 80 years from now. The point is. We got to be ready and take a life long time out from being foolish.

Is Dick Vitale's voice annoying to anybody else? Or is it just me?

Oh and yes the title is from a song by Uncle Cracker. I like that song. Don't judge me.

I've been suffering from a cough for weeks now. I can't seem to get rid of it. It's more annoying than watching new Nickelodeon shows trying to be the next Kenan and Kel. Forget it Nick, it won't happen!

Ever been at a place so long that when you go to the restaurants, they just about know you by first name? Yeah, that's a clue that you need to move. My dad says, "No son, that's just as American as apple pie!" pssh....Let me explain something ok. I'll never get annoyed with apple pie. People asking where I've been when I walk in a restaurant after I haven't been there in weeks...yes that will get annoying.

Well that's about all I got for this blog. Be on a look out for a new podcast. Imma try to get one done this coming week. Stay saved.

~Daniel

Thoughts from the crazy mind of me

2009-02-22T22:14:00.000-08:00

Got the Itunes going. I'm doing this right on the lap top. It's almost 1 in the morning, I don't feel like writing then typing. Sue me. The cable box in the living room is working again so that means I don't have to just waste time playing my PS2. I can also watch TV in the living room. WHOO! I just finished a podcast. I'll share the link at the end of this blog.

So as of Friday, Conan is no longer the host the Late Night and is on his way to host the Tonight Show in June. I'm for one is interested to see how that goes. I become a big fan of Conan. His random and crazy just like someone else I know. Taking over for Conan starting next week is SNL alum, Jimmy Fallon. I'm going to give it a chance before I judge the show. Looking in I think it has potential. Jimmy is going to be lucky enough to have the Roots as his Late Night band. Jimmy was hilarious on SNL, but his movies, most of them, left a lot to be desired, in my opinion. Again, I'm going to give the show a chance before a chance.

As some of y'all know I saw Tyler Perry's latest movie entitled, "Madea Goes To Jail." It was one of Tyler's best work yet. I strongly consider it his second best movie he's ever done with the first being "The Family That Preys." Every actor in the movie, small part and big part, did their thing. Tyler outdid himself with this one. BTW, if you're a Tyler Perry hater, please give this movie a chance. I promise you it's different than the other Madea movies. I promise you on that. Alisha, my sister, and I left in amazement. So if you have a chance to see "Madea Goes To Jail," take the chance. I think you'll enjoy it. I know I did.

Later today I'm going to get my permit renewed...again. Yes I am 21 years old getting my permit again. Don't judge me. I got to take that test again, which should be a peice of cake. This time I'm going to push myself to get my license. Now when I get my lincense, I'm going to be in a dilema. Why? Because the pastor of my now old church has wanted me to play drums for him for the past 2 years. On the other hand, I'm in the choir at my current church and having an awesome time. I'm one of 3 tenors. I love singing, but I also love playing the drums. At my current church, I know it's going to be hard to get some playing time. If I go to my old church and play, I'm probably not going to do much singing. I don't want to waste any gift, you know what I mean? I do know that either way, this gift I'm using now, writing, is not going to get wasted. Either way I'm coming with blogs.

So before I go to bed let me promote my podcast. Just go to http://soundclick.com/bigdusty and click the podcast entitled "2/23/09 Podcast." In the podcast I talk about A-Rod, Chris Brown, and more. Check it out and tell your friends about it.

Stay saved friends.

~Daniel

A week off and I'm here again

2009-02-15T20:29:00.001-08:00

To anybody that was wondering where I was last week, I was just chillin. I really didn't have the umph to do a blog to honest, but I'm back this week. So Valentines Day was yesterday. Lots of videos and blogs were done this year for Valentines Day, and if you're like me, you're thinking "All this for a Saturday?" I'm sorry, I just don't see what all the hype is about. When this day comes it makes me glad I don't have a girlfriend or a job. This is one of them days that will break you. The more money you have, the worse. I've said before that I think Valentines Day has turned into a day all about a line from Beauty and the Beat where the clocks, "You could get a few things: flowers, chocolates, promises you don't intend to keep..." Now, I know there is some long history about the orgin of this day, but please spare me, ok? So if someone asks me how I spend my Valentines Day, I'm going to tell them, "Same way I spend all my Saturdays, I watched DVD's and played my PS2.

So we all know now about the Chris Brown and Rhianna situation. Comparisons to Ike and Tina have already gone around. Now if Chris is really guilty about this, and all evidence are saying he is, then he's going to reap what he sowed. Also rumors are going around that friends of Rhianna are saying that this is not the first time Chris has hit Rhianna. Chris, dude, is there a brain in that skull? Were you thinking at all? This is not smart for you money wise sir. I don't think Chris Brown can phathom how many fans he just lost for this stupid stunt. My heart goes out to Rhianna and all other women who have been abused in anyway like this. Chris Rock sayd there's a reason to hit anybody, just don't do it. Well I think there's absoulutely no reason to abuse a woman like Chris Brown alledgedly did. No reason.

