Pits, Joseph and Job.

I have learned that Christian life isn't one of sinning less (as we all fall short of His glory) and it's especially not one spent trading visible sins for those easier to hide. It's a life spent everyday exposing more fully the depth of our sin so that we may know the depth of the Christ's love. (adapted from something my friend Jonathan said to me once) I think about the fact that in 2 Corinthians 12:9, it is made very clear that His power is made perfect in my weakness... ("But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.") Let me reiterate-- HIS power MY weakness. I fall short of his glory... every single day of my life. I am nothing without Him. and when I turn from Him or make Him something other than my top priority, things fall apart. I am nothing more than a "pauper to God's scandalous grace."

Early last fall it is safe to say that I started to find myself in a pit. At first it was a pit of my own making from not seeking Him and then was dug deeper by my own sins and bad choices and made worse by another person. Someone vs. a something can make a pit a very complicated, emotional, and spiritual battle. Biblically, a pit can be seen in several different lights as the result of several different things (Genesis and the pit Joseph was thrown into by his brothers, the pit in Job where Job struggled with blame, in Psalms where we are pulled out of a pit by God to stand on firm ground.) The pit I was in at that point was not something I realized I had even started to fall into. All summer I had for the first time in a very long time finally felt real, amazing spiritual growth and was loving every second of life. But then... fall came around, my studio work was beyond stressful, my quiet times became non-existent, my spiritual growth had plateaued and by October I had let a new relationship take priority over my own personal walk and relationship with God. That was not any fault of anyone but my own. Past experience told me even then that when times are stressful and free time short, that is the time that I most need to spend with the Lord. I didn't. At that point I did not realize that I was beginning my quick decent into a pit, but I was. Until recently it is fair to say that I did not realize the full scope of the pit I was existing in or how the pit changed from October to now. I am a good actress... I can act completely happy while inside I am not. I can say the right things, do the right things, and have everyone (including myself at times) fooled. By January and even more so the past few weeks the pit really started to be complicated by new pit-causing problems and my sinking in the pit was more rapid. It had taken a huge emotional and spiritual toll. While the grudges and anger I carried felt like I was getting back at and even with the things and people who hurt me, the reality was that me "jabbing [my] fingers into the guilty one's chest" was really only "jabbing more holes in [my] pit walls and throwing that much more dirt on [my] feet." Satan is cleaver in how he works. "He is a master of using our own insecurity against us. He knows that deep in our hearts we're so fragile and injured by life..." Isaiah 42:22 says that pits are places where we feel stuck and trapped. Psalm 40 tells us pits are not nice places to be and describes them specifically as slimy, muddy, and miry. Its a place where, unless specific action is taken, we sink deeper and deeper (Psalm 69:2) A pit is often a situation where "without windows we're convinced we have nowhere else to go..." and is "so poorly lit we can no longer see things that may have been obvious to us." We can try to make them more manageable and better looking... but in the end, its still a pit and "as soon as the rain comes, it all gets soiled" as every pit has a dirt floor. We need to look up... that's our only hope but "we're often too focused on our sinking feet to crane our necks to the blinding sky." I have finally stopped focusing on my sinking feet. Finally seen what my friends and family saw in December. Finally let go of hope in people and put all my hope in the Lord. I finally have given total and true forgiveness to those who have hurt me. I felt like forgiving was weakness. Beth Moore said something that totally shook me and was my break through too. She said:

"My breakthrough came when I realized that nothing took more divine power than forgiveness, and therefore nothing was more powerful than forgiving. You will never use your own volition-- the force of your will-- more dramatically than when you agree with God to start forgiving. Forgiveness is not about feeling. It's about willing. No stronger force exists. Forgiveness was the force that kept Christ, by His own submission, nailed to that cross. He could have taken Himself down in a split second. He could have called upon every arch-angle in the heavens, armed and ready. Had He said the word, the seas would have swallowed the earth in one gulp. Forgiveness is not passivity... it is power... Nothing demands more elbow grease than thrusting your arms forward and giving God the solitary right to vengeance."

