What Does It Mean To Live Without God?

For many of us, most experiences teach us important lessons.  We usually learn something from it, if we pay attention.  Next time, when similar situations come up, we’ll know how to better deal with them.  Yeah, some of those experiences were so overwhelming that not only we didn’t know how to deal with them; we still don’t know how we managed to get through them.  One minute you’re sitting on top of the world and next, the world is on top of you.  What heavy burdens we carry.  We become cautious about making certain decisions reminding us of the past.  We are so scarred by life that we’ve forgotten to see the good.  Some trials and tribulations we’ve been dealt with will not give us a chance to give others a place in our lives.  Some of us bounce back and move on.  Some become “saved” and now can quote every book in the Bible.  They can judge others because they now know the Word.  They just don’t know how to quite live it, yet.  They don’t understand how to forgive and love but they can tell you that you aren’t living right.  I digress.  We should be happy that the lost sheep came back to the flock.  Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”  (John 15:5-8).  Jesus said, “apart from me you can do nothing” in verse 5.  We are nothing without God.  Our trials draw us closer to God.  We are not in control but need the help of God, Who is the only one that can order our steps.  Nothing is guaranteed, we walk by faith.  We should thank God for every moment in our lives.  He knows our purpose even if we don’t.  God has made so many promises to us and we are afraid to remind Him of them, because we are not good enough, pure enough, and not successful enough, to boldly approach Him.  We also have to live up to His commandments.  Love Him above all else and treat our brothers as we want to be treated.  Don’t forget that God loves us so much that He allowed His only son, Jesus, to sacrifice His life for us.  God is our Father, who loves us more than we’ll ever know.

Faith, Trust, and Wisdom!

Don’t sell yourself short.  You are worth more than what you think you are.  Many of us are at a plateau in our lives, that we begin to think that this is as far as we can go.  This is it, it’s all over now.  We settle down in our comfort zone and lay back waiting to see if anything will come along to change our situation.  Our problem is that when something does come along, we don’t want to change.  And we really don’t want it to change us too much.  I’m generally speaking about others but the only person I can talk about is me.  Sound the "wake-up" bell.  Don’t be complacent, don’t just settle on contentment.  Let’s get out of the box and do something different!  If you can’t dance, try it!  If you don’t like exotic foods, try something!  If you can’t sing, sing, anyway!  Let’s have some fun and enjoy what life has for us!  I’m not asking anyone to hurt themselves or anyone.  I just want us to look back at our lives and have very little regrets.  We’ve all been hurt emotionally and it is hard to forget those bad relationships.  But, why is it that some people are ready to try again?  Why can’t we?  Let’s exercise our faith, trust that it will work!  We’ve used it at our lowest peaks in our lives but we should keep it going even during our highs.  Pray for wisdom and develop our relationships with God.  We need to understand His character more by reading more of His word.  To find peace in the turmoil that surrounds us, we must first find peace in ourselves.

Grateful – Bishop Hezekiah Walker, L.F. Crusade Choir, Dave Hollister

Somebody Prayed – Vanessa Bell Armstrong

Buffalo Soldiers!

Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  The nickname was given to the "Negro Cavalry" by the Native American tribes they fought; the term eventually became synonymous with all of the African-American regiments formed in 1866.

Although several African-American regiments were raised during the Civil War to fight alongside the Union Army (including the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and the many United States Colored Troops Regiments), the "Buffalo Soldiers" were established by Congress as the first peacetime all-black regiments in the regular U.S. Army. Many African-Americans took a long hard look at military service which offered shelter, education, steady pay, medical attention and a pension. Some, such as Cathay Williams, who later enlisted as William Cathay, the first female Buffalo Soldier, decided it was much better than frequent civilian unemployment. Congress recognized the military merits of black soldiers by authorizing two segregated regiments of black cavalry, the Ninth United States Cavalry and the Tenth United States Cavalry and the 24th, 25th, 38th, 39th, 40th, and 41st Infantry Regiments. Orders were given to transfer the troops to the western war arena, where they would join the army's fight with the Indians. In 1869, one year after Cathay Williams' discharge, from the army, the black infantry regiments were consolidated into two units, the Twenty-fourth United States Infantry and the Twenty-fifth United States Infantry. The 38th U.S. Infantry became the Twenty-fourth United States Infantry. All of the black regiments were commanded by white officers at that time.

The fact that five hospital visits failed to reveal that William Cathay was a woman raises questions about the quality of medical care, even by mid-l9th century standards, available to the soldiers of the U.S. Army, or at least to the African-American soldiers. Clearly, she never fully undressed during her hospital stays. Perhaps she objected to any potentially intrusive procedures out of fear of discovery. There is no record of the treatment given her at the hospitals. There is every indication that whatever treatments she received, they did not work.

Their job wasn’t easy. The "Buffalo Soldiers" were often confronted with racial prejudice from other members of the U.S. Army. Civilians in the areas where the soldiers were stationed occasionally reacted to them with violence. They were attacked in Rio Grande City, Texas in 1899, Brownsville, Texas in 1906, and Houston, Texas in 1917. There were recorded incidents. How many more were never heard of? In the Spanish-American Ward General John J. Pershing fought with the 10th Calvary from 1895 to 1897. He saw these brave men as good soldiers. But white cadets and officers at West Point began calling him Nigger Jack, it changed to Black Jack Pershing.  Some of you are familiar with that last term.

On September 6, 2005, Mark Matthews, who was the oldest living Buffalo Soldier, died at the age of 111. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. I met Trooper Harold S. Cole on April 21, 2012, in Columbia, S. C. at Freedom Fest acknowledging the Buffalo Soldiers and the Viet Nam Veterans. In 1944, the army disbanded the 2nd Cavalry Division, which included the 9th & 10th Cavalry Regiments in North Africa. It’s like Trooper Cole is one of the last Buffalo Soldiers.

A lasting legacy of the soldiers as park rangers is the Ranger Hat (popularly known as the Smokey Bear Hat). Although not officially adopted by the Army until 1911, the distinctive hat crease, called a Montana Peak, (or pinch) can be seen being worn by several of the Buffalo Soldiers in park photographs dating back to 1899. Soldiers serving in the Spanish American War began to crease the Stetson hat with a Montana "pinch" to better shed water from the torrential tropical rains. Many retained that distinctive "pinch" upon their return to the U.S. You can still see that look being worn among the military and law enforcement officers.

We must not forget the contribution that these brave men gave and suffered for this country.  That's right, men, not animals, but free men and former slaves who also gave their all.  They were abused, mistreated and humiliated but they were proud to be soldiers and fought their best that should be recognized throughout American History.

Hold On – James Fortune & FIYA!

We All Have Something Going On!

I was thinking that even though things might seem to be going well with me, I still have my share of problems.  No matter how well things might look on the outside, all kinds of stuff are happening on the inside.  We all think our problems are major until we see someone else problems are lot worse than our own.  Then we realize that our troubles aren’t really that bad.  But, I will admit that all of us are going through something.  It’s WHO do we look to that can bring us out of it that will make the difference.  Keep your faith, my brothers and sisters.  It’s being tested 24/7!