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You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12: 30
“To live a spiritual life is to live in the presence of God. . . . Only God counts, and in God all people and all things are embraced with love. To live in the presence of God, however, is to live with purity of heart, with simple-mindedness, and with total acceptance of his will. That, indeed, demands a choice, a decision, and great courage. It is a sign of true holiness.”
to read the rest of this devotional see Show Me the Way: Daily Lenten Readings by Henri Nouwen
Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not gather in with me throws away. Luke 11: 23
“The spiritual life is gift. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit, who lifts us up to the kingdom of God’s love. But to say that being lifted up into the kingdom of love is a gift does not mean that we wait passively until the gift is offered to us. Jesus tells us to set our hearts on the kingdom. . . . A spiritual life requires human effort. The forces that keep pulling us back into a worry-filled life are far from easy to overcome. . . . It is clear that we are usually surrounded by so much inner and outer noise that it is truly hard to hear God when he is speaking to us. . . . A spiritual life requires discipline because we need to learn to listen to God, who constantly speaks but we seldom hear. When, however, we learn to listen our lives become obedient lives. . . .”
to read the rest of this devotional see Show Me the Way: Daily Lenten Readings by Henri Nouwen
Before you knew you owned it
by Alice Walker
Expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.
become a stranger
To need of pity
Or, if compassion be freely
Given out
Take only enough
Stop short of urge to plead
Then purge away the need.
Wish for nothing larger
Than your own small heart
Or greater than a star;
Tame wild disappointment
With caress unmoved and cold
Make of it a parka
For your soul.
Discover the reason why
So tiny human midget
Exists at all
So scared unwise
But expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.
**
Knoxville Tennessee
by Nikki Giovanni
I always like summer
Best
you can eat fresh corn
From daddy’s garden
And okra
And greens
And cabbage
And lots of
Barbeque
And buttermilk
And homemade ice-cream
At the church picnic
And listen to
Gospel music
Outside
At the church
Homecoming
And go to the mountains with
Your grandmother
And go barefooted
And be warm
All the time
Not only when you go to bed
And sleep
But take care as you value your lives! Do not forget the things which you yourselves have seen, or let them slip from your heart as you live; teach them, rather, to your children and to your children’s children. Deuteronomy 4: 9
“It is memory that we enter into a nurturing and sustaining relationship with Christ. In his farewell discourse . . . Jesus reveals to his closest friends that only in memory will real intimacy with him be possible, that only in memory will they experience the full meaning of what they have witnessed. They listened to his words, they saw him on Mount Tabor, they heard him speak about his death and resurrection, but their eyes and ears remained closed and they did not understand. The Spirit, his spirit, had not yet come. . . . The great mystery of the divine revelation is that God entered into intimacy with us not only by Christ’s coming, but also by his leaving. . . . In Jesus, no division existed between his word and his actions. . . . Saintliness means living [as Jesus lived]. . . .”
to read the rest of this devotional see Show Me the Way: Daily Lenten Readings by Henri Nouwen
John Hope Franklin: The Great Ones Are Like That
(First published ten years ago today)
I sure felt like hugging John Hope Franklin when I spoke with him at Saturday’s book signing at Barnes & Noble. Our encounter was brief: only a couple of minutes while he signed a copy of one of his books for me. He’s forgotten it already: I never will.
My family and I had to make a concerted effort just to be in Winston-Salem—to say nothing of the book store—during the hours Dr. Franklin was scheduled to appear. We got up early and drove nearly two hours to Shelby to visit my father-in-law in the Cleveland County Memorial Hospital where he was recovering nicely from last week’s surgery. Then we started back, stopping only for a fast-food lunch. We found ourselves near Tanglewood at two o’clock. My husband assured me we would make it. We did.
When we arrived at the store, Dr. Franklin was answering questions posed by members of a small racially mixed audience sitting or standing near the table where he had obviously been signing books. Copies of several titles were available for purchase. (Surely I wasn’t too late! I bought my copy of The Color Line Thursday evening, just to be sure.) The first question (that I heard) concerned the difference between slavery in the United States and that in South America. Dr. Franklin made light of the alleged difference: “kindly masters” or not, slavery is slavery.
He continued his brief statement by noting that, sadly enough, racial equality did not truly exist in Brazil (as it does not in the United States) when he made several trips there to lecture in the universities. Despite the rhetoric that boasted of a non-racist society, Franklin saw almost no blacks working in industry. He cited the banks as a specific example. However, he saw many black people sweeping the streets. When he commented on this (after being almost badgered into confirming the existence of non-racist life there), he was told that equality was “coming.” Blacks were “preparing” for the equality that would soon arrive. Yet Franklin also noted there were no blacks in the universities either. Where was this preparation taking place? Equality existed only in white folk’s imaginations, where it often resides.
