Enduring Challenges During The Holiday Season

Hi ladies and happy Tuesday! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. This is the last blog for "Black History Month" and I saved the best for last. In a previous blog I shared about the history of Dr Martin Luther King Sr and his history and why it's important. Well ladies this blog is honoring his son Dr Martin Luther King Jr! Dr Martin Luther King Jr was born to Dr Martin Luther King Sr (born 1899 died 1984) and Alberta King a well known organ player, pastor's wife, and former boarding school teacher (nee Williams born 1904 died 1974) and had two siblings. Christine King Farris (born 1926 died 2023) and Alfred Daniel King nicknamed (AD born 1930 died 1969). He was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up a pastors kid with his siblings at Ebenezer Baptist Church pastored by Dr Martin Luther King Sr for about four or five decades! Dr King Jr was actually born Michael King Jr and as I mentioned in the previous blog his earthly father Dr King Sr's birth name was Michael King Sr! Dr King Jr also came from a family lineage of sharecroppers and pastors. In a previous blog I mentioned that his dad Dr King Sr came from a family lineage of sharecroppers. But in his mom's side of the family came from a family lineage of Christians and pastors because Reverend Adam Williams was the previous senior pastor at "Ebenezer Baptist Church" before his death in 1931. That was Dr King Jr's maternal grandpa and his great-grandpa, others from his mom's side of the family and uncles were pastors! So I guess it's obvious to see his fate into ministry too! Dr King Jr loved the Lord from a very young age and even though his faith would be challenged at times (He struggled quite a bit in his teen years to the point of questioning the ressurection of Christ) that would be the force that kept him going. Also when Dr King Jr and his siblings grew up in the South which had "Jim Crow laws" which was a time of segregation for blacks and whites and blacks and whites couldn't be friends. (Couldn't live in the same neighborhood, work at the same job, use the same bathroom, drink water fountain, go to the same school, restaurant, or church!) To make matters worse, he and his siblings grew up during the "Great Depression" which was a difficult time for blacks and whites financially. I shared in a previous blog how God helped Dr King Sr overcome that fianancial challenge during that time. Dr King Sr his dad after coming back from a trip in Germany and was inspired by Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther changed his name from Michael King Sr to Martin Luther King Sr. He changed his son's name from Michael King Jr to Martin Luther King Jr! Dr King Jr also was a hard worker and smart student. In fact he was very smart that he skipped two grades his freshman year and his senior year! He graduated from high school at the age of fifteen in the year 1944! Now being a pastor's kid and coming from a family lineage of pastors is impressive but skipping two grades, not everyone can do that black or white! He entered his college entrance and passed and attended "Morehouse College" (same college his dad Dr King Sr attended) and in 1948 at nineteen got his bachelor's degree. He later gained his masters and got his doctorate degree in the early 1950s which is why we call him doctor! In 1952 he met and fell in love with Coretta Scott who was a "New England Conservatory Of Music" and got engaged and married in 1953. They were married in 1953 until his death in 1968. They had four children Yolanda nicknamed "Yoki", (born 1955 died 2007) Dr Martin Luther King 3, (born 1957) Dexter Scott, (born 1961 died 2024) and Berniece King (born 1963) The "Civil Rights Movement" began when the late Rosa Parks (born 1913 died 2005) refused to give up her seat and got arrested. It was through that the "bus boycott" got started when blacks refused to get on the bus until racial equality! That's how the "Civil Rights Movement" got started! From there Dr King Jr left many marches all over the South even to Washington DC! But it wasn't easy. Dr King Jr got arrested a number of times, got stabbed and almost died, the policemen and firefighters used water hoses to stop protesters, and others were arrested too. But Dr King Jr didn't believe in violence and believed that "violence attracts more violence". He's most known for his speech in 1963 "I Have A Dream" when he was encouraged by the late gospel artist Mathalia Jackson to share it. Part of the speech was he dreamed that his kids would be known for content of their character and blacks and whites to hold hands! In 1964 at 35 he won the "Nobel Peace Price" and that was the same year that Congress initiated the "Civil Rights Act" that allowed blacks and whites to work at the same jobs and schools. In 1968 he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee but there is a King Museum in Atlanta, Georgia started by his widow Coretta (born 1927 died 2006) and attracts tourists every year. His remaining kids Dr King 3 and Berniece King are Christians and ministers, and it's up to us to keep his dream alive for racial equality something I strive to do too. That's what I wanted to share with you ladies saving the best for last for "Black History Month". I want people especially whites to know why I honor Dr King Jr is because he sought to bring blacks and whites together and he did! Blessings, enjoy your week, and let's keep Dr King Jr's dream alive!

