THIS MAY NOT CHANGE ANYTHING....

 I'm not here to change anybody's mind. I'm going to try and be extremely careful with what I want to say. Now I will say that I don't listen to Gospel rap like I used to. Not because I consider it blasphemous or anything. It's not because I got a "wake up" call about rap music. I'm still a rap fan. I'm not anti rap. I'm not anti gospel rap. Reach the nations. I still believe gospel rap can reach people that the church has thrown away if used right. My problem with gospel rap, again my, me, Daniel Richerson, my problem with gospel rap is that it's become a little too saditty. It lost the essence of what gospel music is supposed to be. Gospel rap to me has the same problem that hip hop in general has is that things are being rapped but nothing is being said. 

BUT....I believe that if some gospel rappers could sing, they would tell me and others, "You don't know my story. All the things that I've been through. You can't feel my pain. What I had to go through to get here. You'll never understand my praise. Don't try to figure it out because my worship is for real." I believe we don't know what worship really is. I believe worship is more than what we has the church has made it out to be.

John 4:23-24 KJV "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit,: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." 

I'm trying to be real careful with my words because I have typed on this subject before and used shall we say a more blunt approach. I do apologize if my words have offended anybody. 

I've referenced this song in another post, Preacher man by Canton Jones, and while watching the video, I saw a visual that almost brought tears to my eyes. It was a visual of missionaries and deacons dressed in their "Sunday's Best" sitting next and conversating with the people from the street with their street clothes on. Sitting next to each other while receiving the Word from the preacher. I asked myself the question, "Will I ever see that in my lifetime?" Will I ever see the church actual welcome folks in that don't look like, walk like, or praise like sit next each other and enjoy and participate in a church service together, or because they're considered hip hop...? 

I'm not trying to change anybody's mind. This is not meant as shot to anybody. This is a plea for conversation to happen between generations. This is a plea for those who sing out the hymn book to have a conversation with those who may listen to artists from Reach Records and God Over Money Records. This is a plea to actually let everything that has breath...

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

HYMNS

I was talking with God before falling asleep and I started thinking about hymns. I hear it in church all the time. "It's nothing like those hymns." or "I go back to hymns because they had power." So, being the mark that I am, I started thinking about what exactly is a hymn? If you look at Ephesians 5:18-21, it says, "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." Then you look at Colossians 3:16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heats to the Lord." Donnie McClurkin had a 2 disc album called, "Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs" So again I ask the question, what is a hymn?

Webster defines a hymn as, "a song of praise to God." I do understand and realize that when the word hymn, our minds immediately go straight to the hymn book. Don't get me wrong, I love those old hymns. Those old songs are timeless. One of my all time favorites is Great Is Thy Faithfulness. So please don't get the idea that I'm burying those old songs. All I'm saying is that just because it's not in the hymn book, doesn't make it any less powerful. Personally, a lot of songs NOT in the hymn book have spoken to me. He's Able by Deitrick Haddon. It Could Be Worse by James Fortune. Made A Way by Larry Trotter, and not just because I used to sing lead on it. God Is by Dewayne Woods, again not just because I used to sing lead on it. Alpha and Omega, as sung by Israel and New Breed. Smile by Kirk Franklin.

I'm sure who ever is reading this, have songs not in the COGIC hymn book or what ever denomination you are in that have ministered to you. "...singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;" Another song I love that has been sung in churches all around that's called, "Sound of Praise" as sung by Larry Trotter. Song says, "There is a sound that is pleasing to His ear. A sound of praises lifting into the atmosphere. Every time you lift your voice, you need to know. Jesus loves to hear the sound of praise. Hallelujah the sound, He loves to hear."

I do agree that some of these new songs that play on radio is not the most church friendly type songs, but that doesn't make them bad songs. By church friendly, I mean, it's not the taste of music by the majority of the older members. Because we want the lyrics to talk about Jesus, but the music has to be what we like or it's not right. That's about how it is in the mind of some people. If the music doesn't sound like all the older songs, It's not gospel. It's not just the lyrics. It's the music. So when Christian rappers rap lyrics about Jesus, it's bad because the music doesn't match Jesus I Never Forget. Sigh.


Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

P.S. Yes, I was contemplating quitting these blogs, but as Steve Harvey once said, "He's not through with me yet." Keep praying for me.

