Happy Black History Month

Lift Every Voice and Sing
by James Weldon Johnson

Lift ev'ry voice and sing,
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list'ning skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on till victory is won.

Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chast'ning rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered.
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
Till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who hast by Thy might,
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand,
True to our God,
True to our native land.

Christmas Prayer

"Merry Blessed Christmas Everyone"

"God grant you the light of Christmas,
which is faith;
the warmth of Christmas,
which is purity;
the righteousness of Christmas,
which is justice;
the belief in Christmas,
which is truth;
the all of Christmas,
which is Christ."

Have a Blessed New Year

My color purple by WENDY C JENNINGS

IF I COULD HAVE SEEN MY COLOR PURPLE

IF I COULD HAVE SEEN MY LIFE, WHERE WOULD I BE?

LOOKING INTO THE THE MOUNTAINS MY EYES HAVE CRIED MANY OF FOUNTAINS.

MANY OF THINGS I'VE HAVE COME TO SEE,

I PRAISE THE LORD FOR WHAT HE HAS ALLOWED ME TO BE.

THE DOCTORS PRONOUCE ME DEAD AT TWO, MY GRANDMOTHER PRAYED AND SAID

GOD IS NOT THROUGH.

AT FIVE A MAN HURT ME BADLY

I'M STILL ALIVE.

MY YOUNG TEEN LIFE I FELT SO OUT IN SPACE,

MOST OF MY FRIENDS HAD LEFT THIS PLACE.

I HAD A CHILD WHO WOULD LOVE ME

A MAN WHO WOULD PUT A GUN TO MY FACE.

I'VE NEVER KNOWN HOW TO LOVE MYSELF, I THOUGHT I HAD TO PLEASE OTHERS TO BE LOVED.

I MUST LOVE MYSELF

THAT IS WHAT I MUST SEE TO BE ME.

I'VE CLIMB MANY MOUNTINS OF PAIN.

NOW I MUST CLIMB THE MOUNTIN THAT GOD HAS PROCLAIM.

ACCEPTING THE LORD CHRIST AS MY LORD AND SAVIOR.

I WILL SOON SEE MY LIFE WILL BE FREE.

PURPLE

THAT IS ME

JUST LIKE THE COLOR PURPLE GOD HAS NOT PASSED ME BY.

HE WAS JUST TRYING TO TELL ME SOMETHING.

AS I LOOK OUT INTO THAT BIG BLUE SKY, MY COLOR IS PURPLE

THERE IS NO REASON TO EVER CRY

GOD HAS NOT PASSED ME BY.

THANK YOU GOD FOR ALLOWING ME THE STRENTH TO CLIMB THESE MOUNTINS.

IF I COULD HAVE SEEN MY COLOR PURPLE

YOU WOULD HAVE NEVER SAW, THAT IS ME,

PAIN

UNDERSTANDING

REPECT

PRAYING

LOVING

EXPECTING

THE UNEXPECTED, MY COLOR PURPLE

Fade To Purple

As if Im sitting on purple clouds
Covered in purple shrouds
Singing purple kissed melodies loud
The Purple Master himself would be proud

Gifted, these fragrant purple flowers
Soaking wet, drenched from purple showers
Lifted, high high high atop purple towers

Yet as I walk through purple haze rooms
Filled with purple phased fumes
Im enlightened by the purple tazed blooms
Purple vibes that remove crazed glooms

Hungry I appetize on purple wood blunts
To then feast upon a purple smoke lunch
Break bread, along with the purple grape bunch
Fade To Purple To Get Me Through The Crunch


Jamie Ellen Christian

Do not go gentle into that good night by Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

Dreams by Langston Hughes

Dreams
by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.


Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Prayer for my Sister in Christ

Lord, I pray for my sis who is in need.
I'm asking for You to intercede.
You know the trials she's going through.
She wants answers that come from You!

Lead her in the path You want her to go.
For it's Your will, which she seeks to know!
She knows that Your timing alone is the best.
But, please, grant it soon---is my request.