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Lord's day! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. Well it's the last week in February and I have two more blogs to do in honor of "Black History Month". Today on the Lord's day we're honoring Dr Martin Luther King Sr! Yes I said Sr not Jr! (Don't worry I'll have another blog in honor of Dr King Jr!) We know about the son but not the father and in this blog I'll share some fun facts about who Dr King Jr's earthly father was. First of all Dr King Sr was born in 1899 and died in 1984 around the age of 84 years old. He was born in 1899 to Delia (born 1875 died 1924) and James Albert (born 1864 died 1933). Also Dr King Sr was born Michael King as his birth name! Whew! That's interesting. He also grew up in Stockridge, Georgia (he later moved to Atlanta, Georgia) and grew up as a sharecropper. Now that was very common for blacks back then since many of them didn't have opportunities like they do today. Dr King Sr's dad James was a sharecropper, and James from a family lineage of sharecroppers which meant they made their living as farmers. Often Dr King Sr helped his parents farm when he was a kid before and after school and his classmates would make fun of him because of how he smelled. His classmates in school called him a "mule". Dr King Sr stood up to his classmates and said. "I may look like a mule and I may smell like a mule but that doesn't make me a mule." He learned early on not to let people's words define you. When Dr King Sr was a teenager marked a time of transition for him. He told his parents he wanted more out of his life than sharecropping. That's when Dr King Sr heard the gospel of Christ, became a Christian, and would live for the Lord ever since then. Since becoming a Christian he knew his life had purpose. He also would connect with a pastor named Reverend Adam Williams who mentored him and encouraged him to finish high school which he did at "Bryan Preparatory School". He later studied theology at "Morehouse College" while working as mechanics helper and railroad firefighter. He also began courting Alberta daughter of Reverend Williams and his wife Jennie and after finishing college, Dr King Sr and Alberta got married. (Alberta taught boarding school for a season until she got married and quit working that.) Also Alberta comes from a family lineage of Christians and pastors on her dad's side of the family! Dr King Sr and Alberta were married Thanksgiving Day in 1926 until she died in 1974. They had three kids Christine King Farris (born 1927 died 2023) Michael King Jr (born 1929 died 1968) and Alfred Daniel known as "AD" (born 1930 died in 1969.) Dr King Sr after college and after he got married became associate pastor at "Ebenezer Baptist Church" for several years until 1931. After Reverend Williams went to heaven in 1931 Dr King Sr took over "Ebenezer Baptist Church" for four or five decades! (His widow Jennie went to heaven in the 1941 ten years after he went to heaven.) Wow! Also when he took over "Ebenezer Baptist Church" during the "Great Depression" which was a hard time for all Americans financially for blacks and whites much less for ministers. Not to mention that Dr King Sr still had a young family to raise and a household to feed. But God enabled Dr King Sr to organize membership and fundraisers and in 1934, Dr King Sr became a respected leader of his church. That was the same year he made a trip to Germany where he learned about Christian, German, and Protestant Reformation leader named Martin Luther. (Martin Luther wrote the 95 thesis, stood up to the Catholic Church, and wrote hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God".) It was because of he changed his name to Michael King Sr to Martin Luther King Sr! He changed his son's name from Michael King Jr to Martin Luther King Jr! Dr King Sr condemned antisemitism discrimination against the Jews, leader of civil rights movement, and serve as a executive committee of the NAACP (national association advancement for colored people) a movement that started in 1909. Dr King Sr had a broadcast WAEC a radio station in Atlanta, had great influence over the black community, and earned some respect in the white community. He instilled godly values in his kids but also encouraged them to stand up against racism. Dr King Jr stated that he and his dad went to a show store and were asked to change seats. Not only that, the clerk was disrespectful to him and Dr King Sr told his son Dr King Jr to put the shoes back because of that! Dr King Sr when he got pulled over by the police said to a police officer. "My son is a boy and I'm a man. Until you call me one I won't listen to you!" Dr King Sr kept order in his house but he kept order outside his house too. He wasn't afraid to straighten people out when he needed to! That would motivate Dr King Jr his son to follow in his dad's footsteps which would take the "Civil Rights Movement" on a national revolution! It was all because of his dad Dr King Sr's foundation would cause Dr King Jr's movement to become what it was! Also both Dr King Sr's sons Dr King Jr and AD became ministers just like their father and even Dr King 3 Dr and his younger sister Berniece King Sr's grandson and granddaughter would become ministers too. What a bloodline! Dr King Sr would witness tragedies in his latter years witnessing the death of his son Dr King Jr's assassination in 1968, his other son AD died the following year. Five years later his wife Alberta died in 1974 and he died ten years later. (Thank goodness they made it to heaven.) Dr King Sr encountered ups and downs in his Christian walk, family life, ministry life, and racial challenges of his day but by God's grace he rose above them and has a legacy worth honoring just as we honor his son's legacy. (I'll write about his son Dr King Jr in the last "Black History Month" blog.) That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. I hope you learned something especially about Dr King Sr, I hope y'all have a great Lord's day, and have a great week everyone.

