God and Wine

I'm beginning a journey tomorrow. I'm excited and anxious-- Scared and fearless. I'm reconnecting with a part of me that's been drowning in things that don't aid my growth. I hope to find clarity, better health, and a new purpose that uncovers a joy that I've been dying to get in touch with. Stay tuned.

I'm embracing this new season of my life by being the bigger person. I know. I know. It's asking alot of some of you but there's something about following your heart, even when you know you won't get anything in return, that makes "being the bigger person" worth while. I know I may not get a response, but I'm gonna wish that person well anyway. I know I'll never see the fruit of my labors, but I'm going to give all I have anyway. Being the bigger person means releasing immaturity and pettiness. It means, pulling up your big person pants and offering something to someone who can't or won't offer you anything in return. Today, I was the bigger person. Last week, I was the bigger person. I will continue to be the bigger person because that's who I am. Nothing or no one will stop me from spreading love in this world. I'm grateful for the insight and for the ability to give. I'm grateful for the abundance. Mostly, I'm grateful f...

I don't have a song for you today All I feel is black and blue Only pain and sorrow came this way I don't have a song for you I don't even know my name All I hear are minor chords All I feel is somber tunes But I -- I refuse to sing the blues I refuse to write another song about the troubles of my day I refuse to vent, so maybe I'll just scat my blues away It'll give me the words to say... I refuse to be angry I will turn my day around I will sing until my withered soul arises from the ground Not inspired. I'm just tired. And I don't have a song for you But I found a song me And it's come to set me free I refuse to sing the blues

Black woman          Black woman Black woman Why you gotta be so strong, huh ? What is it about your make up Your makeup           Your make up That makes you care so much That makes you love so deep Your black people? Black woman           Black woman Black.      Black.            Woman. Why you gotta go to war, huh ? Why you gotta wave the flag? What is it about your swag That speaks power in the midst of defeat?-- That undermines toxic masculinity, Even when it’s your brother? With your body You turn a pew into a pulpit-- A kitchen into a bible study-- Because your call for justice was never selfish. It was never exclusive. There is no cognitive dissonance in your           proclamation of freedom.      Black Woman Black Woman           Woman     ...

Excerpt from  "When the Lilies Are Gone" :: a sermon given by Mia M. McClain at Fort Washington Collegiate Church, NYC, on April 15, 2018.  It appears that we are all coming down from the Easter high—the exuberance that surrounds celebrating the one on whom many of us center our faith. I know I am. Whew! Holy Week almost took me out. I didn’t recover until last Sunday. LOL But we’ve come down from the wonderful high of Resurrection Sunday— ·             Your seer sucker suits are in the dry cleaners now.  ·             You've weaned your children off of peeps and jelly beans and chocolate eggs. ·             Many your lilies have survived thus far—maybe not (if you're a poor plant owner,        like me, your lilies are probably on their way out.) But what happens when the lilies are gone? When the beautiful fabric that once draped this...

I had a congregant pull me aside at church a few weeks ago to ask me a very urgent question. The senior pastor was out sick, the associate pastor was busy, and I had just preached. This urgent question was about her concerns for those who are cremated. "In the bible," she said, "it talks about Jesus coming back for us and raising us from the dead to ascend with him to heaven." "Okay," I replied, bemused and nervous about where this was going.  "But what about those who are cremated? How can Jesus raise them from their graves if they've been cremated." I wanted to laugh so hard, but I guess I'm a minister...or something. I replied to this concerned congregant with a carefully curated question. "I don't believe that the author meant for that to be literal. Jesus' return and the raising of the dead from their graves is a metaphorical synopsis." What I wanted to say is, "We will all be ashes ...