Real?!

This blog is about to get real! Ask you may know my wife Regina and I quit our job and moved our family to the Portland area because God said so. We tapped out our savings and our retirement and said hey if its God's will, its God's bill! It was all fun and games in the beginning, but now stuff is getting real. Coming here we gave ourselves a 6-month window to get jobs, but that plan has shifted.
Regina and I are going to give birth to a ministry that will bless young girls with free braids and natural hair designs. We will call it 10:30 Braids & Natural Hair Designs from the scripture Matthew 10:30. The scripture says "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered." Often little girls especially African American are told to adjust their hair as if God Himself didn't make that hair. They are forced to conform to modern trends that may say bleach it or burn it or relax it. Regina and I believe that all of us, are beautifully and wonderfully made by God. It's our take on Psalms 139:14 that says "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well." Every little girl needs to know very well that she is beautiful and her beauty comes from a creator that loves her so much that He gave her every hair on her head. Don't you just love God? Thank you, Jesus, for loving me first!

But that's what makes this blog real today. January is approaching quickly, and I'm still seeking God on what is it that I'm supposed to do for work. I have no desire to go back into homeless ministry unless I'm using media talents and skills to serve. I do miss helping disciple men, and I do miss preaching. I miss it a lot but not enough to let it be a job that will take me away from the 10:30 ministry. I have no formal education or background that could land a high paying job in Portland, but I'm going to need one come January. I saw a homeless agency list a job similar to what I did in Tulsa, and they wanted a Masters degree. I couldn't imagine having a Masters and making $40,000 in this economy. That job should start at $80,000, but they figure if you want a job helping the homeless, you must do it for love and not the money.  I'm not scared cause I know God sent us here for a reason and the right door will open in the right season. Now I have a few more months to sharpen my skills with a camera and editing. 10:30 has all come from small seeds God has planted, and I have the opportunity to show I can brand and market it. Maybe that will be the resume booster I need to get into the new career field I want to be in. But it's really real now and somewhat scary to know I have to hustle or starve. My last sermon at NBCC Tulsa I read one of best friends lyrics not knowing how real they would feel to me today.


[Verse 1: Jito]
My back was backed all the way to the wall
And it felt like my foundation was cracked and I’d fall
When you’re faced with more questions than answers, it’s hard
They say that help is on the way, to just keep trusting in God
They said help was on the way but I saw nothing at all
So it was either have faith, wait, hustle, or starve
So I got my hustle on, thought I had my hustle strong
Got out there, got hustled, yeah I had my hustle wrong
And we was still hungry, still needed food to eat
Still dead broke, still one move from the streets
Still has access to the steel, I could steal and eat
But I refuse to steal from someone doing bad as me
So with the world on my back like Atlas
I realized that God’s in the lane waiting on that pass
See I tried my way like Usher
Nothing left to do but trust you, I’mma trust ya