GOOD NEWS YOU CAN USE...

A Literary Arts Ministry Newsletter - Issue 13

Under the Mistletoe

It was a time of celebration and holiday cheer as family and friends gathered, embracing one another with warm handshakes and gentle hugs filled with laughter and heartfelt conversations. As they made their way toward the dining room, many braced themselves for the walk down the path of no return—a long-standing tradition that all guests had to uphold, regardless of their relationship with the host family. Above the entrance hung a beautiful evergreen mistletoe, and tradition states that when two people stand under the mistletoe simultaneously, they are supposed to share a kiss of affection.

The next time you find yourself in this situation, consider the significance of the mistletoe, which represents love, unity, peace, and understanding, as believed by Druid priests and Romans who hung it over their doorways. It symbolizes life because it remains green and bears fruit even in winter.

Although this custom is not inherently Christian, it relates to our Christian values. God is love and has shown His love by sending His Son, Jesus Christ so that all who receive Him might have everlasting life (John 3:16). Through His love abiding in us, we should find joy in expressing love to one another, as He has loved us (John 13:34-35). This same love can be offered to others as a reflection and act of Christ’s love, as He has first loved us (1 John 4:19).

So, the next time you enter a doorway adorned with mistletoe, embrace the opportunity to express love openly. Don’t worry about it too much; remember what it symbolizes.

SPOTLIGHT!!!

SHARE YOUR GIFTS & TALENTS... (James 1:17)

Dorothy McClain was born and raised in Williamson County. The circumstances of her birth affirm that God had a unique purpose and plan for her life. Her mother went into labor at just seven months, and a neighbor delivered her. At birth, Dorothy weighed only 1½ pounds. She was placed in a size five shoebox and kept warm on an old cast-iron stove for three days, which served as her incubator, before being taken to Meharry Hospital. What a remarkable testimony!

She attended Natchez High School, an all-African American institution that served as an integrated overflow facility for Franklin High School during the 1960s. The Claiborne & Hughes Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center now occupies the site.

Dorothy's family is the center of her world. She is a proud mother of four children: Alonzo, Felicia, Terry, and Shawn. In addition, she is a delighted grandmother of four and a great-grandmother to five, all of whom love her dearly.

Dorothy's dedication to Vanderbilt University showcases her resilience. Despite her challenges as an African American housekeeper, she served with unwavering commitment for 21 years. Her retirement in 2015 was a well-deserved reward for her dedication and allowed her to spend more time with her loved ones.

One of Dorothy's most significant accomplishments is accepting Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She cherishes her baptism, administered by the late Pastor Reverend James R. Turner and Deacon William B. Armstrong, currently her pastor. Additionally, she values the gift of motherhood and is proud of her beautiful children.

In a chaotic world, she finds comfort in studying God's Word through prayer and meditating on her favorite scripture, Psalms 23. She often reflects on the years she spent with her late sister. One special memory she cherishes is when they traveled home together after their night shift job, tuning in to their favorite gospel program. During that episode, the pastor taught about fasting and challenged listeners to participate in a 30-day fast. Intrigued, they decided to accept the challenge. After completing the fast and experiencing the spiritual benefits that accompanied it, they made a pact to embark on this spiritual journey annually in July, the month of her sister's birthday. This inspiring testimony can significantly impact others and promote spiritual growth.

Dorothy earnestly prays for her children, grandchildren, and church family. She hopes that her life will inspire them to develop a more profound love for God and continue positively impacting the world. These wishes extend to everyone God places in her path.

She enjoys assisting with various church activities, primarily in the kitchen. However, her struggle with arthritis has limited her involvement. She often reflects on her baking days and her experience completing a cake design class. Her hobbies include cooking, collecting cookbooks, and traveling. She has fond memories of an unforgettable trip to Alaska, where she took her first flight and went cruising on ocean waters, sighting bears, and sailing past the childhood home of Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska. She has also visited Canada and Jamaica, creating more exciting memories. You can find her engaged with the television on any given Sunday, cheering for her favorite NFL team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Dorothy is deeply committed to Saint Matthew Missionary Baptist Church. As a devoted usher and a kitchen committee member, she serves with a humble spirit. Her consistent attendance at Sunday School and her previous role as the Church Announcing Clerk further demonstrate her dedication to both her faith and her church family.

Displayed below are some highlights of our spotlight champion.

INSPIRATIONS FOR THE SOUL

By Davina Dean

Reflections from a Christian Lupus Warrior

When I got married at 22, I started losing my hair. I thought it was no big deal; I would go natural. It didn’t help. When I had my first child at 27, I started to have insomnia and fatigue, but I brushed it off as just a part of motherhood. Then my body began to change; the doctors diagnosed me with hypothyroidism, which slows my body down and causes me to feel super fatigued.

