The Women's Empowerment Group

In the fourth century Saint Augustine (354-430) stated that " the New Testament is Hidden in the Old and the Old clarified by the New" This quote is very powerful for it tells us that the time that we spend here on earth is much like Jonah being in the belly of the whale. He was entombed until he gained his freedom--his resurrection. Freedom comes when we understand how to take what's old and breathe new life into it. How to not ever fully reject old concepts; as they hold meaning and serve as a reference point-- as we travel on this dizzying road of information daily. The Old Testament in my view tells a prophetic story much like the story of our ancestry. If we search the Old Testament we will find things of the new and if we search the New Testament we will find things of the old. It is a collective story that when joined together create a sarcophagus of the events, events that are timeless. That even in today's time hold meaning.  Our lives are much like Jonah i

We get into our cars every morning and turn on the ignition, press on the gas and begin our journey(s). At times we pass the beautiful trees and the man standing on the corner --with not much notice. We are only focused on getting to where we have to go. Some are focused on making money, some on making purchases, and some on goals and ambitions. But when we are not in touch with what is driving us, we cannot really get to where we are going. We are simply driving with no real destination. We are placing all of our energy into something that has no end in sight. I used to believe that I knew where I was going and that I had a divine reason as to the road I was traveling. But I know now that the road sometimes seems remarkably clear and other times not so clear at all. But that is the beauty of the journey--sometimes clear and sometimes foggy. In the times of fogginess is when we must go outside of ourselves to find clarity. It is the in and out motion that places us on our road. Going

Pauline Respress, BAS, M.Ed There was an old man that sat by a river, one day as he was sitting quietly; he noticed a spider that looked as though it was drowning in the river. The old man rushed out into the river and rescued the spider. As he carried him to shore, the spider stung him. The old man gently placed the spider down on the shore- and asked it-- why did you sting me?-- I was trying to help you. The spider responded, " that is what I do!". The next day the old man was sitting in the same spot and noticed that the spider again needed help. So this time he ventured out deeper into the water to bring the spider back to safety. Again the spider stung him-- but this time he asked the old man," why do you continue to help me", I am going to sting you every time. The old man responded, "because that is what I do!" In life we will constantly be confronted with loving people who continuously sting us, but like the old man we must still try to help th

 Sir Patrick Thomas, Orator I  say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American 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 a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four 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. I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama,

"The more spacious and larger our fundamental nature, the more bearable the pains in living"--Wayne Muller A Hindu Master grew tired of his complaining apprentice, so he sent him to get some salt. The apprentice went quickly to get the salt and brought it back to the master. The master then instructed him to place the salt in a glass of water and then drink some. The apprentice did so, and immediately responded that," the salt and water was bitter." The master then instructed the apprentice to take the same salt and place some in the a nearby lake and then taste it. As the water dribbled down the young mans chin he responded," that the salt now tasted fresh." The master then eloquently stated that, "the pain of life is pure salt, but it is up to us as to how we contain the salt. We can contain it in a glass or in a lake."(Nepo, 2010) We can choose whether or not we want to continue to taste bitterness or become like a lake that is vast and fr

Kikakou, a noted poet, has a haiku (a three verse poem) that eludes to a mother leading a blind child to see a cherry blossom. This poem holds great meaning in how we interact in our lives. We are constantly in a state of blindness with the universe and the people around us leading us. We go in and out of blindness, sometimes we are blind and sometimes we lead. Once we can come to know that in the blindness is where our lessons are uncovered --is where we hold onto to our faith in GOD. Trusting that he will not lead us wrong--trusting that the people that he has sent into our lives are his guiding angels. That will lead us out of our blindness--into the light. If you can imagine with me covering your eyes and allowing someone to lead you, explaining to you every detail of what is around you. And once you have the vision in your head, then you can experience it for yourself, through your own senses and paradigms. This is the process of life --we are student then teacher. Some times we

Pauline Respress, BAS,M.Ed One thing that I am learning on this journey is that love can move all sorts of things. When you are confronted with that inevitable mountain that is hovering over you and blocking your way..Love It!--Dig down really deep and give it all of the love that you can muster. When times are hard and appear dark and ominous, love someone. It will light your way. Most people that appear angry and bitter, just need love. They are so filled with all of hurt, disappointment and maladies of life, that have consumed them. That they can't find there way back to love --the love that lies within them. I am convinced that all of the moral unwinding that we see around us today,  is directly related to a lack of love. A lack of love in our homes, our communities and in some cases even in our churches. A lack of understanding that the key to harmony is LOVE--the love of GOD. Sometimes we search a lifetime for that perfect mate or perfect life and we come to know that pe

Pauline Respress, BAS, M.Ed I often remove my fish from their tank to clean out their humble abode. I carefully pour them into a large basin filled with water. However, this time when I poured them into the large basin, I noticed that they did not venture out from one corner of the basin. It was as though they were froze in the small corner, unable to realize that there was more space to take up. This is much like humans-- we become so comfortable in our little spaces that we forget that their is an enormous amount of space around us ---that we can inhabit. That there are many opportunities daily to move outside of our boxes. Fear can confine us to small places and rob us of our ability to see the potential to do things differently. Things as simple as helping a stranger or finding a new way to do and old thing. There are many ways that we can step outside of our respective tanks. But we must first realize that we have confined ourselves to a self-imposed box-- in a sense limiting

Pauline Respress, BAS, M.Ed As I journey in my life, I realize one important ideal; and that is that we all are the same in a sense, yet carry with us an uniqueness. Once we are able to see our life as a wheel with spokes and a hub. The wheel being our unique selves , the spokes being the people that we connect with and the hub representing what we share or have in common with others. In the center of that Hub is GOD, who guides us to the people and situations who give us what we need. When we can envision the wheel --then we can begin to see our lives as a system, that does not work without its sub-parts. The system theory states that," we must look at individual parts just as well as we look at its whole." This gives us a panaromic view of our parts as well as our whole. Allowing us to see the commonalities as well as the differences and not treating each part of our life with one broad stroke. Just as we must embrace our uniqueness- so to must we embrace ,what we have

As we travel into the New Year.. I am reminded of a story that I was told of a man who wanted to paint a room in his house. He went out to the garage and gathered all of the items needed to paint the room, the paint cans, the paint brushes and a few drop cloths. Reaching for the door to open it --he realized that he had too much in his hand. But he still attempted to open the door anyway, dropping everything because he did not have a free hand. Sometimes in life we have way too much in our hands and forget that we can sit a few things down... so that we can open the door to our future. Sometimes we have to take a few things at a times through the door to our destiny. Because too many things can become cumbersome and weaken our ability to achieve anything. Everything has a process and the basic human experience encompasses: gathering , putting down, opening and entering. We cannot take everything into our next phase of our life, at times some things must be left behind, so that we ca