The Sketchbook by Derrick W. Jackson

  Click Here to listen to today's Bible Study. Verses taught are 2 Chronicles 7: 12-17

  Click here to listen to the sermon.

You don't even know me so how will you judge me. You don't know the truth, you have only heard rumors and lies. The Bible says, "Judge Not lest you be judged." I don't need your approval to go on with my life. Only God can judge me. 

  You can learn a lot from other artists. I love looking at other people's work. I also like to study my own. What I did right and wrong when drawing a picture.

  This is an old family photo. My dad isn't in it because he was away in the army. My cousin Bruce Berry was in it. He is the second from the right standing next to my twin, Eric. I was not that much taller than Eric I think I was standing on something. Anyway, he ended up being taller than me. Starting with my mom (Betty) and going counterclockwise, my oldest brother Allen, my twin Eric, my cousin Bruce Berry, my second oldest brother Bernard, and then me, Derrick.

Rain rain go away come again another day. It's rained most of the day today probably because of  Hurricane Debby. It has already hit Florida and South Carolina. I guess it's making its way up the east coast.  

  This is my old house, 2985 Landington Way, Duluth, GA. (suburb of Atlanta) My dream is to become successful enough that I can buy it back. I had bought it in 2000 for $150,000. 

I can definitely relate to the message of this video. She sings, "What if my best days were the days I left behind." That verse rings so true with me. I was successful at a young age. After I graduated with a BS in computer science from Valdosta State, I got a great job working for the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington DC. Stayed there for five years then I moved back to Georgia. I stayed in Atlanta for about 4 years. I had bought a two-story house with a two-car garage, living room, family room, dining room, three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. I lost it when I got into trouble there. I wrote about this in the past so I won't go into it. But I've wondered was that the best for me. Will I ever get my own home again? Will I make over $70,000 again? Can I be successful with my own business? I believe I bounced back between art and IT because I did not want to let getting a MS and BS in computer science be in vain. All of this happened a long time ago. I've regre...

  My little dog, Dusty died back in July. On the 10th if I am not mistaken. I miss him so much. He was my good friend, Jon's dog. Actually, he was Jon's mother's dog. She passed away from covid. Jon brought Dusty home afterward. I have been renting a room from Jon since 2020. At the time Jon had started a shipping business. I was taking care of Dusty. At first Dusty stayed in his cage in the living room, and I would let him out when he had to go. Dusty was house-trained already so that was the good thing.  Anyway, Jon was so busy and was gone a lot so Dusty pretty much became my dog. When I got a new bed, he started sleeping under my bed. Jon told me his name was originally Dream but he was always sleeping under Jon's mom's bed so they started calling him Dusty. I would walk Dusty several times a day. Oh yeah, he was 15 years old.  I never thought he would be gone. He got sick and I had scheduled him for an appointment with the vet. He died the same day as the appoi...

  Life is precious. Freedom is priceless and I feel we sometimes take it for granted. Our ancestors fought and died for it. Being Black my ancestors were brought here as slaves. We have overcome so much. I know firsthand how important it is to make good decisions. No, I'm not perfect and in the past, I have found myself on the wrong side of the law. For a long time I was angry at the police and to be honest I held a grudge. There needs to be police reform. It seems like Black life isn't valued. But we need the police. We can't defund the police that won't solve the problem. Young Black men, if you are pulled over by the police you have to do everything they say. Give them respect and to be honest they should respect you as well. You can't argue with them, they have a gun and you don't know what that officer will do if the situation escalates.  Don't give them an excuse.