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Tuesday! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. I'm happy to present another blog for "Black History Month" and it's about a black person we don't mention much and her name is Mabel Fairbanks. She was born in 1915 and died in 2001 in her eighties. Her mom unfortunately died when she was a little girl and became orphaned as a result. She stayed with a teacher who treated her like a "maid" and worked for him in the fish market for a time. A wealthy woman saw her sleeping at a park bench and gave her a job as a baby sitter. She began ice skating for fun when she was ten to thirteen years old in years 1925 to 1928. She was inspired by three time legendary Olympic God medalist Sonja Henie (won 1928, 1932, and 1936) She bought herself some ice skates and skated at an outdoor rink because blacks weren't allowed to skate indoors. She still wanted to skate indoors and was denied until the cashier let her in. It was Maribel Vinson Owen and Howard Nicholson provided her with technical advice. (Things like spins, jumps, and spirals etc.) Unfortunately due to her race she couldn't compete at the World's, Nationals, or Olympics. She instead performed in ice skating exhibitions and wore pink and purple instead of black and white. She moved from New York City New York and moved to Los Angeles California she toured internationally skating with Ice Capades in Mexico and later with Ice Follies. She eventually retired from skating in skating exhibitions and would make a lifelong career in coaching. She coached singles and pairs such as Tiffany Chin, Scott Hamilton, (1984 Olympic champion and also a Christian) Kristi Yamaguchi, (1992 Olympic champion) and black skater Debi Thomas (1986 World champion and 1988 Olympic bronze medalist) just to name a few. She in 1997 was inducted into "US Figure Skating Hall Of Fame" in 2001 inducted into the "International Women's Sports Of Fame". She also broke racial barriers in the sports and helped black and Asian skaters get into the sport. She's not bitter for not being an "Olympic star". She would say "If I had gone to the Olympics and became a star, I wouldn't be who I am today ". She died of cancer in 2001 never married or had kids. Through her faith in God and perseverance broke racial barriers in figure skating and coached skaters to have better competitive opportunities than what she had. That's what I wanted to share with y'all. Blessings, happy Tuesday, and have a blessed week everyone.

