It is truly my great honor to be presenting the Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award to my mother and hero, Julia English Boggs, better known as “Momee”.

 

This Lifetime Achievement Award is rare and special – yet, paradoxically, it has no financial value whatsoever. This award is rare because it recognizes someone who has dedicated themselves to a lifetime of prayer, of discipleship and being a lifelong demonstration of what God has called us be, a servant of others.

 

Momee is a retired housekeeper and caretaker of so many families around the Mobile area.

And as you witness her genuine presence and overflowing love for all – she is a true descendent from royalty.  Momee is and has been a true “rock” for the entire family and has exemplified every attribute set forth in Galatians 5:22-24.  She has shown love to everyone she meets; she has brought joy from her words of encouragement; she has taught her family how to find peace in the midst of our trials and tribulations; she has lived a life of longsuffering, even when friends and family were trying to make her just give up or even think that she was loosing her mind; she has always extended gentleness even during the times she has had to rebuke us and help get us back on the right path; she has shown goodness in making herself available at all times to help others; she has kept the  faith by relying on God to shield, protect and keep her family from generation to generation. Protecting us from dangers seen and unseen; she has demonstrated meekness during some very tough times in her life; and she is the epitome of temperance, aligning her thoughts with the thoughts of Christ.  

 

Those that know her, know that she is a true ambassador for Christ, and there is no stopping her when it comes to serving God.

 

Because of Momee dedicating and living her life for Christ, she has managed to store up prayers and a shield of protection over her entire family and her friends, and I quote, “that will last long after she is gone from this earth.”

 

So how did we get here? On January 27, 1908, George English, Sr. married Queen Ann Honeycutt in Selma, Alabama. George and Queen vowed they would raise their family based on religion, morals, and principles.  It was at this time they decided to pray everyday together at 5:00AM making it the first thing they did when they woke up.

 

George and Queen would go on to have sixteen kids, all of whom accepted Christ in their life at an early age and were baptized. Praying together was a way of the family’s life for the eight boys and eight girls. This way of life lead them to be leaders in their community; two boys became pastors, five deacons, and a teacher, who would become the treasurer for fifty years at the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Selma, Alabama.

 

On June 29, 1929, the second youngest of the sixteen kids, Julia, was born.  She was taught to pray as early as two years old. In 1947, Julia English married Theodore Boggs and moved to Mobile, Alabama on March 7, 1951.  Theodore and Julia would go on to have four kids: Irene, Theodore, Jr., Queen, and David. After settling down with her new family and a new location, Julia met two new friends in Mrs. Geniece Jones and Kathy Peters. Julia introduced them to the power of daily payer and on October 7, 1965, due to hundreds of documented answered prayers, this group would be forever called The Prayer Warriors. This tradition would last for 65 years.

 

Although she is the last of The Prayer Warriors, she has not ceased in her duty in praying for others daily at 5am and sometimes all through the night, being a mentor, and showing those new in the faith how to pray, how to hear from God and how to recognize what keeps them from hearing from God. She has not ceased in teaching others how to have true unwavering faith. One of her many powerful quotes is “Man may say, but God decides!”