Assessments!

Whenever you take on a new job or walk into a situation where you plan to serve, you must first take a step back. Retreat.  Take stock.  Take notes.  See what has transpired.  Then form a plan of action.

Life is quite the same way around this time of the year.  As you wind down to the last two months of the year, stop, look and listen.  Review the past ten months.  Look at your logs, journals, notes and important papers.

Ask yourself, “How did I do?  Where did I grow? Where are my weak points?  Where are my victories?” An honest appraisal will help you see how far you have come.  And, yes progress has definitely been made, somewhere, somehow and in some areas.

Ask yourself, “How did I do in the Relationship Department? Did I make peace with some?  Did I delete others from my world?  How many new contacts have I added to my personal and professional worlds?”

If you compare your current state to where you were this time last year, can you see that you are better off?  If so, how?  If not, why?

Ask yourself, “Am I stronger and more confident?  Am I less affected by the actions and thoughts of others?” Keep listing those questions as you take a personal inventory of events, feelings and reactions.

“Is my faith stronger?  Do I feel like there is hope so that I can keep on thriving and surviving?”

Make those assessments.  Be honest. Be candid and be fair.  Give yourself a break as you look back and face situations squarely in the eye.

Then, when all of that business has been handled, start formulating that Dream List for 2017 as you carefully tie up those loose ends of 2016.

The future is bright and right ahead.  So, “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”( Hebrews 12:1 )

Never give up!

Lynn M.                                                                                                                November 25, 2016

Loving: A Movie!

The slow pace of the film, Loving, symbolizes the long days that exist when living in the South and the lack of speed that it took for this interracial couple to get a fair ruling in the courts. Richard and Mildred Loving were a married couple that lived in Virginia.  He was white and she was African-American and Cherokee.

In 1958, the authorities broke into their home and arrested both of them for breaking the law which did not allow mixed couples to marry.  They had driven to Washington D.C. to get married.  The Virginia courts told them that they had to either serve a year in prison or leave the state for 25 years.

They moved to a poor part of Washington D.C. and had three children while they lived with another family.  Mildred Loving missed being around her own family and at one point she sat down and wrote Attorney General Robert Kennedy.  He replied and referred her case to the ACLU.   Lawyer Cohen was assigned and later teamed up with Lawyer Hirschkop, a civil rights lawyer. Then, the long process for justice began.

After one of their sons was hit by a car, the Lovings secretly moved back to Virginia, but rented a farm in a different county.  She wanted enough land where the children could run freely and not have to play ball in the streets.

The two lawyers worked on the case for almost ten years and it eventually made it to the Supreme Court. Life Magazine also interviewed the couple and helped expose the outdated laws through photography.  He took a famous photo of Mr. Loving resting in his wife’s lap as they watched television.

In 1967, the Supreme Court decided to hear the case.  The lawyers invited the Lovings to come to DC to be present at the hearings.  Mr. Loving said no and she said that she was not going without him.  He was asked what he wanted to say to the justices and he simply said, “Tell them that I love my wife.”

They won and it became legal for interracial couples to marry in the State of Virginia.  Other states followed suit.  The charm, the love and the camaraderie of Richard and Mildred was compelling.  Only the gods could have given them such an appropriate last name.  Through it all, they remained solid, of one mind and quite loving to one another.

The actors were also quite convincing in their roles. Interestingly, Mr. Loving was played by  Joel Edgerton from Australia and Mrs. Loving was played by Ruth Negga from Ethiopia.  After comparing them to what was read and seen about the real Lovings on YouTube, these two fine actors got it right.  It took two artists from other countries to show a bleak chapter in American history that happened not that long ago!

Lynn M.                                                                                                 November 17, 2016

Those Old Love Songs!

Have you ever listened to a beautiful love song and then felt the need to attach its meaning to someone?  In order to connect to the flow of the lyrics, you pick up the memories of a former love that you’ve already released!

Why?  Because you are not currently involved in a relationship, so you unconsciously reach back into the past. Danger! Danger!  The last thing you want to do is recycle what has already been placed in the dumpster.

You can stir around and stir around and chances are you will find a small salvageable piece for longer use. But nine times out of ten, you will end up trashing it again.

So when those touching love songs come on, enjoy one or two and get caught up in that false nostalgia for a few minutes.  Play them sparingly, if you are at an in-between stage in relationships.

In order to avoid crying in your soup over some stale, spilled milk, you should change that tune.  Put on some freeing, airy music instead.  Try some nice instrumentals, a tad of jazz, some classical or even a little light rock, rap or reggae to liven your step.

But don’t become enmeshed in those love songs that make you pine for something that you’ve  already  discarded.  Those words can pull at your heart-strings and make you travel down a guaranteed bumpy road. Again!

Instead, listen to some calm or even humorous music that allows you to think clearly and feel hopeful.  The holidays are coming and you don’t want to be dizzy while seated on a tiring merry-go round at the beginning of the New Year.  Be mindful of what you listen to as you prepare for your fresh, new date with destiny!

Lynn M.                                                                                                                                                                  November 13, 2016

Herb Kent: A Tribute

Herb Kent came like a soft lantern,
Whose brilliance was turned up
To emit a more glorious light.
Its rays brightened each starry night.

We listened to his melodious voice,
On the Chicago airwaves,
That charmed us, wowed us and gave us glee.

The King of Dusties! Spinning records at those Steppers Sets.
He could transport us back to times gone by,
And fill us with the musical history along the way.

During those turbulent 60’s,
He calmed us, stilled us and
Reminded us that this too shall pass.

Then, his light dimmed with a gentle hush,
As softly as a candle is blown out.
Poof! Gone.

Yet, he breezed through his life and ours.
We are so glad that he ‘stopped on by.’

He gave us so much!
And we are the richer because of his anointed journey!
Lynn M.                                                          November 6, 2016

A November Thanks!

November’s beautiful colors of rust,
Clear away summer’s gritty sand and dust.

Horns-a-plenty filled with the new harvest,
Varieties of goodies at their best!

Gobbling turkeys and quacking ducks to dress,
Family members come and give that caress.

A great start to the holiday season,
Love shared, hearts filled are the basic reason!

Lynn M.                                                                                                      November 5, 2016