La Bella Bargainista: Ad 1

Hello Ladies!

(Sorry Guys. This segment is exclusively for my Ain't-No-Recession-Gonna-Keep-Me-From-Being-Fly Sisters!)

Don't you look lovely! Look atcha. Hair did. Toes painted. Face graced. Like me, you are a beautiful woman who has learned to appreciate your aesthetic uniqueness. You delight in all girlie treats including, but not limited to, lip gloss, nail lacquer, smell goods and such. Bottom line, you love yourself and you understand that your outward appearance is a reflection of this reality. Consequently, you are committed to keeping up your appearance. Period. Recession Smession. Even on 3/4, 1/2, or 1/4 of your normal budget you've found creative ways to keep    

The Doll in order.   Brava, My Dear, Brava. *curtsies*

With the series, "La Bella Bargainista" I intend to assist you with this all-important task. Each entry, or "Ad" will feature beauty tips and/or prudent finds, all in the spirit of helping you maintain your look for less.

Before we launch our maiden voyage, some definition. I'm a former Spanish teacher who makes some attempt to stay abreast of pop culture. The title of this series is an amalgamation of these interests. La Bella is Spanish for "the beautiful" and Bargainista is, well, Pop for "a woman who passionately and skillfully pursues sales and savings." Let's get started. The aisles deals are waiting!

1. The Dollar Menu. That's right, one George Washington (plus tax) can land you any of the following at your local $ Tree or beauty bargain bin.



Nails Loud

Eyes A-Glam

Lip Gloss Poppin'

2.  Two Peas in a Pod.  Yep, just 2 buckaroos at one of those Huge Lot stores.



Beauty Captured



Feet Pampered

3.  Three's A Crowd.  Dig deep in those couch cushions and pull out 12 more quarters.

Lips Sealed

Soul Windows Secured

Alright, Beauties.  I hope you're encouraged and inspired.  Happy Hunting!

Another Perspective

This is very Twilight Zone-ish, but all so Earthly . Rare, but all so Attainable. Challenging, but all so Inspiring. Enjoy!

AM 91 Radio: Lindsey Isham - Full Interview from Lindsey Isham on Vimeo.

* See an earlier post for more about Lindsey and more sex talk.

Just Wait

Just Wait...
For me too.
I am real.
I am your promise.
Though the distance,
Between us,
Seems,
So grand,
I am yours,
Already.
Hold on to His Word.
Remember His Promise.
Be comforted,
Sustained by His faithfulness.
He cannot lie.
I am yours.
Just Wait.

Stream of Consciousness #3

Panic. Worry. Fear.

What to do? What to do?

This song just popped in my head: "I will trust in the Lord, I will trust in the Lord..."

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5,6

Lord, help my unbelief.

Stream of Consciousness #2

It's been a while. Haven't kept up with the everyday thing, but I am progressing. Slower than I'd like, but progressing. Way to the plus side. I'm changing. I feel faith rising inside of me. I hear destiny screaming and I am awakening to meet her. The last 4.5 years of my life have been a hellacious maze. Haven't known where to go, what to do, how to go about making my dreams manifest. To my chagrin (I'll have to check the spelling on that later) at times I've just stood still. But I hear, see something clearly brewing. I am ready to make the most of its appearance. I will run toward this unction. I will embrace it completely. I will launch my wholeself into this purpose, into this season. I KNOW my dreams are becoming my reality. I sense Divine synchronization. I will harness my best and thrust myself forward.

Haiti Restored Pt. 3

I have longed to touch the people of Haiti since first hearing of January 12th's devestating earthquake. My heart has ached, yearned to be with them, to help them, to heal. In my two previous Haiti Restored posts you can see that I have prayed, I have studied, I have prepared my heart and mind to serve the Haitian people.

The time has come. The time is now. I'm going to Haiti!

It is my turn to be the restorer...of peace, comfort, joy, and hope to the beautiful people of Haiti.