JESUS IS THE PROBLEM SOLVER

It is written in 1st John, "greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world." Mary Mary had a song called "God In Me." Side note: should we really be surprised that I Luh God was released then? Just saying...Anyway, what I can't understand is why is it that in church we hear more about how bad the world is than how great God is? I thought we go to church to hear about the Gospel, but mostly we hear about how jacked up the world is. If somebody from the world comes into your church, the last thing they want to hear on a constant is how bad they are. 99% of the time they already know how bad they are, they want to know how to get out.

Whenever I hear, "You know in the world today, blah blah blah..." I roll my eyes. Don't get me wrong, I know we don't live in the most civilized society, but my thing is the "world" has been jacked up for years. I mean if the "world" today is so bad, then the world yesterday had to have it's problems as well, right? Today's generation learned it from somewhere, didn't they? Even if you blame the media of the day, the seeds had to planted by someone of yester-year, right? I always go back to what my dad told me, "You can't throw rocks from a glass house."

Let's go with that then, the world today is jacked up, but does that give you an excuse to be jacked up? I thought we were supposed to be "salt and light in the world?" I thought we were supposed to come out from among them and be ye separated? Talking about the world without offering a solution seems pretty "worldly" to me. That's like a math teacher teaching you that there's a math problem on the board, but has spent no time showing you how to solve it, but all the teacher has told you is that, there is a problem on the board. If you don't know how to solve a problem, then the problem will still be a problem that will grow into a major problem that will drive you crazy until you can get it solved.

Jesus is the problem solver. If we don't introduce Jesus to this world, the problems will never go away. We talk and talk about how bad the world is today, but if we never introduce Jesus to a dying world, then what have we don't to solve the problem? We talk and talk, but we got to do. I believe it's written that we need to be doers of the world and not hearers only.

You hear it all the time that, "Everybody is a Christian now." And we just accept it. We let it continue. We talk about it in our Sunday Schools and expect things to change. If we continue to treat this life as just another religion, that's how the world is going to see it. I was taught that this is a relationship not a religion. Can't we really be mad at the world making fun of the church, when we give them material? Maybe if the church will start showing more Jesus and less trying to keep the seats full...

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

THE B-I-B-L-E YES THAT'S THE BOOK FOR ME.

The B-i-b-l-e yes that's the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God, the B-i-b-l-e.

The above are lyrics of a song I learned when I was a little kid. It came back to me when I was thinking about some things. Lately I've been having conversations with some Mormons. Cool couple of guys. They strongly believe in what they believe. Should I say boldly believe in what they believe. I don't agree with most of it, but I have to respect the boldness. Why do I respect the boldness? Because it shows what kind of boldness I should have for what I believe in. What do i believe in? The Bible is what I believe in. There's an old song that says, "I know the bible is right. Somebody's wrong."

What I have a problem with is people putting other books on the same par as the Bible. Same level as the Bible. I have a problem with that. I read (past tense) in the Bible, Word of God, that in the beginning was The Word, and the Word was with God., and the Word was God. So if God is the Word, then isn't putting another book on the same level like worshiping another God? I believe that one of the 10 commandments is, "thou shalt not have no other gods before me." Around the 4th to 5th grade my sister and I want to this daycare, Sunshine Learning Center. There they taught us a song that says, "Read your Bible, pray everyday, and you'll grow, grow, grow." Read your BIBLE. Get to know your God. Study your God. Stand on the Word. Believe in God. Can't believe in God and not believe in the Bible when they are one in the same.

The Bible says, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV) In other words you have to study the Word yourself. Don't just go by what you've heard all your life because 9 times out of 10 you might miss something. For example, most of my life, I've been hearing about Sodom and Gomorrah. Every time I hear about that it's mostly about the homosexual stuff that's happened in that. But once I studied it for myself, I realized that the ones that brought up that story nearly always never brought up the fact that no righteous living people could be found in that city therefore God destroyed it. Now a lot of people call America modern day Sodom and Gomorrah, and believe me I get the comparison. But again I bring up that God could not find 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, or 10 righteous living people in that city. So you mean to tell me that America has no righteous living in the country? America is going to have to pay for it's sins, I know that, but I believe the reason it's still running is more than "In God We Trust" on the money.Why I say that? Because mainly the bible says if you love God you will keep his commandments. It's more than lip service. I believe that, "I have never seen the righteous forsaken..." Then again, I could be wrong. But this is my blog, and--

Anyway, another good reason to study is your success. It is written that, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." (Joshua 1:8) So with that being, making your way prosperous can't come by depending on whoever your spiritual leaders are. You have to read the Bible for yourself. It clearly says, THOU shalt make THY way prosperous. Not your pastor, not your bishop.

