Daily Thoughts

It has been a while since my last post because of marketing my new web series, but it is time for me to address something that I think a lot of us ignore. Christmas is the time of year many of us are thankful for many things including family, friends, and for some our unyielding faith in an almighty and merciful God.  But for some, this time of year does not bring presents, or joy or even fellowship; it brings sorrow, pain and depression.  You see, everyone around you may be joyful and full of life, but there are those who wish that this time of year would pass without even a blink...that no one would feel happiness and joy...that gift giving would cease so that they may crawl back into their corner of despair and uncertainty and not deal with the pressures of life. These people exist and most times, right under our noses.  Not everyone who smiles, is happy just like not everyone who cries, is sad.  There are people who smile just to keep from crying...to keep yo...

In life we often times dream of better days; better relationships; better jobs and the list goes on and on but the one thing we need to stop doing is letting our dream...die. When my son was growing up and even before when he was a small baby, I had dreams.  Big dreams for him.  But during the course of his lifetime, those dreams I had have often taken a back seat.  Why you ask?  Well when my son decided at the age of 16 to drop out of high school my dream of him walking across the stage and getting that diploma in 2013 died.  My dream of him going to college in 2013 died.  They had no life.  What life they had died along with his decision to forget school, at least at that moment.  But there is something liberating about dreams.  They live as long as you keep them alive. What that means is this.  Maybe my dream of him finishing high school in 2013 died, but it can re-live again with him finishing high school...right?  And maybe...

There are many times in our lives that there is a moment of silence.  A moment when time really seems to stand still..when it almost haults...actually seems to a stop.  It's these moments we cherish the most.  When your child was born and you were all waiting for that first cry...when they received their first academic award...when they graduated from high school or college and walked across that stage to receive their diploma...when the bride appears and then walks down the aisle...when the clock strikes 12 midnight on New Year's Eve...when a child falls for the first time but gets up without crying...when a proposal of marriage is made and he awaits her answer...all of these occasions have captured a moment of silence......good bad or indifferent, all of these times in your life seemed to take your breath away...as if you stopped breathing just to take it all in. You felt that if you took one breath...you might miss something.  So there was a ...

Day in and day out we take time to help others achieve their goals...to aide them in their work...to encourage and inspire them...to pray for them and to teach them...but with some people...our time becomes their crutch.  You see, there are tmes when we give so much time that it becomes too much time.  It is at that time when we should say...time is up! You can only help so much and give so much and teach so much and prepare so much...you can only pray so much that those who take advantage...those who wait on you...those who use you and your time as their own...that you realize you are no longer helping..rather...hindering. You are hindering their growth...their learning curve...their need to depend on their own knowledge...their own talents...their independence...because you are always giving of your time.  And that leaves little time...for you.  The old saying goes...you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.  Another saying goes if you ta...

Here we go again with senseless murders.  While all lives do matter it seems that for some individuals, they mean absolutely..nothing.  I mean how else are you able to go into a church and kill 9 innocent persons...persons whom you sat with...persons you knew nothing about?  And those shot in the movie theater...what about their lives.  Did it matter that they were there minding their own business, trying to enjoy the movie like we all do from time to time?  Did it matter that they had families to go home to and jobs to show up for?  Though most of them survived, if only one was killed...it is senseless. Yet it seems that to some, our lives mean...nothing.  I believe in my heart that it is not because our lives mean nothing...it is that their life holds little meaning.  Listen to me for a minute.  If a person valued their own life, why would they take valued lives of other strangers...away? If they felt important and that they mattered to s...

You know, when you are watching a television program and all of a sudden there come this...station break; or when you are listening to the radio and there comes this...station break...well here we are again at another station break..but this is a break of a different kind.  This station break involves our nation..it involves our people...it involves our Christian brothers and sisters...it involves us. This morning, we were all awaken with tragic news of a young man who had opened up fire in a church in Charleston, SC.  We heard what they said, watched footage that was available at the time...we even looked on the faces of those affected by this crime and we as a people...took a break.  We took a break from our normal activities upon waking up in the morning..instead of rushing downstairs to fix breakfast we were rushing around in the bathroom so that we could see this unfolding news...this tragedy...those affected...and the suspect who was at large. We didn't rush to ...

Wow is all I can say at the moment.  It's not because something has happened or someone has said anything or something was done...it is because of my inner joy.  This joy, that makes me want to get up every morning and praise my God.  This joy, that keeps my mind steady when everything else around me is unsettled.  This joy, that puts a song in my heart and a spring in my step when there is no reason to sing or dance.  This joy, that keeps me calm in the midst of my storm.  This joy, that makes me stand still and know that He is God. This joy, that when I am confronted with mess and ridicule, I can smile and say to myself, "everything is going to be alright."  This joy that soothes me when there is so much to be irritated and frustrated about.  This joy that makes me pray each and every morning to a wonderful and patient and loving God.  This joy, that helps me smile when I should be sad and witness to the goodness and greatness of Jesus....

