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Divine Hem Ups aka Atlanta Snowstorm 2011

Hello World!

Not even the postlady has been to my mailbox since last week...

 

If you’re in the A, you know what’s up…and it’s not the temperature…And if you’re not in the A, let me fill you in…It’s Day 3 of being hemmed up in my home. That’s right, I have not left my house since Sunday around 6 p.m. because the city of Atlanta and surrounding cities are snowed in and just about all of our businesses, government buildings, etc. have not even opened for the week…It’s almost unbelievable…We ATLiens just ain’t used to dealing with cold temperatures for too long much less snow so we have shut it down baby…

Okay so follow me on this: Sometimes, I’m too deep for my own good, but all of this has got me wondering what God has been up to for the last three days…Just what is He trying to tell us…It could be nothing…I mean weather is weather, and we’ve all heard the talk about how our climate is changing, etc. But I also know that God sometimes hems us up for divine purposes…

“You hem me in behind and before and you lay your hand upon me.” Psalm 139:5

So if you’re here in Atlanta, have you considered why God has hemmed up you up for the last three days? For me, I’ve been able to work on some critical writing projects…And since you cannot immediately respond to my question, I have decided to post some of the most interesting status updates I’ve seen on Facebook about the Atlanta snowstorm and why some of my Facebook friends here in the A may be hemmed up and what the Lord is trying to tell them…Of course, no names are attached to these updates…Presenting the funny & poignant…

wonders how many Atlanta snowstorm babies will be born 9 months from now…hmm…(Maybe God is trying to tell you it’s time to add to the family.)
Being still…………….(Maybe He hasn’t been able to get your attention before.)
is making sure I turn over every few hours so I won’t get bed sores!!!…ahhh this is the life!! :))))) (Maybe you just really needed to rest…)
A good way to test the endurance of your relationships is to become snowed in for more than 48 hours! The first 8 is the honeymoon, the next 40 is the trial! (Maybe God is trying tell you that buster really ain’t for you…)
I think I see a message in this bad weather for me. I only can talk about me:) It’s saying write, write, write. Okay, I think I will write. What about the rest of you that’s working on getting that book published? Did you really think I was going to leave my friends out? (God has given you a gift. Why aren’t you using it?)
I’m really tripping off of all these parents who keep saying they are tired of being snowed in with their kids and are ready for them to go back to school. Hmmmmmm what an interesting phenomenon. Maybe they are getting a taste of what us educators get on a daily basis, 5 days a week 180 days a year. If you’re tired of them…… how do you think we feel at the end of the day, week, year?? (Maybe God is telling you that you need to train and discipline your children so that others won’t have a hard time with them when they are away from you.)
My husband is my HERO! He just walked over 4 1/2 miles to rescue me. THANKS honey. I love you. To my co-workers, my car is on the side of the road, if you can get it I’ll come in to work. 🙂 (Maybe you needed to be reminded why your hubby is The One.)
For the last 2 days, I’ve been snowed in and living the life of a REAL Housewife of ATL: Cooking 3 meals a day, and snacks, for my family, laundry, cleaning up, quality time with the family, etc. Where’s my darn TV show? (Maybe home & hearth needed to be attended to…)
Just left downtown from the Atlanta Union Mission passing out blankets to the homeless. Im thankful for a warm home, hot cook meal, and clean drawers. God bless the homeless during this artic temperature. (Maybe God is telling you to count your blessings and not always think about your own circumstances at the same time…)
Greetings from Atlanta, where we anticipate Jesus’ return momentarily. (As the world continues to get crazier a la a three-day snowstorm in the A, y’all better get right with God and do it now…)

Happy Snow Day #3! I’m.out…

Any thoughts?

“Maybe God is Trying Tell You Something” from “The Color Purple”

 

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The Ten Commandments – 2010 style…

Hello World! Remember that movie Se7en that came out in 1995? The movie featured Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman working as detectives working to solve a multiple murder case. Each of the seven murders that were committed corresponded with the seven deadly sins: Gluttony, Envy, Lust, Pride, Sloth, Greed and Wrath. Remember how the final scene went down? …I would tell you, but maybe you are actually interested in seeing this haunting film if you have not seen it… The reason I bring movie up is because it reminds me of something my father told years ago that I have never put to the test: if you look at the evening news on any given evening, all of the bad news can be categorized by The Ten Commandments. Fascinating statement, huh? Well if you are not familiar with the Ten Commandments, they are the set of rules given to Moses for the people of God as they wandered in the desert after their exodus from Egypt. The story of the Ten Commandments appears in Exodus 20. Here they are below…

 

So since I am writing this post in the morning, and I prefer to get my news from the newspaper most days, I will test my father’s statement on today’s front page of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper at ajc.com as well as other news outlets. NOTE: By listing these stories, I am not saying they are true or false. I am simply using them as examples to support my father’s premise…

  1. 1 dead, 2 on the loose in home invasion – According to what I read, this story demonstrates breaking commandments 6 and 1o.
  2. Gwinnett Schools Superintendent Wilbanks could face ethics investigation – This seems like a violation of commandment 9.
  3. Aimee Michael, mother sent to separate prisons – This story is a tragic depiction of what can be the consequences for breaking commandments 6 and 9.
  4. Teen died with stomp; possibility of more involved – Thou shalt not kill…This story also demonstrates how each of us must respect the sanctity of human life or face savage consequences…
  5. Ex-Gwinnett planning commissioner charged with theft – He should know better as a church member at all…According to this article, this dude is guilty of stealing and idolizing money as his god rather than serving the one true God. He also coveted what his church had…scandalous!
  6. Attacks targeting Iraqi Christians kill 4 in Baghad – An obvious violation of commandment 6…I believe these attacks were incited because of these Christians’ faith in God which is likely a violation of commandment 1.
  7. After a personal scandal, a small political upswing – South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford famously committed adultery last year…
  8. Company Accused of Firing Over Facebook Post – I believe this employees was fired because of her supervisor thought she bore false witness in her description of him…in other words, she lied on him…(Aside: why would you post comments about your boss on Facebook anyway…she was asking for trouble…dumb)
  9. Somali Gangs in Minnesota Traded Girls for Sex – To commit such heinous crimes, these gangs idolized money above all else…
  10. Chizik: Newton allegations ‘pure garbage’ – Is he guilty of academic cheating or not…if so, commandment 9 has been broken

Interesting, huh? Those 10 commandments really lay a good foundation for good human behavior…

Any thoughts?

