Psalm 145 (NIV)

I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name forever and ever.

Every day I will praise you
and extol your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
They tell of the power of your awesome works—
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.

The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
All your works praise you, Lord;
your faithful people extol you.
They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.
The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
Let every creature praise his holy name forever and ever.

Reflection

Psalm 145 tells of how good our God is, how wonderful and perfect His care is for us, how faithful He is, and how mighty His salvation is. This is our God! He gives us so many reasons to sing praises about Him, so many reasons to share the wonder and awe of Him with those around us. He is truly is God, our God who is slow to anger and rich in love. Furthermore, His kingdom is one that will endure throughout all generations. Read it all again…and again.May this be the expression of our lives in worship!

Responding to the Transmission

In prayer and praise, come before the Lord and thank Him for all He has done for us this week and how gracious He has been in our lives. Re-read Psalm 145, out loud if you can, and this time in prayerful praise to Him, making it personal and real. (See example below.)

I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name forever and ever.

Every day I will praise you
and extol your name forever and ever.

Great are You Lord and most worthy of my praise;
Your greatness I can’t fathom.

Etc…

Today and throughout this weekend, praise the Lord this way and let these worship-filled truths shape your life and deepen your love.

 Mark is a junior studying Sociology. 

“I couldn’t tell you the meaning of existence. It’s different for everyone I suppose. I can tell you this though. The happiest moments of my life have occurred in a room full of difference, of unknown beginnings and uncertain ends. I’ve never been happier than when I’m meeting someone new. I’m an explorer, you could say, but I explore the landscape of human experience. Every conversation is a new expedition, a new chance to discover the unknown. That is what Diversity means to me. It’s the fuel of my spiritual economy.”

*The Diversity Educator Interns are undergraduate and graduate students who  co-facilitate cross-cultural and diversity awareness discussions and educational workshops across campus.

Q. What made you get involved with The Mosaic Center as a Diversity Educator Intern?

A. I found an advertisement for UMBC Talks, and after attending one I saw the smokin' cool "Meet the DEIs" board in the Mosaic Center. So I inquired about what exactly a DEI was, and I thought it'd be cool to learn about diversity education.

Q. What's your favorite moment as a DEI so far?

A. We were doing a presentation about cross-cultural communication, and within five minutes of being there this guy, this top-dog, let the entire class know that he "did work" with women. It was very funny.

Q. What has surprised you most about working in a Center for Culture and Diversity?

A. I was really surprised by how much the position has broadened my ability to think outside the box.

Q. Do you find anything challenging about being a DEI? If so, explain.

A. There haven't really been too many difficulties thus far although I'd like to increase the number of different workshops we have to offer.

Q. What might someone be surprised to know about you?

A. Well, I'm secretly a legendary Go-Kart Racer. Also, once upon a time my goal in life was to be a Loli-Pop kid from The Wizard of Oz. One Halloween I dressed up as one of those happy midgets, and I basically chugged helium so that I could keep the voice all night.

Q. What's it like to be a Diversity Educator Intern for The Mosaic Center?

A. Imagine that your mind is a treasure chest with a lock on it, but inside that chest there are a thousand little miniature boxes with locks on them too. Inside every box is a gem, an idea waiting to be discovered. The cool thing about being a DEI is that you get the key to open the big chest, and if you're lucky you can pop open a couple of those mini-boxes too.

Q. When you aren’t performing DEI duties, what are you most likely doing?

A. I like stories. Whether they're written, spoken, or in some cinematic form, I spend most of my free time seeking out cool stories. I really enjoy meeting new people too, so I spend a lot of time just walking around and looking for interesting people to start up conversations with.

Q. How would (someone) describe you?

A. How many words can they use to describe me? Most people would probably label me as sarcastic with a melodic voice. (Melodic is such a cool word) I try to base my actions off of the people I'm surrounded by at the time, so I adapt myself to whoever I'm with.

Q. What do you wish other people knew about The Mosaic Center?

A. I wish they knew about all the cool events that The Mosaic Center co-hosts and sponsors, such as UMBC Talks.

Q. What would you say are some of your strongest beliefs about diversity?

A. Whether you want to acknowledge it or not, it exists. If you want to make friends, form bonds, and maybe seek out future family members, you have to know how to relate to people. So how do you relate to people? You can't do it by assuming that everyone thinks like you do on every issue. You have to be prepared to discuss things, to change your mind, to learn about new ways of living. Basically, you have to be willing to open your "treasure chest" of a mind and let things in.

