What I Learned Today: Woven into my bday!

Today is my birthday!! 

I have always been the type that has been excited about my birthday. It's another year that I have gotten to see that many of my family and peers didn't get to see.

Many people asked what did I do today. And I must say, I did NOTHING, and it felt GREAT. I also got my very first massage. And let me tell you, if you haven't gotten one yet, you need to get on the "good-foot" and see about going to get one!

I told my mother I was going to get one, and her first response was "don't get deep tissue". I'm like awww ma, I'll be fine. She warned me at least 3 times. Then it was followed by that famous "Awright"...as in "Look, I done told you...".

I should have listened. *ouch* my muscles are so tender! All I can think about is getting to my bed and having a heating pad put on my back lol.

Oh another stand out thing happened. Usually every morning, I wake up and say Thank You Jesus, read my scripture for the day, and tell the hubby "Good morning baby". Well today was a little different. My husband got the kids up, and they sneaked into the room. And with a bunch of energy, belted out "Happy Birthday To You"...it was the greatest sight to wake up to. Man, I love my family! After that, I rolled over to read, and it was the verse in Acts that speaks of how because he has life, he's going to spread the news of Jesus. I thought that was such a "happy birthday, now get up and do my work" from the Lord...that's just like Him LOL

What I Learned Today: A massage is SO awesome, it will make you want to leave humming and singing a new tune!

Not matter how old you are - listen to your mother!!

God allows us to live to accomplish His will.

What I learned today: Don't have a broken radar!

So a lot of people have been on this whole Iyanla Vanzant kick.

I have had a problem with her for a while, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then she did her dog and pony act on Oprah to get in her good graces - and BAM! She has her own TV show on O's network...strange? Not really.

If we look at this spiritually, we will see, that satan can't divide his house...he wants his kingdom to stand. So uniting those two wasn't anything unusual.

Here's a lil something on Ms Vanzant. Unbeknownst to many, she is a Yoruba Priestess (http://www.ifafoundation.org/iyanla-vanzant) And no, the "god" she talks about is not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. She does not have Him in her, so she can not speak truth - no matter how "sweet" it sounds.

It pains me to see so many people breathing her in - especially Christians. This lets me know that their "radar" is broken. If you are studying God's word, when something isn't true, it should pop right out at you. Tonight she said ""Healing is not easy. And, sometimes you must be willing to lose everything in order to gain yourself" and the response of a "Christian" woman was "Iyanla is on FIYA'!!!"....but what's wrong with this statement? Again, remember it sounds good...but it's not true. It's directly contrary to God's word...

""For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matt 16:26

This life is NOT about you gaining yourself...it's about denying self and dying daily to self "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Matt 16:24.

What I learned today: be careful of what you let in your spirit. Satan is clever...he comes sweet and innocent and wrecks shop once he has your trust. Don't give him a centimeter b/c he won't take a mile...he'll take your life.

Know your BIBLE and the God of it!

 

What I Learned Today: Why there's a friggin SAVE button!

You won't believe this! I had a WHOLE POST laid out...pressed ONE button and it's GONE!

What I learned today...there's a "save" button for a reason....grrrrrr

GN!

What I Learned Today: Stuff in the last 6 days.

It has been five - wait, SIX whole days since I last blogged. For one of those days, I was so medicated, and out of it that I don't remember if I learned anything.

I did learn though:

When it comes to migraines...stop trying "new stuff" and do what works!

Most people don't want to hear the truth.

When you ask God for something, don't think that you know how He's going to respond.

Taking a break from church doesn't mean that you're taking a break from God.

Thomas Jefferson isn't who most ppl thought he was, but this country is everything I thought it to be.

In a quest for equality, sometime innocent people are used as pawns.

There's more, but I'm so tired!! I actually restarted my "work out routine" since I had to miss a few days last week. And I can definitely tell my body was working today!!

On that note, good night! :-)

What I Learned Today: TV vs Reality...

So, I was one of millions that watched the DNC today. Although I side with no one, I felt compelled to watch for several reasons - some being, I like the entertainment, people watching, and the speeches.

So I watched Mrs Obama and first off, I must say, that her makeup artist, beautician, and stylist need a raise! I remember when she first took the national stage - one thing that constantly killed me were those eyebrows!! But they are tame now, and her edges are slick and her hair is bouncy. Love it! But that DRESS...can we say SUPER CUTE?? On a scale of 1-Fab, I give it a FABULOUS (that's 5 more letters than "fab" so that's saying something!)

Second, I must say - this is a woman who loves her man! You could see it all in the way she talked and in her body language. No doubt, there is some strong lovin' between the two. If things are rocky on the inside, you would NEVER know. They show what families of old used to be like - not this crap on TV. Which leads me to my point....

LADIES (single and married)....we are going to get enough of letting TV define what our marriages and relationships "should" be like. With shows like "The Bachelor" and "Love and Hip Hop" women are getting a skewed view of what real love is! It's NOT about materialistic things - it's not even about sex (pick up your mouths; yes, I know it's hard to believe). We spend so much time looking on the outside - and what a man can "give us" that if he can't give us what we expect to have - we skip right over him. Taking cues from these shows will leave us lonely b/c we will be chasing something forever that DOES NOT EXIST in a REAL relationship!