The B-i-b-l-e yes that's the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God, the B-i-b-l-e.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

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GET BACK ON FOCUS

Something that has been bothering me lately, and I talked to a couple of guys about it. Churches are getting off focus. Again let me say that the church is not a building. The church is the people. Without the people, there's no church. Now, we as the church, are losing focus. We're supposed to seek God. Focus on God. Keep God first. Seek ye first the kingdom of God. If there's one thing I can't stand it's when I go to a church that's not focused on the kingdom and more focused on what he or she is doing or not doing.

Nothing like going to a church that's actually God oriented and unashamed about it. We've become so focused on the entertainment aspect of church. Who can dance the best. Who can praise the best. Who can yell the loudest. Who can play the best. More about the show and less about the oil. The oil meaning the anointing. I guess being God oriented won't put butts in the seats, but I heard it said, "Take care of God's business, He'll take care of yours."

It is written, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." Wondering why the church has no peace? The focus may be off. When the body is not listening to the head, it's out of order. We got body parts disrespecting the head and wondering why everything is all messed up. When I was growing up, and I disrespected the head of the household, I got what is missing in most homes today, disciplined. Discipline is missed in some churches as well.

Discipline is more than using the belt. It's defined, "the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience." If God speaks to you pastor what the church needs to do, or where the church needs to go, just shut up and obey. Don't say, "Well I don't think that..." You're the body part for a reason. God placed the pastor there for a reason. He sent the pastor there to lead. Stay in your lane. You're over the sound system. That's all you need to put your mouth on. Stop putting your mouth on what is not in your lane.

"Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7) When worry come we tend to pass the blame instead of going to God in prayer. Instead of hitting our knees in prayer, we let the Devil come in and jack up relationships and close down churches. I wonder how many churches have closed the doors because of losing focus. Learn who God is again. The holy spirit is not the only spirit that talks to us. Think before you speak, and keep you mind stayed on God.

Two old hymns came to mind. One says, "There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus. No not one. No not one. None else can heal all our soul's diseases. No not one. No not one. Jesus knows all about our struggles. He will guide 'til the day is done. There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus. No not one. No not one." The other says, "What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and grieves to bear. What a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer. Oh what peace we often forfeit. Oh what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer." "Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness. All we got to do is take it to the Lord in prayer"

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

THAT'S NONSENSE!!

Matthew 6:5-8, GNT says, “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites! They love to stand up and pray in the houses of worship and on the street corners, so that everyone will see them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.  “When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that their gods will hear them because their prayers are long. Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask him."

This came to me the other night. You know how you go to church and who ever is praying is trying to "usher in" the spirit of God, and all there doing is more or less trying to be seen? At least that's what it looks like to me. If you read the above verses in the KJV it says basically if you pray to be seen, you already got your reward. So the only thing you get out of it is that people saw you do what you did. You just wasted everyone's time. I've always thought that if you have the presence of God in you, then you shouldn't have to pray to be seen. If you're praying to be seen, then you're just telling of your prayer life. If you're praising to be seen, you're just telling on yourself.  What God sees you do in private he will reward you openly. You praise and pray in private, you'll get rewarded openly. I've always been taught you come to church to connect with other believers to praise and pray together not to out prayer or out praise each other, am I right or wrong? I know my mom will let me know, but this is my blog and I can be right or wrong if I wanna. Booyaka.

BS stinks no matter where it's coming from. Google it if you don't know what BS stands for. If you don't know what google is, then I can't help you because its 2014, and that is just sad by this point. Anyway, I'm the type of guy that's allergic to nonsense. If there's one thing I can't stand is when I call someone out on there nonsense and they put nonsense on top of the old nonsense. I smell nonsense from a mile way, and who ever it's coming from, whether it's a saint or sinner, nonsense is still nonsense. I usually keep my opinion to myself when it comes to nonsense but when I call you out on it, don't keep trying to nonsense me. Please. That will tick me off even more. 

