Kenneth Davis

  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 - DIVINE ORDER 

     Seek the truth. Tell the truth. Live in truth. I only became an actor to get your attention, to challenge the archetype of an African American male; I can't be anything else in this lifetime than an African American man. I hate the term 'black' because it doesn't bring to life who we are as a people. The term 'black' has more negative synonyms than the term white. Not only our political system is broken, but how we do business and have public discourse with one another. The system in Hollywood, specifically, is not depicting people of color; we're not even talking about Asian Americans or Latino Americans; we're not even getting into that question.
     I've been so incredibly blessed. I've worked with some of the greatest professionals in town. I stood at the Golden Globes. I mean, I've worked with Spike Lee for four films. I've worked with some people that you can say are right there teetering between genius and madness. The whole time I was on 'Grey's,' I'm still reconciling myself to my 11-year-old son, because he never saw me during that time. By the time he got up, he'd see a dent in his pillow, but by the time I got home, he was already asleep. So for three years, he had a daddy that he never saw because I had to work. I've written a book; I've become a better husband and father because I'm home every day. Humanity is in my heart. Do I suffer fools? No. Am I a stickler for my profession? Yes. I am a task master? Yes. My military background, football background, I'm a team player all the way, and I love winning. 
     I'm a human being first and foremost, and I have something to say that I think is worthwhile. Even if I'm playing a bad guy, I work hard to make him multi-leveled and interesting. I enjoy bringing humanity to complex characters. Whatever I'm throwing out there in my work, you either catch that detail because you're ready to catch it, but if you're not, that's OK - you're still being entertained. I'm no longer going to play thugs or debauched cops that I can't possibly make complex characters. It's, like, bigots want to embrace me, and I politely take their arms from around my neck. I don't share their views - never have.
     People forget that it's an acting assignment. You can work with someone for three months, three years or 30 years, and then you move on. You don't want to be on a show that no one wants to see, and then think your phone is going to be ringing off the hook to do other jobs. I'm not tethered to the fact that my demise may be reached this season or next season, or whatever. Everything is not black-and-white . I'm really interested in the gray area - not justifying it, not glorifying it, not condoning it, but at least having people see there's a genesis for every event in our lives. There's some divine order to it, whether it's ugly or beautiful. Becoming a junior usher at a black church was my entry into the wonder of worship. 

WELCOME TO 
SMOOTH
 CONTEMPORARY JAZZ 
FRIDAYS

Kenneth Davis

  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 - HECTIC TIMES

     I'm a mom. I'm a wife. I'm an actress. I'm an executive producer. I'm an author. I'm an entrepreneur, and I'm a sister and a best friend. The older you get, the more you fight for your own identity and start to live your own life. I have something called endometriosis, and I was told by my gynecologist that I needed to go on a specific diet if I didn't want to have any more surgery. I saw how changing my diet really benefitted my health. After I changed my diet, I was able to get pregnant, and then my eczema went away, and then my migraines went away. I became a vegetarian for about maybe a year. It was more of a little detox for me. I tend to do a lot of detoxes. I was on the Body Ecology Diet before I got pregnant, which I believe is one of the reasons I was able to get pregnant.
     People always say you never know love until you have your own child and all of that is true. I feel, you know, empowered because I gave life. I have a son now. I feel like I'm stronger. We need to be more supportive with everything. With body images, especially with women, showing that all sizes are beautiful. And I'm talking about in magazines, advertisement in regard to what's sexy and what's not sexy. We all need to be a little more supportive of each other. I've never been discriminated against, but I have witnessed discrimination. I was talking to a director and asked why one of my friends didn't get a particular part, and he specifically told me it was because she just had a baby, and it was hard to see her as sexy.
     I was so used to seeing so many women in the media flaunting their bodies 4 weeks after having a baby - and kudos to those who have genes that they can get right back into shape 2 weeks, 4 weeks after having a baby. But that never happened to me, and I remember going to my doctor asking why. I gained 60 pounds during my pregnancy, but I didn't say, 'I want to lose 10 pounds every month!' Instead, I said, 'I will lose two to three pounds.' I eventually saw progress, and that made me work harder. I have these brownies that I make that are just a home run with my family. I make them with almond butter, prune puree, walnuts, cocoa powder and whole-wheat flour, and I like them because they're delicious, but they're also guilt-free.
     Being a mom is hard, but I don't want people to feel like they always have to go straight to the TV dinner or go to the fast food because you have a busy, hectic life. I'm passionate about cooking. I'm passionate about healthy eating. I'm passionate about inspiring other women. To keep my son healthy, I throw secret veggies into his favorite dishes. In terms of flu prevention, for my son I'll do a quick smoothie, usually with spinach, avocado or broccoli. And then throw in strawberries and blueberries to hide the greens. The meat that I choose to feed my family, it's healthy meats such as lamb, which is very low in cholesterol and saturated fat. And then turkey - we eat a lot of turkey. We don't eat loads of beef.
     Before becoming a mom, I never knew how good I had it to just spend time at a spa for a few hours. Now, those days are far and between. So, when I have an hour, it's all about the mani and pedi. I'm pretty busy: I'm a working mom and I know a lot about having a hectic schedule, but I think what's really important to me and what's on the top of that list is just making sure that my family stays healthy, especially during flu season. The one advice that I would give just to moms who have a child, or a newborn is definitely sleep while the baby sleeps. I've heard that so many times. I never realized how true it really is. If you don't, you'll be walking around like a zombie. I don't allow Hollywood to define my joy, my happiness, and my peace because you'll be screwed. You have to be very careful.