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Lord's day! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. I'm happy to present another blog for "Black History Month" and it's the one and only Cece Winans! I know the name sounds familiar but there are things you may not know about her. Cece's birth name actually is Priscilla Marie in 1964 to the late David and Delores. She has two younger sisters Debbie and Angie and has seven older brothers meaning that her parents raised ten kids! Wow! (One of her brothers Ronald died and went to heaven in 2005 making her have six brothers that are still living.) She, her seven brothers, and two sisters were born and raised in Detroit Michigan and grew up in a Christian home. They all got saved at a young age, sang in church, and was only allowed to listen to gospel music no secular music was allowed in the house at all! Cece was giving her nickname by her parents and had been called Cece ever since! Cece sang her first solo as a kid to "Fill My Cup" in the kids choir and hasn't stopped singing since then. Her four older brothers continued singing (including Marvin and Ronald) and eventually they were discovered by the late gospel artist Andrea Crouch and were signed to Light records and would later be known as "The Winans" in the 1980s and the 1990s. "The Winans" would release multiple albums, win countless awards, and touch lives through their contemporary gospel music. Cece and Bebe would join PTL ministries from 1981 until 1984 and performed as a musical Duo for the late Tammy Faye and former husband Jim Baker. (They later divorced and married different people. Tammy Faye died and went to heaven in 2007.) It was during PTL that Cece met her now husband Alvin Love who was a new Christian at the time, former veteran, be worked at Xerox at a PTL meeting and he was smitten over Cece. Cece was about nineteen years old and Alvin many years older than her. They had a long distance romantic relationship for the rest of 1983 and in 1984 got engaged and married in the summer of 1984. After getting married the Lord led her out of PTL (it later would shut down in 1987 due to sexual misconduct of Jim Baker among other issues) and move back to Detroit Michigan and start a hair salon for a time. She would become a mom in 1985 birthing Alvin Love 3. (She birthed Ashley in 1987.) Later Cece and Bebe signed with Sparrow records and would release "Introducing Bebe And Cece Winans" either in 1986 or 1987. They released ''IOU" ''Heaven", "I'll Take You There" among other singles. They released albums like "Heaven", (1989) "Different Lifestyles",(1991) "First Christmas", (1993) "Relationships" (1994 the year I was born) and final album "Still" released in 2009. But in the year 1995 she became a solo artist and released her album called "Alone In His Presence" which began her career as a solo artist. She released several more solo albums such as "Everlasting Love" either in 1997 or 1998, "His Gift" (1998 Christmas album) "Alabaster Box" , (1999 the album I grew up listening to as a kid) her self titled fourth album in 2001 among many other projects. She won many Stellar, Five, Grammys, and even NAACP image awards and has broken racial barriers with black and white audiences. In 2010 after her dad David went to heaven, she and her husband Alvin Love Jr started a church. Their son Alvin 3 had a wonderful encounter with the Lord and brought his friends over and that's how the church got started. Cece put her music career on hold to pour into that church and be there for her young adult kids Alvin 3 and Ashley and their peers. After several years of the church growing, the Lord released Cece back into the gospel industry with the 2017 "Let Them Fall In Love" her first solo album since 2008 "Thy Kingdom Come". In 2021 she followed up with "Believe For It" featuring "The Goodness Of God" by "Bethel" causing black and white audiences to love that song and in2024 released "That's My King". Cece and Alvin Love 2 have been married for 41 years, have two adult kids, and has three grandkids. She said being a grandma is the best thing apart from her being a mom. She also had written a few books and is owner of Wellspring her own Christian record label since 1999. Cece wears many "different hats" but is remembered for her love for the Lord, her family, and God using her in ministry. She is still ministering today and has no intentions to slow down. She tours on Thursdays through Saturdays but is in town Sundays through Wednesdays to help her husband Alvin Love 2 with the church and be there for her grandkids. That's what I wanted to share with y'all today. Blessings, happy Lord's day, hope y'all enjoyed the blog, and there is Bible study tonight so don't miss it! Blessings to each of you ladies, have a blessed week, and happy Black History Month!