How does that flow you ask? I don't know, but let me see what I can do. If you're praying to be seen, you are doing nothing but nonsense in the church. If you're praising to be seen, then what's the purpose? Nonsense. I go back to this verse all the time that goes something like this, "God wants things done decently and in order." If it's not in order, then what is it? Non---you got me. and I pray to God that if there's anything like that in me. If I have the tendency to nonsense anybody or nonsense in the church, please deliver my soul oh God. I ain't trying to be a hypocrite.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

GOD, PLEASE REMOVE THE HANDCUFFS FROM OUR CHURCHES

Hello Hello again everyone. Before I get going first me say, in the middle of the month, Happy New Year! Hope things are going well for you so far but if not, still got 11 months to go we can still get-r-done. And now--

Cue Made A Way by Bishop Larry Trotter. It's been a minute since I've blogged, so lets see if I remember how this works. Let's go.

So I've got plenty of stuff I could blog about. Some stuff will stay off the blog site because well, for one, I've gotten chewed out enough for what I post on the internet weather it's on blogs or other social media sites. For two, blogging about certain things won't necessarily change situations, so what's the sense? So besides personal things, of course you got the Phil Robertson thing. Which I will stay away from for the time being because it's not even worth it by this point. Then you got Kanye West who always has something going on in the news. He's beyond hope right now, I mean let's be honest. So I got plenty of things I could blog about.

This is something I've been thinking about today that I think I can get away with. If I can't I'm sure my mom will let me know. A popular song out right now that is probably being sung at every penecostal holiness church around the globe is, Break Every Chain by Tasha Cobbs. Some love it, and some are sick of it. Anyway, when we bring up chains in the church it usually has to do with the chains of the world like bad habits or just sin period. Some of our churches are in handcuffs weather we know it or not. I say that because some of our churches should be packed out every week, but they're not. I'll leave the music departments alone because I know for a fact that would cause trouble. But you got people wanting to be a "mega church" but yet don't want to get out the "country" "store front mentality". You think TD Jakes has the Potter's House going strong with a store front mind set? No! You can't run million dollar equipment on two dollar battery power. If you try that, the battery power will go out quickly. Can't run a 9 volt power microphone on double A batteries. Stop trying to fit double A batteries mindset on something that requires a higher ranking of thinhking. I believe the Bible says something to the fact of, "As a man thinketh, so is he."

So my prayer is that God removes the handcuffs from not only our lives but our churches also. Now when God removes them, don't go back what got the handcuffs on in the first place. That's like getting out of jail then going back to jail for the same stuff that got you in before. A mindset change has to take place at some point. Common sense is not against the law ladies and gents that's all I'm saying.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson
@big_dusty on Twitter and Instagram
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I DON'T NEED NO MUSIC

I usually don't type blogs without some kind of music playing in my ears, but I'm going to try with this one.

In other countries, people walk for miles to get to a church service. I don't know this personally, but I've heard from gospel artists that have been to other countries. I bring this up because where I live it's getting cold now. Not as cold as other places in America, but cold enough. I'm already hearing excuses about not going to church or coming out to the building where we fellowship because it's too cold. How spoiled are we in this country? They're people all around that wishes the only thing keeping them from going to church was the weather outside. Let the weather drop a little bit that will require you to wear a coat and actually turn on the heat in your car, and you don't want to leave because it's too cold. SMH...all caps so you know it's real. What if God treated us the same way? What if Grace and Mercy did not exist? What if God didn't love us? We sing the song, "We being the sacrifice of Praise, into the house of the Lord." Yet we don't sacrifice praise. I'm not saying I'm perfect, but what I'm am saying is enough with excuses because God has plenty of excuses to not deal with us.

Hebrews 4:13 in the Good News Translation says, "There is nothing that can be hid from God; everything in all creation is exposed and lies open before his eyes. And it is to him that we must all give an account of ourselves." I bring this up because I hear young people blocking they're parents or any other authority figure from their personal social media pages. You can do all the blocking and private pages you want to but you can't block God from anything. God sees all and knows all. Plus the Bible says in Luke 8:17 also in the GNT, "There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. There is nothing kept secret that will not come to light." So your parents don't see what you're doing on Facebook or Twitter. You can fool parents easily. I do mean easily. Especially the new millennium parents, that's another blog for another day. Now my mom is connected with me through social media. She follows me on Twitter and is friends with me on Facebook. When I post stuff out of line, she doesn't call me out in front of God and everybody. She messages me and tells me her thoughts and most of the time I change the way I say stuff out of respect. I got nothing to hide. I'm friends with my pastor on Facebook. I used to be friends with all the ministers from church but...let's leave that alone. Back to the point I got nothing to hide. Who I am on Facebook is who you will meet in person...or at least I try to be. So keep denying your parents friend request. Keep blocking other authority figures that try to help you. Now I do think that parents shouldn't try to get connected with the kids to spy on them. Got to let kids be kids. When I teach Sunday School or just teach the youth at church in general, it's more of a rap session than anything else. Most of the kids get preached at already by the Pastor and their parents. I like talking to the youth. The little I know about what's going on in the "secular" world I talk to them about. With that being said, I'm the last person in the world from being relevant with what's going on that's "hip."

Like I said I talk to youth I don't judge them or chastise them for their actions. That's not my job. If they befriend me on Facebook, and I see them post filth and foul and filth, etc, I'm not going to rat them out to their parents. That's not how I roll. I prefer giving them the message and let them make the decision to get right. Most of the youth do know better. They just don't do better. Does it have to do with the living environment? I'm willing to say some of it does. At the same time though, they are old enough to know right from wrong, and old enough to decide what to believe in. What I try to do is lead by example. Do I like to laugh? You bet. I like to have fun believe it or not.  I just don't do everything by the doctrine or tradition. By that standpoint, I guess you can call me a rebel. Any other rebels out there? Holla at your boy.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson
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THE LORD IS REAL TO ME

Cue Amen by Kurt Carr. First time really hearing this track. Just put the ipod on shuffle and this song came on. It’s sad that I forget what’s on my ipod, ain’t it? Welp.

So originally this blog was going to be one of those depressing blogs. One of those blogs where I’m preaching to myself but I act like I’m in the spirit and talking to somebody that may be reading. Yeah. One of those blogs where I act like I’m deep and some of you actually buy it. Ok here’s what happened after a conversation on the phone which most of you know I hate to do. I hate talking on the phone with a passion. A PASSIONATE HATRED for talking on the phone. So after this conversation I was pissed off and down in the dumps. We talking land fill dumps. No lie, it was dangerous. We had to go to Bible Study and thank God my sister drove. Not saying I wouldn’t have done anything but who knows, right? So my little sister saw I was feeling a little down. She asked me if I was alright, and I told her the truth and said I wasn’t. So she drove to church. Which despite of how I was feeling, I ended up teaching Bible Study. Um, what? How? I was obedient and taught Bible study a lesson that I did not study, by the way. That’s the kind of stuff that blows my mind about God. I mean you hear and read in the Bible that he used a donkey and a rooster, but never really…you know? I mean after I acted like a jackass, there I am…again, what?

So after Bible Study, I started feeling a little better. I mean you hear it said that when you walk into the building your mood should change but never really believe—am I the only one? It had to be nothing but God. He’s real.

Why was I down, you ask? Why was I feeling depressed? I could go religious and say the devil was influencing my mind, but I don’t know for sure if that’s the case. I mean ok, God doesn’t bring depression, so I guess by default....but honestly, you don’t hear me saying the devil is influencing the thoughts that I have, because I don’t hear anybody telling me what to think or what to say. Ok, I look at it like this, the Bible says in Proverbs, that death and life lies in the power of the what? Tongue, right? So in essence I was speaking death on the situation I was in. Not going to say what was I thinking on this blog, but this is not the time or the place, but just know it wasn’t necessarily “power positive thinking” if you will. Like some folks, I don’t post everything I’m feeling on FaceBook. BOOM!  Anymore…moving on.

Of course our thoughts and prayers are with the folks affected by the Boston bombing. We are getting closer to the end. If you are saved, definitely stay saved. If you’re on the line of I want to be saved, but I don’t want to give up this or that…time to make your decision. Jesus is soon to come. The Bible says, that God would rather you be hot or cold. If you’re lukewarm, he’ll spit you out. This is not the time to be lukewarm. Get right church and let’s go home.

Stay saved,

Daniel Richerson
Facebook.com/bigdusty
Twitter: @Big_Dusty

BLOG FOR THE DEPRESSED AND STRESSED

Cue That Ain’t Nothin by Fred Hammond. Double negatives…nothing negative about the song though. BLOG!

Some of us are just waiting for that release that Donald Lawrence talking about. Stressed and worn out because of the job, family, and/or church. Proverbs 16:3, “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.” I’ve been saying this for years on podcasts and on these blogs. Let Go and Let God. The holla you feel like doing. That dance you feel in your feet. Let go. That might be your release right there. I don’t know about your church but when I go to church my pastor always tells us to praise like we lost our minds and we give God a clap. And a quiet, “Hallelujah.” Yeah, that’s losing your mind. We are all going through something. So we have no right to judge your praise. I have no right to judge your praise. If I ever truly let go I probably wouldn’t be in half the pickles I put myself in. Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  When you hear folks say Give it to Jesus, it’s more than a good saying. It’s a command to help you get out of that depression and to relieve that stress. I heard Marvin Sapp say one time that Praise is a stress reliever. We continue to give God what we call praise and wonder why we’re still stressed and depressed. Let Go and let God.

