Heaven has really called some talented people home! All of these deaths really make one appreciate this thing called life. Ups and downs aside, we are blessed each time we wake up and we are here to fulfill a purpose each day. I resolve to do better to make sure that before my head hits the pillow each night, I have in some way, somehow, done something to fulfill God's purpose for me.
My prayer Heavenly Father, I seem to have forgotten my Divine life purpose, and I ask your help so that I may remember the reason I am here on this Earth at this time. I know that I have been given all gifts to fulfill my mission, and I ask for your continued guidance. Please help me immerse myself in meaningful actions that serve you. In your name, I serve. Amen.
Today's talented soul that was called home is E. Lynn Harris. Great author of African-American, urban, alternate lifestyle books.
P.S. In case you're wondering, I'm the short one :-)
Until next time, live each day to the fullest and resolve to fulfill God's purpose for you.
Hey, hey now. Far be it from me to pass judgement on ANYBODY. I am neither a judge nor jury and Tupac said it best; "Only God Can Judge Me." No way am I going to sit here and say Chris Brown was dead wrong for putting his hands on a woman. Correction, no way am I going to sit here and say he was dead wrong for putting his hands on a woman in a violent, life threatening way. I'm not going to call him less than a man because he should have gotten out of the car, walked away, held his composure. Uh uh. I won't say that as a grown man, HE SHOULD KNOW BETTER and just remove himself from the situation especially if his girlfriend did something to deliberately press his buttons. Note to Chris- Women do this. Ya know. Press your buttons from time to time. I'm not saying we have a right to do that but hey, if one does such things to you, you don't need to be with them anyway... Obviously, he is trying to make amends and set the record straight and show us he's still a good guy. He even posted this nice apology video for all of us.
Ummm... Thanks Chris.
I'm not going to say you were dead wrong. There are plenty of other people who have done that for me...
On a brighter note, Welcome to Blogger to one of my dearest Sorors, Hesha! I can't wait to read what you have to say on your blog Dropping Knowledge!
I'm still alive over here. It's summer time but I don't feel "summery"; if that's a word... Oh well. People keep sending me messages that this too shall pass. Yeah, well. Ok.
I've been thinking about this blog. Alot. I miss posting. But I have been working on two other blogs. And Social Networking... Mostly for my students. Because. They need to know how to do this when they get out of school. And do it right.
It's summer time, but I don't feel "summery"; if that's a word...
I know my blog buddies are doing well. I keep up with most of you through Facebook. U may think, facebook but not blogging? Mobile facebook updates are easier than mobile blogging...
The state of our society is REALLY depressing. REALLY. REALLY. Did I say that already??
I facebook'd (if that's really a word) a riddle me this the other day. You love your husband and have a beautiful family. It's you two against the world; or so you think. You suddenly find out he's been killed by a mistress. How do you plan a SPIRITUALLY fitting funeral to lay his body to rest. The LORD would have to intervene because I'd be BITTER.
How about you?
Politics have been politics as unusual... I live in the state where our gov is trying to fall back in love with his wife. Oh, we're also in the middle of the bible belt but no one is giving this man grief about his escapades. Oh well.
I recently had conversations with this guy. He likes me. You know there's a "but" coming right? He's not the ONE. And I grew tired of going round and round about nothing. DRAMA. No substance.
I recently saw a picture of my ex's ex and I couldn't help thinking, "Wow. He did alot better with me." I'm sure he'd be in a state of OMG to see what she looks like now.
Someday, my TRUE prince will come and I'll not settle because it's my life and I don't want to be stuck with no smiles and laughter in my day. I deserve to be Shelia in Why Did I Get Married. You know the line-- "He loves me for me and who I am and I wake up with such JOY in my heart! Oh! I wake up with such JOY in my heart!"
Still in a DAILY state of shock about Michael Jackson. Of course, I almost posted the day he died but I didn't want to be cliche. How do you make that little accent on your computer for the 'e' in cliche. I'm sure I could find it if I looked for it. You know what's next. Oh well.
Back to MJ, I was a fan of MJ. I could probably say I loved him as a fan would love him. I could see his pain but feel honored to live in THIS lifetime to see his talent. Flashback to one of my facebook status updates; Dear Sensational Media, I think you are angry because Paris did what you are unable to. Love her DADDY unconditionally. Yes, she has a right to speak and NO, it was not staged. Leave those kids alone. I mean that. Really. Of course, I bought The MJ Ultimate collection as any fan would and I wonder how in the world I ever missed the song "On The Line". Guess I didn't pay attention to the opening of the movie Get On The Bus. It is truly one of his most under rated songs. I'm a sucker for ballads and this one has become one of my new favs. I've been blasting it for a few days now.
I'm going to post the song before I go. As you can tell; Life is just Life right now. One of my sorors just posted she's in an odd state spiritually and emotionally. I can say; I feel ya.
I did this song an injustice by skipping over it the 1st time. How wrong I was...
A co-worker sent this video to me a few weeks ago. It must've caught me on a good day because my multimedia emails usually pile up for quite awhile before I get around to reading them! I thought this was a profound way to say all is not lost with our generation...
