New Year Don't Procrastinate

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Tuesday! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. In continuation of "Women's History Month" I'm writing another blog about another strong black woman whose name is Dr Cindy Trimms-Tomlinson. She was born in 1958 and born in Bermuda. She is number six of seven kids and was raised by a single mom. As you probably would imagine how challenging it was for her mom to raise seven kids and with many mouths to feed. There was poverty and her mom struggled to both provide and be caregiver for her kids. But when Cindy was eight years old something changed for her. She decided to run errands for neighbors and would learn how to be a entrepreneur in baby steps! Because she ran errands for neighbors she gained money and was able to pay for ballet lessons. As time continued to progress fast forward and she's now seventeen years old. She experienced rejection by her earthly father but that was also the time she gave her life to Christ and left many in her family to get saved too. She later went to college to study education and thought she'd be a "traditional teacher" but God has other ideas. She would become senator of her country, open many businesses, and even become a minister! (She was the first female senator in her country which is a big deal!) She would become a life coach, motivational speaker, and author too. Wow! What a woman of many gifts! She authored some books such as "Command Your Morning", "The Prayer Warrior Way", "Heaven Invades Earth", and "40 Day Soul Fast" to name a few! She also spends lots of times mentoring others which is a form of teaching in a way! She later moved from Bermuda and immigrated to the United States in Stockbridge, Georgia. She also has ministered and preached to others impacting many for the kingdom of God. But despite her thriving walk with the Lord, ministry, business life, life coaching, and writing books she like many women desired a family. But that desire wasn't easy either. Sadly many men she dated would try to get her to "dumb down" to fit to "their image". I'm fact in her early twenties a guy she dated told her to choose between "career and marriage" and she refused to continue on in the relationship! She dated many men and many of them wanted to marry her if they'd have a "traditional family". But Dr Cindy Trimms refused to settle, kept living for God, living life, and continued on in ministry and business until one day the Lord brought a wonderful Christian black man Pastor Russell Tomlinson into her life. Actually they knew each other twenty years prior when he was a colleague of hers. She knew his first wife Renace and knew their four kids three daughters and a son and were good friends. But they lost touch with each other for many many years until later when they "reunited" he told her his first wife Renace died and went to heaven making him a widower. But he grieved well though and trusted that God had a plan for him and his family in the midst of that. He also has grandkids from his first marriage as well too and after awhile, he and Dr Cindy fell in love and she sensed he was "the right one". Also Pastor Russell's adult kids and his young grandkids adopted Dr Cindy as well which would make Pastor Russell to propose to her and marry her in 2018! She wore her princess ball gown dress, it was Dr Cindy's only marriage and Pastor Russell's second marriage since his first wife Renace's death was in 2015. Dr Cindy Trimms has gained adult step-kids and young grandkids from Pastor Russell and she loves being married! She had a wonderful life as a devoted Christian single but married life for the past seven years was "worth the wait". She and Pastor Russell happily continue on to minister and he supports her dreams and he supports his dreams while they continue to live for God, love each other, and blend their family! There you have it ladies! I hope you enjoyed the blog because I love to share stories of strong powerful women that have changed the world. Blessings to y'all 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 do my third blog for "Women's History Month" and that is honoring the life of Dorinda-Clark-Cole. Last year I honored her sister Karen-Clark-Sheard and if I'm not mistaken I honored her niece Kierra Sheard and they all are Christians and well known gospel artists! But first let's share about Dorinda-Clark-Cole's history. Here we go. She was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1957 her birth name being Dorinda Grace Clark to the late Elbert and the late Mattie-Moss-Clark. Dorinda is the second youngest child in her family and has four older siblings. Their names are Leo Jr, (her only brother and is the oldest of the clan) Jacky-Clark-Chisolm, (birth name Jacqueline) Denise-Clark-Darchell, and Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark-Terrell. She has one younger sister named Karen-Clark-Sheard (birth name Karen Valencia Clark) Dorinda and her four sisters gave their lives to Christ at a young age and grew up singing in their father's church with their mom Mattie who was the music minister and taught all her daughters how to sing. After her parents divorce in 1973, Mattie continued to push her children to sing as well as continue to grow in their walk with the Lord. While many children in the 1960s and 1970s would play outside Dorinda and her sister would spend that time practicing. Dorinda is known as the "jazzy sister" and is known for scatting and rifts as well as her soulful sound in