The Final Word

Well, here it goes...this is the last time for 2005 that I'll be adding anything to this blog. It's been quite an interesting year. A year of growth and maturity. I am taking NO regrets with me into 2006. I gave my best and I put forth 110% in all I did, especially when it came to my young people. The final word is that I survived the year of 2005. It didn't kill me but it made me stronger. There are many people out there who went through less than I did, but didn't have the strength to sustain themselves. I'm a survivor! Millions didn't make it but I'm one of the one's who did!

I am leaving 2005 with a greater understanding of who God is! I am leaving 2005 with a deeper revelation of why I have been created! And I am walking into 2006 expecting that God will do exceedingly and abundantly above all that I ask or think! So, let's get it on! Let's do this, aiight? What sense does it make to stay in 2005? I know I can't stay physically, but there are many people who are still locked in 2002! There are those who never got over something that was so traumatic that they are now a prisoner in their own mind and unable to truly live, for real! Well, I'm telling you now that no one has that much power over me to keep me entrapped in 2005. Yes this was a great year but a lot of tears had to be shed this year. I endured a lot of pain and sacrifice in 2005. Again, nothing killed me so I have to be a stronger and more competent individual as I prepare to go into a new year. Will I miss 2005? Hell no!

But this year was much needed for me as I prepare to go prime time! I needed to have my priorities rearranged. I needed to be tuned up. I also needed to realize that everybody that grins in my face isn't necessarily on my side. I needed to see some things that I saw this year while nobody knows me because the more people know me, the harder it is to go through certain tests without being distracted!

Final word...I made it and so did you! Now, Let's Get it On! See ya in '06

Change

In case you're not aware, things are changing at a very fast pace. I'm looking back over the course of the year and I can see a lot of growth in my personal life. With this being the end of a year, it's time to prepare myself for what's coming. I'm not the same person as I exit 2005 that I was when I entered. A lot has changed and as I reflect, it's all been for my good. The trials that I encountered matured me for now. The tribulations that I had to go through made me stronger. The things that came my way weren't comfortable or as I say all the time "cute!" but the change that I'm looking at has made me into a better person.

I learned a valuable lesson this year. I learned not to depend on people as much as I did, because people, while they mean well, don't always have your best interests at heart. Some love you, but they may not understand you or what you need. So, they allow their love for you to get in the way of being able to detect what you really need for the moment. That was hard to accept, but it was important for me to go where I know God wants me to go.

Wow! It's almost as if I was just in Atlanta, Georgia, hearing that this was the year of manifestation, that was January and now it's December and I'm getting ready for 2006. I thank God for his goodness and wonderful works because I made it! I could fight the changes that are taking place, but I fail to see what fighting change would do to me? Change is just that, CHANGE! And from what I've experienced know about change, Change is good!

Slow Dow

Better late than never! For those wondering where I was on today, this Monday, I spent my entire day battling bronchitis. Unfortunately, this is how I spent the entire holiday weekend. I'm sure many of you are thinking, "what a way to spend the Christmas season!" But the other side is that this was a true time of reflection. This past weekend was spent sitting around looking at how good God has been to me and to all of those I love. I learned a valuable lesson through this entire illness and that is, I have to slow down and realize that I can't do everything. I can't go everywhere! Sometimes just staying in one spot is good enough! This isn't easy to say because it's been horrible not being able to be my usual self the past couple of days, but hey, if this is what it took to get me to slow down, please learn from me and get your rest! Slow down and take care of yourself!

If you don't, you may end up just like me! Sitting at home with no place to go! Take care of yourself, and eat right! Believe me, you'll be glad you did!

