Category: Belief

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Brrrrrrrrrrrrr…

gregoryjoel

 “It’s frigging cold!” I used to laugh it at my neighbors who complained about the cold in in Texas. We’ve had above-average temperatures this year. Fifty degrees is not cold folks. Today? “It’s frigging cold!”

We’ve haven’t gotten above freezing for the last couple of weeks. The high temperatures are only projected to drop for the next few days. The forecast calls for a possible three inches of snow over the weekend and more later in the week. Much of the country is in the deep freeze so we’re not alone. It just doesn’t happen here often, so this is a major “weather event” for us. There was a 133 car pile-up on I-35 yesterday with six fatalities and 80-plus people sent to the hospital…

Opal’s Farm has come to a bit of a stopping point in our late winter planting because of the weather. It didn’t stop the Tarrant Regional Water District though. The started on the infrastructure for our new pump and irrigation this week and are almost finished. I’ve been doing the “Happy Dance” all week. TRWD is so good to Opal’s Farm. The best way I know to show them gratitude is to grow lots of food for our neighbors. TRWD has always believed in Opal’s Farm’s mission and their support has been invaluable.

Please keep us in your prayers as we go through this week and freezing temperatures. We planted all our onions (around 6,000 of them!) in the week before we knew about this coming in. Onions are hearty plants but so many freezing days in a row will inevitably hurt some of them.

I was once asked what our “Plan B” was in the event of a flood or other disaster. It’s simple – we replant! The farm is a great example of what to do in life – replant. Life throws out some hard lessons. Sometimes you just have to replant and go on from there…

I know this has been a tough year on everyone. If you are able, please consider a donation to Opal’s Farm today. You can donate securely at www.unityunlimited.org/opalsfarm.

Stay warm out there folks…

Photo by Julian Hochgesang on Unsplash
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“An individual has not begun to live until [they] can rise above the narrow horizons of [their] particular individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

gregoryjoel
Photo by Unseen Histories on Unsplash
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#PeaceWithJustice – Inauguration Week 2021

gregoryjoel

I finished my morning prayer and meditation on the porch this morning and headed for the desk. I found this gem from Chalice Press in my inbox and had to share it with you all. Chalice Press is a great publisher with some amazing writers.

In honor of this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we share this prayer from Rev. Dr. Michael W. Waters from his new book, Something in the Water: A 21st Century Civil Rights Odyssey.

A PRAYER FOR HOLY SOLES

Dear God,

teach me to pray

with my feet.

The steps of the ancestors were sturdy and strong.

They somehow carried them to cut down strange fruit

dangling in the breeze.

Up and down Montgomery’s hills,

To mass meetings, lunch counters, and courthouses

To face canines, tear gas, and water hoses

As bullets and bombs wrought martyrs,

Their blood still crying out from the deep.

LORD God,

teach me to pray with my feet.

For those felled while adorned with hoodie, for those who still can’t breathe, for those whose hearts have been broken under the weight of fathers suffocated on the street,

with hands raised,

“Don’t shoot!”

For Water Protectors,

For Flint,

For Women,

For Refugees,

For Hijab-wearing Sisters and their Brothers,

For the Dreamers,

LORD God Almighty,

teach me how to pray

with my feet,

That I might become a drum major for justice,

To march around Jericho’s walls

And monuments to White Supremacy,

Till they come stumbling down;

That I might say,

As did Mother Pollard to young Martin,

“My feets is tired, but my soul is rested.”

And that You, LORD God almighty,

May one day say to me,

“You have beautiful feet.”

Amen.

The Reverend Dr. Michael W. Waters is founding pastor of Abundant Life African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church in Dallas, Texas. As a pastor, professor, award-winning author, activist, and social commentator, his words of hope and empowerment inspire national and international audiences. (from Chalice Press newsletter, 1/18/2021

Photo by Unseen Histories on Unsplash

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