Toni V. Lee

Don’t paint people with the paint brush you’ve been handed. It’s very easy to go with the flow but doing so can cause us to miss out on some great relationships. I walked into a situation that had existed for years.  No one really understood why things were the way they were, but they noted it, accepted it, and went with the flow:  disregarding, ignoring, disrespecting, sidelining, etc.  I questioned the situation internally and observed, observed, observed.  That wasn’t how I was “raised” spiritually so I just couldn’t feel at ease with the whole thing.  Eventually, it reached the magnitude of becoming a burden.  In small ways, I started trying to reach out and be more inclusive.  That’s not really all that important in the whole scheme of things.  The most important and productive thing I did was to pray. I sat in my office one morning praying about the situation and a wave of deep pain and sorrow swept over me.  Uncontrollable gut-wrenchin...

Critical Race Theory (CRT) recognizes that systemic racism is part of American society and challenges the beliefs that allow it to flourish. It refutes the statement, "The past is the past." Rather it seeks to show that today's laws and policies are a direct extension of our past.  Whether you admit it or not, racism is still very much alive today. It may not involve whips and chains, but its woven through our laws and policies:  prison sentences, voting restrictions, housing, etc. It blatantly sits in our Congress and throughout all levels of government.  This is hard for some to hear, but it's even in our religious establishments.  I know...I personally experienced it. It's not propagating hate. It's an acknowledgment of the truth.  Until the truth is acknowledged, racism will flourish in one form or another. Acknowledgment follows knowledge. Crush knowledge and racism will continue to flourish. You can't change what you ignore.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) has a lot of folk up in arms. A quick listen or read of their posts illicit chuckles for clearly they don't even know what it is and are just repeating popular buzz words. Jumping on that bandwagon has become a thing. Okay, I get it.  For whatever reason, folk are against CRT. They can do that for choice is sweet, right? You know what? It's even sweeter when we remember not to take choice away from those who disagree with our choices.  Sadly, that's gotten lost somewhere along the way.  Let me be clear here.  We do not live individually isolated from each other. I am not referring to choices that can cause harm to others. That shows a serious lack of love, compassion, and humanity. Regardless of your choice to support or oppose CRT, I hope we can all embrace being COR--Critical of Racism. History is a great teacher. We can embrace its lessons or make informed choices to ignore them.

I like to keep it real.  Life gets hard sometimes.  I'm not on the mountain top every day. Heart deep praise doesn't constantly roll from my lips. There are times when the churchy phrase, "Blessed and highly favored," earns a "Yeah, right!" Why? Because I'm feeling anything but... And then...those times when folk tell me they love me, but I don’t feel an ounce of it and their actions actually reflect casual indifference... During those times, I have to do what King David did.  I have to encourage myself.  I remind myself of how good God has been to me.  I remember the times He comforted me when no one else was around or understood. I recall all the times He helped me to see that He was there all the time.  He's always been constant. I have to remind myself to focus on  Him and not the circumstances or my emotions and call forth the praise He deserves. As David said in Psalms 103, "Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me..."  What...

Blunt.  Serious. A wake-up call.    I just listened to President Biden and VP Harris addresses on the January 6th horror.   I think Biden stated in simple terms the core motivation for that horrific day and everything that contributed to it happening:  Power over Principle. I hope a US president never again has to give another speech to this nation and the world addressing this kind of travesty and blow to our democracy.   No amount of white washing will ever cover the stain of Wednesday, January 6, 2021.

 Life throws a lot at us. We can rock with it and evolve or rollover and stay down.  Getting over people is a huge hurdle. There's a lot less stress, aggravation, pain, and disappointment on the other side of that hurdle. 

James 3:11 King James Version Doth a fountain send forth at the same place      sweet water and bitter? The Bible says no. It shouldn't be.  What did Jesus say about the matter? Luke 6:45  King James Version A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. I think that sums it up pretty well.  Regardless of how good we are at fronting, our tongue will eventually show a true reflection of what's in our hearts... God help us!  🙏🏽 ❤