Estella Wright (Mayhue-Greer)

Kenneth Davis

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns

     February 25, 2024: Beware of wolves clothed as sheep, those who pretend to be your friend, but will undermine and betray you. Keep your eyes wide open and your senses sharp. Lean on Me instead of putting your trust in those who are not worthy of trust, says the Lord. I will never lead you astray. Matthew 7:15-17 Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.

   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 - WORTHY OF TRUST

     The World is not ours to keep. We hold it in trust for future generations. It is within the family that children learn the values that will guide them for the rest of their lives. It is within the family that they form their earliest relationships, learn to communicate with others and interact with the world around them. It is within the family that the notion of human rights becomes a reality lived on a daily basis. If tolerance, respect and equity permeate family life, they will translate into values that shape societies, nations and the world. To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there. 
     Globalization is a fact of life. But I believe we have underestimated its fragility. If globalization is to succeed, it must succeed for poor and rich alike. It must deliver rights no less than riches. It must provide social justice and equity no less than economic prosperity and enhanced communication. In an era of global abundance, our world has the resources to reduce dramatically the massive divides that persist between rich and poor, if only those resources can be unleashed in the service of all peoples. We need to create a world that is equitable, that is stable and a world where we bear in mind the needs of others, and not only what we need immediately. We are all in the same boat.
     No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts off from its youth severs its lifeline. We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race. We need to think of the future and the planet we are going to leave to our children and their children. Have confidence in the young people, give them a chance, and they will surprise you. We can love what we are, without hating what, and who, we are not. There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. We have the means and the capacity to deal with our problems, if only we can find the political will.
     Tolerance, inter-cultural dialogue and respect for diversity are more essential than ever in a world where peoples are becoming more and more closely interconnected. We need to promote greater tolerance and understanding among the peoples of the world. Nothing can be more dangerous to our efforts to build peace and development than a world divided along religious, ethnic or cultural lines. In each nation, and among all nations, we must work to promote unity based on our shared humanity.
     The future of peace and prosperity that we seek for all the world's people's needs a foundation of tolerance, security, equality and justice. The problem is not with the faith, but with the faithful. Ignorance and prejudice are the handmaidens of propaganda. Our mission, therefore, is to confront ignorance with knowledge, bigotry with tolerance, and isolation with the outstretched hand of generosity. Racism can, will, and must be defeated. The future belongs to you, but it can only belong to you if you participate and take charge. It is impossible to realize our goals while discriminating against half the human race. I often quote an African proverb that says: "The world is not ours, the earth is not ours, It's a treasure we hold in trust for future generations." And I often hope we will be worthy of that trust. We were all children once. And we all share the desire for the well-being of our children, which has always been and will continue to be the most universally cherished aspiration of humankind. As long as inequality and other social problems plague us, populists will try to exploit them.

