Blown Away

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us, (Psalm 103:12).

This scripture reminds us of God’s great power and his great mercy and his loving compassion for us. But can we imitate Him in this (as in Mat 6:15)? We are not God, we cannot separate others from their sins even as far as the length of our noses.  Maybe what this means is that we can try to look at others (who have wronged us) as if they had never sinned. What will happen if we treat them that way? Have you ever experienced such forgiveness and were you blow away?   I have and I was blow away -as far as the east is from the west.

Get on down

Get On Up and Get Down

I saw J.B. at the Seton Hall U gym when I was still in the 8th grade. It was my first concert and I can't even remember how I came to be there, but I was. I remember seeing those big Vox speakers outside of the closed curtains on either side of the stage and I heard the band rehearsing a new song; "I Don't Want Nobody To Give me Nothing" and I was hooked before the show even got started. Then the curtains parted and the stage lights came up and the announcer standing there stage center said something like: "Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce to you, The Hardest Working Man in All Show Business, Mr. JAMES BROWN!!!" And then simultaneously, Maceo and the  band hit it and started in playing "Cold Sweat" and I'd swear that I broke out into one myself. J.B. then came sliding out on stage, hair slicked back, head rocking and already sweating and proceeded to put on a show that I'll never forget. Incidentally the photo is more recent, it's some people getting down at my daughter B's wedding reception in ATL. On a personal note, I'm looking forward to seeing the "Get On Up" movie tonight; with the same 8th grade zeal that I felt before... I got that feeling, baby.

"Man Overboard"

The following is a true story about what could have happened on board a cruise ship to an unsupervised minor child. When I first saw her, the little five or six years old girl, was hanging over the ship’s railing balancing herself on her abdomen, with half her body over the sea and her legs hanging behind her over the deck. She was looking down at the sea with her two friends of about the same age; but they weren't risking their necks on the railing.  It was early evening and the sunlight was dying fast when I came up on deck and saw them and immediately appreciated the danger. So I said to the little girl in a calm but authoritative voice,“get down from there right now!” Fortunately, she obeyed my command and slipped back down to the deck. Then she and her friends ran off back inside the ship before I could say anything more. There was a deck chair pulled right up to the railing that she had stood on to boost herself onto the railing. I stood there at the same railing, freaking out a little about what just happened.  This was on deck four (4) of the ship (where the lifeboats are) which is about three stories above the sea if this were a building. Also the ship was cruising at a speed of at least 20 knots.

I did not need to imagine just how fast the ship would have left a man overboard behind. The day before this happened, I had been speculating about this very thing!   I even ran an experiment by looking down at a certain area of the sea, and kept my eyes on the spot while counting off the seconds it would take for that spot to drop out of sight behind the ship. I came up with about sixteen seconds at the rate of travel our ship was cruising. So back to what could have happened to the little girl; here is the ultimate question. What would I have done had she fallen overboard? I could think of several things latter that I could have done but while it was happening, there was no time to think and no way to raise the alarm“man overboard!”

There were no life rafts in the area, no phones, no alarm bells and no other adults, there was just me. Looking out at the big sea and the darkness I knew that probably we both would have drowned had I jumped in. My good sense told me that there was no sense in both of us dying was there? But my heart wouldn't let it go at that; I had to think about,“what if she were my own child, would I still hesitate to jump -would I be afraid to?”  Of course I would be afraid, but yet I know what I would have done although it pains me to say it. I would have screamed at the other children to tell somebody what happened then, I would have gone over the side after her. I would then be in the water holding that child and together, we would watch the big ship rapidly pulling away from us. Before long, we would see the big ship’s lights dwindling into the night and we'd be left totally on our own to die in the vast dark sea. By then, I would say to my wife that I left behind on the ship, although she couldn't hear me,“Goodbye my dear wife; but this little child in the water with me needs me more right now." Also, "I love you; please tell our children I was thinking of them when I jumped in to try and save this child."

