Category Archives: Miscellaneous

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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…

 

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Check-In: God Has Got Our Back

Hello World!!!

As of tomorrow, the month of June begins. Can you believe that 2009 is almost half over? I can’t! It seems like just yesterday that I was pondering my goals and dreams for the new year…So how are you doing on your goals and dreams for 2009? My spiritual community and I have a phrase that we use to determine how one another is doing. That phrase is “checking in.” You can “check in” with yourself and with other people.

For the purposes of this blog, I will share some of the “checking in” I have done with myself over the last week.  One of my goals for the new year was to start saving money consistently. Wonders of wonders, I have actually been saving! As I take out my tithe out of my paycheck, I also subtract my savings…My savings account isn’t huge, but it is growing. I also wanted to take a finances class or seminar to learn more about finances and become financially healthy. Well, I am proud to say that I now have a financial coach. So I am on track in that area! Another one of my goals is to make this blog the best it possibly can be. I’m working on that…My goal is to post twice a week…This month I haven’t done that…but I’m getting back on track…I also want to expand what I cover on this blog…I don’t have a “game plan” yet for that endeavor, but I will work on that during the  month of June. I have also wanted to find a career mentor, but I haven’t been able to find one yet…I hope to work on that in June…we’ll see…

Another one of my goals was to go to five journalism networking events this year…I have attended two so I feel pretty good about that…I need to attend three more and make sure that I utilize contacts that I make at each of these events. And networking for me is not only about working to advance my career…I have learned that it is important to network to help others as well…Another one of my goals was to stay on top of my daily mail and e-mail…Not looking good…I have over 900 new e-mail messages in my inbox and stacks of mail I need to go through…I know it’s important to look at each of these each day, but I get sooo overwhelmed sometimes…Anybody got any tips for making this task more manageable?

So that is a little bit of my “check in.” How are you doing? Have you remembered to dream and dream big? Have you written down your goals? Have you made your vision boards and posted them within easy view? Have you consulted others who may be able to help you achieve your goals? In my experience, it is only with the help of others that I can achieve my goals and dreams. My friend, Dr. Pam Thompson, has begun a series, “Blue Lights in the Basement,” in an effort to “take psychology and life coaching to the streets.” I attended the inaugural session on Friday and what I learned there I think will help me achieve my dreams and goals for this year and beyond…

But let’s face it…sometimes things happen in our lives that we aren’t prepared for that can derail our goals and dreams…Many people have lost their jobs this year…I have experienced that before…It’s not fun for sure…But when that has happened to me, I have learned that God has got my back, and I have always moved onward and upward…(Yes, it has happened to me more than once…) Let  me share a portion of the sermon that my father preached for the New Year’s Eve service. He preached on Hebrews 13:5-6. This passage is from The Message version of the Bible.

 5-6Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote,

   God is there, ready to help;
   I’m fearless no matter what.
   Who or what can get to me?

And here are some of the notes that I took from the sermon:

1. Don’t look to money as the source of your supply. If you have a lack of money, that is not the end of the story.

2. Our Heavenly Father is the source of your supply and is able to make a way out of no way.

3. Face the New Year with contentment.

4. Face the New Year with courage. We are not alone on our pilgrim journey…

 No matter what, God has got our back…

Any thoughts?

 

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The End of Death…The Beginning of Revelation!

Hello World!!!

At long last, my Bible study class has finished studying the book of Revelation. Months earlier, I blogged about my anxiety in reading the Bible’s final and likely most mysterious book. So what are my final thoughts…Revelation is not as scary and cryptic as I once thought…However, I’m not sure if it will ever be the first book that I choose to curl up in bed and read just before nodding off to sleep. But the final words of the book fill me with a strange sense of joy…First of all, death itself will be killed…

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works.

 13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

 14 And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire.

 15 And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.  Revelation 20:11:15

And as a result, death will not be a part of reality as it is in Earth…

3 And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God:

 4 and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away.

 5 And he that sitteth on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he saith, Write: for these words are faithful and true.  Revelation 21:3-5

 It is only these words that give me comfort as I have heard about so many deaths recently…Now if you’ve been living on this Earth for any time at all and are old enough to pay attention, you hear about death every.single.day. There is just no getting around it…people cry and people die…One my favorite poems succinctly and eloquently illustrates this principle…

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay. 

Robert Frost

And speaking of Eden, according to what I’ve heard, Adam’s original sin is what caused death to enter this world at all. I cannot pretend to understand all of this…so I will let the theologians debate about that…but I do know that death is part of Earth’s reality…but I have faith that death will not be allowed to enter Heaven…

But it is with a heavy heart that I tell you about some of the deaths that have happened recently that have got me asking, “Why God? Why God is there so much pain?”

Last summer, I was touched when I heard about the death of Rev. Timothy Wright’s wife and grandson as a result of  a car crash. The gospel singer, his wife and grandson were traveling home from a conference. It struck me because that very same week my father,  mother and nephew were also traveling home from a conference, but nothing happened to them at all. Since then, I’ve been praying for Wright and his family….I cannot imagine such a tragedy. I read on Friday that Rev. Wright has now died. From what I’ve read, he never fully recovered after suffering injuries in the crash. This man was known for singing God’s praises…why was he and his family allowed to die this way…

If you live in the Atlanta area, you’ve heard about the car crash that happened on Easter Sunday in which Delisia Carter and her whole family were killed…Carter was an inspirational speaker who had been abused by her father and first husband but was finally living the life of her dreams. She had recently married her second husband, and she gave birth to their first child in February. Delisia, her husband, her daughter from a previous marriage, their son and another child all died in that crash…What a senseless tragedy…

Merciless bullying led to 11-year-old Jaheem Herrera hanging himself. Apparently, the children at his school here in Atlanta teased him because they thought he was gay and a snitch. His 10-year-old sister discovered his body…Now I know that teasing is a part of childhood…but what makes children continue to tease someone after they realize they are clearly traumatizing a child…I don’t know who raises these type of children, but there must be something going on their home life to create these little monsters…I was mercilessly teased as a child, but even if I hadn’t been a victim, it would have never occurred to me  to treat others that way…just plain mean-spiritedness…

At any rate, why did God allow these deaths to happen…I certainly don’t know, and it saddens me…but I have to hold on to my faith that one day death will be no more, and the answers to my questions will be revealed…

Any thoughts?

P.S. Here is one of Rev. Timothy Wright’s  most popular songs, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” which he wrote about the victims of Hurricane Katrina…