Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Mixed Marriages (Still Tippin')



"It takes grinding to be a king..

It takes grinding to be a king

1st round draft pick coming..

Who is Mike Jones?..coming..



I’m Mike Jones (Mike Jones!) the one and only,

Got a lot of haters and a lot of homies

Some friends, some phonies

Back then..didn’t want me..now I’m hot..all up on me.

Back then..didn’want me..now I’m hot..all up on me."





Mike Jones album dropped today.



Who?



Mike JONES!!!



Who is Mike Jones?



You already know!



What the hell? N’ga this ain’t no Abbott and Costello routine..I REALLY don’t know..WHO IS MIKE JONES???



Oh..my bad. He’s this rapper from Houston, Studewood to be exact, and his much publicized and talked about album that he’s been saying was “coming soon!”, for the past 2 years finally hit the streets Tuesday.



Is he supposed to be a good rapper or something?



It’s not so much that he’s a good rapper..cuz his skills on the mic are actually kinda suspect when you listen to him, but his production team and promotional skills are off the chain!! He knows how to hype it up and put his name out there..for that, all of the hustlaz and players in the world recognize his game and give him respect.



So is Mike Jones another drug dealer turned rapper story like 50 Cent?



No..that’s no longer the storyline, the new storyline is drug dealer turned business man..rapping ain’t where it’s at, the lick comes with those publishing rights.



Have you heard the album?



No..but I like Mike Jones tho, he got them boys sittin’ sideways



Sittin sideways?



Mind in a daze, on a Sunday night he might play him some Maze.



Alright..you lost me again, now you went from talking about some dude named Mike Jones, to talking about Frankie Beverly and Maze.



I’m not trippin tho, everybody out there on the street that’s reading this can see that I’m still tippin on fo-fo’z



What the hell is tippin on‘fo-fo’z’??



That depends..on the Southside when somebody say they tippin on fo’z, they could mean sippin on a pint (= 4 ounces) of codeine syrup or they could mean tipping through the hood on some twenty-fo (24) inch rims (them BIG twankies!!)..Still Tippin. It’s one of the strongest street songs of the year.



You do that?



Do what?



Tip on fo-fo’z??



Naww..rims and syrup have never been my thang.



What is your thang then, since you seem to know all this street rap music stuff?



I write modern prose…real life depictions of the human condition on planet earth.



So what does that have to do with Mike Jones?



Mike Jones is a real person..and his music depicts real life as he sees it here in H-town, so I feel the flow to write about it. Especially since I’m also an artist that’s grinding to put a product out there on the street..I’m peepin his marketing scheme.



But I thought you was supposed to be writing telling people about the Lord?




I am..but that don’t mean you can’t get your game tight and observe methods of distributing your work to as many people as possible. That hype goes a long way in selling a product. That’s where my Distribution Manager for Servinemup Ink comes in.. He’s a street hustla. Curvey focuses on the distribution channels and I focus on the content..quality, not quantity. Cuz when you put out a high quality product, people will come back fiendin for more. It’s kinda like what Manny Fresh from Big Tymers said in that song, “I ain’t gotta get money mane, money get ME!!”



Oh I see..you trying to copy off other n’gaz paper??



(smiling) Hmmm...that’s what writers do..we observe life and put it to work through the pen.



What part of the Southside is Studewood in?





Studewood isn’t on the Southside, Studewood is over there on that north..near Yale and N. Main..E. 39th Street..over that way.



How do you know so much about it?



The high school (Booker T!!) I went to is in Studewood.



That’s a white neighborhood??



Naww..Studewood is a historically all black lower income / working class neighborhood, a lot like the one I grew up in in Sunnyside.



Do ya’ll have that gang thang going on in Houston, you know Northside vs Southside??



You have some people that get caught up into all that..representing their clique and all that..but where I’m from, we were all down for each other in the heat of competition, but it wasn’t nothing to start set tripping about. Real players are real players, no matter what side you’re from.



So I guess you’re about to unify the kingdom then huh? Bring that Southside and Northside together?



I will if the Lord says the same..and the good Lord gave me respect on the Southside as well as the North. N’gaz that went to Booker T. Washington..class of 88’ and those years nearby know about D. E. Washington..they know what the D and the E stands for..ya feel me? Whether it’s with my Southside homies or with my Northside podnas..I ain’t got to front to kick it with nobody. Even those who have a hard time being happy for a n’ga just cuz they’re jealous that it ain’t them pimpin pens on the internet



That’s real.



Already.



____________________________________________



The best thing I can tell all of you is to do all you can so that you don’t have any broken relationships. When you’re real and upfront with the people around you, they will respect you for your honesty..even if you tend to act like a d’mn fool like I do from time to time. Soo..basically I just wanted to say thank you. I already thank the Lord everyday for making a way for D…because the Lord has already shown me the Promised Land and just like Joshua and Caleb, D. Wash and Curvey are running through with Servinemup Ink..it’s realer than you thank. When you have the Lord on your side..who can be against you? You gotta feel that..cuz once you can FEEL that..that’s when you start orbing with that power of the Spirit. People always ask me what’s this trip I’m on, and I just gotta tell em..it’s that Blood mane. It’s that Blood that gives me strength, from day to day. It shall NEVER lose it’s power. That Blood rolls deeper than them Southside n’gaz, and even more so than Northside n’gaz, the God of Israel NEVER sleeps.



Once I tasted it..and saw how good it really is..I started looking around at all those people out there who are dying of spiritual malnutrition..constantly feeding their soul spiritual junk food..never coming to the table to eat that solid food of the Word, never drinking from the living water. And it made me wonder? D’mn! Why don’t everybody see how good Jesus really is??



That question stumped me..it confounded me..I wanted to get a crew of riders together and go start kidnapping heathens and making them taste the Word, forcing it down their heads so to speak. But the truth is..that Word ain’t for everybody. It’s much too hot for some folks to handle. Cuz it calls out too much sh’t in their life that they ain’t ready to give up. Some people take that Word in sips. Sipping on the pieces that are palatable to their lifestyle…



Look! Right here! The Bible say that the wife is supposed to SUBMIT to her husband!! That mean you supposed to do what I say!!!



Once a married union starts picking up that Bible to settle their differences, that’s when you’re liable to have some serious changing take place. Cuz just as easy and convenient as it is for men to pick up the Bible and demand that their wives submit to their will, that same Bible serves as a branding iron that brings to light all of the janky and throwed off sh’t that n’gaz are doing that their spouses don’t even know about. Yeah..don’t put it down NOW n’ga..that same Bible that told your wife to submit to you is the same Bible that tells you to love your wife as you love yourself. Are you loving her? Or are you just playing the game? Cuz those women get a lot deeper than just making sure all the bills are paid, it’s a lot more to being a husband than just cutting the grass or changing the oil in a car. Once you become a husband, you have to get up on your husbandry game..cuz your woman is like a flower and you have to tend to her to make sure she’s being nourished like she needs to be to flourish. And it ain’t no standard set of rules..some women are like cactus..they don’t even need much water to survive..but others are tender like orchids, and they need much more care and attention to bloom to their full potential that the Lord meant for them to be. Are you doing that?? You said ‘I do’ n’ga!! Well?? Do you??





