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
Facebook.com/bigdusty

WHAT YOU INHALE, YOU'LL EXHALE

You ever like hear the same message over and over then at one random moment it hits you like a dart? I think I've even blogged about it at one time talking about watch what you eat. What's in you will come out. Or as my mom would say all the time, "You eat fat greasy food, you'll be a fat greasy dude." I heard this all the time but never really had it sunk in before. When old folk talk about be careful what you watch, they mean it. Example, lately I've been watching Paul Mooney videos. Paul Mooney is a all time great comedian that's still working the roads. I believe the man is 80 or close to it. Anyway, Paul is not the cleanest guy in the world. The man wrote for Richard Pryor. The Richard Pryor. So one cannot expect him to work clean, and trust, he doesn't. So it wouldn't be surprising that if a situation got to a certain point, certain words might "slip" out. It's not really a slip though if that's what's you're inhaling. That's like eating nachos and then when you burp you have the taste of nachos and be like, "Where did that come from?" What you put in will come out.

So with all that being said, I got to listening to this song Paradise by Isaac Carree. The lyrics go like this, "Everybody wants to go there, but nobody wants to die.
So if you wanna see Him, you gotta live this life right, yeah.

Nothing's for certain, but this one thing's for sure.
We all gonna leave here, I pray I make it through them doors.

There will be (no more tears and no more pain).
I wanna hear Him (say, " well done," when he calls my name).
Can't wait to get to paradise (paradise).
Can't wait to get to paradise (paradise). Paradise."

I had this song on repeat. It was just sinking and sinking in. Most of us want to go to heaven. Nobody in their right mind wants to go to hell. But to reach a specific destination, you have to take the right directions. Can't go to heaven playing around with certain stuff that I know is unbiblical. Like the job I got terminated from, right? I went in and they trained us to operate under certain rules. I didn't follow the rules. I broke the rules and got punished for it. Was I mad? Yes. But I couldn't really be mad at the company because I did break the rules. They say if you know right you do right. I say if you know right and don't want to do right, it doesn't really matter.

One big pet peeve that I have is old religious folk talking down to young people like they don't know anything, and then wonder why the young people rebel. Got to use common sense. Another pet peeve is when old religious folk that has seen you grow up and at the same time treat you like you're still that teenager. Even though you're grown with a beard. But anyway, I believe young people do know better, they just don't care. Young people are not stupid. When they want to do better or be better, they will be better. Like for me, I didn't want to eat healthy. I thought eating healthy was not that important. Until I went to the hospital for congested heart failure and realized that this ain't a joke. I say keep teaching the young people the right way. The Bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it." Sometimes it takes something catastrophic for change to happen. 9/11 ring a bell? Before 9/11, unity in this country was not that important. After 9/11, even though it didn't last long, this country was for once United.

So let me say, to bring this all home, that there is a purpose for all that we go through. We can't waste time worrying about stupid people and what they think they know. The Bible says, "Study to show THYself approved." Keep on keeping on. And..

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

Thoughts at 4:30 in the morning...

Cue Turning Around For Me by Vashawn Mitchell.

Just thinking about some things and talking to God as well. I have people on my mind all the time. I have certain people that I’ve come to love on my mind all the time. I started wondering about as much as I think about them, am I even on their brain? Like as much as I’m thinking about them, do they ever have a thought about me? Do they even love me as much as I love them? Do we love God as much as He loves us? Do we think about God as much as God thinks of us? Think about it. God always has us on his mind, why? For one, we’re still here. His grace and mercy proves that he’s think about us. But do we think about him? Is God even on our brain?

Why is it that when I pour out my heart it’s not well received? Why is it when I tell that certain female how I feel about her, it seems like I get pitied like I’m a middle schooler trying to go after a college student? Times like these, I thank God that He’s not like man. You pour out your heart to God, and He actually listens. He actually cares about what you think. Thank God He responds when you pour out your heart to Him.

I wasn’t even going to do this blog because I had nothing. Nobody asked me to do a blog so I figured why continue to do them? But Steve Harvey said something one time, “A gift is something you do well with the least amount of effort.” Blogging is something that I felt like I was good at. Letting thoughts flow from my head to my hands to the computer has really never been difficult for me to do. Now I have learned what thoughts to put down and what thoughts just to leave in the brain. But it’s like I was letting this thing that I can do die because nobody wanted to see it utilized. How many people have let gifts and talents die because of the initial response? Most people are not going to like what you do. Judging by the responses to my blogs, I can assume that most of the folks I’m connected to through social media don’t like my stuff, but that shouldn’t stop me from doing what I’m good at, know what I mean? The more I do these the better I can get at them. If I stop doing them, I can’t become better. I just become worse. I love playing the drums, but my time of playing the set, I don’t do much. But just about every time I get on a set, I get better. One of the major things that hinder me on the set is doubting myself. Every time I doubt myself on the set, I play like that little boy that plays after church and gets told to get off. Doubted my skills on the blogging, hence no blogs in weeks. Doubt is a hindrance. It hinders you from doing what you know you can do. Don’t let doubt take over. Have confidence in what you know you can do, and just do it. Now, please know what you’re good at. Don’t be like these folks on American Idol and other shows like that and go on and say, “I know I can sing. I know I can sang,” and end up sounding so bad that you’d rather listen to static on radio. That’s why I said KNOW what you’re good at. Have confidence but also have common sense.

Sometimes you think about a person and that person doesn’t even know your first name. If you’re like me and care about people that don’t seem to really care about you, I say keep on caring. Don’t let their attitude affect yours. Family Matters, remember that show? Steve Urkel cared about Laura, but Laura didn’t care about Steve for the most part. Of course later on in the series, Steve and Laura ended up together, but the point I’m trying to make is Steve didn’t let Laura’s attitude affect his. Keep on caring. Keep on thinking about people and praying for them. If you let them know that you’re thinking about them and they brush you off, keep on doing what you’re doing. I’ve had that happened to me time and time, but they’re still on my mind, and I’m still praying for them. Keep on keeping on because they’re on your mind for a reason.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Big_Dusty
Facebook.com/bigdusty