her voice. "The Clark Sisters" released two independent albums called "Jesus Had Alot To Give" and "Dr Mattie Moss Clark Presents The Clark Sisters". In 1974 "The Clark Sisters" were signed to gospel label called "Sound Of Gospel" records and released albums such as "Unworthy", "Count It All Joy", "He Gave Me Nothing To Lose", and "My Living In Vain" topped the gospel music charts. They'd be known for singles such as "Overdose Of The Holy Ghost", "Speak Lord," and "Expect Your Miracle". But their most well known album they released as a group is called "You Brought The Sunshine" and "Sincerely" popular single "Name It Claim It". Those singles and albums topped the gospel music charts but also Billboard charts too! It was rare for gospel artists especially back then to have gospel songs crossover to secular Billboard charts. But they did it by grace of God without compromising their relationship with the Lord. "The Clark Sisters" would win NAACP (national association advancement for colored people) and win two Grammy awards too. "The Clark Sisters" continued to release more chart topping albums as a group, while marrying and having families, and dealing with the loss of their mother Mattie-Moss-Clark. But life continued on and many of the sisters pursued solo projects. Dorinda released her self-titled solo debut album in 2002 which established herself as a solo artist and win two Stellar awards for that. She released more solo albums called "The Rose Of Gospel", (2005) "Take It Back", (2008) "I Survived ", (2011) "Living It", (2015), and rescent project "Determined" (2024). Dorinda in addition to her music career also is known for being an evangelist as well too. She is a licensed evangelist and has preached both in the United States and in many foreign countries such as England, Japan, and France just to name a few. Dorinda in her personal life has been married to Gregory Cole which is where she gets the last name Cole from. They have two adult kids a daughter named Nikkia-Cole-Beach and a son Gregory Cole Jr and they have grandkids too. Dorinda has suffered ups and downs and at one time suffering depression and even attempted suicide! She said she was speeding while driving up to 80 miles an hour about to drive off the cliff. The Lord spoke to her and said "Dorinda, Are you going to let everything you invested go down the drain? Peace be unto you." She grabbed the steering wheel and praised the Lord He stopped her from committing suicide! There you have it ladies. I wanted to honor a woman of color and another woman of faith. Blessings, hope y'all enjoyed the blog, have a good Lord's day, and have a blessed 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 my second blog for "Women's History Month" and that is the one and only Jen Lilley. She maybe a "less popular person" compared to the previous person I wrote about Lisa Bevere but it's not about "popularity" but impact. Jen Liley was born Jennifer Lilley born in Roanoke, Virginia in August 1984 to Ellen and her husband Vincent Lilley. Her dad Vincent was a judge and her mom Ellen was a director of a women and kids charity. She has three siblings two brothers Michael and Ryan and one sister Katherine. She graduated from "Cave Spring High school" in 2002. She later attended "University of Virginia" early and received honors. She went to college to study for acting before graduating even though she wondered if that would ever come true. She starred in independent films in college and after she graduated from college. She also got cast for "General Hospital" as which was an emergency recast part. She also starred in two major films such as "Revelation Road" 1 & 2 (It's based from the book of Revelations) and "The Book Of Esther" in 2013! It was also in 2013 she starred in soap opera "Days Of Our Lives" as Theresa Donovan is what "put her on the map" in acting if you will. She did that from 2013 through 2016 but reprised her role briefly in 2018. She would transition into "Hallmark movies" and "GAC" with Great American Family and has starred in many Christmas films such as "The Spirit Of Christmas", "A Dash Of Love", "Mingle All The Way", "Paris Christmas Waltz", and "Operation Mistletoe" to name a few. She also is a talented musician and has released her Christmas E.P. "Tinsel Time" in 2015 with five songs on there and the majority are traditional Christmas carols. In 2020 she released an independent album called "Hindsight" with ten songs on there. But she's also known is for her heart of generosity is what makes her stand out. She's known for supporting foster kids and am ambassador for child abuse and treatment such as the "Dave Thomas Foundation" and "Children Of The Night". But most of all even beyond her acting, music, and philanthropy projects Jen Lilley is a Christian and a woman who loves the Lord. That can be very tricky in a world of entertainment. She even struggled with bullimia for awhile but she credits the Lord and others helping her through that. She also had been married to her husband Jason Wayne since 2007 and is a wonderful Christian man and engineer. He has supported Jen in her walk with the Lord (he's strong in his Christian faith too) and has supported in her entertainment career and has dealt with ups and downs in marriage. Unfortunately like many married couples despite them being strong Christians they struggled with infertility. But in 2016 nine years into their marriage they were able to foster parents to Kayden born in 2016 and Jeffrey born in 2018. Kayden would be adopted in 2019 and