A Choice to Sin.....

OK...here we go.

Leviticus 18:22Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination

Clay Aiken held a press conference to address a group of reporters and fans, to let them all know publicly for the first time that he is gay. He said during his speech that he is "a gay daddy". (quote/end quote) On CNN.com they had a story addressing his news conference and also a story on Lindsey Lohan and how she is and has been dating a woman as well. As I saw these two articles and the knowledge of many many more, I asked the question I hope many others ask when they see something like this...."who cares?" How is this news?

This entry will be rather short because this issue is actually very simple. Over the years, gays have protested, rallied and stood on the steps of our government, demanding rights and equal and fair treatment. They have parades, magazines, and many other outlets to promote their lifestyle. What blows my mind is the comments from the past that their struggle for rights is the same as the Civil Rights Movement for African Americans. This is the most outrageous and ridiculous claim I have ever heard. Being Black is not a choice it is who they are. It is the ethnic heritage and cultural make up of that person and their past. Being gay...is neither a cultural make up or ethnic heritage...it is a choice. Some feel that they are born with this and that may be true since we are all born in to sin, but the choice to remain in that state is just that...your choice. Now please don't misunderstand me, I believe that ALL and EVERYONE should have equal rights and be treated fair. That is the fundamental basis that our country was born on, however gays already are treated fairly. Gays have the same educational opportunities, job opportunities, they live in the same communities, shop at the same stores, and are offered the same options as any and every one else in this country. The fact that they are gay does not entitle them to any additional rights above any one else, nor does it give them special consideration when it comes to overtaking the national news as oppose to more important issues that are going on...such as the war, poverty, abuse, economical issues, homeless concerns, health care, and the fact that our country has fallen in ranks compared to the rest of the world. All of this and we are forced to hear about who is and is not gay? Where is our priorities? The crazy thing is this is not the main issue I have.

What does it mean to be gay? It means simply this...you have a personal and private preference when it comes to your sexual behavior. that is it!! You are the same as any other American with the same jobs, options, etc.. You just have a preference for your sexual behavior. When you see gay protest, parades, or any other type of promotion, all they are promoting and or protesting is their sexual preference. The Civil Rights Movement was about equal rights for all races, not preference to what you want because of your race. You did not have a choice to who you are, yet gays are marching for equal rights they already have because of their sexual preference. This does not entitle you to extra benefits because of your choice. If I choose to be poor, does it give me a right to demand the government give me money and benefits when I made the choice? If a straight man or woman, marched and walked on the steps of our Capital and promoted their preference for some particular sexual act, they would be arrested for indecent behavior and charged. Yet they are merely promoting what they prefer sexually as do gays. Your sexual preference is your own personal choice and not public information, nor does it gain you extra rights or the right to throw it in the face of those who have a different preference. If a black wants to date a white , or a Latino and an Asian, an Italian and a Austrian, a Russian and an African, a Puerto Rican and a Middle eastern, and so on, this is their personal choice and considered a preference. What it is not, is news nor a right to claim other rights above any one else. It is their preference and according to the Word of God, not a sin. However, the personal choice and preference to be with someone of the same sex...is just that...a sin. Your choice.......

A Father's Prayer......

I remember the day my daughter was born as if it was yesterday. May 8th, 1996 at 10:01pm. Never in my life have I felt so much excitement combined with so much fear all in one. I waited all day at the hospital since arriving at 845am for this moment. My journey to this point wasn't your typical journey and one that shows the lack of maturity I had at that time. As I held my daughter for the first time, I remember signing to her softly as I walked back and forth in the room. She stared at me the whole time, taking in her new surroundings and this new face. As she stared at me, I began to pray a prayer that only a father could pray, and ever since that day, I have continued to pray that same prayer.