She is right. It is power. It is the first powerful step to get out of the pit. Its the first powerful step to move forward. It is a critical step that is one of the hardest things to do because you have to forgive someone (in my case someone I deeply cared about) for something they may or may not even know hurt (and may or may not care one way or the other that what they did hurt). I have to think about the story of Joseph in Genesis 37:23-25. Joseph is thrown into a pit by his brothers-- his own flesh and blood, and they could have cared less that they did it and even sat there listening to him while they ate a meal. It says "When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped off his robe, the robe of many colors that he had on. They then took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. Then they sat down to eat a meal..." Through the course of scripture we find out that not only did Joseph not to toss blame or get angry (against his own brothers who wrongly tossed him into a pit). Instead he opted to "view God as entirely sovereign and ... was the life of him." (not the death of him) Joseph knew, just as I have come to realize, that while it was intended to harm, "God intended it for good..." (Genesis 50:20) and He knew each little detail and exactly how it would all unfold.

The more I think through scripture, I think about Job-- someone who endured such loss and suffering. He could have easily blamed the circumstance on himself or even on God. Its only human nature to start to blame yourself. I surely have done that. Recently-- Today. I was reminded just this evening that I am only responsible for one person- myself. and while I'm not be solely to blame for the pit I find myself getting out of, I have to focus on the fact that I cant blame myself. I cant have that sickening urge of self-blame where Satan starts to play "mind games with [my] conscience so that for the life of [me], [I] can't seem to distinguish between those areas where [I am] guilty and those where [I am] innocent." This is not to say that I have never done anything wrong because I surely have. The question I have forced myself to find the answer to is not "have you done anything wrong?" but "have you done the wrong that fits the pit?" I think it is fair to say, I am still trying to answer that-- I know the answer in my head, but my heart still wants to blame myself in so many of the emotions and feelings. A friend of mine told me just tonight that I have to take ownership of my feelings and emotions because "they are what they are, but the one thing they are not is irrelevant. We experience them for a reason. They communicate something to us either about ourself or others." I am in the process of sorting through my totally relevant feelings to answer the question that will get me even closer to being out of the pit.

Finally, the other realization I have come to this evening is I often care more about what people in this world think than what God thinks. I would rather lose myself to make someone else happy. I would rather be miserable so one person will acknowledge my existence or be my friend. Despite what Galatians 1:10 says, I still often seek the approval of people walking around in this world than the ONE who matters. As a child of the Sovereign King of the universe, I am his daughter--I have come to realize I deserve to be treated as such both by others and, maybe most importantly, by myself. I cant make excuses for other people's actions. I cant hold on to hope of who I wanted someone to be. And I cant be my own worst enemy. A friend of mine and I had a soul searching, deeply personal conversation this evening about life. As always, he was straightforward, totally real, and reminded me of exactly what I needed to hear. He reminded me I am still here, still breathing. God created me in HIS image and since I am still alive, God still has something wonderful planned. I was reminded that God forgave me the first time I confessed my sins and wrong doings... but because of my own emotional baggage, I still carry the guilt of sins that God has long since forgotten. When he left my house, I was listening to music and Jonny Diaz's More Beautiful You came on. The chorus goes "There could never be a more beautiful you. Don't buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through. You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do so there could never be a more beautiful you"

I am getting out of the pit... I am close. So Close! I am not going to buy the lies that the world has lead me to believe, I am not going to be tricked by the disguises that I am lead to think are true, and I am not going to jump through the worldly hoops that come from people, relationships and situations. Instead.... My focus is going to be on God and fulfilling the purpose HE has planned for me.

Follow Up to the Healthcare Reform post

The following is a follow-up to a comment that was made on the last post. and these are just thoughts and opinions of a girl who falls short of HIS glory daily, but has been saved by his Amazing Grace.

I completely understand and appreciate everyone's right to their own opinion. And, despite my usual conservative beliefs, this is one situation where I fall on the other side of the aisle.

