Make Your Mark Ministries....COMING SOON

“The first of all the commandments is..... you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
--MARK 12:29-31


Since leaving the church, I have been asked many times, "When are you going to start a ministry?" My answer was always the same..."Soon, I just need time to heal, but soon." So.... "soon" has arrived... IT'S TIME

When I left the church and came out I experienced excruciating rejection from the people that I thought loved me and a community that I struggled to improve. I had NEVER experienced such ridicule and disrespect in my life...and this from my Church "family". These wounds went deep down into my heart, but it's these very wounds that have inspired me....GOD NEVER WASTES A HURT 

This heartbreak has birthed a new passion in me...it has sparked a fire in my very soul! Through this experience I have learned what REAL LOVE is...authentic LOVE and I also learned what it is NOT! 

Love is what Make Your MARK Ministries will be founded upon...(MARK 12:29-31)...Agape Love  

I have been reluctant to step back into ministry for many reasons...but the call of God is strong and relentless....I have felt called to start an all inclusive ministry for a couple of years but I was not in a place where I could; the church I was in was only partly accepting....You could come to church if you were gay...but, in the words of the Pastors, you had to be willing to change.

I want to start a ministry that is RADICALLY INCLUSIVE, and that is what Make Your MARK Ministries will be. 

I know that this ALL INCLUSIVE ministry will be met with much adversity but I also know that this is what I'm called to do. I'm willing to step out of the boat in order to answer that call and create a place where families, regardless of the dynamics, can be accepted, worship together, and experience healthy Christian fellowship.  


I will begin with a Bible Study in my home....We will see what God does with it


Make Your MARK Ministries....coming soon

God Bless You, 
Just Bb 
............Let me know your thoughts

How DARE YOU!!!

The other day I walked into a restaurant and right in front of me were "church people" These weren't just any "church people" this couple had been extremely close to me. As I walked in they immediately put their heads down and began to stuff their mouths with chips and salsa, pretending they didn't see me.  They acted as if I were a leper, or the invisible man...insignificant...non-existant...or just plain un-important. I suppose they have forgotten all the times I was there when their lives were falling apart...their marriage was in shambles...they were on the verge of going back to prison etc. etc. etc. Or they just forgot that I have a heart....

Just to give a little history, these two were closer to me than anyone.  I gave them my very best and  loved them with everything I had....I still do. I saved one of them from prison and met the other while ministering in the County Jail (she was an inmate awaiting house arrest). I saw the good...despite the obvious... and I poured my life into them. I mentored them and built them up in ministry, placing each of them in leadership. Doing everything possible to help them transform their lives.

 I had spent the better part of 8 years of my life in the proverbial  ditch becoming a Samaritan of sorts; loving and helping those (which included this couple) that no one else would even give the time of day. I spent countless hours interceding and intervening for junkies and drug dealers! Climbing into the mess that they called life and giving them the tools to build new successful lives.

I worked tirelessly raising money to build a successful recovery ministry which includes a recovery center that houses 10 women, in a City that had no place for them. I did all this for the amazingly low price of $101.53 a week...yes that was my salary! I obviously didn't do this because the money was good--I did this because I LOVE...plain and simple. My payday came each time I saw a drug addict build a beautiful life from what was once rubble.

I took care of people...but there was no one to take care of me--My husband was completely inattentive; we were married for 8 years, but were nothing more than roommates for the past 6. Ministry was KILLING ME so I LEFT--I left the church...yes...I fell in love with a woman...yes...these are things that I'm not ashamed of!

This apparently was the unpardonable sin--THE BIG ONE!!!

Who knows...All I know is that I am happy, and I LOVE the one I'm with...which is more than I can say for some.

I will never understand how you can just STOP loving someone, because...well because of anything. Love is LOVE and it has never been temporary, or until you make a mistake, or until I no longer agree with you, or because you pissed me off with your status on Facebook....NO LOVE IS FOREVER and LOVE is UNCONDITIONAL.

I'm sorry if you don't agree with my life--I don't agree with religion, but I LOVE YOU ANYWAY!

How dare you treat me like I'm less than you...let's not forget where you were when I reached down to pick you up!!!

Just Bb

Dancing Naked

Recently I have discovered that life's storms aren't as detrimental as I had originally believed. As a matter of fact I have found just the opposite to be true. The past few months have consisted of one storm after another, each one tougher and seemingly stronger than it's predecessor.  Some storms so strong they seemed to strip me of all my strength and identity, leaving me standing exposed, virtually naked. Throughout these squall lines, despite the darkness and fear, I learned a priceless lesson. I learned... how to dance.

