The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. Psalm 34: 15-20

Heaven!!!!!!! Talking bout heaven right here on earth. Stairway to heaven!!! Come on get ya shower sing on. You didn’t know I was in select chorus did you! Yessir, I was supposed to get the solo in 7th grade but they felt bad for another student. Alright I may be stretching the truth but I think I was supposed to get a solo. But here I am singing this oldie but goodie sending out this late message. Today’s C is the counselor. Often when we think of counselors we imagine that someone has a problem, that things are bad. However it may just be that a second opinion can make a world of difference.

None of us are meant to live this life alone and I am thankful for those in my life who I would call a counselor. Whether they are listening while I vent during tough times or just opening my eyes to something even greater during good times these people are essential because they help us grow. We get counsel from the Lord through prayer. His counsel may not come through your SPEAKERBOXX however it may come in the form of other people who were sent to guide you a certain way. It may come through a gut feeling or what have you. The point is the Lord is our redeemer, our ever present counselor. In fact I have found myself at times shying away from counsel because I was scared of what it would bring. All that does is cause more confusion within my spirit. I am thankful for the counselors in my life, as I’m sure you are too. Peace and Grace be unto you!

To be without a friend is to be poor indeed.

Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, Psalms 34:11-12

This is officially the latest Pardon me message in the history of messages. I had the longest day ever and I was constantly on the go so I had no time to write. Around 4pm I was like this is ridiculous, am I ever going to get a chance to write today I thought to myself. Then I thought about where I was going and I realized that something that would happen later on in the day would inspire this message. And what more than our children and their beautiful, innocent faces teach us about inspiration and the hope of great things to come.

I will be teaching these 32 students for the next 5 weeks and if tonight was any indication of what my summer will look like then I can expect an engaging life changing experience. I immediately thought of finding a scripture that deals with our children for they represent our futures. And hopefully the wisdom we have gained over the years can help guide them on the right path and away from some of the mistakes we have made. There were a variety of students there from various backgrounds but as I reflect; no matter who each of us pray to, God brought us together. He brought me to teach them something, and from their youthfulness he wants me to gain something from them. I am more than willing and more than ready; hopefully we all as God’s children will learn the lesson from above and see many good days. Peace and Grace be unto you!

No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, and disciplined.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah Psalm 46: 1-3

Good afternoon, pardon the delay, I had a presentation to give so I was unable to sit at the computer. But I already knew what I wanted to write, I just needed to find the bible verse to go along with it. Low and behold I found it in the Great book of Psalms. God is our refuge, our strength, an ever present help in trouble. I could not agree more and i am thankful that I can find such truths within the bible. So where does all this come from you ask? Well yesterday while traveling home I reflected on my day. I decided to write a message and the contents I will share with you:

Today was just another day where the Lord showed me that I am blessed. Blessed to have such a father, blessed to have such a savior. A God who looks past my many flaws and even looks past the fact that at times I doubt that he hears me. No today the Lord managed to cement more in my head how much he loves me. He never ceases to amaze me, I think its time that I begin to pray for that unyielding faith, that faith where nothing affects me because if something does I know it is the Lord who is channeling his energy through me. I know it is him preparing me to be  the greatest good that I can be. Thank you Lord for your blessings, you are forever loved, appreciated. I pray that we only get closer, I think back to a year ago and where we were then and where we are now. How far you have brought me, what a noble, amazing God we serve. Simply amazing!

Shortly after I wrote this I lost my wallet on the train. My wallet only included my license, credit cards, school id, and my expensive LIRR monthly train pass. It may not sound like much but for like 5 minutes I was devastated. There lay my wallet under the seat and the conductors would not open the door for me and the train just coasted off. So here i am stranded at the train station 40 minutes away from my house with no money, no id no nothing. Well I did have my computer, if I didn’t have that i may have had to jump! But seriously in such a moment of trouble God reached down to help the Ced Meister out. The conductor of a different train went above and beyond to help me. Took me into the conductor’s booth and I literally watched him call any and everybody that could possibly help me. At that moment I knew God was helping me, that god was moving through this man and guiding me out of the situation. Right then I said even if I don’t find the wallet, I don’t care. I am just thankful that even when I am in a bad situation I know I can depend on the Lord. Peace and Grace be unto you!

Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me. How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. Psalm 119: 5-9

You ever look at a train yard while passing through a major station. It looks sorta desolate, almost like an abandoned piece of space. Ironically this piece of space is used everyday to transform someone’s dreams, put food on the table for small children and a host of other things through its power to transport people to and from a variety of places. Our minds have that same ability, while sometimes they feel dark, look abandoned it is still the only key we have towards reaching our goals.