I will travel to Haiti not once, but at least twice this year. First* from July 24-Aug. 5th in conjunction with Courageous Church, an incredible church in Atlanta, GA (www.courageouschurch.tv) that is partnering with Northwest Haiti Christian Mission (www.nwhcm.org) for two life-altering weeks of service.

The chance to serve with Courageous Church is a sudden and welcomed opportunity, one I have been praying for. One I want to share. You may not be able to travel to Haiti and touch the people, you may not be able to look into their eyes, but you can support the work.

Will you join me in RESTORATION? Will you serve? Will you give?

I have been working diligently to raise funds for the trip since I first learned about it on June 28th, but I still need your help. The basic cost is just $500. Absolutely incredible! This includes airfare to and from Haiti, transportation in Haiti, travel insurance, meals, basic medical care, and security. This does not include travel to and from Atlanta or immunizations. With these added expenses the total cost will approximate $1,000. My first deposit of $100 is due on July 4th. The remaining balance is due on July 17th.

My dream of helping the Haitian people will only be a reality with your financial support. Will you help me serve?

Any donation, no matter the size, would be greatly appreciated and eternally invested.

Thank you for your consideration, prayers, and support!

Goal: $1000
Amount Raised: $500

*I am planning to travel to Haiti with a local ministry in the fall and have aspirations to return with students from my afterschool program during their spring break in 2011. I'll keep you posted (pun fully intended) on details regarding these future trips as well as the book, yep, I said book, my kids have written in support of the Haitian people.

To Ph.D. or Not to Ph.D?

Convictions...

I'm dying to go back to school! I sincerely miss having academic community and learning, studying in an organized, structured fashion. I LOVE school and I always have. After completing my first day of kindergarten I told my mom, "Pack my bags. I want to live at the school!" I was dead serious. I fell in love the moment I stepped in the door and nothing has ever changed. I LOVE to learn. I LOVE to discover. And I believe it's time to take the next formal step in my academic career.

Complications...

I live in Smalltown, USA. The university nearest me doesn't offer doctorate the programs I'm most interested in or believe would most fit my career goals. I would like to pursue a doctorate of philosophy in either education, educational psychology, or diverse learning. I believe completing such study would prepare me to achieve my goal of developing prototypes of schools that cater intentionally, and acutely to students' respective learning styles, placing them in classrooms with teachers who have been trained to teach to a particular learning style. For example, kinetic learners would be placed in classrooms with teachers who know how to keep it movin'. My theory is that by placing each child in a classroom tailored to their specific academic needs, each child will be given maximum opportunity to learn and in turn maximum opportunity to fulfill their potential. I do not know if completing my doctorate in educational leadership and organizational development will afford the same opportunites. I feel stuck.

I know what I want to do, but don't know how to get there.

Confessions...

I'm afraid. Afraid of nothing working out. Afraid that if I were accepted, I'd have trouble keeping up with students in my cohort, most of whom already have their master's degrees. Afraid of not being able to finance my efforts. Afraid of choosing the wrong program. Afraid.... Afraid of being wrong about pursuing this dream. I've always loved school, but struggled through undergrad. I've wanted a fresh academic start for some time now, but could never find a master's program that completely fit my likings. I'd given up on pursuing further education, at least while living here, but had this dream during my church's annual fast at the beginning of the year. I spent a lot of time talking to God and hearing from Him. And He spent a lot of time speaking to me. As is customary, He spoke to me in my dreams. During the fast I dreamt that I'd been trying to figure out which master's degree to pursue, but couldn't make a decision, I wasn't satisfied with anything offered. I then saw myself pursuing my doctorate. It was a Ph.D. that I was to pursue, at this time in my life. Great! Finally, that was my answer. I was to pursue my Ph.D. in.... Back to complications. What if I'm wrong? What if I didn't hear from God? What if it was just...a dream? I'm afraid.

Concessions...