I have the perfect partner so when the typhoons began to  gust we just held one another tightly and allowed the wind to take the lead. The trees would dance along with us as the sound of rain became an orchestra. The lightning strikes conducted them all, while the rolling thunder kept time.

Don't get me wrong, I love the sunny days, the one's where everything is going right, but I have observed that I float mindlessly through those times. I take those I love for granted...I forget to hold them tight...I forget to appreciate each moment....I forget... how to dance.

It's in the sunshine that we often lose sight of what's important--sometimes it takes a storm to open our eyes to what's really important, and drive us into the arms of those we love!

These past few months have taught me many things:

•  I have learned to stand firm... unwavering!
• To hold tightly to the important things and loose everything else! 
•  To love like there's no tomorrow! 
• Most of all--I learned to dance! 

I'm grateful for the sunny days...and thankful for the rain!!

So when the winds begin to blow....find your partner.... and put on your dancin' shoes because a storm's-a-comin'

Just Bb  

You ARE a MORON!!!

Over the years the phrase "fall from grace" has applied to many people, for example, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, Tiger Woods, Lindsey Lohan, Michael Vick, Britney Spears, Chris Brown...the list goes on and on. Each were publicly exposed as the evidence of their scandalous behavior came to light. To make things worse the media repeatedly told the story, making the scandal even more scandalous, the humiliation more humiliating, and their "fall" the talk of the town...EVERY town.

The sad thing is that each of these people had accomplished some great things in their lives and in the blink of an eye it is all forgotten and overshadowed as they, in a single moment,  fell from grace...



                                                                                     Oxymoron---\ˌäk-sē-ˈmȯr-ˌän\

An oxymoron is a statement or phrase that completely contradicts itself, for example, the living dead, larger half, or pretty ugly.....I have always been intrigued by oxymorons, yes I know...that's strange, but I love to catch them...it's like they try to disguise themselves so that they go undetected....it's like a sick joke that they try to play on the english language and unsuspecting people.  

Most oxymorons are easy to recognize, because they are...well oxymorons!! But every once in a while one will come along that is cleverly concealed; this is the oxymoron that I am anxious to catch! 

The other day, as I heard about someone's "fall from grace" it struck me... YOU are a MORON...an OXYMORON that is. I immediately EXPOSED the culprit and called it out, "it is impossible to fall from grace", I said. "How dare you try to trick me!!"

I went on to explain to this....this...this MORON that grace is unmerited favor... it's something that you can't earn or buy. Jesus Christ died so that we could have grace. GRACE is a free gift, given to us by our loving Savior...no one can take it...you can't lose it...nor can you fall from it! 

Mankind might think that because you make a bad choice, do something wrong, or just flat out make a STUPID mistake, that you "fall from grace"...maybe their grace, which is NOT authentic grace anyway because mankind's grace  ALWAYS has a price tag. 

The term "fall from grace" is not a phrase that you will hear Christ say, first off all because, as oxymorons go, it contradicts everything He says, but also because this is an idiom that come's from man. It refers to a loss of status or prestige--which are things that we DO NOT have with Christ anyway. (Acts 10:34) 

I believe that people enjoy watching others "fall from grace" because somehow they think it moves them up on the grace-o-meter which, in turn, gives them even more grace and more status. In simple terms, it makes them feel better about themselves.  Just remember this....every time you use the term "fall from grace"  you will be the one falling..... falling victim to great oxyMORON villain. 

If we could only see through the eyes of Christ--we would see the good in people--because GRACE covers the rest.

[All] are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is [provided] in Christ Jesus....Romans 3: 24

Don't be a MORON, be a CHRISTIAN...instead of talking about their fall, HELP them UP!!

Just Bb

Force-Feeding Faith

The other day, as I sat in my car, I watched a woman who was diligently handing out religious tracts in front of the grocery store. With a serious look on her face she placed the unwanted tract into the hands of the defenseless passersby; she began to feel more empowered by this feat so she quickly changed locations and stood at the door of the liquor store. This, being a Saturday night, the place was abundant with even more victims of Satan that needed to be saved by her impersonal attempt at evangelism.

I watched her shove the tracts into the hands of the unwilling recipients as they graciously nodded their heads while cramming the unwanted paper in their pocket. I could see that she was becoming increasingly excited by her newest mission; her chest begin to stick out and she became even more aggressive. I could practically hear her boasting to her sisters at Sunday morning bible study,"Well honey let me tell you what I did for the Lord on Saturday!! I handed out 100 tracts to the lost souls as they walked into the LIQUOR STORE!! I was BOLD and just walked right up to the front door, no one got past me without the Word of God!! Each time a seed was planted and I know the Word will not return void...mmm--hmm HALLELUJAH!!!" 

