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This from a conversation between PureJewel and Lil Cash Money on our message boards…it bears repeating…

PureJewel: I myself have been in tha streetz! I want to ask you how can someone like me help out? reach out and meet needs? I’ve been were u r at in life… I may not b in the streetz no more but I want to start a ministry to walk with g’s in their lives. I see that u would be real wit me here. I would like to hear ur heart more, and hear what u think would be helpful. What is it that you want to see the church do specifically? What is it that would be effective? I’m askin you cuz I am seeking ways to reach out…I want to provide a safe place for gangs and thugs to meet they needs.

Lil Cash Money: wut u can do most iz help ppl wit advice when dey need it…advice bout God n da streetz…datz suffin many need n few get….

i dont think u been where i been in life tho, real talk, no 2 ppl have been thru da same ish, mayb similar, but never da same…

wut i wanna c iz church memberz goin out in da streetz n tellin ppl bout God n usin da $$$ dey collect 2 actually help ppl instead of takin vacationz wit da $$$ dey ask us 2 give…dat ish disgust me…real talk….

i wanna c ppl from da churchez out in da hood feedin da hungry n tellin dem bout God n givin dem hope instead of only caterin 2 ppl who got $$$ so dey can get it or ppl who livin rite…n i wanna c ppl from da churchez helpin da youth n showin dem guidance n God n showin dem dat dey can make it out da streetz n rise above da negativity n poverty dat dey live in..no1 helped me find God or told me wut i wuz doin wuz wrong or helped me change my life, i learned from my own mistakez…da only 1 dat helped me wuz God!!..real talk!!…

i wish i had sum1 from da streetz who changed der life n found God dat kud help me wit advice when i needed it, sum1 who been thru 1/2 da ish i have n iz 16, sum1 who lost every1 dey kno 2 da streetz n livez in poverty n iz surrounded by sin n temptation, but still rises above dat ish n changez his life n findz God…sum1 who has no family n every1 he kno iz either lockd up or dead….but da only 1 had 2 talk 2 n help me wuz God…datz suffin i wud like 2 c change…not 4 me, 4 otherz, so dey dont have 2 go down da path i went down n lose every1 dey kno 2 da streetz…

wut we can do iz reach out 2 dem n tell dem 2 learn from r mistakez so dey aint gutta learn from der own, cuz den it mite b 2 late, we need 2 save dem y dey still free n not lockd doin doin life or in da hospital bout 2 die….if we dont do it, no1 else will…da gov kud give a **** less if me or u wake up 2mor or wut we do in life…datz y many dont have hope…

a street ministry wud b good if itz effective n bringz ppl closer 2 God…i seen many where da homeless ppl only kum 4 free food n dont kare bout God or help, or ppl dat kum n say dey believe in God n listen 2 da preachin, den leave n go rite bak 2 doin crime n usin/slangin d’z, datz y we cant walk away or give up on ppl who doubt or dunno God, we need 2 stay persistant n make sure every1 in der has der needz fufilled…we cant let ppl who blind keep walkin in da wrong direction, we need 2 guide dem n show dem God n dat he has a purpose n plan 4 der livez…

i really dig wut u doin bo$$, n if i can help in neway juz get @ me…

100

-LCM

This from Gang War – Steve Nawojczyk’s You Tube Channel. The story follows a young boy from 14 to 18 and then again at 33.

I happened across a USA Today ‘Top 50’ Best Seller
Books list a few months back. After scanning some of
the current favorites, it was the cache of books that
were ‘below ‘ the Top 50 radar that caught my
attention…some of them were ‘old friends’ from my
junior high and high school days.

In pausing to reflect upon these past favorites, I
made a few realizations.

We have popular books, music and culture that insults
and enslaves, and:

We have a society anxiously pushing the church and
the Bible into silence.

In further checking this list, I noted that there
were more than a few ‘snack food’ books. There were
woeful few books to challenge, uplift, or encourage
men.

In short, many of the books I saw majored in
fearfulness over courage.

I have been becoming more aware of the lack of fewer
and fewer people coming along who are not featured in
the mainstream press (MSM) speaking out against the
ills of our modern day. As a matter of fact, there
are fewer and fewer men being raised up to do battle
with the intellectual and spiritual forces of evil.
We have folk who are more interested in taking less
responsibility, and pushing the boundaries of victim
hood as far as they can.

Then, in a local bookstore, I happened across a book
entitled “Talks My Father Never Had With Me: Helping
the Young Black Male make it to Adulthood.” by Rev.
Harold Davis. The format of the book was simple, the
message powerful, and the delivery encouraging and
FEARLESS. The book had originally published in 1995.