And of course we all know about A-Rod and his steroid thing. Alex came out and said that he used performance enhancing drugs back at his days as a player in Texas. He apologized for doing so. We also got to take in to considersation that at the time Alex did the steroids, it wasn't illegal in baseball. So punishing him for something that was done around 2003 and for something that wasn't illegal doesn't make sense to me. Ok, yes he lied to everyone when he told Katie Couric on national tv that he didn't take anything. He's excuse for that lie was that he wasn't being truthful to himself at the time. Either way, baseball as a whole is interesting. I agree with what a sports caster said that the clean players need to step up say something. I really agree with that. Baseball needs good news and quick because steroids is whipping behind right now.

I would say more, but I'm tired. Y'all be safe and stay saved.

~Daniel

2/05/09 Podcast

2009-02-04T22:26:00.000-08:00

http://soundclick.com/bigdusty

lack of comments, Ephesians 6:5-8, and the Superbowl

No Comments This Year Yet, But I'm Still Coming Strong

2009-01-31T22:42:00.000-08:00

When I started thinking about this blog, that title came to me. I feel disappointed when I get no comments, but with the subscribers and followers, I at least know they're being read. Luke 6:31 says in the Message Bible, "Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them!" That's why I try to comment all the blogs I read because i want comments myself. Now, when I comment celebrity blogs, I don't expect them to comment my blogs, but you'll never know what will happen. The same thing with the podcasts. I haven't got any comments on a podcast this year either, but besides getting down about it, I keep them coming because I know people are listening to them. How do I know that? Well because most of the podcast I've do has made it to the top 10 of the charts on SoundClick in my category. With my videos also. Most of my videos get little to no comments, but I do my best to comment other videos. So do i want comments? Yes. Can I live without them? Yes.

As I was reading up yesterday in the Bible, I found something interesting. 1 Peter 2:13-17 in the Message Bible says, "Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, what ever their level; they are God's emissaries for keeping order. It is God's will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you're a danger to society,. Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking rules. Greet everyone you meet with dignity. Love your Spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government." So notice it didn't say that you had to agree with them, but it said respect them. I think we need to set a standard for the next generation by respecting authority. We all know that our leaders are far from perfect, but we still need to respect them. This generation has a bad rap for not respecting authority. Now sometimes we want to be anti-authority because some authority is not good authority, but the Bible says, "The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." That's found in Exodus 14:14.

So I just watched most of Saturday Night Live, and I was disappointed. I went in with high expectations because Steve Martin was hosting, and he's a SNL legend. The show overall was brutal as all get out. The final straw for me was a brutal performance by Steve Martin where he was playing the banjo with his band singing about going to school. I watched with my jaw on the floor thinking, "Are you kidding me?"

Anyway, thanks for reading. I'll be back next week. Stay saved.

~Daniel

1/27/09 Podcast

2009-01-27T21:02:00.000-08:00

http://soundclick.com/bigdusty

show your love

Addiction is a heck of a thing

2009-01-24T20:27:00.000-08:00

Addiction is a heck of a thing. If you don't control it, it will control you. Sometimes you think you've broke the addiction, but you haven't killed the source of the problem. So you go from day to day doing what's right. You're praying constantly, you're fasting, and you're reading the Bible. Again you haven't killed the source. One day you're searching through the internet and you see one link, one word, one picture...the specific thing that triggers the addiction you thought you killed. All of the sudden you're back in a funk. You're back to hiding and driving everybody away just to satisfy your fleshly desires. We try to crucify our flesh, but do we really know what that means? Or do we really know how to do it? If we don't kill the source of the habit, addiction, or what ever the problem is, we'll never get rid of the addiction. That means if we have to stop watching certain programs on television, so be it. If that means we have to stop going to certain sites, so be it. It's like you're trying to lose weight. You know you got to sacrifice certain foods. In essence you got to sacrifice what's feeding your addiction, but unlike most diets, no free day.

So my right ear has been giving me trouble for the past number of days. It's not infected or anything, it's just full of wax. All and all, make sure you clean your ears daily. The wax will build up. You can't imagine how hard it is to sing in the right key, while you can't hear out of one ear. It's annoying. Wednesday night at church, I went up with the choir, and when I started singing, I could literally hear my voice in my head. At some point, I stopped singing all together bercause of how annoying the sound of my voice was in my head. By the way, if you comment the blog and you coment about my voice being annoying, I'll consider that judging.

As like last week, I'm writing this blog by pencil and paper, and then I'm going to transfer to the lap-top. I'm sitting here thinking of what else to put down, and Ginger, my dog, is begging to me to take her out. I don't know how, but I think Ginger knows how cute she is. That has to be how she gets me to take her out early in the morning because if she was an ugly dog, I don't think she'd have the same luck. Either way, I'm going to take Ginger out and end this blog. Stay saved.

~Daniel

1/20/09 Podcast

2009-01-21T07:16:00.000-08:00

Just go to http://soundclick.com/bigdusty

Hines Ward!!

God Loves You

2009-01-17T21:44:00.000-08:00

I'm going old school with this blog. It has been a while since I've done a blog this way. I'm writing this blog using pencil and paper. Yes you read it right, pencil and paper. The reason I'm doing it this way is because I think better this way. I can just think and write this way without worrying about a key getting stuck or the lap-top freezing up. FYI, I'm using the lap-top to listen to music. I'm listening to songs we sing at church to keep the songs in my head and to help me stay focused by putting life in my ears. By the way it's 11:55 at night Jan. 17, 2009.

