T H O U G H T F O R C O N S I D E R A T I O N TODAYS WORDS - DUE SEASON
The world is governed by personalities, very different to what people that cannot see further than their eyes, believe. Man is not the creature of circumstances; circumstances are the creatures of men. We are free agents, and man is more powerful than matter. As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information. What we anticipate seldom occurs; what we least expect generally happens. The more extensive a man's knowledge of what has been done, the greater will be his power of knowing what to do. When men are pure, laws are useless; when men are corrupt, laws are broken. Perseverance and tact are the two great qualities most valuable for all those who would climb, but especially for those who have to step out of the crowd. Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.
One secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes. Youth is a blunder, Manhood a struggle, Old Age a regret. Through perseverance many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure. Nothing in life is more remarkable than the unnecessary anxiety which we endure, and generally create ourselves. As a rule, man is a fool. When it's hot, he wants it cool; when it's cool, he wants it hot. Always wanting, what is not. Man is never so manly as when he feels deeply, acts boldly, and expresses himself with frankness and with fervor. As a rule, he or she who has the most information will have the greatest success in life.
Individuals may form communities, but it is institutions alone that can create a nation. The test of political institutions is the condition of the country whose future they regulate. Extreme views are never just; something always turns up which disturbs the calculations formed upon their data. The health of the people is really the foundation upon which all their happiness and all their powers as a state depend. Demagogues and agitators are very unpleasant, they are incidental to a free and constitutional country, and you must put up with these inconveniences or do without many important advantages. Through persistence, numerous individuals win accomplishment out of what appeared bound to be sure disappointment.
If you establish a democracy, you must in due time reap the fruits of a democracy. You will in due season have great impatience of public burdens, combined in due season with great increase of public expenditure. You will in due season have wars entered into from passion and not from reason; and you will in due season submit to peace ignominiously sought and ignominiously obtained, which will diminish your authority and perhaps endanger your independence. You will in due season find your property is less valuable, and your freedom less complete. Quit the world, and the world forgets you. Christianity teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves; modern society acknowledges no neighbor. Finality is not the language of politics.
December 31, 2023: Stay focused and centered on your relationship with Me, says the Lord. Do not deviate or entertain distractions that remove you from your place of peace. I am with you to bring you through every challenge. Be strong and of good courage. Psalm 34:1 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
T H O U G H T F O R C O N S I D E R A T I O N TODAYS WORDS - PLACE OF PEACE
See how God writes history! No technical knowledge is required, only a calm day and a calm mind. Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt. One learns that the world, though made, is yet being made; that this is still the morning of creation; that mountains long conceived are now being born, channels traced for coming rivers, basins hollowed for lakes.
The world, we are told, was made especially for man - a presumption not supported by all the facts... Why should man value himself as more than a small part of the one great unit of creation? God has to nearly kill us sometimes, to teach us lessons. I’d rather be in the mountains thinking of God, than in church thinking about the mountains. In God's wildness lies the hope of the world-the great fresh unblighted, unredeemed wilderness. The galling harness of civilization drops off, and wounds heal ere we are aware. In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.
The sun shines not on us but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us. Thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing. The trees wave and the flowers bloom in our bodies as well as our souls, and every bird song, wind song, and tremendous storm song of the rocks in the heart of the mountains is our song, our very own, and sings our love. This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never dried all at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.
As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but Nature's sources never fail. Like a generous host, she offers her brimming cups in endless variety, served in a grand hall, the sky its ceiling, the mountains its walls, decorated with glorious paintings and enlivened with bands of music ever playing. Let children walk with Nature, let them see the beautiful blending and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star, and they will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life. The radiance in some places is so great as to be fairly dazzling... every crystal, every flower a window opening into heaven, a mirror reflecting the Creator. In God's wildness lies the hope of the world. We all flow from one fountain. Society speaks and all men listen, mountains speak, and wise men listen.
Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity....full of God's thoughts, a place of peace and safety amid the most exalted grandeur and enthusiastic action, a new song, a place of beginnings abounding in first lessons of life, mountain building, eternal, invincible, unbreakable order; with sermons in stone, storms, trees, flowers, and animals brimful with humanity. I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in. Earth has no sorrow that earth can not heal.