Tis The Season

This is the time of year where we reflect on all that God has given us. I'm thankful today for life. I'm thankful that God allowed me to live this long. There are many who would love to be in my position but instead they are in a cemetery. So, today I thank God that He gave this world His only begotten son. What a gift! What a gift to give because I don't know, well, I do know. I wouldn't give my son to the world! :)

The year has come and is just about gone and so much has taken place. I'm not the same person today that I was on January 1, 2005. A lot of change has come and transformed my life...For the good! I'm learning each and every day that the scripture is yet true. "All things work together..." Even though I may not have liked the outcome, at first, I've come to accept God's will for my life. The other thing is that I've been able to tell the difference which is very important in this day and age. The difference that I'm talking about is God's will vs. Man's will. There is a big difference. We tend to think sometimes that if it happens that it's God's will, but if that's the case then why is the divorce rate so high? Why is there still so much teen pregnancy? Why are the issues we are facing so overwhelming? Is this God's will? Hmmm

I've come to discover that each generation is faced with circumstances and problems that need to be addressed. When you look back over the history, each generation has had different issues facing them. There are also those whom God raises up for that season to address the problems of that time. The scripture tells us in the book of Isaiah 59:19, "when the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him." Where is the standard for this generation? I can look back and see the standard in previous generations, but who is standing up and raising the standard? Sometimes we make this more spiritual than we need to because it's not that deep. God has given each and everyone one of us a sphere of influence in which we are to work. Most of us, for the most part, want to spend our days living in ease while we see and watch others fall by the wayside. I ask again, is this God's will?

Tis the season for all of us to reflect on why God created us. If He could give His only son to the world to be the remedy, then why are we here? Didn't the scripture say that we are to be witnesses? Didn't Jesus leave it on record in the bible when He said, "greater works shall you do?" Tis the season, not to be jolly but to get up and make a difference in someone's life. Just something to think about as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

I pray this season is filled with warmth and joy for you and your family!

Things Are Tight

Today's one of those rough days where I just don't want to be bothered with people. I've wearied myself from trying to help everyone and for what? Right now is not the season to be all over the place trying to help any and everybody because I'm being stretched beyond measure myself. And to make matters worse, the opportunity costs are minimal when it comes to the risk of pushing forward! That's what it's all about isn't it? Risk! Life is a risk because you can say what you want to say, we don't know what's going to happen from one day to the next.

Some of you may say that's ludicrous. Some of you may say NOT so because of some things that you have planned for down the road. Well, I'll put it like this, if God doesn't give us life, then we're dead. We're dead on arrival, dead men and women walking around dead! There are a lot of us that are walking around all messed up because we tried to figure God out about life. This we cannot do! Period!

I never would have imagined feeling the way I feel today with so much to be thankful for in life but I do! I said it yesterday, I'm feeling some tremors of something, what I don't know just yet but I'm going to be prepared for whatever! With God all things are possible and anything can take place! I've found out that He allows disasters and tragedies to take place to test us so that we can see where we stand with Him. This has truly been my year of testing because just last night I wanted to resign every position that I hold and vacate the city I live in. I said to myself, "to hell with everybody!" I was just about to throw in the towel when God reminded me just how much I've paid to get where I am today!

This is the tightest things have been in a while in my life but I'm determined that I'm not going to let anyone or anything turn me around! At this stage of the game it's all about FINISHING STRONG! I'm holding God's word close to me during this season where He says in the book of Philippians, chapter 1, verse 6, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."

He didn't tell me that this road would be easy but He promised that He'd never leave me or forsake me. Even when my friends walk away from me God said that He'd be there. That's why I wanted to encourage you yesterday in knowing that God knows and understands what you're going through. He's there in the good times, but unfortunately we don't talk to Him like we should when things are good! It's not until tragedy hits that we lean on Him. It's not until our back is against the wall and we run out of our own stuff that we turn to Him and say, "Lord help!"

Things are tight, yes without a doubt, but in God all things are yea and amen!

God Knows and Understands

Right now there are some things that I'm experiencing that I've never experienced before. A lot of this is causing me to reflect on the year my father died and what I had to endure while appearing to be in my right mind. I'll never forget the year of 1998. That was a pivotal year for me. My mentor and my father passed within three months of each other. These two men were pillars in my life and I really thought that I'd have them with me forever. It's good that I'm even able to write about it because it's showing me how far I've come on this journey.

