Jeremy Lin, Whitney Houston...what else you want?

So if you been checking with me the past few weeks, you noticed I got back in the grind so to speak. Back in the grind of podcasting. Something that I’ve been doing literally for years. When I began doing them, I called them voice blogs. If I remember right, it took me a couple of years to start calling them podcasts. Calling them what you will, I got back to doing them because it’s a good way to express myself. I can literally speak my mind, know what I mean? I’ve only been back doing them for two weeks now, and when I say I’ve been getting ideas after ideas? I mean I already got an idea of what I want to talk about for the next one, that is just in case a collab podcast doesn’t happen. Hint hint…

So how y’all been doing since the last blog? It’s been quite a while, and I apologize for that. That’s all on me. I got to get back on the grind on these things like I got back in the grind with my podcasts. Not only the blogs, but I’ve been slipping with my YouTube Channel as well. It would be easy for me to stop making YouTube videos because my views are not up to par, but the key word there is easy. I plan on making them better…well at least better looking anyway. I can’t promise on the material, but the look of the videos should get better in the coming months. Gonna let your mind whirl with that one…

The big story going around is Whitney Houston, and her death. When I first heard the news, my sister and I were eating at O’Charley’s, and a waiter was walking around saying, “Whitney Houston is dead.” Sure enough, when we got home and I turned it to CNN, there it was. Whitney Houston dead at 48. Whitney ruled the airways for decades. She was a big part of the generation before me, and she was a part of mine. Whitney had her struggles and demons, there’s no need to go in to that, because most likely you know about it. If by chance you don’t, it’s called bing and google. Look it up. What I will say about the situation is for the media to please let the family have peace. For once can they turn the TV on and not be reminded of what happened to Whitney? Some say give them a week, why not give them a couple of months? Let the family breathe. About the funeral though, what y’all think of Reverend Tyler Perry? Tyler had the organ going and everything. I don’t agree with the cussing he does at times, but when the guy speaks about faith, he speaks truth.

Another big story going around is Jeremy Lin. Lost big time to my  team, the Miami Heat on the evening I’m typing this, but I’m still a fan of the story. It is the American story. The man was on the verge of quitting. Literally sitting at the end of the bench getting over looked. Then all of the sudden he got his one shot. Now a couple of weeks later, the dude is a superstar. Eminem had a song some years back that said, “You only get one shot, do not miss your change to blow This opportunity comes once in a lifetime.” Jeremy took his shot, and get him off his brother’s couch. It’s a message to all of us. Some of us are one opportunity away, but do we take advantage of the opportunities that come our way? We got to own it. If you got a dream don’t give up. That’s for me as much as I’m typing it for y’all. I’m still chasing my dreams. I don’t do a very good job at it at times. I have no problems admitting that, but maybe me typing this to y’all will motivate me to do better for myself, you know? Anyway, I like the Jeremy Lin story. It’s not only good for the Knicks, it’s good for the NBA as a whole. It gives the NBA more viewers. It gives the NBA more publicity. It doesn’t hurt that Lin is a man of faith and that he’s humble. Man of faith and humble.

The Lin story also teaches that if you’re obedient to God and humble, God will take you places not only that you dream of, but past your dreams. That’s what I’m learning myself more and more, and that is to stay obedient and humble. When I get pats on the back, I don’t get the big head about it. One, I got a big enough head already. Two, I have a past that people can bring up that can embarrass me and bring me back down off a cloud. Why not stay real either way? Whether I get pats on the back or not, just stay real. Jay Z and Beyonce are examples of what not to do. Not allowing people to see their new born babies because you had to close off an entire wing of a hospital to bring your baby in this world. Come on! You’re not the only new parents in the world! Giving your baby a tumblr, featuring the baby in the song, giving the baby millions of dollars worth of toys…are you serious right now? I don’t know why I’m on the Jay Z and Beyonce trip, but it just urked me to the fact that parents couldn’t see their babies because these two rich tools had to block off a wing for theirs. If you’re a fan of these two, I make no apologies for what I said. These two were wrong, and anybody with heart knows that. Don’t give me that they’re new parents and they were excited and all that garbage. The fact was, they were rich with money, and they could do whatever they wanted.

Sorry, I got side tracked for a second there. Bringing it back. The bottom line I was getting to is that being obedient and staying humble is what I’m doing, or what I’m doing my best to do on this ride to where God is taking me.

That’s the blog. Again sorry for the wait, I hope this makes up for it. Get at me on Facebook and Twitter. If you want to follow my podcast, here’s the page for that: http://bigdusty.podomatic.com . I’ve been slacking on my YouTube, but I plan on shooting the new video soon. Be sure to leave your comments for this blog here on the site, Twitter, or Facebook. Feel free to share this around with folks. Feel free to follow this blog. I hope to be back sooner rather than later.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty

I'M ENCOURAGED

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

Walk Your Own Path

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 still laughing...HAHA!!

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.

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

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

Forgiveness

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

Thoughts from the crazy mind of me

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

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

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