I ask Your help because I really care.
Her heart is in deep need of repair.
She hurts so much, she's broken inside.
Yet, she knows she can trust You as her Guide!

She's confused, what is she to do?
She need YOU to come to her rescue!
There's no answers that she can see.
You can bring her where she needs to be!

I know everything is under Your control.
I know You love & care for her precious soul.
I know You've never left her alone.
I believe Your will soon be made known!

Until that time comes, please hold her tight.
Let her know, everything will be made right.
Kiss her tears away when she cries.
Bring her back to her sunshiny skies.

Those sunny skies that were once overhead.
They have been filled with dark clouds instead.
Please lift the burden, her strength renew.
To Your praise & glory, let the sun shine through!



By Patricia Kubicki

Be Thankful

Be Thankful

By Unknown



Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.

If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something,

for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.

During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,

because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,

because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach

you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary,

because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who

are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,

and they can become your blessings.

On Valentine's Day

On Valentine's Day


We show our love;
We express our deep affections.
Those who are important to us
Get cards and sweet confections.

But Christian love is not just for
The ones we hold most dear;
Jesus said "love everyone;"
He made that very clear.
For Christians, it is every day.
We should care and love and serve
Everyone we meet in life,
Whether they do or don't deserve.

Let's follow Jesus' good command
To love everyone we meet.
Valentine's Day every day
Will make life twice as sweet.

James Earl Jones & Aaron Neville Read “The Night Before Christmas”

SISTER DEAR

Forgiveness is my sister dear
Jesus told me this is so -
And so I love her tenderly
Remembering she shares with prayer
A sacred function in my life
Unlocking frozen pain and fear
Repressed beneath my conscious mind
In attitudes which curb and bind.

So many things were "law" to me
The taint of right and wrong
The slightest hint of difference
Unleashed my judgement's edge.
And cutting deep I'd comments keep
On everybody's head
To hold against them if they dared
To threaten my serenity.

But she my sister soon did show
That this was hurting me.
The trouble lay not there with them
But deep inside of me.
The slightest pang of discontent
Reaction to events,
Unknown to me was pointing not
Out there at all
But showed that I believed in "sin"
Enshrined within forever since the "fall".

Each niggling pain forgiveness came
To gently rearrange.
Relentless hate I'd harboured changed
Another world I viewed.
The painful "truth" about us all
The barricades against recall
That I had feared to view
Receded drop by drop each day
As I became aware of you
My loving sister new.

Like gentle dew at morning found
Bestowed upon unyielding ground
She came to softly rain
Release upon me too.
In face of parched hard judgement I would hear
Her ask permission in my ear
To help me reconsider ....
Reconsider painful "facts" and briefly wonder whether
They were facts at all or even hard-edged bigotry.

And so I'd look forgiveness' way
And find within my mind
Thoughts like little bits of glass
Broken into slivers,
Fragments of fear embedded deep
Which set my heart a-quiver.

She gently urged me not to fear
But look again and see
If I could just mistaken be.
Perhaps my brother just like me
Could still be viewed quite peacefully
And seen another way.
Another way which absolved blame.
Perhaps he acted out of pain.

And so she turned harsh judgement's blade
Which pointed at my brother,
And showed it pointed then at me
Unless I wanted to be free
From it myself, and asked her help.

"Would you accuse yourself of this?"
She said, "Forgive yourself again.
Your hatred of yourself this is
Not judgement's just revenge."

And so l did and,lo ....!
The pain which was but cover
Was straightway gone and wondrously
Still lovable my brother!

For accusations of myself
I'd mirrored in him plain
As "sin" and cankering offence
Which thought swore could not ever be
Removed or recompensed - were gone!

Forgiveness set her brothers free
As equals and as friends.
And now by sweet reflection I could see
That he was innocent as me...

