Where are you LORD

I have been broken lately.

I am having trouble trying to find God at church. I see him everyday in the dark places, he crys out to me from behind hungry eyes, he sings to me through the crys of the dying and forgotten; but in searching for him upon the decorated platforms and padded pews I have found only traces and memories. There are people there, they know him, they love him, they say they want him there, but I don't know how to believe them anymore. Christ has become offensive to them and Father religion gives them security and posterity. There is more of a concern that someone may lean on a mercy seat than there is for their soul.

I was saved in filth

I was discipled in the filth

I have tried to bring others from the filth ... But no one wants them, at church.

I will return to the filth were Jesus sits waiting. He isn't welcome in the buildings of man I have recently visited, he isn't really wanted. The cost of welcoming him in is too great, too risky.

God is not dead, are you ?

Do everything without grumbling or complaining.

I attended a conference months ago, and took scrupulous notes. Those of you who know me will be shocked, I'm sure.

Funny thing about my note-taking though, is that I go to such lengths to get it all down, and then I close my notebook and forget to look at it again. Haha. So, in order to remind myself of what the Lord has been teaching me over these last months, I've been digging back into the HeatherWrighteous gold mine. Enough drama. Here's what I came up with:

"One of the most effective lies of the enemy towards the leaders of the Church today is this, that you, as you are right now you are really not acceptable, Jesus is only really tolerating you because somewhere along the way you might change but in His heart of hearts He is profoundly disappointed in you.

Lord, we need to feel Your Holy Spirit bring upon us the reality of Your affection for us - despite immaturity, weakness and sin. Let us feel Your affection for us, Just As We Are."

~Jack Deere

Worth writing down, eh?

~Heather

God is good. Indeed.

The last few days have been a time of sabbath for those of us kickin' around here. We farewelled our summer service corps missioners at the end of July, and our Australian comrades flew back to finish the home stretch at The War College in Vancouver on Monday. So at the moment, it's Travis, Jaime, Rob and me.

Fr me it has definetely been a season of schooling. Not only is God teaching me stuff, but I am learning from those around me as well. Particularly, that God can soften any hard place in my heart. Guaranteed, if He wants too.

So here's the deal - there's a blog back in early March where I alluded to an incident of us calling 911 because one of our neighbourhood boys was being beaten by his stepfather. It was really traumatic for me, because these kids are all really dear and I feel very protective over them, especially since they're usually the ones getting a raw deal.

Anyways, there was a bit of a showdown, we've spent a lot of time with these kids and I have developed very strong opinions of this 'stepfather'. Violent. Crack-smoking. Prostite-employing. Stealing. Intimidating. Lying. Cheating. Aaargh.

Has anything about this guy's behaviour changed in the past 6 months?

Nooo...

So what's the difference? Relationship. Due to a strange twist of circumstances, we ended up taking care of this guy's dog. She's a great dog, don't get me wrong, but this is definetely not how I saw this whole story panning out. This guy comes to visit the dog. Helps me out any way he can. Calls me Miss Heather. If anyone in the neighbourhood gives me a hard time - even looks at me sideways, and this guy will 'take care of it'. He often speaks with tears and regret over his life and his circumstances. Homeless. Broke. Full-on AIDS. Estranged family. No dog. Today, through tears, he called Rob and I his brother and his sister - the only family that he's got.

That all made me very uncomfortable. I had already figured this guy out. I had decided that I didn't like him, and due to his actions (especially towards my little friends) and didn't have to like him.

Yet, look what God has gone and done...He has made relationship.

"...WHOSOEVER will, let him take the water of life freely." Rev. 22:17b

Do you want a REVOLUTION?

The War College - Revolution session begins September 2006. Consider handing over twelve months of your life to the Living God, serving his closest friends, the poor, deep in the ghetto...

Applications are available online for the 2006/07 session of The War College and I challenge you to apply NOW while you have the chance.

