You Are Needed…Antonio Tijerino

“You are not lucky to be here. The world needs your perspective. They are lucky to have you.”

– Antonio Tijerino

Looking For A Normal Life?…Fred Rogers

“There is no normal life that is free of pain. It’s the very wrestling with our problems that can be the impetus for our growth.” 

—Fred Rogers

#LeadershipTuesdays: We Have Potent Power!…Michelle Herrera Mulligan

“As people of color, we have a potent power – and a responsibility – to change events around us, not just professionally, but spiritually and politically as well.”

—Michelle Herrera Mulligan, writer and editor, Publisher, Former Founding Editor-In-Chief for Cosmos For Latinas

On Tuesdays, womenatliberty.com presents Leadership Tuesdays, a platform for a variety of voices and resources to develop, encourage, and strengthen women leaders. For more information on Leadership Tuesdays or WOMEN AT LIBERTY, click here.

Your Path To Self Discovery…Debbie Ford

You are on a soulful path that asks you to step into the greatest version of yourself. It is a sacred gift to shine your brightest light, not just in your moments of glory, but each day.

--Debbie Ford

You Are One of One

“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in one drop.”

—Rumi

Simone Manuel, is a two time Olympic winning swimmer and a six-time individual NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving champion

When God Pours Out The Holy Spirit…Loida Martell-Otero

Read: Acts 16:25–40

“Salvation is the outpouring of God's Spirit, and therefore of abundant life that gives hope to those without hope, and frees those bound and made powerless by the powers and principalities of our day.”

—Loida I. Martell-Otero, Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs at the Lexington Theological Seminary; Professor of Constructive Theology

#LeadershipTuesdays: I Am A Treasure Producing Treasures In The Earth…Gabriela Mistral

“I have a day. If I know how to make the most of it, I have a treasure.”

– Gabriela Mistral, Nobel Prize-Winning Poet, Teacher and Educator, Diplomat & University Professor 

San Francisco Museum, Santiago, Chile 

Receiving the Nobel Prize

On Tuesdays, womenatliberty.com presents Leadership Tuesdays, a platform for a variety of voices and resources to develop, encourage, and strengthen women leaders. 
For more information on Leadership Tuesdays or WOMEN AT LIBERTY, click here. 

Build Trust In Yourself…Miranda J. Barrett

As you build trust in yourself, your ability to expand your vision and fully live in your magnificence is amplified.

Miranda J. Barrett, A Woman's Truth: A Life Truly Worth Living

Photo Credit:

https://www.melaninbasecamp.com/trip-reports/2022/2/27/why-we-jump-an-interview-with-5-base-jumpers-of-color

Slavery: If It Happened To One, It Happened To All…Lupita Nyong'O

“Slavery is something that is all too often swept under the carpet. The shame doesn't even belong to us, but we still experience it because we're a part of the African race. If it happened to one, it happened to all. We carry that burden.”

--Lupita Nyong'O, Oscar Winning Actress

We Have Only Just Begun: Get Together Because It’s Possible...Andrew “Andy” Young

“The hungry cannot eat hope. They can't drink inspiration. They need clean water. Yes, they need food. 

There is more money, there is more technology. There's more understanding of human need on this planet than ever before. 

And so I cling to the message of my African brothers that say the ancestors are still with us. And if that be true, we have nothing yet to celebrate. We can only thank God that they showed us that it was possible…to break down the barriers that separate the rich and the poor.

It's the first time the Congress got together and Democrats and Republicans voted sanctions and they overrode the veto and and the UN got together and England and France got together with Germany and Cuba and China  and the US.

 …we made it possible to get this far, but you have sung that there's no easy walk to freedom. And I hear Madiba saying, ‘we showed you the way’.

There is the capacity in this planet that the hungry can be fed that the naked can be clothed that the prophecy of Isaiah can be fulfilled in our lifetime if we keep on keeping on.”

--Andrew Young, Civil Rights Leader; Member of U.S. Congress; Mayor of Atlanta, GA; U.S. Ambassador; Minister and Businessman

(Excerpts from Andy Young’s remarks on the occasion of the Nelson Mandela Memorial Service at the National Cathedral, Washington, DC, 12/11/13)

A Prayer In Community…Jacqueline A. Thompson

Pastor Jacqueline Thompson, Allen Temple Baptist Church, Oakland, CA. Credit: Amir Aziz, Oaklandside.org

Preparation:

“We come to church in community because sometimes it takes more than just us. We are intergenerational because when I look at seasoned saints, I see how God helped them make it through. When I look at young people, I understand what my charge is: ...I have to help them make it through. But sometimes when you’re in the middle you wonder, ‘who is going to help me make it through?’ Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief.