Q. What's your personal philosophy on what should be done about promoting communal diversity and inclusion?

A. Step 1: Relax. If someone says or does something that offends you, you have to realize that more often than not it's not on purpose. People don't often go out of their way to annoy people they don't even know. I know it seems that way sometimes, but people are generally good. The moment you're angry, the moment you write them off, is the moment you lose. You could've just lost a lifelong friend or a true love--whatever that is.

Step 2: Listen. Before you voice your opinion, see what someone else has to say. Maybe you disagree with them completely, but the first step to understanding something is to acknowledge that it's worth your time. You do that by listening.

Step 3: Don't try to "fix" stuff. You can't solve difference. It's not something that can be overcome. It's something to be appreciated and welcomed. New ideas always make the end result better.

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Want to know more? Contact mosaic@umbc.edu - to request a workshop for your group or org complete a workshop request form! http://my.umbc.edu/groups/themosaic (form must be submitted at least two weeks in advance)

Khristina is a senior studying Anthropology with a minor in Sociology. In addition to her studies, she participates in several extracurricular activities, particularly those that have to do with volunteerism, activism, and social justice. Currently, she is a member of SGA’s Service & Volunteer Activism department, Vice-President of the student org Students Abolishing Slavery, and a Campus Ambassador for the organization “Half the Sky,” which raises awareness about the oppression of women and girl’s worldwide and works to turn the oppression into opportunity.

*The DEIs are undergraduate/graduate students who co-facilitate cross-cultural & diversity awareness discussions & educational workshops across campus.

Q. What made you get involved with The Mosaic Center as a Diversity Educator Intern?

A. I wanted to be a DEI because I felt that in this position I would be able to foster cultural sensitivity, openness, and unity on campus by educating my classmates on issues of diversity and intercultural communication.

Q. What's your favorite moment as a DEI so far?

A. My favorite moment so far has been spending time with my fellow DEIs. They are all great people!

Q. What has surprised you most about working in a Center for Culture and Diversity?

A. I’m surprised by how much work is put into teaching people about culture and diversity. There is a lot of planning involved in developing the presentations and the materials used in them.

Q. Do you find anything challenging about being a DEI? If so, explain.

A. Sometimes it is difficult to balance my DEI duties with my student duties. There have been times outside of my internship hours where I have been thinking about my duties as a DEI when I should have been focusing on homework.

Q. What might someone be surprised to know about you?

A. I don’t think there is much about me that would surprise people, as I’m a pretty honest and open person.

Q. What's it like to be a Diversity Educator Intern for The Mosaic Center?

A. Since this is only the second semester of the program there are a few kinks to be worked out, which can be frustrating at times. For the most part though, it’s great. I feel that through the presentations we put on I’m becoming more confident in my public speaking and I’m learning important skills such as how to successfully interact with an audience and how to be a better teacher.

Q. When you aren’t performing DEI duties, what are you most likely doing?

A. Homework and extracurricular activities such as, Anthropology Council of Majors, Oxfam Club, Amnesty International Club, and SGA Service & Volunteerism executive board!

Q. How would (someone) describe you?

A. People would describe me as extremely motivated, friendly, and outgoing.

Q. What do you wish other people knew about The Mosaic Center?

A. I would like my fellow students to know what The Mosaic Center is and what we do! So many of them still have to ask, which makes me sad. We offer a lot of great programs and the space is available for them to make it their own. I wish students would come inside and eat lunch, talk to friends, and do homework.

Q. What would you say are some of your strongest beliefs about diversity?

A. I believe that diversity should be something that brings us together instead of separates us. We are all different and we should celebrate these differences and experience what life is like for those who are unlike us.

Q. What's your personal philosophy on what should be done about promoting communal diversity and inclusion?

A. I believe that talking about racism, sexism, discrimination, prejudice etc. is the only way that communal diversity and inclusion will succeed.

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Want to know more? Contact mosaic@umbc.edu - to request a workshop for your group or org complete a workshop request form! http://my.umbc.edu/groups/themosaic (form must be submitted at least two weeks in advance)