So earlier tonight I read Psalm 119, the whole chapter. What I usually try to do daily, better yet what I should try to do daily, is i go to Bible.com, look at the daily verse, and read that whole chapter. Today it happened to be a verse from Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible. I read the whole thing in the King James Version, and the Message Bible version. All in all it's a powerful chapter.

You know, I've made mistakes. Sometimes I forget to let go and let God. Time after time I take my eyes off the good and focus on the bad. I have a bad attitude that was inherited. I'm overweight. I've been called ugly. I've been depressed. I don't have many true friends, hardly any at all actually. Sometimes I feel like an outsider. And with all that said, God still loves me. In spite of, God still loves me. I may be judged by my appearance everywhere i go but God still loves me. I may be slow mentally sometimes, but God still loves me. What am I'm trying to say? God loves you. When you make a mistake, God loves you. When you've been hurt, God still loves you. John 3:16 says for God so loved the WORLD, which means he loves everybody. The song writer said, "It's not an ordinary love."

So Tuesday is approaching fast. This tuesday, if the Lord tarries, we will offically see the first Black President, or as I like to say, the first mixed President. Either way it's history. it's written in Proverbs 18, that the power of life and death lies on the tongue. I know some of you don't agree 100% with Obama's standards, but you can still speak life into the brother. If Obama makes any major mistakes, I'm going to do my best to speak life.

I hope you enjoyed this blog. I hope it blessed you in some way. This is probably the way I'm going to do blogs from now on. The last couple of blogs got no feedback at all. What's up with that? It's all good though. Y'all be good this week. Stay saved.

~Daniel

1/12/09 Podcast!! It's a 2 parter...

2009-01-12T22:06:00.000-08:00

Check it out. http://www.soundclick.com/bigdusty

Lord, whatever you're doing in this season, please don't do it without me

2009-01-09T21:23:00.000-08:00

I think the title is what we all should long for. Whatever God is doing in this season, I don't want to be left out. None of us should want to be left out. If you're sick and God is healing process, you don't want to be left out. If you're been waiting on an answer from God, and He is blessing in this season, you don't want to be left out. I didn't want to dwell on this. This song just popped in my head and I just wanted to share. That's my prayer every night. Lord, whatever you're doing in this season, please don't do it without me.

So if I'm on your buddy list on AIM, AOL Instant Messenger, you notice my status says, "Man if I didn't have a friend in Jesus I'd be a lonely dude." That's truly how I feel sometimes. I don't want to repeat myself but in a blog I wrote about a month ago, I talked about how it used to be with me back in the day with the friends I had at the apartment complex I was living at. If you want to read it, the blog is titled, "yo yo yo yo, yo, YO!" Seriously, that's the title. Don't judge me. But yeah, that's something I thank God for is being a friend when it seems like nobody else is there. I'm not trying to make y'all feel sorry for me or anything, I'm just stating facts.

Now changing the subject all together because I'm random like that. What's up with the media all up on Obama's kids? I know most of the media are classless, but leave the kids out of it. All the Obama haters, I'm hoping your classy enough to not bring the kids into it. I don't want to know what Obama's daughters are having for lunch, it's not my business. It's not any of our business. I know there are slow news days, but I seriously doubt that the news is so slow that you got to discuss the Obama daughters going to school in the morning and eating lunch at school. I did that for 13 years, how come I didn't get news coverage? A lot of kids still do go to school and eat lunch without news coverage. Let the kids be kids. Say what you want about Obama, but leave the kids out. That's just low.

So I was checking out this internet radio station, SpaceCoastFM.com. First of all let me say that if you're a fan of reggae music, check out www.spacecoastfm.com. Anyway, I was just listening, and all of the sudden the dj said that a song called, "You Got It Bad" was coming on. I thought nothing of it. Then the artist starting singing the same lyrics from Usher's song, "You Got It Bad." Y'all they made a reggae version of that song. Some songs don't need to be remixed, especially to a reggae beat. I left the site out of the disgust and confusion.

Before the year 2009 showed it's head, my sister and I went to see the Brad Pitt movie, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." From IMDB.com, "Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences." Anyway, my sister and I truly enjoyed this movie. Brad Pitt is brilliant, but I think that Taraji P. Henson really shined. She really made the most of her part. The movie really told a good story, and I'd recommend if you haven't seen it to go and see it. If I was Ebert and Roper, I'd give it 2 thumbs up.

Speaking of critics, what's with all the hate for Tyler Perry? Is it because he's black? Is it because his first movie was number 1? Is it because he makes movies cause he can and not because he has to? Is it because he doesn't show his movies to critics before he releases it? Is it because he gives back and he keeps it real with his fans? Is it because his sitcom, House of Payne, is the highest rated cable sitcom of all time? Is it because he's actually a good man? Is it because he pushes the name of Jesus in his movies? I mean what is it? Me personally I'm a huge fan of Tyler. From his plays to his movies, I like 'em all. Ok most of them, but I tell him on his messageboard on his website what I like and don't like on his messageboar on his website, which he reads by the way.

