SOJOURNER
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'They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English. I can't even talk the way these people talk: And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk.
And then I heard the father talk. Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth. In fact you will never get any kind of job making a decent living. People marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an education, and now we've got these knuckleheads walking around.
The lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal.
These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids. $500 sneakers for what ? ? And they won't spend $200 for Hooked on Phonics. I am talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit. Where were you when he was 2 ? ? Where were you when he was 12 ? ? Where were you when he was 18 and how come you didn't know that he had a pistol ? ? And where is the father ? ? Or who is his father ? People putting their clothes on backward: Isn't that a sign of something gone wrong? People with their hats on backward, pants down around the crack, isn't that a sign of something ? Or are you waiting for Jesus to pull his pants up ? Isn't it a sign of something when she has her dress all the way up and got all type of needles [piercing] going through her body? What part of Africa did this come from?? We are not Africans. Those people are not Africans; they don't know a thing about Africa . With names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Mohammed and all of that crap, and all of them are in jail. Brown or black versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person's problem. We have got to take the neighborhood back. People used to be ashamed. Today a woman has eight children with eight different 'husbands' -- or men or whatever you call them now.
We have millionaire football players who cannot read. We have million-dollar basketball players who can't write two paragraphs. We, as black folks have to do a better job. Someone working at Wal-Mart with seven kids, you are hurting us.
We have to start holding each other to a higher standard. We cannot blame the white people any longer.'
Dr. William Henry 'Bill' Cosby, Jr., Ed.D.
WAY TO GO, BILL !!
It's NOT about color...
It's about behavior!
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  Can you imagine having so many bad things happen to you and still think "its a wonderful life"? I like to watch this video every year because it is a reminder that life can be full of mishaps and all sorts of failures and disappointments. It is also a reminder that there is always a glimmer of hope even when it just doesn't seem that way. Today I was shown a glimmer of hope through a young girls eyes. She is learning to read. I have only just started to tutor and my student didn't show up because his daughter was ill and he had to get her to the doctor. I decided to stay at the library awhile since I was waiting for my girls to get done with their cantata rehearsal. A young lady came up to the information desk to meet with her tutor. Unfortunatley she wasn't going to get there until 1pm. It was almost 11am and me being who I am spoke up and said if no one else could do it, then I would be happy to tutor her. I think she felt a little uncomfortable at first but was reluctant to say so. She seemed very quiet and reserved. I was a bit over enthusiastic about the whole thing but was willing to do what I could. She was able to navigate better than I could because of her experience thus far. I was really impressed. She was far advanced above my student and was at the end of her first book. For three months she had engrossed herself in study and it had paid off. It helped me to see that there is hope and progress to be made in such a short span of time. Some where in the midst of it all, it happened. She opened up. She began to reveal her wounds. How she isolated herself from her peers and any other attempts at growing close to others for fear they would know she could not read. She kept to herself at her job because she did not want to be put on the spot and risk people finding out her secret. I was beginning to get a sense of how people feel that have this dark cloud looming over them. As the tears streamed from her face, I listened intently and determined to sit quietly while she told me her story. I wanted her to feel comfortable and wanted her to say what she needed to say. I had not encountered such passion from a young person so determined to learn and make a difference in her life as well as the lives of other young people. Words spoken of the devastation she felt and utter defeat because of the disease she has that had kept her from learning at a regular pace like her peers. Staying up many nights till 4 am and having to sleep an hour before heading off to work had become a ritual. Her nights were often filled with reading, resting a bit and then reading again. Learning to read means alot to her. Even though there was nothing she could do about her plight, I got the sense that she felt blamed herself in the depths of her soul. By this time tears were streaming from both of us. I felt insignificant at this point because I had never reached such a low point. How could I even begin to help her. I prayed within myself that God would give me the right words to say to her. I kept encouraging her throughout the lesson but it went beyond that. We were two people connecting on a deeply personal level. My feeble attempts at encouragement were: to keep moving forward and God will see you through. Let nothing stop you. There are a lot of things I cannot do but with determination and the right frame of mind I know that I will be able to accomplish much. I also know that if my determination is dependent solely on my own resources I will fail. I have to wholely lean and depend on Jesus. Nothing is too hard for my God to work out. |
