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The Art of the Come Up…

Hello World!!!

I typically don’t post on Friday, but since our first black president will be official on Tuesday, Jan. 20, I have decided to compose a quick “ode” for this most auspicious occasion.

In honor of our first couple, I have decided to post the anthem of the unofficial first couple: George & Weezy. (Of course, I did not compose this “ode.”)

(“Movin’ on Up” by Jeff Barry and Ja’net Dubois) – The Jeffersons Lyrics

Well we’re movin on up,
To the east side.
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.
Movin on up
To the east side.
We finally got a piece of the pie.

Fish don’t fry in the kitchen;
Beans don’t burn on the grill.
Took a whole lotta tryin’
Just to get up that hill.
Now we’re up in the big leagues
Gettin’ our turn at bat.
As long as we live, it’s you and me baby
There ain’t nothin wrong with that.

Well we’re movin on up,
To the east side.
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.
Movin on up
To the east side.
We finally got a piece of the pie.

Below is a YouTube video of this heartwarming song….

Whenever I hear this song, I remember eating chicken sandwiches with my family on Sunday nights…

Also, here’s another song with a similar title….it captures how I feel this morning as I make my final preparations to ride out with my girls to DC, baby!!!

Any thoughts?

P.S. Expect a post with lots of pics about my DC excursion!!!

 

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To Tithe or Not To Tithe…That Should Not be the Question!

Hello World!!!

The weather in the A is crazy, huh? It’s either tropical and raining or frigid and dry…Today is one of the colder days…somewhere in the 20s…that just ain’t right….

Anyway, let me get on task. So have you made your resolutions yet? As I said in my last post, it takes me the whole month of January to come up with suitable resolutions or more appropriately, goals. Some of my goals for the year will be concentrated on my finances. It’s an area I would rather not think about actually. This comes from my uneasiness about numbers in general. I think it’s just how I’m wired. I don’t know many journalists who are good with numbers. But alas, I’m 35 on the way to 36, and I still haven’t snagged a baller…so I guess I need to get my Plan B in gear.

But I must say I’m proud of the fact that I have been tithing since I got my first job in the eighth grade. There have been times due to irresponsibility and fear that I have missed tithing a paycheck from time to time, but for the most part, I’m a faithful tither. To tithe is to give ten percent of your income to the church. (One cannot assume that everyone knows what tithing means!) My father drilled it in me that if you give to the Lord what is due Him, He, in turn, will make sure that what is left is more than enough to provide for your needs. There is even a verse that describes this principle.

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

Malachi 3:10

My father actually preached on this verse last Sunday. And this verse has been proven true in my life over and over again. A few years ago, I was going through a dark phase in my life. I was in between career jobs if you know what I mean. I was working at a department store in the mean time trying to make ends meet, but inevitably, someone would move the ends, ha, ha!  My roommate had moved out  leaving me with half of the money I needed to pay for my mortgage.  My car had broken down, and I didn’t have the money to fix it.  And right after I got the job at the department store, the department store shut down. I was so depressed I swear I didn’t open any bills for a few months. But during that time, nothing was turned off, and nobody came to get anything. I would like to think that my years of tithing had something to do with how the Lord took care of me.  And when I finally had the courage to open my bills again, the Lord granted me favor with the bill collectors.

My absolute favorite author Catherine Marshall wrote about her experience with tithing in her book Something More. (How a white woman who could have been a contemporary of my grandmother became my absolute favorite author is a mystery to me, but I just adore her work. FYI – Her work is archived at Agnes Scott College in Decatur. I once spent my birthday reviewing her work at the Agnes Scott College library. Yes, I am quite obsessed…) Anyway, Catherine Marshall’s husband Peter Marshall suddenly died leaving Catherine, who was a housewife, and their young son to fend for themselves.  In fact, they had to live off of $171 a month, according to the book. But Catherine decided to even tithe that. And the Lord took care of her. He told her that she was to “pick up [her] pen and edit and write.” Catherine became a best-selling author and has influenced generations with her work. The fact that a black woman with curly red dreads and who knows how to slow wine reads her work is a testament to that.  (It’s sooo cold outside that I’m dreaming of being in Jamaica as I sit at my desk.)

So what’s up? Do you tithe? Has God proven to you that He will take care of you if you put Him first? Let me know…

Any thoughts?

P.S. Since Jamaica is on my mind, I have posted a video of one of my favorite Bob Marley songs. It reminds me of watching my dad wash his car on hot Saturday mornings…

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Synchronicity Speaks…

Hello World!!!

Somes friends and I have decided that this year we are going to hold each other accountable for our resolutions, dreams, goals, etc. for 2009. I have yet to decide upon mine for this year. It usually takes me the whole month of January to come up with a reasonable list. I know many people think that coming up with yearly resolutions is pointless, but I think if you consult God and ask for His guidance, you stand half a chance of actually achieving them. God’s word states that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Philipians 4:13

So how do you know that God is guiding you to a specific resolution, goal, dream, etc.? An anonymous commenter on my last post “,Doubt,” said that one way that he or she knows that God is real is through coincidence. I think I know what this commenter means. Sometimes a string of mysterious events happen that seem to magically point to a certain result. I call this synchronicity aka magic! I first learned about synchronicity in an “The Artist’s Way” class I took one summer. It a class designed to “discover and recover your creative self.”  Taking that class was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in life! I cannot begin to tell you all that I learned.

But I will share one life-altering realization I had as a result of taking that class. I realized that I wanted to pursue a freelance writing/book writing business. I named this endeavor Selah Communications. Selah means to pause. Since I lost my job earlier that year, I had a lot of time to pause. I also decided that my business would be based on the Psalm 4: 4-5. “When you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord.”  That year, I spent many hours lying on my bed pondering my future. (So dramatic, I swear.) I determined that I would try to live a righteous life and trust the Lord was leading me in spite of my circumstances.

So I am getting to the point. I am…for real. That New Year’s Eve, the pastor actually preached on the same verses that I decided would be my guiding force for Selah Communications. Out of all of the verses in the Bible, the pastor chose the same two that I chose earlier that summer. Synchronicity at its best! And since then, I’ve been able to pursue freelance writing/book writing. (Aside: I do wonder when or if my book, “After the Altar Call,” will be published, but I’m still yet holding on and trusting in the Lord.  🙂 )

The following quote perfectly sums up the synchronicity principle:

Evoking the Soul

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would otherwise never have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of incidents and meetings and material assistance which no person would have believed would have come their way. Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it.  Action has magic, grace and power in it.

                                                                                    Goethe

Great quote, huh? I first read it in the “The Artist’s Way” book by Julia Cameron.  I have a sign with this quote on it in my office. I think synchronicity is one of the ways that God’s leads us to the right dream, resolution, goal, person, etc.  I have described one example in this post, but I’ve experience synchronicity countless times in my life. If if my book is published, you can read about more of my synchronistic experiences…

Have you experienced synchronicity in your life? One of the reasons that I love blogging is because it gives people a forum to share their experiences. So please tell me about your personal magic… (Also, here is a great article about synchronicity that explains it even better than I have, I think.)

Any thoughts?

P.S. You must  know that is was synchronistic that President-Elect Barack Obama offically accepted the Democratic party nomination on the same day that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech 45 years earlier. Don’t tell me that God isn’t real, as father likes to say…