What Will She Think?

We were sitting at the baseball park watching her brother and she runs over and says, "this is my momma, my Uncle Willy, and my Mimi" - as she shows her new friend her family.

My Mimi

Those words might just be some of the best in my life.  Grandparents understand.  There is just something about being someone's.

My grandma lived in a different time.  She was born in 1900 - and she lived almost the entire 1900s - leaving earth in 1995.  She saw a whole bunch of stuff.  But she did wonder why we had one of those in our wedding.

One of our groomsman's is a black man.

My grandmother had taken on the same viewpoint of many white people during those days.  I only wish that "those days" were in the past - but I am not naive - they aren't - 

However - what will she think about me?  Will she be thinking what I have been thinking for a while - and particularly this week.

The "Buried Truths" podcast just honestly breaks my heart.  I wish it was just a fictional story that I am listening to.  Instead it is a brutal truth of what happened in our world in the 1940s, 1950s etc...  It is a horrible account of what happened to a couple of men that chose to vote - a couple of black men who chose to vote and chose to help other black citizens vote.  

Civil Rights. 

I wonder what she will think.  She won't have to worry about her Mimi supporting the ridiculous actions that are described in Buried Truths.  The prejudice behaviors of whites against blacks are easy to deny and speak against.  I honestly hope that my grandmother would have joined me.  

My grandma was a good person - I just hope that it was a lack of education and a lack of understanding - and honestly a lack of reading those red letters in the Bible and truly believing that they apply to EVERYONE.  I hope that is who she was.

But what about me.

What will she say about her Mimi?

Will she say that I was uneducated, not an understanding person, not tolerant, and that I really did not grasp those red letters?

This podcast episode on "Hidden Brain" spurred these thoughts this week.  One quote from the podcast is "... how do you convince people who once slaughtered each other to join hands and make peace? Is it possible to change a person's deepest beliefs?"

I realize we are not "slaughtering" each other in the true sense of the word - but who am I slaughtering with my thoughts - with my lack of understanding - with my less than loving ways spilling out?

I have a new friend.  She is the author of a book I am reading.  

Sara's book "How We Sleep at Night" is her story and one that just grips my heart.  

Fear can make one do some pretty stupid things.  I am convinced that fear makes your brain stop working.  Really.  Seriously.  I grew up in a society that used fear as a method of discipline and honestly for me it worked.

It has never worked for my children and I suspect it won't work for her.  I know that I will have to explain my reasons to her and I best come with an answer of proof rather than "we have always looked at it that way".

So before I stand on the premise that I get to decide who receives God's favor and who doesn't - I better know.  And I better have red letters to support.

I follow a Red Letter Christian's podcast with Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne.  I found this article today on the website...

Here's the link to the article - Stand .  Mr. Caldwell said exactly what I have been trying to say in this blog.  

I have dear friends, family, people I know who are a part of the LGBTQ community.  

I don't have all the answers - to ANY of our questions.  

I do know that I do not want her to wonder what her Mimi thought.

Her Mimi loves - that is what I want her to think.

One day my mom's earthly body will lay with this stone.  This scripture has defined my mom - she has always sought His help and recognized that her help has always come from the Lord.

My dad always spoke of love.  He began every prayer with the phrase "Father thank you for loving us."

I never talked to my dad about the LGBTQ community.  But there is no doubt in my mind as to how he would respond.  

With love. 

Matthew 22:34-40, NLT

I know this scripture.  However look closely at verse 40 - a verse I forget to quote when I am saying the Love your God part...

Verse 40.  The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.  

I am the first to tell you that because "I love you then I feel compelled to share my viewpoint.  I know you need to see it my way.  I am right because I understand what God intended.  I know.  You don't. Blah Blah Blah."

But really - just LOVE.  And sometimes that means Stand and open our arms rather than our mouths.

Why do we make that so hard?

Photo by Mirus Studio

Always, May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14.

A Kaep.A Coates.A King.A President

Maneuvering through this world right now can certainly be challenging.

We have protests, shootings, violence, tragedy after tragedy.

We have ugly words tweeted.  Ugly words spoken.  Ugly words believed.

Sometimes it is nice to ignore it all.  But sometimes it is important to pay attention.

I feel like the world only becomes more divided as the days increase.

I think somewhere along the way we missed the point of his lack of "stance".  There are injustices.  Look at the statistics - they are frightening.  And if you are poor, young or old, not white - you won't get a fair chance.  (Watch 13th on Netflix if you question that statement.)

