Happy New Year Saints and Ain'ts.
let's get into this year. 2022 is real, new, and you.
My word for the year is Faith.
As I write this I'm listening to 'I Know I Been Changed' by LaShun Pace, and it followed 'For Every Mountain' by Kurt Carr.... it makes me think about a conversation I was having with my best friend about change, about changes from within the system... we were talking about police reform... because it's rampant with racism... and yes, we know the police as an academy/ institution started as a racist round up crew.... so with the mass incarceration of my people, and the change of slavery from picking cotton and being lynched to jail time and drugs is real... she was telling me she doesn't believe the system can be reformed from the inside, that the entire thing must be burned to the ground (okay maybe she just said, torn down lmao) and then rebuilt... and I have to share, my unpopular opinion– I totally disagree.
Let's go to analogy land, because Jasmin is queen of those (give me my crown lol). let's use cookies. (not the internet shits, im talm bout good ol' COOKIES, from scratch baby) Now, the system is the cookie. (I do believe and respect that there are a group of people in the world that want to make sure people are protected and upholding law, we must all follow law... kind of the same way I believe and respect that eradicating world hunger and feeding people is a part of my calling... but back to da point) Now, I'd say this cookie (the police system in America) has poison in it, disguised as peanut butter. Now, I'm not a peanut butter fan, so it's easy for me to not eat the cookie. But those who like peanut butter, or simply just enjoy cookies no matter what kind they are, are eating this shit up... they're ingesting these ideas, and the poison (racism, sexism, all the -isms) that come with the cookie. Here's the thing.... the poison is the problem with the cookie, not the cookie (recipe) itself. To make cookies, ANY KIND, you need basic ingredients– flour, butter, sugar, and heat. Much like in the world we must follow laws- there's natural law (nature) and then there's the laws we can all universally agree upon– don't kill, don't steal, don't destroy (that's the Word, which is law... but we'll save that for another time) Now stick with me, cuz I'm about to bless ya– WE, this generation of millennials and whole-hearted leaders HAVE THE RECIPE. ALL WE GOTTA DO IS STOP ADDING PEANUT BUTTER. WE ALSO NEED TO THROW OUT THE OLD BATCH OF COOKIES, which are the dinosaurs in office, congress, police chiefs, mayors, governors, etc... it's time for a new order, a FRESH batch of cookies and again, we have the recipe of love, of caring and tending to our mental health, of deciding to lean into that fact that love and abuse cannot coexist. But we don't need to stop making cookies, we just need to add a different ingredient for flavor that isn't poisonous.... and that's from inside the system... cuz what's the system? at its base, its baking cookies (people who genuinely believe that protecting and serving is their calling, again like I said with me and food.) And then if I wanna take you further, we'll start to recognize that as long as we add healthy ingredients, the possibilities of cookies are endless–what FLAVA we choose– as long as safe and healthy, then we'll be able to protect and serve, in various ways... ways that are targeted towards specific needs and communities, which is ministry... ooooh, black people in this city seem to like cranberries more (mental health services)... ooohhh Latinx folx in this city seem to like white chocolate in their cookies (access to childcare through and with those that protect and serve).. etc.
My bestie responded, girl we need cake! (lmao, I almost fell out– she's entitled to her opinion)
Cookie analogy don't tickle your fancy and just made you hungry? That's fine. I'll take you one further, and one shorter. A diseased body. A body is made to function and live, give life. It is a system that carries a plethora of systems. When there's layers of dis-ease within a body we don't say– GIRL YOU NEED A WHOLE NEW BODY. We say, what's the cure, how can you heal? And we're ALWAYS willing to do the healing or surgeries in parts. (heart first, then kidney then skin... I just made that up but you get the point) I think it's that simple. FROM THE INSIDE OF THIS BODY, THIS SYSTEM– WHAT'S THE CURE, HOW DO WE HEAL. Imma let you in on a secret that PT (Pastor Touré from OneChurchLA) let me in on this morning– WE ARE THE CURE. GOD HAS PLACED THE CURE WITHIN US ALL TO ERADICATE AND HEAL THESE MAN MADE SYSTEMS. My faith is that high... cuz we all, in this system of earth and 2022. and frankly I'm not telling you nothing I don't know baby,
I was diseased, afflicted yall. Like, down bad. And I'll take you back to the two songs I referenced in the beginning of this message " I KNOW I BEEN CHANGED." "FOR EVERY MOUNTAIN GOD HAS BROUGHT ME OVER, FOR EVERY TRIAL YOU'VE SEEN ME THROUGH, FOR EVERY BLESSING– HALLELUJAH, FOR THIS, I GIVE YOU PRAISE"
God has changed my life from the inside out. and I'm finally seeing it in the work of my hands, on the outside. and it took three years, and it's still going. and there were times where I wanted to throw the whole system (ME) to the wind. Where I wanted to give up, my LIFE y'all. Cuz this shit was too hard, it was built against me (the world), it was just all bad in my eyes... but... UNTO HIM, WHO IS ABLE TO DO EXCEEDINGLY, ABUNDANTLY MORE THAN WE CAN IMAGINE. (That's scripture, that's LAW). It took time, and it's still (I'm still) a work in progress, and I'm still a masterpiece... I'm the recipe... I'm the cure... and you are too.
That's just my two cents testimony today, in the year of our Lord 2022. It's time to be real, new, and you, baby. Come on, step into your role, your miracle– keep on keeping on. Now, 'the God in Me' by Mary Mary playing... God so funny... y'all know what I'm on over here... elevate your perspective, elevate your faith, elevate to your promise... which is hope and a future. PT be talm about 'test who you are in God's eyes' and I'd encourage you to do so! Start walking, talking, breathing, meditating, singin, eatin', cookin, PRAYING like you're a cure... like you got the recipe from the top chef (God, if you don't like that word replace it with whatever one helps you sleep at night) to make something healthy, whole and real.. and watch God meet you to make it work. And remember, like this photo, it don't have to be perfect and crystal clear to be beautiful, worthy, whole, and yummy... the girls in this photo are women now, and I'm so glad we didn't give up and throw the whole system away before we grew up and realized that we are and have all that we need to flourish in health and wealth :) I love you Talia Grace and am so grateful to have a bestie that pushing my thinking, creativity, and love forward. It's a God thing boo!
And to all of you,
With all of my love, and faith–
until next time,
Mrs. Jasmin Dominique Taylor