Hi ladies it's me again and hope y'all are doing well. I'm taking a break from Black History and the title i have for the blog is called "Valentine's Day From My Perspective". Valentine's Day will be this upcoming Friday and I know this holiday can bring alot of emotions. For some who are dating, engaged, married, or remarried it's something to look forward to. For others who are divorced, widowed, or single (like myself for now anyway) a day like that can be challenging. Here's the thing. Valentine's Day is what I call a "Hallmark holiday" that specializes in romantic love. Is there anything wrong with that? No of course not. But there are other types of love out there besides romantic love. I want to share them in this blog. There's storage love which is family love. There's phileo love which equals friendship love. (Side note Philadelphia means "City of brotherly love".) There's agape which means unconditional/sacrificial love which is the love of God and a soldiers love for sacrificing themselves for their country. Of course there's Eros which is romantic love but there's another one that I've overlooked. God and research showed me and that is Philautia and what's that? It's healthy self love. Now I'm not talking about being arrogant, selfish, or being abusive with no regard for others because sadly people can abuse self love. No I'm talking about loving oneself in a healthy and God honoring way. Honestly that love has been tricky for me something that the Lord has to work on me about. Those are the five different types of love. For Valentine's Day the past five years I've been doing what I call "Singles Night Out" for singles on Valentine's Day. We get together at a restaurant if my choice and eat dinner, do a short devotional, and exchange Valentine treats. I've been doing that the past five years because the years prior to that I talked about how much I hated Valentine's Day. But God has had to change my prescriptive and doing events like that has helped me. The Bible mentions in 1 Corinthians 13 a well familiar passage of Scripture that talks about the importance of love and without love we're nothing. Our culture preaches that message too but they use it in the romantic love context. But the Bible talks about a different kind of love and 1 Corinthians 13 talks about what God's love is like and how it's important for us God's people to demonstrate love towards Him and to others. I believe that God's people need to be bold about God's love and show it on Valentine's Day and all year long. We need to celebrate yes romantic love but also celebrate God's love. God always gives me a "love song" every year since 2021 or He'll send me someone to demonstrate His love for me as well. On Valentine's Day this year I'll celebrate God's love, friendship love, and self love. God reminds me that He loves me whether I have a romantic relationship or not. Plus I honor and celebrate others who are like myself and do a party for them on Valentine's Day until God gives me a romantic relationship. I look forward to celebrating Valentine's Day with my romantic partner but until then I'm hosting "Singles Night Out" on Valentine's Day. As we get closer to Valentine's Day remember and thank God for His love. We didn't deserve God's love but He loved us anyway when He sent Jesus to die for us on the cross. Out of that love can we love Him, ourselves, and others. Remember there are other ways to show love like helping people in need and encouraging and being there for others who feel forgotten like I'm going to. For those who have a significant other thank God that you have one and honor your marriage vows. That's what I wanted to share with y'all. Blessings, have a good week, and happy Valentine's Day week!

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Lord's day and happy Superbowl. I hope you ladies and your families are doing well. Listen I'm not a football fan but I figured to still write about another person in black history. His name is Russell Wilson a black man and a football player! Now you maybe thinking he hasn't died! Well I know that. Let's talk about his life. He was born in 1988 to his parents his late dad was lawyer and his mom a nurse. His late paternal grandpa was a president of "Norfolk University" and his late dad played football and baseball for a team in San Diego, California. His brother played baseball and football in college and his sister played basketball at Stanford. He grew up in Richmond, Virginia. Simply put her came from a sports family lineage. He played football and baseball like them and started when he was in middle school. In high school he played so well that he was "player of the year" and was featured on "Sports Illustrated!" He also would go to training for summer camp and met Peyton Manning as well too. He later would attend college first at "North Carolina State University" and later transferred to "University Of Wisconsin. After that his dad died and he got to play for the NFL (National Football Association) and got to play for three different teams. "Seattle Seahawks ", "Denser Broncos, and "Pittsburgh Steelers". He played for the "Seattle Seahawks " for over a decade and won a few Superbowl! He later played for the"Denver Broncos" for two years and last year got traded to the"Pittsburgh Steelers ". He's known for scoring lots of touchdowns and for winning many games as a wide receiver. As for his personal life he's been married twice and once divorced. He married his first wife Ashton whom he knew in high school.  They married in 2012 but sadly divorced in 2014. In 2015 he dated Grammys award R&B singer Ciara and in 2016 got engaged and married. They have three kids born in 2017, 2020, and 2023. He also has a stepson from Ciara's previous relationship and we're abstinent when they dated. More than him winning football games and beyond him being a family man most of all he's a strong Christian who knows that it's the Lord that's the key to his success. He knows that living for God is the most important ingredient for his life, his family, and sports life. That ladies is the most precious of all about Russell Wilson. He's a living league but most of all a Christian. That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. There's no Bible study tonight but we'll resume next week Sunday night. Blessings, happy Lord's day, enjoy Superbowl, and have a blessed week everyone.

