Quobna Ottobah Cugoano was captured by slave traders as a young boy in Africa in the late 1700's. After experiencing much cruelty and suffering, he finally got his freedom and learned to read and write. These quotations come from his book: Thoughts And Sentiments On The Evil Of Slavery.

"I was brought from a state of innocence and freedom, and in a barbarous and cruel manner, conveyed to a state of horror and slavery." QOC

"How wonderful is the diving goodness displayed in the Old and New Testaments! O what a treasure to have and to be able to read therein." QOC

"Those men that are the procurers and holders of slaves are the greatest villains in the world. They must be lost to all sensibility thinking that the stealing, robbing, enslaving, and murdering of men are not crimes." QOC

"If a man have not love in his heart for his fellow creatures, all his other virtues are not worth a straw." QOC

"The destroyers and enslavers of men can not be Christians, for Christianity is the system of love, and its followers are devoted to honesty, justice, humanity, meekness, peace, and good will to all men." QOC

"Good soldiers of Jesus Christ have many battles to fight with their unbelief, with the perverseness of their nature, with evil temper, and with besetting sins." QOC

Great news! By 2010, Nashville Area Habitat For Humanity is planning to build 112 new homes for families in Timberwood, Habitat's new affordable housing community. Nashville Area Habitat ranks in the top one percent of all the Habitat affiliates.

Habitat works with volunteers and donated building materials to construct new homes for people who can't afford to buy their own home. The homes are sold at no profit and financed with affordable loans. New Habitat homeowners also must invest "sweat equity" -- hundreds of hours of their own labor into their new home. The average sales price for Habitat homes in the U.S. is $60,000. The proceeds help to build even more homes.

Worldwide, Habitat has built more than 225,000 homes. These homes provide housing for more than one million people in 3,000 communities.

The Habitat web sites states: "Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian organization, dedicated to eliminating substandard housing and homelessness worldwide." The Tennessean quotes Sarieda Evans, the soon to be owner of a new home and mother of four, as saying: "It is a privilege to be here working and I thank God for the privilege to own a home."

A Nashville volunteer, Harley Siemer, who will soon celebrate his 80th birthday, has personally helped build more than 235 Habitat homes. Locally LP has provided building materials for homes and more than half of their employees and employees' families have volunteered to work on homes.

The hard work and caring for others shown by Habitat For Humanity and their volunteers is making a big difference in our world. Habitat shows the world the best side of humanity, the desire and willingness to help out those in need!

NPR carried a very important story this week that the rest of the media seem to have totally ignored. (I've searched the internet and cannot find a single mention of the story anyplace else.)

Henry Kissinger, Sam Nunn, William Perry, George Shultz and others have convened a conference this week in Oslo, Norway, promoting complete worldwide nuclear disarmament. They believe that cold war deterrence is no longer effective in protecting us from a nuclear attack and that our only hope is to get rid of all nuclear weapons.

They believe that terrorists will eventually obtain and use nuclear weapons unless all the world's nuclear weapons are dismantled and destroyed. So why is the warning of these former top ranking U.S. officials being ignored?

Nations with nuclear arsenals like to declare that other nations have no right to weapons of mass destruction. But in reality, what right does any nation on this planet have to possess nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction?

Maybe we should listen to the wise leaders who are meeting in Norway this week before it is too late!

Nicholas Cabasilas was a passionate follower of Jesus Christ who lived in Constantinople in the 1400s, before the Ottoman Turks, led by Mohammed the Conqueror, took over the city and named it Istanbul. I hope these quotations by him inspire and motivate you.

"The greatest joy follows the greatest love."

"It is not possible for those who have not died to sin, to live for God."

"It is altogether necessary that faith be shown forth in our deeds."

"When love of the Savior produces nothing new or extaordinary in us, it proves that we have encountered no more than mere words about Him."

"Restraining one's soul by good thoughts leads to cessation from evil thoughts."

"Being occupied with and employed in base things brings destruction to the soul."

"The Old Covenant was a word which instructed; now it is Christ Himself who is present and disposes and forms the souls of men."

"For him who has lost reverence for God, all that might have availed to restrain wickedness has been removed."

Motivation Quotation: "Everyone is in search of happiness, but looking for it in earthly pleasures and objects brings more unhappiness. People have not found happiness because they have not searched for it where it can be found." --Dera Baba Jaimal Singh

Motivational Search For Happiness: I believe that everybody wants to be happy and does their best to find it. But happiness is hiding from many people.

That's because happiness isn't where we expect it to be. Long lasting and deeply satisfying happiness isn't to be found in earthly pleasures and objects. Those things actually frustrate the search of happiness by disappointing and discouraging us.

So where is happiness? Mr. Singh didn't tell us that in his quotation. We have to find it for ourselves. However, when we are looking for happiness in those earthly pleasures and objects, we have lost the scent.

Real happiness is within. If you convince yourself you are happy, guess what? You are happy. Happiness is nothing more than the heart felt belief that you are happy. The only place happiness can be found is within your own heart. That is the place to search.