Inspiration by Kathleen Nestor

I laughed so much last night. It was good, so good. It had been so long since I had such a good laugh. It began when I decided to look up some caribbean poems that I loved since I was a child. My daughter helped me in my desire to recapture old memories. I felt like I was one of those secret artists, the one who always wished to appear on stage reciting some of the great West Indian poems. Here was my chance to live it. With my bedroom as an auditorium and my daughter the audience, I began, "Song of the Banana Man," by Evan Jones. Yes that poem. The one I always tried to say for every Jamaican I met, only to incorrectly recite the first verse and then stop because I did not know the whole poem. As I recited it and got to the end I emphatically articulated the words "BY GOD AND DIS BIG RIGHT HAN, YOU MUS RECOGNIZE A BANANA MAN!" We roared with laughter. A bolt of energy ran through my soul. The story of the banana man was so familiar to me. I knew Banana men, not in ...

Everyone wants to know what their future is going to be like. Some of us want to know if we will succeed or fail, will get married, have kids, will we grow old or die young, will our business trip be successful or not. So many questions, what are the answers? Our desire to know our future is all too human. This desire to know the future is propelled by our anxiety about life. Some of us face circumstances that are almost nightmarish. We wish that it would stop or go away. It drives us with such a force that some may go as far as to consult with mediums to know what their future holds. One man told me that he even wanted to know if he would go to heaven. He asked the crystal ball if he would go to heaven. He was told 'do not count on it.' Well I have good news that you can count on, that is, the promises that God has made to us through His word, these promises the bible says are "Yea and Amen" in Christ His son. You can trust God's word. The bible says...

As humans we all have dreams and desires that we secretly nurture for years. We lay on our beds and we picture in our minds the whole scenario of what our life would be like if only our dreams would come to pass. We say to ourselves maybe, if our circumstances were different, if we were born into a different family, if our teachers were more understanding , if only our friends were different. If only my mother, the pastor, priest, lawyer, doctor, if only. And the list goes on. No more 'if onlys' ! We must declare to ourselves today that the story of if only's will stop with us. No more if only's. We are destroying that premise and starting on a new theme, " WE ARE WELL ABLE ." My dream can be a reality, it begins with me. I declare to myself, I am responsible for my 'if only' and I am going to take control of the dream that God has given me. Yes, no more fear, no more excuses, no more if's. I am free to dream! With God's help today, I...

There are times when you feel as though you are walking through a strong sand storm and the winds of adversity seem to be pushing you backwards everytime you try to move forward. This is what life is all about. Life at its best brings with it lots of joy but with some level of adversity. I want to say to you today to push forward and fight back not in your strength, but in the strength that God gives you. Ways that will help us in pushing forward: Queen Esther had a difficult situation. Her uncle's life was at stake, so she set out to do something about it but before she proceeded she used what I think is one of the greatest tools in helping us to succeed in adversity. She prayed and fasted. She told her folks to pray and fast for her. We know the results, the wickedness that was meant to destroy her and her loved ones fell back on the one who planned it. God helped her to gain the strength during this difficult time to do an unusual thing. Have a right attitude! Another...

I can hear the sound of the drums and the trumpet approaching me that day. It was the day that the boy scouts paraded down the street next t0 the town hall where I worked. Everyone wanted to see the parade. Hundreds of boys were camping somewhere nearby and they were parading down the streets in their own order. The music was pulsating. I felt the vibrations of the drum roll as the boys marched closer. I felt like jumping and dancing. Something was happening. It was as if I was getting happier and happier with such amazing sounds. It was like heaven on earth. They were playing one of the local songs, a calypso. It was so sweet that I felt like jumping but I restrained myself. The happiness I felt was contagious. Everyone was excited, but as the trumpet blast and drum rolls passed me, so did the happy feeling. Just like that a momentary feeling of euphora all gone. The joy of the Lord is important. Like the beautiful music I heard there are many things that give joy but joy ...

Have you ever seen a school yard fight in which a friend or family member was attacked and another friend or member jumped into the fight just because they felt that they could not just stand by and let someone get beaten up? Well you know what, we have someone who is ever present with us and is willing at any time to fight for us. God himself will fight for us. No battle is too big for Him! It is not the size of the battle, but the size of our God. He is bigger than any problem we can have, bigger than any battle. No weapon, the Bible says, formed against us will prosper and any tongue that has risen against us He will condemn. Our God is strong and mighty. He shows himself as captain of the host to protect. In Psalm 91 it says, "those who live in the shelter of the Most High, will rest in the shadow of the almighty." He will be our refuge and fortress, no harm will befall us, for He will command His angels to protect us and guard us in all our ways. When we call u...

One day my family and I had set out on a journey to visit a relative in the country area. The roads were steep and precipitous and this was the first time we were driving this truck because we borrowed it from a friend. We were going around the winding roads, then suddenly the truck spun around and somersaulted and turned toward a precipice, everything was out of control. The only one that could help was God himself. Immediately instinct came in and I shouted "Jesus". The truck stopped. What happened next was only short of a miracle. A peace filled the truck at that moment before stopping. There was no fear. When we stopped human nature took over, my knees were buckling when I looked down and saw what I was facing. The front of the truck stopped at the edge of the precipice. There was only a bit of dirt between our tires and the edge of the precipice. Death might of been certain, but it was not time for us. His angels were surely there, my cry to Him for help was heard. He wi...