The day was June 6, 1998. His name was Michael Lee DeShay. He represented the best in me and pushed me beyond reason to push past the "yesterdays" in my life and reach for the greater good of tomorrow. No one in my life up until then had been able to do just that. I would have different people come in and out and help assist me with different conflicts but no one was able to get me to see things as they were from a spiritual implication. Most people would sugar-coat things in a way that made life look so "Alice in wonderland" but Michael, he had a way of being violently offensive and radical in his description of the world "as it was" at that time. I thank God for giving me a Michael because his spirit rests upon me this day. I too am known for being offensive in how I portray real life situations.

The day Michael passed this life was a rough day for me. I was not prepared and I thought that I had God figured out. I thought that I'd assist him with his ministry in Texas. Everything was mapped out and out of nowhere he falls dead on the basketball court! He was 28 at the time and had a wife and 2 kids. I had never lost anyone this close to me so I didn't know what to do or how to react. I literally thought I was going to lose my mind...to go from speaking to him one minute and then 30 minutes later have someone tell me that he was dead, it seemed surreal. With all the death that I've been experiencing lately, I couldn't help but reflect on the day I looked at him in his casket. To have so many plans and then look at the plans that you had basically closed up in a box, I really felt like I was dreaming because things went completely the opposite way from what I thought. I can't even put into words how it felt looking at my pillar, dead and there was nothing that I could do about it except say goodbye!

Then go just three months down the road to my father. My father was the one who I called when Michael died. He helped me process what was going on. I relied on him for so much during this season of my life and I thanked God every day that I still had him around. I told others that I would have lost my mind had it not been for my daddy. However, my father was sick at the time, but he also had plans of recovering and moving on in life. The day he died was very unexpected. As a matter of fact, I had just said good bye to him on his bed a few hours earlier as I was preparing to fly home to Atlanta. Now, when Michael died, I had my dad to lean on. When the call came to me at the airport that he was gone, all I had was GOD!

My father had been my safety net for my entire life and now he was gone. Still today, tears feel my eyes thinking on that day just as if it were yesterday. No one knows what I truly went through because I let very few people see the little boy inside kicking and screaming for his daddy. I said that things are tight right now and they are. It's been over seven years now and I'm feeling tremors of what I felt back then. Yes, it's tough dealing with death. It's even tougher coping with life, so no matter which way you look at it, it is a catch-22.

Either way you have to deal, so you might as well make the best of it. That's how I got through that period of my life. It wasn't easy at all so I'm not saying that but what else was I to do? I'm not a quitter in the least bit, I'm a born fighter. I can't be stopped because greater is He that's in me than any circumstance that comes my way. I couldn't always say that because there were many nights that I'd cry myself to sleep because I felt that I had done something wrong to lose the two men that meant the most to me. I had to, in the midst of the pain, force myself to see God. Because the foundation that my father laid for me was so pristine, I was able to use it to help me cope. The foundation I'm referring to is Christ! It was God and God alone who helped me deal, as a matter of fact, when I didn't want to deal, He still forced me to look at things from a different perspective.

Yesterday evening I was blessed to see one of my brothers installed as pastor of a church in Detroit, Michigan. It was wonderful and it brought tears to my eyes because his father was yet living and preached the installation message. It allowed me to reflect on the vision that I had where my father would preach mine one day. Although that will never happen, I couldn't help but thank God for the gifts that he had given me in the persons of my daddy and my mentor. Yes, right now is tight for those of us who are walking with the Lord. It's tight not because of what we've done wrong but rather because of what God has in store! I can't give up because I know that all things work together for good because I love the Lord and I know that I'm called for His purpose. NO, I don't understand why things had to happen the way they did, but God knows and He understands every tear!