I think this bill is a major step towards a change to our healthcare system that is vital to its success. The excess that has developed in the area is unfathomable and some change has to be made. I think part of the conservative issue lies in the fact that it was a democrat who actually got it to go further than anyone before. The first president to actually try to pass some sort of healthcare reform legislation was President Richard Nixon. Today, if it had been a republican of his stature and tenure trying to pass new healthcare legislation, I have no doubt that that the uproar would have been much less, especially from the conservative right.

As for uninsurable and being able to afford insurance for those who cant get group insurance (through jobs or otherwise), that's a whole nother ball game. While my parents and one of my best friends are deemed uninsurable because of their histories with cancer, I am not in that ball park. I have no prexisiting conditions. However, I know personally as some one who has left the security of my parent's insurance and have my own, it is incredibly expensive. My insurance in the year I took off and worked (full time in a good job that I was able to get insurance through but because of their policy of working a certain amount of time before you can get insurance, I had a window where I had to have my own for 9 months) between undergrad and graduate school, I paid $575-$585 dollars a MONTH for health insurance. It was basic insurance, but as a "woman of child bearing years" my premium (and any other young female) were through the roof. And given the state of our economy where finding a job is more and more difficult, that window where you are potentially uninsured (and even unemployed) is growing, meaning a major cost and factor to be taken into consideration, which is too much for many. Even for me as an intern architect starting in the field at a very competitive pay for the market, I would NOT have been able to afford the insurance I was able to find and get if it were not for my parents paying it. Now, once I graduate from graduate school, it is very unlikely that I will find a job in my field, much less with benefits. This healthcare plan could be the difference between me being insured and not. I have plenty of friends who have graduated with me who are uninsured. (since close to 30 of the people who have graduated from Clemson's Master's program in Architecture in the past two years are unemployed) It is very possible that you and many of your friends and fellow graduates this year will be in the same boat-- fully prepared and qualified, educated, and ready to work but no jobs that can or will hire you.

I would agree that the bipartisanship has been a complete joke on this issue and most issues because the focus has been on what the republican party wants or what the democratic party wants, NOT on what the people want. However, I think that when Americans vote in elections, we are doing one of the most American and most patriotic duties most Americans have. I also think it is fair to say that "We The People" spoke in November when Obama was elected and the democrats gained control on Capitol Hill. The people you and I voted for may or may not have won their elections, but the people of the US spoke, and in this case, the majority of the people who took the time to do their civic duty to vote, elected officials who the conservative right-wing do not agree with. (and its the same thing the democrats felt for the 8 years prior under Bush's presidency.) In that same vein, Elections have consequences... they have to be taken seriously and votes must be cast. Healthcare reform was a platform for many of the candidates campaigns in the last election cycle. People knew it was coming down the pipe and they still voted for them in majority and that is all that our country stands for. Giving people the rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. The majority used their liberty to vote as they see fit for the person they thought would do the best job. That's the America we can celebrate- the one where each and everyone of us can have a differing opinion, religion, voting preference, etc. To say "7 vote difference...that's all it took to destroy everything this country stands for" is a very sad statement and I would go far as to say wrong thing when all that happened yesterday was the American Government doing what it was designed to... it was the US people voting for a president, vice president, senate and house members who they felt would do the best job, and then those government officials moving forward and doing what is believed to be best for the country. Like I said before, I do not know enough about any of this legislation to know whether or not I support the bill or not. I do know, though, that this is a needed first step towards a system that will truly help many, many people in our country. I don't know if you have ever seen the movie The American President, but this whole healthcare debate both here and on facebook... and across the board reminds me of a quote from that movie. In the movie, the President of the US is giving a speech countering the man who is running against him in his re-election campaign. The president says in his speech "America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free"." I would say that's exactly what is happening in this debate and in the passing of this legislation-- one side is claiming something that makes the other side's blood boil while they are advocating for the opposite. That is exactly what our country is founded and and is ALL that our country stands for- a country where "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," and when combined with the civil rights that we all benefit from, it seems that all that our country stands for (maybe not what you would chose) were carried out yesterday through the passing of the healthcare legislation.

