Man I just about went into the “ugly cry,” as Oprah calls it, this morning as I listened to Helen’s Testimony (Live).

Helen Baylor’s Testimony about Cocaine and Being Set Free

“But I had a praying grandmother,” Helen sings while alternating on speaking truthfully about her grandmother praying for her and telling little 9-year-old Helen that God was going to use her someday.

“I didn’t know what she meant,” Helen said, “but I liked the sound of it.”

Continuing Helen’s Testimony, she says that her family moved to Los Angeles when she was young, and her parents spent every weekend in the clubs — they didn’t know Jesus.

So Helen was 12 years old in the night clubs.

From marijuana to Heat Wave to cocaine…

Helen started singing and opening up for some great singers. She worked with The Captain and Tenille and others, including the group Heat Wave.

Her future husband worked for Heat Wave, and was also a cocaine dealer.

“I did everything I was big and bad and bold enough to do,” Helen said, talking about how smoking weed turned into using pills to get up and pills to go to sleep.

Then came cocaine.

It got so bad, once she lost all her bodily functioning and was about to die.

“Devil, you don’t have me no more…”

That’s the line Helen sang that made me cry then and makes me cry as I type this.

Just like Satan had Helen, once he had me wrapped up in sin. Sex, drugs and bad stuff.

Helen said her grandmother had been fasting and praying for two weeks at the point where she nearly died — and that’s the time that God saved her life and she truly turned it over to Him.

That Heat Wave cocaine dealer was saved, too, and he became her husband.

Bless God for praying grandmothers like mine and Helen’s grandmothers.

And I love it when Christians tell our real testimonies…

My love for Tonex’s uniqueness just doesn’t end.

Tonex’s new “Fail U” video is hittin’ — especially with its dancing and his fashion and brilliance.

He’s no boring, ordinary Christian.

Tonex takes risks and doesn’t conform to some expected norm.

He proves again and again that he’s not perfect — that Tonex has made mistakes — and I think that’s why his music is so impactful.

“You know my other side,” he sings to God in his ‘Make Me Over’ song.
“I can no longer hide…Father I let You down…
Reconcile me Jesus, I just want to please you.”

I’d take that any day over some self-righteous phony who purports to do no wrong.

Bless Tonex and his new bangin’ video with the Asian lettering and such.

He says people overseas usually feel him more than Americans, but I’m one African-American girl who feels you!

Jesus won’t fail us…

I got an email from GospelFlava.com saying that the new WOW Gospel 2008 CD and the WOW Gospel 2008 DVD have a release date of February 12, 2008 — and both can be pre-ordered now.

Here are all the songs on the WOW Gospel 2008 CD:

Disc: 1
1. Looking For You -Franklin, Kirk
2. Stronger-Myron Butler & Levi
3. Be Blessed -Sheard, Karen Clark
4. I’m Not Perfect-J Moss Featuring Anthony Hamilton
5. Where Would I Be -Norful, Smokie
6. All That I Need -Winans, CeCe
7. Complete-Pace, LaShun
8. Grateful (Remix)-Walker, Hezkekiah & LFC; Hezekiah Walker & LFC feat. Dave Hollister
9. Hold On -Adams, Yolanda
10. Yesterday-Mary Mary
11. Heaven’s Best (WOW Gospel 2008 Edit)-Price, Kelly
12. If I Tell God (WOW Gospel 2008 Edit)-Carr, Kurt
13. Wait-Armstrong, Vanessa Bell
14. Blessed & Highly Favored-Clark Sisters, The
15. Encourage Yourself-The Tri-City Singers, Donald Lawrence Presents
16. God Is Featuring The Tri-City Singers -Woods, DeWayne
17. Movin’-Mighty Clouds Of Joy, The
18. Anything-LaBelle, Patti
Disc: 2
1. Sanctuary-The New Life Community Choir Featuring John P. Kee
2. Magnify-Sapp, Marvin
3. This Is The Day-Hammond, Fred
4. Holy Holy Holy (WOW Gospel 2008 Edit)-Cage, Byron
5. With Long Life-Israel And New Breed
6. You-Sheard, Kierra “Kiki”
7. Incredible God/Praise
8. Sinking (WOW Gospel 2008 Edit)-Tribbett, Tye & G.A.
9. I’ll Trust You-Smallwood, Richard
10. I Never Lost My Praise (WOW Gospel 2008 Edit)-Hawkins, Tramaine featuring Lundy, Patrick & The Ministers Of Music
11. I Don’t Mind Waiting-Bynum, Juanita
12. Only You Are Holy-McClurkin, Donnie
13. One Touch (Press)-Mullen, Nicole C.
14. Lord Prepare Me To Be A Sanctuary-West Angeles Mass Choir
15. Grace-Bishop T.D. Jakes & The Potter’s House Mass Choir