1 Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.” If nobody else cares, God does. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a time where the Saints of the most high God be so stressed out and depressed. What if we tried to cast our care upon Jesus? What if we tried to praise God like we lost our minds? Song says, “Have you tried, Jesus? He’s all right.” You try drugs, late night YouTube videos, alcohol, or whatever else you think lightens up the pressure of the world, yet we put Jesus last. Why? Try Jesus first some time. You may be surprised. He just may work.

Don’t be ashamed to be saved. Don’t be ashamed to be a church boy or church girl. Don’t be ashamed to be a Jesus fan. If you’re like me, you’re around dirty talk all day. And you feel like I can’t live saved around this. I can’t live right around that. I can’t stay saved in this environment. Song says, “Though trials come on every hand, I feel like going on.” Test and trials come to make us, what? Strong. The more you hold on and stay saved, the stronger you become. If Steve Harvey can try the Word of God and have it work for him…what’s your excuse?

I may never make it as a YouTube celebrity. I may never become a bestselling author. I may never record a Grammy worthy single or album. I may never learn how to play a lead guitar or organ. I may never get married. I may never be skinny. I may never be somebody’s love interest. I may never get another comment on these blogs ever again. I may never get another pat on the back. I just know that after all the stuff I’ve done in my life, I’m still here. I just know that God cares for me. I just know that only what I do for Christ will last. I just know that I have a purpose because if there wasn’t a purpose for me, I wouldn’t be here typing this blog. I’ve been depressed and stressed over stuff that doesn’t make any sense. I’m just telling what I know. I’ve been lonely with family around me. I’m a child of God. God is the king of kings and Lord or Lords. God is ruler over everything. He said that He’ll never leave us nor forsake us. So if my dreams never become fulfilled, I got to know I’m living to please God. I’m living for that well done thy good and faithful servant. I’m living to serve.

Don’t get me wrong. I want some of those things listed above to happen in my life, but it’s not the end all be all. I don’t know if I’m right on any of this. I may be wrong. I may be out of my mind. John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation:  but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” That was Jesus talking.  Somebody asked me at work what do I do on my spare time, I told her about the blogs, and she asked me about verses in the Bible about overcoming stress and depression. I didn’t know how to answer, but this gay guy that says some of the dirtiest stuff I’ve ever heard spat out some verses. I guess if God can use a donkey…either way. I guess this blog is just my response to her and to anybody else that may be going through stress and or depression.

Stay Saved,
Daniel Richerson
Twitter and Instagram @Big_Dusty
Facebook.com/bigdusty

JOY AND FAITH, WHERE IT IS?

Cue A Testimony by Rodnie Bryant...one of my Dad’s favorite songs. I can see him nodding his head now.
The saints in 2012 are some spoiled individuals. I say that because we ask God for stuff and when he does it we are so ungrateful. I’ve been in services where one testified about receiving the Holy Ghost, and the reaction was basically no reaction. One would expect a church to erupt in praise in celebration, yet the church had a la di da attitude. I don’t know this for sure, so don’t quote me on this, but I’m willing to bet that’s why your blessing hasn’t come yet. You’re so la di da with your expectation and your celebration of other’s miracles. I bet if we start to praise God like we truly expect a miracle, they would come. Tell me I’m wrong. I know there’s some famous catchphrase coming for 2013 but how about right now we truly get the spirit of expectations and stop all this hating and doubting.
I wrote a blog over 3 years ago entitled No Joy, No Strength, No Faith No Strength.  Over the years I feel the church has lost it’s joy and faith. I believe the Bible says that without Faith it’s impossible to please God. So, maybe if we start pleasing God with our faith, then we’ll see our prayers answered. By the way, whether you know it or not, whether you believe or not, God is answering prayers right now. I know for a fact He is. Why? Cause I’m still here. I haven’t lost my mind. Somebody is praying for me. And I’ve seen folks with cancer get healed. God is working miracles. You just got to believe. One thing I can’t stand is a dead church service. I’m telling you, if folks would come in the church with expectancy, and joy...we would have some good church every Sunday. The problem is we put all the pressure on the Praise and Worship leader, the MC of the service, or the speaker of the hour. Dang y’all know how to put some pressure on folks. Praise and Worship leaders aren’t supposed to pump and prime you. Other than my blood pressure, that’s probably what’s making me tired all the time. Moving on.
Faith without works is dead. Walk in it. Believe it. Work the faith. Other people can’t work your faith for you. We can work it with you but not for you. Declare it. Praise Him for it. It always could be worse so stop living like it is worse. You’re not dead. Inhale and exhale. Let everything that hath breath Praise ye the Lord.
Let me tell you something about me. I love hearing people be proud of me. I love when people cheer me on. Imagine if we made God proud of us. I know we’re waiting to hear Well Done thy good and faithful servant, but imagine if God talked about us and said, “Well Done,” before we went to Heaven. Wow. I don’t know about you, but that’s awesome to me.
Hope you got something out of this. Hope you share it with your folks. Don’t be a scared to leave a comment on the blog. I don’t bite. Anymore….long time ago. Let it go.
Stay Saved,
Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty
@Big_Dusty on Twitter and Instagram
Facebook.com/bigdusty