As for the whole Christian debate-- Name calling and the things that are said from one side of the aisle to the other are ridiculous and inappropriate. Much if it is just to stir the pot with little or no power behind it and is not something that you or any other Christian would if say Jesus was standing right next to you. Another of my issues with the Christian right-wing conservatives really lies in the fact that one minute they will preach about their Christian values and then immediately turn around and do or say something that goes completely against their beliefs and all that the Bible says. Its the pot calling the kettle black and a huge reason why so many people think the Christian faith is a joke and full of hypocrites and liars. I also find great frustration in the fact that the Bible makes it very, very clear that we should take care of the orphans, the meek, the poor, the hurting and yet, the conservatives would rather take care of the rich than offer the social services that would help take care of those in need the most. The conservatives want to control abortion, but don't want to provide the social services those children will need. They want to patrol morality through the government instead of showing the love of Christ through their actions and truths. Somehow that all seems backwards. To a certain extent I think that if the body of Christ through HIS church would serve body the way we are called to do (Eph 4:12, 1 Cor 12:12, 1 Corinthians 12:27-28) many of these issues would be irrelevant. BUT since the church (as a whole) does not hold up their end of the deal of the body serving the body... the government has to pick up the social services that the church refuses to take care of.

Last night on twitter, a worship pastor from Atlanta tweeted "Time 2 C how Christian America reacts 2 ths moment. I'm scared 2 read the tweets & blogs 2morrow. Please let me B wrong" right after the vote occurred. An hour later after what I assume were some not-so-nice direct messages and tweets from others, he tweeted "Christians.If U disagree.Disagree LOUDLY!The world is watching.Dnt disagree w/venom.Disagree showin Christ." He says it well.... stand for what you believe in not by venom but by showing Christ.

Healthcare Reform....

So today was a VERY historic day for our country. The healthcare reform legislation passed. I don't claim to know enough to know whether or not I support the legislation that was passed or not. I do however know that something MUST change in our healthcare system... we cant keep up with the way it is heading and moving. Hopefully this legislation will help lead to the best solution for our country and fellow Americans.

However.... Aside from the obvious that most people have opinions, one thing I have really noticed is a strong hatred that seems to have come about from one side of the "aisle" to the other. I also immediately noticed Facebook blowing up with status updates..... everything from "The House just passed health care reform. A long time coming. Better late than never" and "Today I witness change once again. I'm not going to lie, I'm happy. Embrace change instead of complaining. We are finally investing in the most important resource 'We the People'" to the opposite side of "219-212...7 vote difference...that's all it took to destroy everything this country stands for. Welcome to socialist hell, America. I pray that one day I will see the REAL USA once again..."

Like I said before... I don't know enough about the legislation to have a specific opinion one way or the other. (and yes... I have the guts to say I don't. I wish some of my "friends" on Facebook would be willing to admit the same thing)

Anyways. back to the point. There have been several things that have hit me through this whole debate of healthcare reform.

1. Today, my parents and I were sitting in our family room listening to part of the debate. It hit me when my mom said "You know, If it were not for my job and the insurance I get through my job, your dad and I would be deemed "uninsureable" because of pre-existing conditions (specifically... cancer.)" That hit me like a mac truck. My parents are both, for the most part, very healthy. Yes, my Mom HAD cancer... she is now cancer free. and Yes. My dad does still have cancer (though his latest scans and tests have all been clear and clean!) But because of those medical issues, they are uninsurable if it were not for my mom's job. Later this evening I was talking to one of my best friends. She is younger than me (and I am 26) and she has cancer. She is also in that "uninsurable" category. ** My mom added this morning if were not for her state healthcare insurance, she and my dad would either be dead or broke. (especially since that chemo drug-- drug alone... no medical visit nothing else JUST the medicine- my dad took for 12months was $20,000 for the first month and just less than $100,000 for the next 11 months he took it. It saved his life.... but if it were not for insurance, I doubt he could have afforded to take it....)

2. The other thing that has really gotten me about this is the hatred, anger and hostility from one side of the aisle to the other. And I will even go so far as to say, it seems that the ones I have noticed it the most from are the Bible-thumping right-wing conservatives. I am fairly conservative most of the time. But this cry for bipartisanship from the ultra-conservatives who preach about their Christian values and claim that the democrats are not meeting in the middle. But its those ultra conservatives who then turn around and bash, name call, and cast judgement. It is utterly inappropriate and brings a horrible face to the Christian faith.

