Category Archives: Barack Obama

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I’m a Negro, He’s a Negro, Wouldn’t You Like to be a Negro too?

Hello World!!!

With all of the focus on the word “negro” this year from the 2010 Census to Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid’s description of President Obama as a “‘light-skinned’ African American with ‘no Negro dialect’ unless he wanted to have one,” I have started thinking about how black people refer to themselves. And how you choose to refer to yourself in spite of or because of how others refer to you.

Tiger Woods has famously referred to himself as “Cablinasian.” I wonder if he is now retreating in Cablinasia while all of this media fervor continues….We have had so many names in country… in no particular order, negroid, colored, Afro American and now African American…Radio host Glenn Beck has a problem with the term African American…Since my heritage is Jamaican and I was born in Kansas, I sometimes call myself a Jamerican…Since I’m a single black woman, some may think of me as doomed — let ABC ‘s “Nightline” tell it…

Above my race, heritage, and marital status, I refer to myself as a Christian…And as a Christian, I like to reflect on how Jesus, rather than the world, sees me…

Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 17:8

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37

I am black but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, Like the tents of Kedar, Like the curtains of Solomon. Song of Solomon 1:5 (If I were the writer of this verse, I would say black and lovely…) Song of Solomon 1:5

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36

As I have said before, I am no theologian. So if you know of some more verses, please comment and let me know what they are…

Any thoughts?

P.S. I love dreadlocks…to me, there is nothing to be dreaded about them….

Me...aside from the obligatory pimple or pimples I seem to always sport these days, I love this pic of me...fearfully and wonderfully made, yes indeed!

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Christmas Just Ain’t Christmas Without the One You Love…

Hello World!!!

On the day after tomorrow, Christmas, once again, will be here…Although it is the busiest time of the year, it is still the most wonderful time of the year…In spite of all of the commercialism, for those of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ, it is a time to remember Emmanuel which means “God with us.” This is the time that Christians remember that God so loved the world that He sent us His son who was born as a baby. That baby, Jesus Christ, was born to die for our sins. And now because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we have fellowship with the Father. God is with us.  For the Christmas story in detail, please read Luke 2.

But what are we to do when the ones we love are not with us on Christmas?

This month, I have known of two people who died…A friend of mine died without warning a couple of weeks ago…I was stunned because we communicated via e-mail just days before she died…In her e-mail, she was telling me how she was planning to prepare for Christmas and now she is gone…It’s amazing that someone with so much life and influence could literally be here today and gone tomorrow…Another friend of mine lost a loved one a week or so ago too…I hope it is comforting for these families to know that our loved ones are now with the Father…but aside from all of that ethereal knowledge, I’m reasonably sure that it just plain sucks to not have them right there with them…

I have tried to offer comforting words to those I know who have lost loved ones this month, but I imagine there is nothing I can say that will truly comfort them…But what I can do is cherish my loved ones as I now realize they may not be here next Christmas…I was talking with my mom last night on the telephone, and she was kind of getting on my nerves as she often does…but as I type these words, I’m glad that I have her, my father, my brothers and a host of other family members and friends…

If you are anything like me, it is easy to focus on what you don’t have at this time of the year…but I am finding out if we are not thankful for what we have, what we have may just be taken away from us…In fact, I recently had to sit down and write a gratitude list just to remind myself of my blessings…

It’s funny sometimes the things we think we do for other people are really for us…This is what I mean…I teach fitness classes at a gym…The truth is that much of the time I would rather be curled up sleeping in my warm bed rather than working out…but because I teach fitness, I have to work out…I began this blog as a way to minister to others, but mostly I have ministered to myself….

Anyway, I digress…if you have your loved ones around you at Christmas, consider yourself blessed…And pray for the families who have lost loved ones…especially at this time of the year…

Any thoughts?

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Someday We’ll All Be Free…

Hello World!!!

It’s been a minute since I hollered at you but my life is a little overwhelming right now so forgive me if I don’t post as reguarly as I want to post…

So as you know, yesterday our country celebrated the anniversary of our freedom…sometimes I take it for granted but freedom is really priceless…Yesterday, as I was running the Peachtree Road Race, a beloved Atlanta tradition, I felt free as my legs sliced through the heat and the crowds as I trekked on the 6.2 mile-course (yes, I am giving myself some dap…)I felt some sadness as I ran up what is known as “Cardiac Hill” on which the Shepherd Spinal Center is located. Many of its inhabitants, in their wheelchairs, lined the streets and watched as the runners and walkers passed by. I wondered, as the some 50,000 passed by them, if they longed for the freedom of those whose legs were able to walk and run. I tried to look into their eyes as I passed them, but I had to focus on making it up the hill. I did manage to cheer as I ran by – the best way I could figure at the time to show them support…

As I get updated every day about every nook and cranny of Michael Jackson’s life and death over the last week or so, I have tried to imagine how the King of Pop felt over the course of his lifetime. It’s no secret that he longed for the freedom of a healthy childhood…And with all of this media coverage, I wonder if he longed to be free of his fame…Don’t get me wrong. Now, I’m sure that MJ enjoyed the lavish lifestyle that his fame provided for him – Neverland Ranch is a prime example – but his sequestering of himself in Dubai demonstrates the underbelly of fame…It’s obvious  now there is almost no where in the world MJ could go to get away from the attention, scrutiny and judgment…

Last month, a friend of mine e-mailed a “Happy Juneteenth” message to a few of my friends and me. Another one of us e-mailed us back stating, “We’s Be Free!”  With a simple and instantaneous click of the word “send, ” we got the message…I laughed but I’m sure that it was no laughing matter at the time…I cannot imagine working under the tyranny that was slavery at all…but when you think that many slaves worked months after they were declared free…I’d like to think that somehow, some way those slaves – particularly those that built the White House – realized that our nation has finally elected a black president…

Jesus Christ invoked the principle of freedom many times throughout the Word…

 

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
   He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see,
   that the oppressed will be set free, 19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” Luke 4:18-19

31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”…  34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. John 8:31-32, 34-36

1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

Today, I’m thankful that God has allowed me the freedom of health…I have the freedom to run road races…

Today, I’m thankful that God enabled me to have a wonderful childhood…my parents, though not perfect, provided me the freedom to evolve at my own pace…

Today, though I hate that my people were ever enslaved and don’t always approve of our domestic or foreign policies, I’m thankful for the freedom that we enjoy as American citizens…I can come and go as I please and I can tell others where to go when they get on my nerves 🙂

But most of all, I am thankful that I experience the freedom of Jesus Christ – although I have never seen Him with my physical eyes, I sense His presence nearly all the time and trust that He is guiding me every moment of every day…

Yes, freedom is so precious that many songs have been written about it…One of my favorite “freedom” songs  is Donny Hathaway’s “Someday We’ll All Be Free.” I couldn’t find an appropriate video of this Hathaway classic so I decided to post Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” – also a classic “freedom” song. What are you free from today? What do you have the freedom to celebrate today? What does freedom mean to you…

Any thoughts?

P.S. I guess Sarah Palin is free to quit her position as governor of Alaska…I wonder what she feels free to do next…Lord, help us…