Ok, I'm going to watch the rest of this basketball game on ESPN. Thanks for taking time to read this. Please share your thoughts and comments on what I wrote. Please subscribe. Stay saved.

~Daniel

First Blog of the new year

2009-01-02T13:20:00.000-08:00

So, it's now 2009. We made it. We all need to be thankful. Some people calling 2008 the best year ever as far as sports goes. 2008 was an historic year. Micheal Phelps handled business in the Olympics. USA redeemed itself as the dominant country in basketball. We got the first mixed Presidential-elect. Yeah yeah, I know people saying he's black. Let me explain something, one of his parents was white, the other was black. Therefore he's mixed. 2008 is behind us, and now we got 2009 to look forward to. Now the question is, are we going to go through 2009 with the same crutches we had in 2008? Are we going to let the same issues and habits from 2008 control us in 2009? Or are we going to let go of all that and let God have his way?

As most of y'all know, I'm a little bit on the heavy side. Society would say that I need to lose weight to become "healthier." I was thinking about that. Now I would love to lose weight, but do I want to lose the weight for the right reason? Do I want to lose the weight for me, or do I want to lose the weight to be accepted by society? Do I want to lose the weight for my on health, or do I want to lose the weight to somehow have a better chance of finding the "better half?" Basically what I'm saying is, what ever change you want to make, weather it's a short term or long term change, do it for yourself. Don't let society or the media inspire you to make your life changing decisions. If you want to lose weight, do it for you. Now when you lose weight and people that wouldn't give you the time of day when you were fat try to be your friend, be careful. Me personally, I wouldn't let them in. I'd let them know that they didn't me the time of day when I was fat, now that I'm fit, you want to be my friend. The devil is a liar.

So I know this is pretty short compared to other blogs, but it's the first of the new year. Hope y'all have a safe and prosperous 2009. Stay saved.

~Daniel

Happy Christmas to one and all!

2008-12-25T00:39:00.000-08:00

So I'm seeing all this "Christmas cheer" going around and I guess it's a good thing. People being nice to each other. People acting like they got some sense, ok some acting like hey got some sense. Now really, shouldn't it be like this everyday? Shouldn't we be nice to each other, everyday? Why does it have to be just Christmas for us to feel all cheerful? Oh yeah that's right because the "secular world" has programmed us to hate life and hate ourselves except on Holidays. At least that's what it seems like to me. Another thing I want to get off my chest is this whole "X-Mas" thing. I understand it takes up less space, but to me it's real disrespectful to the reason of the season which is Jesus. Before I go further, to any Bible Scholars out there don't even bother because my dad already told me. The point is, I feel, is that X-Mas is taking the Christ out of the Holiday. I know people feel no harm from it, but I really take it personal when I see all these, "Merry X-Mas" going around. And some are from Christians, which is mind boggling to me. There's a song that I used to listen to all the time that talks about the world needs to know that Christ is Christmas. Some of you may not think is a big deal, but it is to me, and I feel it should be to other Christians and "Christians" out there.

So it's 3:18 on Christmas morning as I'm typing. In about 4 hours we're going to be opening our gifts, then we're going to be heading off to my Grandma's house. Odds are I probably won't be going to bed tonight. It would be a waste of time if I do. I didn't say I wasn't going to sleep, but the odds of getting a good sleep is slim to none. Anyway, the reason I'm even up right now is because my mom wanted me to put music on her mp3 player. So after I added all the songs mom wanted, I shuffled the list. Then when I tried to sync the list, it jacked up the order I had it in. So I had to stop the sync, add the songs back on, shuffle again to my liking, save it as a playlist, then get to syncing only to have it jack the list up again, then stopped the sync again, added the playlist I saved, and finally got it to sync the way I wanted it to. AND, I still got a mix cd or cds to burn to listen to on the way to Grandma's house. Merry Christmas to me, I guess.

Word to the wise, if you wear a du-rag, don't put it on to tight. I had my du-rag on so tight last night, that there's still a mark on my forehead now. People at church kept asking me what happened. Thinking about it now I should've just made up some stories. Of course that would be lying, and as we all know, lying is wrong.

You know, if I ever find the one girl made for me, I want everything to be just perfect. Well as perfect as it can be. I don't want to go out on dates with her. Now the reason I say that is because, the way dating is used now, it's nothing but a make-out session that usually leads to bumping and grinding. I just want to be friends. Before any of y'all think it, I know the term, "Let's be friends," is usually a bad thing, but does it really have to be? I would want my wife to be my best friend. Being best friends, would mean that I we would have conversations. We wouldn't flirt with temptation, like I talked about in the previous blog. I don't know. And personally, I would want the first kiss to be on the Wedding Day. None of that making out crap, because to me that's flirting with temptation. I hear some people talking about making out and dating, and they treat it like they're trying on girls like trying on some jeans to see how they fit. Is that really classy? Does it really take for you to swap spit with like 10 girls to realize that you found the right one? I don't want to go through that. I would want the wedding to be pure as can be. Nobody is perfect, and I understand. But I serve a God...