Does this desk look almighty and powerful?? How many of us hold the teacher's desk with such high esteem to bestow upon it super powers beyond human measure? Maybe I'm off on one of my rants again but lately I have started noticing how many people seem literally tied to this piece of wood in a classroom. Ok, my school has gone through HOURS upon HOURS of Professional Development so we understand the importance of circulating around our rooms amongst the students. Personally, I have long ago given up that "Sage on the stage" role and have taken up my proper place among my students as their "Guide on the Side". Research tells us that our students must be involved in collaborative learning in order for them to "get it". Collaboration certainly cannot be done from behind this inordinate object that serves as a barrier between you and them. Hmmm... ok, in all fairness, I must say it's usually substitutes that exhibit this behavior; but not always... Almost as if that desk will put up some protective shield should the kids look at them the wrong way... It's quite funny actually. One such lady looked like she was one with the desk. Caressing it's every crease and crevice and looking lovingly against the grains! Why? Why I say? What makes you think that furniture will give you the power you are seeking? It just gives me an uneasy feeling. Almost like the person doesn't really know what they're doing. Just in the room as a babysitter... Kids are different these days and they were born in the digital age. That sitting behind the desk ish ain't kosher! Me? Sure, I have a desk, but when do I get a chance to use it?? I sit smack dab in the middle of my classroom... That's where all the action happens. Sure, I'm also a little bit of a control freak so I sit where I can bop em upside the head if I need to. (Just kidding. Don't want anyone to haul me off to jail...)
Anyway. That was my quick, pointless rant for the day.
One of my sisters is now on the Blogging Circuit! Her blog is Scrap In Color and I'm soooooo proud of the fact that she is out there doing the dang thang! I dabble in scrappin' but Step is the Master, guru, head scrapper in charge of this realm and I gladly step aside and yield to her in the presence of patterned paper and paper cutters! Congratulations and Best Wishes to you Step! Luv ya and I'm adding ya to my blog roll!
Pray that our Governor will come to his senses and stop refusing our state's cut of the stimulus money!
I teach, therefore I am... No, really. By now you know I'm a people watcher. I'm usually the one sitting a little off from the others, arms folded and quiet. It's earned me quite the reputation for being a snob but it's not really that, it's just that I'm taking in the scene. Doing my thing. People watching. Anyway, I digress. Well, this week, some kids at my school decided amongst themselves that they were going to have their very own tacky day. Wow. They came up with that on their own. Ok, I'm a sarcastic people watcher:-) Anyway, in their mind, it's waaaay cool to wear plaid pants and striped shirts with totally unmatching colors and two totally different pairs of socks on each leg pulled all the way up to the knees. *complete silence* Ok. If you want to express yourself, go for it. yadda, yadda, yadda. They coordinated the WHOLE thing and walked into school like "What??". They were so proud... Then...IT happened... In comes the ONE who will mess it up for everybody... Yep. The ONE... In walks a grown azz 15 year old size 16 but wearing a size 12 hot mess. She. went. too. far. SHE decides it's cute to wear a d@mn DIAPER to school over her tacky clothes. I'm mad that she either: 1. Went to the store and bought diapers that big or 2. Stole some depends from her disabled relative. Those things are hella expensive. My reaction?? *mouth drop* *complete silence for a minute* Grab the cell phone, take a picture and send it to my other co-workers lucky enough to not be in the midst of this atrocity... Maybe I was wrong and I'll pay for it one day but for that moment, someone else had to share in my misery. She had NO shame in this game and the facial expression to match it. Seriously. I had a flashback of Jamie Foxx's Wanda as I took in her mean mugging face... My previous attempts to reach this child were fruitless and unappreciated. By her and her momma... Somebody, anybody, everybody please, help me out here! I'm supposed to understand these things but what the heck was that big "A" diaper supposed to prove?? If you were still a student, would you go that far?? If this were your daughter, would you allow her to go to school dressed like this all for the sake of "expressing oneself?? If she were mine, she'd be UNDER the house before I allowed that freedom of expression. No way, babycakes... Amendment rights do NOT apply to you... Get a job to pay for them diapers you wanna wear and then you have a bargaining chip! Ugh!
Congrats to 12kyle on the new job and Mrs12 for joining the ranks of the greatest sorority in the world. Welcome to the Sisterhood!
Ok. Ok. Ok. So I've been M.I.A. for a minute. Ok, well... maybe an hour! Y'all (like my southern slang?) it's been more than a notion making everything happen in a 24 hour period! As most of you know, I teach 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Science to middle school special needs children. If you know anything about South Carolina State Standards, you'd also realize that each grade level has an entirely different curriculum. Beyond inquiry and process skills, no class learns the same material. That rules out teaching the same lesson to different classes :-( Phooey for me. Add that to Special Education paperwork and taking care of my mom, it's a no go for my blog posts!
Fast forward to today. I'm sitting at home due to 6 1/2 inches of snow on the ground. Wow. Snow. Falling on the 1st day of March. Talk about March coming in like a lion! Deep breath. Aaaaahhhhh! It felt so good to sleep a little late and not have the usual deadlines and pressures of work, get home, check on mom, fixing dinner, taking care of the dog, etc bearing down on me. You get the point! Soooo, after doing a few household catchup things, I played around on a website I found out about at a technology conference. It was a great way to relax, relate, release (Go Whitley Gilbert!) and I found myself just playing around with different photo effects. I don't have an earthshattering blog topic today so I'll just post a little of my PhotoFunia work. Enjoy!
Check em out for yourself- www.photofunia.com I look forward to your creative pics!
I'm a complicated soul... Often misunderstood... A people watcher... Always thinking, always learning, always changing. My World, as I know it, is constantly evolving into the essence of who I am becoming. Layer upon layer until you see, the final ME...