In Charlotte, the trappings of luxury are eerily juxtaposed with homelessness, cycles of social poverty, victimhood and violence. What an excellent location to invest a year of your life in training and fighting the Holy War!


You'll spend nine months in the class room and on the street, before a three month deployment elsewhere in North America.



check it out - www.thewarcollege.com, apply today!

A friend of ours was surfing the net and came across this interesting tool, check it out at: http://bangor.areaconnect.com/crime/compare.htm

Basically, it compares crime rates in America's cities.

Did you know that Charlotte outranks New York city for crimes per capita?
http://bangor.areaconnect.com/crime/compare.htm?c1=Charlotte&s1=NC&c2=New+York&s2=NY

hmm...

grace,
Heather

We were taking a group of neighbourhood kids on an outing recently and when we piled onto the bus I (Anthony) sat next to a pair of sisters who I met the day before. As I was talking with them the young boy in front of me turned around and asked me if the girls were my cousins. I stopped, thought for a moment and answered in the negative. These girls were black. I was white. I kept my eye on the boy to see if it was a joke. It wasn’t.

After a few moments of confusion and amusement, I realized something wonderful had just happened. Maybe it was due to the familiarity I shared with the girls, who knows, but for whatever reason this little boy hadn’t realized, or had at least briefly forgotten, that I was white.

Over the past few months the children have been both entertained and frustrated by the differences they perceive between my wife and I and themselves. We wear flip-flops, they wear sneakers. We like rock n’ roll, they like hip-hop. We can choose to leave this ghetto any time, they cannot. There are minute and tragically significant divides that at least refer to the cultural difference, if not define it.

Charlotte 614 is currently a predominantly white outpost ministering in a predominantly black neighbourhood. We are endeavouring to realise Godly relationship and Christian community amidst, and despite, racial and cultural barriers. And for a few moments at least, as far as this young boy was concerned, these little girls and I were family.

Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and in all. Colossians 3:11

Anthony Castle

Koinonia Community

I have been studding community a lot lately and thought Id share some of my revelations. Biblically we use the Acts community a lot, so do I, but I wanted to look at other sources too; namely John ( the gospel John guy )

The very make-up of this Epistle is messy, there is not a normal form. The author does not properly refer to himself, but calls the readers his " little children " and constantly weaves in the pronouns " I " and " you. " This shows a unique relationship, one much deeper than a traveling preacher would have with a nieghbourhood, this is a relationship based in (Greek) Koinonia !

Koinonia is simply Greek for fellowship, but in its application means so much more that simply spending time together. John shares the idea that Salvation is developed through fellowship, community, with others.

1 John 1:3-4

3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4We write this to make our[a] joy complete.

1 John 1:6-7

6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin.


These scriptures reveal so much about the miracle of Salvation, to me. I am firm in my definition of Salvation, Romans 10:10, but what if we shifted our strategy from ...

A. Getting someone to repeat a prayer of confession ... To ...

B. Getting someone to come join in fellowship where we share our lives together in Koinonia.

Is it inevitable that if we have right relationship with Holy Spirit and an alive powerful relationship with Jesus and our Father that those around us will be naturally be drawn into a Salvation experience ?

Yes !! Jesus never prayed the " sinners prayer " with anybody, he invited them into fellowship, into community. True converts are ones that join a body of believers and experience love, freedom, safety, discipline, joy, mourning, dancing and Jesus uncut from religion.

The next part of this Chapter is one used to water down Holiness, but as we search this Chapter through the lens of community we see that Holiness in and of itself exists, in fullness, only amongst each other. I pose that Community and Holiness are tied together being that they both are movements that lead to complete freedom from sin and blame. Look at the scripture, if we live like Jesus in right relationship with our Father and each other there is a cleansing from ALL unrighteousness.

I think we have messed up holiness by keeping it in the closet, it is meant to happen in the light through fellowship and community. I bet if someone totally isolated themselves that they could stop outwardly sinning, but HOLINESS IS NOT BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION ! Holiness is freedom from sin and shame, it is an inward purity which leads to an outward example of perfect love.