Kenneth Davis

  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 - EXAMINE YOURSELF 

     Life is often compared to a marathon, but I think it is more like being a sprinter; long stretches of hard work punctuated by brief moments in which we are given the opportunity to perform at our best. It is important that you strive for humility, but not humiliation, for a cool, level-headed confidence, not a stiff, delusional arrogance. You learn as much from those who have failed as from those who have succeeded. I've had to learn that not everybody does things my way. But I do expect the absolute best of everyone around me, and I'm disappointed when people don't expect that of themselves. Your problems pale in comparison with those of the millions of people in the world who do not have enough to eat. A good mentor offers directions and driving tips from the back seat. You still have to drive the car. A good traveler is one who knows how to travel with the mind. 
     The only one who can beat me is me. I work hard to improve myself as a person - as a father, as a husband, as a manager. I'm always on that mission. I always wanted to be a sprinter. It is clearly not the journey for everyone. People succeed in as many ways as there are people. Some can be completely fulfilled with destinations that are much closer to home and more comfortable. But if you long to keep going, then I hope you are able to follow my lead to the places I have gone. To within a whisper of your own personal perfection. To places that are sweeter because you worked so hard to arrive there. To places at the very edge of your dreams. All my life I believed I became an athlete through my own determination, but it's impossible to think that being descended from slaves hasn't left an imprint through the generations. Difficult as it was to hear, slavery has benefited descendants like me - I believe there is a superior athletic gene in us.
     They don't give you gold medals for beating somebody. They give you gold medals for beating everybody. There's a complete difference between training for a specific event and goal and just training. One of the main techniques I used was focusing on the goal and visualizing myself competing in the race before the race started.  As an athlete I'd average four hours a day. It doesn't sound like a lot when some people say they're training for 10 hours, but theirs includes lunch, massage and breaks. My four hours was packed with work. You can't control the other athlete is going to do; you can't control anything except for your competition and how you execute the race or how you execute the task. 
     (Natural Talent + Opportunity) Hard Work = Success. That first peak is the best place to pause and look back, to see if you took the easiest route, to learn the lessons from the first climb. And it is the best place to examine the terrain ahead, to change your plans and goals, to take a deep breath and begin climbing again. The only thing you can never change is your values. Be who you are in every situation. The basis of self-discipline: Don't allow the edges to blur. Along with trustworthiness, consistency is the thing to look for when you surround yourself with people who can help you on your quest. Examine the opportunities, the challenges you've given Yourself. Protect your good image from the eyes of negative viewers, who may look at your good appearance with an ugly fiendish eye and ruin your positive qualities with their chemical infested tongues.

IT'S TIME FOR 
JUST JOKING MONDAYS

Joycelyn Lacy (Somerville)

Kenneth Davis

     "Death is but a transition from this life to another existence where there is no more pain and anguish. All the bitterness and disagreements will vanish, and the only thing that lives forever is love."

~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross~

     With heartfelt compassion for his family, we announce the transition of our classmate Mr. Larry Knox. Verified information was received today, indicating the transition occured yesterday, after batteling an extended period of illness. Final arrangements and additional information will be provided, upon receipt. Please keep the Knox Family uplifted with your prayers.

Kenneth Davis

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns

February 27, 2024: Stay in your lane and mind your own business. Remember the prayer of serenity: O God and Heavenly Father, grant to us the serenity of mind to accept that which cannot be changed, courage to change that which can be changed, and wisdom to know the one from the other through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen. 1 Peter 4:14-15 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part, He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in matters of others.

  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 - SERENITY

     There is no such thing as race. None. There is just a human race - scientifically, anthropologically. Racism is a construct, a social construct... it has a social function, racism. Racism will disappear when it's no longer profitable, and no longer psychologically useful. And when that happens, it'll be gone. But at the moment, people make a lot of money off of it, pro and con. If you can only be tall because someone else is on their knees, then you have a serious problem. And white people have a very, very serious problem. Oppressive language does more than represent violence; it is violence; does more than represent the limits of knowledge; it limits knowledge. If you take racism away from certain people - I mean, vitriolic racism as well as the sort of social racist - if you take that away, they may have to face something really terrible, misery, self-misery, and deep pain about who they are. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.

     If you want to fly, you have to give up the things that weigh you down. The function of freedom is to free someone else. I want to discourage you from choosing anything or making any decision simply because it is safe. Things of value seldom are. From my point of view, your life is already a miracle of chance waiting for you to shape its destiny. I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence. Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge - even wisdom. Like art. Your life is already artful-waiting, just waiting, for you to make it art. You are your own stories and therefore free to imagine and experience what it means to be human... And although you don't have complete control over the narrative - no author does, I can tell you - you could nevertheless create it. Liberation means you don't have to be silenced. Make a difference about something other than yourselves. Let your face speak what's in your heart. Misery don't call ahead. That's why you have to stay awake - otherwise it just walks on in your door.