You know I had to track down Dr. Davis and find out
how men can get their voices back in a society not
only hooked upon fear, but intent to create a new
generation of ‘fear junkies’ out of young men, thanks
to the ‘smoke and mirrors’ philosophy of modern
feminism.

Buckle up brothers. If you have ever had dream that
you have wanted to ‘go for’, Dr. Davis provides hope
and help for you to blast your fears into rubble, and
do what you have been created to do: Being fear-less,
instead of fear-addicted!

RISE OF KJAC PUBLISHING–ONE MAN AND ONE BOOK:

In our day of program after program, and book after
book for this affliction and that problem, Davis’
writings are a refreshing standout. While many
authors seek to write books for thousands, (and even
Christian authors have shunned KJV scripture for one
of the PC modern versions), Davis sought to write a
book for a man in need of biblical teaching. “IF I
can get my book to help ONE man,” said Davis in our
telephone interview, “then I have done what the Lord
has blessed me to do.”

David knew that he faced an uphill struggle to
getting his books in print. Thus, he founded the
Illinois-based KJAC Publishing, formed out of the
first letters of the first names of his four children.
He and his wife have been having a good laugh on
other publishing houses ever since. “The church needs
to rise up like never before,” said Davis, “and it is
because it (the church) has become (so) female
dominated that Black men have not been interested, nor
attending church.”

“Talks My Father Never Had With Me” , is divided into
seven sections with a total of 28 chapters. Each
chapter has plenty of opportunity to highlight
important points with a self-assessment test or quiz
at the end, plus the book has a section at the end of
its 236 pages for notes and observations.

“There is a lot of confusion among some young men
today because of their being raised in a single parent
(environment),” said Davis. “In order to get the
attention of these young men, older brothers will have
to (lovingly) challenge them and be wise in talking
with them about the issues of manhood.”

While this is not his first book, it has become a
sought-after classic. It has spawned some sequels,
one of them written by his wife, aimed at the need for
women to address the issue of womanhood with their
daughters and young women in their neighborhoods.

MEANWHILE, IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS:

Davis has expanded his teaching reach into his local
community. He has written and coordinated a mentoring
curriculum that has been used in the Champaign County,
Illinois school system. He has coordinated and helped
to inspire, fire, and train more than 100 mentors in
21 different schools. “Everybody want ‘in’ to the
public schools, but church men are not (really)
involved in the public schools in numbers they should
be.” Davis noted. “While I had to re-write and
expand the ‘Talks’ book to include all young men, and
put the principles of scripture into a more visible
manner, it is still the same timeless work attempting
to address the issues of young men and the need for
true manhood.”

Some of the highlights from the ‘Talks’ book center
upon race relations, the twin terrors of gangs and
drugs, the need for sexual responsibility by young
men, the dangers of homosexuality, and one entire
chapter dedicated to the issue of fear and how–if not
acted upon–will cripple or kill the dreams of many a
young man.

“I tend to write in a timeless manner,” Davis noted,
while attempting to encourage future writers and
publishers. “When I write a book, I put my heart into
it and ask the Lord to have it reach those to whom is
it needed. He’s never failed to amaze me with the
number of readers who have been blessed by what I’ve
had to say.” By the way KJAC Publishing has its own
website (www.kjac-publishing.com), and can be reached
at P. O. Box 111, Champaign, Illinois, 61824. The
website has six books pictured on the site.

What’s next for Davis? To encourage the older
members of the brotherhood, in June 2005 his latest
work hit the streets, entitled “Can I Call You
Solider?” This book is a 96 page shot in the arm,
aimed at helping to build stronger, older men to help
mentor those me in the church and society who may be
drifting away from strong, traditional roots. It is
intended to be a primer to get discussions started.

What are YOUR dream brothers? It may be time to
blast the fear in your OWN life to make it happen.
Why be fear-addicted when you can be blast the
obstacles out of the way and put some traction on your
actions and bring them to those who may be in need?
Davis, among others, will be cheering you up the road
of your success!

MIKE RAMEY is the author of THE MANHOOD LINE. A
monthly column written for men from a biblical,
business, and common sense perspective. This column
appears on fine websites around the world. Email,
Bmail, and Pmail welcomed to the following:
manhoodline@yahoo.com. ©2005 Mike Ramey/Barnstorm
Communications International.

