“And if I perish, I perish.” NIV Esther 4:16. 

                Many historical strides were made by women during the month of August.  On Aug 6th 1965 Voting Rights Act allowed Women’s Suffrage (granted from the ratification of the 19^th Amendment on Aug 26, 1920) to fully extend to African American women who were being discriminated against. Aug 10^th Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the 107^th justice and 2^nd woman to be sworn in the US Supreme Court.  Another Aug 26th milestone in 1971 Rep Bella Abzug instituted the 1^st Women’s Equality Day, which is annually reaffirmed by Presidential Proclamation.

                According to the worldometer.info COVID-19 has claimed the lives of over 152, 738 in America on this date.  There are over 4 million cases in this country and 16 million worldwide with over 655,000 deaths.  Fear of the unknown is high at this time.  Many people worldwide are not only facing daily economic and social crises; but human, mental and emotional also.  On Jan 1st 2020, who would ever envision we would experience such a challenging start to a such a promising new decade.  However we are here.  In this together, with the majority of us surviving, overcoming and/or battling the effects of this pandemic one way or another.  Today I am dismayed for having lost my first relative to COVID-19.  How I as many others looked forward to thriving -holding big hopes, diving into new dreams.  We are now having to live this new unforeseeable normal with great strength and prodigious faith.

                Similar to Esther.   Esther born Hadassah, was a Jewish woman.  She was chosen by the Persian King Ahasuerus to succeed Queen Vashti based on her beauty.   Queen Esther saves her people through her fierce courageous faith.  Telling Mordecai her older cousin, to inform the Jews to fast for her withholding food and drink for three days, she approached the king’s throne. Unrequested and most likely unwanted, Esther faced this illegality which could have meant her life.  But the Lord favored Esther and the king found pleasure in her.  In the end, Queen Esther after making a dinner for him and Haman shared a story that infuriated King Ahasuerus.  So much so that Haman’s decree to destroy all Jewish people her people fell on him.  Queen Esther having been offered most anything she wanted was gifted Haman’s death.   This joyful unprecedented turn of events makes for fantastic stories or films but even more encouraging real life serious affairs.  God can change anything around when you stay focused on the mission-His.  Walk in faith over fear, trust over despair, selflessness instead of selfishness-God can use you as a blessing.  Your life, your actions, your deeds, your words, your beauty (outer and inner) along with your strength can bring about great win for others. 

                To this day the story of Esther is celebrated during the feast of Purim.  Jewish people read her story (called the Megillah) in synagogues.  When Haman’s name is mentioned 54 times the congregation makes various noises to blot it out.  We too must learn how to blot out discouragement, distraction, fear, intimidation, powerlessness, timidity and characteristics not of God.  We must boldly stand for righteousness in humility to God to protect our people, weather His will and save many souls-including our own.  By wearing masks, checking on the health of marginalized populations (elderly, sick, mentally challenged, handicapped, etc), building up our immune system (eating right and exercising safely), getting proper rest, disinfecting items, washing our hands,etc., social distancing, we show power. Control in what’s out of control and management. No we don’t shrink back in fear yet take the necessary precautionary steps to prepare to be a blessing.  With our faith in God, and the strength coming from His Word we won’t worry about perishing.  We will continue to advance, re-imagine our goals and walk on strong to our God determined destinies.

Concern (C):  Sister, are you anxious about dying?  The Bible says :”Since the children have flesh and blood, (Jesus) too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of  him who holds the power of death –that is , the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death”  Heb 2:14-15

Encouragement (E): Live! Jesus sets us free. And we submit to his authority to stay in his pastures of freedom. When he died on the cross, for those of us who have believed, repented, confessed and were baptized- the power of death no longer has a sting on us.  Just live in this truth!

Act (A):  Queen Esther had ample reasons to fear for her people, status, enemies strategies and for her very life.  However, imitating her commit it all into the hands of God. Our Father the Heavenly King will give us what we need to rise to every occasion.  He will fulfill His every purpose in the span of our lives. “..for such a time as this”, Rise, Queen, Rise!

For Further Women’s History  https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/events/august/

Dedicated in memory of my aunt Linda. 

“…they held back until I, Deborah, arose, until I arose, a mother in Israel” Judges 5:7(NIV)

    On this last day of June we honor women who made great historical triumphs this month.  June 9^th 1949 Georgia Neese Clark was the 1st woman US treasurer.  June  21^st 1921 Inglewood, California -the Women’s National Basketball  Association plays its very 1st game between the Los Angeles Sparks  and New York Liberty.  The Sparks’ African American player Penny Toler scores the first basket but Liberty wins the game 67-57.  June 1^st 1993

Ps 37:4 “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

We at The Daughter Line send our love & blessings to you and yours on a great new year & new decade! In 1920 American women were given the legal right to vote nationally. Therefore, in centennial celebration of women everywhere, our 2020 focus will be on women of leadership in the Bible. Looking forward to another great year with you. What are your dreams and goals this year? For this decade? When we come back in the Spring we will spring right into it. Until then check us out online for upcoming fashionable apparel and production info. Again Happy New Year – Enjoy!

