Let us be judged by the character of our heart....

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day - I just finished watching Oprah's special....I am still sniffing back my tears. Tears of joy at where we have come - tears of sadness from where we came - she asked the question how can you keep Dr. King's dream alive?

I think we still have to fight the "power." Don't be drones, don't accept, ask questions all the time, think about what you eat, what you read, what you say, how you spend your time. The words that kept hitting me hard were "Let us not be judged by the colour of our skin but by the character of our hearts." We judge each other in so many ways - our weight, our clothes, our teeth, our language, our education. how much we work or don't work, how much we produce. We allow unknowns to influence what we value in each other - marketing. This is a quote from Michael Crichton's book titled "Next" Pg. 299

"Furthermore, we have conquered personal space. Logos, brands, and slogans appear on ordinary objects from knives to tableware to computers. They appear on all our possessions. Consumers wear logos on their clothing, handbags, shoes, jewelry. Indeed, it is rare for a person to appear in public without them. Thirty years ago, if anyone predicted that the entire global public would turn themselves into sandwich boards, walking about advertising products, the idea would have seemed fantastical."

I think to myself I want Victoria Secret underwear because I deserve it and I need to make sure that I take care of myself - keep sexy- so these underwear that say Victoria Secret make me more sexy then Walmart brand because they cost more and beautiful starving women wear them.

I feel like I am taking better care of myself when I spend more on something. I have swallowed the pill.... granted some things that cost more are better - I give you that but the brand is key....there have been studies done on cosmetics which are identical to each other but people assume the more expensive one is better for them.

BUT....what is the character of my heart? I spend so much time thinking about making money to buy things, about how I need to get my house fixed up so people who visit won't think I am poor - or feel uncomfortable with the choices I have made. When alone in my house - I am fine with my furniture and my "unfinished" decor. When the times comes it will be appropriate to fix it up of course - but when it is time - when the character of my heart says - this is what is required at this time.

For me - I know I am responsible for the character of my heart. I am a person of faith and some times people of faith think God is responsible for their character - I don't think so - God makes available -love and wisdom and we have the responsibility to put those ingredients together and create a character of heart.

What is going on around you - what do you need to speak up about - what should you NOT accept as "the way things are?" Dr. King leaves us a legacy - what are you going to do keep the dream alive? Me two things I will do today

(1) I will no longer consume celebrity gossip ( a big step for those of you who know me)
(2) I am going to go pick up my kids from school and make them watch Oprah today....I am going to introduce them to Dr. King's dream.