Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is an African American celebration of family, culture, and community lasting seven days beginning on December 26^th.  Each day is dedicated to a particular principle and each day one of the candles on a seven-branched candelabrum is lighted. The celebration also includes the giving of gifts (especially educational and cultural gifts to children).

I must interject here that without doing my own research, I deprived myself of the full understanding and meaning of Kwanzaa.  In my research, I learned that Kwanzaa is a non-denominational celebration, certainly not meant to replace Christmas rather the key concepts are to focus on honoring the values of ancient African cultures and inspiring African Americans to move forward and progress as well as providing an opportunity to strengthen and renew family values and togetherness and build our community.

The Seven Principles are as follows:

umoja (oo-MOH-ja)
Meaning: unity
Action: building a community that holds together

kujichagulia (koo-jee-cha-goo-LEE-yah)
Meaning: self-determination
Action: speaking for yourself and making choices that benefit the community

ujima (oo-JEE-mah)
Meaning: collective work and responsibility
Action: helping others within the community

ujamaa (oo-JAH-ma)
Meaning: cooperative economics
Action: supporting businesses that care about the community

nia (nee-AH)
Meaning: a sense of purpose
Action: setting goals that benefit the community

kuumba (koo-OOM-bah)
Meaning: creativity
Action: making the community better and more beautiful

imani (ee-MAH-nee)

Meaning: faith
Action: believing that a better world can be created for communities now and in the future

The Seven Symbols are as follows:

kikombe cha umoja
Meaning: the unity cup
Action: Celebrants drink from this cup in honor of their African ancestors. Before drinking, each person says "harambee," or "let's pull together."

kinara
Meaning: the candleholder, which holds seven candles
Action: It said to symbolize stalks of corn that branch off to form new stalks, much as the human family is created.

mazao
Meaning: fruits, nuts, and vegetables
Action: These remind celebrants of the harvest fruits that nourished the people of Africa.

mishumaa saba
Meaning: the seven candles that represent the seven principles
Action: A different candle is lit each day. Three candles on the left are green; three on the right are red; and in the middle is a black candle.

mkeka
Meaning: mat
Action: The symbols of Kwanzaa are arranged on the mkeka, which may be made of straw or African cloth. It symbolizes the foundation upon which communities are built.

vibunzi (plural, muhindi)
Meaning: ear of corn
Action: Traditionally, one ear of corn is placed on the mkeka for each child present.

zawadi
Meaning: gifts
Action: Traditionally, educational and cultural gifts are given to children on January 1, the last day of Kwanzaa.

I hope this educational moment has been both encouraging and enlightening.

SharB~TTSD

#TakeTheScaffoldingDown

An Encouraging Word

What barriers have you created for yourself that prevent you from moving forward?  What preconceived notions do you have that are hindering your next step?  Increase your knowledge base, surround yourself with those willing to celebrate and promote your progress.  Have a willing spirit open to learn and receive wisdom and education.  Push away negative thoughts, negative doubts, and negative people and focus on the prize.  Faith in Christ, pressing towards the mark for the prize of the high calling (knowledge of and a relationship with) in Him provides you with immeasurable blessings.

Break through the scaffolding of anything or anyone that holds you back.  Your gift is needed, share it.

Keep the faith.

SharB~TTSD

#TakeTheScaffoldingDown

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Hold on...the Amen Corner

What does amen mean?  It is so, so be it, an acknowledgement of agreement of the truth as it pertains to the Word of God.  I was taught that it is a statement of belief in and truth of God’s word.

With that in mind, as I was rolling down the avenue with my car radio tuned in to a talk show, I heard the guest minister reiterate what the killer at Mother Emmanuel said, he chose the victims not because they were Christian but because they were black and that he was leaving someone alive to tell the story.  As the guest minister concluded, the host of the show responded with, “Amen.”  My opinion was that was NOT an “Amen” moment.  

That was a moment to disagree wholeheartedly with that mode of thinking and then continue the discussion.  Amen should not be used randomly and without thought.

Back to the matter at hand, so many lives have been lost due to gun violence leaving many grieving families and communities as a result of shootings.  We must continue to pray for these families and communities.  The journey ahead is long but we will continue to pray for peace, strength, justice, and God’s guidance.

Amen.

SharB~TTSD

#TakeTheScaffoldingDown

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Hold On

As the title of this blog states, Take the Scaffolding Down!  It is time to tear down the scaffolding that surrounds us of racial and social injustice and of the killings.  We are faced with tragedy after tragedy as though it were a plague sweeping our land.  As we are faced with yet another tragedy, our minds and our souls struggle with the realization of another killing that has torn into the heart of families, communities, and our nation.

Grasping the reality of yet another tragic event, those of us with faith in God realize that we must hold fast to the profession of our faith, the Bible says, without wavering.  Truth be told, do these events not cause us to waver? We may waver but as I admonish you, I admonish myself, don’t fall.  Stand fast and fight the good fight of faith.  There is much pain, sorrow, anger, and grief but we must hold each other up and pray for each other.  

Persevere and hold on to the hope and the faith that our efforts and our prayers and our marches and our legislative actions and our calls for justice and change will not be in vain but will reap a harvest of love of peace and of social change so desperately needed.

Prayerfully...

SharB~TTSD
#TakeTheScaffoldingDown

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Stay in the Mix

Yes, you have endured enough.  Yes, you have seen more than enough devastation, and certainly felt enough hurt, and suffered great loss but I encourage you one more time to dig deep into that well of faith and pull out the strength, the courage, and the faith to go on and stay in the mix.