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1 John 3:10 “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother”. (NIV)

Carson Crimeni (14) dies of drug overdose in a skate park in Langley Township, British Columbia on Aug 7, 2019.  Jamel Dunn (31) dies while drowning in Cocoa Pond, Florida on Jul 9, 2017  he was disabled. Khaseen Morris (16) dies from stab wound in chest Oceanside, NY on September 16, 2019 by an ex-boyfriend of a girl he walked home the day.   Dear Abba father all of them cried out, needed help and…

All of these fatalities videotaped by people who showed no care or concern.  What a shame living in an age where people choose to pick up a camera before pressing a few numbers to dial 911 for help.  What is even more implausible is there are no laws criminalizing such behavior.  “Am I my brother’s keeper?”, Cain unabashedly replied to God after killing his brother Abel over jealousy.  Paralelling, Obdulia Sanchez (19) on Feb 8, 2018 was convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter in the death of her sister Jacqueline Sanchez (14).  If she were asked, was she sister’s keeper, she may have indeed considered she was.  For Obdulia, found DUI (blood alcohol intake level of .1) livestreamed on Instagram, the loss of her vehicle’s control while driving.  This crash  ejected her sister out the window.  Yet to ensure that the family would have enough money for Jacqueline’s proper funeral; Obdulia continued to maneuver her way to record her sister’s dying as they both were covered with blood.  Manuela, Jacqueline’s friend was also thrown from car  and Obdulia panned over to record her as she waved in the distance desperate for help.   Manuela who survived with leg injuries blames no one but social media.  “That’s what life is now”…

The word of God says something similar in 2 Tim 3:1-5, “But mark this:  There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves..unholy…without love…lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”  Sounds like a horror movie we already are given the ill-fated ending to.  What can we do as Christians, or as a society who wants a better ending?  NOTHING..but we can be careful not to fall into the temptation of wanting glory so much for ourselves that we hurt or are impassive to the hurt of our brothers and sisters also created by God.   Experiencing fear, insensitivity, disregard, pain and seeing others in pain can make one want isolation- for safety, quiet, peace and self-preservation. A woman after I invited her out to worship service said, “I don’t deal with all these (types of) people.  I just worship in my own way.  I have church with myself and I try to be a good person. I try to treat others good for I believe we are all children of God”.

But is that true?

According to the scriptures Yes God made us all and is the Father of all creation.  But that just means he owns us not that we are His children.  To be a parent’s child, normally means to be born or adopted into a family that created or accrued to care after and raise you.  Commonly this occurs in an accepting and belonging environment with demonstrations of variations of love and all that being a legitimate child entails.  Though there are many human arguments on the contrary this is generally the case.  Yet the Bible states there are godly requirements to be rightfully called a child of God, such as: Gal 3:27 Faith; 2 Cor 6:18 Separate from wickedness ; Rom 8:14 Led by Spirit; Gal 4:7 Are Adopted & Heirs;  John 1:12 Must Receive Him & Believe in His Name ; 1 John 3:10 Practice Righteousness & Love His Brother; John 11: 52 God will bring scattered children of His together and make them one.  * No child of God should worship Him all alone, or believe they are His just cause they exist or feel like they are—it simply is not biblical.

Jesus says in John 3:5 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God”.  Jesus gives not one, but two “truly”s here.  This indicates he reinforces with soundness and seriousness the baptismal requirement.  In further studying the Bible, to enter this family/kingdom you must be a part of the body of Christ.  Jesus is the head of the body Col 1:18 which is the church.  Further in Col vs 21 it says we were alienated from God because of our evil behavior. You cannot be naturally his child and synchronously be his enemy living in sin.  Yes, God loves you but you have to repent of your sins and be reconciled with Him 1 Pet 2:10. Once you become a part of His people you can confidently call yourself and know you are His child.  Welcome to the family!

Concern (C):  Sister are you God’s daughter for real?  No one can tell or judge you being lost or saved Rom 2—But God,  Yet His Words which are in the Bible will! John 12:48.

Act (A):  Jesus came to seek and save what was lost.  When he comes back, it will be to gather those that are His 1 Cor 4:5; 2 Cor 5:10.   So we should act as those staying on guard and doing the right thing.  The Bible as the final word and not we ourselves.