     From my point of view, which is that of a storyteller, I see your life as something artful, waiting, just waiting and ready for you to make it art. I am a writer and my faith in the world of art is intense, but not irrational, nor naïve - because art takes us and makes us take a journey beyond price, beyond cost, into bearing witness to the world as it is and as it should be. Art invites us to know beauty and to solicit it, summon it, from even the most tragic of circumstances. I tell my students one of the most important things they need to know is when they are at their best, creatively. They need to ask themselves, What does the ideal room look like? Is there music? Is there silence? Is there chaos outside or is there serenity outside? What do I need in order to release my imagination?

     My theory is that the world is a difficult place to live in and distraction is the name of the game. Black boys became criminalized. I was in constant dread for their lives, because they were targets everywhere. They still are. There is an incredible amount of magic and feistiness in black men that nobody has been able to wipe out. But everybody has tried. The race thing is sort of a misnomer. It's just the human race, right? That's it. The rest of it, and racism, is socially constructed. Nobody is born racist, no one. What happens is other things that are usually based on power, money, feeling good about yourself, or bad about yourself, those things play into hating other people for whatever reason. Black people have always been used as a buffer in this country between powers to prevent class war. The difference between that which is humane and that which is patriotic is a vital difference.

Estella Wright (Mayhue-Greer)

METAPHORS

Life is currently described in one of four ways-- a journey, a battle, a pilgrimage, or a race.

Select your own metaphors, but the necessity of finishing is all the same. For if life is a journey, it must be completed. If life is a battle, it must be finished. If life is a pilgrimage, it must be concluded. And if life is a race, it must be won.

                                                                                 THE WAR CRY

Kenneth Davis

  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 - BEST VERSION

     The way to bring about change is to be proactive and active. Because we all come from different circumstances, our life experiences really color how we view things. You have to get out of your comfort zone in order to grow. Civil rights happened because youth got involved. The youth stood up and helped to break the pattern that their parents had got accustomed to living. The next generation has to take that stand for whatever it is, socially, that they are involved in. At 21, you can live life with reckless abandon, as reckless as your abandon is. Then, at 30, there's something there are the supposed to be's. You're like, "I'm supposed to be doing this. I'm supposed to be doing that." You start measuring your life by what you think you're supposed to be doing. Having recently turned 40, it's like, "What the hell?! Why am I worried about what I'm supposed to be doing? What do I want to do?" You become fine with wherever the road takes you. 
    Our challenges make us unique, and how we deal with them makes us unique. You have to create your own path and I'm up to the challenge. One thing I've learned is to be comfortable in your skin, and more importantly, be comfortable in your shoes. As you make your way along life's tumultuous highways, it's important to note that you should always carry a map, have plenty of fuel in the tank, and take frequent rest stops. The things that scare you only make you better and stronger. I don't think you learn as much about yourself when you are moving forwards as when you have fallen backwards. That's when you really learn who you are. And reach for the things that have propelled you forward and made you a better person. I just know that the one thing that we all have in common is challenges. No one lives a challenge free life. You cannot live to please everyone else. 
     I do believe that we're all God's children. Where I'm from, you learned about God before you learned to read and write. Our faith is what grounds us. God in my mind gives you what you need. So, if you need God to be a black woman and you need that for whatever your reasons are, then perhaps your blessings will come in that form. The fact that women are very young in obtaining their civil rights and African Americans are young in obtaining their civil rights, I think it's about time that we extend that to all Americans, whether straight, gay, purple, green, black, brown. I do believe that everyone has something to contribute. Weight issues, race issues will always be there and if you allow them to get to you and you allow them to affect you then yes, they affect you. But my thing is I have so many other things to worry about I can't worry about other people's perception of me.
     Only when you find the courage to say something to someone that might influence a change in your behavior, does that behavior change. I'm probably the most militant person you'll ever meet, and I speak my mind without provocation sometimes. I'm not an optimist. I'm a realist. And my reality is that we live in a multifaceted, multicultural world. And maybe once we stop labeling ourselves, then maybe everyone else will. I can only be the best version of myself and understand that the only way that we as a people can heal is to understand that the next person's journey may not be your own, but it doesn't mean that you have to marginalize them in any way.