WE GOT TO LOVE PEOPLE IN AND STOP HATING PEOPLE OUT

Cue Work On Me by Tonex now known as B. Slade. It’s been a long time, shouldn’t have left you without a dope blog to read and linger on…what? OOOOOOOHHHHH, here it goes!

One of the phrases I used to use a lot is “don’t judge me.” Don’t judge. God’s grace and mercy is the reason I’m still here today. After I’ve messed up time and time again, I’m still able to type these blogs up or lead Praise and Worship at church or stuff like that. It’s like thank God, He is God and not any of us. Ironic I picked B. Slade to write this blog because the church has turned their back on this man because he came out e closet some time ago. Besides praying for this brother, and trying to cast out demons, we as a whole called him every homophobic name in the book and razzed this man for his sin being exposed. It could’ve been any of us. Most of us got secrets that nobody knows about it, and what if we got exposed? It’s  because of God’s grace and mercy that it wasn’t us. We could’ve got exposed and what if we got byrated as bad as Anthony Williams did? I’m openly admitting that I’m praying for you B. Slade, not writing this blog to open up old wounds. I’m writing this blog to judge anybody, because I don’t want my dirt getting exposed and giving folks the open door to openly ridicule me and call me anything but a child of God knowing that they have secrets of they’re own. One of the things my dad used to say to me is, “One shouldn’t throw rocks in a glass house.”  Meaning that if you know you got secrets, don’t bash anyone else when their dirty secrets get exposed.

 Like when Tye Tribbett and Da Truth had the situation some time ago. Google or Bing it if you don’t know. God has forgiven Tye and Truth, why can’t we? Probably still folks out there calling Truth and Tribbett adulterers, and everything else. I know I can’t watch a Donnie McClurkin video on YouTube without somebody calling him gay. Even though, I believe that he’s been delivered. But Donnie had a couple of instances that he went strongly, some would say too strong, against homosexuality. People still bash Donnie for being a homophobe, and being a “closeted homo.” I don’t get it. Why do we as “saints” always want to play God and judge folks for their past mistakes. I mean we weigh it on them so heavy, that they leave the church. We hate people out the church, when the Bible says with Love and Kindness have I drawn them. We’re supposed to love people in but we’re too busy hating people out. Some clips I watch on YouTube all the time, is Steve Harvey on TBN. I cry just about everytime and my little sister teases me for it all the time. Steve’s gratitude for God is inspiring. Then Steve talks about how people in the church are so evil when one tries to go to them to help. We sing that song, or used to sing to that song, “To be like Jesus, oh how I long to be like Him.” Yet we’re so unlike Jesus when somebody tells us what’s going on in their life we expose it and spread it. Stop hating people out the church. Hating people not just out of curch but hating people out of life in general.

I don’t smile much. I always look mean. People tell me that all the time. People have told my sister this all the time. If I’m really tired or if I don’t want to be somewhere, trust me, you’ll know. I admit, I don’t walk around with a smile on my face all the time. Probably explain my lack of real friends, phone calls, instagram facebook and twitter feedback, and other things. Can’t draw people with a negative attitude and/or negative appearance. I will openly admit here on my blog that positive people are annoying to me. I admit that I want to trip people that are always happy just to see a different emotion. But as much as those always happy positive people annoy me, I do believe those are the people with backstories that you wouldn’t believe. So the Lord is working on me with all that. I guess what I’m trying to say in this to stop hating people out and start loving people in.