Encouragement (E):  Sisters, study the Bible and Join a church that follows the truth, the Scriptures.  If a church does not follow God’s standard keep searching!  I encourage you with love, pray to find an Acts 2:38-42 body of believers.  Let the description of Jesus’ church established after his death with Peter holding the keys Matt 16:19 talking to the crowd be your checklist.

 “Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God will call. With many other words he warned them and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.  Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.  They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” Titus 3:1-2 ESV

Submit-to give over or yield to the power or authority of another; to subject to some kind of treatment or influence; to present for the approval, consideration or decision of another or others; to state with deference.

On July 17, 2014  Eric Garner died.  Video footage of his death was repeatedly shown on television and media outlets across the nation.  In it Eric Garner, self proclaimed to be “sitting minding (his) own business”, had “just broken up a fight” and “did nothing wrong”.  Yet he appeared to have remained on a scene that officers wanted clear.  So acting on their original suspicion of him selling single cigarettes from packs without tax stamps they attempted to arrest him. Garner declared his innocence to the officers and was no longer going to have it (the harassment they have given him before}.   Garner and other Staten Island bystanders showed clear frustration about the injustice as plainclothes Officer Pantaleo moved up behind him an initiated a NYPD banned choke hold.  Garner with restricted breathing ability went into seizure and loss of consciousness.  Suffering from asthma, heart disease and obesity the medical examiner said were all factors in his eventual death.  Officer Pantaleo was fired as a result Aug 19th, 2019. Much respect to the Garner family.

Wearing the shirt “I can’t breathe” I marched for Eric Garner 5 years ago.  With my husband, kids and numerous others we rallied on the National Alliance Network buses led by community civil rights activist Al Sharpton.  To fight against police brutality and system injustice We did!  Marching for our beliefs on our basic human rights to life, to freedom to justice …to breathe.  Since 2001 use of police chokeholds has doubled according to the  Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) reports.  It is something I strongly believe in and am hopeful that laws will be established now that  bill (A10170)  has been introduced so that New York City law will make chokehold tactics illegal.   Although Mayor de Blasio signaled 5 years ago he would veto it, believing such matters belonged to the jurisdiction of the PD. Councilman Rory Lanceman (D-Queens) recalled it after another recent incident.  Det. Fabio Nunez reused the tactic on Tomas Medina on July 14, 2018 after he refused to show identification.  Perhaps due to de Blasio’s Presidential candidacy run for 2020, or for whatever reasons, the bill, that Sharpton proposed become a national law, is now on the floor with penalties up to a year in jail and fines up to $2500.  It won’t bring Garner back or right the wrongs the over 1100 civilians the CCRB reported the prohibited method was performed on-but it will be somewhat of a right celebration for long awaited justice.

But Garner ultimately resisting arrest was wrong.  As the Detective’ Endowment Association Union president Michael Palladino says “When someone resists arrest, cops can’t just simply walk away..You show me someone resisting arrest, and I’ll show you an ugly video.” Complying could have saved Garner his life.

As with a lot of my friends and family accosted by police officers though innocent, it is indeed ugly, scary and a lot of times without video.  It is known in psychology that fear oft makes us choose to  fight or flight.  Police aren’t particularly sympathetic to  Blacks’ and Latinos’ responses especially after years of desensitization, lack of retraining and “blue boy club” dynamics and mentality.  We minorities have been subject to injustice for centuries and want to stop being racially profiled and intimidated-in our own communities nonetheless.   The Caucasian race, with their “white privilege” can speak up for themselves, defy injustice and get respect.  But we look threatening, are strongly opinionated, angry and  defiant.  Like Sandra Bland who died in police custody, after a traffic stop arrest in an alleged suicidal hanging.  With plans for the day and for her future protesters believe that it was she died by police strangulation.  Would she be dead today had her name been Sandra Bullock or Sandra Dee we could only speculate.

On the antithetical, what minority races have to understand is that police want respect too!  Though Garner seemed respectful he was obdurate against being arrested.  This is where he got it wrong.  Officers are human too.  Being temperament, self-controlled and compliant is what they need from those they serve.  I even stress being a little courteous too would help.  Like Jesus, who was falsely accused by chief priests, elders, council members and false witnesses.  Like Jesus, arrested by the Temple guards of the Sanhedrin and handed to the Governor Pilate.  He submitted.  To the point where even when they came for him in the Garden of Gethsemane he healed the cut ear of a soldier.