WELLNESS WEDNESDAY

     The 4 Best Fruits for Lower Blood Pressure,
 According to a Cardiologist
Story by Danielle DeAngelis 
 https://www.eatingwell.com/
Reviewed by Dietitian Emily Lachtrupp, M.S., RD

     Fruit provides important nutrients for heart health, including fiber, potassium and antioxidants. And if you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, “eating a variety of fruits and vegetables may help control blood pressure,” says cardiologist Dr. David Sabgir, M.D. However, there are specific fruits that can help steady or lower blood pressure, thanks to their nutritional properties. We talked to the cardiologist about 4 he recommends to target high blood pressure. 
The 4 Best Fruits for Lower Blood Pressure
1. Bananas
     When we mentioned potassium being a heart-healthy nutrient, you were probably thinking that bananas would make this list—and you would be right.
“Bananas are a good source of potassium, which has been shown to help manage hypertension and is recognized for its ability to reduce the effects of sodium in the body and to alleviate tension in the walls of the blood vessels,” explains Sabgir. Incorporate more bananas into your diet by trying recipes like our Avocado & Banana Smoothie or our Chocolate-Coconut Banana Breakfast Split.

2. Avocados
     Sabgir is so pro-avocado, he even partnered with Avocados - Love One Today to promote their health benefits. “Not only do avocados contain both dietary fiber and unsaturated fats, which have both been linked to cardiovascular health, they contain 250 milligrams of potassium per serving, which is one-third of a medium avocado,” he says. “And a diet rich in potassium helps to offset some of sodium’s harmful effects on blood pressure.” We may love avocados just as much as Sabgir, and we especially love it on toasts and as the base for guacamole.

3. Berries
     Whether you prefer raspberries, blueberries or blackberries, berries may help with high blood pressure, according to the doctor. “Berries contain antioxidants, including anthocyanins which research suggests can help lower blood pressure,” he states, referring to research like this 2021 study published by Molecular Nutrition & Food Research which shows a connection between higher total intakes of anthocyanins and a reduced heart disease risk.
4. Kiwi
     The furry fruit rounds out the list, thanks to its heart-healthy vitamins. “A good source of vitamin C, kiwis can help reduce blood pressure in those with primary hypertension,” Sabgir says. “Recent research has found that a daily serving of kiwi can reduce systolic blood pressure.” He’s referring to research like this 2022 study published in Nutrients. As the research notes, kiwi also has potassium, which could factor into its effects. Cut open a kiwi and enjoy it on its own or beside a meal—or top slices with chocolate and pistachios for a healthier dessert to end your day on a high note.

     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.

Kenneth Davis

  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 - BREAKTHROUGH

     I started understanding that my strength is my gentleness. A leader isn't a dictator, a leader is a servant. God makes originals not carbon copies. It's okay to be inspired by someone but be bold enough to be yourself. Even at your best, someone will have something negative to say. Pursue Greatness anyways! Separation before elevation. You have to let some people and things go so you can go to the next level. When you truly love yourself, you don't have enemies. They may hate you but you're too big to hate them back. Negative people need drama like oxygen. Stay positive, it'll take their breath away. People hate you for 1 of 3 reasons. 1) They hate themselves 2) They want to be you 3) They see you as a threat. When you love yourself, you are incapable of hating anyone no matter what they've done.
     Evaluate the people in your life; then promote, demote, or terminate. You're the CEO of your life! Don't make excuses! Make changes! To be content does not mean that you don't desire more, it means you're thankful for what you have and patient for what's to come. If you can't do anything about it then let it go. Don't be a prisoner to things you can't change. You have to get new knowledge and force yourself to really implement what you've learned. You have to set boundaries in place for yourself. The important thing is if you don't know real love, someone will teach you self-hate. Live your own truth and it won't matter how many lies they tell about you. The truth will prove itself.
     I just trust God. I don't worry about what tomorrow may bring because I know who's bringing it. You'll get humbled right before you're blessed. It's just a test to make sure you can handle what's next. Trust the process. Your time is coming. Just do the work and the results will handle themselves. The doors will be opened to those who are bold enough to knock. There's about to be a shift in your life. Get ready for your blessings. You've been through enough and a breakthrough is on the way. Don't doubt it, just claim it!

IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER

April 21, 1967 - King Randy Warren and Queen Lois Gibson were selected to reign over the 1967 Cotton Makers Jubilee. Warren is an announcer and sports director for WLOK Radio and Gibson is a clerk-typist at Memphis Defense Depot. The festivities took place at Club Paradise at 645 East Georgia Ave.

STAX Records president Jim Stewart presents Zelma Redding, wife of Otis Redding with a gold record for "Dock Of The Bay", which was recorded at Stax four days before the late "King of the Memphis Sound" died in a Wisconsin plane crash. The presentation was made during the first annual Memphis Sound Revue, which drew more than 2,000 Memphis sound fans to the Auditorium's Music Hall on Mar. 17, 1968. Jim McKnight / The Commercial Appeal files.

Estella Wright (Mayhue-Greer)

CHANGE

We do not succeed in changing things according to our desire, but gradually our desire changes. The situation we hoped to change because it was intolerable becomes unimportant.                 --Marchel Proust

Kenneth Davis

Larry Ellis Knox
December 4, 1950 ~ February 25, 2024 (age 73) Obituary

     Larry Knox, 73, of Memphis TN, passed away on 02/25/2024. Please keep the Knox family in your thoughts and prayers. Mr. Knox you are truly missed. 

VISITATION
Saturday
March 2, 2024
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Trinity Baptist
8899 Trinity RD
Cordova, TN 38106

FUNERAL SERVICE
Saturday
March 2, 2024
11:00 AM
Trinity Baptist
8899 Trinity RD
Cordova, TN 38106

MILITARY HONORS
Monday
March 11, 2024
2:00 PM
West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery
4000 Forest Hill Irene
Memphis, TN 38125

info@SUPERIORFUNERALHOME.com, call us at 901-323-7898

Kenneth Davis

   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 - THOUGHTS AND INTENTIONS

     Dreams are necessary to life. Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country. If all of us acted in unison as I act individually there would be no wars and no poverty. I have made myself personally responsible for the fate of every human being who has come my way. I believe that in judging our actions we are more severe than professional judges. We judge not only our actions, but our thoughts, our intentions, our secret curses, our hidden hate.

WELCOME TO 
SMOOTH
 CONTEMPORARY JAZZ 
FRIDAYS

Joycelyn Lacy (Somerville)

Estella Wright (Mayhue-Greer)

Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed.                    --Storm Jameson

Kenneth Davis

BIRTH ANNIVERSARY GREETINGS

TO

TILTON FOSSETT

     Nobody is forgotten, when it is convenient to remember him. The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example. Everything comes if a man will only wait. Life is not dated merely by years. Events are sometimes the best calendars. The more extensive a man's knowledge of what has been done, the greater will be his power of knowing what to do.

~Benjamin Disraeli~

Kenneth Davis

Greetings Warriors!
     The hardest step toward success is the first one, and we're preparing to take the next one. It only gets easier from here...The 55th Class Reunion Committee, has prepared a questionnaire in order to determine your interests, for our projected reunion during 2025. The questionnaire contains simple questions, that will allow us to make decisions relative to costs, venues and individual choices of engagement. Please copy and paste this link into your website browser and complete the form. We're also requesting the assistance of our classmates with a Facebook subscription, who have "Friends" that are members of 0ur class. If you don't mind, please share this announcement on your page, so they may also be informed. Should you see the need for specific questions or corrections, please let us know, by your remarks on the last line of questioning. Press "Submit" upon your completion. Here's the link: 

https://forms.gle/x17jZYWs3G6sMZ8d9 

     Our next committee meeting has been scheduled for Sunday, March 17, 2024. The time scheduled is 3PM and the location will be at the AFRO Police Association Office, 1391 Ferguson. Everyone is invited, to attend.

James Stone

Kenneth Davis

  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 - REFUSE TO ALLOW 

     If you are going down a road and don't like what's in front of you, and look behind you and don't like what you see, get off the road. Create a new path! You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. Please remember that your difficulties do not define you. They simply strengthen your ability to overcome.
     Here on the pulse of this new day You may have the grace to look up and out, And into your sister's eyes, Into your brother's face, your country, And say simply, Very simply, With hope, Good morning. Beneath the skin, beyond the differing features and into the true heart of being, fundamentally, we are more alike, my friend, than we are unalike. I refuse to allow any man-made differences to separate me from any other human beings.