I am totaly coming out of the closet, I am not ashamed, I am hungry for Holiness. I want complete freedom from everything of the world, I want to stand before the throne of God completely free and pure, totaly holy. I do not think I am there today, right now, but it is my aim, to be just like Jesus.

Above all else, Jesus was a friend, a friend of Gods and a friend of sinners, inviting them to hang-out, watch, and follow if they want to.

Rob

Today was an eventful day, marked by unusual experiences. I slept badly due to a poor skittles choice late last night and so my fuel tank was starting with a deficiency.
Tempress Boone (summer service corps missioner and full-on slum sister) invited me out to do a round of visitation on her normal Wednesday route, and so we knocked on the brittle screen door of Miss Shirley and Mr. Taft. We entered into their wee 2 bedroom house. There was no air conditioner, and only one fan that the league of mercy had provided on an earlier visit. I chose a seat that was directly across from the fan, anticipating the cool breeze such a position would bring.
Unfortunately, I did not consider the fact that both Miss Shirley and Mr. Taft are heavy chain smokers, and the fan blew all that second hand smoke my way.
My eyes were swelling, my nose was expressing a strong unwillingness to inhale and I didn't want to open my mouth. Which is kinda of a problem when it comes to making polite chitchat.

So I sat there for a while, initially irritated and affronted by the way the situation had played itself out. I was grumpy. I felt ill.
Then, I stopped.
I decided to just suck it up (not literally) and get over it.
Once I stopped being so preoccupied with myself, I was able to engage my surroundings, listen in on what the folks had to say, and enjoy a good ole' down home visit. I had learned my lesson, I had pressed through and I had overcome. YeeHa!

However, the Lord saw fit to learn me extra good today, for upon my arrival at home, my husband met me with concerns about our air conditioner. Our rentman had installed a central air unit to our home, but since that day, the house temp. sits anywhere from 80-90 degrees, with the A/C running all the time. Rob did some investigating, and noticed that one of the duct joints had separated, and the glorious cool air was drifting off into the neverneverland of our crawl space.
So, he proposed a plan.
He would go under the house and reposition the duct, and it was my job to hammer it back into place. I figured he would be better at the whole hammering it into place thing (plus, I didn't want to be the one to flub it up) so I offered to go under the house.
Now, let it be known, that I made this decision based on past comments I'd heard from my husband about how clean it was down there, and how you can actually stand straight up, because our house was built on a hill and whatnot. So I guess I was expecting the Hilton down there or something, but man, was I off.
So Rob comes down with me, opens the padlock (if we don't lock it, folks be holin' up down there and gettin' all hopped up) and leads me in.

At first glance, I probably should've ditched my flip flops for proper closed toe shoes, but all common sense left me at that moment. Only sheer bravado kept me from turnin' tail back upstairs. But seriously, let my husband think I'm a chicken? Nosirreeee....so under I went.

First, I was mad that it was dirty and dark and the ground was covered with questionable crunchy things. Then I was mad at Rob for painting the crawl space in such a positive light. I recoiled at the thought of bugs crawling on me, or getting nasty old cobwebs filled with bug crusties caught in my hair.
I stood there, paralyzed by my distaste at the task at hand and the level of personal involvement it would require of me...especially when I realized that the vent I had to go to was about 20 feet away and I'd have to get there on my hands and knees.

Then, I stopped.
I decided to just get down to business and enter in. Literally.
Once I stopped being so preoccupied with myself and my personal distaste, I was able to engage my surroundings, get to the duct (a la navy seal on my belly, rolling under obstacles, dodging broken glass) diagnose the problem, make the necessary repairs and seal the leak.
OH yeah baby...I had pressed through, I had overcome.
I was really really dirty, but I felt like a million bucks. I was like Arnold Schwarzenegger comin' out of that hole. The neighbourhood kids called me cool and my husband thinks I'm a superstar.