That’s the kind of stuff that I had to learn on the fly in my marriage..but once again, thanks to Jesus..my wife and I weathered some pretty fierce storms that blew through our lives. People see us smiling and all hugged up on each other these days, but what you don’t see is the blood, sweat and tears it took for us just to make it to our wedding day. And for all ya’ll that keep doubting or wondering, ‘Why Jesus tho?’ then let me just tell you point blank..without Jesus, there is no love. Without Jesus there is no compassion. Without Jesus there is no forgiveness. I know there’s a lot of single people out there who have no idea what I’m talking about, but for those who have been in the marriage game for a minute, you know that those stormy days ARE gonna come mane. And if you ain’t got no Rock to anchor your house and family on, then you’re bound to drizzown fool!



What you go do? Play that ‘My marriage is a complete and pure democracy’ or maybe some of that ‘Joint Dictatorship’ type thang? Or maybe you one of those socialist leaning granolas that think we all should just ‘be’?? I don’t care what flavor you sip on, as you go through your marriage, at some point your relationship is going to demand order. Love and respect mane!! I can’t see that happening any other way than through the atoning power found in the Blood of Jesus Christ. Yeah..I know it sounds kinda spooky and cultish..maybe a little ‘Jim Jonesy drink the Kool-Aid’ out there kinda talk. But that’s just because you’ve never tasted the pure Word of the Lord. Well let me take that back..cuz some people taste it..and it makes their body and soul start feeling kinda..’funny’..and they don’t like that feeling, so they consciously avoid it.



Let me know when you back to talking about rims and sippin syrup D..all that Jesus talk ain’t even me.



Mmmhmm..yeah..I know n’ga. You can’t handle all this here..cuz that Word is too hot for ya. But look here..the next time you have to sit on that front row at the funeral..you’re going to think about Jesus then mane..you betta believe that. And if you haven’t built a relationship with Him for yourself..and you’re been floating around aimless avoiding any type of spiritual commitment, not honoring any form of religious conviction? Those are the folks you see that are the most tore up when their loved one passes. Those folks who have no hope for the future, all their living is being done here on earth, they don’t believe in being present with the Lord once they’re absent from the body. To them, death is just like going to sleep forever.



But to n’gaz like me?? That believe in the full gospel of Jesus Christ?? We’re expecting to rise again just as soon as that trump blows. Or maybe some of us today will still be living on earth when the King returns and we’ll be raptured up into the cloud of glory..don’t sleep on the prize of the Lord mane..cuz eyes have not seen and ears have not heard the treasures the Lord has in store for those who love Him. That’s what Paul broke down in his first letter (epistle) to the Corinthians:



But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. – I Corinthians 2:9



But when you really study the scripture, you’ll see that Paul wasn’t writing anything new, he was ‘jacking’ what the prophet Isaiah wrote several hundred years before.



For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. – Isaiah 64:4



In case ya’ll didn’t know..I’m BIG Isaiah fan. He’s my favorite prophet, whose name means, ‘The Lord is Salvation’. Isaiah is quoted directly in the New Testament over 65 times, far more than any other Old Testament prophet, and he’s mentioned by name over 20 times. And the thing about brother Isaiah..is that when you read the book that bears his name, you will realize some stunning parallels that will make you understand why it’s often referred to as ‘The Bible in miniature’ There are 66 chapters in Isaiah, as there are 66 books in the Bible. And the thing about Isaiah, is that he shot called so many of the Messianiac prophecies that were all fulfilled right down to the jot and tittle through the virgin birth, life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.. Isaiah breaks it down so real, that you’ll see a gradual change in mood and tone between the first 39 chapters and the remaining 27 chapters of the book. Much like the difference between the 39 books of the Old Testament and the remaining 27 books of the New Testament..God has always had a plan to comfort Zion.



And when you start reading about that Sin Bearing Servant around the 53rd chapter of Isaiah..you’ll start feeling this eager anticipation and excitement that reaches down into your soul and there will be a stirring. And by the time you get through the invitation to an abundant life found in the 55th chapter..you’ll be down on your knees in tears, cuz you’ll finally see the rope of saving Grace and Mercy that God has lowered down to save us from the storm since eternity past. At least that’s what happened to D…other people have different testimonies to how they came to Christ and different ways in which the Spirit moved into their heart, but I can just tell you about how it happened to me. All the doubts I had about Jesus being THE ONE, were removed when I read the entire book of Isaiah with a humble spirit and teachable heart. Of course, it wasn’t just Isaiah I was reading, it was during my journey through the Bible in it’s entirety..but all the doubts I had before of Christianity being some ‘game’ or some religious paradox built to control the masses, left me. I was no longer an agnostic..I stood up and accepted my calling into the family of Believers.



Now the thing about standing up for Christ, is that once you stand up, you make yourself visible to the crowd. All your agnostic and/or atheist podnas that you used to hang with will start looking at you kinda crazy thinking, ‘What is this n’ga trippin on??’ Standing up will make you more visible for the haters to find things about you to criticize and when you stand up, that beast will start hounding you even more, cuz he’s the #1 hater and he doesn’t want ANYONE to have peace and love in their heart. So that’s why you’ve got to remain steadfast and unmovable in your faith, putting on that full armour of God, because the battle is raging ya’ll..everyday all day. And once you make that decision to be part of the solution, instead of a selfish spectator..that’s when that beast is going to start hitting you the hardest. Giving you all kinda reasons on why you shouldn’t bow down and worship Jesus Christ.



Some Catholics are still a bit salty about how I denounced their practice of worshipping mortal men, like the Pope or the Virgin Mary. If I felt that Jesus was a mere mortal, I wouldn’t worship Him, that would be foolish on my part. But since I believe that Jesus existed as a part of God since the beginning and just like Abraham ‘The Father of Faith’ foreshadowed the spotless sacrifice with his son Isaac, God offered His ONLY Son as an atoning sacrifice for all those who believe in Him, I feel that I worship the true and living God..the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob (Israel). So that’s just where I am and that’s how I choose to live my life and raise my family. You can’t just talk about Jesus..when He’s real to you, you keep Him close to your heart and you start living through Him. It’s that Blood that gives me the strength from day to day…it shall never lose it’s power ya’ll.



So..now ya’ll know what I believe..we can gone and get into this thing about mixed marriages..cuz it’s some of that real that a lot of folks don’t like to talk about. So it all started Sunday before last when my wife and I went over to some friends house to watch the final round of the Master’s Golf Tournament and eat crawfish with some close friends of ours. I know a lot of ya’ll don’t get into that golf thang, but when Tiger Woods is atop the leaderboard at Augusta National on Sunday afternoon, even folks who never watch golf find themselves watching what that n’ga is about to do next. Black folks are quick to grab Tiger and claim him as one of ‘ours’..



Yeah yeah! I know his mama is from Thailand and his daddy is half black and half Indian or something like that..but just LOOK at that n’ga mane!! Look at his skin, look at his lips, look at the way his body is built..Tiger Woods is black mane!!