Hi ladies and hope y'all are having a good week along with loved ones. This is my second blog for "Black History Month" and it's called "The Legacy Of Whitney Houston". I shared in a previous blog about the life of the late Cissy Houston her mom. Now we're going to talk about the life of the late Whitney Houston. She was born in 1963 as Whitney Elizabeth Houston born to the late Cissy Houston and her second husband the late John Houston. (John Houston died in 2003 while Cissy died in 2024 mentioned in the previous blog.) Whitney has two older brothers Gary Garland (he had a different dad Freddy Garland Cissy Houston's first marriage before her divorce) and Michael Houston. She grew up in a Christian home, in New Jersey, and grew up attending "New Hope Baptist Church". She also grew up with alot of singers in her family. Besides her mom the late Cissy Houston she had cousins who sang such as the late Dee Dee Warwick and her sister Dionne Warwick. (They both were solo artists.) She also grew up around the late Aretha Franklin known as the "Queen Of Soul". (Her mom the late Cissy Houston sang back up vocals for the late Aretha Franklin too.) Wow what a family lineage of singers! It should have been no surprise where Whitney Houston's talent came from. She started singing as a girl and her mom Cissy Houston. She attended "Franklin Elementary School" but later attended "Mount Saint Dominic Academy" and graduated from there in 1981. She sang back up vocals for her mom, Chaks Khan, Aretha Franklin, and others. As a teenager she became a model for "Seventeen Magazine". Also many labels wanted to sign her up but her mom said no and wanted her to finish high school and enjoy her teenage years. Later she got discovered singing at a nightclub with Clive Davis and she would sing "Home" on a television show. She signed with Artists and would produce six albums on there. Her 1985 self titled debut album, 1987 album "Whitney", 1990 "I'm Your Baby Tonight", 1998 "My Love Is Your Love", 2002 "Just Whitney" and 2009 final album "I Look To You". Whitney won 22 American music awards, won six Grammys, and two Emmy awards. She was known for five octave range, breaking racial and gender barriors, and singing uplifting songs. She starred in a number of movies such as "The Bodyguard" (1992) "Waiting To Exhale" (1995) "The Preachers Wife" (1996) "Cinderella" as the fairy godmother in 1997, and final film "Sparkle" remake. The soundtrack of the films from the 1990s were as successful as her "regular albums". Whitney also created her own foundation to help people in need. She's known for her marriage to R&B singers Bobby Brown (former member of R&B group "New Edition") whom she met at an awards show in 1989 and fell madly in love with him. She got engaged to him 1991 and had a private ceremony in her backyard with pastor, gospel artist, and friend Marvin Winans officiating the ceremony. In 1993 had baby girl Bobbi Kristina. (Unfortunately Bobbi Kristina died in 2915.) Unfortunately due to her marriage to Bobby Brown would cause her to fall into drugs and alcohol causing her to be a victim of media press. But Whitney fought to stay married to Bobby until they divorced in 2007 and she had full custody over Bobbi Kristina. Whitney would go to rehab to deal with her drug problem. Whitney Houston also had many friends in the industry such as Faith Evans, Kim Burrell, Cece Winans, Kelly Price, and others. Just as she was getting ready for the Grammys award week is when her untimely death occurred while she was at a hotel. That was a shock to the world and her loved ones. A week later they had her funeral at "New Hope Baptist Church" with many artists such as Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, R Kelly, Cece Winans, and the Winans family among others. Whitney Houston maybe gone but her legacy lives on to be cherished forever. This is my second blog for "Black History Month" and can't wait to share more as time goes on. Blessings.

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Lord's day. I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. Well it's February 2nd and it's also "Black History Month!" Throughout this month I'll be sharing about black people who have made a difference living and dead and share what we can learn about them. When its closer to Valentine's Day I'll share about love. But today I'm gonna share about Cissy Houston. She was born in 1933 the youngest of several kids and she died in her nineties in 2024. She was born to Nicholas and Delia and lived in New Jersey. Cissy's birth name was actually Emily Drinkard and that's the last name of both her parents. She grew up in a Christian home and grew up singing as a kid. Even though Cissy had a wonderful loving Christian home she endured lots of tragedy. Cissy lost her mom Delia from a stroke when she was a kid but some years later her dad remarried. Though Cissy grew up in a Christian home she didn't get saved until she was fourteen years old. It wasn't until after high school that her dad died of stomach cancer. It was after that that she and her older sisters started a gospel group called "The Drinkard Sisters" and released album called "Make A Joyful Noise". They got to tour with legendary gospel artist Mathalia Jackson who at that time was a well known female gospel artist. After awhile Cissy, her sisters, and her nieces started a group called "Sweet Inspiration" and would sing back up vocals for the late Aretha