Staying in the mix is like having your finger on the pulse. Put your finger on your pulse…go ahead.  Do you feel the thump thumping?  Of course you do so since you are still breathing and feel that pulse, stay in the mix.  Push through, persevere.

Look at the woman with the issue of blood (Luke 8).  She stayed in the mix. Had she not had the sense of urgency coupled with her faith to reach out and touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, she would have remained in her broken state.

As you press through the noise of this world, through the distractions, through the difficulties of life that seem to press on you, cry out to God where you will have the opportunity to pour out your heart, draw closer, and strengthen and renew your faith.

These steps help solidify the foundation you need to accomplish your goals and stay in the mix so that you can continue to shine in your part of the world and beyond.  I have found this foundation necessary to be responsive, to be reflective, and to render a positive and productive reaction to the many issues and concerns of the day.

Within your response, consider the outcome.  Utilize your education, experience, and abilities to set your sights on that outcome and let that be your driving force for each step you take, for each hurdle you jump over.  Every step keeps you in the mix and gets you closer to your goal.

I hope this brief word encourages you to stay in the mix and continue to see the outcome and goal you wish to achieve. Whatever task or goal that is set before you go into it with the expectation of a victorious outcome.

SIDEBAR

There was a young mother who suffered from a rare blood disorder requiring regular frequent visits to the doctor for treatments.  Although she was often sick, her driving force on the road to healing was that she would continue her work as a child advocate, participate in her children’s school activities, and see each graduate high school and move on to higher education.  An experimental treatment became available and this young mother was able to participate in its trial.  A miraculous answer to her prayers was soon realized.  After six weeks of treatment, her condition was much improved and many of the medications she had been prescribed were eliminated.  As she persevered through this trying time of her life, she kept her faith in God strong; she kept her family and work central to the outcomes she longed for in life.

Staying in the mix and enduring in the race enabled her to see what she longed for; all three children not only graduated high school but successfully completed and received degrees in higher education.

The moral of the story: Whatever your goal is, whatever your mission is, stay strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Stay focused.

See the outcome.

Stay in the mix.

SharB~TTSD

#TakeTheScaffoldingDown

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What is Your Posture?

What is your posture?

When you are feeling strong and happy, what is your posture?

When you are not feeling strong, not feeling positive, what is your posture?

Do you stand straight up, shoulders back, chest out or do you sort of hunch over?  I remember growing up and my brother making me stand against the wall and push my shoulders back so that I would learn to stand up straight and tall.  Over the years I have learned how important good posture, both sitting and standing, is to reducing back pain. Take a peek at Livestrong and you will find a few simple steps to maintaining good posture for sitting and standing, which may helps reduce back pain.

I recall a situation that felt like it was literally weighing me down and I found myself with shoulders slumped and sort of hunched over.  I reached a ‘scaffolding down’ moment and realized that I was not in this fight by myself.  God, who is omnipotent, fights every battle for me if I stand still.  This is confirmed for example, in Deuteronomy 2: 24, “For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory."  We can stand victorious demonstrating a strong faith in God.

What is your posture?  In the face of adversity, defeat, and against all the odds, tear down that scaffolding and hold your position in faith. 

“What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  No matter the hardship, we are further reminded that in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:31, 37.

I hope through this brief word of encouragement you find yourself standing a little straighter, standing a little stronger for your physical health, mental health, and spiritual health.

SharB~TTSD
#TakeTheScaffoldingDown

The Heart

I dedicate this blog to the memory of my mother who died on February 18, 1983 and I hope that as you read, you will see how crucial it is to guard your heart; physically emotionally, and spiritually.

The heart is such a valuable part of your physical body and I bring this blog to you not only honoring the memory of my mother but also because February is Women’s Heart Health Awareness Month.  My mother died during open heart surgery at a time when medical technology had not become as advanced as it is now.  Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among women in the United States with a greater mortality rate than Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and chronic lung disease.  The American Heart Association continues to draw attention to women’s awareness of their risks for heart disease.  Statistics show that 90 percent of women have one or more risk factors for heart disease.  The symptoms are different between men and women and 1 in 3 women die from heart disease each year.  Reducing the risk of heart disease include staying active and healthy lifestyle choices such as not smoking, controlling blood press and blood sugar levels and knowing your family history.  I encourage you to visit the American Heart Association’s and the Go Red for Women websites to further your education and understanding of heart disease.

The heart is also a valuable part of your emotional being and is totally open and pure as we are born into this life.  Growth and change, life circumstances, relationships, hardships, and the like take away that simple purity.  As life happens, there are certain occurrences that hurt your heart, break your heart, and even harden your heart.  Allow your heart to heal and do not let the issues of life harden your heart, rather remain giving or loving and turn that hardness into a positive force.

The heart is also at the center of our spiritual being, a wellspring absorbing and pouring out constantly, which brings me to Proverbs 4: 23 (NIV) which says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”  Guarding your spiritual heart, from which the issues of life flow, means protecting it from negative issues including bitterness, anger, and hatred.  The commitment of a Godly lifestyle provides the guard over your heart needed to live and breathe spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

My mother taught me the importance of a healthy spiritual heart and even when the heart condition she had endured since birth weakened her physical heart, she continued to exude strength and faith in all she said and did.

An unhealthy heart greatly impacts you, your family, and those who care about you.  Guard your heart through maintaining a healthy lifestyle making wise choices.  Educate yourself on all matters of the heart so that you will know how to allow your heart to breathe, to live, to give, and to take.  I hope this blog has inspired you and motivated you and encouraged you to guard your heart with all diligence.

SharB~TTSD
#TakeTheScaffoldingDown