I remember being that "zealot" walking the streets forcing my beliefs onto others because I thought that was evangelism. All the while I was rehearsing my success story in my head, anxious to tell everyone what I had done in the Lord's Name. I remember patting myself on the back for "doing the Lord's work" and being so pleased with my actions... As I sat in my car that night, I asked myself, "What were you thinking?"

In Mark 4 Jesus tells the parable of the sower:

“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”.v 3-8

...As I watched this scene unfold that night, this parable was going off in my spirit. It was as if I could hear the Lord say, "STOP sowing seed by the wayside, you're  tossing it onto stones!" In this parable Jesus uses sowing and reaping to illustrate the powerful truth that a heart must be ready to receive the Word. It takes time and and preparation before a heart can accept the Word.  Jesus was clearly showing us that, in order to be a sower of seed, we had to first become a caretaker of the land. A good sower knows when the land is ready for the seed because they have spent countless hours caring and preparing it with lots of TLC.

I watched each person, as they crammed the unwanted tract into their pockets, get frustrated with the invasive sower. I remember thinking, "They think she's crazy and this is NOT inspiring them to come to Jesus."  I'm certain that the woman's intentions were sincere, and she felt as if she was bringing about change, and doing God's work, but this was completely ineffective and counterproductive.

We live in a microwave society where we expect things to happen instantaneously. Everything is fast and convenient ..everything except evangelism. If we expect to be effective as sowers, we have to make sure the heart is ready... Evangelism is not putting a tract in someone's hand, never seeing them again. Evangelism is a commitment to love that person as Christ does...it is that love that makes the heart receptive and pliable...Evangelism is relationship


When we try to force-feed the Word into people they immediately spit it out and it leaves a bad taste in the mouths. (I don't know about you, but once something has made me sick, I NEVER want to eat it again)



Over the years, I have found, that people will let you know when they're ready to hear the Word. #permissionevangelism

Just Bb 

Hate Your Own Sin

After making some pretty significant changes in my life I was talking with a family member about it and she said, "You know I don't approve of your life, but I love you no matter what you do."
This has not been the response I was accustomed to; most of the people in my life disapproved and immediately turned their backs on me... The fact of the matter is, I'm not asking anyone to "approve" of my life...it's MY life and I'm the one that has to live it and I'm the one who has answer to God for it. Your approval, or lack there of, will not change me, nor does it inspire me to conform to your opinion. 

Accepting me doesn't mean that you have to approve of my life...I guarantee you, that if I take a close look at your life I will find MANY things that I disapprove of, but that doesn't make me disown or reject you... Rejection has NEVER been a part of God's plan or a part of Jesus' character. The ONLY thing Jesus rejected was religion, and well.... Rejecting someone because they don't live up to your HIGH standards is...YEP you guessed it---RELIGION

Rejecting someone because you disapprove of their life is a fruitless act of hate. It's not up to me or you to "punish" a person for the choices they make or the lives that they live... God will take care of that; it is my job to love people, and to take care of my own "sin". When we focus on the "wrong" in someone else's lives it becomes impossible to see our own.


 I believe that Mark Lowry nailed it--I wish everyone else would catch on...Isn't this what Christianity is supposed to be?

I love people...the good, the bad and, yes, even the ugly, this does not mean that I approve of their lives or their choices...it means that I accept them and love them regardless.

JUST A THOUGHT:
The serenity prayer says:
God grant me the serenity to ACCEPT the things I cannot change
the courage to change the things I can
and the WISDOM to know the difference

Think, just for a moment, how difficult it is for you to change your own life....
Now what makes you think you can change mine? (or anyone else's for that matter)

Just Bb

My life change!!! #loveofmylife

We Are Family....Like it or NOT :)

Inclusion--The act of including 

In Acts chapter 2 the Holy Spirit was poured out among the disciples that had been dwelling together in the upper room. They had been there waiting and finally they united in one mind and of one accord (which means they finally agreed).  It was at that moment of unity that revival came. Peter then stood up and began to speak. The Bible says he spoke in different tongues and men from every nation heard their native language...

Peter, a Jew, was speaking to every nation under the heavens--- ONE MESSAGE.... Jesus Christ! He came, He died, and He rose again so that ALL could be saved...simple really. On this day Peter spoke one language to ALL people, even those that Jews considered enemies or unclean. Out of Peter's mouth came an ALL INCLUSIVE message that fulfilled the prophesy of Joel: God will pour out His Spirit on ALL flesh!! Not some...Not the one's you think shall receive it...Not just white or black...Not just male or female...not just straight or gay not just __________________(you fill in the blank.) 