Rick Warren said it well when he said "Jesus loved everyone equally without agreeing with everyone equally. To only LIKE those u agree with is spiritual immaturity." I personally cant agree more.

I also have to think about Matthew 5:43-44 where it says "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you"

Maybe if our focus really was on "We The People" and not the republicans or democrats, right wing or left, we might just have more success.....

**Few little added side notes.... The majority of the status updates were people supporting change... not necessarily supporting the bill itself, but supporting the idea that our healthcare system must change. It is something we, as the United States of America, have been working towards getting since the days of Richard Nixon (yes REPUBLICAN Richard Nixon tried towards social healthcare reform when he was president). Like I said above...this may not be the perfect bill... but it is the first step towards something that will make a positive difference to a huge part of "We the people".

FOUR new posts so dont miss any of them!!!

There are 4 new posts today! Dont miss any of them!!!

Gala honoring Dr. Stephen W. Hefner

SC Bar Foundation Gala

Hope... and a TV show

Answered Prayers

Answered Prayers

Several weeks ago at church, the sermon was on prayer from Acts 12:1-18. It was an incredible sermon and left me feeling empowered yet with questions and a bit of personal confusion (that I think I have figured out!)

The preacher started by saying that Christians are more superstitious than believers in the supernatural. He suggested that when a prayer is answered exactly the way we want it, we begin to pray that way over and over again for years because we believe that it was the way we prayed the prayer that got it answered the way we want it. It is 100%, definitely safe to say, that is not the case at all. That is our issue with superstition and not our total belief in the supernatural power of God.

He went on to preach about how God always answers our prayers in three major ways- No, Obey, and Yes. Garth Brooks' song saying "Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers" is wrong. It is not that our prayers are unanswered. Our prayers are ALWAYS answered. As it says in Hebrews, our lives are held together by the words coming for Jesus' mouth... He ALWAYS answers our prayers.

Sometimes God answers our prayers by saying "No." He says "No" and we have to accept that that is the way it is. No one likes hearing no. Sometimes "no" is the last thing we want. However, as a parent says no to their child, THE Father says no to us as His children. We serve the Sovereign King of the Universe... not Santa clause. He sometimes says "no" because by saying no he leads us to something greater than we could EVER imagine, dream or hope for.

Sometimes God answers our prayers by simply saying Obey. Often we pray for things that we know the answer to-- we pray about things that we should never have to pray about if we would simply obey His word and what He has taught us. In the sermon, the pastor used an example of a man praying about a situation at work where he wondering if he should tell the truth about something going on within the office. In that case, the answer to the prayer is Obey by telling the truth. Obey what God has already told us do through His word, the Bible. The pastor went on to say we also often try to pray ourselves out of a situation we behaved ourselves into. If we obey him and/or when we pray in situations where God's answer is Obey, we must follow what He has said. When we say we are praying about something we already know the answer to, all we are doing is delaying obedience.

Sometimes God say yes when He answers our prayers. That's the answer we like to hear the most. That's the one we love. We all like hearing YES! When He says yes, we get so amazed yet we forget that we serve a Sovereign God who gives His children good gifts. (and He ONLY gives good gifts! (Matt 7:11))

During the service they played THIS VERY incredible video about a young staff member, Zac Smith, who has terminal cancer. Zac's video is an incredible testimony of his faith. He points out in the video that sometimes God answers our prayers by saying Yes and that God is God and God is good. When God says "no", Zac reminds us that God is still God and God is still good. To HIM be the glory. Our circumstances do not change His character. He is still the sovereign king of the universe who created every last thing in this world and still knows my name and every last detail about me.