Let It Go

It's not easy to forgive some people. And I do know that I'm supposed to forgive and forget but there are some things that I struggle with when it comes to "letting go." I didn't realize this until I allowed myself to really hear what a close friend of mine was sharing with me regarding my feelings about a particular person that will remain anonymous. Previously, I thought I was doing a good job handling the drama that I encounter at church, work, home, etc. I'm usually one that is quick to forgive and forget and simply move on with LYFE. I've shared on various occasions the many obstacles that I've overcome this year regarding people but one issue that I'm yet struggling with manifested it's ugly head earlier today and now I'm at a stand still because I don't want to let it go!

I'm serious and even though I know what the bible says, I'm like, "Lord, this is going to take a minute!" Every time I think about the person or their name comes up in general conversation with people, my entire countenance changes. Wow, I didn't even realize that I had it that bad until one of my friends told me today that I really needed to let it go! I was like, "what? Let it go? Hell no, I need to hold on to this a little while longer!" Again, I'm being honest with you so that you can see that some things are a work in progress. It's a daily process in trying to "walk out" the word of the Lord. It's not as easy as it may seem, especially when that "something" on the inside of you doesn't want to "let go" but rather desires to "get even!"

I know deep within that I have to let it go, otherwise, I will hinder my own breakthrough but it's just hard! I mean, I don't even want to let it go right now so what do I do? I'm being quite frank with you in that I'm letting you know that although it's a struggle, I'm laying the issue at the foot of the cross and asking God to work on me. At this stage of the journey it really has nothing to do with the person but everything to do with me and how I respond. This is the reason why I'm putting this in writing. If I don't let this issue go, then I will run the risk of forfeiting what God has for me and this can't happen...it won't happen. I don't like what was done to me and if I could I would have probably hurt the person but I was reminded that I did ask to be like Christ.

I told the Lord that I wanted to be more like Him, and being like Him means being lied on. Being like Him means being criticized and it also means that so-called friends will walk away and leave you all by yourself. Being like Christ means being hung up for other people's hang-ups! Being like Christ means being misunderstood on countless occasions. So, after this reminder, it's vital that I process this correctly because how I go through this issue will determine my next level in God. If I refuse to forgive and continue to be deviant and plot the person's downfall, I'm no better than the one who provoked me. However, if I cease the moment and use this as an opportunity to get closer to God, I can look back and thank the person because their action got me a personal one-on-one with the Father!

So, the bottomline is I gotta' let it go so I can go onward and upward toward the Light!

A Change is Comin'

It's nearing the end of the year and I can't help but reflect on this year and all the ups and downs. I can't help but contemplate what this year would have been like had I not had any disappointments! What would I have spent a lot of my time doing, if I wasn't forced, due to circumstances, to seek out the cross? You see, I'm no different from a lot of you. When things are going good, unfortunately, I find myself praying less, but when something tragic happens, I then all of a sudden find myself calling on the name of the Lord! This year has been a year of awakening! This year has been a year that caught me off guard in some aspects because I didn't see what was coming all the time. I DID remain prayerful throughout because of different things that I had going on all at the same time. Yes, as a lot of you know I did want to throw in the towel, especially when it came to working with youth! This generation is a trip, but the older generation can be somewhat worse at times! As a matter of fact, whether I was in the church or working in a community group, some days I couldn't tell the difference between the youth and the adults!

I've learned so much this year regarding people. But all of my efforts weren't a complete waste because I have applied the lessons learned to the bigger picture of life. It wasn't easy some days, like I told you before, this year alone I probably resigned all of my positions at least about 4 or 5 times because I have a very low tolerance for ignorance. I'm impatient...Well, I can say that at the end of 2005, things don't get me the way they used too. I've come to learn that people are people and they mean well and most of them are good hearted individuals that are only trying to help. So, again, this has been a year of awakenings...I've discovered what I'm made of, and how imperfect I am as well.

A lot of people, especially those who know me personally, tend to think that I'm quite judgmental. I'm not going to spend time elaborating on this because it boils down to a matter of opinion, however, in reflecting this past year, through the ups as well as the downs, it's important to keep Christ first. No matter what anyone thinks of me, quite honestly I don't care, make sure that Christ is in the forefront of your life. The scripture says in the book of Matthew 6:33, "...seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you." If you can learn, like I have, that no matter what happens in this life, remember that there is a greater picture than the right now. It has nothing to do with you, but everything to do with God and His Kingdom. This is how I made it this far on the journey. Because, I'll be honest, it's easy to get sidetracked on what's happening right now but it takes patience and endurance to look past the right now and seek out the "not yet!"