Friendship is the shadow of the evening, which increases with the setting sun of life. Patience and time do more than strength or passion.
~Jean de La Fontaine~
Greetings to the Warrior Family! As 2023 comes to an end, your website administrators wish to acknowledge your participation in a successful year of expositions. Expositions designed with you in mind, to peek your attentiveness and inclusivity. With each daily post, we attempted to encourage, entertain and dedicate an intrinsic spiritual awareness for everyone who chose to visit our website. Based upon your written and verbal expressions, we "Thank You" for each esteemed word of encouragement. Your words allow us to acknowledge we're succeeding with our efforts.
The past year was full of Warrior accomplishments, celebrations and deaths. We will continue our attempts to maintain and post positive information related to our class. We're open for suggestions. Most of all, we'd love to see more individual posts from classmates. Should you require a little instructional refresher, don't hesitate to contact us at this internet link - https://www.classcreator.com/Memphis-TN-B-T-Washington-1970/class_index.cfm This is your website, which was originally established to communicate among us. If you know of other classmates, who are not participating, please encourage them by sharing the link. As you celebrate, or choose not to celebrate the end of 2023, please stay safe and be blessed. "Happy New Year" to each of you, from your website administrators....
Happy belated birthday to all my classmates born in the glorious month of December. I hope you enjoyed your special day. May God bless you with many more. Be blessed.
T H O U G H T F O R C O N S I D E R A T I O N TODAYS WORDS - NEW BEGINNING
Genuine beginnings begin within us, even when they are brought to our attention by external opportunities. Each person's life is a story that is telling itself in the living. Disenchantment, whether it is a minor disappointment or a major shock, is the signal that things are moving into transition in our lives.
Much as we may wish to make a new beginning, some part of us resists doing so as though we were making the first step toward disaster. We come to beginnings only at the end.
The presentation of the annual celebration of KWANZAA, has been dedicated to the "Memory of Margaret Henderson Hunt". While employed with "Muga's Imports", located in the Southbrook Mall on Shelby Drive, Margaret shared her knowledge of KWANZAA with anyone who cared to listen, as she sold trinkets, garments and artifacts from the African Continent.....
Thank you for your incredible efforts in keeping our class together. The articles, health notes, and hilarious jokes brighten my day! Your daily postings are something I eagerly anticipate. Please know that many of us depend on staying in touch through your work – you've become a meaningful part of my daily life. Thanks a bunch!"
January 2, 2024: Your inclination for the new year is to make great, sweeping changes, but that will not be in your best interest. There are things that need to be adjusted in what you do, so make the adjustments in small increments instead of throwing out the baby with the bath water. Keep your focus on Me, and fine tune your spiritual ear to hear and heed My leading, says the Lord. Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
T H O U G H T F O R C O N S I D E R A T I O N TODAYS WORDS - ADJUSTMENTS
Everyone has an opinion; the question is which opinions are actually relevant to your journey and which are just static in the air? Be true to yourself and stick with who you are through thick and thin without letting anyone dilute your essence. Live honestly to a higher note. Life is too short. So, do the best you can and live your life to a higher note.
Without aspirations for a better existence, you're stuck in the mud and going nowhere. Difficulties are not interruptions to our journey; they are part of it, as if they're part of the weave of the cloth of our lives. They weave in and become an essential part of the whole. Because the more challenges we face, the more capable we realize we are and the less there is to fear.
No matter what your goals are, you've got to bring other people onto your team. For one thing, if you surround yourself with people who want to be successful, you become successful. Relationships do change throughout the course of your life, and I always think in terms of relationships changing and evolving rather than starting and stopping. Nobody automatically believes in your dream. Nobody! You have to turn it into reality through your own sheer grit, bullheadedness and persistence.
Life is a series of adjustments; You can make changes along the way, but if you don't start moving forward, you'll never get anywhere! Live life on your own path. Everybody's got something different. You can't keep up with all those people, so you better keep up with yourself. In almost any situation, it is far more devastating to keep your icy cool while the other person gets herself in a flush-cheeked, teary-eyed hot mess yelling in your face. For me it's always God, family, and then my work.
BIRTH ANNIVERSARY GREETINGS
TO
PATRICIA KENT SWIFT
You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.
