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Where You Come From?

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Always remember. Honor it. It made you.

Fort WorthHonestly, there are some days I don’t get me. But when I visit home it becomes clear. Crystal.

My hometown is Fort Worth, Texas where the west begins, but still stuck in the old south. It had great chicken fried steak and sweet tea. There are good schools that pass out fine educations.  I went to school with some of the best and brightest.

In high school, I got to interview Alan Bean, Astronaut from the Apollo 12 mission for the school newspaper because he was a graduate from the same school. I remember this moment because he made all of the other media wait and gave me the first few minutes of his time.  It made a lasting impression.

For many years the city was gerrymandered so that Republicans could maintain control of government positions.  I lived in an African American neighborhood south of downtown Fort Worth, and my congressional representative was a physician who lived in South Lake, one of the richest neighborhoods in the state.  There were no town halls with him but I did learn that I lived in a food desert, which is an urban area where it is difficult to buy affordable or fresh food. This neglect made a lasting impression.

It is still a city plagued with racist ideas because the current leadership does not appreciate what marginalized voices bring to the table.  The majority still believe that electing a sheriff that kicks out immigrants is the way to fix our problems. The majority believes electing officials who cover up abusive police officers is the way to handle problems. It is making a national impression.

Knowing that I come from this type of environment makes me cautious because some things I might think are normal, are probably racist. Some of the things I have learned to live with, I probably should not have.

So look at where you come from because it will definitely affect where you are going.

 

 

The One Thing We Need We Often Forget

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We pack all of the things we need for a trip: clothes, shoes, accessories, tickets, gadgets and their chargers. We spend lots of money or find the greatest bargains on flights, hotels, and cruises. Yet many of the things we need to take, we do not.

I know that I am guilty of it.  Many times I take a trip to relax and do everything but relax.  And do I come back rejuvenated? No, I usually need a vacation from my vacation. I come home worn out because I have crammed so many things into the time period.

This journey has taught me that there are some things I need to include along the way.   I have learned that rest, balance, peace and patience help me rejuvenate.  Having these items make the journey less of a chore and more of an adventure.

I have learned not to treat a journey like a 50-yard dash, but more like a marathon. This means I need to bring things that will give me staying power.  The things I have shared with you this month are those things.  Remember to tuck them in your suitcase for your trip.

Searching For the Enemy

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Sometimes the most important things we take on a journey are the things packed in our minds. The stories in our heads can feel like all there is. So we need to make sure our minds are filled with good stuff that will aid us in the journey. Our thoughts. Our hopes. Our dreams.

As God teaches me His truths and how to live, I find that I try them on like clothes. Some fit like skinny jeans good and snug, while others like a loose wide sleeved blouse that flows with the wind. Rest has become an old friend who I see every now and then, while Peace has been a constant companion.

Balance is my nemesis.  When I would really like to focus on that one thing, balance reminds me otherwise. I can’t work on projects all the time. I can’t hang out with family all the time. Why do I have to choose?  Sometimes it is about finding balance between the things you love.

I am also reminded that it is really about the dance. Dances don’t last forever. They have clear beginnings, middles, and ends.  Just like us. We have to recognize where we are in the process.

With a healthy dose of “I can conquer the world” comes our doubts. Our fears. Our shortcomings. It keeps me balanced. It keeps my head in the game. It reminds me where I am at in the journey.

 

A Road Trip Down Memory Lane

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Car 1

As a kid, we did road trips all the time. They were not fun. But as I got older my sister and I did road trips and they were fun.

This past week in my writing class we read Joe Brainard’s I Remember.  It gave me a great many thoughts and send me down memory lane.

I remember strawberry soda, winos, and the Jackson Five playing on the jukebox.

I remember read meat and yellow meat watermelons that grew in Ms. Paramore’s garden.

I remember tea cakes and pickles from Ms. Tiny

I remember Ms. Fannie Mar watched everything, doing laundry and making her dinner

I remember playing in her grass because it was the best grass in the whole neighborhood

I remember when my dad build a fence around our yard, even though there was a still scary alley with overgrown weeds we could cut through to get to the next street.

I remember playing kickball in the street, using different pieces of trash for bases and stopping when cars came, playing till dark and sweating profusely cause we were professionals

I remember riding my bike up and down the hills (how did we have little hills in the flattest part of Texas) I am afraid only the garbage man knows.

I remember playing on the church ground and when that little boy jumped off the outside stairs because he thought he would fly. He didn’t.

I remember when there was a meeting at the church and old people and the young argued.

I remembered when I couldn’t go outside to play on Sunday’s until church was over and when my mother used to send me to church with Ms. Fannie Mae who went to the church with the old old people. Ms. Robelow taught Sunday school.

I remember when the Nazarenes came to teach vacation bible school in the summer

I remember accepting Jesus into my heart, it changed everything and being stumped because it didn’t fell the way I thought it would feel. I expected an explosion, not a whisper.

Car 2

Go Fast Furious Faithful

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to whatever God called you to.  Be all in even if you don’t believe Him for it.

Plane tooThis month I am reading Becoming by Michelle Obama. I am struck by her determination to do things. I love the story about how she fought with her great aunt over piano lessons.  Be so fired up for your cause that you are at the recital sitting on the piano bench in front of the audience before you realize you don’t know where middle C is.

As the BSF teaching leader reminded us last week, remember it is not about the achievement, it is about the journey. Be true to the journey.

The other book I read this month was Frederick Douglass Prophet of Freedom. He was another so determined in his cause that the journey was fascinating. He took the initiative to learn to read and write even though it was illegal.  He didn’t want to miss anything.

That is the way we need to be.  Be true to your journey.