Silence the Voice

 

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

2 Corinthians 10:5

Shabbat Shalom (Psalm 34:8)

 

It Could Be Us Tomorrow

 How Can We Sing Zion Songs in a Strange Land?

    Yesterday, the “powers that be” swept through the streets of our local vicinity and disrupted the lives of innocent children and hard-working parents.  This government sanctioned attack is NOT a “their” problem.  It is an “our” problem. Therefore, let us intercede through prayer for our brothers and sisters who were snatched from their homes and their places of employment.

    We MUST NEVER forget that the oppressors who FORCIBLY raided their homes and businesses are the same oppressors who…

• Who landed in the Americas in 1492 and stole the homeland of other brown people (the Native Americans).
• Who FORCIBLY evicted those inhabitants from their ancestral homeland,
  
  
  
• Who sailed half way around the world and FORCIBLY kidnapped our sisters and brothers from the African continent (human trafficking),
• Who FORCIBLY shipped our ancestors (packed like sardines in a can) to the country that they had stolen from the Native Americans,
  
  
  
• Who FORCIBLY put our forefathers on the auction block and sold us to the highest bidder,
  
  
  
• Who FORCIBLY enslaved our forefathers to work from sun up to sun down so that they could "make America great”,
• Who FORCIBLY denied us the right to citizenship,
• Who FORCIBLY denied us the right to vote,
• Who FORCIBLY enforced Jim Crow laws to "make America great”,
• Who FORCIBLY used fire hoses, batons and dogs to attack peaceful protesters that fought desperately to gain civil rights,
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Who FORCIBLY gunned down our brothers and sisters without just cause.
  
  
  

    
    And even now - these same oppressors are FORCIBLY separating mothers from babies, fathers from families and destroying homes and lives.

    They were taken yesterday.  It could be us tomorrow.  We are living in a system where the “checks and balances” seem to have failed. So, what can we do?  My people, we must pray.  YES - that is what we must do. That is our spiritual weapon. When the kingdom of God suffers violence, those who have suffered violence must take - by force. (If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14)

    God’s chosen people were often in bondage.  Because of their sins, the Most High God allowed them to be in captivity by ungodly nations. The wicked oppressors would often forbid the chosen people to speak their native language and to worship as they once did. But, Daniel and the Hebrew boys fearfully proved that physical bondage does NOT stop the power of fervent prayer. They proved that even in the midst of a strange land, prayer is still the believer’s most powerful weapon.

Psalm 137:4 

(How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land?) 

When the Lord Takes a Nap

(Mark 4:35-39)

Minister Tanya Brown

Antioch MBC

Little Texas, AL

Pastor Jerome Norris

Shabbat Shalom (Proverbs 24:16)

 

Don't Quit!

 

Family Gatherings: Do I Attend or Not?

  

    

    We’ve heard the phrase, “let go of what no longer serves you.”  But, many of us continue to hold on to stuff, and we hold on w-a-y too long! 🧳💼 Too often, we hold on to things that keep us attached to anguish 😭, grief 😞, pain 🤕, internal turmoil 😵‍💫 and unresolved issues 😰 (the secret stuff we don't OPENLY talk about in families). Sure, we don't physically hold on. However, we certainly hold on emotionally.

    Sadly, the family gathering 🫕 is a time when so much of the junk that we hold on to is rehashed - producing a plethora of unpleasant emotions. For many, family gatherings can be compared to a “double-edged sword” ⚔️. Attendance at a family gathering is as harmful as it is helpful. The key to surviving this type of dysfunctional gathering is learning how to eat the fruit and spit out the seeds 🍉, or eat the fish and spit out the bones <°)))><.  For years and even decades, many people have mastered this skill - all too well. However, there are some who have not mastered the skill of benefiting from the good 👼🏾 and shunning the bad 👿. As a matter of fact, many younger generations in families have chosen NOT to participate at all - especially the Millennials/Generation Y (1981-1996)and the Zoomers/ Generation Z (1997-2012). Why?  Let’s talk about it.

• It seems to be that many have witnessed and even experienced so much dysfunction, so much pretense, so much trauma that they’ve decided that they’ve had more than enough 🫷🏿❌🫸🏻.
• Some absolutely refuse 🛑 to endure the foolishness that our parents and elders subjugated themselves to - just to get along.
• Others have even decided that if the foolishness that they witnessed at the family gathering was love 🫶 then they certainly don’t want any part of it! 🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♂️
• And because we live in a day and time when it is okay to set boundaries for ourselves, many choose to do just that - SET BOUNDARIES 🙅🏿.  (I've learn to set boundaries. By the way, I'm in Generation X (1965-1980) And when we set those boundaries, we don’t feel guilty. Oftentimes, setting boundaries is easy to do when it comes to family functions.  (But, not so easy in other areas of life - home, work, etc.)
• Frankly speaking, many find very little value in attending such functions! 🚮

What I’ve come to learn is that all people don’t process things the same way.  There are things that some take lightly that will send others into very dark spaces. (As a result, many are taking ownership of their role and are flat-out refusing to consciously enter into KNOWINGLY dark spaces.) Therefore, people are wisely choosing to either NOT participate in family gatherings or to LIMIT their participation in family gatherings altogether🛑🚧.

    For a long time, this was not the case.  It was not so easy to make that choice -especially as children. As children, we had no choice in where we went or how long we stayed.  As adults, we choose!  As children, we were told where we would go, when we would go and how long we would stay. Even as adults, choosing to not participate or to LIMIT participation can be difficult. Why?  Because (for years) the matriarch/patriarch in many black families had very strong ties, was very influential and was highly respected. 👵🏽👴🏾 When the matriarch/patriarch spoke, the family listened and the family acquiesced - willingly or unwillingly. In many of our families, there was a reverential fear that surrounded that person, and no one dared cross that person - even if they were as wrong as two left shoes!

    Needless to say, when the matriarch/patriarch dies, (all too often) the baton is not passed to anyone else and no one steps up take on the role. When this happens, many feel a sense of relief. Yes, everyone is saddened by the loss of the matriarch/patriarch. ⚰️🪦But, sometimes they are also relieved that they no longer HAVE to mentally prepare themselves to be in the presence of people who are going to sarcastically put them down, degrade them, or humiliate them.  They are relieved. Because now if they are in the presence of a family member who degrades, humiliates or puts them down - it is because they have CHOSEN to be in their presence.

    So, to all of those who talk about the great family gatherings - remember that there is a flip side. Everybody does NOT have those experiences. There are things that many have survived - still in their "right mind". And because they survived it, they CHOOSE NOT to return to the horrific triggers that activate the trauma of things they gratefully survived.

💪🏾💪💪🏾💪🏻🙌🏿🙌🏻🙌🏾🙌

Step by Step

This is how I'm starting the week!

 

Shabbat Shalom (1 John 4:1)

 

Prophetic Word of Proclamation Conference 2025

HELP Is On the Way!

Mark 5

Minister Tanya Brown

 

A Pitstop in Samaria

Midweek Live

John 4

Minister Tanya Brown