However, that didn’t explain the pain that I was feeling in my joints, especially my wrists. They hurt so bad that it felt like someone had taken a hammer and hit them over and over. The doctors said bloodwork made it look like arthritis, but since I was still in my 20s, they thought it was something else and sent me to a specialist. They diagnosed me with an umbrella disorder called connective tissue disorder and said it almost looks like Lupus, yet not entirely.

I felt better after a year or two, was pregnant again, and was super excited. The excitement did not last long because I ended up having an early miscarriage. I was devastated. I started feeling weaker, but I didn’t connect what was happening to my illness because I was feeling better.

I prayed and really struggled during this time, and eventually, I got pregnant again, and everything was great. I delivered a healthy baby girl. However, not long after I got home, I started hemorrhaging. I ended up being in the hospital for several weeks after that for unexplained fevers, fluids in my heart and lungs, and a lot of other issues until I was finally diagnosed with Lupus SLE.

Since then, I have been in the hospital many times for all types of complications due to Lupus. These range from severe pain to not being able to walk or even stand. Lupus is an autoimmune disorder that affects different organs and tissues in your body because the defense system starts to attack your healthy tissue and organs. It attacks different people in various ways. This disorder affects my skin, heart, lungs, joints, and kidneys.

I will say that having Lupus is awful, but God has revealed his love, grace, compassion, and kindness to me when I was at my lowest. He knows just how much I can bear. He’s showered me with indescribable love. I should not be here. I have felt darkness hovering over me in the hospital and God’s angels surrounding and protecting me.

I really could say more about Lupus, but there are so many organizations and information online. While Lupus is known as the mystery disease, what happens in our lives is no mystery to our Father God. He uses all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to his purpose.

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by Anonymous

BLACK HISTORY

The black culture in America has been oppressed and targeted since we were first brought to this great nation of opportunity. It all started in 1619 when slavery started. In America, 246 years later, slavery was so-called abolished in 1865. Next, the Jim Crow laws were set from the 1870s to the 1960s. America is known as the Land of Opportunity. The Jim Crow Laws were basically a group of laws that denied the black culture the right to pursue any opportunity in America but to die.

During the Jim Crow era, when the Black Culture overcame and was thriving, there was the Massacre that the Government allowed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921, where Black People, their homes, and businesses were killed, burned, and buried. Also, from 1916 to 1921, Planned Parenthood was developed, and part of its agenda was to exterminate the black race.

In 1964 and 1965, the Civil Rights and the Voting Rights Acts ended most of the Jim Crow Laws. In the 1970s, President Richard Nixon started the drug epidemic in America, targeting the black communities with heroin and the white hippies with marijuana. Heroin was meant to oppress the black community through addiction and incarceration.

In the 1980s, The CIA targeted the black community with crack cocaine through Bloods and Crips. Also, it was reported that the Aids virus was manufactured in an American military lab to target homosexuals and African Americans. Some of these are conspiracy theories. But if Planned Parenthood's partial agenda was to exterminate the black race in 1916, why does Planned Parenthood still exist today?

From 1619 to 2025, God has kept the African American culture in America with His divine plan and purpose. Today, in my opinion, we are still targeted and will be in the future, but we make ourselves an easier target because we are our worst enemy. Civil Rights leaders in the 1960s trusted God for us to overcome. We trust our feelings, opinions, and our emotions.

In the early 1900s, they showed and taught their youth skills and responsibilities. We give our youth a tablet or a cell phone and call it a day. We tear one another down with our tongues instead of building each other up with love. We compete instead of trying to complete each other.

Black men in the past were willing to work and be providers for the family. Some black men today want a place to sleep at night.

Let's strengthen our Black Culture by drawing nearer to God and loving and appreciating the friends and family God has placed in our lives. It's crucial. We must come together, united in our faith and love, to overcome the challenges we face. We can build a stronger, more resilient community by fostering a sense of unity and shared purpose.

Praying for God to lead, guide, and direct us with wisdom and the knowledge to build structure into our culture's youth and continue to fulfill God's divine purpose and plan for us in America. The time to act is now. We must take responsibility for our future and work towards building a better, more just society for future generations. It's not just a choice; it's our duty to ensure a brighter future for those who will come after us.

Resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Action_(organization)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_Parenthood

https://www.gale.com/primary-sources/womens-studies/collections/planned-parenthood-and-birth-control-history

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_Party

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws

https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1860871_1860876_1861031,00.html

FOOD FOR THOUGHT...

by Alex Elle

YOU ARE BREAVE

I am whole.

I am learning.

I am letting go.

I am free.

I am talented and courageous.

I am protecting my joy.

I am brave.

I am healing.

I am loving myself.

Unapologetically.

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by Melody Beattle

YOU HAVE ALL YOU NEED

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.

ABC'S Of SALVATION

A – Admit you are a Sinner

Proverbs 28:13, "Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy."

B – Believe Jesus is Lord

Acts 16:31, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household."

C – Call upon His Name

Philippians 2:9-11, "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow."