Category: Uncategorized

Because You’re My Mom

JoJo BayvelLeave a comment

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Because you are my mom you loved me before I was ever seen
You thanked God for this miracle, this little human being
So exciting, yet fragile it all must have seemed to you then
Hearing my little heart beat inside you, now life begins

Because you are my mom no pain was too great for you to bear
Now you’re a mother and I your child with joys and pains to share
And so into this world my life began each breath now on my own
One day we will look back at just how much I’ve grown

Because you are my mom you worried for me within your every bone
You finally let go of my little hand to take my first steps on my own

Because you are my mom you showed me through the years
To care about others and their feelings and the things that they hold dear

Because you are my mom you taught me right from wrong
Understanding that my faith in God will forever keep me strong
Showing me that being my own person is the only tool I’ll need
When morals and values are your foundation to succeed

Because you are my mom you loved me enough to also be my friend
You would be right there in ways that no one could see or ever comprehend
When there was no way I thought you could ever understand
There you would be, non-judging and willing to lend a hand

Because you are my mom, God’s gift to me was you
As your daughter I will always love you and promise to be true
I thank you for so many things and will try to never make you sad or blue

Because you are my mom, and one-day I will be a mother too
I pray I never forget all that you’ve been through
I am your daughter and in your image I am proud to be
By the grace of the Lord you were created, and then I came to be

Sharing This Sobbing – Rhinos in Africa – Received this poem from a 13 year old boy who wishes to remain anonymous.

JoJo BayvelLeave a comment

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*I am Cecil.

Naturally I am powerful.
Yet the situation was such that I am not longer alive.
Alive to hunt, alive to live, alive to be African.
I am not Cecil. But I am Africa, An Africa for you to kill, obviously.

I am every rhino and elephant that you tear apart.
I am the Ivory ripped from their faces, for you to consume.
I am rhino and elephant. I am Cecil, I am Africa.

I am sorry that we can’t defend the defenseless against people with weapons used to attack.
I am sorry that we can’t bring Cecil back.
You’ve killed Cecil.
You’re killing Africa.

I am not Cecil.
I am Africa.
I need help.*

Donate to help High 5. Give $5. Save Big Cats.

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Big cats in the wild are disappearing at an alarming rate. In fact, within your lifetime, lions in the wild could disappear forever. In support of World Lion Day (August 10), we’re raising money to preserve big cats—like lions—and their habitats through National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative.

Your donation, no matter how small, will make a very real difference in the lives of these majestic creatures. From building livestock enclosures to save snow leopards in Nepal to combating lion snaring and poaching in Zambia, the Big Cats Initiative provides on-the-ground conservation and education support to preserve big cat populations worldwide.

National Geographic is a nonprofit organization driven by a passionate belief in the power of science, exploration, and storytelling to change the world. Together we can make a difference. #5forBigCats

Sixty Seven Minutes for Madiba 

JoJo BayvelLeave a comment

  
Watching Long Walk to Freeedom today, and remembering this iconic man who gave up everything to free our country and its people. 

A man who suffered so cruelly at the hands of the very people he was able to forgive so easily. Aside from Jesus who gave His life for us with a promise of eternity, I doubt that we will ever witness, at least not in our lifetimes, a human being with as much courage, honor, pride, humilty, strength and compassion as that of Madiba. Legendary is not fit to describe our Madiba as the way he lived and loved and what he achieved far outweighs the meaning of this word. 

  
Tomorrow we celebrate his life by giving 67 minutes of our time to helping others. Wether it be for animals or humans, we as South Africans stand together, united again by this hero, in an effort to help those less fortunate. It is perhaps something we should do on a weekly if not daily basis but it is nonetheless a day that will make a difference in so many lives. Both to those being helped as well as to the helpers. 

  

Madiba, in a time where South Africa is fraught with violence and corruption. Where the very things you hoped for … peace and no hatred, are but a distant dream. Where there is not only hatred among white and black but upon black on black and white on white. We have become the antithesis of what you fought so hard for and for this I weep…. 
And yet Tata because of you and your legacy we will unite tomorrow in peace. All races, tribes, cultures, creeds and colours; to honor you and try and live up to an nth of what came naturally to you on a daily basis. 

  
Madiba your words and actions , remain forever in our hearts and minds … Perhaps a mere whisper in some and a lot louder in others … Your voice spoke volumes, your words healed hearts and your struggle saved a nation. 

  
Because of you we can hold out hope that we can one day be a nation where hatred is not taught and where love flows freely among all. 

      

Tata Madiba Tata 

You ARE Beautiful

JoJo Bayvel3 Comments

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I haven’t blogged in awhile and right now I am a little tired and getting ready for a busy but hopefully rewarding week ahead.

I just had to share a question – heard in church tonight – and video as it touched my heart in ways I cannot even describe ( and for me to be at a loss for words, means it hit this little heart hard… ).

We live in a world where we are so focused on beauty and outer appearances and how we can improve our looks, our hair, our noses and get rid of wrinkles. How many ‘likes’ we get on an Instagram photo or followers on Twitter, how many friends we have on Facebook….I am the first to admit that I have fallen prey to this way of thinking, losing the ability to learn about a person, their interests, their personality, what makes them smile or cry… and how I can offer a word of advice or help directly in person or through a personal message instead of sharing a quote which is not even my own, and hoping that those that ‘need to see it’, will….

The question is simple and yet so intricate and important in getting back to a society that is humane and not just human. “If you had to describe the people you know without using physical attributes, what would you say”… think about it… describe who they are, what they enjoy doing, what they think about in lonely times and what their life long ambitions, hope and passions are. I get stuck on those that are in what we have deemed our ‘inner circle’ … the place where things like #youcantsitwithus and #coolkids are used … I am sure that those that have remained non-judgmental look at us and think “if only you knew how far away we would like to stay” … I say that because it is how I am beginning to feel, as I grasp at getting back to the real me. The loving, selfless, caring soft and sensitive girl I grew up as, and slowly start to become again…. Because let me tell you that all I became in that fickle world I occupied, was insecure, selfish and sad….

This video makes me weep…. as I learn again that every single person in this world is beautiful in some way…