My people are hurting
children turned to monsters,
Northern Cali livin where 9 year old kids curse like mobsters.
Politicians cant figure out the reason
for all the drugs violence and hate,
but I alone know the answer to why all that seems their fate.
Ask them about their childhhood
and theyll become distant and blank,
some clutch 9’s with their lil hands
while watching their young mothers snort up crank.
Ask the lil cholas
why they settle for men who use their fists
and youll hear a story of a baby raped, at the tender age of six.
Little boys protecting their mothers from drunk inked up  men
lil girls watching their older brothers sent off to the pin
Damnt dont yall see, it starts at home
broken and battred women, feeling safe by a cholos chrome.
Then having kids to young,
resenting their lost youth
the mothers take off
leavin the oldest kid to raise the other two.
I know a girl whos mother sold her tiny body
for a bit of cheap dope
to the same men who slept with her
and lived all in her home.
It sickens me, the rate that dehumanization is quickening
upper class fight over allowance
always havin but steady bickering.
While a kid across town
is lettin the homies pull a train
cuz she needs protection from them in this wicked terrain.
Wheres the parents? Some cant be found. Out tryin to ease the pain
that their parents handed down.
The cycle has to be broken
someone has to care
for these orphaned ghetto children
thinking normality is despair.

Dana

This is not a way of life
I came from a very close knit family.I am an only child,so it was always just me, my mom and my dad.My father was an alcoholic or another term a functioning drunk.I grew up in a neighborhood that was low class and was known as gang territory.My grandparents were Pachuco’s, so I grew up knowing about the life.My father was mexican and my mother is white.

In school I gained a lot of popularity because I had blond hair and blue eyes,but I’m Latin and speak spanish.I started “just hanging” around gang members when I was 8 years old.I quickly started feeling like a little family,which I was not feeling at home,so that felt real good.By the age of 10 I went to my first party with gang members.I liked how much fun I was having hanging out with my new “family” and in the mean while telling my parents I was with friends from school.

At the age of 11 I got jumped into the gang.I was jumped for 2 minutes by four 16 year old guys from my gang.At the age of 11,I took one hell of a beating.I told my mom that I got in a fight at school.So now I was in the gang.”What does that really mean?” I thought that night.All fun and parties all the time?Feeling accepted and wanted all the time?People not hurting me anymore because I now have new respect?

Boy was I WRONG!At the age of 12 I did my first drive by.Here I am as scared as can be in a car full of gang members (like me)going to do a drive by.That same year I had 5 homeboys die.Thats when my grades in school started going down.My mom would ask what was going on with me.I kept explaining nothing.I was an undercover gang member to my parents.I blinded them with this good girlie act.My mom would say that I was dressing and looking like a “chola.”I kept reassuring her that I was just dressing like one,cause I like the style.My parents didn’t want to admit that there little girl could be in a gang.

When I was 14 years old I was stabbed in the leg by a rival gang.So I thought thats all right because I “took one” for my neighborhood…(yeah right!)I used to kick back in my neighborhood drinking 40’s of beer and smoking weed.Thought that was the life.All my friends were getting pregnant and having kids at 11,12,13 etc…By the time I was 18 years old I had 7 miscarriages.I can’t tell you how many time I heard the words “Oh baby I love you,Its me and you forever.” I swear I thought every guy I was with was the one and it was going to last forever.I learned real quick Guys will tell you ANYTHING to get what they want.I had my closest homegirls sleep with my man behind my back.(Good friends huh?)

By the time I was 18 I had lost 46 friends to gang violence.Thats one hell of alot of funerals to go to and alot of innocent families to look into there eyes and say sorry,when down deep inside they are cussing you out because they feel that you are just some gang member that helped him get in that casket.As the the casket is lowered in the ground all your homies are talking about revenge.When I was 19 I was cruising with my homies.There was six of us in the car.Four guys and two girls.I was sitting in the front in between two guys.We were at a stop light.A rival gang drove up on us and shot at us.The guy that was driving was hit in the head and the bullet came out the other side of his head and ricocheted of my head.His brains were splattered all over me.Knowing that one of my closest friends had just died and I had his brains on me I was rushed to the hospital.Thank GOD I was alright.That was another funeral and another loss.

After that I was shot at about a dozen times more.Then when I was 20 I was arrested for homicide.I had no idea what the police were talking about.I sat in a cell thinking after all these years of doing bad that I was getting busted for something I really had no idea about.By the Grace of God,they found out that they had the wrong person.I was never so scared in my life.I thought being stabbed and shot that was bad.I even thought having all these tatoo’s all over my body was bad or the fact that I could have died,but going to jail for something I didn’t do for the rest of my life.So I prayed and prayed.The Lord heard my prayers.After that I thought I owe this to God that I am alive.I owe it to myself and my loved ones to stay alive.

At 21 I decided that I had enough.So one night I was kicking back in my neighborhood.There was about 50 of us that night.I told them I wanted out.I said if you want to jump me out then thats fine,but I want out.I went and talk to one of the Veteranos (older homeboys).They said “You did yours for the neighborhood and you can just walk out with respect because we have repsect for you.”As I was getting ready to leave and saying bye to everyone,knowing that I was still going to see everyone here and there just not kick it anymore.The police rolled up and I thought “I guess one last time.”So there I was on the floor, on my knees, hands behind my head and an officer behind me with a 12 gauge shot gun to the back of my head.After checking everything out they were letting us all go.