Ok, so let me get to making this mix CD for the road, and try to rest my eyes for a smidge. Y'all thanks for reading. I know theres other blogs you could've read but you chose to read mine and it's appreciated. I hope you make time to comment and subscribe. Stay saved.

~Daniel

Don't give place for something bad to happen

2008-12-14T20:02:00.000-08:00

That's something I think we all got to work on. This is not just for Christians, I think it's for all of us. The Bible talks about not giving place to the devil. We sometimes leave ourselves wide open for something bad to happen. We flirt with temptation. A person trying to quit smoking should not keep the temptation of cigarettes in reach. That's flirting with temptation. A person trying to get delivered from a perverted spirit, should not search videos or TV shows that will trigger something. Notice I said search, because I'm willing to bet that those movies, videos, or whatever are going to show up out the blue. When that happens, it's on you to change the channel or do what you have to do, but if you continue to watch them, you're flirting with temptation. Let's say you're a Christian couple, and both of you believe that sex before marriage is wrong. You shouldn't put yourselves in a predicament that would cause something sexual to happen. You shouldn't do certain things thinking, "I'm strong enough or I know better not to let anything crazy happen." I know people that's thought that and nine months later the baby is crying begging for milk. All in all, I'm saying don't flirt with temptation because it will show you that you're not as strong as you think you are. Trust me on that.

So what's up y'all? Another week another blog. I did a podcast the other day for the first time since the election. I posted the link in a blog entry before this one, so after reading this. Go to the link and check out the podcast if you haven't already. For those who don't know I've been sick for the past days. I guess when my mom left for her field assignment she felt that she would leave her sickness with me. I'm feeling better now though. I can actually breathe a little bit and talk normal. Because of the sickness I couldn't go to choir rehearsal last week, and for me that sucked. I love music. I love singing, and when I get the chance, I love to play the drums. Most of y'all know that. So missing a rehearsal was hard. Hopefully this week I can get back on track.

For the record, my mom is not in Chicago. Some of you know that she went to Illinois, and immediately people started thinking she was in Chicago. She's actually 4 hours away from Chicago, and about 30 minutes from St. Louis. Just for the record.

So anyway, I haven't really been up to anything besides being sick. Went to a good Christmas banquet for church. The members found out how much I can talk. For all of you that think I'm quiet, um, not no mores. My sister claims I talk more than her, but I don't know how that's possible. FYI, be on the lookout. My youtube channel, http://www.youtube.com/danielakabigd, could be used to promote a local gospel rap group. Which means that I'll actually post videos that will get views. I haven't got details on that, but I'm just sayin.

That's all I got for this week good people. Subscribe if you haven't. Comment and share your thoughts, specifically on the first paragraph. Stay saved.

~Daniel

12/11/08 Podcast

2008-12-10T23:42:00.001-08:00

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=7138243

If you don't know how to listen, it's real simple. Just click the link, then click hi-fi. Then enjoy.

yo yo yo yo yo, yo, YO!

2008-12-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

You have to be a fan of the WWE to know what the title means. Don't worry, it most likely has nothing to do with what this blog is going to talk about this week.

So this morning my mom left for her field assignment. She's on a two day drive on her way to Illinois. She's going to be gone for a year or more coming home once a month. It's really going to suck more than a hooker on a Friday night. Mom left me with a man that makes Oscar the Grouch the nicest man on Earth. I'm sorry to all family members and church members that are reading this in advance, but my dad is a pain. And it's going to be pure hell for the next year. I wouldn't blame my sister for not coming home at all, even if it's to do laundry. Now I'm not going to spend more time bashing the man that is my dad, but I am going to say that if anything's a wake up call for me to get myself together, this is it. If I don't get myself together as in get a job, get my license, etc. and just spend time by myself getting more depressed and more angry...it's nobody's fault but mine.

Now, changing the subject all together. Jack Black. I think he's a great performer. He's a great entertainer. With that said, I've lost a lot respect for him. There's a video circulating around, if you haven't seen it, with celebrities protesting the decision made in California on Prop 8. On one side they had celebrities impersonating priests and church members, and on the other side they had celebrities impersonating homosexuals. Then later in the video, Jack Black came out dressed out as Jesus. I guess that was supposed to be funny. If it was, you have to forgive me if I don't laugh. I don't find it funny playing with the Bible. I don't find it funny, or ok, making a joke of the Bible. In the video, or should I say, what I saw of it, the people mentioned the fact that in Leviticus it says that homosexuality is a detestable sin. Jack Black came out dressed as Jesus, as I said, with some shrimp saying that Bible said that shrimp was wrong. Now if you read around Leviticus 11:10 on, it does talk about not eating certain animals and other things. It does say that. But, if you go to Acts the 10th chapter, Peter was on a roof top hungry. And a blanket came from heaven with all kinds things that were considered an abomination in Leviticus. God told Peter to rise, kill and eat. Peter said in so many words, "How can I, when it's unclean." Then God said, "What I call clean, don't you call unclean." All this reminds me of when Satan tried to tempt Jesus by using the Word. Satan got schooled then, so why would he try to use celebrities to do the same thing. Another thing. I don't know about y'all, but God's wrath is something I don't want to play with. You can play with God's wrath, but not me sir. Not me.