Sadly, I must announce the transition of Mrs. Geraldine Best, the wonderful mother of our own Gerald Best. She transitioned December 30th. Funeral arangements have been completed and are as follows:
SATURDAY JANUARY 6TH
COLEMAN AVENUE CHURCH OF CHRIST
3380 COLEMAN AVENUE
MEMPHIS TN 38122
VISITATION - 10 AM UNTIL 11:45 AM
FUNERAL SERVICES BEGIN @ 12 PM
Cards and messages of sympathy and condolences may be sent to; Gerald Best & Family
11965 Stable View Drive
Eads, TN 38028
Please keep Gerald and his family uplifted in prayer....
With heartfelt sadness , I must announce the transition of Mrs. Barbara Arnold Farmer, the mother of our own William Arnold Sr. She transitioned earlier today. Final arrangements are incomplete at this time. Upon receipt, all will be posted for your consideration. Please keep William and his family, uplifted in prayer...stay safe and be blessed...
T H O U G H T F O R C O N S I D E R A T I O N TODAYS WORDS - STRONG AND RESOLUTE
Nowhere at present is there such a measureless loathing of their country by educated people as in America. No matter how noble the objectives of a government, if it blurs decency and kindness, cheapens human life, and breeds ill will and suspicion; it is an evil government. It is by its promise of a sense of power that evil often attracts the weak.
I can never forget that one of the most gifted, best educated nations in the world, of its own free will, surrendered its fate into the hands of a maniac. Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves. Rudeness is a weak imitation of strength.
Far more critical than what we know or what we don't know is what we don't want to know. The future belongs to the learners-not the knowers. The hardest thing to cope with is not selfishness or vanity or deceitfulness, but sheer stupidity. The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. We cannot hate those who we despise. An empty head is not really empty; it is stuffed with rubbish. Hence the difficulty of forcing anything into an empty head.
For many people, an excuse is better than an achievement because an achievement, no matter how great, leaves you having to prove yourself again in the future; but an excuse can last for life. A just society must strive with all its might to right wrongs even if righting wrongs is a highly perilous undertaking. But if it is to survive, a just society must be strong and resolute enough to deal swiftly and relentlessly with those who would mistake its good will for weakness. Those in possession of absolute power can not only prophesy and make their prophecies come true, but they can also lie and make their lies come true. To most of us nothing is so invisible as an unpleasant truth. Though it is held before our eyes, pushed under our noses, rammed down our throats- we know it not.
Preventing kidney stones before they form.
Story by Mayo Clinic Staff, Mayo Clinic News Network
Kidney stones are small, hard deposits made of minerals and reoccurring materials inside the kidneys. Stones often go unnoticed in the kidney until they move into the ureter —the tube connecting the kidney and bladder. If a stone leaves the kidney and blocks urine from exiting, usually while in the ureter, it can cause urine to back up and lead to intense pain. Kidney stones are common, affecting about 12% of the U.S. population. Kidney stone development usually begins when people are in their 20s or 30s, and the problem can continue for years. Many things can increase your risk for stones, including family history, health factors like diabetes, dietary habits or if your urine lacks substances to prevent crystals from sticking together. Types of kidney stones
There are four types of kidney stones. Knowing the type of your kidney stone will help determine its cause and give you clues on how to reduce your chance of developing more stones. If you pass a kidney stone, try to save it to give to your healthcare team for analysis.
Types of kidney stones include:
•Calcium stones: This is the most common type of kidney stone. About 70% to 80% of kidney stones are calcium stones, which are usually made of calcium and oxalate. Oxalate is a substance produced by the liver and also absorbed from your diet. Certain fruits and vegetables, like spinach, have high oxalate content. Taking high doses of vitamin D and vitamin C, gastric surgery and several metabolic disorders can increase the concentration of calcium or oxalate in your urine.
Calcium stones can also be made of calcium phosphate. This type of stone is more common in people with metabolic conditions like renal tubular acidosis. It may also be associated with some medications used to treat migraines (topiramate) or blood pressure (furosemide or triamterene).
•Struvite stones: Struvite stones can form after a urinary tract infection. These stones can grow quickly and become large, sometimes with few symptoms or little warning.
•Uric acid stones: Uric acid stones can form in people who lose too much fluid because of chronic diarrhea or malabsorption, eat a high-protein diet or who have gout. Certain genetic factors also may increase your risk of uric acid stones.
