Letter to a young black female

What’s up young lady. You may not know who I am but I know who you
are. You see, I see your potential, I envision you accomplishing all
of your dreams and goals. Anything that you set your mind to can and
will be yours if you just Believe!

Believe in what you may ask? Yourself! Believe that you are the
intellect which has governed civilizations for century upon century.
Believe that you are the standard of beauty and not whatever images
the media shells out at you. Believe that there is no task too big
or too small that you can not reach for and achieve.

Realize young lady that women have always been at the helm of
everything great. James Brown said it best, “this is a man’s world but
it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman or a girl”. You have so many big
sisters to look up to, so many sources of inspiration that have
provided the framework of the strong work ethic known as womanhood.

Notice I call you young lady for these terms that I hear you referred
to are not your names. You are a Queen who must demand respect, your
mere presence should command respect. You must first respect yourself
however, and respect your fellow sisters as well. Together you young
ladies make up the future table of leadership.

God made you to be special, he made you to stand apart from the crowd.
So fear not if you feel isolated or alone, look back to your big
sisters who have changed the landscape of history, they once felt
alone too. I write you this letter to show my admiration for you, to
pay homage to the beautiful gift that the creator is bestowing upon
us. Follow your dreams and believe in your path young lady, for the
very thought of you reaching a tenth of your potential is an
inspiration to us all!

Truly yours,
Cedric D. Shine (your #1 fan)

Here is a quote by a man who over the years I have written many papers on and studied thoroughly. He has become a mentor to me, he has inspired me to achieve and build upon the framework which he so passionately worked for. Let us not idolize this man, but look to have a similar impact if not more of an impact than his legacy provides. It’s quotes like this that inspire Barack Obama’s historic speech yesterday, Yes We Can, yes we can work toward goals that seem impossible!

A child born to a Black mother in a state like Mississippi… has exactly the same rights as a white baby born to the wealthiest person in the United States. It’s not true, but I challenge anyone to say it is not a goal worth working for.

How long will we lie in our self pity? How long will we serve as a reminder of what potential energy is? When will we take action and become the dream that we desire to be? These are the questions that came to my mind when I read this passage. When the word speaks of this sleep, this slumber, our hands folded and rested, I see death! The death of our dreams, the death of our ambition and goals. How long? We must awake ourselves from this sleep, we must awake ourselves from pity and do all that is in our power to achieve our greatness. No longer can we look to heroes and be amazed at their presence while not leaving our own eternal footprint in the sand.

Jesus, was a great man, a noble man. In his time he did great things, whether you choose to believe the stories of this man or not is irrelevant. What are you doing to get closer to such a being, to be of such nobility, to provide inspiration and sight to the blind people of our society. What are we doing to achieve our goals? Having dealt with rough times, I ask myself all of these questions. My response to myself is to stand tall, with my head up and shoulders broad. My response to myself is to believe in myself so that I can achieve. Most of all, my response to myself is to trust in God, to ask him for the strength to wake up, for the strength to be free from hopelessness. Today marks a new day, this second marks a new second, a chance for us to awake from whatever vices we have and be the greatness we aspire to be. Self doubt, negative relationships, a lack of ambition and drive, these are just some of the issues all of us are dealing with. No longer do I want to look at our leaders of the past and marvel, instead I will take the actions that they have shown us and with the power of God build on the foundation that they have already laid. Peace and Grace be unto you!

One falls forward toward success.

WHY boastest thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good’ and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. Psalm 52: 1-4

This scripture reminds me of being a little boy and my mother popping me in my mouth for saying something smart; I think I sat on her clothes for work and when she complained I said “I didn’t tell you to put them there”. Such a dumb kid to utter those words out of my mouth, but I am reminded of that story as I read today’s scripture. The first line blatantly mocks the man who boasts and considers himself mighty, or one who feels that they are great beyond measure. The line following pays more attention to the fact that it is God who endures, it is God who is ever present and affords us the happiness in our lives. We should never walk with our heads down, we should be proud without being boastful, confident yet humble. Humility is an attractive characteristic because while we know we are blessed with talent, and an abundance of love, the way we wear it speaks volumes to others who look on and how we exemplify the God within.

But back to a man or a woman’s words, how mere words can cut so deep baffles me. But the scripture tells us that words cut deep; the deceitful tongue causes problems and all type of drama in our lives. So how do we escape it; for starters, watch your own mouth, watch what you say, because you may bring trouble into your own house because of the negative things that you say. Furthermore, when you are confronted by people who use their mouths against you for disdain you must remember what these people are doing. Hating, simply put, a hating tongue is a deceitful tongue. We are too good of a people to be bothered by such nonsense, I fall victim to it, and i tell myself ” I don’t care what anyone says about me”. But when people spread falsehoods that attack your character it can be hard to turn the other cheek. I think today’s word makes it easier to turn the other cheek, to turn your whole body away because its not worth your time. The bible clearly ostracizes these people and their hating ways, so you are in the right and have to act accordingly. Focus on yourself and pushing your goals forward and please do not be concerned with the negativity, because when you entertain the negativity you give it life. Remember that goodness of God is everlasting, so you have some pretty good back up and some great company that you can easily turn the cheek and allow others to wallow in their deceitful pity while you Shine in God’s glory. Peace and grace be unto you!

Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.

March 13, 2008

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Phillipians 3: 13-15

The way the Lord allows the word to resonate in my life is so amazing at times that I really have to sit back and be thankful. The theme of this verse is “pressing toward the goal”, preparing yourself to reach your own greatest good. In this scripture it says to me that I may not know all the answers, I may not fully comprehend my goal or my gift from God but I am moving towards it. In order to move towards it, I must leave what is behind me behind me, I won’t lose the lesson but I can not dwell on past situations so much that they cause a hinderance in my future. We have all gotten ourselves involved in situations that weren’t beneficial to us, the problem is we then entertain ourselves about why we should have seen this coming, and why this and why that. None of that is helping us attain our goal, take the lesson and keep it pushing!

Just like the scripture says, “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called”. The goal that he has for you is multi-faceted, the Creator wants you to use all of your talents, all of the talents that he has given you. And he grants us with little victories along the way, we must remember to be thankful for the little victories as well. I have an older sister who is studying for her nursing boards, it is in the Lord’s will that she will become an RN, he has other goals for her and us as well. But he blesses us by letting us graduate from schools, by allowing us to get the jobs that we want, the homes that we want, the soul mate that we need. All of these are small victories and if we continue to live in his way we will continue to live the good life, and achieve such victories. Lastly, it says all mature minds should take such view, and if we are thinking differently God comes into our life like right now and reminds us that no matter what strife we see he has a plan and he will continue to help us press towards our goals. Just by putting him first and having the courage to believe that we can achieve places us on the path to accomplishing our many endeavors. Peace and Grace be unto you!

Seize the day, put no trust in tomorrow!

March 5, 2008

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” - Proverbs 19:21

What is your calling, what are your dreams; what is the ambition inside of you that drives your desires?  Are plans in a man’s heart the equivalent of thoughts in one’s mind. Often we have many notions of how life “should be”, how “we should” be treated. However, when these thoughts of ours do not manifest in our lives we become disengaged. We become disengaged with the process of achieving these goals and can become sincerely impatient. Well the scripture baffles me because I have two entirely different understandings of it, are the plans in my heart wrong or am I too impatient to receive the proper understanding?

First Thought: We may believe in plans that we have created for ourself but some of those plans may not be our destiny. We may have a different calling that we are fighting, however the Lord, our Creator has a purpose for our lives and he will prevail. So we must not become too involved in what we “think” is right for us, we must allow our God Given talents and the purpose that he has for us to reign supreme.

Second thought:  But then I see it as, my heart is connected to my soul, it’s the base of my understanding, so the plans of my heart guide me. If I am in touch with the Lord, and have accepted the Creator into my heart and soul, then our plans won’t be too far from each other. So then what about when those plans and my ideas do not match up with what is happening in my life? Does this mean that my ideas are different from the Lord’s purpose for me? Hmmm, at a first glance maybe, but then I think of the trials and tribulations we must endure to get to our dreams. Those plans remain steadfast within our hearts, the purpose that the Lord has for us may not be revealed immediately. Some say patience is a virtue, so we have to dream, we have to answer our calling and allow our ambitions to guide us. The plans in our hearts may be very well the Lord’s purpose for us. But as this earth wasn’t built in a day, neither will our dreams and aspirations. We must be still, use prayer, and truly plan with our heart in order to bring to form our purpose and or destiny. Peace and Grace be unto you!

There is so much to write about

To sing about, to shout about

In the Negro race!

On each page of history

America sees my face–

On each page of history

We leave a shining trace–

On each page of history

My race!

  My race!

          My race! ! !- Langston Hughes

March 3, 2008

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our lORD jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5: 1-2

Good morning, I’m not sure what the weather looks like where you live but the sun is shining bright here in the middle of nowhere, America. Today’s word has me feeling rejuvenated, like the sun is shining on us for a reason. Simply put its because we believe in a higher power, we believe that the creator has something great in store for us. Our faith that the Lord exists and our belief in Jesus has granted us peace with God. Peace, meaning there is no conflict that stands in our way, there are no reasons that we can not call out for the Lord and depend on him to help guide us to our happiness. We have gained access into his grace, to me its like we have favor in the Lord, like he rocks with me. He is on our side and will look out for us. And we can rejoice; rejoice, be happy, get excited and feel good because we know through God all things are possible. So what are we excited for, man I’m excited because I know that I believe, because i BELIEVE I am in the good graces of God. And because I am in his good grace, I don’t have to worry about the drama, as long as I do my part to reach my dreams and goals he will be right there providing me with his good works to get me there. Smile today because we are blessed, Peace and Grace be unto you!

Remember the two benefits of failure. First, if you do fail, you learn what doesn’t work, and second, the failure gives you the opportunity for a new approach