Nelson Mandela Tribute

I have spent the last several days thinking about Nelson Mandela and what he meant to the world. He was a beacon of peace, love, and light as he stepped away from his life in prison into a life of forgiveness and transformation. I’ve seen quotes and posted them. I’ve read stories and been touched. Today, I saw this tribute from a flashmob at a store in South Africa and I knew that this song tribute said all that I could not find the words for. And so I share this tribute and wish peace, love and forgiveness to this world he leaves behind.

Be blessed!

 

 

Conquer with Love – original poem

CONQUER WITH LOVE

When evil seers a hole into the fabric of our lives,

It does not account for the power of light and love

To enter through that ragged wound.

What hate cuts and scratches to destroy,

Kindness and generosity stitches back a stronger whole.

There is no place that darkness can hide

For it is your light that can illuminate all.

Fear would cause us to shrink back and not live as we design,

But strength of connection creates bravery to step out.

Let us not fight with anger but rather conquer with love.

We are in control – not of what happens to us

But of who we reach out to for help and for comfort.

We can overcome the hatred in this world

If we but make a greater counter play of love.

Hate not, but forgive.

Shrink not, but join.

Revenge not, but console.

Let us seek to heal the defeated before they turn cold and bitter.

Let us defeat the hatred that seeks to create more haters.

Let us be love, do love, speak love and seek love.

~ Barbara Bernard Miller

Let us grow …

“What you grow in the good times becomes your strength in the hard times.

Therefore, let us grow and let us share love, peace, charity, forgiveness, generosity, and hope.”

~ Barbara Bernard Miller

I posted this quote on my bulletin board at work today. There are so many people who are seeing the hard times coming or already swirling around their lives right now. I wanted to remind us all that we have some control over our situation. Perhaps not in what happens but certainly in what we put in our lives to prepare us to react to and cope with those situations.

And when I stand in good times and others do not, I hope I am conscious enough, aware enough, and courageous enough to step out of my joy to lend them a hand, a shoulder, a word of encouragement, or even a dollar or two – whatever I have that can ease the trouble. It’s so easy to forget sometimes that we aren’t alone, especially in the tough times. But the worst thing we can do is forget that we aren’t alone in the good times. That is when we can really make a difference.

Be a light in the world, and be blessed!

I cry and pray

I am disappointed time and time again when I see so-called members of my Christian faith behaving in ways that would make Christ cringe and cry. Yes, I read the Bible. Yes, I go to church. But I do not espouse to believe some of the degrading and unloving things that I hear come out of the mouths of people who are both leaders and followers in the Christian community at large. At the end of the day, the parts of the Bible that come from the teachings of Christ is what was the foundation of Christianity as a new belief and a new religion. And some days you would never know it by the things we see and hear in the news or in our smaller communities.

To read how Jesus preached compassion, understanding, salvation, forgiveness, faith, hope, and all things related to unconditional love makes my heart and soul breathe in a mighty Allelujah! And inspires my mouth to shout Glory to God! It is that positive message that has survived in spite of 2000 years of persecution, misconduct, wars, and many other atrocities. And it is that original loving message that is the guiding principles for my beliefs and my actions.

But to see self-proclaimed Christians live and preach hate, division, judgement, unforgiveness, and all things related to intolerance makes me want to deny the title just in order to be in no way associated with them. Those thoughts, philosophies, and words are a blight upon the believing community. I do not know how preaching the opposite of the man we follow can possible bring souls closer to God or glorify his Divinity. And for that my heart weeps. In spite of what wisdom they think they are preaching these unloving people are forgetting a very powerful statement:

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21

I pray for those who speak and live a misguided and unloving life. And I pray even harder that true, loving Christians speak and live loudly enough and well enough to drown the others out. May the true Christians stand together in love.

Believe, live, and be blessed!

You have all you need

“Sometimes to clear the pain in life you need personal awareness, forgiveness, and the help of those who love you. You have all you need if you look for it. Be blessed!” ~ Barbara Bernard Miller

Greatest gift

“The greatest gift you can give to yourself and to the progress of your dreams and desires is the choice to no longer carry the offenses that others have made against you. You can lay it down.” ~ Barbara Bernard Miller