Austin Davis
"I Have a Dream"
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
-Martin Luther King Jr.
I have a dream
for the red hills of Georgia
I have a dream
for the state of Mississippi
I have a dream
that this nation will rise up
I have a dream
of an oasis of freedom
I have a dream
that men are created equal
I have a dream
for former slaves and their sons
I have a dream
of a table of brotherhood
I have a dream
for my four little children
I have a dream today.
-Austin Davis
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Grant Martin
Revelation 1:12-16
English Standard Version (ESV)
12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
I turned to the voice that spoke
I saw one like the Son of Man
Clothed in
A long robe
A Golden sash
His hair white as wool
His eyes like a mighty fire
His feet as bronze
As He held seven stars, his voice roared
From His mouth came a two edged sword
And His face like the sun shined brightly.
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Jonathan Rochester
The Rocking Horse Winner by: D.H. Lawrence
There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all
the advantages, yet she had no luck. She married for love, and the love turned
to dust. She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her,
and she could not love them. They looked at her coldly, as if they were finding
fault with her. And hurriedly she felt she must cover up some fault in herself.
Yet what it was that she must cover up she never knew. Nevertheless, when her
children were present, she always felt the centre of her heart go hard. This
troubled her, and in her manner she was all the more gentle and anxious for her
children, as if she loved them very much. Only she herself knew that at the
centre of her heart was a hard little place that could not feel love, no, not
for anybody. Everybody else said of her: "She is such a good mother. She
adores her children." Only she herself, and her children themselves, knew
it was not so. They read it in each other's eyes.
A women so beautiful,
With all advantages but luck,
Birthed boney children,
And showed them no love,
Yet no one saw this,
But her and her kids.
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Auston Wingard
White-tailed deer, bucks and does, selectively establish more than one bedding site. Whether in thickets of young pine saplings, amid old growth fields, river and creek bottoms, or beneath the forest canopy, deer spend the majority of their time relaxed in a secure bedroom.
Foraging for clover along the edge, a velvet-antlered buck slowly vanishes into the timber. Consuming woody browse, he gradually and effortlessly scales the steep mountain slope. By scent and repetitive conditioning, the buck knows the destination of his ascent.
Finally, with each step, the mature whitetail reaches the knoll. Lowering his head, he then scents the ground and circles one particular spot several times and stops. With his front legs positioned, he first lowers his chest and tucks the front legs while almost simultaneously lowering his hindquarters into a classic deer bed.
By: Tommy Kirkland
White-tailed deer, bucks and does, more than one bedding site. In pine's, old fields, river and creek bottoms, or in the forest, they spend most of their time in a bedroom. Eating clover, a buck vanishes into the timber. He gradually scales the slope and knows his destination. He reaches the knoll, circles and stops. Legs positioned, he lowers his chest into a classic deer bed.
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Kendall Moore
John Piper don't waste your life
pg. 146-147
But just as death will be a reality until the end of this age, so must we work in this fallen age against many obstacles that often make work hard. Not yet may we return to paradise and pick fruit in someone else's garden. That's the mistake they made at Thessalonica.
Just as death is a reality,
We must work.
We must work until the end of this age,
Against many obstacles.
We may not return to paradise to pick fruit.
That's the mistake they made;
At Thessalonica.
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Loey Peete
Hebrews 11
Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Through their
faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. Through faith we
understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which
are seen were not made of things which do appear. It was by faith that Abel
brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel's offering gave
evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts.
Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith. It
was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—"he
disappeared, because God took him." For before he was taken up, he was
known as a person who pleased God. And it is impossible to please God without
faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he
rewards those who sincerely seek him. It was by faith that Noah built a large
boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about
things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of
the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith. It was by
faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another
land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where
he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived
there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac
and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking
forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren
and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. And so a whole
nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many
people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is
no way to count them. All these people died still believing what God had
promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from
a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads
here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a
country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came
from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a
heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for
he has prepared a city for them. It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a
sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God's promises,
was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac,even though God had told him,
"Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted."
Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life
again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead. It was
by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the
people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones
with them when they left. It was by faith that Moses' parents hid him for three
months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and
they were not afraid to disobey the king's command. It was by faith that Moses,
when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose
to share the oppression of God's people instead of enjoying the fleeting
pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ
than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great
reward. It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the
king's anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is
invisible. It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red
Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow,
they were all drowned. It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around
Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down. It was by faith that
Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused
to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. All these
people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them
received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for
us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.
Confidence in things
hoped for
Assurance about things
unseen
Past generations earned
a good reputation
Worlds framed by the
word of God
Abel still speaks by
example
Enoch was taken up without
dying
Impossible to please
without
Noah saved his family
from the flood
Abraham went without
knowing his destination
Looking forward to a
city with eternal foundations
Sarah believed God
would keep His promise
Now there is no way to
count them
People died still
believing His promises
Looking for a heavenly
homeland
Abraham was ready to
sacrifice his only son
And, in a sense, received
him back from the dead
Joseph said confidently
that Israel would leave Egypt
Moses’ parents were not
afraid to disobey the king’s command
Moses chose to share
the oppression of God’s people
He was looking ahead to
his great reward
Moses kept his eyes on
the invisible One
Israel walked on dry
ground
But all the Egyptians
drowned
The walls of Jericho
came crashing down
Rahab was not destroyed
with the people in her city
All earned a good
reputation
Yet none of them
received all that was promised
There was something
better in mind for us
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Jaclyn Largin
•"And finally I twist my heart round again, so that the bad is on the outside and the good is on the inside, and keep on trying to find a way of becoming what I would so like to be, and could be, if there weren't any other people living in the world."