•Cystine stones: These stones form in people with a hereditary disorder called cystinuria, which causes the kidneys to excrete too much of a specific amino acid. Preventing kidney stones
Nearly 50% of people who have developed kidney stones will develop another stone in 10 years if they do not take steps to prevent a recurrence. Usually, this includes a combination of lifestyle changes and medications. Lifestyle changes
You may reduce your risk of kidney stones if you:
•Drink water throughout the day. People with a history of kidney stones should drink enough fluids to pass about 80 oz (2.5 liters) of urine every day. This is the most effective therapy available to prevent future kidney stones. Your healthcare team may ask you to measure your urine output to ensure you drink enough water.
•Eat fewer oxalate-rich foods. Switching to a diet low in oxalates can reduce your risk of calcium oxalate stones. Foods that are highest in oxalates include spinach, rhubarb, baked potatoes, lentils, navy beans, bran, grits and almonds.
A high amount of salt and animal protein in your diet can also increase your kidney stone risk. A diet lower in sodium and higher in potassium — contained in many fruits and vegetables — can reduce the risk of stone formation.
•Continue eating calcium-rich foods but use caution with calcium supplements. Calcium in food can actually lower your risk of kidney stones. Continue eating calcium-rich foods unless your healthcare team recommends otherwise. Talk with your healthcare team before taking calcium supplements, however, because these may be linked to an increased risk of kidney stones.
•Take steps to reduce urinary tract infections. Some people are more susceptible to developing recurrent urinary tract infections. Fewer infections can reduce the risk of developing struvite stones. Get tips for preventing urinary tract infections. Medications
Medications can control the amount of minerals and salts in the urine and may be helpful in people who form certain kinds of stones. The type of medication your doctor prescribes will depend on the type of kidney stones you have and the specific makeup of your urine, which is determined by testing. Some medications can reduce uric acid levels in the blood and reduce your risk of uric acid stones, while others increase the solubility of cystine in your urine and lower your risk of cystine stones.
Kidney stone formation is specific to each person, so it's important to work with your healthcare team to develop a personalized treatment plan. That plan should consider what kind of kidney stones you have, possible causes for their formation and specific steps to prevent them.
This is for information purpose only, and should not be considered as a substitute for medical expertise. These are opinions from an external panel of individual doctors, and not to be considered as opinion of Microsoft. Please seek professional help regarding any health conditions or concerns.
T H O U G H T F O R C O N S I D E R A T I O N TODAYS WORD - ISSUES
It's insecurity that is always chasing you and standing in the way of your dreams. If you had asked me back in grade school what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have said my first choice was an actor, but if I couldn't be that, I'd want to be a superhero. The thing I'm scared of most is not fulfilling my work. There's so much anxiety around trying to get a movie made that you don't really get to be afraid of anything else. The one thing I will never do is become pigeonholed. Career diversification ain't a bad thing. I've worked out for years. For a long time, it was my only sense of gratification. I could care less about being an action actor like Stallone or Schwarzenegger. The films that I do are deep, introspective, brooding roles that you're in this heavy headspace all the time.
We all deal with being unfairly judged. I'm the most ambitious person you ever met. I talk too much. My mom used to say that I became a fighter and a scrapper and a tough guy to protect who I am at my core. I grew up with all kinds of people. I am definitely a person of color. I am truly multi-racial. I never knew my biological father. I've always had less information than I would have liked to have had. All I know from my mother is that I have connections to many different cultures. The man who raised me is black. Culturally, he made me who I am. He was a theatre director, so he also guided me artistically. I grew up the son of an acting teacher, so I was kind of introduced to all of these various methods early. I enjoy playing a quintessential antihero. There's something therapeutic about playing such characters. I know it sounds corny, but I feel like I learn about myself when I play those characters.
My mother is the most supportive mother in the world, she's magical. Women are sacred. I love women more than anything. My mom insisted on multigrain bread and never allowed soda in the house. I was the oldest of the children in my family. I had to do a lot of diaper-changing and lunch-making. I was taking my little sister to ballet, picking up my brother, sort of being a super-nanny. I act because it's the one time I'm sure of my identity. There's no doubt. It's on paper. A day with my kids is the best day. I drive a Yukon Flex Fuel, and there's baby seats in the back.
