My Name is Jali

Ezra 1-6 The main point that I’m getting from the book of Ezra is that obedience breeds blessings. The people of Israel were obedient and God provided for them in many ways through unexpected avenues. They had every reason to be fearful, but they stood strong and continued to obey God. Even when people forcefully tore down the wall they had started to rebuild from scratch, they continued to build. In chapters 5 and 6, I was very impressed at the refusal of the Israelites to respond to opposition (Tattenai and others), although they had the power to harm them if they wanted to. When they sent messages to the king, thinking he would give them the authority to take down the Jews, they were sorely disappointed to find that not only would he not stop the rebuilding of the temple, but they now were ordered to help them. The Israelites did not allow fear of man to rule them, but obedience to God.  I never realized how vulnerable I was to fear until just recently, when I asked the Lor...

Sharina Clarke, author of Mom.Me , voiced her thoughts on the recent suicide of Freddy E. Buhler . She found it to be a very sad event for someone who showed so much promise, and I am inclined to agree with her. Freddy E. was an up and coming rapper, and creator of the popular JerkTV channel on YouTube. The shocker was the fact that he was 22 years old, and had so many opportunities unfolding right before his eyes, and yet still found that his life was not worth living. You have to wonder what was so bad that he just couldn't take just one more day? It's very easy for those of us on the outside to jump to conclusions and become self-righteous and judgmental of his decision to take his own life, but it's important to remember that we really don't know what he was going through.It should also be a reminder to all of us that we never really know what anyone is going through. Some of the major stereotypes about Black people is that we don't go to therapy and that ...

Well, Happy New Year and Happy Sunday!! It's my next to last Sunday in Brooklyn before I go back to (finally!!) move into my new apartment, and I cannot be more nervous or excited! I truly believe that 2013 is going to be full of pleasant experiences and surprises. 2012 was challenging, but the Lord took care of me in the midst of everything, and even made a way for me to have new and rewarding experiences. There's no god like my God!!! Anyway, I thought I'd kick off this year with the book of Daniel. We all know about the story of Daniel in the lion's den, but many people are a little hazy on the details leading up to that. Here's how it all started: Daniel 6:1-3 "It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first; that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above th...

I'm reading through the book of Ezekiel in 7 days, and of course I'm taking notes along the way. Here's what I'm discovering: Something that really kept my attention about Ezekiel was that he really lived out his message. He told the people what was coming to them as long as they continued to be disobedient. He prophesied about famine and captivity. To symbolize this, Ezekiel laid down, for 390 days, tied up, eating rationed food (Ezekiel 4). Dramatic? Yes! But was the point made? Definitely. God wasn't playing, and neither was Ezekiel! Then in chapter 24, Ezekiel's wife passed away, and he was ordered NOT to mourn her. She was described as the "delight" of his eyes. That means he loved him some her! But he couldn't show his grief. When I say I was blown away by his obedience, I was seriously like "Man. Could I do that?" I'm sure if the Lord wanted me to and helped me, I could. But, Lord, please don't make me! Anyway, I just f...

Well, well, well, We've come to the close of another year, and it went by quicker than a flash. Can I just say what a CRAZY year 2012 has been? And how AWESOME God has been during this year? Anybody who's spoken to me in the past couple weeks knows what I've been dealing with. I survived a fire in my apartment building, completed a half-marathon... and got a C in Statistics I. But, I can honestly say that I am so humbled by God's awesomeness and provision. It's funny how everybody says they have faith, but you never know how important that faith is until that's all you have. I'm not gonna lie, ever since the fire happened, my prayer life has SUCKED. It's so bad, and I am so ashamed because I know that this is the time God wants to speak to me more than ever, and I'm so aware that I am actively sabotaging my relationship with Him because I know He's about to do something crazy big, and He's done so much already. Yes, every day I thank Hi...

God has been working on me sooo much y'all! Lord knows, I love to be in charge. I pride myself on being the mother hen, the caretaker, the mentor, the big (little sis), the person everybody runs to for help or advice. It makes me feel needed an important, validates my suspicions that I matter to others. But Lord, Lord, Lord, these past 2 years!! So it was bad enough that I lost my grandfather just before starting graduate school and relinquished all control over my emotions and composure. Then I had to take an "Incomplete" for a class which I HATED because I have a SERIOUS problem with not getting things done on time. But thank God, I finished, and got that grade in by the next semester, and it was all good. THEN! I went home, and felt completely out of place with my family, which is the most foreign concept to me in the world. I felt replaced, discarded, unneeded, un-missed, and dismissed. It was real. Took the whole summer to accept that I was not in control ove...

Lord, I'm sorry. I'm sorry because I continue to let my feelings get in the way of my responsibility to worship You. I keep waking up late and using it as a reason not to have morning prayer. I keep finding things to do besides study my Bible like I used to. I am painfully aware of these shortcomings and yet I can't seem to make myself change. I know that I am taking You for granted, and it's killing me. I miss You. I miss talking to You and hearing Your voice. I know it breaks Your heart every time I ignore you, but I don't know what it is that continues to drive me. Oh, wait. Yes I do. It's my flesh. My body likes the extra 15 minutes of sleep, and it takes advantage when I don't set my alarm. I can't help but laugh at what I saw on TV last night and I didn't think enough to turn it off. Lord, I want You to know that I love you from the bottom of my heart. You are my Light, and the source of my strength. There is no one else who can heal me, ...