These quotes represent my best friend and brother; he’ll see the connection. LOL!

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds!
Herb is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction.
I don’t stand for the black man’s side, I don’ t stand for the white man’s side.I stand for God’s side.
Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don’t bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live! - Bob Marley

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1: 26-27

When I am consumed in my thoughts, I try and turn to the word so that I can find some words that may give me strength. I always find something but sometimes it’s a temporary fix, it doesn’t feel permanent. Last night while I laid in bed I was thinking about how the bible teaches us that we are made in the image of God, in the likeness of God. Those thoughts were giving me strength because I know how great God is but I needed to tangibly see them to embrace what he was saying. It was like I knew the words were in the bible but because it wasn’t staring at me I was doubtful that it was there or that it was talking about me.

Maybe others, you know the people who smile all the time are those who are made in his image. Those who don’t worry, don’t stress, maybe they are made in his image. I know none of this is true, well it is true because we are all made in his image. Growing up I never liked the passage where it spoke of God being a jealous God, saying that you should have no other God’s before him. It isn’t until right now that I sort of understand that statement. I felt like my God can’t be jealous, jealousy is a sin, only wack people who are haters are jealous so this is a part where they got it wrong. But this morning as I write this daily prayer I feel differently. I think about what it must mean to be all knowing and still watch people defy you and go to something that is not you. I still don’t like the term jealous but I think I understand what is trying to be conveyed. If you believe you are heaven sent, if you believe you are blessed does that mean that you never doubt yourself especially when others doubt what you know is right. Today I am a little all over the place but before this gets to long and you stop reading, just know that we are made in the image of the Lord. Flaws and all we are still beautiful beings who with courage and faith have the strength to muster over any obstacle placed before us. Peace and Grace be unto you!

The fool speaks, the wise man listens

R.I.P JOSHUA SIMMS

Words can’t express a mother’s pain when her child is lost. Lost to the senseless violence and killings that are frequent amongst young black men today in America. Today I asked myself, why, and if not why how. How can we help, how can I help, is it worth the energy, will people listen? I am sure that it is worth the energy, to save what many are calling an endangered species; the young black male in America. A close friend asked me yesterday, why do you write, what is at your core? I didn’t know how soon I would be able to show her my answer rather than tell her. Why you ask, because that picture above us, that young man’s soul prayerfully resting in heaven could have been me. It can be any one of us who walk this earth searching for a better way. And because it could be us, might be us, this is even more reason why we must stand against the death of our people.

The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?
But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it. “Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper” Genesis 4: 4-9

Pardon me, today I chose this verse because I am upset with the senseless killings in our neighborhoods. I thought what better way to illustrate such sin than the story of Cain and Abel. What causes such hatred, what makes people act the way they act! Jealousy and envy consume people and drive them to do heinous things. I’m not here to moralize on anyone but when young children are getting sliced in their face, murdered in cold blood we have to say something. It says it right there in the word thou shall not kill, yet often we show our children and family the energy that is behind such senseless nonsense. Jealousy! The Lord asks why are you angry, I ask too, why are we angry?

The Lord spoke to Cain, he told him when you think these evil thoughts, when you plot against another sin is crouching at your door. He said it desires you; that’s powerful we all want to be desired. When we lack attention and we start “hating”, we are showing our communities the same energy the Lord asked Cain to rectify. By no means am I calling us murderers, but I am speaking of the jealousy that is invoked when people see people living a life they wish they were living. The need to keep up with the Jones’, has caused us to lose sight and create a material world where our children don’t know the difference between right and wrong. The root of it all is our negative thinking minds, inspiring and injecting hate into the ones that watch us. Why not eject love, I know I’m guilty of being slick with my tongue. You know what words do, they conjure up a feeling, bad words conjure up bad feelings. If from day one we teach respect to our to sons, our mothers wouldn’t have to bury their sons. Maybe death is too deep for someone to understand well I see it in the church, I see it in the streets, man I even see it in the classroom. We are dying, if not physically, symbolically because we lack the love language that our Creator teaches us. God gives freedom, God gives knowledge, lets take that same knowledge and feed our youth, feed our people no matter what race or creed or gender! It may sound cliche but with a little bit of love this world would be a better place. Peace and Grace be unto you!

Anywhere I see suffering, that is where I want to be, doing what I can.

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:34-35

Love, deep term but what does it mean? This scripture teaches us to love one another as our Lord and Savior has loved us. That’s a very serious statement, what makes someone not worthy of love. If all of the skeletons in our closet were exposed then plenty of people would pass judgment on us and not show us the love that we feel we deserve. So the word is asking us to love, to stop the petty bickering and fussing. To stop judging other people for their wrongs because our wrongs are just as bad if not worse. But most of all by loving one another we show the world the faith that we so gloriously walk in.

How can we be viewed as walking with god when we are filled with hate and jealousy? How can we say that we represent the words that we read in the bible, the shouts we hear on Sunday morning and yet still walk around with venomous tongues? This is a walking contradiction, this is the same contradiction that has so many people going away from the church because these actions are inconsistent with the gospel.

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. By loving each other, smiling, speaking kind words to each other and lending a helping hand when we can. These are all ways that we can honor what our Creator has asked us to do. A friend of mine told me when you are thinking something negative, when you are about to show a side of you that is a little ugly just say AMEN and keep it pushing. I said it like 10 times the other day but the most important thing is that it worked. Lets love one another and support one another. Peace and Grace be unto you!

Man is like palm wine; when young sweet but without strength; in old age, strong but harsh.