And here’s what’s on the WOW Gospel DVD

:

1.This Is The Day-Hammond, Fred
2.Giants-Lawrence, Don, presents The Tri-City Singers
3.Yesterday-Mary Mary (UK)
4.Imagine Me-Franklin, Kirk
5.Yes-Sheard, Kierra “Kiki”
6.Stronger-Butler, Myron
7.Celebrate-Norful, Smokie
8.Magnify-Sapp, Marvin
9.Blessed & Highly Favored-Clark Sisters, The
10.Only You Are Holy-McClurkin, Donnie
11.I’ll Trust You-Smallwood, Richard, With Vision
12.Sinking-Tribbett, Tye & G.A.
13.God Is-Woods, DeWayne feat. The Tri-City Singers
14.Grace-Jakes, Bishop TD, and The Potter’s House Mass Choir
15.A Kid’s Point Of View-DIJON

I heard the jazzy, soulful Still Here song by the Williams Brothers this morning, prompting me to get back to blogging on this site.

Still Here starts off with such a jazzy, relaxed feel and doesn’t rush the lyrics of Still Here, but brings them in after a several minutes long intro of just music playing.

Beautiful, peaceful song.

They also have Still Here-The Concept Video.

Plus they have the Still Here DVD.

The Clark Sisters are just so cute and legendary, and when I first saw them perform their Livin’ song off the Live: One Last Time CD, I thought they were trying to be contemporary.

But the Livin song I hear on the radio from time to time — buy the MP3 version of the album Live: One Last Time here — has grown on me.

“I like living this kind of life,” sing the sunny Clark sisters, “I’m living the blessed life.”

Amen!

That song aways cheers me up and makes me think of the Son.

Byron Cage has a new CD called Live at the Apollo: The Proclamation out.

I’m already a fan of Byron Cage’s An Invitation to Worship CD, with his “Lift Him Up” song that implores , “Come on men, lift Him up — Men lift Him up! — higher and higher…”

But I first was hipped to the “Prince of Praise” Byron Cage from his Live at New Birth Cathedral CD, with its unforgettable hits:

The Presence Of The Lord Is Here
Thou Art A Shield For Me: Psalm3
There Is A Name
It Is To You

I could listen to that one a lot!

Our praise and worship team sang all of those songs for many Sundays.

I was just listening to a couple of song snippets off Pastor Marvin L. Winan’s new CD called Alone But Not Alone to try and figure out if I’ve heard any of the songs on it before.

I think I heard the “Just Don’t Wanna Know” this morning, but I’m not sure.

I first really listened to him when Pastor Donnie McClurkin introduced him as:

“My pastor, my brother, my friend…Pastor Marvin L. Winans” in the song that says, “Who would’ve thought I’d get to know You this way?” off Donnie McClurkin’s CD called Live in London and More….

From the famous Winans family, it should be a great CD.

Right Now Praise is a song off New Life Community’s Nothing But Worship CD.

“I got a right-now praise!”

That’s about all the lyrics I remember from the upbeat-tempo song and CD that’s selling remarkably well on Amazon.

And I didn’t even know John P. Kee was on the CD. He might come to our church, I heard…

I got a right-now praise, all right!

Sometimes I’d turn the radio when “It’s Gonna Be Sad at The Judgement Bar…” a song off The Judgementby Slim & The Supreme Angels would come on the radio.

But lately, I’ve let the song play and listen to the sad lyrics over and over again, imagining those people that are gonna be…

“Running…crying…they gonna say ‘Please, Jesus, save this soul of mine…”

…and praying I’m not one of the preachers with 30,000 member churches or those who healed the sick and raised the dead in Jesus’ holy name that Jesus says, “Depart from me, I never knew you.”

The part that really gets me is the part where he talks about the babies saying, “Mommy, why’d you wash me down the drain?”

But I know that that doesn’t pertain to me; God has forgiven my sins and removed them as far away from the east is to the west.

So I can listen to “It’s Gonna Be Sad and the Judgement Bar” with impunity and pray we all make it to heaven before it’s too late…

Hide Me, a song by Rev. Bruce Parham, is one of those songs that sticks with you — an “oatmeal” song, as my bishop would call it.

The “Hide Me” lyrics (I notice those don’t include all the singing in tongues and “I’m tryin’ to move on but I feel Him in here…” ad-libbing that the Rev. does) are just what I need on days I forget I need to be hidden by God.