I'm not perfect, by no means and I've never tried to come across as such in these blogs. I want to encourage you, wherever you are on this journey to stay in the press! We're at the end of a year, but a new year is on the way! This may be the worst of times right now for you, but the best of times is on the way! Hold on because as the old folks would say in church, "a change is comin'!!!!

The Last Go 'Round

It's been a long year and now that it's almost over, it's time to get in the grind so that we can FINISH STRONG! This is the time that many fall into depression, give up, throw in the towel, etc. But challenge yourself to give "it" all you got for this last stretch!
I know for me personally, this year has been a "trip!" It began in January with me upset over my godson's departure to Iraq. It followed with my one of my spiritual mentor's declaring that this was the year of Manifestation! I know some of you are like, "yeah, right!" Cuz I sure was...But I must say that a lot HAS come to pass this year. Manifestation occurred in ways that I wasn't looking for it to take place. That's just how God operates. He won't allow you to figure Him out so you have to learn to go with the flow. And you know my saying, "if it don't kill you, it'll make you stronger!"
The summer time was filled with a lot of drama brought on by who else but the "church." No where did the Lord say this journey was going to be easy and if Jesus was ridiculed and received most of his harassment from the religious establishment, then why should I be any different. I probably resigned about 4 or 5 times this year alone, but I stayed the course and didn't throw in the towel because it made me stronger! Sometimes we would rather walk away from trouble rather than walk in the midst of it and rise above it! You can tell a lot about your growth when, in the midst of drama, when you would cuss someone out, instead you hold your peace and let God take care of the issue. This is what I did on many occasions this year because I was determined that I wasn't going to let any ONE or any THING get in my way this year!
So, now I've come to the month of December. It's 2005 and in retrospect, I can't help but say that YES, this has been the year of great manifestation! More this year than in any other year. Was it what I was expecting? NO, but the manifestation matured me and kept me focused on the bigger picture of LYFE (Living to Your Fullest Expectations)!
This is the last go 'round before 2006 and I'm ready and amped at what's to come in the next year! I've had a good year! Regardless of the little minute issues that I've confronted at work, church and other various organizations, none of it was worth me losing my mind. None of the issues were so far-fetched that I'd walk away from my destiny and purpose! I'm pressing through the drama and praying that God continually change my ENTIRE crowd because it's become evident that my vision is too small for the crowd around me so I've got to change pace so that I can get with people who can help me bring things to pass! 2006 is about focus! 2006 is going to be about prioritizing and finally, 2006 is about LYFE!

He's Yet Faithful

No matter how many times I say it, I can't say it enough...God is faithful! Again, in case some of you don't know, my godson (more like my own blood son) Tavon, returned home from Iraq yesterday evening safe and sound. This past year I had many different battles and I found that it's real tough to lose someone close to you, especially when they assist you in so many different ways. I had to learn God in many different aspects due to Tavon being activated and deployed overseas. There were many nights as I've said on countless occasions when I asked the Lord, "why?" Why did he have to be sent way over there? Why not somewhere like the state of Kansas? I mean, dang, nothing happens there? :) But anyway, you get my point! I thank God today for He has proven Himself faithful yet again. I didn't want to face it at the beginning because I fought his inevitable departure like many others did. As I told you the other day, I kicked, yelled, and scream, all to no avail because God's will had to be manifested! At the end of the day, that's what really matters, right? We say it is, but our actions say something different and this is what I had to deal with. I trusted God in the little stuff. But when it came to trusting Him to get Tavon there and back in one piece, well, I kinda struggled with this. I personally experienced a friend of mine who served as a youth pastor in California who experienced the death of one of his young people while being stationed in Afghanistan so you know this didn't help matters at all. So, what was I to do? I had to learn to trust Him because that's all I had to lean on...His word that He was going to watch over Tavon and bring him back home because He yet had a destiny for Tavon that had to manifest! Sometimes God has to isolate us from the rest of the crowd so that He can impart to us the things that are needed to do what we need to do in order for our purpose to manifest in the earth realm. Sometimes it takes God violently messing up our plans in order for us to see that there's more to life than kickin' it as if there is no tomorrow.