Jesus was innocent.  From birth, he never committed any sin or crime  except to disobey his parents to be a servant of the will of God.  Yet he was treated extremely harshly until the point of death.  Stripped naked, spit on, slap, punched, thorns driven in head, whipped with cat o’nine tails loaded with flesh ripping items, publicly embarrassed, forced to carry his own object of torture the cross, ridiculed, teased were just a few of his experiences.  Oh and may I add he was afterwards crucified.

Jesus himself says to Pilate in John 19:11, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.” Do we feel this way?  Do we realize that God has ultimate authority Matt 28:18.  Do we recognize that at any point we could inject more respect?  We could benefit the situation with more patience in the process, more kindness, and even more (gulp) submissiveness?  The Bible says in 1 Pet 2:13-25 ,“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to governor.  For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.  Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.  Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood.  Fear God.  Honor the emperor.

Submission is also biblically mentioned on issues in marriage, in governing authorities, the church, in one another relationships–and in slavery.  Without fully addressing it in this blog please know that Yes it is in there.  God’s word has most everything on everything, even the hard to fathom things.  So let’s look at this briefly through the knowledge of truth.  In 1 Pet 2:18 God is calling Christian slaves to submit.  And in Eph 6:9 and Col 4:1 masters are called to treat slaves fairly since He is Master of both! See with God there is no favoritism.  For anyone inclined to abuse or neglect God’s word, He reminds everyone to love one another.  Why slavery is, is a historically great question.  Men have free will and they may use it for selfish gain but one thing is certain– all men will answer to God!  And He is just in His will, Job 36:6; Lk 22:42.

Concern (C): Sister, how is your submission?  How quickly or slowly do you acquiesce your will to God?  To your husband? To your authorities? To one another?

Encouragement (E):  To submit is to love.  It is truly understanding and agreeing to God’s plan over your life.  It is fundamentally about humility.  Furthermore it is also a turn around question about how strong your pride is? Don’t be proud of pride because God is not.  Pride is a deadly sin that God detest Prov 8:13 “I hate pride and arrogance..”  So submit to others not because they are better but that God is better and bigger than all of us.  Submit not because they got us but that God does!  Sister,  God’s Got You!

Act (A):  In God we must trust and obey which equals to Submission.   Pray and petition through the unbearable and hope in faith for His deliverance.  Submit like Jesus did for His church.  Do it for the Lord, do it to respect the order of His entities.  Memorize Prov 16:20, “God blesses those who obey him happy the man who puts his trust in the Lord’.   And cast your anxieties in scripture  1 Pet 5:6, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time”.  Oh Lord help us with the “S” word!  In remembering Jesu”S” it’s so much easier to say! 

Personal Note:  In 2010 After buying my mother a pizza a block away from home, doing nothing wrong just heading back  I was approached by “undercovers.” They stated I fit the description of someone in the area accused of theft and wanted to me go with them for further investigation.   I admit I was looking a quite disheveled, I worked nights, and was going to school days. I had just run out the house to do run this errand.  But I was no criminal, I have never been arrested and so I was strongly opposed being detained or even questioned.  Knowing my rights from all my studies, that day, I was just not having it too.   I showed them my id upon inquiry then in reciprocation admonished them for not showing me their badge numbers, telling me their names or reading me my Miranda rights.  After asking them what precinct they worked out of I informed them that I have college education, was a Christian and a held a job a block away and which was on the same block my two young children went to  school on.  Fearful that they may have been abductors for all I know trying to coerce me in an unidentifiable police car, insisted they arrest me right here in public because I wasn’t going anywhere.  All the while I was praying to God for His help sisters.  Thinking strongly about my kids not having a mother picking them up or my family wondering what happened at my sudden disappearance.  No I had watched too many crime shows to know that my safety was at stake.  Whatever was going to go down  was going to happen right here.   Outside sure I was strong and intelligent, but inside I was frightened to death because honestly …I was Black and they had the guns.  But my Spirit reminded me of something greater I had God,  It was He that brought me to this situation and He who saw me out.  The officers received another urgent radio call and left me alone…”for now”.  To this day I thank God for His provision, that I am alive and all is well..but no it is not as easily forgotten.  And that is why as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, did….I march on.  Maybe tomorrow we won’t have the same struggle. 

**I realize after watching YouTube video listed below I could have done things a lot different. Kept more quiet  and ask if I am being detained. Please watch and view this with other videos on your rights when dealing with police.

Further info:

10 Rules for Dealing with Police. https://www.flexyourrights.org/10-rules/

The Greatest: “The Synopsis of Great Leaders” by Cyril K. Nwozor PHD

 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/eric-garner-officer-daniel-pantaleo-untruthful-investigation_n_5d5a1d13e4b0d8840ff53006