“Being filled to the measure of the fullness of God is better than any gift card out there. It exceeds what our carefully curated lists can bring. And it beats the biggest surprise that could ever be wrapped in a box.”

“Social media provides profound community benefits: the power to spread messages, support causes and connect neighbors.”

“Whether Chanukah falls in middle or late December, this is the season when long anticipated movies are released, including the second movie installment of the iconic Broadway musical ‘Wicked.’”

“We can take ten thousand steps, but that last one — the moment when the wick claims the flame as its own — is always something of a tiny mystery.”

“Growing up, many adults in school and in church impressed upon us ‘character counts.’ Today, I wonder if the messages of character, kindness and respect resonate.”

Click Profit advertised that its business opportunity was “safe, secure, and proven to generate wealth” that would outperform traditional investments.

“Once you take a thought captive and lock it up tight, you must replace it with another thought. Very few of us are able to sit quietly with nothing at all going on up top.”

“Sometime next year, unless Congress changes course, health insurance is going to become a lot more expensive for hundreds of thousands of people in Tennessee.”

“We hear so much about the need for transparency in government; this might be a good and easy place to start. It all boils down to the people’s trust in their government.”

“How can I do this life well? What is it that you can pass on to me so that I will not have to relearn the same lessons at the expense of my own heart, mind, body and relationships?”

Gratitude is what steadies us when the ground shifts. It reminds us that even when hope feels hard to hold, love hasn’t left the room.

“Regardless of political affiliation or denomination, Christian people must speak clearly and with one voice that such treatment of the immigrant or cultural outsider in our midst is immoral and in direct opposition to the way of Jesus.”

“The internet isn’t just a separate world we visit; it is now an inseparable part of our streets, schools and homes. The ultimate safety app is awareness.”

“I am a proponent of the Shelby County’s school board’s decision to ban phones from school and wish it would have been done sooner.”

“In a world of widespread division, racial profiling, and individual, systemic, and institutional racism, Novella ignored all the social constructs that divided neighbors from one another.”

“I am frustrated on behalf of my constituents, whose flights to or from Memphis may be canceled or delayed, effecting untold numbers of business meetings, family gatherings, and vacations.”

Otis Sanford “accuses Republicans of selective fury while practicing it himself: outraged at Trump’s pardons for nonviolent individuals but mute about Biden’s pardons for violent criminals.”

“Research shows ‘fake news’ spreads significantly faster than the truth. Why? Because the social media algorithm is structured to reward engagement.”

Can you name the neighborhood in which these places are found? The street? How many of these spots make you think of some other memory?

“Real leadership in this moment comes not from those shouting from the sidelines. It will come from people who walk into neighborhoods and ask the simple disarming question: What do you need to feel safe?”

“We can’t let people who don’t actually live in Memphis tell us how terrible our own city is. ... Yes, there’s risk here – but there’s also rhythm, resilience and beauty.” 

“On Nov. 1, may we learn to do a better job of taking off our masks, the facades that sometimes blind us from being who we really are and becoming the blessings we were meant to be.”

“Failure to act will increase backlogs, slow investigations, and create questions regarding the reliability of forensic evidence in the courtroom. That is why a taskforce should be developed including key stakeholders and experts in forensics to build local capacity.”

“What we name each other, both on legal documents and in earned fellowship, is enough to determine some amount of lifelong meaning. But the grace-filled name God gives to us, both in secret and in stone, will be who we are for the rest of eternity.”

“Instead of treating a horrific tragedy as an isolated incident and holding those specific officers accountable, the council put the entire MPD culture — and legitimate policing — on trial.”