When you really get down to the legal definition of what it means to be black..or colored..African-American..or whatever the latest nome du jour is for my people, it’s surprising to find that America has historically recognized black blood as a dominant gene pool as displayed in the Jim Crow ‘one drop’ rule. If a person’s lineage could be traced back to even ONE ancestor being black..then that person was black, period. Back when I wrote a couple of the On the DL articles, some people remarked at how surprised they were that a ‘progressive minded’ person like myself would be against supporting same-sex marriages. The battle cry on the legal front has caused a lot of lawyers to revert back to America’s past laws of miscegenation, which outlawed white people from marrying black people. People want to act as if this is the ‘old’ America and ain’t nobody tripping on that anymore, but our reality in society today is still very similar to the climate back in 1967 when the Supreme Court had to overturn previous state policies that prohibited any form of racial interbreeding.





For example, Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924 made it "unlawful for any white person in this state to marry any save a white person, or a person with no other admixture of blood than white and American Indian." In writing the statute, one of the challenges that the Virginia racists faced was their own proud history. According to a publication from the Registrar of the State Bureau of Vital Statistics, the law had to take account of "the desire of all to recognize as an integral and honored part of the white race the descendants of John Rolfe and Pocahontas." Because of the Pocahontas loophole, you could have a little Indian blood (one great-great-grandparent) and still be counted as white. But "every person in whom there is ascertainable any negro blood shall be deemed and taken to be a colored person."

The law automatically voided all marriages between whites and blacks. The law prohibited leaving the state to get married and then returning, and specified that the "fact of their cohabitation here as man and wife shall be evidence of their marriage." The penalty was stiff: "If any white person intermarry with a colored person, or any colored person intermarry with a white person, he shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by confinement in the penitentiary for not less than one nor more than five years."

Virginia judges continued to defend anti-miscegenation laws for decades. In 1955, the State Supreme Court of Appeals decided that the laws served legitimate purposes, including: "to preserve the racial integrity of its citizens," and to prevent "the corruption of blood," "a mongrel breed of citizens," and "the obliteration of racial pride."

The trial that eventually made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where anti-miscegenation laws were overturned, involved a Virginia couple, Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving. On January 6, 1959, they pleaded guilty to the charge of miscegenation, and were sentenced to a year in jail, which they could avoid by leaving Virginia and staying out for 25 years. The trial judge said:

Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.

The Lovings left Virginia for awhile, but in 1963 they challenged the law in Federal court. When the anti-miscegenation laws were finally toppled in 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court said (in Loving v. Virginia) that distinctions between citizens solely because of their ancestry was "odious to a free people whose institutions are founded upon the doctrine of equality."



The wild part is, a lot of Bible thumpers (white and black) who were against allowing racial intergration, used Bible scriptures to support their arguments. Claiming that God Himself was against it, thereby they were against it. They pulled out some good verses too, showing the early fathers of faith categorically instructing their children not to intermarry with Caananites and other ‘heathen’ nations. So people took these Bible verses and ran with it, attempting to justify their prejudices through Scripture. And the laws held up, all the way until 1967.



So now, we’re sitting down watching Tiger do his thing in 2005, and by the time he made that AMAZING chip that slowly tumbled in for birdie on hole #16 in Amen’s Corner, even my wife and the other women who barely even understand the game of golf, let alone watch it, were on their feet screaming!





Tiger is the MAN!!



That was SOOO great!!



Yeah…too bad he’s married to a white girl.



That made me pause for a bit, because although I had seen Tiger’s wife, it never struck me as him being a ‘sell-out’ or anything like that because he married a Swede. That’s when I realized that a lot of the people who were against miscegenation weren’t just the white folks, but a lot of the black folks too. Which makes you realize that just because you’re fighting for the same cause or the same law, doesn’t always mean that it’s for the same reason.



I wasn’t tripping on Tiger, because I’ve studied his history. Tiger is a SoCal boy..he grew up in a predominately white environment playing a sport that was predominately a white institution. His mother is Thai, his father is mixed and he’s filthy rich. What is it that binds him or obligates him to marry from his same race? I mean..how many other women out there are mixed with Thai, Black and Indian?? I’m sure his mother and all her people were tripping cuz he didn’t marry a Thai woman..I mean, you never know. But although Tiger has transcended dealing with a lot of the everyday bullsh’t and bigotry that us field n’gaz on the street have to deal with..you better believe he still has to deal with it. Yeah Tiger is paid now, but you can bet money that Tiger knows what it feels like to be treated like a n’ga by them white folks. And for him to choose a wife from a European heritage really kinda irks at the craw of a lot of black folks, especially the sisters who have felt ignored and overlooked for so long by their own brothers..



Why is it, whenever a n’ga gets some money, the first thang he wanna do is marry a white gull???



People have asked me several times what I think about mixed marriages and my opinion has evolved to a point that’s rooted in Biblical truth, but still cognizant of the reality that we live.



Do I think that God disapproves of interracial marriage?

No..I don’t think God is ‘tripping’ on the race thang, I don’t even think God sees us in color, He looks at the inside at our hearts.



Would I want my son or daughter to marry someone outside of their race?

No..I would prefer that they find a mate that is within their same race, for the simple fact of all the added issues they will have to deal with in their marriage as well as what their offspring will have to deal with. Kids who are the products of mixed marriages have a whole different set of identity issues that they have to sort through and figure out. Of course it happens, and we all have to deal with something, but it’s not something that will make their life any easier if you ask me.



But if you really get ‘in’ to that Bible, you will see that God’s plan for marriage and His commands for the children of Israel to avoid interbreeding, wasn’t about color but rather about nurturing your relationship with the Lord. When you spend all your time and marry people who don’t worship the Almighty God, whether they’re pagan worshippers or even atheist..well, it’s bound to affect your faith also. And the more you interbreed with people who don’t worship the Lord, the more you’re susceptible to stray away from Him. Maybe not in this generation, but it will start showing up via a watering down of faith process through your progeny. THAT is the interbreeding that the Lord warns against throughout Scripture.



And for those people who are already in a ‘mixed’ marriage, not racially, but rather spiritually mixed and now they’re looking around for a reason to leave, then you can’t use the Bible as an excuse to divorce that ‘heathen’ you married now either. Cuz once you get married, the Bible exhorts the Believing spouse to stay in the marriage even through the tribulations, because through your faith, the unbelieving spouse might be saved.



Didja get all of that? If you’re single, then you need to understand what it means to be equally yoked. It’s not just about sexual energy or having someone you can talk to, the foundation of a healthy and successful marriage starts with the mutual acknowledgement and submission to the Word of God. If you have that Bible that you can both go to in prayer, studying and meditating on, it’s a unifying bond that the world can never break. And it makes a lot of common sense when you think about it, because if you have an unequally yoked set of animals, one is going to be stronger than the other and invariably, instead of getting the work done, you’ll find that an unmatched set ends up going in circles. Hmm..going in circles..does that sound familiar to you? (laughing) Let me gone and stop tripping, getting all up in grown folks business! Ya’ll just better dig into that Word and lock down like a pit mane..and don’t forget to pray… EVRADAY!!!



