Toni V. Lee

It's not fair! It's the current cry of many folk regarding the Federal government's latest rollout of student loan forgiveness. The majority of my acquaintances are Christians and those are the voices I hear.  My response: I so wish somebody had done this earlier when I was struggling to pay back my 20K plus student loans and LIVE. I could have really used the help. Remember those stimulus checks you thanked God for? We ALL helped build the Federal funds used for those payouts but some of us didn't receive a penny. Yet, you are crying foul when someone else receives assistance from the Federal government in a different form.  Do I have to talk about churches that have become political tree stumps while enjoying tax-exempt status and Federal grants? Those Federal dollars are sourced by church members, folk who don't attend church, don't believe in God, believe in different doctrines, you, and me. Is there REALLY a concern for equity  here?

What's next?  Where are they going with this? A Florida teacher shared the Civics curriculum they now have to teach. The history of slavery in America is being white washed and the atrocities minimized.  Where will it end? Will they eventually wash it completely out of history?  The brutal and inhumane treatment of the people who helped build this nation from its infancy with their blood, sweat, sorrow, and anguished tears...is being white washed and minimized.  And this is ok? For a lot of people, yes, it is. They want it buried. They want to be comfortable in their actions--whatever those actions may be. With the way things are going now, our schools may eventually be teaching something like the following:        * Nobody was forced to come to America, they volunteered.         * They didn't mind being chained and packed into ships like sardines because that made room for more of their family to come with them.   ...

 Woke. Definition: Aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice). Even though the word is used as an accusation and a put down, there's nothing negative in the true definition of the word. Rather, it rings with compassion, intelligence, and justice. None of which can be demonstrated without true and consistent love for people. The important question:  Does Christ have a problem with a person being woke? Does he have a problem with compassion, intelligence, justice, and love? I think not!  If He doesn't have a problem with it, it's a clay (flesh) thing.  We need to make sure we separate God's Word and His expectations of us from the demands of clay. Are you woke, yet?

I've been trying to put a label on the feelings I had while watching the last January 6th Committee hearing. There was a mixture of sadness, disbelief, and trepidation.   Understanding that it's crucial to provide the facts surrounding that horrific event in a coherent and precise way to the Nation, the Committee has done an awesome job of stepping through the timeline with corroborating evidence and testimony.  Sworn testimony from Trump's people. His own supporters who were there with him when it all happened. So many people were deceived. Folk you thought were too grounded to ever fall under the power of a deception were also deceived. The Bible talks about deception in the last days but I could never understand how so many people could possibly be blatantly deceived.  I do now. This past decade has been an eye opener in many ways.  Christians have a tendency to revere--almost worship--their spiritual leaders, forgetting that those leaders are clay. Their eve...

I f the last time you cared about an individual was when they were a fetus, you are pro-birth, not pro-life. If you don’t care if and how that mother and child will survive after the birth, you are pro-birth, not pro-life. If you consider transgenders and homosexuals to be sub-human and want them to be treated as such, you are pro-birth, not pro-life.  Yeah, I've seen your posts where you shared your hatred for these individuals and then your next post was about the love of God. If you're a bigot or racist, you are pro-birth, not pro-life. Period.  Bigotry and racism will NEVER allow you to have compassion and empathy for all humanity. If you have a problem with struggling and deserving families receiving governmental assistance to eat, have shelter, and medical care, you are pro-birth, not pro-life. If you automatically think, "Don't work, don't eat," when you see someone struggling financially, you are pro-birth, not pro-life. Do I have to even mention ...

1950's America. Folk have stated they long for it. It was the happiest time for them.  What was it like for all Americans in the '50s? Does that really matter? For some, the answer is a resounding, NO. Folk incorrectly use the word fascist when describing opposing political parties. Yet, they're ecstatic when true fascist behavior is displayed, labeling it patriotism. Relationships have been destroyed because of almost worshipful loyalty to a man...a MAN who doesn't even know they're breathing. Yes, it happened in the Church, too. What is it going to take to wake folk up out of the almost cultic stupor into which they seem to have fallen? Being personally impacted by the backward movement of our country?  For instance, interracial marriage was illegal in some states in the 1950s. A Supreme Court Justice is ready to challenge a law whose foundation is the law that legalized interracial marriage.  Would it stop there? What would happen to the foundational law? Now, fo...

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...