Our mind coupled with God’s word can and will take us to another level, an idea of success that we have yet to fathom. When I first started reading the above scripture I was more dis-satisfied with myself than anything. The word shame resonated with me then I began to think of all the principles and nobility I had been raised with in understanding God’s word, myself and how I have often strayed from that path. But then I looked at the train yard and I thought of all its potential, I wondered where would people get if they just sat in the wreckage of the train yard and never ventured onto the tracks, or if they got off at one stop, all they had to do was get on the next moving train. How can a young man keep his way; by living according to the word. In order to live according to the word we must see our mistakes and use them as a guide of what not to do but we can not dwell on them because then we have just done two unproductive things and that definitely does not lead to a productive move. Peace and Grace be unto you!

Copying everyone else all the time, the monkey one day cut his throat.

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children- with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. Psalm 103: 13-18

We flourish like a flower of the field, our beauty sits for all to see. But just like that it’s gone, and its place remembers it no more, those who marveled at the flower forget the flower was even there. What was the source of the beauty, was it genuine, was it God filled or was it an arrogant self loving flower, one with no regard for the flowers around it or the insects who wanted to taste its sweet nectar to live. Forgive me I’m listening to Miles Davis as I write this, him and Coltrane make me want to sound prolific and artsy lol.

What I like about the this scripture is God sees us from dust to dust. Our whole life span is watched through his eyes, our highs, our lows, whatever they may be he sees them. Sometimes we feel on top of the world but when we do without giving the proper thanks we can find the rug stripped right from under us. Those who were there popping bottles with us are suddenly not there anymore, they remember us no more. But the word says the Lord’s love is everlasting, that not only will we live good under his care but our children’s children as well. Just because we chose to recognize that there is a being that is supreme to us and we allow others to see that in us. We hold true to the principles that he lays out for us, living righteously, caring for one another, and just spreading love and his words of kindness and nobility. I think then and only then can we be that beautiful flower, and no winds or any type of creature can remove us from our splendor, if that makes sense. Peace and Grace be unto you.

This and that palm tree, from which one will you tear a leaf; Here and there a road, which one will you take?

It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp. For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD; I sing for joy at the works of your hands. How great are your works, O LORD, how profound your thoughts! The senseless man does not know, fools do not understand, that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed. But you, O LORD, are exalted forever. For surely your enemies, O LORD, surely your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered. You have exalted my horn [a] like that of a wild ox; fine oils have been poured upon me. Psalm 92: 1-10

2:20 pm, this has to be a record set for the latest Pardon me. Well if I’m going to check in this late I must have some good news to share with you! You know I always have a story to tell, and the scripture represents how I feel about the Lord. How I have to praise his name because he always blesses ya boy. So this story starts somewhere during the semester, I thought i would be overseas with my homegirl Trudi enjoying Europe but God had other plans and that fell through. So needless to say I was not applying for jobs, more or less just doing my school work (sometimes less than more). But one of my other partners in crime hipped me to this fabulous program that she had attended and she thought that i would love it. It was a program teaching our youth the law and preparing them for a mock trial in front of a real Judge during the summer at St. Johns University.

Now you know Ced loves the kids, and I love anything that will allow me to talk and help teach someone something. So I sent my resume, this was the only resume I sent out this whole semester and I let the company know that I was willing to work for free. I just wanted to be apart of this movement that I saw them mobilizing. Doors were closed in my face because all the positions were filled and they could not even take me on as a volunteer. I emailed the executive director and asked him if i could shadow him, I let the man know that I would be an asset to his organization, ALL OF THIS TO NO AVAIL. Then last week I got a phone call, I thought it was the student loan people so I almost did not pick the phone up.

However, I’m glad I did, it was the same company offering me a phone interview right there on the spot. Before this I just planned to blog all summer, who knows where the wind would blow me but I was just going to fly. Today I had my second interview, where I had to do a practice lesson with adults acting as 8th graders. After the practice lesson and interview was over, the Executive Director stuck around, like he wanted to talk to me. That same home girl who first told me of him had told him of me. She let him know that I was a Christian and that I believed in the word of God. We rapped for maybe another 20 minutes just about the Lord and his Greatness and in the middle of that he said “Well, I can just tell you, you already got the job”.