This change of mind is gentle, kind
Corrects the pain within
And leaves a space for peace and grace
To enter in, to enter in...!

written by Minette Quick
Inspired by the Song of Prayer and
A Course in Miracles a line of which is quoted above

A FLICKERING CANDLE SHOW

Illness is an attack upon the truth
That I am changeless and like God.
It is an attack on truth itself
Which is God.
It is a defence against God's supposed attack on me
God's punishment of my "unforgivable sin"
My belief that I am worthy of punishment
By God, and that no suffering is too much
To pay for what I have done to Him.

And yet I have not "sinned" at all
I never left His side!
This dreary catalogue of crime
Escaped His conscious mind
Despite all efforts I have made
To leave and then to hide,
He smiles at me, beside Him still
He sees no cause for sighs!

My heart is full of JOY not pain
My mind of PEACE not "sin"
I radiate His LIGHT around
I let His GLORY in.

My brothers need to know it's true
They need to know it too
They've not betrayed their inner bond
Or strayed away from Him
Unchanging we have never left
The home we share with Him!

His heart is full of JOY not pain
His mind of PEACE not "sin''
He radiates His LIGHT around
He lets His GLORY in.

This outer world of darkness is
A flickering candle show
Where little light and shadows deep
Perpetuate illusion's supposition grim
That projection can at least provide
Some slight, though brief protection
From the fears I entertain.

Our hearts are full of JOY not pain
Our minds of PEACE not "sin"
We radiate His LIGHT around
We let His GLORY in!

written by Minette Quick

I said a Prayer

I said a prayer for you today
And knew God must have heard;
I felt the answer in my heart
Although He spoke not a word.

I didn't ask for wealth or fame
(I know you wouldn't mind);
I asked for priceless treasures rare
Of a more lasting kind.

I prayed that He'd be near to you
At the start of each day,
To grant you health and blessings fair,
And friends to show your way.

I asked for happiness for you
In all things great and small,
But that you'd know His loving care
I prayed the most of all.

Just For Today

Just for this morning I won't wash cloths, instead we will watch your favorite cartoon.
Just for this morning I won't wash dishes, instead we will color together.
Just for this afternoon I won't watch my soaps; instead we will go to the park and feed the ducks.
Just for this afternoon you and I will snuggle up on the couch and watch a favorite movie and eat popcorn.
Just for tonight I will let you help me fix dinner and I won't yell at you for making a mess.
Just for tonight I won't yell when you splash water all over the bathroom floor.
Just for tonight when I tuck you into bed and we snuggle together to read your favorite story I will hold you a little tighter and a little longer and Thank God for giving you to me.

Just For Today by Misty J. Eades Family Love Poems

When Life Gets So Hard

When Life Gets So Hard


I wanted to find some words on a card ... That would help to get
thru it when life gets so hard.

It seems you can't bear it - perhaps can't go on -
When deep in the heart there's no trace of a song.

Some words that would comfort - when late in the night the trials return and - you're too tired to fight. Or the tears flow so often it seems you'll run dry.
And life gets so tough that you just want to die - Or at least go and hide -
where you're safe from all pain. Someplace you can rest 'til you find joy again.

What are the words you so need to hear - That will help and will heal and remove all the fear - That builds up inside 'til you think you'll explode -
What are the words that will lighten the load?

If only I knew the right words to say ... To encourage and Bless you or
comfort some way. I know not the words but this I can do.
I shall offer up Prayers to the Father for you.

~~Author Unknown~~

Poem from God

To: All Who Believe in Me

From: God

Subject: Life's Problems

Good Morning. I am God. Today I will be handling all of your problems.
Please remember that I do not need your help.

If the devil happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle,
DO NOT attempt to resolve it. Kindly put it in the
SFJTD (something for Jesus to do) box.
It will be addressed in MY time, not yours.

Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold on to it or
attempt to remove it. Holding on or removal will delay the
resolution of your problem.

If it is a situation that you think you are capable of handling,
please consult me in prayer to be sure that
it is the proper resolution.

