Poetry by Pam

Today the Pam Boyd Radio show interviewed two young, talented authors. Morgan Miller wrote the book "Pick a Job any Job!" and Matt Miller wrote "A Week with Papa." It's wonderful to have youth do well and contribute to their communities. Teaching them now, is a great way to shape their futures. Give them opportunities to show off their skills and talents by continuously supporting their work. The doors are now open for our youth to continue to dream and be anything they want to be. As we recognize their gifts we celebrate our past struggles and move forward with intentionalilty stating with confidence that our future is bright! We look forward to hearing more of your stories and knowing that this is only the beginning of our potential as one.

When going to a popular restaurant, tables are typically reserved indicating that your table will be ready at the time reserved for you. At popular events, without assigned seating, you'll find that people reserve seats for individuals in their party to make sure they have a seat waiting for them. Imagine, you reserved a place in your heart for that special someone that is coming to be in your life. But it took time for them to arrive. As you're reserving the seat for them others may inquire about filling that space. However, you are committed to insuring that the reservations are preserved. No matter how many people are in line waiting for a seat you are determined not to let that space go to just anyone, it has to go to the person for which it was reserved. Is your life filled with people who didn't respect the reservation requirements? Did you allow someone to take a seat prematurely. And now the seat is occupied with the wrong somebody when the right person for...

I want to lead into the show by telling you an interpretation of this one story in the Bible of this one mom’s struggle and what it may have felt like for her to have her son locked up and given the death penalty. As he was dying, one of the last things he said was recorded in the book of John 19:25-27 “26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, 'Dear woman, here is your son,'  27 and to the disciple, 'Here is your mother.' From that time on, this disciple took her into his home." and it reads Mary was robbed: A son and a mother’s bond is usually unexplainable. He can do no wrong in her eyes. Even when he is dead wrong, that mother still holds the right to say “But he is my baby.” The judge, jury, video, all witness accounts can call him guilty and in that mother’s eyes he is innocent as the day he was born. A mother’s bond with her son is difficult and sometimes even impossible to break challenged onl...

I recently watched a movie called Five Feet Apart. A movie about cystic fibrosis patients who weren't allowed to be within 6 feet of each other and had to wear a mask whenever around each other because they were high risk for contracting each other's bacteria which could be fatal. There was one scene where the nurse admitted to allowing two patients to break the rules because she wanted to make them happy as they were in love. Their determination wore down her resolve and she didn't enforce the rules as per her role. The story conveyed, the risks outweighed the reward and they both passed away. The nurse gleened from this event a renewed resolved to not allow this to ever happen again on her watch. I wondered how many times we risk our health and well being by breaking rules in the name of happiness/love. We have to ask ourselves, is it more loving to force denied/delayed gratification or at minimum a brief period of uncomfortableness so that our health, well-being a...

Since the conversations about racism, hateful actions and disrespect are now open. Can I ask the rap culture when will you stop the disrespect and hateful language in your music, especially, towards black women? If you can't be respectful to your own people; how do you expect it of others? Maybe try holding others to the same standards for which you hold yourselves? Maybe God will give you more leadership responsibility when you start showing up as leaders. Stop calling, treating, and responding to us as if we are there for your sexual gratification. I refuse, and now I no longer am attracted to you. I have a desire and a need for someone who will help me get into heaven.

In my dream I was singing a song and I thought it was so beautiful that I decided to write the words and leave them here. Some of the words I couldn't remember so the second half of the song was rewritten after I awoke. Hope it helps. I've seen your testimonies And how he’s brought you through You said you could have been dead But yet you live How he’s been good to you Tried to apply it to my life The wrongs that he made right died on the cross for me and you and still yet lives now I can trust in him too

There may come a time in your life when your life will flash in front of your eyes. Almost like a movie reel. You will relive, in what appears to be an instant, all the memories stored. Picture after picture will flash in rapid succession in front of you. It's an odd phenomenon that happens when your body alerts you to danger. I've only experienced it once, but it was as impactful and memorable. I now work to understand my impact so if those flashes ever happen again, I will be proud of what I see.

Our job subsidizes the soda machines so that every purchase is only a quarter. It's very generous of them, plus it allows me to feed a very aggressive sweet tooth. However, yesterday was different. Not realizing the machine was broken, I placed a quarter in it, pressed my selection, and it did not reward me nor did it return my quarter. Because the drinks were so cheap, I made myself feel better by reciting it's only a quarter in my head. I surmised that i'd saved so much money over the years that one quarter wouldn't make much of a difference. I was then able to happily go about my day without any bitter or negative feelings. Today, my coworker said that she'd bought a drink (my favorite drink) from the machine that she didn't want and gave it to me. I was excited about this because it is not just a quarter, or a drink, but rather it's a reminder that God is faithful and good.

Sometimes it's difficult to see big picture. Seeing big picture means having to come up out of the details in an effort to access the entire landscape. Visionaries need to be able to both detail what has been done but also have people and processes in place to effectively judge how much they managed to achieve. With time consumed by work, it becomes difficult to step outside of the process and just appreciate how much has been accomplished. The people who don't do this, often give up a little easier than those who reward or validate themselves with milestone achievements. A sense of perspective is necessary otherwise you can fall into the trap of never appreciating the $100,000 you have while chasing millions.