Dr. Franklin also commented on his own change of attitude (over the years) toward the racial climate in the United States. He is now less optimistic, less hopeful, than he once was. He suggested that tracing his attitudinal change through his eight editions of From Slavery to Freedom might make an interesting book—to say nothing of challenging.
When the questions were over, Dr. Franklin moved quietly to his seat and began signing books again. The people, waiting for signatures—it wasn’t a line as much as a group—spoke to each other about Franklin and about books they had found in the store, among other matters. It was a friendly gathering. I recognized four or five people there. The small group came to see a man whose wisdom they already revered. Yet I found myself wishing that lines had been long and that the store had been filled to overflowing. I’m afraid too few among us realized just who we seeing (or failing to see). It is indeed to the credit of Barnes and Noble that such a man was invited to Winston-Salem as a part of their celebration of Black History Month.
A sage can somehow turn a two-minute encounter into a meaningful, unforgettable experience. Dr. Franklin did just that. He spoke to every person about specific concerns that afternoon. Each person in turn asked him a question or commented on something he or she had learned from one of Franklin’s books. Comments were meaningful, though brief.
When it was my turn, I told Dr. Franklin that From Slavery to Freedom was among the first books I had read when I first became interested in race relations, and thus, a part of my earliest exposure to African American history. Oh, for the day when will we be able to call it by its proper name: American history.
He asked my name to personalize my book as he signed it. Warmly, he shook my hand. He looked at me as though our conversation were the most important thing he would do all day. I mentioned to him that I hope to write a book someday. And then—because my studies are still incomplete—I added, “But I still have so much to learn.” And that wonderfully wise old man said to me, “So do I.”
Why is it that we so soon forget that the truly great ones are never arrogant? People who are as wise as Dr. Franklin dare to be, what many of us long to be: Genuine. Humility is so very becoming, and it never costs us even an ounce of knowledge. Humility enlarges one’s humanity. No wonder I felt like hugging John Hope Franklin. Come to think of it, I believe I did.
first published in the Winston-Salem Chronicle February 27, 1997
I was tagged by Clare Martin.
How to play:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.
Some of Us Did Not Die by June Jordan
“I never thought he should skate back into my, or anyone’s community. But I did and I do think he is my brother. The choices available to us dehumanize.”
Okay, so I’ll tag Karen, EarthPal, Shirley, Carol and Jessie.
First Bookworm wrote about (the pursuit of) happiness, then Jana. Two very different perspectives.
**
“Happiness won’t be found in expensive toys, jewels, homes, cars, but it will peek at you through innocent, seemingly insignificant moments.” Jana Allard “Are you Happy?“
Nor will it be found in the attitude that wants more for the self than it’s willing to give others. Happiness and joy are not the same thing. Joy has a more spiritual nature. But both are worthy of human pursuit.
**
I found an interesting list to answer the question, What makes happiness?
1. Living in a country that is at peace.
2. Having good physical health.
3. Coming from a happy family background.
4. Having a secure job.
5. Being in love.
6. Having enough money to leave on.
7. Not having to depend on anyone else finantially.
8. Having lots of friends.
9. Having children.
10. Being successful in your professional life.
11. Having a nice home of your own.
12. Being able to see the funny side of difficult situations.
13. Having lots of interests.
14. Having a positive mental attitude.
15. Having a strong religious faith.
16. Feeling you are making a difference in the world.
17. Feeling good about yourself
18. Having interesting holidays.
19. Being able to help others.
20. Counting your blessings and realizing there are others much worse off than you.
(see here)
Would you add anything to this list? If so, what?
“The civil rights movement did not suddenly erupt in the late 1950s. Generations of African-Americans had been asserting their right to equality but the nation was not ready to listen. By so effectively symbolizing our nation’s dedication to justice and fairness, the Mall provided a powerful tableau on which the struggle would be played out.
In 1939, the great contralto Marian Anderson was barred from performing at Constitution Hall, owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the DAR in protest and supported the NAACP [National Association for the Advancement of Colored People] as it organized an Easter Sunday concert on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial. More than 75,000 Americans turned out, one of the largest crowds ever to gather on the Mall on that time.” (see more)
See more about Marian Anderson
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