Saturday, July 27, 2013

Rainbows: The origin.......


Over the Rainbow
I was having a conversation with a coworker about the origin of rainbows.. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised to learn that he didn't know the origin of the rainbow, as out culture has twisted and attempted to pervert such a beautiful phenom. Let me first share the mention of it in the Bible :
 in Genesis, chapter 9 (8 thru 16), this very interesting account.
Much time passed, and the waters of the great flood finally receded, and Noah put his Ark on dry land. God spoke unto Noah, and to his sons with him saying:
And I, “Behold I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you. And, with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and every beast of the earth that is with you; from all that go out of the ark to every beast of the earth.
And, ” I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.”
And God said ” This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations.
” I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a token of a covenant between me and the earth.”
” And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud.”
“And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more be a flood to destroy all flesh.”
” And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember “the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth”.

Before you run around just going with everything you see and hear, you should do your research..... The rainbow represents a promise from God... not Pride that will come before the fall........ 

Thursday, July 25, 2013

"Blind Faith" & Why We Believe

The Holy Bible

I am seeing this terminology more and more in assumption that those of us that subscribe to be Christians, love God and desire to follow his written words to the best of our ability have "blind faith"...... As to say that we are not literate, coherent individuals with the ability to negotiate and reason truth.... The fact of the matter is that to truly believe and follow God is a choice... we are not brainwashed... we are not held captive with a gun to our head, that lead us to the conclusion that we should become Christians..... Many of us have experiences that have lead us this way.. we have seen things, been told things. We understand without a shadow of a doubt that God is real..... we read our Bibles and see the promises and words of God coming true. This is why we believe.. this is why we speak out.. this is why we take it seriously.. and try to warn those around us that we care for the ramifications of not acknowledging God and or implementing him into our lives. We understand that there is a price for all of our actions, and that it is wise to order our steps.. A prime example of this was the story of Noah. God instructed him to build the ark.. and the whole community heckled him and acted as if he was crazy... However when the day came when it began to rain, Noah was vindicated.. suddenly all the people that doubted him were begging for a spot on the ark, but the time was too late. Also in the parable of the Groom and the 10 virgins (Matthew 25:1-3), you will see an illustration of 5 virgins that prepared for a sudden arrival of the groom, and five virgins that were foolish and unprepared. It this example, they five that chose not to ready for their big day missed out..... So I share these points to make those that are ignorant; blatantly aware, that those of us real Christians...... ( I'm talking about the ones that won't apologize for God's word or have their own rendition... don't back down in the face of adversity, judge themselves by the same measures they judge you, serve and put actions with their beliefs) do not have 'blind faith'... we have sure faith. We are anchored by our Lord... we are certain in him, and like a tree planted by the waters... we shall not be moved.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Ode to the Raggedy Broad

Have you ever dealt with someone that was totally disillusioned with how important they really were? They believed in their mind that they were so special, and that anyone who didnt agree with them or condone their lifestyle.. was a hater? Do you know a woman that stirs up trouble with another and then doesn't wish to solve it.. detracting by either by getting other people involved or by arguing... Do you know someone that uses social media to add fuel to the fire, knowing they would NEVER say any of these false claims to the accused person's face? Well if you you answered yes to any of these questions..... you will feel my 'Ode to the Raggedy Broad'

Dear Ms. Raggedy,
We have had so many run ins... and I feel greatly misunderstood. You are always busy stirring up drama, never giving me a chance to speak. I believe that somewhere along the line, I gave you the impression that I cared about how you live your life and or who you date.... You believed that I spoke about you in your absence  when I never did.. Quite frankly... you thought much more of yourself than I ever did.... For the record, I look at your life as an example, If you dont have things that i aspire to get.. I would never expend too much time on you.. just to be honest. If you have a raggedy car, man or look.. consider yourself unimportant to me. Ask yourself in all honesty.. what do you have that someone else may desire to get? And if the woman that is 'hating' on you has more.. why would she be jealous.... if your man is a bum, who else besides you would want him? I mean, really? You stir up trouble with a person you KNOW will solve it just cause you crave attention. I want you to know for the first and last time... you are raggedy and unimportant... if anything you can learn from me.. I am what you have always tried to be.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Obviously a race thing..........