Of course, I would also be praying hard for God to have mercy on our souls and to please turn that big ship around. By the way, the little girl is white while I am black, but that was never any consideration. She was one of the little ones that Jesus would save too and that's all that matters to me. But there might still have been another ending to the story; had we both gone into the water. A happy ending in which the other children somehow raised the alarm in time. Then after being rescued, I could give the little girl back to her parents safe and alive. Then I would fall exhausted into my own dear wife's loving arms but safe, happy and rejoicing.

The Civil War

Wait a minute, wait a minute STOP the music!  Brothers fight against brothers, sisters fight against sisters, mothers against sons or daughters. Even uncles, aunts and cousins get into the action. I’m not talking about wars between flag waving nations, I’m talking about our families!  After a parent dies with no living spouse their descendants will  often go to  war over the house, the couches, the knickknacks, the family photos and sometimes over money even when it's a very small amount.

How do you keep this painful war from happening in your family? What can stop this carnage? It is up to you to prevent a war by laying down the law to your family in your Last Will and Testament.  Having a Will is like writing a peace treaty to prevent a war from ever happening.  The most qualified person to decide who will get your stuff after you die is YOU.  Your Will gives you the ability to gently guide your family by dividing your property in any way that you wish. You can even spell out what to do with your remains in a Will. Your family will be glad that you did have a Will! It takes the pressure right off of them to make those hard decisions that you should have made. Your Will can be like a bridge over troubled waters. It is one of the most loving and practical things you can do for your family while you are still here. I've seen some really bad grade C and grade F do-it-yourself Wills that ended up having some unintended or undesirable consequences. Avoid those. Have your Will professionally drafted by an attorney. For more information click on  Jhammondlaw.com.

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The Dead Sea Incident (Public Hot Tub Dilemma)

I won’t get into the hot tub at the gym anymore because I hear that it is really germy. We all know that kiddy pools are often germ filled because little kids pee in the water. Maybe not on purpose, they just do and it’s very common.  But adult hot tubs can also be germ filled because grown people also pee in them or simply plunge their unwashed bodies into the hot water.  They think the hot water will kill off all the germs but I am told by some reliable scientific sources; that some very nasty germs like hot water. 

But the ocean is different right? Who hasn't peed in the ocean. A person needing to go should maybe move away from the other swimmers and out into deeper water. Here in deep water; the waves, strong ocean currents and a high concentration of salt should dilute urine in seconds flat, right?

But what if a large number of people peed into the ocean at the same time, what affect would that have on the environment?  It’s a fair question and after doing some historic research, I found that a precedent has already been set in ancient times.  Thousands of years ago, an army of thousands of guys peed at the same time into what was once known as, The Crystal Blue Sea. This body of water still exists today but after that onslaught every living thing in the water died. After that the water itself died. People then began referring to the Crystal Blue Sea as the "The Dead Sea" and the name stuck. And yes, the fashionably dressed guys pictured above were heavily involved in this disturbing incident. True story?

I Got LAWYERED Up!

“Talk to me, so you can see
Oh, what’s going on

What’s going on

Ya, what’s going on

Tell me what’s going on
I'll tell you what's going on – Uh”

As sung by Marvin Gay (check it out).

I'll tell you what’s going on with me and my family at least.  I got LAWYERED UP with my daughter Brigette taking the oath as a lawyer in Georgia, my son Alex just finishing law school in Texas and my niece Toni also graduating from law school in Alabama. Together we will try to "bring some understanding here today," all across this land.

Clashes with wolves

"Clashes with wolves" is not your Native American Indian name; it's a classification. It's the name for the experience of being beat up like a punching bag when you visit your family. I wish this kind of experience was only in the movies. I wish it didn't happen for real but it does. Why do families sometimes turn mean like that; is pride at the root of it? Maybe after some healing takes place you will understand. My salve for healing is grace and gratitude which when done from the heart rekindles love. Very soon afterwards, you'll be Dancing with wolves instead of clashing with them. Or better yet our families will appear in togetherness in another form; one closer to God's image.