So, two long accounts. What's the point? Here's the point. Where are you at right now with God? In ministry? In your marriage? At your job? With your family? With your church?

Are you stuck in ickypoo land where you are focused on how everything is affecting you and making you feel uncomfortable, and forcing you to get down and dirty?

Take the tip-off from the smoky sister under the stairs- just get over yourself.
Press in.
Push through.
You may end up filthy dirty with old, dead bugs in your hair, but you'll have accomplished something and you'll feel really great about pushing your limits of comfortability.

Trust me!

P.S. For the sake of my sanity, no photos were taken of this incident. (!)

it's getting' hot down here...

wow! Great news in terms of Kingdom Advance over here on the Charlotte front.

Tonight we had our squad meeting. Seeing as we have 8 full-time ministers here, we have broken up into two groups that meet for spiritual accountability, encouragement, correction and exhortation. It is always a fruitful time spent in the presence of God, Holy Spirit, us and Christ Jesus.
Tonight was a real treat, though. Rob and I have one of our neighbourhood friends staying with us for a while. He is 14. Typically my squad dwells in the living room of our home, and tonight our friend "J"was in the next room over drawing and surfing the internet. He had one ear tuned in to the goings-on in the living room though, because when Tempress suggested that we all just pray for each other, he called me into the dining room and with his eyes downcast he whispered "will you all pray for me too?"
Hmm. let me think. (!)
So, when it came to be his turn, he sat with us and let us pray with him, over him. Rend the heavens on his behalf...and it was really really great. One of my comrades felt that we needed to give J the Joshua treatment (found in Zechariah 3:3-5) so, with J in the middle, and the four of us encircling him, we began to speak truth into the lies that others have told him, that he has told himself and of course what the devil has spoken too.

Lies like:

• You're stupid, you'll never amount to anything
• You're ugly
• You're abandoned. You're unloveable
• You are a reject -one wrong move and everyone will hate you, all your friends will leave you
• God doesn't care about you - He doesn't hear your prayers

It was a powerful experience. An emotional time as Holy Spirit did his work of grace in his heart. We replaced those word curses with words of truth, and words that bring life.

Words like:

• you are smart, you can figure things out, remember things, you can go to college and succeed at anything you want to
• you are a handsome man
• you are loved by God
• God has set you in the middle of a family, and provided a safe place for you to grow
• God has adopted you into His family and you are accepted and cherished
• God created you to have a love relationship with you, you can depend on him and you won't be disappointed.

Then we wrapped his head in a turban and prayed for a renewing of the mind and purity of thoughts...he received it all and there was much rejoicing.

Woooweee!!! Holy Spirit was hot tonight and the saints were on fire with boldness and freedom.

HalleluYahweh!

This is a picture of our new house.

3401 Statesville Av
Charlotte NC
28206

I came across this picture this morning. It reminds me of the uncomplicated mission of community. So many things can get in the way of just hanging out, but I am always satisfied the most when I am just loving on my neighbor's with G, D and C.

We have a mission statement around here, one that marks what success will look like for this summer. It is to get to know everybody's name by September. We have begun some other elements of mission, visitation, VBS, ect. But I really believe that the most effective fruit for the Kingdom will be to have learned everybody's name.

Imagine that if at every ministry outpost or corps the soldiers and officers could go for a walk and say hi to everybody they passed by name, I bet it would reap a harvest immeasurable.

PROPS !!

Props to my Sister Shimei from Birmingham 614:

She is leading a mission to Haiti next week. The coolest part is that she is bringing Birmingham Battle Schoolers almost entirely saves from their street level Corps. That is awesome, these guys are simply equipped with Holy Spirit filled passion for souls and I believe that God will bless it large.

Pray it up for them next week.

Hey, I thought I would give an update to everybody. Lately life has been moving much faster than the blogosphere ... Well we moved into a house on the same street which gives us about 200 more square feet. We now have two kids that have come to live with us while their Mother gets her personal situation stabilized. That has really changed all the everyday stuff, having two teenagers adds a crazy dynamic to a household and I have become my Father and Mother all in one.
The other day I went to their door and was like " OK guys, time to get up. You can't spend the day watching TV in your room. Why not go get some fresh air outside." That was scary ! It is kind of like a crash course in parenthood, man it is hard being a parent. Sorry Mom.

