And I will do everything that I can as long as I am President of the United States to remind the American people that we are one nation under God, and we may call that God different names but we remain one nation.
-Barack Obama



Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.
- Martin Luther King Jr (Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech)

I chose to share these quotes & pictures of these two influential men in celebration of Black History Month. They have both helped to encourage me & inspire me to push forward in life & hold my head up high! It is amazing to me how through the power of God, that these men were able to accomplish so much & it is through the same power of God that I am able to accomplish goals in my life. I would like to take this time to thank all of my friends who have also helped me through my journey.

There is also a new opportunity in my life that I am grateful for and it is because of my dear friend, Terri Schell. She has been helping me with a new project and I hope to be able to give an update soon of good news. This new project has allowed me to visit Atlanta and I will be going back this month. When I go to Atlanta I am able to meet new friends & enjoy my time there.

The Big Mans Got It!!

I'm Your Disease

I hate meetings. I hate HIGHER POWER. I hate anyone who has a program. To all who come in contact with me, I wish you death and I wish you suffering.

Allow me to introduce myself. I am the disease of addiction. Cunning, Baffling, and Powerful, that's me. I have killed millions and I am pleased. I love to catch you with the element of surprise. I love pretending I am your friend and lover. I have given you comfort, have I not? Wasn't I there when you were lonely? When you wanted to die, didn't you call me? I was there. I love to make you hurt. I love to make you cry. Better yet, I love when I make you so numb you can neither hurt nor cry. This is true glory. I will give you instant gratification and all I ask of you is long-term suffering. I've been there for you always. When things were going right in your life, you invited me. You said you didn't deserve these good things; I was always the one who would agree with you. Together we were able to destroy all things good in life.

People don't take me seriously. They take strokes and heart attacks seriously, even diabetes they take seriously. Fools that they are, they don't know that without my help these things would not be made possible.

I am such a hated disease, and yet I do not come uninvited. You choose to have me. So many have chosen me over reality and peace.

More than you hate me, I HATE all of you who have a twelve-step program. Your program, your meetings, your Higher Power all weaken me and I can't function in the manner I am accustomed to.

Now I must lie here quietly. You don't see me, but I am growing bigger than ever. When you exist, I may live. When you live, I only exist. But I am here... and until we meet again, if we meet again, I wish you death and suffering.


NEVER GIVE UP

No matter what is going on
Never give up
Develop the heart
Be compassionate
Not just to your friends
But to everyone
Be compassionate
Work for peace
In your heart and in the world
Work for peace and I say again
Never give up
No matter what is happening
No matter what is going on around you
Never give up

St. Joseph's/Candler SOURCE

Today, I'd like to talk about St. Joseph's/Candler SOURCE, a program that provides my healthcare and case management. I've been on the program for about 10 years, and it allows my medicaid benefits to reach me without having to live in a nursing home. My case managers have helped me out quite a bit over the years. We have had a pretty good relationship, meaning that we don't always see exactly eye to eye, but we get over it. I also have a good relationship with one of the managers at SOURCE. She's not my case manager, but she helps me out whenever she can.

I go down to the SOURCE office at the Georgia Infirmary fairly often, and it's nice because everyone knows me, just like most of Savannah. That's what happens when you've grown up here.

After my strokes, SOURCE helped me get into physical therapy to help me recover and gain back strength.

I've also worked with a lot of volunteers over the years. We do things like update my blog, learn how to work with my dynavox speaking computer, and various art projects. I like meeting new people, and its nice to consistently have volunteers around. Mike is the current volunteer and his year is about to end in a couple of weeks. He's helped me stay in contact with people through email and facebook, and we've kept up on posting to the blog too.

I'd like to say a quick prayer for the people who have helped me over the years, not just at SOURCE, but everywhere.

Our Father, who art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us,
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.

For Think is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever.
Amen.

The Big Man's got it!

Alumni Picnic

I recently attended an alumni picnic for Beach High School. I am part of the class of 1981, and it's been 30 years since I graduated. I got to see a lot of people that i graduated with, people I hadn't seen in a long time. Some of my classmates didn't look like they changed a bit, while others looked like they had changed a lot. I even got to catch up with some of best friends from high school. A lot of people who had moved out of Savannah after graduating came back for the picnic.



A lot of people hadn't seen me since I had my strokes and it kind of took them by surprise. They were patient and tried to understand what I was saying to them. They thought I had changed in some ways, but not all.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard." Psalm 19:1-3

Graduation

Last Tuesday, I attended Johnson High School's graduation at the Civic Center. I went to see my pastor's son graduate. It was a very nice ceremony, and I was happy to be invited. My pastor's son is about to go away to college. I'm proud of the work he has done and I wish him the best for the future.

"Everybody has a worldview... some basic premises that you think about life and you say, 'Ah, that informs what I do and how I see things.' Christians must see that the faith is more than a religion or even a relationship with Jesus; the faith is a complete view of the world and humankind's place in it. Christianity is a worldview that speaks to every area of life, and its foundational doctrines define its content. If we don't know what we believe - even what Christianity is - how can we live it and defend it? Our ignorance is crippling us."

