Remembering Michael Jackson

I would be remiss if I did not take time to pay my respects to one of the greatest performer this world has ever known. Very few artists are known around the world like Michael Jackson was. He bridged that gap between black and white, young and old, and rich and poor. In addition, so many of his songs spoke to the humanitarian in us, the philanthropist in us, the adventurer in us, the dreamer in us, and the kid in us.


As a child, I grew up listening to the music of The Jackson Five. I first learned to Dance listening to "Dancing Machine." My very first album was that of the Jackson Five, and when I inadvertently broke it you could only imagine my disappointment, until my mom managed to secure another copy for me at a local garage sale. That purchase freed up an album cover in which I very carefully cut out Michael Jackson's picture and then begin to carry it around in my purse. The picture proved to be very handy when friends wanted to debate their devotion to Michael Jackson.


My bedroom wall would have been covered with Michael Jackson posters, but my mom and dad would only allow one or two posters on the wall at a time. So most of my posters of Michael were kept in a folder, which I would pull out every once in a while to admire the artist and my collection.


In the sixth grade, my classmates and I put on a dance routine in front of the entire school to the song "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)." In a multi-cultural school in Utah, in the 70's, Michael Jackson's music had brought us together.


Every where I went in the U.S., in Europe and back, Michael Jackson's music was there. Even when I look back over my high school years, along side my year books there is the small collection of his albums, and all the memories that his songs bring to mind. Yet, when I saw him on television recently I did not recognize him as Michael Jackson. He had changed so drastically, and so had my thoughts toward him. Instead of praying for him, I questioned why he would want to drastically alter who God had created him to be. Tears did not come for me until old picture of him were shown. Then my thoughts mumbled "That's him, that's the Michael I remember." Then I wondered if he knew the Lord; if someone had taken the time to share the "Good News" with him. I want to believe he is a part of God's mass choir, and maybe the praise team: singing and dancing before the Lord our God. I also hope he has found the sleep, peace, and freedom that seemed to have eluded him here on earth.


I have marked Michael's death as a reminder to me to never be afraid to share my faith with someone. The thought of anyone spending the rest of eternity in hell is far more frightening to me than public speaking, or stepping up to share my faith.


May you rest in peace Michael Jackson; may your soul magnify the Lord; and may the legacy of your music survive in the hearts of our children, like it has settled in the hearts of your fans and will dwell there until we too have breathed our last breath.
Let us continue to pray for the Jackson family--their health and well being--and that each of them come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.


To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, And a time to die;
A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; (Ecclesiastics 3:1-2)

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The Woman with the Alabaster Box

NewsLetter (July 2009): From the Heart of God's Woman

Have you every walked into a place where you knew you needed to be, but felt as if you were a stranger, an outcast, an odd ball, or an uninvited guest? Maybe this place is school, church, work, or maybe home carries a stigma. Every time someone sees you there, they also see your pain, your circumstances, your notorious reputation, or what you did to them. You’re the one who committed that lewd act, had a drunken fit, a cheating husband, or was the victim of someone’s imprudence. You long for people to forget, to let it go, to get amnesia—so you can be who Jesus Christ created you to be. “That was yesterday,” you want to cry out, “Today I’ve been forgiven and I have forgiven!”

Click here to read more: AlabasterBoxWomanNewsletter.pdf

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The Balance that God Provides

I know how difficult it is to balance it all. After my son was born one of the hardest decisions I had to make was whether to stay home or return to work. From as far back as I can remember I dreamed of being a smart, savvy, career oriented woman rolling in the big bucks, unfortunately when the big bucks did start rolling in I was about to be a mom.

Even though my husband and I agreed, before my son was born, that I would continue to work fulltime outside the home--I had reneged on my end of the agreement the moment my son came into the world. I just could not bear leaving our little one with someone I hardly knew and with someone who could never love him as much as we did. Even though ten months of me being unemployed put a strain on my marriage, those were precious moments with my son I will never regret being a part of.

After my ten months of being a stay-at-home mom, I was back in the workforce. So I know what it is like working both sides of the aisle, or maybe I should say “multiple sides of the aisle.” I have worked from home, part-time, full-time, owned my own business, and now I am preparing for a full-time job outside the home, again. Am I looking forward to it? Not especially, because I know how difficult it is to balance it all. But for me it is also an opportunity to rely more on God. You would think the busier I am the less time I would have for God, but that is actually when I need Him the most. When I am stressed, overwhelmed, and exhausted, He brings clarity to my life. God has taught me essentially how to manage my time, so I have more time to invest that time in those things that truly matter to Him. I call it balancing blessings.

Balancing blessings is essentially stewardship, but to me it is also similar to the gift given to most wives and mothers. For instance, a man will look in the cabinets and cupboards and see nothing plausible to eat, but a woman with a desire to care for her family can look in the cabinets and cupboard and see a meal.

There have been many times I've looked at my schedule, and did not know how I was going to do everything I wanted and needed to do. When I sought God's perspective, He gave me the clarity to help me focus on what really needed to be accomplished and the insight as to how I can do things better in the future.

That’s the clarity that God provides. He has taught me simple steps to bring balance and order to every aspect of my life. He has helped me identify and conquer hindrances in my home, in my finances, within myself, and in my processes that has distracted me from loving and focusing on what truly matters to Him. I share what God has taught me in detail in my book Balancing Blessings and Obtaining Order, but a few steps you can take today to bring a little balance and order to your life is listed under the section “Your Call to Order”.

In conclusion, I may not be able to enjoy a weekday afternoon at the park with my son for a while, or bless my family as a stay-at-home mom; but as a wife and mother who works outside the home, I will continue to strive to get and maintain order in my daily life, by relying upon God.

Your Call to Order

• Evaluate your daily schedule.
• Look at where your time is being consumed. How much time is spent wasting time: on the phone, watching television, surfing the internet, socializing, etc. Analyze the value and joy these activities give you in relation to the time you could be spending doing something more meaningful. If you find the time wasters have no benefit, replace it with something more beneficial.
• Seek help.
• Do not be afraid to ask for help. The Proverbs 31 woman had maids!
• Scale down your possessions.
• Every thing you own is not necessary everything you need; start going through your things to determine what can be sold, donated or trashed. The less you have the less you have to clean and maintain.

Power Verses (from the New King James Version)

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 1:5).

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye (Psalm 32:8).

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