Sometimes the approach can seem harsh. Refinement is a journey that requires the perfect balance of patience and emotion. But many times, we lose ourselves in the desire to succeed and it comes across as lacking in empathy. We must remember that we're not the enemy. We all want the best. But the road to the best takes discipline, practice, and commitment.

Just cause you surgically reassign a few parts does not a female make You put on a few clothes, grow your hair you think that's all it'd take You may sound and look good the definition is more You can't just be a female the best you'd be is fake FEMALE: of or denoting the sex that can bear offspring or produce eggs, distinguished biologically by the production of gametes (ova) which can be fertilized by male gametes. --Dictionary.com

This is the first day i've had two thoughts. Maybe what needs to be read had to come more frequently for the person who needs to read. Hence the equalizing effect of snow. It blankets the ground whitening with each unique layer minimizing the imperfections beneath it. One flake would never do the job that it takes the humanly uncountable millions of flakes it would take to blanket. Just like one day of Bible study could not justify scholarship. A person would need to stay, continually, digesting its contents for a lifetime. Even better is to uniquely layer sermons and additional Bible studies from others so that this experience can manifest into the equalizing effect of wisdom. Eventually, the level of scholarship needed to get to know your creator intimately and as beautifully as pure white snow.

When reading an article about linguists who studied the diary entries of a woman from aged 60 to 90, they wrote she included the pronoun "I" 100% of the time after being diagnosed with Alzheimers (a disease that robs you of the ability to remember). The linguists theorized a link to cognitive decline. However, could there also be a spiritual link? The state where undeveloped or underdeveloped spiritual maturity is given, as the Bible suggests (Romans 1:28), over to a mind that is "reprobate." The more I read, study and analyze the Bible the more I gain a perspective and appreciation for wisdom that may not be substituted. Could there be a medicinal like quality of wisdom that is missed from those who omit Bible study as a part of their lifestyle? I'd be interested to see if similar diaries, explored from minds sharpened by Biblical wisdom, had the same link to the word I. How can someone continue to walk in unselfishness without reinforcement from an uns...

My grandson recently threw in his opinion about whether he should eat McDonalds or dinner that I made. He wasn't actually given a choice. We allowed him to vocalize his wishes; however, knowing that a home-cooked meal will always win over McDonalds especially when hunger is at stake and they have to depend on your willingness to drive and pay for the meal. Like I stated earlier, he didn't really have a choice. After he finished doing what he needed to do to before coming to the realization that either he wasn't going to win or that hunger was going to over take him. He ate. I'm happy to report that the food was so good that he wanted seconds and he even requested a third plate for later consumption (not wanting to chance that the food would be gone). In giving God the respect that he deserves, we offer that God knows what is best. Although we may be just as persistent, we do not go unheard. But when God says no there is good reason. God may just be trying to g...

The death of my daughter's father brought several thoughts into the forefront of my mind. It's hard to believe that twenty-five years ago we were welcoming our child. It seems odd that he left this earth so soon. We spent those same twenty-five years seeing as little of each other as we could. It became apparent that the only thing we wanted to have in common was our love for our daughter. The thought I struggled with the most was his soul. In the time we spent growing apart, I spent that time growing closer to God. I wrote the book Repent: And Give God the Respect He Deserves because many people think that they may have plenty time to do everything but build a relationship with God. Therefore I wanted to reiterate the importance of repentance.

There were two stories in the news this week. Both were interesting, to me, on their own merits. But, when you intersect them it becomes even more interesting. My thoughts took me to the first story. About newly minted Cleveland Browns wide receiver Damon Sheehy-Giuseppe. His was a fascinating story of overcoming adversity. Homeless at one time, unable to afford college, left school to figure out his options. He uses the last of his money to train for football then uses his "resourcefulness" to figure out away to get invited to tryout for the Cleveland Browns. Basically he lied; but it served him well because he tried out and did get a spot on the team. Then the story goes, during a punt return he rushes for 87 yards to a touchdown. Giving Odel Beckham Junior a run as the breakout star of the team because of his talent. Truly fascinating story. But then there is another story of, Shai Werts, a young man who is stopped for speeding then taken to jail because the p...

When you cheated on me, you confirmed a pattern of behavior that you originally denied. I thought you were different; alas, I fell in love with your lies. Your dishonesty left a bad taste in my mouth for anything you have to offer. I feel sorry for you; because, now you have to live with the consequences of your actions. You are a victim of your own world of violated trusts and unworthiness of being surrounded by good character and morals. Your punishment is cheap thrills and living amongst those whose character is no better than yours. You will reap what you sow and die within caricatures of unfortunate circumstances and unmet potential. The most disturbing, disgusting, and disappointing of it all is that you thought I would settle for you and your antics.

When the devil offers you something it's not a gift it's bait be careful what you wish for you just might get it, and fate will suggest it won't take long for you to admit it was a mistake and the very thing you thought you loved will turn into something you hate

It's nice to be validated by outsiders; but, the best confirmation of your worth is when you are able to continue to learn and be the best you can be without validation. The best opportunities come from unprompted opportunities to shine that unexpectedly and inherently come to you.

The world is full of lessons on how to share. The sun gives way to the moon. The moon shares with the stars. The ocean tide shares space with the beaches. Life even gives up to share with death. Everything has reason to keep stuff to itself; instead, it follows it's purpose allowing us to witness God's plan. In order to be the person God wants you to become, you have to learn how to share. It's easy to justify sharing the worst of yourself; you must learn to share the best of who you are.