“He kept me hidden…he kept me hidden…”

“He saved me from my own silly self…because if He’d have let me do everything I wanted to do, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

I love it!

It sounds like an old gospel song, but it’s pretty current, compared to Mahalia Jackson or someone else.

I hope to buy the CD and see how the rest of the songs are…

John Miller’s Son Still Preachin’is the name of the CD that contains the song “Don’t You Wanna Be Saved?”

I even dug up and watched Da Minista singing his “Don’t You Wanna Be Saved?” song in this video…

I love the smooth nature of the song, I think of a minister I know and want to call him “Da Minista” when I see him.

Give these gospel artists some money to put out their videos more than Lil’ Wayne and ‘em…

I’ve been writing about the “Christ is All I Need” song off The New Era CD by Big City for some time now, and I’m glad to see the CD on Amazon at last.

The also have the MP3 version of “Christ is All I Need” off the MP3 album calledThe New Era, too, of course.

I love “Christ is All I Need,” track #15 off The New Era CD, with a bangin’ beat and bangin’ lyrics like:

Now prophesy: Who hit you?
Now prophesy: Who split you?

The “Bring It In” song by Knowledge MC off his The Book of Knowledge MP3 album is the bomb.

Love the lyrics:

Players, pimps, hustlers, thugs…
…shorties that strip for a living and cats that sling drug
Raise up!
Come as you are
Right where you are, hop off that bar
Ma, in God’s eyes ain’t no love lost
Carry your cross

Love the beat.

Love his flow.

Love it, love it, love it…

I’m seriously gonna go thru all these posts I’m writing and buy some of these songs that I jam to on XM 33 so that I can put them on my MP3 player and work out to them and get filled with that Good Word of God.

James Daniels’ song called “Oh How We Welcome You…(Holy Spirit, Oh how we welcome You in this place, yeah…)” off the We Need You Now CD, with its thumping house-music feel and bass sound is what caught my ear from the first few times I heard it.

Now whenever that thumping beat with powerful words “Fill this place, this empty space, fill this place, this empty space and we welcome You oh Lord…” comes on in the minivan, I usually blast it.

So Set Free is James Daniels’ new CD, but I don’t think I’ve heard any of the songs on it yet to know if it’s as bumping as the former CD, but I want to buy and burn that puppy or find the MP3 download (Amazon doesn’t have any listed) so I can work out to it.

The Shekinah Glory ministry has grabbed my Spirit ever since I first heard their song “Yes” — the last tracks on the second CD of their Live Shekinah Glory Ministry CD.

You can tell that the woman singing the lead in Yes was totally in the Spirit with these amazing lyrics:

Don’t be afraid of men and their faces, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid…

I’m calling you out of your dry places…

He’s calling you…

There is more that I require of thee…

This site has more Shekinah Glory Ministry lyrics.

And here is the Shekinah Glory Ministries official MySpace page with videos and songs and more…

I could go on and on about the Shekinah Glory Ministry. And their new song “Jesus” off the CD is wonderful, too.

I didn’t even know Shekinah Glory sang the “Praise Is What I Do” song, either.

We used to sing that all the time at church.

My purpose is to praise you…
My longing is to worship you…
My life’s desire is to live for you…

So I found the “Purpose” song, sung by young Spensha Baker.

What a beautiful song with such wisdom and strength coming from a youthful, poised lady.

“Despite of all my misery…I worship you…”

God bless her.

When I look at the life of Jesus and compare my life to Jesus’ I fall short…

Those are the lyrics to Flame’s So Sweet song, available for download here.

I’m so grateful for XM:33 The Spirit channel that lets us listen to great Christian rap and Gospel music all day.

And I like Flame’s “So Sweet” easy beat.

It’s seriously time to replace some of the music on my MP3 player with upbeat Christian songs I can run to on the treadmill that speak life and God’s positivity into my Spirit.

I love LaDelle Walker’s “Do You Know?” song and lyrics every time I hear them on XM: 33 The Spirit channel:

Do you know what you’re gonna do
When the rapture comes and you’re not there?

I especially like the part of LaDelle Walker’s “Do You Know?” song lyrics that pauses as you can hear gun shots and heavy breathing, then he asks:

Was it really a dream?
Deja Vu…

Then he ends with the straining and truthful:

Mama you were right, I’m gonna get my life together…

I love it! (The site says they are an XM request line page, so I went to this page with LaDelle Walker’s “Do You Know?” on it and requested them to play it. I hope it works…)
The only CD of LaDelle Walker’s “Do You Know….” I found on Amazon is this one of unknown quality.