God is good, we have begun small group discipleship with all the kids alongside a full time kids camp and the Service Corps, alongside The War College students, are making a real impact in becoming a righteous presence here in our community.

Its the personal sacrifice that is making Jesus stand out more and more around here, some ladies on league of mercy assignment have been visiting some shut in retiree's and yesterday brought them their own fans to keep them cool. It was 108 Degree's here but they had no issue with giving up their own comfort for the benefit of others.

It is rare to go out and see any of the team here not sharing a meal with someone or to see them not helping a single Mom with her shopping, or babysitting for her. I am severely humbled by watching this new family of mine give until it hurts and then finding more to give, they are truly presenting an offering to The Lord that is costing them something.

I know that the difference they are making is eternal, I know it because it is given through literal blood, sweat and tears. The courage demonstrated by these two guys and five woman would bring a battle hardened general to his knees. They are a motley crew of hero's and lovers of Jesus' most precious friends. They are simply six salvationists who, by faith, have begun living out their Articles of War.

God bless The Salvation Army, its officers, soldiers and the general.

Thank-You

Experiencing the emotions and circumstance of Christ is a gift.
Knowing even the suffering of Christ is even a more precious gift.

Have you ever received a gift that you did not want, clothes or maybe a dictionary?

I have been experiencing a great deal of ungratefulness lately, its like you could give everything in you as an offering to someone and they just spit on it.
Imagine Jesus gave his life and still we can forget to say thank-you.
I do not like learning this one, it hurts a lot, but it still pails in comparison to the ungratefulness and brokenness that Jesus suffered ... For me.

Is Christ trying to share any of his hurt with you ?

Double Blessing Friday...claim it as your own

Last summer I was sent to Melfort, Saskatchewan with my friend Xander. While there we had home Bible Studies every Wednesday where we studied the book of Exodus.
One night we were studying chapter 16- which is when the Israelites were wandering around the desert and decided that they wanted food and so God sent them manna and quail. With the manna and quail He gave these instructions:

4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days."

We were discussing this and thought- that's awesome! On Friday we get a double portion because out blessing for saturday is rest. So we began to claim double blessing Friday. And this is my testimony to double blessing friday...

One day I was praying about moving to Ontario and I says to God- God, if I am to go there, I need money. If I receive $300 today, then I'm supposed to go. Then I called my mom and she tells me, Oh, Jaime- your Grandma just e-mailed me and told me she sent you $600.
And then yesterday (we studied Double Blessing Friday in our rations) I had asked God for a stove and a fridge for our house...and we got one for all 3 houses...
And then we had 2 boys over for dinner, and their 2 cousins came.

Pretty much Double Blessing Friday is awesome...because God is awesome...

an update from the 'hood

Good day!

Well, ministry is in full swing down here in JT Williams, Charlotte North Carolina. There are now 8 full-time ministers on our ministry team (1 has moved into the neighborhood, 2 are on loan from The War College in Canada and 3 are summer service corps and Rob and I make 8).We are finishing our second full week of official kids club day camp. It's been challenging, but the kids have embraced the new faces wholeheartedly, and the new folks are getting the same treatment as us 'regulars'receive, which is sometimes angelic, and sometimes...not.

Our day together starts off at 9am with Pray the Bible, a devotion (led by one of the team members) communal breakfast and then we kickoff kids club day camp at 10:30 until 3pm.The kids love all the attention and having adults to play with so it's hard to resist their urgings to just play one more game of basketball...before you know it it's dinnertime and then dishes (what a pile-up! Good thing we take turns...)then we just hang out with one another, read and check emails.