And then there is the writer.

His comments on the You Tube video are absolutely brilliant!

Why White People..... (Click the link to hear the comments - seriously brilliant.)

I found Ta-Nehisi Coates because of Son One - here is his Twitter comment:

"Love & empathy win - no matter the context." That is a quote never to forget.  

And it is worth noting that Coates has several You Tube videos and he is quite interesting.  I am glad I have found him!

So many years ago MLK was willing to take action in order to make injustices known.  He was right. we simply cannot stay silent and we must do what is right.

Those 2 tweets don't even address his racist side of life.  

He gives permission to hateful rhetoric.

And the hate continues.  He gives permission.  He is the President.  

We must find a route to speaking louder.

Always, May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, 

and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14.

Learning History

It is really difficult to "not be political" these days in our country.  And I have decided that it is really difficult to "be me".  Maybe you feel the same.

I do not support the death penalty.

I do not support the right of a woman to have an abortion.  

I do not like the idea of someone without public education experience being the leader of the education system in our country.  

I am completely confused over the immigration rulings.

I believe racism sucks.

Heavens the list is long ------.   I am for LIFE.  Life for all.  I am quite confused how I have been against abortion for all of my life - yet I would have told you in my past self that I was in favor of the death penalty.  Not anymore - I cannot justify it in my mind.

That is the key.  Justify in MY mind.  These opinions are mine.  I am certainly not trying to influence anyone because I will not present enough valid information to sway an opinion (at this point).  But I hope we can consider a couple of thoughts.

Maybe WE can be the change we want to see in our world.  We can choose to be loving - kind - tolerant - etc....

Many times our change is one sided.  We want the other side to change but we many times are not willing to do the things we expect others to do.

And this is not an easy time ----- for either "side" - for any of us.


My thoughts....

What legislation impacts the issues that I find important?

What governmental agencies and groups impact "my issues"?

What is the history behind these issues?

What is the financial ramifications of change?  

What FACTS can I share - what FACTS do I know?  

Are my emotions charged because of FACTS or feelings?

The challenge is to not only talk about the work but to in fact do the work.  The civil rights legislation from the 1960s - did things that helped to create change.  The Montgomery Bus Boycott - the March on Selma - the March on Washington all of those events plus many many more - used their voice to impact change in laws and policies - and the way people were treated.

The SPLC actively monitors hate watch issues and provides a legal resource.  

President Trump - like him or not - he is doing.

Shane Claiborne is - with every ounce of who he is as a person - against the death penalty.  He is willing to protest on the Supreme Court steps - and get arrested for his stance.  

As I look to these leaders of the past and see leaders in our present setting - I want to make sure that I learn the historical accounts and when appropriate follow in their examples.  MLK - marched and boycotted to influence a needed change in our society.

What changes do I want to see?

death penalty - not an option anymore - what can I learn from Claiborne - if I find myself agreeing with his viewpoint - am I willing to join him?

racism - eradicated - eliminated - not an option anymore - what am I willing to do?

My homework must consist of reading - listening - and learning about the historical development of the death penalty & racism.  Not only how it impacts me personally but how those two issues have impacted us as a country.

Since it is the new year I have a new daily planner.  It took me about a month to figure out which one I needed (wanted).  I found one that I was able to design by Erin Condren - great product.  

It is not enough just to have an opinion without a specific action that eliminates oppression & violations of civil rights for any of us.  My hope is that we will monitor legislation - monitor court decisions - fight for injustice - and in the end be willing to stand on a hotel balcony. ~ Dr. Cannon Groves 

Always, May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14.

From Eggs to ..... Segregation

I feel quite sure that the title of this blog is a bit much.

I agree.

But I looked at my previous post from May (seriously where in the world was I for the last several months?  I know I have had other things to write about....) - and the topic was diet and how to live a healthier life.  I love talking about food and how it can truly be the best medicine - or food can most certainly be the worst thing for you too.

We enjoy supplements at our house - and we each take a few but one of the things that we really take a stand for is the power & impact of essential oils.  Many don't acknowledge the historical relevance of essential oils - but they have been around - forever.

Yes essential oils have been around for a long time. And I contend if we questioned the OTC (over the counter) stuff as much as we question EOs - we all would be in much better shape.  I enjoy diffusing oils as I write - clears the air - clears my thoughts - just makes the room more pleasant.  Very similar to candles - without the potential irritation from the chemicals of a candle.