God, thank you so much for this gift you have given to me when I know I am not worthy or even ready in the way I know. Thank you for allowing me to hold my child in my arms and talk to YOU about her. I have no idea God what to do, my examples of parenting on earth have not been the examples I wish to follow but I believe God you will show me what to do and how to do it. This beautiful, amazing little girl is going to look to me for everything and I hold that responsibility as an honor and privilege and will be the type of father that is a praise to You. You have blessed me with an angel that will drive me to make the changes I need to make and be the man I need to be, more so the man You have called me to be. Thank you for my daughter, thank You for blessing me with a chance to start a better future. I will provide for her at all costs and love her greater than any one person could ever love another. I know I did not do this according to your will and plan and I am sorry for that, please forgive me for failing You but God please don't punish my daughter for my failures, I will except the burden and carry that cross for it is my fault. God she is so beautiful and You have seen fit for me to be her daddy. The man she will always look to in trouble, the man who has to remind her how important and valued she is before any one else. The man who will be the example of who she is to look for in a husband. Yes God, that is it. I am not now, but I will be that example of the type of man she should marry and settle for nothing less. Thank you God for her, thank you God...I love You so much and I love this little girl, my daughter so much and I don't even know how to express it all. I will not let you down God, I will step up, I will be a great daddy. Thank you...AMEN.

For years I have said that prayer, and for years to come I will continue to say it. As a Father, there are so many fears that fill me when it comes to my children. I am not a father who sits back and lets other do what it is I am suppose to do. I am not a father who will allow others to come at my children when I am there to protect them. This prayer has been modified for my son when he was born as well, and will continue to be for any new children God allows me to gain. I have still not done it all according to His will and plan, but He is such an amazing God, He forgives me and loves me anyways. To watch my children daily is a constant reminder of how great God is and how blessed I am to be a daddy. As my daughter has grown, our relationship has as well. We have faced challenges and overcome the obstacles. The thing that amazes me the most with both her and my son is the love we share and the bond that can never be broken. As a father, so many stresses can overcome our lives and bring us to our knees. I have learned that is exactly where God wants us, to submit it all to Him and let Him take care of the challenges we can not take. As parents, we should always be praying that regardless of our parents or lack of. Regardless of how good we have had it growing up or how much we suffered growing up. Regardless of our failed past and challenging future, we should all pray and walk out being the best parents we can be. That means so much more than anything else. How do we be better parents? By raising our kids. Not allowing society to raise them. Not leaving them to the T.V. to be raised or depending on our government to create a better home for us. Make better decisions and whatever choices you have to make, it should never be your child that suffers because of it. I have made some terrible choices and suffered dearly for it, but with all of my ability I have tried to keep my children from it. We have to want to be the type of father our daughters want to marry or the type of father and man our sons want to be. Are you? What do you do to make sure you are?

As my daughter closes in on her teenage years, at night while she goes to sleep, I still go in to her room and put my arms around her like the night she was born and hold her close to me. (of course she moves around a bit as it interrupts her sleep) I hold her and whisper in her ear. Sometimes I whisper the prayer, sometimes I whisper a song. Sometimes I whisper how much daddy loves her and adores her and I thank God for her. I give her a kiss on her forehead and do the same with my son. As I walk out of the room, I smile, remembering at the same time the night and morning they were born and the responsibility I have as a father and I feel joy in my heart for the honor and privilege it is to raise my 2 amazing gifts from God. A fathers prayer has a love like no other and a strength that can not be shaken. I hope that in the end, I am the father I prayed I would be and they and any future children can look back and say that they had the best daddy ever. To God be the Glory!!

Breath of Life...

A Writer...but first....I'm a Poet. This is for those who enjoy spoken word and the art of Poetry and for those new to it....embrace. A break from the every day hustle!!

