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POEM: I Am from…
I am LaShawnda, sister of Kim and Nicolette. We are daughters of Terry Ann, the daughter of Bessie Mae, The daughter of Lizzie, the daughter of Mae Emma, the daughter of Many Unknowns. I am from coconut oil and bergamot grease From pinto beans and bananas. I am from the light. From home-cooked meals and shadowy corners, From Thanksgiving feasts are for week-long leftovers. I am from the iris; The majestic maple tree, Whose thick trunk I remember climbing and falling from. I am from nowhere and everywhere. From many mothers and no real fathers. From silence, violence, solitude and perseverance From hard work tempered with spots of joy. I…
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Give Yourself Permission to Be Uncertain
This is about fragility, vulnerability, uncertainty, poor decisions and giving yourself permission to do things over when you're in a better mental state.
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Be Your Own Best Present
2020 year-end reflection and message for those of us used to putting everyone else first and feeding into situations that don’t nourish us. Just as we try to be available supportive and our best selves for others, we should be equally, if not more so, for ourselves. Related posts: Everything I Thought I Knew About Diabetes Was Wrong The getting-overness of it all.
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Virtual Bible Study: Marriage & Relationship
This is a follow-up to You’re Invited: Virtual Bible Study. The first discussion has been scheduled. Yay! It will be a recorded Zoom call on Tuesday, October 20, 2020 at 9:00am Central Time. The topic is Marriage & Relationship: Modern Concepts vs. Biblical Principles. Text: Book of Ruth: Naomi, Ruth and Boaz Text: Genesis 29-31: Jacob, Rachel and Leah Zoom details: Please note the call will be recorded and shared. Time: Oct 20, 2020 09:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada) Join: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/72581560853?pwd=Vm0yK1p0Yk5rUWIrVEtnbVJ3dklyUT09 Meeting ID: 725 8156 0853 Passcode: CSV2T2
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Everything I Thought I Knew About Diabetes Was Wrong
Did you know diabetes mellitus is a term for a group of disorders that cause elevated blood sugar (aka glucose) levels in the body? Known by it’s first name, diabetes is a chronic (aka long-lasting) condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. Glucose is a critical source of energy for your brain, muscles, and tissues. When you eat, your body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose (sugar) which is released into your bloodstream. This triggers the pancreas to release a hormone called insulin. Insulin acts as a “key” that allows glucose to enter the cells from the blood. If your body doesn’t produce enough insulin to effectively manage…
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Poem: Be Anything
I had such bright hopes and dreams when I believed I could be anything I tried strived over-achieved if thoughts manifest reality the American Dream wouldn’t be unreachable and life would be different all I truly wanted was freedom to be me without threat, violence shame or compromise how tragic being me proved to be the hardest thing ~ LaShawnda Jones, 2020
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Terry Ann: Woman. Seed. Fertile Ground. Inspiration.
In the summer of 2018, I began working on a portrait and prose book project about womanhood. That summer I returned to my hometowns Gary and Milwaukee and asked friends, family and old connections to pose and share some words about their womanhood experiences. When I began sketching out the project my mom was not top of mind. As the project morphed into various incarnations, the hope was to pull others in along the way. But the more women I talked to and the closer I got to women who had been close to her, the more Mom began to dominate my thoughts. I can’t ask my mother what her…
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Living without permission
Choosing to grant myself permission to live on my own terms. Deciding to embrace the fear of doing such even as I continue to forge ahead. For a spell now, I’ve been bombarded with examples on why living without permission is so important for our overall well-being.
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Pamela Turner: Two for the Carnage of One
Do this in remembrance of me. It’s psychological warfare physical murder spiritual bondage. Our sanity means nothing to the intentionally persistent assassins of our humanity. Our humanness has no value in the confrontation of violent entitlement& and moral disregard that assumes murder of “others” is the white person’s right – a privilege awarded to hunters; a prize for the domineering. I cried out to Jesus, only to be consumed by His weeping and grief. I raged at Democracy, only realize my own invisibleness. I shouted out to my neighbors but their thundering silence shamed me! I too may be America, but who is America? What we’ve become is who…
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A Message of Remembrance on Passover
Dear Colleagues, As we look ahead to the beginning of Passover, I want to share a bit of JDC history. Tomorrow – the eve of Passover – is the seventy-sixth anniversary of the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. In 1943, April 19 was the night of the first seder, just as it is this year. Seventy-six years ago, a band of brave Jews made a last stand against the murderous Nazi regime. They launched this historic act of resistance on the same night that they celebrated the miracle of Passover. As members of the JDC family, we should remember the role JDC played in the ghetto. A JDC professional…
