Sunny Days....Everybody Loves Them...

Sunny days... Everybody Loves them... Life is Good! God has blessed me. Praise the Lord as he has provided all my needs. Ain't no Jesus, like my Jesus, because my Jesus always gives me what i need. These are the types of things i hear people say all the time. When you ask a simple question like, "how are you?" People respond, "I'm blessed." Forgive me if i LOL. Not because of your joy, but my mind wonders when ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE in your life, will you have the same responses? Sometimes we tend to praise the blessings that God has given us but forget the pain... The test! Will you trust in the Lord with all your heart when trouble is staring you in the face? When you're sitting in the tree K.I.S.S.I.N.G. and the baby in the baby carriage comes before the love and marriage? When you lose your job or someone you love? Will you trust God? Every body knows the story of Job in the bible. God blessed Job. He loved Job and Job loved God. God allowed the Devil to test Job. Job was robbed, live stock burnt and children died. But in all he still did not blame God for what had happen because he trusted God's plan. Trust.... So storms will come, this we know for sure... Tell me can you stand the rain?

Burnin' a Hole in My Pocket....

I remember when i was young, my grand mother would say every time she gave me some money, "Don't let that money burn a hole in your pocket." i didn't fully understand then and to be honest it's a concept that i struggle with now. But right when i got that money, i ran straight to the candy store; 25 pieces of penny candy, a quarter bag of grippos, a quarter juice and played Street Fighter for a quarter. Spent that dollar like it was nothing...Not realizing that now, i don't have anything for the next day. It's funny how we don't realize the significant's of the sayings and quotes our parents say. They were actually teaching and you didn't even know it. What's the saying, "a hard head makes a soft ass." When i got to college, at the beginning of each semester you get that "REFUND CHECK." Man right when i got that money, i ran straight to the mall; New Jay's, Pelle-Sean Jean-Phat Farm, alcohol, weed, you name it i got it. Spent thousands of REFUND money like it was nothing....Not realizing that now (and for the next 30 years), i will be paying all that back with 17% interest rate which has dropped my credit score before i even had credit, loan debt more then what i make a year and now I'm facing the struggle that plague majority of African American Males. Material things. Material things, that have no value, no equity, no profit. I will teach my kids about the value of possession, i will teach my children the importance of credit, and thou they will make their own mistakes, i will be confident in them knowing what it means when they hear, "Don't let that money burn a hole in your pocket."

Somebody's Watching You!

There comes a time in every boys life, when he has to put down the childish things and step up to be the man that GOD pre-destined him to be. Let's define man.... Man. Webster defines a man as a man or boy who shows the qualities (such as strength and courage) that men are traditionally supposed to have. OK.. True. But what about his mentality, his drive, his spirit, and how he handles failure? When I was a little kid, I remember my older brother would push me down all the time. I would cry and run to my mother. My mom would say "stop all that damn crying, ain't nothing wrong with you." That was her way of making me tough, making me a man. Now i think back on it, as a child you are defined by the things your parents teach you. What you see them do, what you hear them say, how they handle situations. Now that i am a father, i have changed to be an influence. Through all the mistakes, failures and disappoints, i define a man as a man that shows the qualities in his actions (such as understanding, encouragement, self worth and faith) that men are NOT traditionally supposed to have. Remember father's, somebody's watching you, so give them a good image. Proverbs 22:6 - "Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it."