A life of balance & purpose!

Curtains closed for Bernie Mac at age 50

What a disturbing CNN news flash to receive in my inbox this morning.  Bernie Mac (born: Bernard Jeffery McCullough), a comedian that crossed the lines often; has expired.  He not only crossed the lines by ruffling feathers with his sometimes lewd & rude lines for laughs but he was also able to make laughter universal by crossing ethnic lines that unfortunately still exist among us.

Bernie Mac was reported to have been taken away by complications of pneumonia.  He did suffer from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, but he reported the condition went into remission in 2005.  No further information is being released at this time to respect the privacy of this loss & sorrow that this family is experiencing.

Bernie Mac spent his life devoted to bringing laughter to others.  While some of his work may not be able to be shared with those under 18; he will be dearly missed among those who used his gift as medicine.

I remember his work best from my younger years from works like, “Life”,  “The Original Kings of Comedy”, “The Bernie Mac Show”, and “Players Club”.  He had many more roles in his short journey; starring in flicks like, “Mo Money”, “Get On The Bus”, Who’s The Man”, “House Party 3”, and many more.

Bernie Mac’s mother left earth when he was 16.  She succumbed to cancer; something I can fully relate to.  While this is enough to break a person’s spirit, he endured & persevered through the pain of losing both his brothers.  Bernie Mac is survived by his wife Rhonda and their 1 child.

The brevity of life is smashed in our face when precious lives are wisped away so speedily & unexpectedly.  I can only hope that although not visible in his parts of character & lifestyle that Bernie was able to make amends with his Creator.  I hope he had the opportunity to have his sins washed away so that he is now spending his eternal life in a place of peace & harmony.  Hopefully, he is entertaining a host of angels with some ‘clean’ belly busters.

While in a short time this tragedy will be forgotten in the media’s memory.  I will say a prayer for the family & close friends that he left behind for his presence will not soon be forgotten.

Nakisha Guzman

2008 Presidential Election

It is amazing to see how confused people are when it comes to this election; well not just people, but Christian people.  Emails are flying across servers, phones are ringing off hooks, and videos are filling the minds of many.  The ignorant & the intelligent are being swayed all over the place.

I am a minority & a Christian.  While the idea of voting for an African American president is highly appealing on the surface, I am forced to take a deeper approach in my reasoning.  I must vote spirit first & flesh last.  Simply put I am Christian who is African American.  I must vote in this order.  Lately, I’ve battled with not voting at all.  While I am grateful, on a level no words can express for the scarifies that my ancestors made to give me the right to do many things; I get on my knees & bow my face in great humbleness at the sacrifice my heavenly Father made so that I can do many more things with the grand prize still yet to come!

At this point I am forced to choose between the lesser of two evils.  I will chose to make my vote for the candidate who most closes represents Biblical truths.  I have chosen to put aside what feels good, to look at the  WWJD side of things.  I also pay attention to my fleshly impulses.  Here’s what I see, if I let the feminist rise up in me then I would be Pro-Choice but the Bible clearly speaks to this issue(& surrounding factors) in Matthew 5:21, Psalm 127:5, Psalm 37:26, 1 Corinthians 10:8.  This is also stated in the 10 commandments and yes, I believe this applies to criminals as well.  If I buy into the homo-gene theory, I may desire to have a law that allows folks to marry, oh I’m sorry, I mean have a ‘civil union’ with the same gender but the Bible clearly denounces this behavior in Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Timothy 1:10, 1 Corinthians 7:2.  If I wanted to get back at folks for taking ‘our jobs’ & ‘using our freedoms illegal’ then I would support cutting them off from living but the Bible gives me examples of how to treat people at fault or in sin, check out: Jeremiah 31:34, John 4:7-29, Mark 11:26, and so many others.  Lastly (but  I do have more), what does the Bible tell us Christians about Universalism?  I mean really folks, are your eyes wide shut?

As I learned from listening to a highly intelligent & thought provoking speaker by the name of Alan Keyes, is that we should wonder why we don’t have enough true to the Word Christians entering the political arenas.  When I look for the Paul’s, Esther’s and Timothy’s of our day, they are very hard to find.  I believe it’s because we’ve conformed so much to the world that we are scared to step out, be bold & be ‘Like Christ’ instead of being ‘Like Mike’!

The main thing to remember is that God is always in control.  The candidate who is to reign will and the outcome will be what it will be.  God is never surprised!  2 years from now I wonder what the country will look like, what will the economy be like. 

The truth of the matter is this; Jesus is coming back to save us from this madness one day.  I hope you find yourself on the best side of this issue!!!  Be Pro-Christ in everything you do.  Maranatha!

Nakisha Guzman

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