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My girls are going to be in a Cantata next week singing songs from Handels Messiah. Like any parent should be I am proud of my girls and I believe with all my heart that they are talented singers. That is not a vain statement but I know that God has blessed them with angelic voices. I do not beg forgiveness for that statement either. I have listened to them sing and heard them pick out the parts when they listen to a song. When the opportunity came up for them to sing in the concert of course I voulunteered them partly because they would not exert themselves otherwise. The other reason I knew it would be a good opportunity for use their talents to sing and to glorify. They are not pushy or boastful when it comes to singing. More than likely they would not make it known that they can sing. My husband feels differently about making them sing. He doesn't want them to be forced to do some obscure song they would not enjoy. But there is nothing obscure about these songs and the story they tell. He also said that their voices are not all that good. Now that sounds like a contradiction to what I said about them having angelic voices. But it isn't. He said they don't have these powerful voices and he is right. When he said that I took offense at first. What mother wouldn't "oh, you don't think their good enough", I thought. But they don't have these booming voices. Their voices are sweet, soft and angelic like I said. You would not see them belting out a song and people standing to their feet to give ovations for such wonderful singing. I am glad for that as well because if they were singing to bring themselves glory I would not want them to do it. Rather when they were finished singing you would be moved and stirred to reflection upon the message of the song. That is the talent God has given them and that is a powerful ministry all by itself. They have always been musical. So I make sure that they take advantage of the opportunities that they might not otherwise take. My oldest daughter will have a solo in The Wonder of the Incarnation and Breath of Heaven. Her younger sister will be singing background and harmony. I am looking forward to the concert because I will feel as if the whole concert will be for me, an audience of one. I will get to listen and enjoy them singing angelicly without the words "Ahh, Mom!" At the end of the day I pray they will not feel forced but will feel blessed to have sung praises unto the Lord. Surely one day there will come an opportunity to share their talents and they will step up to the plate without the slightest bit of hesitation on their part or nudging from me, only the Holy Spirit. Amen. |
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Saturday, December 8, 2007
Praise and Worship Music filled the air this past Sabbath as it was praise and worship day. Neither the congregation nor I were dissappointed. Just as the pastor said sometimes music reaches you where words cannot. So many voices blended to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. New songs and old ones, traditional songs and ones I had not sung in a long time. The songs took me back to a time when you sang the song like you wrote it because you knew what it meant to experience the words that were penned. Songs like: Love Grew Where the Blood Fell Shout to the Lord Old Time Religion Praise the Lord Anointing Fall on Me- Lord Let your anointing be upon me
so that when I am seen You, Oh Lord are magnified F D Almy 12-08-07 Blessed is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord When the storms of life are raging And all around you are crumbling Will you let God be the lead in your life? Will you turn to him before you drown? Will you let him be the Lord of your life? Will you grab and hold onto your anchor? F D Almy 12-08-07 Without God I Could do Nothing- without God I could do nothing. Without him my life would fail, without God life would be rugged, like a ship without a sail. It was an inspiring day where the presence of God was felt through music. I feel it reached deep within my soul. I would recommend the next time you feel disjointed and are unsure of your next move, put some heavenly music on. It will bring comfort to your soul and bring you closer to the throne of God. Not just knowing that I need to pray
Not just the closing of my eyes Not just the bowing of my head Not just the bending of my knee Not just before you, prostrate fall Not just the thanks I give Not just the uttering of words that have no voice Not just singing, when I would cry Not just the gift that I would bring Not just the power of a gentle touch Not just the righteous robe I possess Let me bow down to You, O Lord Not just my life, O Lord Let me give my all Let me give everything F D Almy 12-08-07 |
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Here are the rules: *Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog. *Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself. *Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs. *Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. So there it is, Now who can I tag and how to link to them? Somebody help me please! *Halo3 ( by IRONMAN ) *Reflection's of Him ( by lovelyrose ) *Treasured Chapters of Life and Family ( by mkpierce ) *Chesapeake Sailor Girl ( by ChesapeakeGirl ) *My Journey ( by dreamer73 ) *The Milk & Honey Tea-House ( by rjdjohn316 ) *DecidingOnJoy ( by Parcadol ) *Homeschool Nations - Massachusetts ( by Massachusetts ) I never figured it out so I just copied and pasted who was on line and then went to their pages and tagged them.  It works for me! |
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It was just a thought. I didn't do it! I did wonder why he DIDN'T JUST PARK HIS CAR IN THE DRIVEWAY, like everybody else.