Valor is one of my favorite to diffuse and this essential oil was given to me by dear friends when my father passed away this past July.  That is a blog entry for another day - but Valor -

"empower the physical & spiritual bodies - helps us overcome opposition so we can stand tall during adversity..."

That is the real topic of this entry for today.

I will begin with a caveat.  I have no earthly idea how to be politically correct - no earthly idea  how to express things in a manner in which is appropriate for today - I am pretty much clueless but I know what my heart feels - and that is how I will write.

I recently found out that when I was growing up in the small, small town in Texas there was an understood expectation that we would be an all white town.  I find it hard to refute that claim since there were not any black families and very, very few hispanic people.  And decades later I found out that my dear, best friend wasn't always treated very well because she was white & hispanic.  I honestly had NO CLUE.  After all her parents & mine were the best of friends - really.  We would spend holidays together - play board games - cook - eat - share our homes when the water would freeze at the other.  Seriously - the best of friends.

Couple that reality of mine with my naive view and one comes up with a person who is just pretty clueless about race and the societal differences.  I have written about this all before - several entries in this blog have been about civil rights, racism, hatred, prejudice - those are the words I have used before.

But our world is different now.  Even in the short time since I wrote the first entry on this topic.  Not to be melodramatic - but hate is literally everywhere.  Oh I think it is easy to feel like we should all just move past the rhetoric that is in the news - move past all the assumptions about leaders - move past that feeling that our world has changed.

I mean - after all when the first black person was elected as President 8 years ago - we moved past it all - right?  Of course do I really want to "move past" the conversations that happen when we are running for the office and then the change once we are in the office - which of those words are the true words?  

With the opportunity that the media gives us - we don't move past anything at all.  We don't leave well enough alone - we don't stop - we don't pause - we just keep on.  At our home we say "being a bull in a china cabinet".

I feel like we have bulls everywhere  - from all the different pastures and this china cabinet of a world is crashing.

I know a bit melodramatic.  Is it really crashing in the little Texas town that I live in now?  Oh it did - for a few weeks when we battled the sale of alcohol and who we might support for President.

There are many of us who speak of love.  But many of us only want to speak of love for our viewpoint.

But we can only move on if we face the realities of our world as it is today.  We must see things for how they really are - then we can heal, grow, move toward ....  We do have differences - but we are called to love each person - including those ones that we cannot find a quick common ground - it is then that we need to search.

For me this journey has gone into overdrive this fall.  I have found Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter friends that have helped me to open my eyes to the reality that this world is just different.  I refuse to be uneducated - refuse to be naive (any more than I already am...) - refuse to use this space as only a spot for not so controversial topics....

We live in a segregated world.

My challenge to you is the same challenge that I have given myself - LEARN.  Read.  Listen.  Even to the things that you think you don't agree with.  Of course - be an educated learner and challenge your thoughts - challenge the thoughts of others - make sure that they match up with an authority.

For me the authority is the Bible - Jesus -

Here is the map for my journey - please share your thoughts!  Find me on Facebook - Instagram - Twitter - and at my professional site - Dr. Cannon Groves.

Wonderful Netflix Original that sets the stage for our current state of affairs.

Shane's books are worth your time and a bonus to understanding.

From the book "Irresistible Revolution" 

This book will change your mind FOREVER.  Bryan is also a guest in the Netflix 13th Film.

This is the book I am currently reading.... Michelle Alexander is amazing & also featured in 13th. 

There are many - many more books to read - articles to find - and people to follow ----- here are a few of the people that I follow on Twitter and Instagram:

Latasha Morrison - "Be The Bridge"

Jen & Brandon Hatmaker

This book will WRECK your comfortable world!!!  It is a perfect read.

Austin Channing

Those are just a few - there are more.  #ShaneClaiborne, #TheSimpleWay, #RedLetterChristians - too many to list here.  #drhopelyn - #SPLC - #PopeFrancis #RickAtchley #TheNewJimCrow - #annvoskamp  #maxlucado - the list can go for a while.....

I want to learn more - I want to understand how it must feel to see our current political system and our world as completely far away from where we should be headed.

We should be headed toward Love.  Every day - in every way - in dealing with each other.

I know I am not naive any longer  (still a bit awkward in this quest) --- but I am heart broken.  This hate must go - love must prevail.

That begins with me.  What about you?

They have always taught me of Love.
His prayer - that he said every time - even until the end was "Thank you Father for loving us."  He knew love - he gave love - he taught love.  He would not understand the hate - and he would just want Jesus for all of us.  

Always, May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14.