One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.
Bob Marley
Ayanna Witter-Johnson is a composer, singer, songwriter, cellist, arranger, pianist and producer. She was born in London, England and has an ancestral connection to Jamaica. Her understanding of music and her ability to execute her musical thoughts affords her the ability to create soulfully in many musical genres.
https://www.ayannamusic.com/playlist/
“I’m very interested in the life of racism, how racism works, how racism is felt and experienced by people,”
Dr Monica Moreno Figueroa
Dr Monica Moreno Figueroa is Black-Mestiza and Mexican. She was born and raised in a middle class family in Mexico. She’s a co-founder of Collective to Eliminate Racism in Mexico (COPERA). Currently, she’s an Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow in Social Sciences at Downing College. Her determination to shed light on racism in Mexico has aided in Mexicans of African descent being counted in a historic 2020 Census.
Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare. Psalm 40:5
Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight. Let me and all that that live praise you for your wonderful works. Let us shout thanksgiving to declare your deeds of love. Amen
I’ve suffered cruelly from the hands of those that claimed they loved me. I wanted to believe the lies. Better yet I needed to believe they loved me. And, so, I did! And time after time when I found my loving and lovely heart broken I blamed God. God, believe it or not, is an easy target for our misguided anger over life’s disappointments.
Proverbs 4:23-27, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”
God gives us a mental health care map to living peaceful lives. In His instructions He tells us how to deal with and avoid hurting people in Proverbs 4:23-27. We must understand staying busy doing good things help us live our best life.
PRAYER: Father God, this is a new day with your new mercy given to us because of your grace. Help us, help me, to live this day and everyday that’s productive in giving our lives value affirming we’re loved. Amen
“A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.” Chinese Proverb
So often dark hearted individuals are suspicious and jealous of joyful people. Their evil mindset keep them from truly enjoying life and what they don’t understanding they tag as a threat.
Give them a wide birth. Enjoy your life. They will eventually fall on their own swords.
She is America’s oldest person and she is the second oldest person in the world. She was born May 23, 1899. I can only imagine the wisdom she has learned from life experiences. Her family is so blessed to have her among them! Happy birthday, Mrs. Talley! May you have many more!
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
Dear Lord:
Your word says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” My prayer today is about what does it mean to trust in you? Or should I pray for answers to the following questions: How does a person trust in you Lord? Does this passage support our free will ? And how does it support common sense?
Lord my questions are not original (although I wish they were). But many before me have asked the same during moments of spiritual isolation. And, sadly, so many after me will pose the same question(s) during moments of uncertainty. So, Lord, again, I ask what does it mean to trust in you? Because sometimes Lord I’m afraid those that believe in you fail to know what it means to truly trust in you.
And for that reason Lord, I am asking that you help us to know what you mean in this passage. Help us to merge the wisdom of God with our instinct to spiritually and physically survive. Help us to refrain from blaming you when things don’t go as planned and according to our interpretation of your words. Help us to accept defeat as well as our victories during moments of spiritual growth. So, Lord, I ask again, help us to truly know what it means to trust in you. Amen.
Your Loving Daughter
Annette
A young woman told her mother about her life and how things were so hard. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She then pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me, what do you see?”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.
She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.
The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, Mother?”
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity — boiling water — but each reacted differently. The carrot went in
strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor of your life. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level?
How do you handle adversity? Are you changed by your surroundings or do you bring life, flavor, to them?
SO…..ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?
Black Women Have It Going On 