But, at the end of the day, I have to admit, just like you do, that God is faithful. He didn't come when I wanted Him to come...He didn't move the way I wanted Him to move. He didn't operate the way I wanted Him to operate in 2005, but He's still yet God and God alone. I love Him because He is patient with me. No, I don't understand why everything has had to happen in my life the way it has. I don't understand fully why different ones had to die. I don't understand why I had to leave Atlanta, the place that I thought I'd never leave, and return to Toledo. I don't understand why I had to join up with the church I joined up with and do the things that I do (and I'm often often often misunderstood). But, in the final analysis, it all comes back to God's faithfulness in getting me where I need to get on this journey called Lyfe!

This has been one hell of a year...But, as I said the other day, if the trials and circumstances don't kill you, they'll make you stronger. I've lost some close friendships this year and at the same time, have gained some new covenant relationships. I've had some trials, as usual, but at the end of 2005, I can see the growth and the strength from the weary and sleepless nights. I can see the scripture manifested that says, "all things work together for the good to them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose!"

He's been faithful even when I wanted to walk away and I thank Him for His grace and mercy this day and I especially thank Him for bringing my boy back home!

How Far I've Come

A year ago this time I was fussin and complaining to God and any and everyone else because my godson was being deployed to Iraq. I can't even begin to explain how much I asked God to change up course and leave Tavon here in the United States...But to no avail, he left in January.

I had to learn how to trust God COMPLETELY. It's amazing how much we say we trust God but when faced with a challenging circumstance we tend to lean on our own understanding and disengage from contacting the Lord. Yet again, I found myself in this circumstance. Throughout 2005 I had to learn how to walk on my own two feet and not run to other close associates, friends, prayer partners, etc. 2005 has been a year where most of the people who I didn't think I could live without separated from me. Is this a bad thing? NO, absolutely not...Some may think so, but in the final analysis I can't help but grab the saying..."If it don't kill you, it'll make you stronger!"

This is exactly what has taken place in my life this year...I've become a stronger person and have NO one to take credit for this but the Lord! My inner circle from last year is no longer my inner circle as I prepare myself for 2006. Did it hurt? Yes, this year I experienced more pain from my inner circle than I thought I'd ever have to endure but the good thing about it is that I SURVIVED! I made it. I didn't allow the people I come in contact with to push me away from following through on what I was supposed to do. I didn't let the pain of people lying on me turn me around...As a matter of fact, I become even more determined to finish the "race."

Get this, I complained, cried, tripped out at Tavon's departure...Every time a report came across the television screen during the first few months, I'd become all nervous because a friend of mine in California lost one of his kids and found out from a report on TV. So, you know I was kinda sick to my stomach everytime the media would report another soldiers death. But as time went on...I didn't even pay the reports a second glance because I started to believe for myself that Tavon was going to be alright!

Well, Tavon called me from Indiana just a few minutes ago and he's going to be here in Toledo with me in about 24 hours...FOR GOOD! He's done with his service and ready to continue his matriculation at Morehouse College (my alma mater) prayerfully in January of 2006!

God didn't answer me the way I wanted Him too but He was faithful in bringing Tavon home safe and sound. In addition to bringing Tavon home, He made me a stronger individual throughout this entire year-long process! I can honestly say I'm not the same person leaving 2005 as I was when I entered. I give God (no one else) all honor, glory, and praise for how far I've come!

11119...O6!!!

