Happy Birthday to The TAKE ACTION! Network!

July 31, 2006 marks the one year anniversary of the TAKE ACTION! Network blog. This blog started out as an aside for an online radio station I created through www.live365.com. Although the TAKE ACTION! Network on Live365.com is currently off the air, this blog has taken on a life of its own.

The TAKE ACTION! Network blog has become a way for me to share through a Christian lens life lessons, blessings, and opinions that inspire readers to live as more than conquerors. The TAKE ACTION! Network blog is personal in that I use it as a stimulus to keep me spiritually grounded because I mean to be FREE! I pray that this blog will be a tool in your arsenal as you toil to live healthy and whole lives.

don't wanna be half/thing.
don't wanna be less/than/thing.
don't wanna be confined/defined/refined.
don't wanna be inna box.
don't wanna be yawn/okay/but/no/time/for/that/now/thing.
don't wanna be guilt/thing.
don't wanna be screech/thing.
don't wanna be finger/point/thing.
don't wanna be weeping/thing/fussing/thing/cussing/thing.
wanna be free/wanna be free/wanna be free.
twenty-four hours a day/
seven days a week/
fifty-two weeks a year/
straight up, dead ahead,
no breaks, no tears, no fears free!
mean to be free/
mean to be free/
mean to be free...

"Mean To Be Free" excerpted from Mad At Miles: A Blackwoman's Guide to Truth written by Pearl Cleage

Bundley Revival

A Daily Reminder

*The following text was forwarded to me in an email. The author is unknown.*

Repeat after me: God has kept me here for a reason. I survived because He has a plan for me. All my bad relationships, the addictions, the consequences, the bad credit, the repossessions, the death of my loved ones, the back stabbing from my friends, the negative thoughts, or the lack of support; I made it because I am blessed! I release and let go of all past hurts, misunderstandings and grudges because I am abundantly blessed! I recognize them as the illusions they are, and sent from the enemy to kill my spirit, steal my joy, and destroy my faith; For God is all there is. All else is a lie!

Now give yourself a hug, wipe your tears away and walk in victory!!!!!!!!
I love you, but more appropriately God loves you BEST! Be blessed and know that you are at one with THE SPIRIT OF THE LIVING GOD! And may the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. Genesis 31:49. Amen!

Now since you are a true child of God, you know that with every blessing, a blessing is required! So be a blessing to another, by passing this on.

ONE BALTIMORE City-wide Cook-Out on July 22nd

A Girl Like Me

The following text was excerpted from www.mediathatmatters.fest.org. I would suggest viewing the 7 minute video. It is good discussion material for youth groups - both boys and girls. As educators, mentors, parents, ministers, and leaders...we have our work cut out for us!


A Girl Like Me
7:08 min
Youth Documentary
Kiri Davis, Director, Reel Works Teen Filmmaking, Producer

Winner of the Diversity Award
Sponsored by Third Millennium Foundation


ABOUT THE FILM

More About A Girl Like Me from Director Kiri Davis
For my high-school literature class I was constructing an anthology with a wide range of different stories that I believed reflected the black girl’s experience. For the different chapters, I conducted interviews with a variety of black girls in my high school, and a number of issues surfaced concerning the standards of beauty imposed on today’s black girls and how this affects their self-image. I thought this topic would make an interesting film and so when I was accepted into the Reel Works Teen Filmmaking program, I set out to explore these issues. I also decided to would reconduct the “doll test” initially conducted by Dr. Kenneth Clark, which was used in the historic desegregation case, Brown vs. Board of Education. I thought that by including this experiment in my film, I would shed new light on how society affects black children today and how little has actually changed.

With help from my mentor, Shola Lynch, and thanks to the honesty and openness of the girls I interviewed, I was able to complete my first documentary in the fall of 2005. I learned that giving the girls an opportunity to talk about these issues and their experiences helped us all to look deeper and examine the many things in society that affect us and shape who we are.

LEST WE FORGET..........

"This is a call to the living.
To those who refuse to make peace with evil.
With the suffering and the waste of the world.
This is a call to the human, not the perfect,
To those who know their own prejudices,
Who have no intention of becoming prisoners of their own limitations.
This is a call to those who remember the dreams of their youth,
Who know what it means to share food and shelter,
the care of children and those who are troubled,
To reach beyond barriers of the past
Bringing people to communion.
This is a call to the never ending spirit
Of the common man, his essential decency and integrity,
His unending capacity to suffer and endure,
To face death and destruction and to rise again
And build from the ruins of life.
This is the greatest call of all
The call to a faith in people."

--Algernon D. Black

Families devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, still need your help!
Visit the following links to see how you can make a difference


www.blackamericaweb.com
www.redshield.org/crisis/

www.redshield.org/crisis/

www.redcross.org/

www.convoyofhope.org/

A Quote for Today!

"Live each day with a dream in your heart and a purpose in your life to believe God when life doesn't make sense, when life doesn't seem to be going as you had hoped, but when you know that your Heavenly Father knows best."

--Kathleen Hardaway, an author and speaker with a passion to encourage and equip women to be all that God calls them to be. She exhorts women to never give up, dream big, and live the life God created them to live. For more information, visit www.kathleenhardaway.com!

Bundley Campaign Revival

India Arie

India Arie's new CD, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship, is absolutely fabulous! It's an awesome mix of neo-soul, gospel, and folk music. India is truly a talented sister who I admire for her courage to produce beautiful music with meaning and impact - even when the masses may not be ready for the message.

India, I know Dana is smiling down on you and snapping her fingers to the India song. Thanks so much for sharing that with the world. It brought tears to my eyes as I remembered the summer at the Black Youth Development Institute in Savannah, GA when you shared that with us. Thank you for being true to yourself and God!

To purchase a copy of India Arie's new CD, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship, visit http://umrg.com/artist.aspx?aid=426

Tye Tribbett & GA: VICTORY

Tye Tribbett & G.A. What can I say, but thank God for their obedience, perseverance, and victory in Christ. Their new CD, VICTORY, is a true testament of their walk. A walk that many of us have experienced and continue to experience everyday as we live lives in obedience to God's Word.

To purchase your copy of Tye Tribbett & G.A.'s VICTORY cd, visit www.rlictrustworthybooks.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=cd91