In Memoriam: Happy Birthday, Big Mama!!

On January 30, her birthday, I want to pay tribute to the memory of my Big Mama. She lovingly nutured and cared for me for the first six years of my life. Big Mama, I love you still.

If you get a chance read my tribute to her:
http://libertyip.blogspot.com/2009/09/today-i-want-to-pay-tribute-to-first.html

A Life That Shows as recorded by Commissioned (Gospel Group)

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 (New King James Version)

A Life That Shows - Fred Hammo...

You need a life that shows
Every single day, every way
Light that glows
You need a life that shows

People deal with you every day
They see you come, and likewise go
They listen to the words that you say
What you stand for they dont they know
A little outward show will let them know
It's the Lord you stand for

You need a life that shows
You need to be a light -
(Light that glows)

Sometimes blending in is misunderstood
As being afraid, being ashamed
Take a stand my friend this you should
You belong to Jesus
Be proud your wearing His name
Cause you are His go ahead be a witness
Go on and be a guiding light

You need a life that shows
You're the only help that someone's ever know
So you need to be a light that glows
(You need a life that shows)

Let your light shine b4 all men
Let it shine, shine. (4 times)

Still Celebrating....

Dr. King was a great man, not a perfect man but a great man.  He risked his life to change the situation of his fellow human beings, not only the ones who believed in his position, but also those who did not believe. Now more than 30 years after the passage of civil rights legislation, how many of us are living our lives and making contributions that dignify the sacrifice made by Dr. King, Medgar Evans, and so many others? 

Yesterday, I was apart of two programs celebrating the life of Dr. King.  I applaud the efforts of those who are serving the community, raising their children, and impacting lives.  While we can most assuredly talk about our current condition and the things we need to be doing, rhetoric without action is worthless.  Our lives, our words and our actions must be in harmony in order to really effect the type of "King" change needed in the world today.

In closing, I am sharing a few more of Dr. King's quotes.  May they inspire you and me to action.  

Peace.




Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. --Martin Luther King, Jr , Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963


In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. --Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968)
 
It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important. --Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968)
 
When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative. --Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968)
 
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. --Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968)
 
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: - 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' --Martin Luther King Jr., Speech at Civil Rights March on Washington, August 28, 1963

Man was born into barbarism when killing his fellow man was a normal condition of existence. He became endowed with a conscience. And he has now reached the day when violence toward another human being must become as abhorrent as eating another's flesh.  --Martin Luther King, Jr., Why We Can't Wait, 1963.

The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.  --Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963.

In Tribute Of Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am sharing these quotes from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. because they are still relevant today some 50 years after he spoke them.

Some philosophical sociologists suggest that morality is merely group consensus and that the folkways are the right ways. Some psychologists say that mental and emotional adjustment is the reward of thinking and acting like other people.

Success, recognition, and conformity are the bywords of the modern world where everyone seems to crave the anesthetizing security of being identified with the majority.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. The chain reaction of evil--hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars--must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.

Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, Fortress Press, 1963

I'm Not Mad Anymore!

This blog is a tribute to my godson who is 17 years old today.

One day several years ago when my godson was about seven years old, I happen to be visiting his family's home around dinner time.  His mother had just cooked dinner. When my godson was small, I was fortunate enough to to spend a lot of time with the family and I often ate dinner with them. I'm very big on families sitting around the dinner table and eating together because that's how I was raised.

While his mother put the fininshing touches on the food, I called the three children, my godson has a younger brother and sister, to the table. Well, my godson did not come to the table, so I called him again. He still did not come. Finally, I went to see what he was doing that was so important that he could not come to dinner. Needless to say, I was a little vexed by this time. AJ (I don't call him that but he likes this name) was caught up in some cartoon that happen to be the rave at that time. When I got downstairs where he was, I immediately began scolding him. This was a major incident between us because I never raised my voice with my friends' children and...I have only spanked AJ once in his whole life. I am somewhat against corporal punishment.

Anyway I yelled at AJ and told him to come to the dinner table. I let him know that watching a cartoon was not as important as having dinner with his family. I won the argument that day probably because I was bigger than he. But, he was fired up and we both knew it. We were both mad.

The next day, I had the occasion to see AJ again because his mother asked me to meet him when he got off the school bus. As he came running off the bus, he said some words that have stuck with me for several years. He said, "I remember what happen yesterday, but I'm not mad at you anymore." I smiled and replied, "Oh, you're not? He said, "No", while shaking his head.

How quick AJ was to forgive was touching. Isn't it amazing how quick kids can forgive and absolve wrongdoing? This reminds me of the Kevin Levar song, "A Heart That Forgives". Here is a verse:

I want a heart that forgives
A heart full of love
One with compassion just like yours above
One that over comes evil with goodness and love
Like it never happened, never holding a grudge
I want a heart that forgives that lives and lets live
One that keeps loving over and over again
One that men can’t offend
Cuz your word is deep within
One that loves without price like you Lord Jesus Christ

Check out the video:


For more info on Kevin Levar and his music, visit http://www.kevinlevar.com

No Limits!

People will try to limit you because they are limited. Don't allow it!

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)

Affirmations from the Bible:

1. For [say your name] can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. --Phillipians 4:13 (New Living Translation Bible*)
   
2. Now to [Jesus] who is able to do immeasurably more than all [I] ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within [me]. --Ephesians 3:20 (New International Version Bible*)
   
3. [Say your name], press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling [you]. --Phillipians 3:14 (New Living Translation Bible*)

Happy New Year!!

*All scripture excerpts taken from Biblegateway.com