Because I do not sleep nor do I slumber, there is no need for you to lose any sleep. Rest my child. If you need to contact me,
I am only a prayer away.

I will be with you always.....

Sisters

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right.
Love the ones who don't just because you can.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance,
grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Kiss slowly.
Forgive quickly.
God never said life would be easy.
He just promised it would be worth it.

Calling All Angels

Written by Lea MacDonald
SFFD-Captain-227
"Calling All Angels! Calling All Angels!" Went out his thunderous plea.
"I am thy Lord beseeching my horde to assemble in front of me!"
In a flash the angels did dash to gather at His feet,
And hear His plan to help all man by use of Heaven's elite.

"The Devil's made a play this September day to hurt the ones I love,
He's loosed upon earth his demonic worth now push has come to shove.
I'll not stand by and have good men die without awareness in their heart,
So this day in my plan-full way a battle I'm going to start."

"Gabriel old friend to this end welcome every woman and man,
That'll come our way this fateful day who died by Satan's hand.
And before you go you need to know a few you'll bring straight to me,
Firefighters all now standing tall known as The Three-Forty-Three."

With Gabriel gone and quiet the throng they wondered at His plan,
To send and quell the flames of hell by use of mortal man.
All manner of doubt filled the strongest and stout of Heaven's holy array,
And fear fell upon the heavenly throng at the plan the Lord set this day.

"I can sense in thy hearts hesitation to start a battle you don't understand,
But confused as you Satan is too and that is the heart of my plan.
Fear yea not for what I've wrought I'll ask none here to face his fork,
But I'll send into hell those who fell the firefighters from New York!"

Then Lord raised his staff and began to laugh in roaring thunderous glee,
And in a booming blaze they stepped from a haze The Angelic Three-Forty-Three.
They fell into line in very short time making perfect formations of rows,
And the Lord caused to slip onto every man's hip a golden heavenly hose.

"The gravest mistake Satan did make when he struck down these men so brave,
Thinking idle I'd stand not extending my hand and their souls I would not save.
Have no fear for the men standing here the way to his place they know well,
For verily each day they've collected their pay by stepping into hell.

These men know their task now angels I ask that you hasten straight to earth,
Then comfort their friends when the tally begins and they start to question their worth.
Console them with wings and all heavenly things on their shoulder your head is to rest,
Send whispers of thanks from our heavenly ranks, say: 'God knows you did your best.'"

Calling All Angels

September Eleventh

by Penny Cagan
I could tell you what it was like to be there -
the sky black with bodies - humanity colluding with gravity -
people jumping in pairs - linked lives spent working together
in towers so tall it must have felt like heaven to sit at a desk
and watch the city transform with the light of the seasons -
the moment sealed windows were liberated with office furniture,
the moment of shattered glass
when doomed colleagues linked hands and decided to jump -
the early fall air washed with morning coolness -
the escape from the rattling of downtown, suffocating smoke, the heat -
to be a witness to all this, on the ground, not quite safe,
but spared from all but the watching,
yes, I could tell you what it was like,
but that would require the crafting of a narrative
from the singed paper raining down like confetti,
the sky blackened with terrorist graffiti,
the towers stricken, and then stricken again,
their dark shadows erased from the sky,
my clothes soaked with dust and ash -
that gorgeous autumn day - the kind that makes late August
bearable because of the promise of its crisp breath,
and the light, the pure sweet morning light
of September Eleventh,
the event that I could speak of -
if there was something here to say.

September was my favorite month
the sun suddenly different than it was the day before,
somehow gentler and sunken in the sky,
its reflection elongated against the towers,
languorous August now in retreat,
both the unease and promise of longer nights,
the new season upon us with all that it brings,
the residual memories from our school days,
the purchase of new school supplies -
the lure of a sharpened pencil,
a notebook neatly divided into subjects,
the fine lines of green graph paper,
the anticipation of unopened textbooks,
the comfort of a light woolen sweater
slung low on the shoulders,
slung low like the month itself -
hope embedded in a porous rubber eraser.