Cry Me A River

Daddy's Home

In the wake of all the emotion of the outcome of the Trayvon Martin case, I have felt compelled to state my thoughts on the whole fiasco....... Above I have placed two pictures of mega superstars Justin Timberlake & Usher... without a shadow of a doubt if the youth in the hoodie that Mr. Zimmerman was profiling was not of color, he would have not ended up dead on the sidewalk. I have a major problem that this man walked off scot-free for his crimes.. not even an involuntary manslaughter verdict was in order.... So in essence, this young man was killed in cold blood and no one is being held responsible. In my own ways, I have been provoked by white people and then reprimanded when I respond to them.. it is an un discussed occurrence that people of color endure on a daily basis... Now...... the truth of the matter is that I am the last person to claim the race card.. I am of an biracial background.... and I really wish that things could be judged equally in this world, but I know the reality.. however I don't think everyone does..... For instance all you ladies and gents with biracial children, you do know that they are black, right? If you happen to be white and you think that a young black man with a bag of skittles poses a threat, imagine that being the face of your own mulatto child.....cause as far as the world sees it...... they are black too (one drop rule).Perhaps it will take some mixed kids getting mistreated until we can see some widespread reform.... I understand that there is alot of black on black crime, but two wrongs don't make a right..... we can't allow these types of standards to be allowed in our country..... It opens the gates for more despair than you know..... I also want to know where all the celebrities that photographed themselves with their hood up are with their support.... It never ceases to amaze me that folks with so much influence and position, choose to keep to themselves on such crucial matters.. just goes to show why none of them should be regarded as role models.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Trendy

[TRENDY]

1.of, in, or pertaining to the latest    trend or style.
2.following the latest trends or fashions; up-to-date or chic: the trendy young generation.
3.appealing to faddish taste: a trendy hotel.
Sadly, I'm coming to realize exactly how trendy our society really truly is through social media... One minute everyone is obsessed with a certain topic.... the next minute they are discussing minute by minute updates to a T.V series.. and it never ceases to amaze me, how few at the same time are discussing other things, perhaps even serious, thought provoking matters. I can't tell you how many times I have been unaware of an event only to log on to my Facebook to be inundated with updates of some awards show, sitcom, breaking news.. but most often extraneous information....Most recently it has been the verdict of the Trayvon Martin case that has totally flooded social media, and is causes me to ask the necessary question...... Since so many people have strong feelings about what happened to the boy and the outcome of the case... why didn't anyone (including all the bloody celebrities that have been photographed wearing their hood up in the likeness of Trayvon) take up donations to afford Trayvon a proper legal counsel? Why all the banter after the fact..... but most importantly, why is it so crucial? Does anyone else see the other issues we have looming in our country? The blatant disrespect of our gracious God that provides? The fact of the matter is that NONE of us are completely innocent of anything.. we have all sinned and all fallen short. Now don't misconstrue where I'm going with this.. because I do not agree that someone should just have the right to aggress against someone, and then take their life once they decide to fight back.. but what I am saying is that these occurrences happen all the time. Racially based crimes and convictions/lack of convictions are threaded deeply in the American judicial system. I find it laughable that my peers ( and I do use the term lightly) thought that something would be different in this case.  In our media we watch the media slander victims and hero's alike.... the reason for such efforts is because drama sells.... everyone thrives off discord. Flowers & smiles don't 'trend' on yahoo.com, but Kim Kardashian and Boston Massacres' do..... We live in a world that 'feels' their way through, negating taking action, hence the disappointing outcome of this young man's case.... My charge to you is to start doing something.... if you 'feel' compelled about something....... DO SOMETHING........ Perhaps if some of these people in position would have taken action, the outcome could have been different. Perhaps is someone would have taken the time they wasted tweeting, and organized a fundraiser for his family...... they could have been afforded better legal counsel. We are collectively too stagnant for our own good.... and spilling our feelings all over the place. If you want something to change or improve... you WILL have to take action.


Saturday, July 13, 2013

P Square - Alingo [Official Video]


Not a Role Model......










I came across an article that stated some realities about Mrs. Beyonce Carter.. it was a letter addressed to our first lady Michelle Obama, and I couldn't agree more. Beyonce perpetuates the ultimate lifestyle in which you are a provocative woman that commands the most respect and lives out her dreams....  She continually laces her music with deceptive lyrics that delude so many women.... I want to share this open letter with you so that you can be the judge......... I can't tell you how many times I have heard women or girls say they aspire to have what she appears to have (romance, career, etc). She claims to be a Christian woman while never sharing the gospel. If you truly represent something, it must resonate in your life in some way besides just words.......

