SubscribeAugust 2010
Adventures in China (0)
8/30/10 •
My daughter is on her way back to college today, and I am accompanying her. So are two of her aunts and her pastor. We all want to make sure that she gets settled just right in Beijing. This will be a learning experience for all of us. While she is getting adjusted to a [...]
Dealing with your new normal (0)
8/28/10 •
Sometimes life crashes in on us with such force that it changes our normal way of being. That’s what happened five years ago in New Orleans. Charles Evans was trapped at the New Orleans Convention Center with thousands of other desperate New Orleans residents following Hurricane Katrina. Then age 9, Charles touched my heart when [...]
Moving beyond anger to do good (0)
8/25/10 •
“Are you angry, bitter, ticked off?” the CNN commentator asked Shirley Sherrod, who yesterday said no to a job offer from the man who fired her weeks ago. Sherrod, as you may recall, is the former Agriculture Department official from Georgia who was summarily dismissed by the big boss at the USDA when a conservative blogger [...]
Unleashing the power within (0)
8/23/10 •
What would happen today if I fully uncorked the power that resides within me? What if you did the same? Just imagine if women of God of all shades stopped today and really lived Philippians 4:13 without doubt and fear. What would happen if African American women, some of the strongest women created by God, unleashed [...]
Ready to leap for joy (0)
8/20/10 •
A convergence of circumstances has me thinking about joy and how it is manifested in my life. But it was a conversation with a friend earlier this week that really sent me into a bout of navel gazing, as another friend once described my labored thought-process. Basically, my long-time friend told me Wednesday that I [...]
Pray at 3 p.m. for 30 days for our children (0)
8/18/10 •
Something has got to change. And it has got to be us. Our children need us. They need our fervent prayers and our active involvement in their lives. They need their mothers, aunties, sisters and female cousins and friends to nurture them into wholeness and to help keep them away from paths that lead to [...]
Bless and be blessed (0)
8/16/10 •
My original best friend, as she calls herself, blessed me last month with a daily devotional for my birthday. Leetta really enjoys reading the encouraging words of this young minister from Singapore and wanted to share them with me. The daily reflections, written by Joseph Prince and entitled “Destined to Reign,” have opened up my heart [...]
Wake up to joy (0)
8/09/10 •
From the time my eyes opened fully this morning, the vamp of a rousing Christian song started running though my mind. And it hasn’t stopped yet. It goes “Wake up joy is here. Wake up. Wake up joy is here. Wake up!” That’s a message that’s good for any day of the week, any moment of the [...]
Is your pastor burning out? (0)
8/04/10 •
For anyone who cares about their pastor, this story is worth a read. For that matter, there may be something in it for you if you are one of those people who spend a lot of time and energy “doing the Lord’s work” and it is wearing you down. This New York Times story about [...]
Young leaders blossom, inspire hope (0)
8/03/10 •
I used to be able to multitask pretty well, but last week I found it extremely difficult to accomplish much more than what was before me. And not just because I didn’t have Internet access most of the day. I kept feeling that I had to be present where I was and to hold only one [...]
July 2010
Apology accepted (0)
7/23/10 •
There are just some things you ought not to apologize for, my friend insisted last week. If you know you are right and that God has told you to do a thing, then no matter how much folks protest or what they say, you just shouldn’t apologize, she fussed. Given the context in which she [...]
And the truth shall set you free (1)
7/21/10 •
The last couple of days have been a whirlwind for Shirley Sherrod, the former USDA rural development director, who has gone from being vilified as a racist to being hailed as selfless public servant. All because of a manipulated video clip that went viral on the Internet. Sherrod’s story illustrates the importance of telling the [...]
Do you do you? (0)
7/19/10 •
“Do You.” Those words continue to reverberate in my mind with the cadence of a song, following my pastor’s sermon yesterday on lessons learned when things go your way. While outlining several points about living with success, Pastor Turner urged each of us to understand who God called us to be and to do what [...]
Waking up with gratitude and trust (0)
7/16/10 •
What a wake-up call! I’m not sure which came first, the rumbling train-like sound or the quick shaking of my bed. But I sprung up just as they were subsiding since, fortunately, neither lasted very long. Almost instinctively though, I blurted out “an earthquake.” It’s still hard to image that Washington, D.C. , the nation’s [...]
Trusting God or toting guns in church? (2)
7/14/10 •
I am wondering what God must be thinking about church folks who already and who are considering strapping on guns as part of their Sunday best. I got to ruminating about this after reading a response today to news of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal signing into law a bill that would allow parishioners with concealed-weapons permits [...]
Task number one –Trust God (0)
7/12/10 •
Earlier today as I was prioritizing my tasks and mentally preparing for an important meeting this evening, the words “Trust God” slipped into the center of my thoughts. I had already prayed this morning, both singularly and with my prayer partner, and thought that territory had been covered. I have great trust in God, I [...]
Righteous Mind with Rev. Cynthia T. Turner (2)
7/07/10 •
When a Black woman screams out loud, it’s bad. It’s not that she never screams; surely she does and often. But seldom out loud. Surely she had to scream during slavery when some slimy creepy body climbed on her belly to use her as a receptacle. I know she screamed then but not out loud. [...]
Lessons from my brother’s life (0)
7/05/10 •
When last I spoke with my brother Earl, he was ebullient, almost giddy. “Hey Sis,” he began. “Just wanted to touch bases.” “God is good, even when we aren’t good,” he said, as he talked excitedly about the changes he was making in his professional life. He was finally leaving the NAACP, the organization that [...]
A good greeting makes a day sparkle (0)
7/02/10 •
My neighbor, a loquacious woman with bubbly personality, always exudes the right attitude. When I greeted her the other morning with a hello and asked how she was doing, she replied without hesitation. “I’m living my best life.” As she hurried along our street with three small children in tow, she turned her head in [...]
June 2010
Righteous Mind with Rev. Cynthia T. Turner (2)
6/30/10 •
On a Saturday some weeks ago, I cleaned my bathroom. Not just the tub, sinks, toilet, floors and shower. That was easy. But when I ventured under the cabinets, it was a virtual wonderland of colorful plastic containers. When I started, I had no idea what I was getting into. I was under the impression [...]
