Chapter 6 – Ready, Aim, Fire
Workbook – Pondering Questions
Textbook: Created2Produce – Your Turning Point to Destiny by By Dr. Cassandra Scott
Instructions:
Please read the Chapter first and then answer the questions. Post your answers below by the requested due date. Feel free to reply to comments posted by your BYB co-partners and share your thoughts.
What was your natural upbringing like?
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Angie Young On March 2, 2022 at 10:46 pm
I grew up in a loving home Both of my parents worked during the week and therefore, we had babysitters. until I became a teenager My mother made sure we had a strong Christian foundation. All of my siblings and I attended Catholic school but transferred to public school during our high school years My mother encouraged all of her children to pursue a college education and we all did Although my mother was the disciplinarian in the family, we were able to participate in school and church activities. I think my childhood was good for the most part The neighborhood kids would tease me often and called me “the little Catholic girl”. I was very disturbed about the teasing but was able to navigate through it without scars. My maternal grandmother came to live with us when I was 13 years old and she saved us from a lot of spankings. She was the heartbeat of the family.
Gloria Johnson On August 14, 2021 at 11:25 am
What was your natural upbringing like?
• Church, work, school, and occasional fun
Carmen Hebert On July 26, 2021 at 2:32 pm
The earliest I can remember is 5 years old. I was living with my uncle (my dad’s brother) and his wife. I would visit my parents from time-to-time. I remember always being excite to see my older sister. We would go to church EVERY Sunday, without fail. I never remember “not” going to church. Sunday school, 11 o”clock service, 3 o’clock service, and sometimes 6 o’clock service (BTU and Testimony Service).
But I also remember going in The Bottom where the beer joints were. At 9 years old my dad’s former wife and her husband build a venue to hold concerts (they called them Dances back in the day). I saw all sorts of Black Music Artist there (Jackie Wilson, Ike & Tina Turner, BB King, Bobby Bland, Millie Jackson, Delfonics, Chilites, Betty Writght) and I could go on and name lots more. I even say female impersonator balls and male dancers. One time Rudy Ray Moore was there. No you know that I didn’t have any business at that show!!! This was a weekly thing. My dad’s former mother-in-love was the cook and also cooked during the week. LaPorte is one of the largest shipping container containers; over land and sea. So the business was booming in the restaurant business also.
Dad’s brother & wife owned beer joint and it was next door to their house. Our house was next door to them. But when I was 7 years old I moved back home with my parents. I don’t recall being in the bottom up to 7 years old. My memory begins after moving home with my parents, But they always went to church; even on days other than Sunday, to other churches and programs. My dad could sing and he they had a singing group that went from town to town locally. He sang right up to the dime he transitioned; peacefully laid back and died with a large smile on his face.
When I was about 14 or 15 years old was when my parents stopped going to The Bottom, completely. As I grew older is when I realized that they had totally surrendered their life to the core of The Father, The Son, and Holy Spirit. But they did not stop me and my sister from going. I continue partying and clubbing Wednesday through Sunday; and found something to do on Monday and Tuesday. I began smoking cigarettes at age 9 and begin smoking weed at age 15. I progress to snorting cocaine, popping all sorts of pills. I even did some acid once. I remember drinking all of my life up until I quit drugs and alcohol in July 1995 at age 39. Today I am age 65. I quit smoking cigarettes March 1996.
I was very promiscuous. I have been married 4 times and I am currently single. I was going to church faithfully while doing all of this up to about 1 year after I began to smoke crack (I smoked for 3 years). I have been clean since 195 and I have been saved since 1996 but the process to totally surrounding and becoming abstinent took 10 years.
There is so much I could say (I plan to write a book); but today I an souled out to the care of my Heavenly Father. I thank Him for sacrificing His Son, Jesus Christ, and I praise and glorify Him for the Comforter, Holy Spirit. I just now, this weekend, came to a better understand on the Trinity. My understand began when I read the book “The Shack” and saw the movie. “Very good” explanation; but The School of Holy Spirit” with Bishop Corletta Vaughn was “AWESOME”!!!
Tera Alexander On July 18, 2021 at 4:51 pm
I grew up the baby of 4 children that my mom and dad had. I remembered being with my grandmom (Mom’s mom) alot – Grandma Grace. Loved her so much she would always play with my friends and I. My mom was always home when it was time for us to go to school and she was home when we came from school. I was very spoiled by my parents and my two brothers. I don’t remember doing alot of family things together except with my brother.There is a big gap in our ages: my oldest brother was 17 years older than me, then 10 years for my other brother and 8 years my sister.