So..there ya go..a treatise on Mixed Marriages, servinemup style. Don’t start tripping, I’m from H-town mane..the city that’s steady tippin, I’m go make the North and the South feel D. Wash.. “Back then, didn’t want me, now I’m hot? All up on me…”

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Players in the Game - Part I

I don’t know if ya’ll have noticed or not..but I’ve been having a BLAST and enjoying myself lately. I give all thanks and praise to my Redeemer, for laying it down for me (and you) like He did..cuz because of Him..I have a rock foundation. I shall not be moved. Or to translate as they say in the hood, “I can’t be faded.” It’s not a boast of my physical strength or my mental prowness, but rather a proclaimation of my faith in the Savior that’s all the way real. At this point, I really can’t even gauge the servinemup.com audience anymore because it’s grown to a level where I sometimes miss the intimate crowd like we had back in the www.servinemup.blogspot days. When only my kinfolk and friends, people who knew D. Washington personally, logged in to check out what that crazy n’ga from the Southside of Houston Texas was writing about next!!


I’ve talked about a few thangs..I've broke down Prices at the Pump (don't you wish we had THOSE prices pictured today!??) and Power, I’ve dabbled into the world of street euphemisms with Hittin Licks and I introduced the world to Rev. Janky with The Rules of Flirting. From heavy theological discussion, to interviews with best selling authors, expose’s on award winning jazz singers, I’ve been serving it up to ya’ll like a real player should. Now I know some folks just got their panties in a bunch just cuz I referred to myself as a ‘player’.



Whatchu mean you a ‘player’?? You supposed to be a good Christian man, married with kids, you ain’t no ‘player’!!



So often people assume the name player refers to a ‘Casanova’ or somebody that’s ‘playin’ the ladies. That’s not what I’m talking about, I mean, I USED to be ‘out there’ on them females, but now I’m just down for one. Can’t NOBODY come up to me talking that, ‘Mane, you been messing around with my wife/gal’ type craziness, cuz that ain’t even D. Ya feel me? Anyway..it’s funny how the people closest to us have their own way of keeping us grounded to reality. Because I happened to make this ‘player’ self-declaration over at my parents house one Sunday afternoon not too long ago and my older sister started frowning up and made sure to let me know..





Player?? N’ga..you ain’t no player!!



It got so funny to her, that she started laughing out loud, almost having to restrain herself from falling over the couch. Just as I was imagining how nice it would feel if I could just mush her in her face. Then she looked at my wife sitting across the room and asked her..



Whatcho husband talking about?? This n’ga ain’t no player..is he??



Since my wife wasn’t in my direct eyesight, because I was still contemplating what part of my sister’s face would be the most satisfying to mush..whether I was grab her by the side of her head with my hand over her ear, or if I was go go full frontal and mush her nose, I briefly caught a glimpse of my wife motioning with her hands to her lips out of my peripheral vision. All my years of playing basketball and running those 3 on 1 breaks gave me an excellent training ground for honing my peripheral vision. Since I’ve been married, this peripheral vision has come in handy several times. Wives have a way of turning their lips up and looking crazy at you whenever you say something that they think is crazy. I’m already all up on that game, but since most times I really don’t give a d’mn, I usually stay quiet and act like I didn’t see it, but I couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Y tu Brutus?’ Was my wife jumping on my crazy az sisters’s bandwagon and dissin me?? When I confronted my wife about it, she started crawfishing…



So what’s that supposed to mean?



Huh? (snapping to attention, smiling and looking innocent) What’s what supposed to mean??



That thing you were doing with your hand to your lips, is that supposed to mean that I ain’t playhing nothing but my mouth now or something?



“You’re pretty smart”, she retorted and went back to talking to my mama. Those women have a way of banding together and making all men be the damn fool in the group. Fortunately, I have a treasure trove of ‘acting a damn fool’ experiences, so it’s actually an easy fit for me. And of all the people in the world, those 3 women (my sister, my wife and my mother) all know me..they’ve all seen me in action before.



My mother was the one that was usually the first to render first aid whenever I showed up in her sight bleeding or in excruciating pain from pulling a wild stunt like jumping off the top of the bunkbed like Ultraman or the time I bust my head open when I was trying to do a spin move like Michael Jackson, lost my balance and fell into a glass table head first. My sister has seen me incite a crowd by being the first one to jump into the pool, even if it wasn’t a pool party. And my wife has seen me try to run people over in my truck and she’s seen me forcefully remove somebody from the premises..so they all know I can..as my boy Ludacris say, ‘ACK A FOOL!!’ and I don’t need a big push to do it. I stay ready to clown, that’s my main problem, but God is working on me and He’s calming me down a bit, as I grow older. I ain’t even got to tell some of ya’ll, cuz a lot of ya’ll have seen the growth in D. just over these months of reading how I get down on the internet.



Which brings me to a key point I wanted to remind people of. Servinemup.com is a web log or blog. It’s a space where people can come check out how D.Washington the writer gets down with the pen..which is actually a misnomer, cuz if I had to handwrite my words with an actual pen, no one would be able to read it, because my penmanship is eerily similar to Bigfoot trying to write on a bus with four flat tires riding down the side of a cliff in crayon. If ya’ll saw my actual handwriting, you’d probably think I was retarded..or maybe a doctor..either one, my sh’t is jacked up. Obviously, I ain’t tripping on that tho’, cuz guess what? I ain’t got to write no mo!! I mean, yeah, I gotta sign my name on stuff..but everything else, I just print.



That’s another reason why I know God is so good, cuz He’s made a way for me to get down for His purpose, but if I would have been born in a time before typewriters, no one would have ever heard of D. Washington the writer..cuz they wouldn’t be able to read it. God is good ya’ll..all the time. Because since I CAN type a bit, thanks to Ms. Taylor’s Typing 1A and 1B classes at Booker T. Washington Senior High School in Studewood, Texas (I’m SOOO Glad!), I can express myself at the clip of about 45-50 words per minute on the keyboard. I ain’t got to hunt and peck with 2 fingers, I know them home row keys n’ga..ASDF JKL;..ya feel me?? People who know how to type are probably saying, ‘This n’ga is CLOWNIN!!’ and people who don’t know how to type are staring down at their keyboard and going..OHHHH…now I see what D’s talking about!! See..that’s what you call that Real Game..right there. Some of ya’ll are all into the Matrix trilogy and all the religious and spiritual undertones that the series has, well if I was in the Matrix, I’d be just like Neo. Some of ya’ll may think he’s the Saviour..or the One..but that ain’t THE One, cuz Jesus always knew what He came here to do..nobody had to unplug Him or have Him swallow a red pill of truth..Jesus knew what was up before anybody else, cuz He has always been a part of God.