Feelings flowing inside my soul like the wind through the tree tops as a storm approaches
Thoughts brewing inside so fresh and ready to be poured out a funnel will be needed to contain the words to a smooth pour
Pouring in to the eyes of those that read that it may manifest itself deep in the hearts of those that believe and those that need to know there is some thing greater then that which we have tried to this point
Allow these words to reach in to the places in your soul that have yet to be tapped and yet to be danced with.
Let the virgin areas of what you have yet to experience be entertained by the heart that flows out in to this poem
See...for a while I have been put up
Haven't wrote poetic words for a season as God began to move my life in to a direction I had not been prepared for yet He prepared me
Moved me in a direction that I have never known
Yet He knew before I was born out of the womb
See, as a poet..I breathe in the words that God exhales out to my life so that I may continue to flow of what it is He has planned
So often in life as God exhales opportunity in to our lives,
We hold it in like a hit
Not wanting to let go
Not wanting to share
And at the point we do...the air is distorted and polluted with the waste that sits inside of our minds and bodies
Missing the chance to share the breath of life with others who need it
Missing the opportunity to grow in the areas we have yet to mature
So many things going on around in the world we use the excuse that we just got "caught up"
Using the excuse that we are only human...we can't help it
We sit back and let those who have held in God's breath far too long run around and cause wars
economic depression
Family separation
Putting those of us who can't find the breath to act out of desperation
Reaching out in selfish manners to accommodate fixes that will never be satisfied
Putting our lives in situations that we can't even breathe out our own breath as God begins to take air away do to the waste we have caused
We push family away
Disown friends
Can't breathe?
We leave the church
Quit jobs
Can't breathe?
People murdering children
Killing each other and self
Shooting up schools
Can't breathe?
Taking God out of everything we once leaned on Him for
Losing generation after generation of children
Lost to drugs, gangs
Can't breathe?
So many words of breath to breathe out I can't contain them,
Words that will need a funnel to contain them as they pour in to the eyes of those who read
Flowing in to the mind and down to the heart
Dancing around like a leaf in the wind from the trees that blow from the wind that God blew across the sky so that we may have breath to inhale and exhale out to the next that God put in your life
But if you hold your breath you hurt yourself
Causing death to fall all around you
Learn to breathe the breath God gives you
The breath of life so that you may blow life in to someone else after He restores it in you
Inhale...lets fix the issues that surround us on all sides
Exhale.....so that others may see them and help with new life
Inhale....take back the generations that have been lost
Exhale.....so those generations can learn of the God that saved them
Inhale.....allowing yourself to catch "God's" breath
Exhale....let's get started

Can you breathe?

Our Historic Struggle to Change...

Here it is....2 months or so from the election that could very well change the face of America forever...either direction it goes. On one side...you have a man who served this country in uniform for 22 years and has since served in our Government to try and make some changes in America for better or worse. You have a man that does...no matter your personal feelings or ideology, loves this country and cares for it. On the other hand...you have a man who has grown up in the heart of this country, from the ground floor up. He dealt with the harsh realities of racial divides and racial inequalities as he pushed his way through school and has become a great success at the hands of those who supported him and his own hard work. In this fashion, he has served his country in the example he has led. Like the other...he too loves his country. So which way do we go? So many things to consider...but consider this.

There is a historical piece to all of this we all are aware of with Sen. Obama becoming the first African American to become President of the United States of America. Some like to label it the first African American President, however that would only speak to a smaller group of Americans. Sen. Obama is facing history and he knows it, we all know it, but because the stakes are high, we have not forced it on the rest of America and this is good. Here is the undiscovered piece to this situation. We, as Americans face a pivotal time in our Nations history. Regardless of your party lines...Republican or Democrat, the truth is the last 8 years under President Bush has not, in any area, gone good. We have suffered great loss across the board. Economic downfalls to deaths from a war that is questionable to say the least. We have come to a point now, with this election, where we are faced with an extremely difficult task. Vote McCain, who is not a BAD guy and risk 4 more years of loss since he may follow Bush tactics, though he may want to make changes. Vote McCain because he has a bit more experience in the areas of concern and knows the Government. OR...Vote Obama because he too, knows the issues first hand and the items he has addressed to correct some issues have gone well. Vote Obama, though not as experienced, has shown tremendous success right away and is an extremely great leader and knows how to appoint people in the right places to take care of the needs he has addressed. Voting Obama also means obvious change from the last 8 years....but there is something else. (yes...I will explain!!)

