I want to say Thank You for supporting the Queens project to Bridgette Brown help me tell stories of women like Rosa Louise McCauley Parks, known as the “mother of the freedom movement” was a civil rights activist. She was part of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. She was a secretary for the Montgomery Chapter of the NAACP and later received a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
For Lent this year instead of giving up something, I added something.
Every day I told the Lord I loved Him. I mean He already knew, but through this process I learned some things.
Here are some of my take aways:
His love is consistent. He tells me everyday He loves me whether I hear it or not.
He trust us with moments
He protects me from things I don’t know. I don’t need to know everything.
He continually reveals Himself to me.
I am learning not to fight when the day doesn’t go the way I schedule it. I remember one morning He woke me very early to spend my time with Him and do my bible study. I ended up spending the rest of the day at DPS renewing my license. Instead of leaving cranky about how slow DPS was, I was in awe of how God ordered it all.
Even though we think we order our days, plan our paths, control our destiny He showed me that He can shut humanity down with some ice and water. While we were trapped in our houses, I watched birds gather pecans like nothing was happening.
My favorite is the adventure that comes with a life dedicated to Him. Some people think their lives will be boring if they follow Jesus. Over the last month and half I have heard the President speak live, had my film accepted into two great film festivals and had the chance to visit a site from my family history.
Life is not always so full and fun. I think of the incident yesterday in Kenya. New stories said four gunman divided the students between Christian and Muslim. They killed the Christians. In my safe little world of Fort Worth, it is easy to say that I identify with Christ. But I wonder what would I say if there was a gun to my head. Whenever I think I am sure that I would stand up for Jesus, I think of His disciples who chose to run on a day like today. Are you confident of what you would do? If not:
Keep allowing God to work your muscle of faith.
Be confident like the three boys in the furnace.
If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3: 17-18.
I am assured that when those babies entered heaven yesterday that Jesus was standing at the right hand of God welcoming them home. They had passed the most important test.
I want to say Thank You for supporting the Queens project to Anonymous help me tell stories of women like Maya Lin, an American designer who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.
I want to say Thank You for supporting the Queens project to Beverly Chapman Wyatt help me tell stories of women like Mary Tape, a Chinese American who believed all children should have access to public education. In 1885, she sued the San Francisco School District so her children would have access to a good education.
I want to say Thank You for supporting the Queens project to Crystal Browning. You will help me tell stories of women like Dolores Huerta who was a labor leader and civil rights activist. A former girl scout and teacher, Huerta co founded the Agricultural Workers Association which set up voter registration drives. She directed the United Farm Workers national boycott of grapes taking the worker’s plight to the public.
I want to say Thank You for supporting the Queens project to Jackie Keller Anderson help me tell stories of women like Sarah Breedlove, who was known as Madame CJ Walker. She was one of the first female millionaires whos business was built to grow hair. She said, “I want the great masses of my people to take a greater pride in their personal appearance and to give their hair proper attention.”
The Queens of Freedom project will focus on 17 women who have changed the way we live today. These women were queens in their own right, championing freedom and human rights. I will recast women like Sojourner Truth, Madame CJ Walker, Barbara Jordan and 14 more women to be modern day royalty.
This project will use models, costumes and props to remake pictures and tell the stories of their lives.
I want to say Thank You for supporting the Queens project to Annette Coolidge Udvardi help me tell stories of women like Dorothea Lange, a documentary photographer and photojournalist, best known for her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration..
This week I was reminded that we are to live as a community, supporting one another.
This week I got the opportunity to love on a friend of mine as she mourned the loss of her father. I understand her grief as I continue to mourn the recent loss of my mother. Grief is a journey you can get lost on if you are not careful. I believe that is why God has us in communities of people, so that we can support each other as we go through this process.
I have a high priest who understands this type of pain. Although the story is not in the Bible, it is implied that He understands the loss of a parent because his earthly father, Joseph was not around during the time of Jesus’ ministry on earth. Jesus gets this journey on earth and knows that we are better together. It is the second greatest commandment: love your neighbor as yourself.
God blessed me with the opportunity to know not only the daughter, but the mother as well. Over the last couple of years, I got to know her mother while serving in leadership with her working for God’s kingdom. It took me a while to make the connection that I was serving with my friend’s mother. But I was not surprised because awesome women create more awesome women.
I went to bless them, and they were the blessing to me. When times are hard, the Lord will send a community of believers to hold you up. Let them. We mourn together. We laugh together. We pray together. Each day He give us what we need. Each other. We are much stronger than we think we are.
I want to say Thank You for supporting the Queens project to Kim Caraway. She will help me tell stories of women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton who was a social activist, abolitionist and leader in the women’s rights movement. Beyond voting rights for women, Stanton was concerned about parental and custody rights, property rights, employment and income rights and the economic health of the family.