No, when I say that I’m like Neo, I’m talking about Neo’s profession before Morpheus and the crew came and scooped him up from his ‘job’. Neo had a 9 to 5, but his real hustle was program writing. He was serving them up out his apartment backdoor style,



“If you get caught, don’t tell anyone where you got this.from”



Neo was writing those virtual programs to make people FEEL an experience. Just like they had the training programs to teach martial arts or how to fly a helicopter. Real Game. So that’s kinda what I do..I try to write things to make people have a better understanding than what they had before. Some people will already know some of the game I write, like that home row keys with typing, but I try to keep it conversational and cool enough, where even if you already know it, you can keep flowing with it and check me if you think I’m tripping. So that’s what I do..I write. Everybody has at least one talent or ‘function’ as Fat Pat described..”N’ga got a million dollar function..”



Some folks think it kinda eerie to always make references to dead people, but I can’t help it, all of my favorite rappers are dead. Tupac, Biggie. Fat Pat..most of the world may not know about Fat Pat, cuz he was shot and killed right when he was on the verge of BLOWING UP worldwide (even bigger than Flip), but everybody on the Southside of Houston knows about that Pat, cuz he’s a native son..just like D.



A lot of people like to get out in public and let everybody know how ‘real’ they are and how they come from the ghetto or the ‘bricks’, ‘straight out tha street’ or what have you. I don’t get down like that..cuz I ain’t got to front to kick it. I mean, SOME people do have that ghetto pedigree, but that’s not my story. I’m from the hood, but it ain’t the ghetto. All of the homies I grew up with dealt with our own individual thing..we all had clothes to wear, places to lay our head and full bellies every night..we weren’t poor. But we always knew what poor was because we saw a lot of it around us.



Even today, some of my college friends are amazed at the fact that I came back home to live less than 3 miles from my parents, literally in the same hood that I grew up in.



Why don’t you move D? Expand your horizon..you’re a smart guy, there’s a lot of opportunities out there for a brother like you.


A lot of them really can’t feel what it means to love the Southside. Being able to see your parents and relatives, childhood friends everyday. And then again, a lot of my college friends have no interest whatsoever in hanging out with their family or people they grew up with..they move away for a reason. I guess I’m not what you would consider the ‘typical’ Stanford graduate. Even amongst the black Stanford alumni, I guess most would put me at the top of the list if they had a vote for the Alumnus Who has the Most Relatives/Friends With Gold Teeth. I’d place my bet on me for that one everytime. Ya’ll know about them gold teeth people right? Those ‘players’ and ‘hustlers’, ‘pimps’ and ‘preachers’, those fly n’gaz that like to smile in your face and let that gold glisten and glean in your eyes. Those fly ladies that’s on their game and ready to curl their lips at smile at a n’ga to make him mesmerized.



Some folks see people with gold teeth or tattoos and they immediately think ‘thug’ or ‘hood rat’. When I see people with gold teeth or tattoos, I often find myself saying, ‘What it do kinfolk?’ Most of the n’gaz I grew up with in the hood have gold teeth, tattoos or a criminal record. A lot of them have all 3. These are the same n’gaz that I used to play literally THOUSANDS of games with over the years..from kickball, to dodgeball, curb ball, pinky, football, strikeout, softball, basketball. Video games, racing bikes, wrestling..whatever game there was to be played and you can bet we had a bevy of real players to make a team back in our corner of the Southside known as Sugar Valley.



So now that we’re grown, and everybody is out doing there thang as grown folks, it’s always funny to see a n’ga pull up in a police car, in an HPD police uniform, wearing a badge and a gun, and you know this is the same n’ga that was crazy enough to race his bike against a motorcycle around the block and ended up crashing top speed into a parked boat back in our pre-teen days. The thing that makes that n’ga so crazy is that, a couple of days afterwards, when he could limp outside, all busted up and holding a steak over his swollen and black eye, the first thing that n’ga said was, ‘I would have won if I wouldn’t have crashed into that boat.’



That’s being dead game right there..the pain of losing overcomes all fear, go all out like a true player mane, cuz a scared man ain’t neva won sh’t. Except for Franco Harris during the Steeler’s Superbowl run..but ya’ll people in Steel City don’t start tripping off that, I’m one of those old school Oiler- Earl Campbell fans that still gets pissed off when I see Mike Renfro’s catch..excuse me..I mean, ‘non-catch’ in the end zone in that AFC Wild Card game back in the late 70’s..so yeah, I still have isssues. But I went over to one of these Sugar Valley Players’ house the other night to hang out, drink some brews and shoot some pool with one of my podnas that I grew up with.


Some of ya’ll might be wondering why there’s a Tennesse Titan machine in a Southside Houston game room, (When you push the button, that machine pushes out ice cold brews. I thought that was nice..I pushed it a lot that night.), but us old school players know what’s up. As long as Steve McNair is with the Titans, die hard Oiler fans are still gonna have love for those Titans. Of course the Texans are now our home team..but..I dunno..I guess you just gotta be an old school Houston sports fan to feel that one. Anyway..I went over to kick it with my podna on HIS pool table.. But once you step into the game, that’s when the mind games start..n’gaz go start talking crazy to you to see where yo head is at..





What? Ya'll got D. Wash out at night to shoot some pool?? N’gaz ain’t heard from that n’ga since domnino night..I thought his wife had him locked up in the house on punishment. N’ga what YOU doin on a pool table anyway?? Ain’t you supposed to be a writer?? That’s what all them n’gaz talking about..you write right? Well gone and write about how I whupped yo az on this pool table all night long.



I had to listen to all this sh’t even before the balls were racked for the first game, but that kiinda stuff don’t fade me, cuz a n’ga can’t TALK it into the hole. But the best part about it was just being able to kick it with my homies that I’ve known since those days when we could barely make the ball reach from one side of the street to the other when we were playing curbball. And the wild thing is, although we’re older and more mature..that heart doesn’t change. And there is no greater honor that man could ever give me that could match the pride I get when all the players that I grew up with, holla at me after hearing the news of how I’m getting down with the pen these days…



D’mn D!! I ain’t even read sh’t you wrote yet..but I already know it’s go be off the hook.



It’s a great feeling when all my podnas recognize the player in D. Now as for my sister..you gotta remember..I’m her little brother. She spent half of my childhood pushing my head down and telling me that I was never going to grow..





You go be short yo whole life!! (laughing)



So, I guess you can say, I always had an increased impetus to be bigger. When it comes to competing, I’ve been known to display a competitive spirit that my wife thinks goes overboard at times. I like to win at EVERYTHING. You can blame that partly on my bloodline, but you also gotta look at my father too..cuz as a young boy growing up..whenever we played anything, he would NEVER ‘let’ me win. Whether it was dominoes, basketall, darts, foosball, ping pong, whatever me and my dad played against each other, he not only tried to beat me, he tried to DOG me as much as he could.



(Swish!) Un huh! That’s 10 right there. I’m bout to beat you 12 to zero and send you back in the house crying to yo MAMA! (Whoop!!) there it is!! That’s 11!!!..Stop holding the ball!! Give it on up n’ga! Let me gone and put you out yo misery!! Top of the key!! (SWISH!) That’s 12-0 n’ga!! WHOOP THERE IT IS!!!