This isn't the first time I've been passionate about something. This isn't the first time I've been afraid of pursuing something I'm passionate about. This isn't the first time I've had to take a step in faith, while afraid. I may not be able to shake the fear, but I will not allow it to hold me back. I will further investigate the program. I will meet with an advisor. I will risk.

Sex on the Brain a la Steve Harvey

I, like everyone else, know that comedian, entertainer, and self-proclaimed "expert on manhood," Steve Harvey* may say
N. E. Thing.

Tact isn't his specialty.

On a recent episode of the Trinity Broadcasting Network's Praise the Lord program, our beloved Steve said something about sex that absolutely shocked me. I expected him to be raw and real, but I had no idea he was so ignorant. The statement that got me, went a little something like this:

"I believe in the no sex before marriage thing, but we know ain't nobody doin' that...."

Urrrrr...? Say what? NO ONE, NOBODY is saving sex for marriage? Really? Has it come to this?

He went on to admonish CHRISTIAN women, people who are supposed to observe God's standard of sexless singleness, to follow his 90 day rule. Since NONE of them are gonna make it to the altar before making it to bed, they should make their men wait 90 days before extending their benefits package, read sex. With the Ford Motor Company as their model, they should place their men on a 3 month probation period in which the women can fully observe and investigate a man's life, checking for inconsistencies and whatnot, before granting him access to the goods. (We'll come back to that word, inconsistencies, a little later.)

Upon hearing this, I proceeded to buck my eyes, shake my head, and eventually write this blog.

Convo in my head sounded like this:

"Steve is SO wrong and his advice is WACK! Who made him an expert on singleness and manhood?"

I posted my frustration with his statement on Facebook and received 3 replies expressing the following:

"That's sad Sis, keep holiding it down for those of us who didn't make it."

-Bestie.

"That's not true. Some people are saving sex for marriage. Some are even saving their first kisses. I feel priveleged to teach people to maintain their purity."

-Abstinence Educator

"Makes me glad I'm not single...in this messed up world. Sounds like we're holding up the world's standard and not God's."

-Married Mom of Three

Make no mistake, singleness, in the context of a sometimes marriage-obsessed culture, is no walk in the park. Singleness, in the context of Christianity, in the context of unmet sexual desire, is a walk in the DESERT.

But it is a walk that we can take, a journery that we can finish. Success lies in learning to lean on God, learning to trust in His Word. He promised to never leave us or forsake us. He'll be with us through every ordered step. His strength is made perfect in our weakness and He will give us the grace, the ability, to live sex-free lives in a sex-crazed world.

We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. It is possible to save sex for marriage.

Some of us are doing it right now. Striving everyday to live lives of adherence to God's Word. Working diligiently to rid ourselves of inconsistencies that would result in counterfeit Christianity.

Lemme drop a few names...

-John Gray, Comedian, Singer, Playwright

-Lindsey Isham, Author, Purity Activist

-Natalie Witherspoon, Teacher, Youth-Advocate, Resident Blogger


Feel free to add to my list as well as any other thoughts in my comments section.

*As an act of solidarity with myself, I've decided that you'll have to google Steve if you want to see his pic or learn more about his book.

Sex on the Brain

For about a year, I've been serving with a prison ministry that also visits a local juvenile detention center. This experience has truly enriched my life and has been nothing but a BLESSING! Through my time at Juvy the Lord has gifted me with community and grown my teaching ministry. My primary role is to share the Word of God with the kids, to teach them, but they always end up schoolin' me.

Today's lesson title was Counterfeits. We spent a brief time defining the term and naming counterfeits we commonly use including cubic zirconia in place of diamonds, store brand pop (or soda, depending on where you're from) instead of Coke or Pepsi, and monopoly money versus actual Benjamins. We talked about Satan's desire to entice us, to trap us, to snare us, to entangle us in web's of perverse fulfillment of our God-given desires,to use this evil fulfillment to transform us into counterfeits. Thankfully, the conversation quickly turned to sex.