Should you vote for Obama because he is Black? Vote for him because of the historical piece to this whole election? To be a part of history. Your first answer would probably be "no". That you would not vote for him or are not voting for him based on his color or the history it will make. You are probably voting for him because of his policies and methods to accomplish those changes he speaks about. Whatever the reason is, it is a reason to vote...either way. Here is the bigger picture I see. Voting for Barack Obama and putting him in the White House would not only be a significant moment in history and a great accomplishment for him and the progress of African Americans and Americans alike, it is also the beginning of a new day for our country.

Our country right now, is in a critical stage and has suffered for so many years in so many areas. From Economic downfalls, unemployment rate, our debt, homeless, education, health care, and going even further back...racism, hate, killings, rape, teenage pregnancy, underage drinking and deaths, drugs, and drug dealings. There are many more things America has had to endure for decades, going back to the beginning of this Country. These problems have never gone away and Americans have reached a point of complete frustration because of the dependency we have on the rest of the world yet consider our self a World Leader. We have truly fallen to a place where the rest of the world, for the first time in our Nations history, does not respect us the way they used to. We have lost our Leadership and respect from the majority of the World in a great way. Look at our statistics...Education, we are ranked around 40th in the world. Economic....25th, Health Care, and many other areas we are far below #1. We used to be, and should be #1 in all areas based on our abilities but so many other things take over. Our Country is in need, and she has been for a long time and we have suffered enough. The reality is we need a change and we need it now.

How does this election change that? Unfortunately it is not a simple solution and no, voting for Obama does not erase all these issues and turn it all around, however, there is a start we need to make and if Sen. Barack Obama becomes our President...if Americans feel that the old way and traditions have not done the job and are tired of going back and forth, if Americans realize that doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is signs of craziness, and if Americans are ready to really..REALLY, start to right the wrongs of the ship we call America and make changes to secure a better future, then he is the obvious pick. If Americans elect Obama to be President, he will, yes, become the first African American to be President of the United States and this will begin the healing process of our Country that dates back to the beginning. We can begin to heal, showing that we have, for the most part, moved beyond racial lines and are more concerned about our collective futures and the collective future of our children and our country than our own selfish agenda. Americans standing together to make a change and not except old ways and broken promises is the strongest way we can begin to change the face of our country. The World is full of trouble and we can help however if we don't take care of home first....the World will. We have too much here in our own Country to deal with, too much pain to overcome....to much loss to gain back....to much suffering to make better. If we continue down the same path...the same result. Is Obama the best answer...only God knows, but what he IS, is a choice that shows we are ready to move on and up. He is the metaphoric rock that can shatter the glass window of our hard past and limited future. He is not the answer to all....he is the answer to the history of separation that has existed in this country for far too long. He is the answer to the question we have all asked, regardless of race, are we getting better as a people. He is the answer to Martin Luther King's dream of letting Freedom Ring in our choices and our paths we choose. Judging by the content of character...not skin. Our country is in need for a change. I have shared in conversation with many about the community to which I lived and reach out to. As we look at the complaints of injustice and un equal opportunities which are a real thing, we look to give, give, give, in to the community and hope it will help. My issue with that is this....if we don't change the mindset of the community, the community will never change. If you give a poor person $10,000 dollars today...it will be gone by tomorrow and he will be back on the street because he doesn't know what to do with the money or where to go to make it work for him. Change the mindset of the community....the community will change. Our community is America right now and the mindset has yet to change. Voting for someone who brings history to the election will show our mindset has changed....the community of America will surely follow.