If I get home before you

When I die don't cry for me
Testify but tell the truth don't lie for me
Don't pour out a lil liqueur or get high for me
Cause this world needs change please try for me
Tell em who I was what I did how I did it
Tell em I was rooted I was grounded and committed
But if I was a fake or a fraud let em know
Then point em to the light Jesus Christ and let em go
But if Christ left twelve there's gotta be at least thirteen
That are moved by the memories of Glen livin clean
But if you believed that I loved you
Use that love to live life till it leaves you 
Give em Christ till they believe you
Don't let em deceive you and if they don't receive you
Well then dust your feet off at the edge of that city
But don't look back cause what's comin ain't pretty 
And if they can't say that I was really in His will
That I was walking in His word was a city on a hill
Then my living was in vain
All the hurt all the suffering all the sorrow and the pain
Anointing down the drain
But if I pleased God 
If I worshiped Him in spirit and in truth
In the streets in my home on my job in the booth
If I lived life sober
I'm gonna put on my robe and I’ma tell the story how I made it over
How I made it over
Only by God's grace 
Seeking God's face 
Knowing my role His will my place
But if my kids didn't know Christ
Cause there was no Christ in my home life
Then shame on me
If Tonia didn't know that God was the King of my life
That she was my queen my wife the Church to my Christ
Then put the blame on me
But if I walked like a
Talked like a
And God knows my heart if I thought like a Christian
Then put that name on me
And if I didn't get to say goodbye don't worry
When you get here you can say hi but no hurry
But because the lines are blurry let me make this clear
Here is heaven and Jesus is the only way!

Ball Is Life

  Ball is Life ... a term every young man or woman now shouts with the heart to be the best in the game.

And that’s good but only if Jesus is at the center of whatever life you live. The bible says, “What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what He wants you to do. Then He will give you all these other things you need” (Matthew 6:33, Easy-to-Read Version). So don’t go after things, go after God and He will provide the things that you need. On average, players play until they are about 30 years old, and 60 percent of NBA players file for bankruptcy (can’t pay their bills) after 5 years of retirement. So that means, about 3 out of the 5 players of a starting lineup will file for bankruptcy. My point is that nothing lasts except what we do for God because physical things get messed up and break down (e.g.: sneakers, cars, houses), but spiritual things don’t (e.g.: mentoring and helping people around you, leading them to Christ so that they can live forever). In my personal life God makes me happy; the things He gives, the people He puts in my life make me happier; I was happy with just God. So instead of basketball or accounting or music, make God your focus and He will provide what you need to reach your full potential with the gifts and talents that He gave you. He is not going to give you athleticism if He doesn’t want you to use it. God wants you to be happy He made you who you are and He knows what’s best for you (He knows everything). A lot of time what we think is best is not and what we want is not always what’s best either, so give Him your life and He will give you what you need to fulfill His plan for you, which will make you very happy and successful (even if it’s not what you see as success right now).

Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, the player that every player is compared to. Championships, gold medals, awards, respect, power, the hottest sneaker line of all time, team owner. But his acceptance speech at his Hall of Fame induction was a little sad and revealing

(http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-jordanhall091209 ). MJ, the G.O.A.T., isn’t happy with everything he has done in his life and career, there’s only one way and reason that’s possible, because Christ wasn’t and still isn’t at the center of his life. So if “Basketball is Life” make Jesus the center of that life.

                                                                                                                      By:Glen Jenkins

New Creation ... Brand New Wo(man)

Brand New Wo(man)

Many times I sit back and really reflect on how my life has changed. Honestly, I find it sad that people would automatically judge you without trying to know your story: it's not always easy dropping the old you and putting on this new "righteous look". Quite frankly I didn't have to put it on, the old me was stripped for a purpose and it's not my fault I'm not the same.

2 Corinthians 5:17 states, " Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Winter of 2011, I decided that I had had enough of this world and its calamity; I knew I needed a change. Life for me wasn't pleasant at the time and I felt as if I just didn't belong in the state that I was in. Being a junior in High School wasn't easy for me; I spent many of my days depressed at how my life was and all of the struggles I seemed to endure. I knew I didn't belong in the person that I was trying to portray; I knew I wasn't just some rebellious, fast, gullible teenage girl. I was different, and I had a hard time accepting it.

Quickly, summer of 2011 approached and I was introduced to the idea of attending a week of Church of God of Prophecy (COGOP) Youth Camp. At first, I was a bit hesitant and didn't know if it was a good idea, but I decided that if I was going to try this journey with Christ I had to demolish the fear of me not knowing anyone and being alone and to take a step that would ultimately change my life.

I entered that place with no intentions but to meet with God and to grow a solid foundation with Christ. Overall, it was a divine meeting during that week. I decided to rededicate my life to Christ; I knew that something needed to be done and just accepting Him again wasn't enough for me. After all, I was already baptized at the age of eleven, but at that time I really had no idea as to what I was doing; so, I was battling with myself if a second water baptism was appropriate or even necessary. Nonetheless, I took that step and decided to be baptized for a second time. I can honestly say that that was one of the best decisions I have ever made for myself.

It's no surprise that when I returned home, the "friends" that I started out with were automatically no more. Life as I once knew it was gone. It was like God had a divine blueprint once I left those camp grounds. I started to see myself and my future in a whole new light. I felt as if I was a young child learning how to talk, creep, and walk all over again. Sometimes it saddens me that people I once held dear to my heart were very willing to let me go because "I changed". It just goes to show that not everyone can follow you into the places where He wants to take you.

Ever since my change, God just continues to shower my life with amazing people. Relationships that I once desired to keep are blank to me because they are nothing compared to the relationships God lines up for you when you follow Him. Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." I'm in need of nothing, and I am surely content with my life right now. I know that even in the worst moments that are to come, it'll only get better.

It is now 2013 and I am a freshman in college with so much more maturity and experience and yet, I'm still not perfect. Never will I label myself as perfect, but yet I strive to follow the perfect One and do my best with lining up with His will. I know that there must be a greater anointing, a higher step, and a great future out there for me. I'm not sure where the Lord is taking me now, but I am a living testimony that once you obey His call and follow his footsteps, your life is set up for you. I have no need to worry. I am proud to say that I am not the same. I am a new creation and a brand new wo(man).

                                                                                                        By: Natoy Natalie Fowler