As always, it started with thoughts. The question was posed, "Is it a sin to have sexual thoughts?" I went on to explain that an initial sexual thought would not be considered a sin. (Please feel free to refute this in the comments section.) The problem (sin) would be maintaining these thoughts, dwelling on them, allowing them to, in the words of my 11th grade English teacher, marinate. The boys understood the concept. A bird may hover above your head, perhaps even lay an egg, but you shouldn't allow it to build a nest there. Ok, cool. But what about sex? Does God really expect us to abstain from sex until marriage? The Goodfellas weren't really "feelin' that."

I went on to explain that like every other area of our lives, God has a plan for our sexuality. He has given sexuality and sexual desire to us and they are good gifts. Like all other gifts God expects us to use them to bring Him glory, to make Him famous. Like all other gifts, God has provided guidelines and parameters for their use. Like all other gifts, Satan WORKS to get us to exercise our sexuality, to fulfill sexual desire outside of these boundaries. He tries to make us-people who claim to follow Jesus, people who confess Christ's Lordship or leadership of our lives-Counterfeits.

With the boys' eyes widened, I proceeded to discuss ways that Satan specifically tries to trap men with regards to the abuse of sex. We surveyed Proverbs 5 & 7 where we learned valuable lessons like Girls Got Game, Too, Taste It and Die, Run, Forrest, Run, and Keep Your Butt at Home.

With loads of humor we made it through our lesson and determined that sex is good, at least that's what they tell me, sex is powerful, and sex has rules. It is Satan's job to get us to disobey and succumb to sexual temptation. But with the help of the Holy Spirit, through hiding God's Word in our hearts, through resisting temptation, we CAN live sexually PURE lives.

Got my toes stepped on!

To Be Continued.

Stream of Consciousness #1

According to the Colombia Encyclopedia a Stream of Consciousness is "in literature, technique that records the multifarious thoughts and feelings of a character without regard to logical argument or narrative sequence. The writer attempts by the stream of consciousness to reflect all the forces, external and internal, influencing the psychology of a character at a single moment."

This entry is the first of what I'm sure will be many streams. This blog is the lit. I am the character. No rhyme of reason. Just life.

I want to write, to share myself through words. At the admonishment of someone whose work I admire, I will try to write everyday. Here. Record my experiences, my transitions, confusion, fear, doubt, faith, and triumphs. I will share the world as I know it, in an effort to transform the world and myself into our best selves. Perfection should not be expected. Just truth and transparency. Welcome to my stream.

Haiti Restored Pt.2

To Haiti I will go. Soon.
Bonjour, I will say...
Au revoir to the States.
Love I will show,
In words, hugs and tears.
Comfort God's people,
Conquering their fears.

Beautiful Pearl I will touch-
Strands of brilliant faces,
Layered on rock and ash,
Filled with devestation.

Hope I will witness.
Resilience observe.
Trust I will gain.
Patience learn.

...In Haiti.

Twitter Declaration

Destiny is calling and I will answer! YES, LORD!
9 minutes ago via web
Delete My OBEDIENCE will result in the FREEDOM of SO many! They cannot wait any longer.+ 10 minutes ago via web
Delete to complete my assignment! I can do anything He instructs me to do! I CAN!+ 11 minutes ago via web
Delete I must remain prayerful and humble enough to admit to not having the strength to do what I am called and rely fully on HIS strength+
12 minutes ago via web
Delete to respond with total submission, to yield completely!+
13 minutes ago via web
Delete I CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens me! He will give me the grace to finish what I have started...
14 minutes ago via web
Delete #Praymystrength cause this is a hard one...entirely against my nature, but it must be done.+ 15 minutes ago via web
Delete OBEDIENCE is the worship He requires from me...not a praise, song, dance, or shout...Just OBEDIENCE!+ 16 minutes ago via web
Delete God has RIDICULOUS things/people :-) in store for me...I must properly align myself with Him in order to enjoy His fullness and blessings.+
17 minutes ago via web
Delete New Deadline: 9PM April 24, 2010. Details to come!
19 minutes ago via web