Franklin The "Queen Of Soul" and the late Elvis Presley the "King Of Rock & Roll" among other artists. I'm the midst of her doing that she managed to be able to start a family. She got married to her first husband named Freddy Garland and later on had a baby boy named Gary Garland. But eventually that marriage ended in divorce. Eventually she married her second and final husband John Houston and had two kids Michael Houston and her youngest child Whitney Houston known to family and friends as "Nippy" but known to the world as "The Voice". Eventually Cissy became a solo artist in 1970 and released "Presenting Cissy Houston". She has released several albums since that time. She also was the former choir director of "New Hope Baptist Church" where her daughter Whitney Houston would sing her first solo and where she and family members attended church their whole lives. Cissy also had nieces who sang such as Dionne Warwick and the late Dee Dee Warwick (she died in 2008) also were successful singers as well. She would train Whitney in the ways of God and how to sing. Whitney Houston would sing back up vocals for her mom and other artists until she'd become a famous superstar. Cissy did her best to help Whitney through her drug addiction and took her to rehab at different times as well as prayed for her. Cissy's second marriage sadly ended in divorce when her kids were grown and never remarried after that. John Houston died in 2003 in his eighties.) Cissy had six grandkids including the late Bobby Kristina (died in 2015) and nine great-grandkids. Then in 2012 Cissy got terrible news that her daughter and "The Voice" Whitney Houston tragically died. I can only imagine the grief she faced having to bury her daughter. But she wrote a book in 2013 called "Remembering Whitney" and shared the behind the scenes about her and Whitney's life. In 2024 Cissy Houston was found dead in her home and Dionne Warwick spoke at her funeral. Cissy died twelve years after her daughter. Cissy left a legacy of faith, family, and music that lives on as does her daughter Whitney Houston. In another blog I'll share about Whitney Houston. That's the first figure I wanted to share with y'all about. Blessings, happy Lord's day, and looking forward to sharing more about "Black History Month".

Hi ladies it's me again and hope y'all are doing well. For most of the month of January I've been writing about New Year's stuff. Well today I'm gonna shift gears and the title blog is called "My Birthday Week" blog. I'm this blog I'm gonna share about what I did during my birthday week. My actual birthday is January 21st 1994 and it took place on a Tuesday this year. The weather was 4 degrees the day after Dr King Jr Day. I got to go to the library and work on my upcoming third book on my birthday. Not only that when I got home I recorded a music video and shared it on YouTube. I got to eat Kopps custard, eat a burger, Macaroni and Cheese, and eat cake that I bought. I got to watch the movie "Snow dogs" which was funny. My brother and sister called me and my godfather wished me happy birthday too. Thats day 1 of celebration. Wednesday night I went to church and volunteered for youth group and bought a cake to eat and got a present. That's day 2 of celebration. Day 3 the final day was on Saturday night for dinner January 25th I got to celebrate with family and friends and got to hang out at "Chick-fil-A" the one in Brookfield. Every year I try to attend a different restaurant every year for my birthday since 2019. I can't remember the restaurants I went to in 2019 or 2020 but I know in 2021 I went to Oscars in 2022 "El Grecco", in 2023 "Culver's", and last year went to "Denny's" Sunday night. I also have recorded various music videos on my birthday since 2021 cover songs by gospel artist Kirk Franklin (also a January birthday) and Contemporary Christian artist Francesca Battistelli. Anyway going back to Saturdays event. Chick-fil-A got started in 1946 founded by the late Samuel Truett Cathy who was a Christian man and owned it for many years until he died in 2014 and had his son Dan take over in 2014. Chick-fil-A is open Monday through Saturday but is closed on Sundays to honor the Lord's day! I wanted to have my celebration this year not only to go to a different and affordable restaurant but also to honor that Chick-fil-A is a "Christian business". We got to enjoy a wonderful meal with a burger, fries, and yummy ice cream as well as enjoying family and friends. Several familiar faces were there as well as receiving tons of birthday cards lots of money, and well wishers. Thankfully the weather was a bit better 20 degrees although that's still cold but better than single digits. But that's January for you in Wisconsin. God revealed to me that being born in the winter meant being born during adversity. He explained that knowing how to endure winters brutality gives me grace to endure hardships in life. Never looked at it like that but that was God's idea. People on social media wished me happy birthday too which made me feel extra special. There you have it. I normally don't celebrate my birthday for a whole week normally I have one day but God gave me three days to celebrate which is a record for me. But I guess that's okay since I celebrate everyone else every year. For those who wished me happy birthday thank you! That's what I wanted to share with y'all. Blessings to each of y'all, God bless, and have a blessed week everyone.