No matter when we start, in any race, event, and/or functions. The key is”just start”. I find that many are hindered by fears of so many levels, and here I speak of myself. Fear has faces, and those faces are worn by family members, so called friends, and associates, but the greatest fear is looking in the mirror and seeing inward that “you” are your biggest fear. In the bible fear is seen as a spirit, as in 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” NLT
So I send these words of love to you, and that is “Begin Again” If you have started and stopped, no matter the reason, turn the “Hurts” in to “Hurtles” and soar over them. I can remember my high school track days, and the coach wanted me to run the hurtles, and for the life of me, I could not keep that back leg high enough. I will never forget the joy I felt when I soared over those hurtles, and I use this analogy when I think of what may have attempted to stop you, or may have stopped you; I am here to say to you dear ones “Begin Again”! You have everything in your favor, why I say this, you may ask, well if you are reading this blog, then (smiling) you are alive, and you can achieve.
Begin again, is what I want to share with you, because the start does not matter, it is where you finish. So with this said, like those days of track and field in the various types of races there are challenges, and we are capable of achieving each race, like in the relay race we can drop the baton of success being past to us, but pick it up and continue running. Also when you jump the hurtle and it falls, don’t look back, just keep focused and prepare for the next one, because as sure as you are in this race, the next one is up ahead. Their are the long distant races, and the short 50 yard dashes, it is not the type of race you are in that matters, what matters is that you are in the race and your reward awaits you, just finish.
I speak to myself as I share my heart, because life has brought many hurts, that I had to hurtle over, but I will not quit, because the prize is to great. Just because you began again, does not mean you must start from the front of the line, no it does not, it only mean pick up where you left off and GO!
This was a pleasure sharing with you.
Dorothy Parker
Zone On Empowering 
Awesome, timeless…
Watch Night Service” information going around the internet regarding the “Black Church” isn’t true. Watch night service dates back to the early 1700s in Europe.
There was no CNN, Chicago Daily Defender, FOX News, or Jet Magazine in 1862 to have informed slaves about the Emancipation Proclamation. Even slave owners would not necessarily have been aware of a Presidential Proclamation becoming effective on January 01, of the following year it is passed or “proclaimed” in this case.
It is also unlikely with war going on that slaves, for any reason, would be allowed to congregate in large numbers at night. There is no history, oral or in writing regarding this alleged history of the “watch service” that I have found. It only started to circulate on the internet around 2001.
Slaves would not have universally know about “freedom” from their owners or their families. Most historical accounts of knowledge of freedom came to the slaves as the Union Army advanced into the states in rebellion. That is why the slaves in parts of Texas didn’t know they were free until the middle of June 1964. By December 1862 the Union Army had fought mostly in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Northern Tennessee. By January 01, 1863, the Union Army had come nowhere near advancing into the “deep South”. So how could slaves have know about the Proclamation?
Kirkland Burke
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Watch Night began with the Moravians, a small Christian denomination whose roots lie in what is the present-day Czech Republic. The first such service is believed to
have been held in 1733 on the estates of Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf in Hernhut, Germany.
John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, picked it up from the Moravians, incorporating a Watch Night vigil into the practices of his denomination. Methodist Watch Nights were held once a month and on full moons, with the first such service in the United States taking place in 1770 at Old
St. George’s Church in Philadelphia. These services survive to the present day in that denomination’s worship manuals as “Covenant Renewal Services.”
As to what was being “watched over” in those earlier services, it was one’s covenant with God. These gatherings were a time for congregants to meditate on their state of grace — were they spiritually ready to meet their maker if the call were suddenly to come? As the 13th chapter of Mark instructs, the faithful need to be ever vigilant, because the hour of the Lord’s coming is not known. (Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh.)
Thank you; however most of black history in this america came from Europe, (tea time) so I can not agree with what you believe happened, and what slave owners allowed. You have inspired me however to research further myself,because what you state originated as watch out for Europe is awesome, but it may not be what may have originated for those hebrew slaves in america. Awww another thought. Thanks again.
Thank You! I was inspired cause no matter were I left off I can start over & conquer.
Sis, I have been inspired, encouraged and awakened. Thanks for allowing God to have 1st place in you. Thanks for sharing and letting us know that though we dropped the baton stay in the race.
Love you, and I thank you for supporting me.