A REAL relationship consists of the two of you meeting each other right where you are, and growing together. It requires patience, kindness, not being boastful or prideful. It's not about being jealous of each other or each other's success. It's not about being RUDE to each other and calling each other out of your names when you are around or not around each other. It's not about being selfish and wanting your own way, it's not about being irritable and argumentative, and it's definitely not about keeping "score" on who was wrong and how many times. Do you want to know what it's REALLY about? Well, here's a clue, it's the opposite of ^^^that! *for bible readers out there, this should sound familiar. If you aren't read: 1 Corinthians 13:3-5 in the Holy Bible*

One thing that struck me is that Michelle recounted a time when the president would pick her up and an old rusted out car. She said she could see the street whizzing by through a hole in the door. Had she taken her cues of what a "man" is supposed to be like - she wouldn't be the 1st lady.

What I learned today: Keep messing around with TV shows and their definitions of relationships and women will find themselves lonely, crushed, and will miss THEIR next president.

What I learned today: Parenting and God

Sometimes vacation days mess me up. For the most part today, I kept thinking today was Sunday. Imagine my surprise and delight when it finally registered in my mind that tomorrow was Tuesday!! :-D  A four day week - that's cool!

We spent our labor day together as a family...in a good and bad sense of  "spent together". Good in the fact that both the hubby and I got to take our children to a park they had been begging to go to. We went and the park had been remodeled. My daughter asked "why would they do that and not talk to anybody???" LOL Apparently, the county needs to discuss important playground matters with her first. smh...

While at the park, our daughter climbed up a ladder. The only way down was either go back down the ladder (which wasn't possible as there were a  line of kids behind her) or hold on to a bar and swing off. She had done something like that before in gymnastics classes - but for some reason, the technique eluded her. We gave instructions to her on how to get down, but she cried, and refused to listen. Out of her fear, she wanted to do it her way, instead of how we told her. We fussed, we encouraged, we threatened...nothing worked. We assured her that if she fell, we were both right there and we would catch her. Other kids were standing either cheering or in suspense. This went on in the hot sun for at least 10 minutes. After all of this, she finally did what we instructed, and got down just as easily as she got up.

After having her go clean her face of tears and snot, we asked "now, was that so hard?" Her response was "No. But I was scared."  That conversation quickly reminded me of a comic strip:

             A man was mountain climbing. Suddenly he lost his grip, and fell. His rope finally stopped him and
             he prayed "Lord. Please help me!" He heard the Lord say "Let go."  He said "No Lord! I'm
             scared!". The Lord said "Let Go." Again, the man wouldn't out of fear. Because it was night fall, it
             got cold. The man started freezing. The next morning, two climbers walked by and noticed a man,
             hanging from a rope, frozen and dead, just two inches from the ground.

Well, after that ordeal, I made her do it again. And we had the exact same situation happen. She refused to listen to us out of fear. The crying and snotting began. She eventually did it though, and a little bit faster than the last time. We sent her to the bathroom to clean her face again, and my husband and I sat and talked. I was steaming mad - mainly because I don't like it when my kids show fear unnecessarily. And two, b/c it seemed as if she didn't trust us. And my husband said "hmmm....I wonder if that's how God feels. When we don't trust Him, and we want to do things our way." Touche dear husband....touche.....

What I learned today: The frustration you feel in parenting your child, is probably the same frustration God feels in parenting you.

What I learned today: Weekend Edition

This weekend was a doozy. On Saturday, the kids got to go with their grandma and aunts to a family reunion. What did my husband I and do with our day of freedom?? Grocery shopping! Oh yes! That time when you can get what you need (and maybe a few wants) without having to say "put that back" "put that down" "Get offa there!" "Girl, leave your brother alone!" "Girl, please go get your brother" "No, we are not getting that" "We already have that at home" "GET DOWN FROM THERE!!"

Yes, shopping is so much easier without them there - although, I do love our time together - it's just not conducive! So yes, the hubby and I spent our alone time reading labels on boxes, finding the organic section in a new store, walking aisles, and leisurely talking and shopping together.

But, we had to stop and ask ourselves....are we lame? Most parents (we assume) would have went off and had an adventure! Some may have gone to another city, gone scuba diving, sailed with dolphins! Well, ok, I'm exaggerating. But still - we're sure that some parents would have had WAY more fun than we did....

What I learned today: Even when we have "time off" and the kids are gone, they still are my husband and my priority. 2. We do need some hobbies. 3.Shopping shouldn't be so stressful.


I want a vacation. A time where partly I an relax, but the majority, I can get up, get out the door and see all there is to see. There are others in my family - and not - that see things totally different. For them, vacation means turning into a vegetable, and if their body permits, get up, dressed and try to make it to something before they close the doors 10minutes before closing time. That's not my idea of vacationing!

What I learned today: For some, vacationing means doing absolutely nothing. While for others, it means doing all that there is humanly possible within 24 hours time!