The idea of exploring character relations and their development over a decade has to be appealing for any actor who cherishes his craft. A person in my position has to restrain himself. I look formidable. With age, you get to a place where you don't want to knock people out. You just want to give people a hug. I always have issues with trust. I'm a New Yorker... Really, I think trust is something that comes from the gut. And I think you have to - it's probably the worst advice to give people - but I think you gotta trust people from your gut. When people believe in you, you can do miraculous things. I'm an actor. I can do whatever I want. As an actor, not everything has to be the most obvious choice. And sometimes, the best thing you can do is to defy expectations.
BIRTH ANNIVERSARY GREETINGS
TO
ELIZABETH MARZETTE PACE
We are always the same age inside. One must dare to be happy. One does not get better but different and older and that is always a pleasure. Every day is a renewal, every morning the daily miracle. This joy you feel is life.
T H O U G H T F O R C O N S I D E R A T I O N TODAYS WORD - COULD OR MIGHT
The thinking brain influences the body’s responses, and it makes a neat little loop. Disappointment is just the action of your brain readjusting itself to reality after discovering things are not the way you thought they were. Faith keeps you going, but doubt keeps you from going off the deep end. The fact is that there is a contradiction going on, but our brains don't like contradiction. So, when Moe hits Curly on the head with a sledgehammer and Curly says, "ow" and Moe says, "Serves you right Numbskull", you can say that's because they're separate beings, and that's true. The state of ambiguity - that messy, greasy, mixed-up, confused, and awful situation you're living through right now - is enlightenment itself. True mindfulness is the awareness that everything you encounter is a vigorous expression of the same living universe as you.
There's also something that is often mistaken for enlightenment which is a kind of insanity. Often, people will have some kind of weird experience which is quite abnormal and think, "Oh my God, that's it, I understand everything" because they start seeing things in a very weird way and think that's how enlightened people see things as well. The truth comes when you can see that your self-image is just a convenient reference point and nothing more, and that you as you had imagined yourself do not exist. You can always improve your situation. But you do so by facing it, not by running away. Real morality is based on a single criterion: right action, appropriate action, in the present moment and present situation.
You can never meaningfully compare one moment with any other. You can never meaningfully compare your life with anyone else's. No matter how rich someone else may be, no matter how happy they look, no matter how enlightened they seem, they can never be you. Never, ever, ever. Only you can live your life. You can't live in paradise—but you are living right here. Make this your paradise or make this your hell. The choice is entirely yours. Really. Your role is to do and say the things that need to be done and said from your unique perspective. The problem is the way we let our desires stand in the way of our enjoyment of what we already have.
When I first started watching Godzilla, I was a kid and a big dinosaur freak and was like, "Oh my gosh, there's a big dinosaur." So, I immediately got into Godzilla. What I like about it are some of the things people often think are negative aspects. Buddha might be the one thing that could settle Godzilla down. He might say, "Listen Godzilla, you don't have to do all this. Just chill out a little bit and everything will be fine". You won’t understand life and death until you’re ready to set aside any hope of understanding life and death and just live your life until you die. No matter what we predict for our futures, we're always wrong anyway. The only sensible thing to do is to live this life as it is right now. Leave what happens after you die till after you die.
WELCOME TO
SMOOTH
CONTEMPORARY JAZZ
FRIDAYS
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF LES McCANN
Leslie Coleman McCann - American jazz pianist and vocalist...
Born: 1935, Lexington, KY Died: December 29, 2023
MT. VERNON BAPTIST CHURCH WESTWOOD,
620 PARKROSE ROAD, MEMPHIS, TN 38109
PHONE (901) 785-1612
VISITATION - FRIDAY
JANUARY 12, 2024 @ 4-6PM
FUNERAL SERVICES SATURDAY
JANUARY 13, 2024 @ 10 AM
CARDS & MESSAGES OF SYMPATHY AND CONDOLENCES MAY BE SENT TO; WILLIAM E. ARNOLD SR. & FAMILY
4089 KENOSHA ROAD
MEMPHIS, TN 38118 PLEASE KEEP WILLIAM AND HIS FAMILY UPLIFTED IN PRAYER....
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