By Rakhi Kumar
Dear Michelle Obama,
I'm addressing this to you because I admire you. Because you're smart and a mum to two young girls. And you're the First Lady of the USA. And because you were recently quoted as saying that Beyonce is a great 'role model' to your two daughters, and because you recently tweeted, after the Superbowl, that you were 'so proud' of her. I'm writing because everything you do is admired and emulated by so many; but when you endorse a recording artist like Beyonce, I see the most misogynistic aspects of the music industry (that prefers girls to be no more complex than dolls) interpret your comments as a seal of approval for the thoughtless cultural currency that they flood the youth market with. I'm writing because I think it's time to stop suggesting to very young girls that ultimate feminine success - in the music industry or anywhere else - comes with the need, or the expectation for them to undress. 
When Beyonce kicked off her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour two nights ago, wearing her sheer bodysuit with nipples showing, to me she performed the final degradation of her talent; a retrogressive transformation that has taken someone stellar and otherworldly, and made them into something dreadfully familiar and sad.
Variations of Beyonce's body suit can be found in brothels, strip clubs, and red light districts across the world - where sex is for sale and it happens to be dispensed through a woman's body. That she is a human being with feelings and dreams, perhaps a sister, a mother, a leader, a teacher, a student - ALWAYS - a daughter - all of this can be forgotten. In those surroundings a suit like Beyonce's would look far from glamorous. Maybe just downright heartbreaking as a woman somewhere becomes an object, available for the gratification of a desire - at a price dictated by her 'managers'.
Next time you're presented with a shortlist of people in popular culture who you should spend time with or commend, think about how many young girls want to be just like Beyonce: Beyonce who sings 'Bow Down Bitch' and wears sheer bodysuits and high heels, singing about making money and being independent.
Remember that in the USA, the average age of a girl when she is trafficked for sex for the first time is 13.
 Remember that she's often brought into the 'life' by drug dealers who promise her a celebrity lifestyle, clothes like the ones Beyonce wears, and situations where she can live like Queen Bey: looking hot, being desired by alpha males, wielding power over others with her body and sexuality. 
Understand that in an obscene act of manipulation by the young men who will pimp them, for a very short amount of time - maybe only for a half an hour in one of their early encounters - young girls who are trafficked do actually get to taste the experience that they have identified as ultimate feminine success: they get given hot pants or body suits like the one Beyonce's dancing in, they dance for men who find them alluring, and for a very short time, these very young girls are convinced that they've made it - only to be assaulted, abused, and sometimes murdered in the years ahead, by the men who they thought wanted them.
Beyonce, performing in sheer body suits, nipples displayed, mouth open, high heels and sheer tights, shaking her butt on stage, can no longer be held by world leaders as an icon of female success.
Because for as long as she is, we are feeding a demonic myth that women must make themselves sexually available to enjoy ultimate success. And it is demonic because the impact this myth has on those most vulnerable young girls who fall pray to, is unimaginably horrible.
It can take years of a young girl's life away from her when she tries to escape a life of abuse at home by believing promises of money and glamor, sexual allure and power - a life just like the most successful women in the world; only to be sold for sex, beaten, and made addicted to drugs. It can take a chance of an educated, secure future away from her; and sometimes, if she can't find an exit - it can take her very life away from her.
Beyonce is a singer and a songwriter. She doesn't need to wear see through clothes or body suits to sing. We know that because we've seen her singing accapella in a hospital in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and - and she sounded like a celestial being from a different dimension.
She doesn't have to do this. She's choosing to. And she's not the first or only one woman to do it. And like the many women who have played this game the way they have, her reasons may be economic, artistic, personal or even misunderstood. But whatever her reasons, her influence cannot be underestimated or misunderstood.
It's time that young girls were sent a different message. A more refined, intelligent message. A message that engaged them at the level of their intellect and potential because implicit in our message to them should be the acknowledgement that they are naturally brilliant and that we believe that they are capable of everything - without ever having to undress to achieve their success.
The work here is to re etch the self image and self worth of young girls who think that sexualizing themselves is necessary to be powerful or successful.
 So please, let it be known that Beyonce is not a role model.
She may have a lot of money, and she may have enormous influence.
But she can no longer be called a role model.
(Unless you think it would be really cool for Sasha or Malia to follow her example and sing songs for people on a stage whilst wearing sheer gold glitter bodysuits detailing the contours of their body, under the management of their daddy and/or their husband).
Instead, call out those who deliberately allow their sexual identity to eclipse the genius of their spirit and sacredness of their soul. Tell young girls that they are more than that. Engage with artists who sing, dance, write, design, perform - but whose presentation centers on showcasing the brilliance of their brain, not their body.
 If I had daughters I'd tell them to pass on the Beyonce show because when you're wearing a sheer see through body suit with nipples on display, no matter how much gold thread in it - I don't see any light coming out of it. I just see a glowing ball of soullessness. 
I'd say to my girls: all that's gold doesn't glitter. Let's find something genuinely luminous…and take them to a Lorna Simpson exhibition, or a C.C White concert, or hand them a Zadie Smith book.