I remember when my mom taught me to say "yes sir" and "yes ma'am" because it was...the right and polite thing to do.  I remember when I would get spankings for doing the wrong thing because it was...the right thing to do.  I remember when I was made to stay up late at night to get my homework done because I messed around all afternoon because it was...the right thing to do.  I remember when I had to pull my pants up and my skirts down because it was...the right thing to do. I remember when we had company that I had to make my bed and clean my room along with the household chores because it was...the right thing to do.  I remember when I had to be quiet while sitting in church because it was the...right thing to do.  I remember when I could not have any dessert because I would not eat my vegetables because it was...the right thing to do.  I remember when I would play outside all day I had to wash my hands when I came in the house because it was...the right...

My part is to educate my son on police brutality but to make him aware not all officers are evil.  My part is to help him recognize when he is in the right and when he is in the wrong.  My part is to tell him that I am on his side and will fight for him when necessary.  My part is to open his eyes to positive influences around him and to warn him against those that are negative.  My part is to be his parent. My part is to know the difference between when my son is crying out for attention or just wanting a reaction.  My part is to know what is inside of his heart by hearing what is coming out of his head.  My part is to pray daily for my son when I know the world is preying against him.  My part is to be his parent. My part is to exemplify dignity and grace in front of him so that he knows the difference between a lady and a tramp.  My part is to speak positive words to him and about him so that it penatrates his soul when others try...

I love me.  There is no one else in this world like me...and there will never be another me...so I will keep on loving me...because when I am gone...me...will no longer...exist.......

Spring is just around the corner and I am ready for warmer temperatures, spring flowers, green lawns and longer days...aren't you?  I am ready for picnics and parties out on the lawn.  I am even ready for barbeques and pig pickins....I am ready for long walks in the park and meditation by a river or brook..just ready to get outside and let the warm sunshine in.  What does spring hold for you?  Do you involve yourself in spring cleaning...you know getting rid of those outfits you no longer wear and updating your wardrobe?  Or maybe you are one who cleans out the garage and attic so that you can place more things there...maybe you are one who gets rid of old coats and furniture and donates them to Goodwill or the Salvation Army...whatever you do...do it with joy in your heart. Spring is not the time to be down or sad or low...it is the time to get moving..get started..to be motivated to plant that garden or that crop.  It's a time to lift up those windows a...

Winter is here and I believe that most of us in the United States have felt some affect from it.  Whether is has been the frigid temperatures or the horrible snow storms leaving over 6 feet in Boston and other places...we have all felt some affect.  And though winter makes us want to be still and sit down and remain isolated...we don't have to stop.  In other words, don't die in winter. This time of year slows us all down because to be frank, it is too cold to want to do anything but I found out that when we are still..when we are focused and not running here and there...when we are able to listen to our loved ones and think..we have the capacity to be more creative...so why not?  Why not start that project you have been talking about all year...why not put together ideas for that business you have wanted to start...why not get together with friends in the warmth of someone's home and brainstorm so that when the weather warms up...you are fresh and ready to tackle ...

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood it's a beautiful day for a neighbor, won't you be mine? Those of us who grew up in the 70's know this line all too well.  Mr. Rogers sang this every time his show came on and though back then I really did not have the full meaning behind this line, I do now.  If you are anything like me, you cherish those programs that we grew up watching.  They were good solid programs that taught us something.  They showed us ways to get along with each other.  They gave us values and taught us that what's really important...is our love and acceptance of each other. Today we need more programs such as these.  The Andy Griffith Show, for instance, taught values of family, friends, and our neighbor.  It taught us that there are consequences for our actions whether they be bad or good.  Andy was the model single father who did all he could to raise Opie to be an upstanding young man who would love himself, and his neighbor...

It is only 14 days into the new year and already we hear of massacres in Africa and in France.  We hear of the Italian Ferry's accident right before the end of the year that claimed the lives of 10 and lost lives on an AirAsia airplane that has fallen from the sky...already we hear of smoke that literally makes it hard for passengers on the Yellow Line Metro Train to breathe...one dead and over 80 hospitalized..already there are terrorist threats...already fear has convered the land and we, it seems, could care less.  What we see before our very eyes is a nation that has lost it's sensitive side...a nation that can look the other way when lives are lost.  What happened in France, horrible.  What happened in Nigeria...horrific yet...our nation, instead of mourning the loss of these innocent lives...looks the other way. Yes there are those who rally and those who march for justice and rights.  There are even those who reach out to d...