The fountain of content must spring up in the mind, and he who hath so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts and multiply the grief he proposes to remove.

- Samuel Johnson

The interview is 16 minutes.  Take a listen.  Enjoy.

The video is a presentation of “Life Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” what many refer to as “The Black National Anthem.”  The Rev. Joseph Lowery quoted from the third verse of the song during his benediction at the Inauguration on January 20, 2009 when he prayed,

“God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou who has brought us thus far along the way, thou who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee. Shadowed beneath thy hand may we forever stand — true to thee, O God, and true to our native land.”

As I watched the images, I couldn’t help but be propelled into a past that I only experienced on the surface (being born in 1964 living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin).  I couldn’t help but to feel some pain knowing the injustices that were wrought on innocent people just because of the color of their skin.  Yet, the video is full of images of power, in the midst of the injustices served, and in the midst of the hurt and pain I felt, I also felt proud for the progress we’ve made.

I think the video tells a powerful story.  As my student shared it with me, I’d like to share it with you.

“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.”

Socrates

One of the great ways I found to entertain her is to throw in a “Veggie Tales” DVD. If you’ve not watched “Veggie Tales,” I must tell you, the series is an absolute treat. Even my husband, Manchild, got hooked on the series of videos produced by Big Idea, Inc., whose mission is “to enhance the spiritual and moral fabric of society through creative media.” Presenting biblical stories and value lessons in the form of animated  stories with vegetables as characters is indeed ingenious!

There is a segment, sort of like a commercial break, that appears in the videos entitled “Silly Songs with Larry.” Those I’ve seen are pretty silly; it doesn’t appear there is a moral behind the songs, at least not with those I’ve viewed. There is one silly song title, however, that while silly, seems to have a lesson regarding the things we love and our fear of losing them – “I Love My Lips.” I wanted to share it with my readers because, frankly, I think it’s funny! If you’ll indulge me a little, take a look at the video below.

Next time you’re experiencing some particular fear, write a song about it! Or better yet, play this video!

So our daughter has now re-characterized her family. Our daughter has renamed Manchild aptly as “Mr. Incredible.” She has coined me as “Elastigirl.” And of course, our daughter has temporarily lost her identity in the character “Violet” (although this has gone on long enough, and we constantly try to convince her that she is not Violet, but that Violet is her sister).

Identifying oneself with a superhero is one of those things children innately do, I think. I don’t think she’s doing it because she believes we need to have superpowers. In fact, she doesn’t talk about Mr. Incredible’s strength, or Violet’s power to generate a force field that can keep out all sorts of evil and danger. She definitely doesn’t talk about Elastigirl’s ability to literally stretch and adapt to problematic situations.

But as I think about this and reflect a little deeper about Elastigirl’s superpowers, I realize that she was flexible and resilient in the face of adversity. And she recovered quickly in the midst of the problem, even before the adversity passed, so that with every situation, she was able to immediately respond.

Indeed, what would it be like to have that type of flexibility and resilience when bad things happened, to appropriately respond at a moment’s notice?

And then I think to myself, or at least in this post, “How I wish I had those same superpowers!” (Now I know I can call on God at any time, and I truly have enough faith to do that, but don’t spoil my post!)

If you could be a superhero, which one would you be, and why?

1. Set an example of excellence and high expectations for our children, one that overcomes the negative stereotypes the media produces and that our young people sometimes ingest ad nauseam
2. Pass along the ability to be empathetic; the ability to “stand in somebody else’s shoes” and to teach our children that showing kindness and compassion to others are symbols of strength, not weakness
3. Tap into the hope that is inside of us all, that hope that says that as long as we believe in something and are willing to work hard for it, we can do our part to make this world better for our children

He ended his exhortation with the following:

…what I’ve realized is that life doesn’t count for much unless you’re willing to do your small part to leave our children – all of our children – a better world. Even if it’s difficult. Even if the work seems great. Even if we don’t get very far in our lifetime.

“That is our ultimate responsibility as fathers and parents. We try. We hope. We do what we can to build our house upon the sturdiest rock. And when the winds come, and the rains fall, and they beat upon that house, we keep faith that our Father will be there to guide us, and watch over us, and protect us, and lead His children through the darkest of storms into light of a better day. That is my prayer for all of us on this Father’s Day, and that is my hope for this country in the years ahead. May God Bless you and your children. Thank you.”

I’d say that while this was a great Father’s Day speech, it applies to parents everywhere, not just fathers. It applies to teachers. It applies to mentors. It applies to us all. Let us ensure that we are all setting that example, no matter how imperfect it may be, so that the next generation will inherit a world in which we all seek the good in children of God everywhere.

“Better the occasional faults of a government that lives in a spirit of charity than the constant omission of a government frozen in the ice of its own indifference.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt

My only political commentary consists of this: I hope and pray we will do what we can to usher in the change we need and elect a President who will turn up the heat to melt the ice cubes that have frozen the hearts of government to the needs of ordinary, average American citizens. Yes…

Baby Boomers for Barack!

Alright, it’s time to go to the party! You know, the Ultimate Blog Party!

The great thing is that the party lasts for the next six days, through next Friday! So there’s no need to feel like you’ll miss out on anything – except being eligible to win some prizes if you don’t go and sign the Mr. Linky…

Before you go, I’d like to introduce myself to those of you who don’t know me. I go by KWiz, and I started this blog back around Thanksgiving 2006. I’ve been married for going on six years, I’ve been a mother for almost three years, and I’ve been teaching Old Testament and New Testament at an independent school in Georgia for the past six years. My husband is great because he inspired me to start Women Walking In Wisdom’s Footsteps™, and both my husband and my daughter provide much inspiration to what I write about. I’m having a great time with this blog, have met a lot of great people, and hope I will meet more of you during the next week and beyond.

So come to the party! Everyone is invited! Hope to see you there!

(By the way, if you’ve come here by way of the party, you can get to the main page of my blog by clicking “Home” at the top of the page or clicking here.)