Friday, July 12, 2013

The descision

Sometimes in life, you will find yourself at an incredible crossroad. As a Christian you will look at both the natural and the spiritual, you will reference people of value in your life (parents, pastor, spouse, friends) yet the choice is still not clear. At this point, you will have to directly seek God for direction. This is not easy to do because you must first be honest with yourself to acknowledge that the situation has gotten to be too much for you to manage, and then because you have no idea what the Lord will say or the time frame in which he may answer you. Lastly, you must be prepared to accept what is communicated to you. My pastor has always advised that when you wrestle with choices, it is because you understand what must be done, but do not desire to do it, therefore you keep looking for an loophole. For every action there is a reaction.. Sometimes you will have to look at your problem as if it wasn't your own.. but as if you were an outsider looking in. Often we don't have problems advising others what they should do... and commonly the problems we experience are problems others have had before us. Try to be as wise as possible in your choices... because there is always a cost associated with it. the cost could be that the situation is challenging to enter, but will later be rewarding, although we usually will want to travel the easier road that leads us to harder times down the road.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

The More.....

You do... the more problems you will have. I know it is a harsh reality, yet it is the truth. People that want to shy from responsibility will end up living a life under their potential, and full of failure. I thought about my usual day.. full of things to do. Beginning with putting out fires at my corporate bank job, then managing my own janitorial business in the evening..... keeping up with an online eBay store, not to mention... finding time for exercise, beautification, and recreation... I am always on the go. However, there are plenty of rewards to go along with my many roles. Although doing nothing may look appealing.. the lack of resources and results are a major turn off... When people are searching for pretty much anything in life (car, mate, services, cell phone, businesses, travel locations, facilities to utilize for business or pleasure...etc) they always look for the option that has the most bang for their buck.. No one wants someone or something that is not operating up too par....... So my words today are twofold... First for my movers and shakers, out here working & establishing for their own future.. and the future of the world... Don't ever be discouraged by the foolish people that nickle and dime it... and seem to abuse the system, for they couldn't even benefit from all those programs even a fraction of what you gain by being proactive and ambitious.. and Secondly for those that are not operating at their proper level.. get motivated.. you are missing out on a more fulfilling life by living in your comfort zone.... #FoodForThought.

Monday, July 1, 2013

"I just don't fit in"

Classic words, uttered by many..... felt by countless. In which, what do you do? You look around you, and you feel that everyone belongs somewhere, but you never find your spot..... you can move to various places, disguise yourself, lie to yourself,take down, but inside the restlessness is unbearable. I have the answer for you.. and that is, you don't fit in because you are not meant too. I read this profound quote from Nigerian actress, Mercy Johnson, "All fingers are not equal, if you are in a position to help, you should do it with no hesitation." I then looked down at my fingers, realizing this truth.... no two fingers on a hand are equal, yet all of them are necessary. I would compare myself to the top finger..... cause i always stick out, lol.. People see me, and I garner alot of attention. It's hard up here though, because I see life with an ariel view.... I see whats going on as well as what is to come. It took me a long time to realize that others play a different part.... and are void of this special knowledge. Although very frustrating, it makes it all the more clear, why I am who I am.. and why my path takes me the places that I go. I recently took a trip to Bermuda... once I arrived, I was dismayed to find out that there was dissension between some family on the little tiny island.... yet before the end of my stay.. I overheard one of my cousins saying "It's crazy that it took Jeena coming all the way from Ohio, for us to see one another". It melted my heart....... so in closing.... Stop longing to be otherwise.. be who you are.. there is a dying need for you & I.