There were many days that I had to stifle tears of anger and frustration cuz I just couldn’t beat him. Actually, it started even earlier than that..cuz when me and my

sister and my cousin Peaches, (who’s really better described as my sister also) used to play..whether it be Old Maid, Uno, Pitty Pat, Clue, Sorry, Payday..whatever it was we were playing..if it got to a point where it looked like I was about to lose??? They had to watch me closely, cuz I’d pull that ‘Gotta get up in the hurry and go to the bathroom and ‘accidently’ kick the board over and knock everything all over the place’ move…



GRANDMA!!! D is cheating and messing up the game again just cuz he lost!!



No Im’ not!!



Yes he is Grandma!! I saw it too.



I kicked the board on accident!!



D! (When my grandma called me, I knew I was about to get one of them lectures).come here!!



I’d make that slow trudge to the porch where she was sitting shelling peas, or beans and watching the cars and people as they passed by…



Now why are you in there actin ugly?



I’m not!! I had to go to the bathroom and I didn’t mean to knock it over!!



Now don’t lie to me..cuz this is the 5th time this week that you ‘accidently’ knocked over the cards.



We’re not even playing cards, we’re playing Pay Day



I don’t care WHAT you playin!! You know what um tawkin bout!! Now if you can’t go in there and play nice, I’m go put something on ya! You can’t win ALL the time..life ain’t like that son. But I know what yo problem is.



You do?




It’s not all your fault either..cuz you just like yo grandpa! He was the same way..whenever he was winning a game, he’d be laughing and playing, but soon as he started losing, he’d be ready to fight somebody. Just like you.



I’ve pondered that conversation on the porch with my grandmother many days since then. It’s been an issue which has come up, because I’m still a very competitive person and I still want to win at everything I do..I REALLY do. Those who know me recognize this ‘player’ instinct in me, cuz I’d rather die in the pit giving my all than to give up and lose. But as I’ve matured I’ve learned the refined art of sublimation, being able to win through losing.



So..that’s where we are. Servinemup Ink. D Washington writes. Tommy Curvey pushes it on the street. Two Southside boys doing what they do to spread that Word, or as another Southside writer/rapper Z-Ro says,



God has made a way for me to stack up my paper (paper), my moolah, my fetti

And caught this world by surprise, I KNEW you hoz wasn’t ready!!

Southside, we mob first, when we ride..



Some people questioned my choice of having an ex-felon being an integral part in my company. But when I thought about what it is I do and all the different ways to distribute these ‘goods’…I couldn’t think of a better person for the job than my boy Curvey. Yeah..he’s been to the pen for about ten, and now it look like when he get out I’m going in..holeup! That’s a Bun B lyric!..Naw..what I meant was, he’s been down on paper with the state of Texas for pulling triggers and moving birds , but if I felt that he was still married to the streets, I wouldn’t have him in on this venture, cuz oil and water don’t mix. But I know him as a man who loves the Lord and I know his street game is miles ahead of mine, and a lot of creases he discerns waay before I do. But that’s why you gotta have some real players on your team..kinda like other dynamic duos like Bun B and Pimp C, KRS-1 and Scott LaRock, Guru and Premier..I’m sorry if I lost a lot of ya’ll who have NO CLUE who any of these people are..but trust me..the people who I write for know exactly who I’m talking about and now they have a better idea of what Real Game is all about. Now the only question is..WHEN is it going to drop?? I don’t have a date yet..but everybody who has signed up for the Newsletter (Click Here to sign up for the Servinemup Newsletter!! )will be the first ones to know!! So until then, ya’ll keep riding with a player..share the link with your podnas and homies, hell, even share the link with all the haters you know!! It’ll be good for them too!! SOUTHSIDE!! We mob first, when we ride, swangin on elbows, chopping choppers when we ride, cuz we REAL, on a mission to get it can't stop, going platinum every time another book drops!


Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Tupac, the Pope and the Story you GOTTA Read!!

I guess I really started to ‘get it’, when I was talking to one of my friends awhile ago about servinemup.com..

Mane D!! Yo sh’t be OFF DA CHAIN!! You be having me laughing so hard at work sometimes, I have to cover my mouth so that folks won’t be looking at me crazy! You a funny n’ga mane!!

Well..if you gotta act all like that..maybe you shouldn’t be reading servinemup when you’re at work?

Aww, that ain’t nuthin! Besides, they’ve already blocked all the porno and gambling sites at work. Whenever I’m bored or ain’t got nothing else to do, I’ll take my time and read through all your past stuff..you break down some fresh sh’t mane..and you know I don’t normally even read like that.

Well I appreciate that kinfolk..I’m just trying to get down for mine.

Down for your what?

For my purpose in life..what God put me here to do.

What’s that?

The same thing He put you and everybody else here to do..praise His name.

Yeah..well..like I said..I like your writing..but I don’t agree with EVRA thang you be talking about. I mean..why would God put us here only to praise Him?? That seems like we might as well been robots trained like brainless eunuchs bowing to an Almighty God.

Naww..humans are the only animals in the kingdom that have a soul and Free Will. We are made of the likeness of God.

Yeah..but why would God make us but not want us to have no fun?? Just sitting around in church all day praying, when all the time we could be out somewhere enjoying the LIFE that He gave us!!

God never meant for anybody to be in church ALL day everyday..He wants you to do what you do for 6 days and put one aside to honour Him.

That’s a 6:1 ratio..6 for you and 1 for Him and you’re tripping about THAT??

I dunno..I guess I just aint’ that kinda n’ga that likes to go to church.

Me either!!

What?? But you the one all talking about Jesus and stuff!!

I know! But once I got IN to the Word, that’s when it started working in me..and some of the things that I didn’t like doing before, like going to church, God has changed my whole spirit and attitude to the point where I feel bad if I DON’T go to church at least once a week.

But I thought you was talking about God calling you to be a preacher or something??

Yeah..but you just assumed I meant like the kinda preacher that’s addresses a church congregation and gives sermons illuminating the Word.

Well..what kind are you talking about then?

I’m talking about the same kind of preaching that the very first preacher of the gospel the Risen Christ did.

The first preacher of the Risen Christ?? Who was that??

You don’t know that story?

What story?

That story where the victory was won on Calvary?

Uhhh…I’m not sure which one that is…

You saw the Passion of the Christ right?

Yeah! That’s that movie that Mel Gibson did when they crucified Jesus right?

Right! Now..how did that story end?

They put Him up on that cross and He died.

It’s true that He hung His head and then He died….but that’s not how the story ends.

It doesn’t??

Naww homeboy. Cuz after Jesus gave up the ghost, and they put Him in the tomb, He rose again ..showed Himself to some people for about 40 days, then He went back on up to Heaven with the Father, but He sent the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit to watch out for us until we’re all united again.

Yeah..it’s some good people in the world..take like the pope, he’s a good guy right? Doesn’t he have special standing with God?

Yeah, the pope has the blessing of being placed in a position of leadership in the church, but it’s not like everyone can’t have their own close relationship with the Lord. You don’t have to go to the pope to be blessed by God. Back in the early Jewish temple days..

Jewish temple?? What does that have to do with the pope?? He’s not Jewish!!