BUT ALL FLESH!!! 

This was the birth of the church and the sermon preached from that pulpit excluding NO ONE....far from what's being displayed in the pulpits today.

I believe that the church is the most segregated place left in our society. Heck (best southern drawl) here in South Mississippi you have your "white" churches and your "black" churches and your "country club" churches... and so on and so forth. Diversity in church is almost unheard of (around these parts anyhow), much less seeing the colors of the 'rainbow' sprinkled throughout the congregation... 

In contrast, Jesus Christ was ALL INCLUSIVE and I believe that the congregation and content of this very first sermon proves it. God has called us to ALL people and that is something that the church can no longer run from....

Jonah ran from the call of God because he didn't want to go to Nineveh to preach. In his opinion the people were unworthy, so he turned and went the opposite direction. God, of course, showed up and Jonah found himself inside the belly of a whale.  Jonah was a Jewish man with an exclusive message and he didn't want to share it, because he knew that God would have mercy on them. When the Lord spared the people of Nineveh, Jonah became angry...he felt as if they somehow didn't deserve God's love and mercy. Not unlike many (not all) churches today...

I don't think Jonah's problem was so much with their salvation as it was with the fact that now he had to call them brother and sister. THEY...they...they.... had become----'gulp'----FAMILY and he DID NOT want to bring "those people" to the his exclusive family reunion....

You can continue to segregate, discriminate, and exclude people if you want...but my guess is that, like Jonah, you will end up in the belly of a whale.
Maybe after you have been in the darkness long enough, you will be able to open the eyes of your heart, see the Light and open the doors of your church to EVERYONE!!

The Ninevites were saved from their sin...but they remained Ninevites-- Just as all those who received the Message that day at Pentecost--These people didn't magically transform to a Jewish decent...THEY simply became CHRISTIANS--FAMILY--Adopted and INCLUDED in God's great inheritance by the work Jesus Christ did on the cross!
It's foolish for us to believe that people can CHANGE who they are to conform to the "idea" that we have for "Christian"... You see the separation often comes when people remain "human" or GOD forbid THEMSELVES!!! 

We tend to think that salvation produces cookie cutter Christians and when people don't look, act, and think exactly as we do--THEN excommunication! We are not called to change people--God is the Potter...not us! 

It's amazing to me that we can clearly see that a HUGE REVIVAL that revolutionized our world happened the moment UNITY came!! WHY CAN'T the church see that inclusiveness of ALL communities is KEY to developing UNITY and UNITY is KEY to REVIVAL and REVIVAL is KEY to fulfilling the GREAT COMMISSION---MAKE DISCIPLES of ALL NATIONS  (Matt 28:16-20)!!

God loves diversity--If He didn't HE would have made us all the same.

REVIVAL awaits....will you sit in the darkness of division or experience the outpouring that is sure to come with inclusion? Jesus was RADICALLY INCLUSIVE... shouldn't His church be as well?
Peter spoke in a different language that day at Pentecost.... a language that EVERYONE can understand...a language that WE should all learn...it was the the universal language of LOVE


Just Bb         


http://youtu.be/eBpYgpF1bqQ
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      We Are Family (video) 

It's a CHICKEN COUP!!!!

All this Chic-Fil-A talk over the past few days has been, to say the least, unnerving. It has effected EVERYONE is some shape, form, or fashion whether it be by offending them or someone they love, challenging their belief system, or just simply clogging up their Facebook page.

I have seen it and heard it so much that it has effected my dreams; just last night I had a nightmare about giant chickens taking over the world. I remember saying, "this is what happens when you give stupid animals steroids---they get so big they think they can take over!!"

This dream disturbed me so much that I began to research chicken behavior; I wanted to make sure that this "chicken coup" was not a real thereat. In my research I found that chickens are very strange creatures, they have what is called a "pecking order" and this system assures that the strongest bird with the most authority gets the most food. Enforcing their authority the "dominant" chicken will push, peck, and exclude the weaker chickens; not to mention all the squawking they do. These bullies are infamous for pecking their fellow chickens to death.

People, not unlike chickens, who get wise in their own eyes or, as my mother would say, "too big for their britches" tend to put themselves above others. They become, pardon the pun, the "head pecker", bullying those that they feel are beneath them.

NOW it all makes sense... Chickens are BULLIES!!!

...enough said


Just Bb

“So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last."--Matt 20:16