I was thinking the other day. I have online friends, and I'm thankful for y'all. PraiZe, Yungtown, and others. Y'all my people. But there was a time when we as a family was living in a 2 story apartment. In the aparment complex, I used to have friends that I was actually in contact with. Two dudes Gregory and Dustin I met at random. I met Gregory while he was fishing with his Dad, and I forgot how I met Dustin, but that's beside the point. We were, in so many words, a clique. My sister was with us too. What I'm basically saying is that I had friends. We'd play outside. We'd go to each other's apartments and just chill. What happened to me that I've lost the ability to attract friends. It seems like after high school, I've become this loner that has gained a "nobody likes me, everybody hates me" type of thing. I've gained a lot of associates at church and where ever, but other than that...just mainly my online people I hit up. Sometimes I barely talk to them. Not on purpose by any means. So what's wrong with me? The Bible says if you want friends you have to show yourself friendly. I must not be doing a good job.

Thanks for reading. Subscribe!

~Daniel

P.S. If you must know I'm currently listening to "Jesus Be A Fence" by Fred Hammond. Noisy...:D

lol, lmbo, haha....SHUT UP

2008-11-29T06:36:00.000-08:00

Don't judge me for the title, it was the most creative thing I could think of, k? So I got a comment for the last blog that said it was difficult to follow the blog because I kept showing what I was listening to. I got that concept from Matt Hardy, who is the WWECW Champion and also one of my favorite wrestlers WWE offers right now. Anyway he sometimes types random blogs, but he calls them "Cryptic Blogs." In those particular blogs he types out random stuff sometimes with hidden messages in them, and in the midst he types out what he's listening to on his iPod. So I figured I should add to my randomness and do it myself. Not necessary the hidden messages thing, but the thing with showing what I'm listening to. It makes this feel more like a diary you know? FYI, I'm listening to "You Are God" by Voices of Unity.

So there's a video out there that y'all really need to check out in my opinion. It's basically a video rant on what happened on this past "Black Friday." Where a guy got trampled to death while shoppers rushed in a Wal-Mart to get whatever they could with the deal. Some of y'all know of Chris Thompson aka Jungleboy. He's the one that did the rant. The link to his youtube is: http://www.youtube.com/supricky06. The video is right on the page as of this moment. It's a real touching video. Now my opinion of the whole sitution? I think that's extremely sad that we as a society are so driven by material things that we seem to live and die by them. Chris said it in the video that the Holiday season is not about the gifts, it's about spending time with your family. I made a comment on the video saying that we need to start enjoying life. We need to teach the next generation what's right and wrong. We need some real parents, not the new millenium parent, because that doesn't seem to be working. Anyway check out the video, and share your thoughts with him. And if you want to know because you're noisy, I'm currently listening to "Praise Him" by Byron Cage.

I hope y'all had a good Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. We made food like we were feeding a football team besides 4 people. So if y'all hungry for some leftovers, we got more than plenty. The food was good though. It's become a tradition that my sister has to get the first plate. I don't know why or how it actually became a tradtition, but for the past how many years, she's always got the first plate. It's truly insane.

Back to the "Black Friday" thing for just a sec, I just saw something in the newspaper that said that two people were shot to death in a crowded toy store. Are you freaking kiddin' me? Brad Pitt said something in the movie Fight Club, "Things you own end up owning you." People stop letting things own you because of you let material things own you, things like this happens.

So some nights ago, I was honored to be one of two people to write a review for a mixtape. Two of my friends Yungtown and PraiZe collabed on the mixtape and they did a tremendous job. It's a Gospel rap mixtape. I recommend y'all to check it out. It's a free download, and it's worth it. Here's the link: http://www.mediafire.com/?i1zziujmtyg. I was in a chatroom last night, because Yung and PraiZe was on a online radio show promoting the mixtape. This chatroom reminded me of why I left messageboards. Some of these people were more annoying than watching an episode of Mind of Mencia.

Aight y'all thanks for reading. To all the followers, subscribers, readers. If you haven't, please subscribe and I try to keep these interesting. Stay saved.

~Big Dusty

Who knows what's coming out my fingers next?

