I thank God I have turned down speaking engagements. Everyone who offers you the mic 🎤🎙️ don’t care about your message. Some people just care about the crowd you are able to bring in because of your name. I know this from experience and God told me to stop accepting every invite to speak. Make no mistake about it. My name draws a crowd of friends, family, enemies and foes. God has given me the ability to say, “NO!” AND I DON’T MIND SAYING, “NO!” BECAUSE I AM NOT IN A POPULARITY CONTEST(.)

So, many people are literally in competition with others. Many people who are not in competition with others are judged and mocked by people who believe everything is a competition. Everything is not a competition with others. Understand, some of you have conjured up unrealistic competitors. I mean you have literally made people who God sent to help and bless you ❤️ as your competition.

So,many people want the mic 🎤🎙️. I don’t think you all know the pressure behind having the mic in front of a large crowd of active listeners. You must be very careful with the words you speak. God has given me the gift of public speaking, singing and dancing. I’m able to speak effectively under pressure as to where many people cannot. Allow me to give you a few examples; stating with some childhood memories.

Growing up I was in the spotlight. If I wasn’t on the basketball 🏀 court, I was doing track and field activities info front on crowds. If I wasn’t doing Girl Scout activities, I was choreographing a dance routine. If I wasn’t dancing I was singing in a choir at church or in the chorus a school. If I wasn’t studying for a spelling bee, I was speaking and organizing the 4 H Club (Honors Club) or Minority Scholars ( Literally all Minorities.)

As an adult, speaking engagements under pressure such as my own son Sidney Maurice Jackson Candlelight Vigil against Black on Black crime the day before I had to bury a child I gave birth to. My own dear mother’s funeral Kecille. You know, I must tell you all the truth.

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After I spoke at my son’s Candlelight Vigil and people listened. Others ministers and community leaders tried to take advantage of my gift. I don’t think you all understand what I’m saying. Different Pastors from different churches asked me to come speak and do conferences. After saying yes to one, the crowd turn out was amazing. But something happened which I see was God’s protection and I didn’t go on stage. God revealed to me that the people responsible for my son’s murder was in that church with guns. Now, understand the people who invited me have now lost multiple family members to Black on Black crime. The other Pastor and community leaders have suffered different ways. The people who tried to us my gift during the time I was vunerable have suffered. The people who watched me on the news. They thought since I was speaking out publicly to clear up the kids that were spoken about my son Sidney’s murder was an opportunity for me to be a spokes person for their organization.

Understand, those are not the only times I have spoken as an adult. But as an adult under pressure. I have been in the spotlight all my life. What you all are chasing after God introduced me to as a child. I didn’t chase after it as a child or as an adult. But, I turn down speaking engagements naturally because some people don’t care about you, it about what they can gain and those people are opportunitunist. Beware of opportunist. I pray this helped someone. Being in the spotlight is overrated. There is a certain standard you should have and maintain and too many people do not have standards and that a whole nother problem in itself.