In the evenings, we invite our neighbours over for meals and movies, or head to the Charlotte Prayer Room (www.Charlotte24-7.com), out to a movie, discuss the day's highlights and low moments or focus on prayer ministry and spiritual development with one another. Then there is ice cream (of course) and we head off to sleep.


Rob and I usually hit the hay around 12:30-1:00 after having chatted over our day and having strategically placed fans about the house to disperse the cool air pumping out of our 200btu air conditioner throughout the rest of the house.

I have to laugh at the hilarity of it all! Honestly...we thought we were getting such a deal on that air conditioner...Heehee...
We only have an air conditioner, because our neighbours have them. You see, we developed this policy a while ago to promote incarnational living and simplicity...we call it "If the poor don't have one, then neither do we".

This principle protects ministers like us, who have good intentions to move into a marginalized neighbourhood, but then end up turning their shmucky little ghetto house into a palace of upper middle class living on the inside, and actually missing the whole point. Also missing out on the understanding and righteous anger that gives birth to advocacy for a community and a people group that grows out of living just as your drowntrodden neighbours do.Funny thing though, this principle has played itself out in an unexpected way here in Charlotte. The evidence is seen in our medicine cabinet, where you will find spray treatment for ringworm (half empty), clear nail polish to combat chiggers (nasty things), the special lice comb and lice shampoo, afterbite for those nasty mosquitos and antibacterial cream for those of us who scratch our bites until they bleed...so...if the neighbours have them, so do we!

But the truth is,it's all worth it to be part of this JT Williams family.

Perception Is Not Reality

Tonight we had some dear friends in the fight over to our house for a meal and just to hang out. It was really really enjoyable, because we shared about what was going on in our lives, what God was doing, what our passions are and so on.

One area that Rob and I shared on in great detail was our frustrations since moving here to Charlotte in January. In hindsight, there is a long list of frustrations, delays and miscommunications that just made life harder in the daily grind. In the end, it always came back around to the present reality that we had never actually wanted for anything that we vitally needed, never starved or had to live on the street and ministry never came to a stand-still because of any of these obstacles.

That's a pretty amazing testimony, and it makes it easier to lean on God in current days as we get frustrated with delays and miscommunications and all that, because we know that God has got us covered, and He acts on behalf of those who wait for Him (Isaiah 64:4)
So then I was checking email, and found this in my inbox...again, I didn't write it, but I like it.

Perception is not reality
The lions may roar and growl, yet the teeth of the great lions are broken. - Job 4:10

In the advertising business we often say that "perception is reality" for the person who views our advertising message. It does not matter whether the audience believes the message to be true, only that they perceive it to be true. Their actions will be the same whether they believe it or only perceive it.

The enemy of our souls is very good at this game. He may bring on us what we perceive to be true when it is a lie. It may appear that there is no way around a situation. He may bring great fear on us. When we buy into his lie, we believe only what we have chosen to perceive to be true. It usually has no basis of truth. Such was the case when Peter looked on the waters during a night boat journey with the other disciples. At first glance, he and the disciples screamed with fear, thinking that what they saw was a ghost. It was actually Jesus.

Satan's name means "accuser." He travels to and fro to accuse the brethren. He brings an impressive front to all he does, yet behind that front is a weak, toothless lion with a destination that has already been prepared in the great abyss. He knows his destination, but he wants to bring as many with him as possible; so he often has a big roar, but little bite.

The next time some event comes into your life that creates fear and trembling, first determine the source. Look past the emotions and evaluate the situation in light of God's Word. Perception is not always reality. by Os Hillman

posted by:
Heather

Are You a Threat?

I didn't write this, but I like it...
Devotional by Os Hillman

One day the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" - Acts 19:15

Are you a threat to the kingdom of darkness? If satan and his demons had a board meeting and your name came before the board, what would they say? Would they say that you are one of their most feared enemies and they needed to keep many demons harassing and opposing you? Or would they say, "Gentlemen, this person poses no threat to our activities. Leave him alone. He needs no help from us."

