Normally my post today would be called, Manic Monday. As we all know Mondays can be pretty manic and generally I look forward to Mondays nonetheless. Today marks an important time in our American History. Its Martin Luther King Jr Day. I wanted to post a tribute and honor to Him. I have always admired and respected King. He is an inspiration to everyone. If you do not know much about him, I highly recommend you look into his life and achievements of the Civil Rights Movement. In the United States Public Schools, His speech, “I Have A Dream” is widely known. You may read that powerful and profound speech HERE.

Here is a book he wrote called, “Strength to Love” that I promise you will find life changing.

“If there is one book Martin Luther King, Jr. has written that people consistently tell me has changed their lives, it is Strength to Love.”

So wrote Coretta Scott King. She continued: “I believe it is because this book best explains the central element of Martin Luther King, Jr.’ s philosophy of nonviolence: His belief in a divine, loving presence that binds all life. That insight, luminously conveyed in this classic text, here presented in a new and attractive edition, hints at the personal transformation at the root of social justice: ” By reaching into and beyond ourselves and tapping the transcendent moral ethic of love, we shall overcome these evils.”

In these short meditative and sermonic pieces, some of them composed in jails and all of them crafted during the tumultuous years of the Civil Rights struggle, Dr. King articulated and espoused in a deeply personal compelling way his commitment to justice and to the intellectual, moral, and spiritual conversion that makes his work as much a blueprint today for Christian discipleship as it was then. 

Individual readers, as well as church groups and students will find in this work a challenging yet energizing vision of God and redemptive love.

Bio:

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968), Nobel Peace Prize laureate and architect of the nonviolent civil rights movement, was among the twentieth century’s most influential figures. One of the greatest orators in U.S. history, King also authored several books, including Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, and Why We Can’t Wait. His speeches, sermons, and writings are inspirational and timeless. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968

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Many thanks and gratitude, Martin Luther King. Our world still needs and should follow your shining example of strength, vision, love, peace, moral compass and philosophy of life.

Stephanie M. Hopkins