2008-11-21T20:41:00.000-08:00

To all my subscribers, readers, and friends! What's up? Starting off with "Death Story" by Lecrae on Windows Media. Again this week don't really have a straight topic I want to go over. Am I the only one who finds those Geico commercials hilarious? In my opinion, those are the best ones being put out right now. "Don't Be A Fool" by Elle Es is playing now. It was same old stuff different week for me. Didn't do anything at all. The evaluations hadn't happened yet at church, but i've come to the point where when it does happen, I'm going to breathe in deep, and just say three words, "Bring it on." "Thou Are Worthy" by John P Kee is playing now. It's like, I'm going to be in a no where to run, no where to hide type of scnerio anyway, so I might as well take it. It's like that episode of Tom and Jerry, yes I do watch Tom and Jerry, when Tom was locked up with a bull. The bull was chasing Tom and Tom had no where to get out. So he put on a blind fold and lit up a cigarette, and let the bull run him over. That's sorta how I'm going to take the evaluation, except without the cigarette you know. Lung cancer is pain I hear. "Lookin Out For Me" by Kirk Franklin is on. So I've been spendin a lot of time lurking in Live Video chat rooms. Good God do the host hate that. If you want to tick a Live Video host off something awful, lurk in the chat room and don't a word. Ooh, the response is classy. Not really classy, but it's highly entertaining. Nah, I do go into the chatrooms sometimes, it just depends on who's in there. There is one particular person I refuse to be in the same room in. That's all I'm going to say about that. "Rivers Flow" by Marvin Sapp is playing on the Windows Mediacles. So I've been getting angry a little bit too easily lately, and sadly my mom's been getting the worse of it. That's definitely not fair to her. What's real sad is I know what the Bible says about anger, and yet I still sometimes let it control me. I personally think it's a sign that I really need to get out of this town and/or house. I'm losing the little sanity I do have everyday I continue to stay at home and do nothing, and I do mean nothing, with my life. It's nobody's fault but mine, and I know that. Will I do something about it? Your answer is as good as mine, because I really can't tell you. If any of you have AIM be free to hit me up. My screenname is BigdDrums. The only instant message I got this week was while I was typing earlier in the blog from a friend of mine, JKCT. Don't ask what that stands for because I don't have the slightest. "Restoration" by Ruben Studdard is on now. Recently I started using Firefox rather then Internet Explorer. I notice, at least for me, that it's quicker and better then IE ever was. I'm thinking that I'm going to have hot cocoa with the whip creamacles on top. Sounds so good right now. "Overcommerture" by Israel and New Breed is playing now. Should I be scared that my dad tends to say stuff to himself the same things I'd say when I was a little kid? Just a thought. "That Ain't Nothin'" by Fred Hammond is on now. Just a quick message to all that is still trashing Obama. Let it go. Just let it go. I think some of y'all are underground racist and just scared to admit it. Yes I said it. Boom suckahs!! Seriously, I saw something that this guy was going to get a T-Shirt with a baby on it with a statement that said something like "If my child makes a mistake, I don't want her to live with the baby." With Senator Obama written on the bottom. Come on sir. That's way to far, and so far over the line even Bill Maher is like, "Come on sir." "You've Been A Friend" by Israel and Newbreed is ending the show tonight. Thanks to all that's has subscribed. If you haven't subscribed please do. Y'all stay saved.

~Daniel

Expect Anything

2008-11-14T19:22:00.000-08:00

Starting this blog off with "There Is A Balm In Gilead" by the Clark Sisters. I'm bored. Just letting y'all know up front. So don't expect this blog to be as deep as they have been recently. So I got an instant message from this guy I haven't chatted with in months. Really had no desire to chat with him again, but he instant messaged me and asked me if I had a X-Box 360. I said no. He ask why. I said, "A) It's expensive B)I'm broke and C) I don't want one period." Now let me warn you, the next line is probably the most genius lines you'll read today. Before I tell you what he said, "Outro" by T-Bone is playing. Now the guy said, "abc is like 123." I wish I was making that up. I couldn't even respond to that. I couldn't phathom that he actually thought and typed that out. Then he actually sent it to me. "Not Guilty (Parkview Mix)" by John P. Kee is now playing. So I exited out the whole conversation without saying a word because there was obviously nothing to say to that. Have you ever find yourself looking at either one of your parents thinking, "How are you not rocking back and forth in a straight jacket?" I'm telling you I'm afraid to become a parent. I see how mentally insane my dad is and I don't want that. I'm already crazy enough, I don't need any help. You may be saying, "Daniel, don't think that about your dad." Yeah, you say that because you don't know him. I live with him. It's an experience I'm dying to forget. "Shake Your Body" by T-Bone is rocking the ear phones now. So at the church, the music leaders are going to be giving evaluations. They told us that at the end of the last choir rehearsal. That junk flipped me the crap out. The first thought that entered my mind was, "Uh oh." I don't know why I start thinking negative but I just don't take criticism well. I take it to personally. I don't feel like crying in front of these people. Yes I do cry, and crying does not make you gay, which is the title of one of my popular videos on youtube. "Running to You" by Deitrick Haddon. Speaking of Deitrick be on the looking out for a review of his new CD Revealed. It's already typed and saved. So even though I'm not going on messageboards any more, I'm still working on my story. I just don't feel rushed or pressured to post it anywhere. When or if I ever complete it, I have no idea what I'm going to do with it. I don't want it just to sit there. Hopefully I'll have some direction of what I want to do soon. "What's the Password?" by Canton Jones is on. I've been watching a lot of Kevin Smith videos on youtube. The videos are mostly from his Q and A's released on DVD. I one that loves honestly. I love when people are blunt. "Holy" by Israel and New Breed is playing now. Anyway, I also respect a high paid director, like Kevin Smith, that can conduct sessions with us regular people and be honest about everything. Now I don't agree with the cussing and all that, but you can't deny that nothing is funnier than true stories sometimes. "Changed Me" by John P. Kee is playing. You know those Adidas Basketball commericials that's been coming on lately? I got curious and went to adidasbasketball.com and watched the videos. My favorite was the one with Tim Duncan's team versus Tracy McGrady's team. Not was it cool to see youngins get a chance to play in the spotlight, but it was hilarious to see McGrady's get fustrated at the calls. All the videos were good though. I recommend any rising basketball player to go on the site and watch them. I'm definitely going to make myself some coffee after I finishing typing this thing. I know that all that caffine is not healthy, but I'm not trying to win a beauty contest, sir. I got to do better, I know. "Time to Leave" by John Reuben. I think the name of the song is a sign that it's time for me to stop. Thanks for reading my randomness, I'll try to do better the next time. Or not. It depends on what's on my mind. Be blessed.