How to Make it in America: The Broken Promise to Black 80’s Babies | Clutch Magazine: The Digital Magazine for the Young, Contemporary Woman of Color

How to Make it in America: The Broken Promise to Black 80’s Babies | Clutch Magazine: The Digital Magazine for the Young, Contemporary Woman of Color

It Is Rape Culture | Clutch Magazine: The Digital Magazine for the Young, Contemporary Woman of Color

It Is Rape Culture | Clutch Magazine: The Digital Magazine for the Young, Contemporary Woman of Color

What Do Men Think of Modesty?, Christian Singles, Dating

What Do Men Think of Modesty?, Christian Singles, Dating

Progress

I won't. Stay here.

I won't. Be stuck.

I won't. Give in to depression.

I won't. Live in apprehension.

I won't. Be blinded by obscurity.

I won't. Surrender to security.

I won't. Believe the lies.

I won't. Shrink to their fulfillment.

I will. Move forward!

Haiti Restored Pt.1

Today I attended a Haitian Creole class (at the Iroquois Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library.) The class was a part of a 6 week course being facilitated by a local French teacher and Haiti native. She decided to teach the course as a means of catharsis and spreading compassion for the Haitian people through increasing cultural awareness in the wake of Haiti's devestating earthquake. (Was that a run-on?)

This woman's spirit and enthusiasim were infectuous. She flawlessly weaved grammar structures with tales of perril and suffering, all while teaching us to maintain "the music of the language." Witnessing her instruction was inspirational and transformative. She forced me to ask myself a few important questions: How many times have things crumbled around me? How many times have I dotted every "i" and crossed every "t", only to find such meticulous attention to detail yield failure? Not failure that is earned through carelessness- failure that is predictable, but failure that is unmerritted and entirely unexpected. In response to this, how many times have I given up? Wollowed in self-pity? Blamed God?

Madame's decision to pick up her heart's pieces and mold them into a tool for rebuilding challenged me to do the same. Instead of petrifying in the place of emotional despair, I must find a way-any way to move on. Forge ahead. Keep going.

Merci, Madame!

To be continued...

Vineie Margaret

Happy Birthday, Grandma! I love you and I miss you! Glad to know you're with Jesus!

Nah-Nah-Nah-Boo-Boo

I need structure, boundaries, a PLAN! UNFORTUNATELY for my SANITY, but FORTUNATELY for my PERSONAL GROWTH starting a business, getting it off the ground does not lend itself to predictability. At least not for me...thus far.

I am a planner! Based on the information I have, I make decisions that hopefully yield predictable outcomes. I think in equations. A + B = C, right? Wrong. That's not necessarily the case while starting a business (for the first time or at all.) You may prepare, plan, and promote, but that doesn't guarantee success. And it definitely doesn't guarantee success in any particular amount of time. Again, semi-detrimental to my mental health, but incredible for my personal growth.

Launching my non-profit has focrced me to play in an arena totally unfamiliar to me, to use skills I haven't spent a lot of time developing and parts of my brain I didn't know I had. Submitting to this process has not been easy, but it has been fruitful. I had a hunch, but I now know for certain-I'm not a quitter! This is tough. One of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but I'm determined to make it work. I've also discovered that I can have peace even though I don't have control. You may have already guessed that I'm a control freak, hence the referrences to predictability and equations. Living in the abyss of uncertainty isn't easy for people like me, but thanks to prayer and great mentors, I'm surviving. Perhaps my most notable discovery-fear is just a bully! It has taunted me for years, threatening certain failure if I dared reach for my dreams. Warning me of personal collapse if I crossed the threshold of known to unknown. But Nah-nah-nah-boo-boo, I did it! I'm living by faith! The God who commissioned me has and will continue to provide for me. Whether that be great networking opportunities, food, gas money, or peace of mind-He will continue to give me everything I need. And I will continue this journey-through the definite and the obscure, the rough and the smooth, the triumphs and the failures-to a Life of Purpose!