"Life is lived forward, but understood backward. It is not until we are down the road and we stand on the mountain looking back through the valley that we can appreciate the terrain God has allowed us to scale.” Jill Savage

Sunday, August 29, 2010

My gift for you this Sunday . . . His Amazing Grace



John Newton - the Angry Sailor - wrote this - he was going to commit suicide and he was saved and he wrote this song. He faught God for years and years and years before he gave up and surrendered.

Spiritual joy arises from purity of the heart and perseverance in prayer.
- St. Francis of Assisi

I have found out - even if it takes YEARS to get an answer - never give up praying.

NEVER GIVE UP!


Happy birthday Michael Jackson - wikipedia

Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten children to an African American working-class family, in Gary, Indiana, an industrial suburb of Chicago. His mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovah's Witness, and his father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, a steel mill worker who performed with an R&B band called The Falcons. Jackson had three sisters: Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy. A sixth brother, Brandon, died shortly after birth.

Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe. Joseph acknowledged in 2003 that he regularly whipped Jackson as a child. Jackson stated that he was physically and emotionally abused during incessant rehearsals, though he also credited his father's strict discipline with playing a large role in his success. Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast in February 1993. He admitted that he had often cried from loneliness and he would vomit on the sight of his father. Jackson's father was also said to have verbally abused Jackson, saying that he had a fat nose on numerous occasions. In fact, Michael Jackson's deep dissatisfaction with his appearance, his nightmares and chronic sleep problems, his tendency to remain hyper-compliant especially with his father, and to remain child-like throughout his adult life are in many ways consistent with the effects of this chronic maltreatment he endured as a young child.

In an interview with Martin Bashir, later included in the 2003 broadcast of Living with Michael Jackson, Jackson acknowledged that his father hurt him when he was a child, but was nonetheless a "genius", as he admitted his father's strict discipline played a huge role in his success. When Bashir dismissed the positive remark and continued asking about beatings, Jackson put his hand over his face and objected to the questions. He recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, and that "if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you".

In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Jackson later began performing backup vocals and dancing. When he was eight, Jackson began sharing the lead vocals with his older brother Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to The Jackson 5. The band toured the Midwest extensively from 1966 to 1968, frequently performing at a string of black clubs known as the "chitlin' circuit", where they often opened stripteases and other adult acts. In 1966, they won a major local talent show with renditions of Motown hits and James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)", led by Michael.

My heart goes out and had always gone out to this guy. Hope he is in a better place.

20 comments:

betty said...

so thankful for God's amazing grace indeed!!

got to feel sorry for Michael Jackson. so sad his dad was like that and just didn't appreciate the talent Michael had but had to criticize and physically/verbally abuse him. yet I hear that Michael was a great father for his children, so thankfully he didn't mimic how he was raised.

I hope you have a nice Sunday, Sandie :)

betty

Tweedles -- that's me said...

Sometimes its so hard to deal with feelings ,,,,,, when your abused by someone who is supposed to love you. Sometimes,,,,,, all we need is love,,,,, and we just want everyone to love each other,,,,
and so we keep looking for love in the earth and trees and the skys above,,,,, and we want peace, and love

xoxo
tweedles

Jane said...

That is so true - never give up, and above all, keep praying!

Jane

Unknown said...

Our Heavenly Father's grace truly is amazing. For He has never given up on me even when I have given up on Him. Much to my chagrin, this is something that I keep having Him prove to me.

Nancy's Notes said...

What a post. The power of prayer is just an awesome thing.

Oh, I hope he's in a better place too.

Have a blessed Sunday.

Jojo said...

A wonderful post.

Susan said...

Loved that little girl singing, Sandie. The video said in memory of someone. I wonder who that was it was in memory of. She was such a doll and even with her little teeth missing! Awesome video.

I didn't know Michael Jackson was an abused child. No wonder he was so uncomfortable in his own body, poor man. Oh, I am sure he is in a far better place now, and at total peace.

Thanks for such a great post, Sandie. Hope you have a wonderful Sunday. Susan

Chicken Wrangler said...

Great post, as always. Thank you!

Mevely317 said...

Isn't this little girl precious?! I recall hearing something a while back about her having lost her mom to cancer ... and still, she sings like a beautiful bird!

^..^Corgidogmama said...

Prayer changes things that is true. We just need to remember to keep doing it, no matter what!

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Wonderful post! I will never give up and believe in prayer! Yes I always have felt sorry for Michael Jackson and I too hope he is in a better place. Happy Sunday dear Sandie!

Doris Sturm said...

That is a beautiful song that applies to so many of us, doesn't it?

I always have felt sorry for Michael. He was a genius and there will never be another performer like him - at least not in my life time! God bless him! He's finally at peace. He never seemed like a happy person to me, in spite of all his money, that later was all gone anyway!

Dogmom Diva said...

Blessed Sunday, Sandie..

Tanna said...

I feel the same about Michael Jackson...

Amen on the never giving up on praying.

Carol............. said...

We must jhave had a meeting of minds...I put this video on my blog, too.

Yes, I understand that the Jackson kids had a tough time in an abusive home........grrrrrrrrr and shame on the father and the mother that allowed it.

Jacalyn @ rmebathproducts.com said...

MJ was a musical genious! I wish he could have dealt with his "issues" because he was no uniquely talented!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. I know you lucky people in the South get to spend more time with summer but still you have to be prepared for fall, right? Ha, ha!

Hugs,
Jacalyn

JeanMac said...

I had never heard this about MJ before. Sad.

Debbie said...

Surely, Amazing Grace is one of the most inspired hymns of the past 2000 years.

When my husband first became a Believer, he fell in love with that song, although he had heard it his entire life. I once found a copy of the hymn stuck in his dashboard. He told me that he was attempting to learn the words to all of the verses by singing it as he drove. Now, my husband can't sing... not much of a note... but I have always imagined that God thought that singing was mighty beautiful.

Enjoyed your video. It was lovely!

Unknown said...

I always cry when I hear this sung as the words fill my heart.

Jennifer Oberth said...

Michael Jackson was amazing. A true talent. It's such a shame he had to go through that bad a childhood - so bad that it totally screwed up his adulthood. And to be ridiculed as a child and then as an adult...He was so much more than all that nonsense.