- Anne Frank
I twist my heart round
so the bad is the outside,
the good is the inside.
Trying to find a way
to be what I would like,
if there weren’t people living in the world."
- Anne Frank
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Chase Payne
Animal Farm: George Orwell
The farm was more prosperous now, and better organized: it had even been enlarged by two fields which had been bought from Mr. Pilkington. The windmill had been successfully completed at last, and the farm possessed a threshing machine and a hay elevator of its own, and various new buildings had been added to it. Whymper had bought himself a dogcart. The windmill, however, had not after all been used for generating electrical power. It was used for milling corn, and brought in a handsome money profit. The animals were hard at work building yet another windmill; when that one was finished, so it was said, the dynamos would be installed. But the luxuries of which Snowball had once taught the animals to dream, the stalls with electric light and hot and cold water, and the three-day week, were no longer talked about. Napoleon had denounced such ideas as contrary to the spirit of Animalism. The truest happiness, he said, lay in working hard and living frugally.
The farm was more prosperous now, and better organized: it had even been enlarged by two fields which had been bought from Mr. Pilkington. The windmill had been successfully completed at last, and the farm possessed a threshing machine and a hay elevator of its own, and various new buildings had been added to it. Whymper had bought himself a dogcart. The windmill, however, had not after all been used for generating electrical power. It was used for milling corn, and brought in a handsome money profit. The animals were hard at work building yet another windmill; when that one was finished, so it was said, the dynamos would be installed. But the luxuries of which Snowball had once taught the animals to dream, the stalls with electric light and hot and cold water, and the three-day week, were no longer talked about. Napoleon had denounced such ideas as contrary to the spirit of Animalism. The truest happiness, he said, lay in working hard and living frugally.
The farm was more prosperous now
Two enlarged fields, windmills, a threshing machine
a hay elevator, and many more buildings.
Animals were hard at work
Building another windmill,
The dynamos will be installed.
The luxuries of which Snowball had once talked about,
Were no longer talked about.
Napoleon denounced such ideas,
Saying, the truest happiness,
Lays in working hard and living frugally.
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*****************************************************Grant Martin
© Emma Jackson
Didn't want a battle,
Yet you declared war,
Each knock you gave me made me stronger than before,
I will not give up,
I will not give in,
You won't make me fall,
I won't let you win.
Yet you declared war,
Each knock you gave me made me stronger than before,
I will not give up,
I will not give in,
You won't make me fall,
I won't let you win.
A battle wasn't wanted, you declared a war.
You made me stronger than before.
I will not give up or give in.
I will not fall, you will not win.
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Jana Armstrong
A champion surfer loses her left arm in a terrifying shark attack, but summons the determination to make an incredible comeback in this inspirational sports drama based on an incredible true story. A lifelong surfer who always felt at home in the sea, Bethany Hamilton honed her surfing skills in Kauai, and went on to compete in numerous surfing competitions. Then, one fateful Halloween morning, the wave-riding teen was taking part in a national surf competition when a 14-foot-long tiger shark emerged from the depths and changed her life in the blink of an eye. By the time Bethany reached shore, her left arm was almost completely gone. But just when it started to look like she would never ride a surfboard again, young Bethany used her faith and determination to reclaim the title of champion while being cheered on by her supportive parents, and Sara, the kind-hearted leader of a local youth group.
A lifelong surfer,
Felt at home in the sea.
One fateful morning,
A shark emerged from the depths.
Her life changed
In the blink of an eye.
Reaching the shore,
Her left arm gone,
Never surf again?
Faith and determination
Reclaimed the title.
Destiny Dillard
Reflections
Gazing into the waters, I saw myself at the edge of a pond
I gazed at my reflection, it gazed at me, I felt an eternal bond;
I saw my own image, was a mirage, a creature water bound
It saw a mirage craning over it, a creature bound to the ground.
© Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
October 21, 1997
Gazing at the edge of the pond,
I felt an eternal bond,
Saw my image, water bound,
A mirage craning bound to the ground.
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B’ham News Archibald: Sunday, Jan 15
The school board heard Superintendent Rogers. But it heard more loudly the preachers and teachers, the character witnesses who thought they knew Acker, but knew nothing of what he did to that child. The board chose – unanimously – to believe those who knew nothing. They put him back to work in those schools. The child would leave town in shame. Acker, after playing victim himself, was rewarded as teacher of the year. And so many more girls would suffer.
It is a community’s shame. A community that saw the signs. And looked away. Shelby County laughed with this man when it could have made a difference. It must now live with the shameful truth. And the consequences.
The Truth and Consequences
the preachers
the teachers
the character witnesses
thought they knew
the man
but they knew nothing of what he did
to the child
instead they believed
unanimously
those who knew nothing
he went back to work
she left town in shame
while the community looked away
laughed when it could have made a difference
laughed when it could have made a difference
and now live
with the truth and consequences