He’s from Poland, but the fact is that Christianity was born of Judaism, the God of Abraham, the Law and the Prophets, the Old Testament..Daniel, Isaiah, Moses..all those old school dudes in the Bible that were part of the family of faith of the one supreme God, the Almighty Jehovah.

Jehovah?? So now you’re saying that the pope is a Jehovah Witness??

Naww, the pope is Catholic..that’s different from Jehovah Witness.

What’s Catholic mean then?

Well..you probably need to ask a devout Catholic if you really want to know, but from the things I’ve read, the Catholics trace their church back to the time of Christ. Peter, the disciple that Jesus told, ‘On this rock I will build my church’ is who many Catholics consider as the first pope. St. Peter’s Church where all of the services are being performed is supposed to mark the place where Peter was crucified upside down (at his request), because he didn’t feel he was worthy enough to be crucified like Jesus.

Do you believe that?

Do I believe what?

That Peter was the first pope?

I dunno about all that..cuz I know that the Catholics have other books that they follow and submit to that are not a part of the 66 canonized books of the Bible that I read. That’s why I’m what you consider a Protestant..like Martin Luther.

Martin Luther King??

Well..no and yeah, I’m talking about the man that Martin Luther King, Jr was really named for, Martin Luther, the German who appeared before his ecclesiastical accusers at the Diet of Worms in April of 1521. They had given him the ultimatum to repudiate his unwavering faith in the sufficiency and perspicuity of the Scriptures. Luther is said to have responded, “Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason – I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other- my conscience is captive to the Word of God..God help me! Here I stand.”

That sounds pretty deep.

I know..I just copied that verbatim from MacArthur’s Stuby Bible intro on How We Got The Bible. It’s a lot deeper than you think..cuz just like right now, they’re some Catholics reading this with a raised eyebrow cuz it will make people less inclined to join the group and it might even make some Catholics consider leaving, so I guess you can say, it ain’t the kinda stuff you can say out loud for too long before you get shot. Protestants and Catholics have been fighting many wars over many years over this same topic of discussion right here.

So I guess now really isn’t a good time to be saying that stuff now huh? Considering the pope being dead and all?

I have respect for anybody that has bowed down and submitted to the will of a higher authority. That shows a discipline and selflessness that most people don’t have. But as much as I respect and love all people, especially those who believe in the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ..I would be wrong to have you believe that I’m tripping over the pope being dead. He’s another man that God placed in a position and now it’s time for him to move on and they’ll elect another one.

Whoaaa!! You go REALLY be in trouble if you start talking about Catholics AND all white folks!!

I don’t mean it like that..I’m just saying that I have a problem with people going to a pope..or even a priest for that matter, and asking some man..a man that’s another mortal, just like they are, for forgiveness. That’s just the Protestant in me. So like I was saying..back in the days of the Jewish Temple, they had this one room in the innermost part of the temple that was called the Holy of Holies. It’s the spot where they kept the Ark of the Covenant, and it’s also the spot where the High Priest would go into once a year to give an atonement for the entire nation, because behind the veil, in this Holy of Holies is where the Spirit of the Lord dwelled.

Ark of the Covenant?? Like the thing they were looking for in Raiders of the Lost Ark??

Exactly. So they used to tie a rope around the high priest and put a bell on him and send him into the Holy of Holies once a year.

Why’d they put the rope around him??

Because if he had one evil or sinful thought while he was in there, he was liable to be struck down dead immediately by the Lord. And since nobody else could go in, they’d have to drag him out with the rope.

Are you making this stuff up?

Naww mane, I’m telling you about how it was going down in that temple back then..only ONE person had that direct contact with God and that was the most ‘holy’ person, which was the high priest. But right after Jesus gave up the ghost on the cross, the veil in the temple that separated the Holy of Holies was split and torn in two (Matt 27:51;Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45).

What is that supposed to mean??

It means that we ALL have access to the Lord, through the Mediator Jesus Christ..you don’t have to go through some mortal man, not the mortal virgin Mary, not through a priest, not through a preacher, cardinal, bishop, pastor or pope..the veil is torn mane..we ALL have access to God.

So you’re saying the pope is a fraud??

Of course not!! The pope is a man that has been put into a very blessed position, so you know that the blessing of the Lord is upon him. Even for him to live as long as he did is a blessing..I’m not saying that he’s a fraud, I’m just saying that too many people assume Catholicism and Christianity is the same thing, and it’s not.

(laughing) That’s wild! You’ve got people getting on you for saying Jesus is Lord, you got people getting on you for using too many curse words and now you’re about to have Catholics putting you on their ‘Banned’ list of authors!!

See..you laughing, cuz you think it’s funny. But once you get on that battlefield and start serving Him yourself, you’re going to see how real this really is. It’s not helping my potential book sales for me to disagree with Catholicism. If you really wanna blow up in the world, the trick is to offend as few people as possible. Go with the flow. Be universal. Politically correct and all that junk. I’ve been guilty of falling into that safe trap and only talking about things that wouldn’t rustle too many feathers. But now that our church is off our 40 day fast while reading a chapter from Rick Warren’s, A Purpose Driven Life everyday, I feel like a pit bull that’s been in training, or ‘the keep’ as they say, that they just let down on the ground and I’m ready to bite another dog!! I’ve been watching how all these people are crying and tripping over the pope dying and it made me start really thinking how wild the world really is. On one hand you’ve got a gang load of n’gaz ready to jump on the bandwagon and spread the lie of Tupac being alive (even though they never saw him), but yet when it’s time for these same people to have a chance to tell somebody about how good Jesus is, the first thang out their mouth is, “I dunno if Jesus rose up or not, I wasn’t there..how am I supposed to believe something just cuz some white man wrote it down in a book.” Ya see what I’m talking about?? People are WILD. But the even wilder part is, once you start telling somebody about Jesus, the first thing they’re going to do is step back and look at you and how you’re living your life. How this n’ga go come at me about Jesus and he got more bad habits than me??? Once you get into that Word, it will start getting into you and that’s when that growth starts happening. Ya’ll know about them growing pains right? Just like a parent chastens their child and redirects their life on the path that they SHOULD have been on in the first place, there are often bruises and wounds inflicted by this chastisement..some folks end up in car wrecks and stuff like that. My father was telling me about my great- grandfather one day. He had been called by God to preach the Word as a grown man, but he ran from his calling and didn’t submit. But one day there was a big explosion at the saw mill where he was working and it knocked him unconscious. When he came to and was revived, he woke up preaching the Word of God and didn’t stop until the day he died. You know what it means to run from your calling right? It can be something as simple as just getting up and taking your kids to church or it could mean giving your testimony about Christ to someone who is struggling and needs a Rock to hold on to. Whatever it is that God puts on your heart to do, you’re supposed to DO it. If you’re unsure about if it’s God talking to you, or some evil or random ‘spirit’, then the first thing you need to do is refer to the Scripture. Does it contradict Scripture? Cuz God can’t come at you from that wrong side of the fence…He ain’t even like that. When the Lord comes to you, it’s going to be in such a way that you KNOW that you’re advancing toward the Light if you heed His beckoning.