Don’t let the fact that you hate your surroundings, dictate the way you treat people are the way you present yourself. I heard Todd Hall say one time that if you praise God in the place where you hate, He will show up in your surrounds and fix it. So I go in to my job with a praise. Issac Carree has a song out talking about Praise God in the middle of it. Praise God in the middle of it, why? Because as was preached at my church, Sunday, the After while is coming soon. Most of us are so close to that breakthrough, so close to finishing the race, we just got to hold on.  Old song says, Hold on, change is coming, hold on don’t worry about a thing. Hold on, you can make it, Hold on, everything’s going to be all right. Time to start believing what we’re singing about. God has been telling us for a while that we’re going to make it. Time to believe it.

Stay  Saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty
@Big_Dusty on Twitter and Instagram
Facebook.com/bigdusty

CONNECTED BUT NOT CONNECTED

5:10 in the morning. I couldn’t sleep. All I could think of is when. When is that first girlfriend gonna happen? When is that first kiss gonna happen? There’s a song out that says, “I don’t mind waiting.” I don’t sing that song because I’d be lying if I said that. When am I gonna get that phone call, text, tweet, email, or what ever saying that, “Hey, I was thinking about you, just wanted to say hey.” It may seem selfish, but I’m tired of feeling lonely and saying I got Jesus at the same time. I’m tired of hearing that we’re here for each other, I need you to survive, and yet we’re never there for anybody. Not even for ourselves. When people cross our minds, do we pray for that person or do we just say, “Hmm, why am I thinking about him/her?” Somebody comes to my mind, I often try to at least write on their wall on Facebook. Now I’m not stubborn like some people, if you don’t respond, I don’t keep trying to beg for your attention. I don’t beg to get a response from you. When I try to connect, I feel I done my part. Is that wrong?

There’s a song that says, “Somebody prayed for me, had me on their mind, took some time, and prayed for me.” I found myself wondering, who’s mind have I been on. Too much? Maybe, but this is the kind of stuff I think about when I can’t sleep. This is the kind of stuff I think about when I have 274 followers on Twitter and get nothing from nobody most days as far as a mention or reply. This is the kind of stuff I think about when I have 111 subscribers on YouTube, and I can’t even break 20 viewers on my videos. I’m connected to all these people but yet I really have no connection with them. Having 340 “friends” on FaceBook and can barely get a like on a post. That kind of stuff right there…

Connection, but no connection. That’s kind of scary to think about, really. We may be connected to the answer we’re seeking, but since we really have no connection, they’re just there for a count. What if God did us the same way? Ted Winn has a song that says, “I am connected to the kingdom of God.” What if we’re only connected to the kingdom so God could get his count up? Song says, “What if God was one of us?” Well? That would mean only a select few of us would get helped. That would mean only a select few of us would get answers to prayer. The rest of us would get that one answer when our birthday comes.

Again, connected but not connected. You got some celebrities that got a twitter only to say they got one, but we all know that some celebrities use someone else to send out tweets. There’s no real connection with fans. There’s a connection, but no connection. On the other hand, you got some celebrities, that actually tweet they’re on tweets and have a connection with the fans. They respond to all they can. They can’t respond to everybody because let’s face it, that would be impossible. When I get a response or retweet from the athletes and entertainers I follow on Twitter, it lets me know that they really care about connection. I believe God really cares about connection. Matthew 6:25-33 proves that to me, especially the 33^rd verse that says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…” In other words, get connected. When there’s connection, then there’s the rest of the verse that says, “…and all these things shall be added unto you.” What are these things? That’s where 25 through 32 comes in.

I hate being around people but there’s no connection. I especially hate that feeling in church. Oops. Yes, in church. That’s sad really. To be around people everyday, but have no connection with any one? Not one person? I’ll keep it real with ya, I understand that you can’t hang out with everybody, even at church, but if you can’t find at least 3 or 4 people to connect with, maybe you’re the problem. That’s an ouch and amen moment for me at least.

I don’t know maybe I should be stubborn and try to connect more with people even when they don’t connect with me. Maybe I’m wrong, and I’m the problem. Maybe I’m the reason I get no replies, mentions, or anything like that. I’m just tired of being connected but not connected.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty

OH, is THAT what they're saying?

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

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

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

I couldn't leave this alone...

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

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

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

No Joy, No Strength. No Faith, No Strength

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.

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

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.

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