Jeffrey would be adopted in 2020. In addition to Jen and Jason fostering and adopting they also suffered a couple of miscarriages which I can imagine was devastating. But despite that God opened her womb and she bore two biological daughters named Julie Evangeline born 2019 and Jacqueline Grace born in 2022. There you have it. Another wonderful Christian woman to honor during "Women's History Month". Blessings to each of you ladies and have a blessed week in the Lord 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. Well last month February was "Valentine's Day" and "Black History Month". Well the month of March "St Patrick's Day" is coming up (I'll write a blog in his honor) but March is also "Women's History Month!" In honor of "Women's History Month" I'm gonna be sharing about a Christian white by the name of Lisa Bevere! That name should sound familiar because many of you may or may not know she's the wife of John Bevere author of books such as "The Bait Of Satan", "The Fear Of The Lord", "Heart Ablaze" "Good Or God", "Killing Kryptonite" just to name a few! The name John Bevere should sound familiar and how God has used him to impact the body of Christ and this world. But in this blog we're going to honor his wife and share her story. Her husband John was born in 1959 is the youngest of six kids (has five older sisters) and raised with happily married parents. (Both his parents became Christians in their latter years before the Lord called them home to heaven.) On the contrast Lisa was born in 1960 and was born in a dysfunctional family home. She has one brother and grew up in a home where her parents were married and unfortunately divorced twice. (Her late grandmother was married four times and divorced that many times too.) She lived in a home with constant conflict, the occult, alcoholism, and abuse were the norm. What? That was Lisa Bevere's environment? Yes it was! She later had cancer when she was five years old and had issues with one of her eyes! Wow! A cancer survivor? Yep! Lisa would make bad decisions such as drinking, getting into pornography, and be part of sexual gymnastics team! She later attended "University of Arizona" after graduating from high school in 1978 and dated lots of guys. She also was bullimic and had lack tose intolerance (allergic to dairy products) Wow! What life before she got saved! One day in 1981 she was 21 and John was at a Bible study picnic and that's where she got to hear the gospel of Christ. John who was 22 shared the gospel because he got saved two years earlier when he was twenty years old in 1979 after years of being a devoted Catholic. (As I said his late parents didn't get saved until their latter years and I believe it also was because they were devoted Catholics for many years too.) He shared from Genesis to Revelation and the Spirit of God tugged on Lisa's heart and she gave her life to Christ that day! Not only that, John urged for Lisa to ask God to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit which she did and the Lord healed Lisa from bullimic and from being lack tose intolerance! Wow! What a radical transformation! She also quit drinking, quit pornography, and quit the sexual gymnastics team as well. She did a 180 that's for sure! She and John dated that year while John graduated from college and worked as an engineer. (He later went to Bible college and graduated.) In 1982 Lisa who was 22 and John who was 23 got married and has been married for now 43 years! They later would have four sons Addison, Alec, Austin, and Ardin. All their kids are adults and many of them are married and have kids causing John and Lisa to be grandparents! But life wasn't always easy for them. They had many struggles in their early years of marriage and walk with the Lord. They had issues in their character and dealt with even abuse in their early years of marriage if you can believe that! (They reveal that in their 2015 book "The Story Of Marriage" when they share about their years of "hell" before God changed and restored their marriage!) But it was through those struggles is what would birth the walk with Christ and birth the ministry that they have today. (Lisa would have to "unlearn" what not to do in her marriage if she didn't want to make the same mistakes her late parents and late grandmother made with the help of the Lord.) Also John Bevere her husband was associate pastor at different churches before he and Lisa started "Messenger International" and before writing their own books. John started his writing journey first and later Lisa would follow him in writing and wrote her first book in 1996 called "Out Of Control And Living It". She wrote more books such as "You Aren't What You Weigh", "Nurture", "Lioness Arising", "Girls With Swords", "Without Rival", latest one "Fight For Female" to name several. She has spoken at many women's conferences and coached many people with and without her husband and has been a well respected leader in the body of Christ along with her husband. She's a woman I admire too especially for coming a long way coming from a dysfunctional household and not living for God to being a strong Christian, wife, mother, grandmother, minister, and author. That's what I wanted to share with you ladies today and hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned because there are more stories for me to write about in the month of March in honor of "Women's History month". Blessings, happy Lord's day, and have a blessed week everyone.

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!