L-O-V-E.......Hmmmmm?

'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.' This is a famous quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson. I have been pondering this quote for quite a bit of the day. I really wish that I could have a word with Mr. Tennyson to see just exactly what he meant by this statement. I would have a few questions for him. For example, if I never loved and didn't know what it felt like, what would I really miss? This is like telling a child that cotton candy is great, melts in your mouth and leaves a sugary goodness that dances on your taste buds. If that child never experiences the sweet satisfaction of cotton candy, what has the child missed? I would ask Mr. Tennyson, what about those who have loved and lost and never regained or found love again? Is it really great to have had such a feeling that can't be explained only to have it snatched from you, never to be returned again? How do you deal with the agony of the void that is left? Then I would want to know which love he was referring to. Is this in relationship to spousal love, family love, parent/child love, etc? All of which can be quite different but yet equally passionate.

I am wondering if true love really exist in this day and age. Is there a love that is so great and deep that someone is grateful just for the experience even if it doesn't last? (and if it doesn't last can it really be identified as true love) Are marriages today built on this same love? If so, what happened to that love that somehow ended and contributed to the 50% divorce rate? I believe that type of love can be obtained but you have to choose to love. You also have to work hard to keep love, or do you? Did this love die with Tennyson? My inquiring mind needs to know.

Time Waits For No Man

I just had the worst wake up call yesterday. I realized that I am actually getting old. My son and I were watching a movie, Julie and Julia, and there was a scene in the movie that flashed "2002" as the time frame. Well my son looks at me with his doe eyes and says, "Mom is that the way it looked back then in 2002?" This threw me for a moment. "Back then" kept resonating in my head. "Back then?", I started asking myself. I mean for me, "back then" represents the 50's, 60's, maybe even the 70's. "Back then" was a question that I asked my own mother. Surely "back then" has not traveled through time ran ahead of me, turned around and smacked me into reality! Unfortunately, it had. I then thought well maybe he is trying to be funny. He just wanted to throw a little playful jab with his words, but then it dawned on me. My child was born in November 2001. Therefore, he sincerely meant, "back then". Talk about a ton of bricks that jolts you into reality! I could not believe that I am now answering a "back then" question. This lit a fire in me that will not be quenched. We only live once. We have to live life to the fullest. We must accomplish our goals and conquer our fears. Once time is gone, it can never be regained. Life goes on, time moves on, but when ours is up, it's over. Carpe Diem - Seize the day!

Train Up a Child...

I am really perplexed at the mindset of so many people. Not only that, I am realizing that the seeds we plant as parents to our children is so much more important than what is stressed. What happens in childhood flows into adulthood. If that misfit child grows to be a troubled adult with children, its descendants are duplications of dysfunction. Day in and day out I talk with people who lack ambition, intelligence, and zeal. For example, I spoke with a young lady who was looking for a job. She told me that she was looking for a position in a grocery store. I know it takes all kinds to make up the world we live in, and I also know that if we didn't have people to work the grocery stores we would have even longer lines and more disgruntled customers. However, her reasoning for wanting a position in the grocery store was because her mom worked at the grocery store for her entire life and she retired from there. That may have worked for her, but why not aspire to be more? Maybe its my upbringing that causes this uneasiness. It is so hard for me to fathom anyone not wanting to excel beyond the norm and excel beyond where you or your preceding generations have been. What we model to our children will determine their mindset as adults. They mimic our moves when we don't know it. Every comment that we make in general conversation or when we are handling business shapes and molds the mindset of the ones to come. We must push our children and even the children that we have not birthed to strive and thrive! They have to know that the life we live is only a pillar in their impending success. It is meant to be the boost to help achieve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Therefore, the cycle never ends. We must do what we can to be the best stepping stone for the generations to follow. He have to provide good footing for the mountains and obstacles that lay wait for our children. Preparation, education, execution, and wisdom are all needed components to becoming the wind beneath their wings. We must get busy! I concur with the lyrics of Whitney Houston's The Greatest Love of All, "I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way."

Oh Be Careful Little Mouths What You Say

I was sitting at a table with a group of spirit filled believers one day and they were discussing a young lady. They talked about how this young lady was 38 years of age and had about 15 or 16 children. The children ranged in age from 4 months old to 20. They talked about the fact that the lady had to drive a 15 passenger van to carry the children from place to place. By the time the conversation ended these people had already doomed the lady to never having a peaceful day. She would not be able to survive financially and she would be dead before 60 years of age. We must understand the importance of being watchful over what we say. The Bible says that the power of life and death are in the tongue. Therefore, whatever we say can bring life or death to our situations. The Bible also says to speak those things that be not as though they were. Meaning we can create situations, blessings, curses, just by speaking a thing. That is powerful! We are all guilty of this act, including myself, but this particular situation served as an eye opener for me. We can be really quick to speak negatively about individuals. People have a hard enough time trying to make it as it is. They do not need to have our words hovering over them and bringing impending doom.

THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FEAR ITSELF

In my line of work I see people daily that are in despair. Some are hanging to that last string of hope, some have simply given up. When I say something like, "God has not forgotten you" or "It will get better" or anything like that, they seem to grimace in pain. Some immediately shut down and their dropped head and drooped shoulders secretly whispers what lingers in their mind and soul, "God doesn't care about me". I am guaranteed to hear the question daily, "What am I going to do" as the person's eyes hopefully search my face awaiting my answer. This is a challenging position to find yourself in. I often times feel like Peter when he spoke to the lame man in Acts 3:6, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have, give I thee..." Meaning, I don't have money to give you, nor do I have a tangible solution, but what I have to give you will keep you when money can't.

I believe that there is a terrorist on the loose and it lives amongst us. It lies dormant and just as 'sleepers', it awakes at the most inopportune time. I discovered the name of the terrorist and it is, FEAR. People are afraid. When 9/11 happened there was a seed planted throughout the land. Some think we have recovered and that it is just a mark in the timeline of US history. It is so much more. People may feel more safe due to the publicised efforts of Homeland Security, but there is a disparity that lingers. The majority have gotten over the fear that we are going to one day go out and be blown away by some type of bombing, but a new branch of fear came on the scene. This descendant of fear caused people to become afraid that they will now be blown away in the financial hurricane that brings floods of stress as they drown in debt. The Obama Administration is bringing a ray of hope, but the damage is done, and truthfully, some will never make it. There is a system that is more so now than ever before of "haves" and "have nots". Daily congressional laws are being implemented, employment trends set, and banking procedures revamped that will all contribute to a silent caste system. However, there is no need to fear these aspects. If we allow fear to dominate us, we will be debilitated and forever paralyzed. Even though we see things are a certain way, we must be determined not to succumb to our present circumstance whatever it may be. God sees and knows all and has plans for us. He also has given each of us a talent and gift that will provide for us. We must find what that gift is and apply it to our lives and not shy away from taking risk.

We can not put our worth in what job we hold or the material things we have obtained. President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated in his Inaugural Speech on March 4, 1933, "So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." He made this statement when the Nation was at its lowest. We were in the height of the Depression and it was a dark moment for all who lived in the US. It was amazing to me when I researched his speech that he said some of the same things that I aforementioned. This was 77 years, 1 month, and 3days ago. It was the same season, Spring. The Nation and all therein was on a crucial and pivotal period of birthing, as we are right now. I challenge you to remember that fear grips your every being and there truly is no need to fear. At this moment we should have already planned the next move for evolution and we should be implementing and executing this plan now. If you have not made the move, do it now. Don't be fooled by the scare tactics, instead, call FEAR's bluff and excel!

Why Did I Get Married Too?

I went to see Why Did I Get Married Too yesterday. I had a pleasant experience. It was a good movie, but with every Tyler Perry film there are many critics laying in wait to pounce on it before the credits can finish rolling. The comments people make about Tyler Perry movies are amazing to me. They often say, he should have developed this portion more, or I would have done it this way. In actuality, the majority of the people who make such absurd comments would not have a clue how to begin creating a story line. Instead of bashing the next person, society must find a way to uplift and encourage the efforts of our brethren. The movie was good to me and with all movies and things it is a matter of opinion. Tyler Perry always delivers a central message with everything he does. Whether it is a play, sitcom, or movie. His message screams loud and clear in this latest production. Instead of finding what is wrong in the movie and with the movie, I believe everyone should listen to the message and apply it to our lives. I applaud him for his most recent accomplishments and wish him the very best.

Don't Take It Personal!

I am baffled as I watch the daily news, read social network post, or simply eavesdrop around the water cooler. The passions continue to soar when it comes to health care reform and other political dilemmas. The Obama Administration is one of the most intriguing Administrations in quite some time. There are those who normally would not care about the political debates, State of the Union addresses, and House and Senate votes, who actually follow every move now. There is a heightened sense of responsibility to the nation that never before existed. Some may argue that this inflation is more so in the African-American community, but I have noticed this trend in all genders, creeds, and colors. However, I happen to believe that this Administration represents so much for so many people that people begin to take anything done or said personally. Whether it is some conservative screaming our Nation’s leader is a liar, or someone in Smalltown, USA willing to physically come to blows if there is one contrary utterance against Obama’s leadership and decisions. People have taken a stand. I believe that people have found what democracy was intended to do. It has given a voice. They have identified themselves and raised their voices in a unanimous cry…WE THE PEOPLE of the United States…! People are raised differently and in different eras. Cultures dictate our views and acceptance of what is right and what is wrong. When things are said or done that are against their belief system and upbringing, it is viewed as an attack on their person. Therefore, the defenses are raised and people go into a mode of protection. I believe that people view this Administration as an attack on everything they are founded on. Change in the eyes of some means that their parents and others in preceding generations were wrong. Change simply denotes evolution. It is OK to disagree, but when "politics goes postal" there is a line that must be drawn. Death threats to lawmakers and politicians for favorable votes is a bit much. The Word of God says in Matthew 12:25 and Mark 3:25 a house that is divided against itself will not stand. I personally believe that this applies to our Nation as well. Many moons past it was established that we are of course, One Nation, Under God, Indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for All! scheduled 11:40:00 AM by Dinah Delete