“God is able to do just what he said he will do. He’s going to fulfill every promise to you. Don’t give up on God, cause he won’t give up on you. He’s able! He’s able!”

The Bible says if we come touching and agreeing concerning any matter...because sometimes you need to feel another real live human with blood in their veins to know that God is a keeper...

Prayer:

And So God we come right now as our ancestors would say, ‘in the onli-est way we know how’... We come to you because God literally, there is no other help we know.

You are the God of our weary years and the God of our silent tears. We come before you with bowed down heads and humble hearts because we don’t know what the future holds but we know you hold the future.

God, we’re tired. Some of us are tired of ourselves. But you told us that we could cast all our cares upon you cause your yoke is easy and your burden is light. So God help us! We don’t want to be inauthentic. Something has happened that has shaken us! And it’s because we don’t know that makes us concerned.

But God, won’t you remind us? You said you will never leave us, and you will never forsake us. Some of us are in deep pain. ...you are a balm in Gilead. We thank you for angels that are being dispatched to deal with their situation... We thank you, as the saint of old would say, ‘for being God, and being God all by yourself’.

Help us to keep our confidence in you, not just today but in the days to come. Give us to know that the best is still yet to come. Holy Spirit, fall fresh right now. Stir up the passion and the gift of God! Renew our spirits and our minds, and our body. Help us to seek after you and run on and see what the end is going to be.

And because we are a people of faith, we not gon wait till the battle is over. God, we’re going to shout right now. We are going to thank you for it right now. God is able!”

—Rev. Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson, B.A., MDiv, DMin; Preacher, Author, Administrator and Senior Pastor, Allen Temple Baptist Church, Oakland, California 

*Please note this prayer has been edited for this medium, but can be viewed below in its entirety along with the sermon delivered by Dr. Thompson on November 10, 2025 in Somerset, NJ. —Nona Ogunsula, Principal Creative, Liberty Ink and Founder, womenatliberty and #LeadershipTuesdays 

#LeadershipTuesdays--Leading With Empathy...Stephanie C. Hill

“We've been working [with] our team on something called psychological safety. And basically, psychological safety is saying that in this organization, you're free to bring up your ideas, you're free to question, you're free to speak truth to power without fear of reputational damage or retaliation or anything like that.

And in order to create a psychologically safe space, you have to treat people in a certain way. You have to treat people with compassion, empathy, you've got to give them grace.

You can be tough and have compassion…a compassionate empathetic leader. Being empathetic means… [that your perspective toward the person is…], ‘I understand what you're going through. I feel what you're feeling.’ Compassionate leadership means, ‘Not only do I feel what you're feeling, but I'm going to help you.’

So if we're going to help the people that we're privileged to lead, we have to show up for folks that can't represent themselves or can't fight for themselves. We have to do that. And we also have to help people around us to be better. We have to give constructive feedback. We have to give people constructive feedback in a way they can hear it. So they can take it on board and they can be stronger for it.”

—Stephanie C. Hill, President, Rotary and Mission Systems, Lockheed Martin Corporation

REPOST: My Prayer

My Prayer in times when words fail us:

Re-posting a prayer that I wrote over 15 years ago. The sentiment of the prayer really blessed  me and I hope it blesses you as well.
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Lord, there are places where we are not able to go, so we send your Spirit. There are hearts that we cannot touch, so we pray for the power and comfort of the Holy Spirit to minister to them. 

We also pray for those that will have the opportunity to minister and pray for those who are in need and broken-hearted. Give them wisdom. Help them to minister in a spirit of love, truth and restoration. 

In the name of Jesus, Amen. 

*Dedicated to the memory of Pastor Paul E. Sheppard who inspired this prayer. He past away on January 25, 2025 and my thoughts are with his family and church during this time of grief and gratitude for his life and ministry. 

Nona Ogunsula

The Type Of Leaders We Need To Be Developing…Martin Luther King, Jr.

“May I stress the need for courageous, intelligent, and dedicated leadership... Leaders of sound integrity. Leaders not in love with publicity, but in love with justice. Leaders not in love with money, but in love with humanity. Leaders who can subject their particular egos to the greatness of the cause.”

—Martin Luther King, Jr.