Farewell Show

After 25 years, Oprah's talk show is going off the air. I remember when her show first started to get national attention, and it's been going strong ever since. I tried to watch every day if I could, I always enjoyed it.

Her story is incredibly inspiring, as she came from nothing to being one of the richest and most powerful women in the world.



On her first show, she said, "One thread running through each show is the message that you are not alone." This was the first of 10 lessons that she talks about on her final show Wednesday.

2. "Wherever you are that is your talk show and that is where your power lies."

3. "[A calling] lights you up and lets you know you're exactly where you're supposed to be doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing. Live from the heart of yourself. You have to know what sparks the light in you so you in your own way can illuminate the world."

4. "Nobody but you is responsible for your life. And what is your life? What is all life? Every flower, rock, tree? Energy. And you're responsible for the energy that you create for yourself and that you bring to others."

5. "All the energy you spend trying to hurt someone else will turn around and slap you in the face."

6. "There is a difference between thinking you deserve to be happy and knowing you are worthy of happiness. We often block our own blessings because we don't feel smart or pretty or worthy enough. The show's taught me you're worthy because you're born and you're here. You alone are enough."

7. "[People] want to know 'Do you see me, do you hear me? Does what I say mean anything to you?' Try it with your children, your husband, your boss -- validate them. 'I see you. I hear you. And what you say matters to me.'"

8. "I know that presence [God], that flow -- some call it grace -- is working in my life at every single turn. It's closer than your breath and it's yours for the asking ... You can acknowledge it or not. You can ignore it. Or you can know it... God is love and god is life and your life is always speaking to you.

9. "My hope is you will be a safe harbor for somebody else. Connect, embrace, liberate, love just one person. Then spread that to two and see what a difference that makes."

10. "There are no coincidences. Only divine order here."

I know that this isn't the end for Oprah, and that she'll be successful in whatever else she chooses to do. I wish her the best.


10 Lessons taken from: http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2011/05/oprahs-final-farewell-10-lessons-learned.html

Another opportunity for reflection...

Let my love enfold you in the radiance of My Glory. Sit still in the Light of My Presence, and receive My Peace. These quiet moments with Me transcend time, accomplishing far more than you can imagine. Bring Me the sacrifice of your time, and watch to see how abundantly I bless you and your loved ones.

Through the intimacy of our relationship, you are being transformed from the inside out. As you keep your focus on Me, I form you into the one I desire you to be. Your part is to yield to My creative work in you, neither resisting it nor trying to speed it up. Ejoy the tempo of a God-breathed life by letting Me set the pace. Hold My hand in childlike trust, and the way before you will open up step by step.


"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18

"Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory." Psalm 73:23-24

Reflection for the day...

Taste and see that I am good. The more intimately you experience Me, the more convinced you become of My goodness. I am the Living One who sees you and longs to participate in you life. I am training you to find Me in each moment and to be a channel of My loving Presence. Sometimes My blessings come to you in mysterious ways: through pain and trouble. At such times you can know My goodness only through your trust in Me. Understanding will fail you, but trust will keep you close to Me.


Thank Me for the gift of My Peace, a gift of such immense proportions that you cannot fathom its depth or breadth. When I appeared to My disciples after the resurrection, it was Peace that I communicated first of all. I knew this was their deepest need: to calm their fears and clear their minds. I also speak Peace to you, for I know your anxious thoughts. Listen to Me! Tune out other voices, so that you can hear Me more clearly. I designed you to dwell in Peace all day, every day. Draw near to Me, receive My Peace.


"Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." - Psalm 34:8


"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." - Colossians 3:15

Citizen Advocacy Dinner

Last Thursday, I attended the Chatham-Savannah Citizen Advocacy 33rd Annual Covered Dish Supper. It was my 5th year attending and it was a great a night as always. It was was a packed house at the Savannah Station, with about 350 people in attendance. I sat with Jenny Brown and Mike Grathwol from SOURCE and enjoyed some good food, some good speakers and some good music. I ran into some old friends, and it was really good to see them again - especially some friends from Union Mission.



To start off the evening, there was a band outside playing some good music while people mingled on the patio.


I really enjoyed Tom Kohler's speech as well as a local lawyer's speech about being a citizen advocate. There was also a younger girl who is a protege in the program who gave an excellent talk about how much her advocate has meant to her.



The food was in abundance and really good as always. I especially enjoyed the peach cobbler and made sure to grab seconds.



I've known Tom for quite a while, and I'm very proud of the work he's been doing. He built up the program from scratch into the wonderful community that it is today. I consider him a friend.


I also ran into Terri that evening, and got to catch up with her a little bit.




-- God's gift for you is eternal life. That means to live with Him in Heaven forever. He said, "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish."


The Big Man's Got it!