I was molested by one of my family members and a neighbor whom my family would never believe me if I ever told them so this is something I have to carry to my grave. This I believe was the start of me using food as my comfort to not gain attention to myself. Every summer we would go on a family vacation to Virginia to see my grandparents (dad’s mom and dad) loved to go see my grandpop he let me help him in the garden and can stuff. My grandmother was mean beacuse she always talked about me being fat and chubby. Her house she had strict rules no sitting on the bed for beds are made to sleep on. So in front of each bed was a chair for you to sit in to get dress, etc… You had to be at dinner at a certain if you wanted to eat. Our family didn’t do a lot of hugging only on my mom’s uncle’s side. I didn’t experience or know if any bad times we may have had. I had fun but feel I miss being close to my siblings despite our ages. In my immediate family their wasn’t alot of hugs and affection but it was uinderstood that we loved one another. I was also teased when for being fat when I got to High School they called me “Hey Kool-Aid” “I have had some scars but I am healed!”
Patricia Grimes Jones On July 18, 2021 at 4:25 pm
What was your natural upbringing like? My natural upbringing was that you had to learn how to fend for yourself. because my mother was always gone out of the home doing her. And my older siblings were left to take care of the young ones but my older brother and sister would wait for our mom to leave and then they would too until one day they got caught leaving use.
Victoria Caldwell On July 18, 2021 at 12:36 pm
I was a loner as a kid although my sister and I were 1 year apart. So I spent a lot of time entertaining my self creatively and reading was something I consumed myself with as well. My adopted family taught me the basics hygiene, chores, education and definitely consequences. I was able to be alone as long as I didn’t get myself in any trouble. My Foster parents had a younger daughter who they gave all of their attention she was the “miracle baby”.
Lisa Weatherspoon On July 16, 2021 at 12:17 am
I grew up the fourth of five children (3 girls & 2 boys). I was five years older than my little sister and three and a half years younger than the brother above me. My daddy worked in construction and I did not learn that my dad couldn’t read or write until I was in high school. Well, how was I to know when he had a keen sense of directions and knew the names of every street we drove down, telling us that he dug all that up for the pipes to be laid. Not to mention that he was good with money, no one could cheat him out of a dime. My mom cleaned other people houses. I didn’t see and think anything of it until I started junior high school, then I was embarrassed by it. But why, we never wanted for nothing, they treated her like family and most still keep in touch with her today. We woke up to a hot breakfast every morning. They taught us to look out for each other (when one fought we all fought), to respect our elders, be polite; it don’t hurt to speak. We had to be in before the street lights go out. And my mother took us to church every Sunday. At least my little sister and I. My dad would drop us off because my mom didn’t drive and we would walk back or someone from the church would drop us off. For the most part, I had a good childhood. However, I started to feel like I was living in the shadow of my little sister. My mom use to dress us a like (same outfits, different colors) until I got brave enough to tell her that I didn’t like to be dressed like her, since she got all the compliments and I didn’t. She had the coke bottle shape and I was skinny when skinny wasn’t popular . I was told I was going to get pregnant before I was 16 because I had a lot of male friends. I was called the B word and told that I would never amount to nothing by my own brother, just because I used to get high. All of which damaged my self esteem. I hid behind laughter and baseball. I must also add that my mother was my biggest supporter and encourager, while my dad was my biggest fan. He would come to my games and stand outside the fence and cheer me on. Most of the time I didn’t even know he was there until I got home and he told me that I had a good game. I got the love of baseball from my dad. He use to call the games (umpire) for a men’s league on Sunday and take us to the games. They shaped my character and my moral values and for that I’m forever grateful.
Lola Norris On July 13, 2021 at 9:35 am
Amen?
Lola Norris On July 13, 2021 at 9:25 am
My mother and father were divorced, but God allowed my to have 2 great fathers, In my life. My mother was the mother of 7 living children, so I had to wear hand me downs, she was on welfare foodstamps, I lived in Houston Texas and in the Summer we would visit my dad which I truly enjoyed because he had me spoiled, I was his only girl at the time, but there was time we went and visited my mom’s mother who had her picks and she was mean to my mom children except one my eldest sister, I would always hear for a very long time my mom was the black sheep of the bunch and I would always see my mom try her best to fit in and love her mom, my granny would call us Bastards, I don’t know why my mother and father was legally married. I truly hated going to visit her, because she treated me and my brothers like we wasn’t nothing or apart of her.
We didn’t have much but we loved one another and our love was strong, maybe because my mom struggled to maintain for us and couldn’t give as much as to her mom as her other children could do for her.
Dr. Merle Ray On July 13, 2021 at 9:32 am
“We didn’t have much but we loved one another and our love was strong…“ Lola, such a beautiful reflection. Sounds like I hear your saying a powerful love came through even that natural upbringing…