God is good, and the man let me know God worked in mysterious ways on this one. Someone else had the paid position but something caused them to split ways with the gentleman. He said before they went back to the others they had interviewed he remembered that there was this persistent kid who kept emailing him. That pesky kid was me, and my buddy Maat let him know how we all know that God moves through us so he gave me a chance. So here I am, just thankful and thankful that I could share such a moment with you. Peace and Grace be unto you!

Thank you Lord for your blessings, thank the Almighty for the strength?

even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139: 10-14

It’s funny I would stumble upon this verse. I feel like this is the basis for how I feel about my relationship with God. You know how they say you reap what you sow, that’s why I am amazed at the type of relationship God and I have. He doesn’t let me get away with anything! If I do something incorrect, he gets at me immediately and I just sit back like “wow, he’s good, I thought I could get away with that one.” Of course sometimes I get caught up watching what others do, how they hurt people and continue to press on and be happy. However, I know it is not my place to judge their actions and I know that by him showing his disapproval of my actions he is only attempting to make me wiser. Everything that is done in the dark will surely come to the light, so I am thankful that I catch the jack immediately rather than way down the line.

The words are so genuine; “for you created my inmost being, you knit me together”. God is our creator, the masterpiece that you see in front of your mirror every morning is his work. Beauty fades and this is why the Lord teaches us humility and to be noble. A loving, kind, helpful person will receive the blessings of the Lord because they are remaining faithful to his word. We can not hide our flaws from the lord in darkness because he sees us there. Instead we might as well just confess our troubles and flaws to the Lord and ask for his guidance so that we may move out of the darkness rather than trying to hide in it. Today I am going to follow my own advice and try to steer away from doing incorrect things that I will catch the jack for later. Peace and Grace be unto you.

The fool is thirsty in the midst of water.

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Psalm 51: 11-13

Psalm 51 is a long Psalm and I have quoted from it before in the Pardon me messages. I find strength in repeating the whole chapter aloud after I am done praying to God. It is clear that we all make mistakes. No sin is greater than the other and I’m sure I sin everyday. In this Psalm David says “cast me not away from thy presence”. It’s like, I know I am not perfect and I continue to make mistakes Father, but please do not turn away from me for I am your work in progress. I was laying down last night and I was saying to myself how easy it is to talk about faith. To say with your mouth that you believe everything happens for a reason and that it is all in God’s plan. However, I would be lying if I said that its easy to actually make those beautiful words practical. I guess it’s all a journey and a beautiful test we hope to pass.

Speaking of tests, I took my final exam of my 1L year today. A sense of relief came over me when I was finished with the exam. Anxiety set in too however, when we accomplish one feat we often look to the next ordeal or obstacle without taking a moment to be satisfied with our small victory. But back to this scripture, I love it because he asks the Lord to restore joy to him and he asks the Lord to uphold him. It’s like please don’t turn away from me, I make mistakes, but please hold me up with you awesome spirit. After that I am indebted to you, I will teach your word to others and speak highly of your amazing work. Listen we all make mistakes, and we should try and learn from the ones we repeatedly make. Thankfully, the Lord does not turn his back on us, instead he lifts us up to achieve greater heights and we praise his name for that. Sounds like a good look to me. Peace and Grace be unto you.

Things are easier said than done!

Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright. Praise the lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise. Psalm 33: 1-3

These messages get later and later this week huh. Excuse me, I have been trying to beast on these finals, I should be back to getting out the message before 10am starting next week. I am really excited because I am only one exam away from finishing my first year of law school. I really owe so much to God that today I just had to read a scripture that talks about giving praise. Today when I was done with my Constitutional Law exam I just wanted to say thank you, and I did. This was one of those valley classes. Often the material just did not make sense to me. I would read the questions in the book or hear the questions asked in class and be so confused that giving up was definitely a strong option.

However I pulled through and while I do not know the grade on my exam, I am just excited to be done with the class. My worst fear is that I would walk into the classroom on test day and not understand the questions on the final exam. I mean imagine that, you sit in class for four months and you have nothing to write about on the final exam. I kneeled down to the Lord this morning and was like please give me the strength and confidence in my abilities to take this exam and do well. Well I got in there and I wrote for the 2 and a half hours that the exam alotted, were they the right answers, I dunno. But either way I felt grateful that I was able to articulate myself and the material I sorta learned and I knew that was all because the lord was guiding me. I’m smiling for the rest of the day, I hope you are too. Peace and Grace be unto you.

We must do a good job, irrespective of race, and do it so well that nobody can do it better.

Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105