~Daniel

My review of Voices Of Unity’s CD: Together in Worship

2008-11-12T18:45:00.000-08:00

I Gotta Praise (Holy One) ~ This track is a great variation of the classic song often used during shout music. Being a musician, the musical arrangement on this song is bananas. With that the vocal flow is good also. The message of the song is of course talking about praising God, the Holy One. Great song.

Watch Me Praise Him ~ When I saw Deitrick Haddon perform this on TBN, I was immediately hooked. Again this is turn of and old traditional song. One of them songs that you can't help but nod your head too. Deitrick’s wife, Damita, is singing on this CD and is doing a tremendous job. Another great song. The musical arrangement and vocal flow is great also. This CD is starting off awesome.

We Worship You ~ The musical arrangement at the beginning is a little weird for my taste. This track features the awesome Pastor William Murphy III. This is definitely not your average Gospel song. The build-up to the chorus is crazy though. The chorus is awesome. I’m really feeling this track. I admit the musical arrangement sounded weird in the beginning, but man, does it get better. If you’re a fan of William Murphy and Israel Haughton, and this is the track for you.

Take Rest In Me ~ Deitrick is singing on this track. You can feel the presence of God strong from last track to this one. This track is mostly vocals, and the harmony and blend is just sick. This is a worship song. I would definitely call this track a show stopper track. Meaning that if this song was sung during a service, I can definitely see the Holy Ghost taking over and God having His way with the people. Wow. This track is just wow.

You Are God ~ This track is featuring artist Javen. I’ve seen Javen on the Gospel Music Channel and he wasn’t really my style. This is another worship song. It’s definitely a track toward Javen’s style of music. Alternative music is the best way I can describe his style. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just a favorite of mine. This song is talking about there’s none like God. Another track with crazy vocal arrangements. Not a bad song at all.

We Cry Holy~ This song features Jason Champion. It just went into it which means I don’t think this is the whole song I’m listening too. Sounds like we come in right at the vamp. Not bad for the 3 minutes I heard of it.

Send a Revival ~ This track features Pastor Paula White. Paula is preaching is talking about reviving. She’s taking about the sound coming from Heaven. I’m loving the arrangement of this song. The title of the song is what the song is about, go figure. It’s about asking the Lord sending a revival and reviving us again. Paula is talking over the track while the background singers and choir is singing. She doesn’t overlap much at all so it easy to understand what the singers are singing. I like this track, not my favorite on the CD so far, but it’s good.

Heaven ~ Another one with Deitrick Haddon taking over the lead. Again it’s a worship song. Nothing wrong with that. It’s a simple song also. That’s not a bad thing by all means. Some of the best worship songs are the most simple. During the song he sings lyrics from the song “Oh the Glory of Your Presence,” which is a great song in itself.

It All Belongs To You ~ Once again, Damita Haddon takes lead. It has a piano intro to it. Sort of the likes of “Imagine Me,” by Kirk Franklin. Another simple song lyrically and vocally. Once again it’s a worship song. I really like this song also.

He’s Able ~ This track features the great Darwin Hobbs. I first heard of this song when we learned it at choir rehearsal at my church, New Harvest Ministries. I then searched for it on YouTube and immediately fell in love with the track. “God is able to do just what He says He will do. He’s gonna fulfill every promise to you. Don’t give on God ‘cause He won’t give up on you. He’s Able.” What more can you say? It’s a powerful song. It speaks to your heart. It’s based on the verse found in Ephesians 3:20 which says (KJV), “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”

Praise Break (Momma’s God A Word) ~ This is featuring Prophetess Joyce Haddon. We definitely learn where Deitrick got his spiritual teaching from. What a powerful word.
My Father’s House ~ This is the last track which is featuring Shirley Murdock. It’s an upbeat song. The bass line is crazy. Following the trend of the other tracks, the vocals are again insane. Again I’m loving the bass. Shirley is a beast, which means if you don’t know that she is extremely talented.

This CD was recorded live at Without Walls International Church. Nothing against studio albums, but something about when you know a Gospel CD is recorded with a live audience you can really feel the anointing of God in the midst. I give this CD 5/5 stars. One of the better Live CD’s I’ve heard. With Deitrick, this was the best I’ve heard from him. Sometimes with Deitrick, at least to me, it sounds like he’s trying to entertain more then he’s trying to reach. With this CD, not only did he entertain, he spoke to our hearts. He really let the Holy Ghost have his way with this one. My opinion…definite must buy for any fan of choirs, worship, and just letting God do His thing.