Today is a great and wonderful day to be alive! I had a wonderful and exuberant weekend! It was cold here where I live in the city of Toledo, Ohio, however that had nothing to do with the brotherhood I experienced on yesterday evening. For those of you who know me, one of my affiliations is Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Yes yes yes...1119 06!

Well, before the religious right decides to crucify me for giving the Alphas a shout out...I want you to realize that I owe a lot to this fraternity. I didn't say anything sacrilegious and that's not my aim. It's just that from a child, I was raised to believe that it was a "sin" to pledge a fraternity. I learned that that was in err when I did some study on my own in college. What I found was that the "church" was basically condemning some of the initiation practices that pledgees had to do to become a part of the fraternity. All of that has been abolished so hazing nis no longer even in the equation anymore so enough already! Let's move on and get to the reason for the fraternity...which is the BROTHERHOOD!

I, being the only son of a preacher always asked my parents why they couldn't produce another boy into the family. I have a sister, but it's not the same as having a brother! (My sister probably feels the same way regarding having another sister, I might add) So I grew up feeling as if I was a bit deprived because I didn't know what it felt like to have any brothers. Well, I've experienced a brotherhood like no other since crossing the burning sands into the best and finest fraternity in the world...the mighty black and old gold!

Now for those of you who are apart of another fraternity, I wish you well, and don't choose to use this blog as a way to talk about anyone else. That's not my aim PERIOD. Today, I just thank the Lord for bringing a group of brothers into my life at the right time! I couldn't become an alpha while I was at Morehouse due to circumstances way way beyond my control, however, after talking to my uncle, who has since departed this life, I made it my business to finish the journey that I sought out while at school in the ATL in the mid 1990's. It was always a burning desire from junior high after seeing a brother by the name of Dave Young chill out with some of his fraternity brothers while at Bowling Green State University. I said to myself, "I want to be a part of that!" Not a church group, not a community organization, but a fraternity. A fraternity that is the oldest and wisest of its kind! When looking up this fraternity's website, you see many of the leading african american men listed amongst this group!

I even dare say that to be apart of this esteemed fraternity means to be listed amongst the "talented tenth" a phrase that was coined by, Wiliam Edward Burghardt DuBois, also an Alpha. Reflecting on yesterday, December 4th, I couldn't help but think about what this world would be like if it hadn't been for the 7 Jewels daring to do what hadn't yet been done! Yesterday was the 99th year of our existence and all I can say is that "Strong Men Keep-A-Comin' On!"

Happy 99th Anniversary, if yesterday was any type of segway to what the 100th is going to be like next year...all I can say is COUNT ME IN!

I love you all! To my sands...Taleb, Clarence, Marcus, Rob, Joe and Richie...I got yo front!

To the line that just crossed...Craig, Stephen, Mike, and JR...If you need anything...holla

Chief...Imma miss you bruh...

To those who have crossed those burning sands before me...Keith, Dre, Richard W., Tirrell, Che, Shelby, Sean, Nick, Steve, Henry, Coburn, Free, George, Zoom, Big brother ROY from the Bloody K, Tino, Jay, Marcus, Deron, James, Ron, Tony, Ward, Vince, Vic, Stephen, Sebastian, Gilchrist...I could keep goin and goin...but I'm going to stop before I really get started...

I'm being straight up from the heart and keepin it real!

Much love!

R

World Aids Day

Good Day Everyone,

This is a simple reminder that today is World Aids Day and with that I am asking that everyone just take a moment to send up a prayer for those that have been affected or infected by the virus. Let us not forget that millions are still infected and there seems to be no cure in sight, so your prayers are highly needed.

Here in America we see a glamorized more livable form of the virus but there are still those in other countries that cannot afford proper medical care and are succumbing to AIDS at alarming rates. What you see on television is real and even though we change the channel because we don’t want to see the graphic depiction of the disease, it is still a reality for those that are infected with the disease and for the families that are helplessly watching their loved ones pass away.

So let’s remember those that have passed, pray for those that are here, and educate those that still don’t know.

Thanks for reading…
Donta’ Morrison

http://www.knowu1st.org/