Kenneth Davis

BIRTH ANNIVERSARY GREETINGS
 TO
 LINDA, RICKY & JAMES 

     Look for joy in your life; it's not always easy to find. The love of family and the admiration of friends is much more important than wealth and privilege. There are a lot of people who are doing wonderful things, quietly, with no motive of greed, or hostility toward other people, or delusions of superiority. Just by luck, I picked good heroes to worship.
~Charles Kuralt~

Joycelyn Lacy (Somerville)

Estella Wright (Mayhue-Greer)

"It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."  --Alfred Tennyson

Kenneth Davis

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND  by Marsha Burns

     March 3, 2024: Keep your emotions in check and stand fearless in the face of adversity. Fear is the antithesis of faith and will interfere with your ability to trust Me, says the Lord. Know that I am for you and that I will give you the wisdom necessary to lead you out of your current quagmire. You will again stand on solid spiritual ground. 2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

   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 - ANTITHESIS OF TRUST

     In whatever God does in the course of our lives, he gives us, through the experience, some power to help others. Sometimes life is so hard you can only do the next thing. Whatever that is, just do the next thing. God will meet you there. Fear arises when we imagine that everything depends on us. Christ is sufficient. We do not need "support groups" for each and every separate tribulation. The most widely divergent sorrows may all be taken to the foot of the same old rugged cross and find there cleansing, peace, and joy. A broken heart is a reminder of our only source of power. The deepest lessons come out of the deepest waters and the hottest fires.
     Faith is not an instinct. It certainly is not a feeling - feelings don't help much when you're in the lions' den or hanging on a wooden Cross. Faith is not inferred from the happy way things work. It is an act of will, a choice, based on the unbreakable Word of a God who cannot lie, and who showed us what love and obedience and sacrifice mean, in the person of Jesus Christ. Today is mine. Tomorrow is none of my business. If I peer anxiously into the fog of the future, I will strain my spiritual eyes so that I will not see clearly what is required of me now! It is always possible to be thankful for what is given rather than to complain about what is not given. One or the other becomes a habit of life. The heart set to do the Father's will need never fear defeat. His promises of guidance may be fully counted upon. Does it make sense to believe that the Shepherd would care less about getting His sheep where He wants them to go than they care about getting there?
     Most of the time we like the idea of our own freedom. There are times when we do not at all like the idea of the freedom of others. If we suffer because of their freedom, let us remember that they suffer because of ours. Freedom begins way back. It begins not with doing what you want but with doing what you ought - that is, with discipline. Worry is the antithesis of trust. You simply cannot do both. They are mutually exclusive. God has promised to supply all our needs. What we don't have now, we don't need now. Blessings taken for granted are often forgotten. Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them. I'm convinced that there is nothing that can happen to me in this life that is not precisely designed by a sovereign Lord to give me the opportunity to learn to know Him. 

~Elisabeth Elliot~

Kenneth Davis

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 - CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES 

     The world has become more diversified, with women becoming a real power of change. If there were more women heads of state in the world, the world would be more peaceful and better focused on the improvement of the overall quality of life and welfare. Women are more focused on the development of the quality of life in their countries. They are more involved in social and family policies, childcare, and poverty reduction.
     The examples of female success stories are important on the global scale, as they help to disseminate the idea of gender equality and to spread the roots for the actual implementation of equal rights for women and men and democratic values among different cultures, societies and traditions. There are many examples of female leaders who are not afraid to take responsibility and openly face the challenges in the worst situations.
     People trust those leaders who show real results of their work, rather than those who just talk about the results. As a woman, I think my style defines my leadership in that it's a gentler, more compassionate approach. Rather than tell people what's good for them, I consult, I listen, and I compromise where it's in the best interest of the citizens. During my election campaign I was not giving out empty promises but invited every member of society to join the efforts to work for a better life in Lithuania.
     We do not have many women leaders in the world. But if you look at the current examples, most of those few female leaders that we have today lead their countries under the pressure of difficult political and economic circumstances. They all possess strong personalities and have real political influence on the domestic and international scene.
 

Dalia Grybauskaite Born: March 1, 1956
Occupation: President of Lithuania

IT'S TIME FOR 
JUST JOKING MONDAYS