There are millions of church-going believers sitting in pews Sunday after Sunday who pose little threat to the kingdom of darkness.

If we truly believe that we war against rulers and principalities that cannot be seen, then we must realize that their mandate is to hinder any believer who is seeking to walk in the fullness of God. However, "greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 Jn. 4:4b KJV).

If you are seeking to fully follow the Lord, you can expect harassment from the enemy. God permits temptation because it drives us deeper into the soil of God. These times reveal God's power to keep us and walk us through the temptations. Our message becomes fruitful when it is born out of obedience and suffering for His name. Do not consider it strange if you find yourself fighting major battles the more obedient you become to the Master.

God desires each of us to become a feared enemy of hell in order to affect satan's domain. When you begin to feel harassed, chances are you are beginning to affect the kingdom of darkness, and satan doesn't like this.
So, how many demons do you think are assigned to you?


Well freinds, that's definetely food for thought to chew on in our camp this week. As our ministry team increases in number, gifting and power, the devil and his hordes come marching to rob us, kill relationship and tear down all that God is building in this place. We must be alert!

"Be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring, seeking someone to seize upon and devour." 1 Peter 5:8 Amplified Bible

For further contemplation and exploration of the ideas outlined in this devotional, check out The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.

posted by:
Heather Dolby

what we hearin' in the 'hood...

Piggybacking on yesterday's post, I present for your curiousity and enlightenment:

Our Neighbourhood Theme Songs

A song about being proud of your roots:I'm from the ghetto homey, I was raised off of bread and bologna
You can't come around here cuz you're phony
All my gangstas, gon put ya hands up (put 'em up)
And all my hot girls, back dat ass up

A song about the police and a black motorist:They see me rollin
They hatin
Patrolling they tryin to catch me ridin dirty
Tryin to catch me ridin dirty
My music so loud
I'm swangin
They hopin that they gon catch me ridin dirty

A song - well - it's self-explanatory:She poppin she rollin' she rollin'
She climbin' that pole and
I'm in love with a stripper
She trippin she playin she playin
I'm not goin nowhere girl I'm stayin
I'm in love with a stripper

A song about relationships:
and they say
he do alittle this,he do alittle that
he always in trouble, and i heard he aint nothin but a pimp
hes done alotta chicks hes always in the club and they say
he think hes slick, hes got alotta chips he sellin dem drugs,and i heard
hes been locked up
find somebody else
hes aint nuttin but a thug...so what

so there it is. Hard to believe?
Check it out for yourself, www.charlottesbeat.com and click onto the stream.

Here's the deal - I almost can't blame these kids for knowing ALL THE WORDS to these songs, and we're talking kids from the age of 2 1/2. Whether they understand what they are saying or not, the reality is that the beat is sweet and you can dance to it. The christian stations in the city just haven't got the same groove. The music is somehow too squeaky clean to relate to real life like they livin' it.

I get why William Booth took songs out of the pubs - not just cuz folks already knew the tune and would catch on quickly, but they were probably a lot more fun to sing and groove to...

regarding blog dated Thurs. May 24/06

A couple of posts ago I blogged comments made by kids that I'd read on another blogsite. They made me laugh out loud and so I decided I'd share them.

Well, I got to thinking today about some of the comments I hear from the kids in our neighbourhood, and I thought, as a companion list, I'd offer up some of their sayings:

"I had your momma last night."
8yr old boy to another young boy

"I can get more girls than you"*
12yr old to 10yr old

"When we get home from church, I'm gonna beat you so hard..."
12yr old to his little sister who wasn't sitting still in the van

"Ha ha, I got some and you got none cuz yo' momma's po'..."
4yr old girl with freezie to 7 yr old girl without freezie

*I note, that at this point in the conversation, I pointed out to both of them that they were really too young to have girlfriends, or even be doing stuff with girls. I was promptly informed that girls at school go into the boys bathroom all the time and they'll 'do stuff'. Yikes.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the sister post, entitled:
"Neighbourhood Theme Songs".