Since that service I have thought about prayers I have prayed, for things that I have wanted and the answers that God gave me. I think about the answered prayer that my dad is winning his battle against cancer. I think about a friend of mine who lost his mom to cancer. I wonder why it has to be that way that my dad is alive but his mom is not. Then I remember it is HIS answer and His glory will be revealed through it all even when it all seems wrong in our earthly minds, His character has not changed and His gift is still good and perfect. I think about Kate McRae, a 6 year old with cancer who is winning her battle but then my thoughts turn to 2 year old Layla Grace who recently lost her battle cancer. I think about my friend Joanna, one of the most faithful and wonderful people I have ever met and why she has cancer. I will never know this side of eternity, and maybe ever, why sometimes God answers our prayers with a Yes and why other times His answer is no or even why bad things happen to good people and innocent children. However, I know that every answer is used for HIS glory and will result in something far greater than I could ever hope or imagine and it will ALL be for HIS glory!

To HIM be the Glory!

Hope... and a TV show

Sunday night my mom and I were watching the TV show Brothers and Sisters on ABC. I watched it regularly for the first season or two, but I had not seen it in several years. For those who have never seen the show, it centers around the Walker family (mom Nora and her 5 grown children, as well as William Walker, the dad of the family who died in the first episode) One of the major plot lines in the movie is how the family had a seemingly perfect family but since William's death, his bad business and adulterous affairs surface. During Sunday's episode mom Nora was speaking with one of her children (Tommy to be specific) about William and how she wishes he would just stay buried but his past keeps coming to the surface. Tommy says in return, that it is so hard to let go of the hope of the person he thought he was. That line hit me like a ton of bricks.

Lately I have found myself holding on to the hope that different people in my life were the people I thought they were. Its a very hard thing to let go of, at least for me. Maybe because I am an optimistic person who sees the best in everyone or maybe because I wear my heart on my sleeve. But I think it is especially hard when, in the past, I have seen glimpses of what I thought that person was/is. In this realization that I was putting hope (and thus emotional energy and thought) into the hope of who I thought these people in my life were. I realized my hope was not solely in Christ and that I was expending unnecessary emotional energy on something that is not worth that energy. My hope can not be in any person living and walking around on this earth. My hope is in the Lord.

"Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." -Psalm 25:4-5

"But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." -Romans 8:24

SC Bar Foundation Gala

On Thursday March 11, 2010 my sister was honored at the SC Bar Foundation Gala. She was honored as one of two South Carolina Pro Bono Attorneys of the year! I am so proud of her! It was wonderful to be able to be in Columbia and see her accept her award!

My sister (in blue) and her committee!

My sister and Carmen... great friends from Law School and Carmen was

the one who nominated my sister for all her hard work

with the Richland County Bar Association!

The Family!

(minus Chad.... he was there not sure why not in the picture!)

The Wonderful Women of my Family!

Gala honoring Dr. Stephen Hefner

On Friday March 12, 2010, The Richland School District 2 Education Foundation hosted a gala honoring Dr. Stephen W. Hefner for his 36 years of service to Richland School District 2, 16 years of it as superintendent. During his years in the district, the school system has grown exponentially, he has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, and has truly helped Richland Two become a "World Class" school district.

It was a fun evening to see faces I had not seen for years and catch up with former teachers, community members, and to celebrate the extraordinary career of a wonderful public educator.

Dr. and Mrs. Hefner with Lisa Sisk and Dr. Julia Boyd, co-chairs of the event!

My Parents!

I LOVE mother!! She and the others worked so hard to plan such a wonderful gala!

Me and Ms. Linda... she took care of the Hamm and Hefner girls when Channing and I were babies and is still a WONDERFUL part of our lives!

Channing (Hefner) Rice, Joe Harris (a wonderful Richland 2 Graduate working in DC)

and Megan Hefner

The Hamm and Hefner Families

(minus Sissy and Chad who had to go to another event when this one was over)

Me, Ms. McKeown, and Willie. Ms. McKeown is one of the greatest public

educators you will ever meet!!

Me and my parents. Mom and the other memebers of the planning committee

worked tirelessly to put this once-in-a-lifetime event on. They did a great job!

Me and one of the greatest friends a girl could ask for and one of the most wonderful men in my life, my dear friend Willie Lyles! Willie is also a product of Richland 2

Schools and is doing great things in DC! :-)