"She was so fine and so good to me whenever we hooked up…she was even telling me I need to start going to church. I can’t see how I could let this go..it’s like the Lord sent her to me. "

Yeah..but she’s married and you’re married..the Lord ain’t go come at you through an adulterous affair..that ain’t Him. No, when you get that call from the Lord, you’re going to know what’s up..you might not be ready to face it, but you’re gonna know. Because after awhile, if you continue to ignore and put off your calling from the Lord, He’s gonna make you feel it. Obedience is Better Than Sacrifice ya’ll. I heard my uncle say in a sermon one day that Grace is when God blesses us with things that we don’t even deserve. And Mercy is when God shields us from the pain and struggles that we do deserve. But once you make that decision to live in His house and under His rules, then there’s a cost to be paid for living under the protection of the Lord and it’s a costly grace that Dietrich Bonhoeffer outlines in his book, The Cost of Discipleship:

Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves…the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship. Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.” – The Cost of Discipleship

Holeup D! Holeup Mane! Holeup! Holeup! HOLEUP!!!

What? What’s wrong??

See, you done took it to a whole different level now..I ain’t even trying to get into all that deep theological discussion like that..I was just asking you what you thought about the pope.

Oh..well..my bad, I just get caught up sometimes, thanks for bringing me back. I guess you can say that I think the pope is like Tupac is right about now..dead.

But why is everybody acting all like it’s the end of the world and stuff? What made this pope so special?

Well..first of all he was the first pope in over 400 years that wasn’t Italian. But although you see all the people saying he was the best pope ever because he reached out and traveled the world more than any other pope in history, there is also a large segment of folks who don’t think this pope did enough with the power he had.

Really? Yeah..some folks were mad that the pope didn’t do more sooner when all these priest child molestation cases started popping up, some folks are mad that this pope didn’t do more to allow priests and bishops to marry and some folks are mad because this pope didn’t make any decrees or allotments for women to become ordained into the ministry.

Women? Catholics don’t let women become part of the church??

Catholics are like most other Abrahamic religions, the religious structure is such a way that women have a limit to the duties to which they can perform in the church and being an ordained minister is not one of them that Roman Catholics (or a lot of Baptist churches too for that matter), allow to happen.

What about you? Do you think women should be allowed to preach?

I dunno if I’m the right person to be asking..cuz you know I’m kinda different..because actually, I believe that the FIRST preacher was a woman.

Huh??

Well when you consider what ‘preaching’ really means, it means to spread the good news that Christ has risen. He conquered death. There were 3 people to be raised from the dead in the gospels, Lazarus (John 11:17-44), Jairus’ daughter (Matt. 9:18-26) and the widow’s son in Nain (Luke 7:11-17), but all of them were understood to die again. Christ wasn’t just raised from the dead, He was resurrected, never to have to taste death again. Ain’t nobody else got it like that. So when you consider the gospel account in John, when Mary Magdalene was at the tomb and the risen Christ appeared to her (John 20:11-18)..when she went away to tell the disciples that she had seen the Lord…when she went away to tell the disciples that SHE had seen the Lord…when SHE went away to tell the disciples that she had seen the Lord..that’s when she became the first person to preach the gospel of the risen Saviour, Jesus Christ. So in that sense, I guess you can say that I believe that women are called to preach the gospel of Christ just like men.

What other sense is there??

Well..that’s the real sense..but you also have the structural sense of the church when it comes to places of position and some folks are hard line like the apostle Paul, but that’s a whole different level of the game that will piss a whole lot of different feminist-type folks off..we’ll have to save that one for another day. People are tired, have been reading for over 3200 words and they’re ready to go back to doing something fun!!

Aww D! I was really starting to get into it. Reading your website is the closest I’ve gotten to reading the Bible or going to church all year!!

See, that’s a problem right there. If you’ve read more Scripture on servinemup.com than you’ve actually read for yourself in your own Bible? Then you need to tighten up yo game mane…you’re gonna be left behind if you don’t study to show yourself approved unto God.

Well..doesn’t the stuff I learn about the Bible from servinemup count??

It’s a start. But you should NEVER base everything you know about what the Bible says on what some other person is telling you it says. Because people are prone to errors, mistakes, lies, ignorance, bad understanding..it can be a lot of different things that can distort the truth of the gospel of Christ. That’s why it’s CRUCIAL for you to study the Bible for yourself.

What about those other books and stuff that you say the Catholics have in their Bible that isn’t in the Bible that you read?

I’m not sure exactly how that fits in to the mix, just like I don’t know how the Book of the Mormon fits in or even the Qu’ran. But what I DO know is that the 66 books of the Bible contain the complete account of eternity past and eternity future. God said what He had to say..it ain’t nothing else anyone else can add or take away from His Word. "For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. " Revelations 22:18,19

That sounds pretty spooky right there.

Hmph! Spooky ain’t even the word!! You betta find you a Rock to build your house on and get ready for that storm n’ga. Cuz now you can’t say that ain’t nobody ever told you about that gameplan that is written in the Word of God. To whom much is given, much is required. Getcho game tight and go tell somebody about Jesus. Even if you yell it out at the top of your lungs on a street corner everyday for the rest of your life and nobody seems to be listening to what you’re saying. Even if you’re only able to reel in ONE soul into the family of Christ..that means you’ve did ‘that there.’ The Lord will smile down on you and say, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant’. Whatever it is you do, talk, sing, write, teach, pray, witness..whatever you can do to help out on the battlefield, the Lord can use ya. God doesn’t want you to change who you are, He wants you to change who you serve. He wants your testimony mane. He wants you to tell somebody how good He has been to you in your life, because you never know when your testimony will strengthen another believer when they’re in a down and depressed state, what us native Southsiders call ‘going through’. Some people don’t want to believe in Jesus cuz they’ve never seen Him with their own eyes. But yet they’re ready to start throwing parties and telling everybody “I TOLD YA’LL’ as soon as they hear some wild lie about Tupac being alive. Hopefully the Catholics out there aren’t offended by my words, because I strongly believe that all who are in the family of Christ can come together at the cross in love and respect. When I was preparing this post, or should I say, ‘wrestling’ with this post, my podna that I grew up with on the Southside that also happens to be the Distribution Manager for Servinemup Ink, started laughing at me, because he was the one that first warned me that once I picked up my pen to serve the Lord, that’s when I was going to be put in that pit with all the wild animals and evil spirits intent on distorting the message or destroying the messenger.


“You gotta be dead game when you spreading that Word D. That full armor of God ain’t a joke..you go NEED it mane!! “ – Tommy Curvey, Distribution Manager, Servinemup Ink.

I started feeling the assault awhile ago, but I noticed that once I posted a Statement of Faith on the website for all to see, things started to chill out for a bit, cuz they couldn’t find a reason to hate on where I’ve laid my faith. Hate it or love it, I’m not tripping, cuz I know that He came up out that grave..and I ain’t talking about Tupac either! All ya’ll haters betta get on yo job mane. Servinemup Ink is rolling through….”Ya’ll ain’t NEVA seen no pen do THIS befo!!”