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Book Notes#2 – The Ring Formula: How to Meet, Date & Marry Mr. Right

Hello World,

Can you believe that 2010 is half over…where did the time go?

Anywho, about a year ago, I started a Facebook conversation with one of my FB friends Dr. Alduan Tartt, an Atlanta-based psychologist,  about how he could counsel people about being in romantic relationships although he was single. That is one of my pet peeves…People who advise other people on situations while they have no practical experience of the situations in question…However, Dr. Tartt was very gracious in fielding my questions and even e-mailed me a free copy of his book, The Ring Formula: How to Meet, Date & Marry Mr. RIGHT (The title has been revised since the first printing of the book) so that I could review his book for my blog…Being the procrastinator that I am, I am reviewing his book a year later…But since he has a seminar this upcoming weekend, I thought it would be nice  to FINALLY review his book , and hopefully some of you will want to go to his seminar…Plus, according to his FB status, he is now in a relationship…

So on to my review….Well ladies, Dr. Tartt starts of his book stating that scores of single women have unwittingly taken themselves out of the marriage market because they simply don’t know how to make themselves marriage material — and to top it off, WHEN they do seek advice, they do so from other single women…Food for thought…so far, so good…I can cosign on that…

What I like about the book early on is that Dr. Tartt apologizes for some of his less-than-perfect behavior in his own dating life…

“I am writing this book to make amends for my past transgressions and to offer my beautifully talented sisters an attitude-altering lesson and insight into the male psyche.”

Now, I won’t give away his entire book here, but I will include some juicy tidbits…So what is the first component of Dr. Tartt’s formula? “Learn How to Cook: Nurture Your Man’s Soul.”…I must admit there is something that rises inside of me when I think about that…There is a feminist part of me that says, “Why do I have to know how to cook to catch a husband?” But when I think about my mother and her food…well let’s just say that I make sure I stop at her table every Sunday for a good home-cooked meal, and my father is always praising my mother for her cooking! So maybe he is on to something…Dr. Tartt also offers an example of two women who vied for the attention of one man…one was beautiful with a “mean shoe game” and great conversation and other woman was a great cook…guess who won out?

 “When a woman learns to cook, not just open a can and heat or microwave, she learns how to love and thus becomes a very powerful woman who is able to control even the strongest of men.”

Another part of Dr. Tartt’s formula is “Stay in Your Lane: Respect Your Man’s Position.”  This chapter is all about men and women staying in their traditional gender roles…i.e. men are designed to lead and women are designed to assist them….My father, who is a pastor, is always preaching that men and women will be happier if they are in the roles that God had in mind when He created us…I must admit though something within me bucks at this too…but Dr. Tartt did a good job of softening the blow….Below is a paragraph about a woman in the chapter that learned the hard way that even her father made occasional bad decisions about money, but her mother supported him anyway. This woman had just scared a man away by not being supportive of him and went to her mother to get some insight.

“Her mom told her about how she stood beside and supported her husband when he made a bad financial move in the real estate market despite his father-in-law’s warning. In fact, they had to downgrade and reside in a rental property on the wrong side of town to make ends meet. She was furious, but she saw standing beside and supporting her husband as her duty. She realized that her commitment was to her husband, not to material things.”

Dr. Tartt also believes that women should withhold sex if they want to get a man to marry them…He describes this belief in his chapter, “Check Under the Hood: Friends Before Lovers.” Interesting concept in today’s world…

“So what are you supposed to do when your man outright demands sex and independence? This is where YOUR self-discipline takes over. Simply refuse to compromise your morals, and opt to develop friendship, support and loyalty instead. Although men certainly will throw some form of temper tantrums after being turned down for sex, ultimately they respect you and work hard to earn your companionship.”

Hmmm…what do y’all think?

And what do y’all think about this chapter, “Soul Train or Soul Mate: Date to MARRY.” In this chapter, Dr. Tartt describes nice men who are content to be in relationships with nice women indefinitely…without being married! He describes Erika who was in a satisfying relationship with a good man who did not want to get married…After one too many Christmases had gone by without a ring, she decides to dump him and not settle for less than what she wants: marriage…Amen sista!

In summary, men don’t like to lose three things: love, power and respect. When Erika left Marshall, he ended up losing all three, which was more than he could bear. Ultimately, he lost her love, her daily attention and the power to have his cake and eat it too. Ironically, he is now fighting to reacquire that love, attention and respect. I’ll have to admit that Erika’s chances for love look pretty good now. In fact, she has another suitor who is madly in love with her, and she is enjoying every moment of it. Look who is having her cake and eating it too now!

There are more components to his formula, but you have to check out the actual book for yourself! So what do you think about Dr. Tartt’s book? Is he on to something? Or do we already know this information?…

Any thoughts?

P.S. Just cuz I feel like that today, I have posted this timeless Etta James classic. Enjoy!

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