These cops who ran the gang unit knew be by name.That night I told them that I was out of the scene.They congratulated and even gave me hugs.Then asked if I needed a ride home.That was the first time I was in a police car without hand cuffs on.My father died that year.I have since became close with my mother and told her all about my undercover life that her and my father only feared but didn’t know about.I think of all the sleepless nights I kept my mother awake wondering if I was dead or alive.I think of all the years I probably took off my mothers life stressing over me.I think HOW could I have done this to her.My mother,my real family.

I saw alot of friends die for my neighborhood,but what does a neighborhood do for you?

You claim a street or hood that you will NEVER own.You pay rent for a neighborhood that will NEVER be yours.I think now about all the funerals where everyone said they would die for there homie,but you know I never seen anyone jump on the casket and go in the ditch with them.When you take a life or have one taken from you,it affects more then just you.There are people that love and will miss and grieve too.Its affects EVERYONE around you.What people don’t understand is that once a life is gone…thats it!NO second chance!Life is only one time.

If you are a gang member PLEASE take it from me there is a REAL life out there.You just have to be strong enough to take a chance and walk away before it is too late.Life is too short anyways…then to let be even shortened by doing time in prison or being dead.If you live a real Gangsters life that is the only two ways out, prison or death.There are so many other things out there in life for you.

If you don’t care enough about yourselves to get out STOP being SELFISH and think about all the loved ones you will leave behind.How will they handle life without a husband,wife,brother,sister,daughter,son,mother, father.Pictures,memories and a cemetary is all they will have left.PLEASE think about it!!!

I am a 14teen year old Gangster Disciple from New Orleans, and I feel like I am ready to die. Not that I am suicidal,Im not, but I feel like an old woman. I have been shot three times, stabbed four. Seen my daddy go to prison, my mom leave me, brothers die. JUst a child, with perminant tears. Jaded with no will to go on. Listen to my story. I was born into a family with a mom addicted to heroine, no dad. 3 brothers, all at least 8 years older, and in sets. When I was five, my oldest brother died from Ecstacy. Mama went crazy around that time. She left us, so my brothers took care of me. We had to move out of the house. We started to live in my brother Dre’s car.

I was almost always alone, and I was always scared. Sometimes my youngest brother DD would sing to me, and tell me it would get better. I never believed him, By the age of 9 I knew what was up. I started to run dope for my brothers around town. One night after curfiew a cop pulled me over because I was so young. He searched me and found a fourth of weed and a key load of coke. I was sentenced to 13 months in juvi when I was eleven. I got out after 9 months and turned bad ass.

I walked the line into being a GD. I started to hang wit boyz that were 17 and 18, they would fuck wit me, slap me around. By the time i was 13 I walked the streets a little and hussled everyday. I was slangin so serious dough, snortin some bad shit. I was moved in wit my bro DD, an it was all gon turn out i felt great all numb, I had been stabbed two times and shot once, but i was still cool.

One night on one of the pointless fights, I got too into it to notice that Everyone else was running. They had pulled their guns and i was retaliating. Dre came back for me, and was shot. Dre died that night to save me. After this, I got more into the gang life. I got shot two more times and raped more then i want to talk about. Thats what it took for me to stop.

Now all I am is a young teenager with multiple scars, inside and out. Wearing my black rag in mourning, I think how long can this go on. So young and seen things I hope no one else ever has to. So all those politicians ask, why do we do what we do? why do we cry? Thats why, thats me. I ask, Why do i have to walk around strapped, why do I have to see the things I do? I think you would cry too.

SoMuchPain

There are many cleverly devised myths about who Jesus is and what he did. Jesus is the good teacher, and the Bible tells us all about him. We should trust the Bible, its eyewitness authors, and its divine inspiration.

Happened across this and was really feeling this tune:

In a couple of weeks on the calender it would mark the deaths of some close friends and I want to dedicate this song on this you tube link to them. I want to dedicate this to all of you on the gangstyle forums, whoever you are, where ever you are. Most of all to all the people I had to leave behind. I love and miss all of you. It might sound cheesy but my homie said it best ” I say one love, I’ll remember the laughs until we cross paths”

In a couple of weeks on the calender it would mark the deaths of some close friends and I want to dedicate this song on this you tube link to them. I want to dedicate this to all of you on the gangstyle forums, whoever you are, where ever you are. Most of all to all the people I had to leave behind. I love and miss all of you. It might sound cheesy but my homie said it best ” I say one love, I’ll remember the laughs until we cross paths”