A Good Foundation

A house cannot survive with an uneven foundation. A leader cannot lead without followers.  A business cannot survive without the demands of the consumer.  A church is only a steeple without a congregation.  A school is simply a structure when no students are present. A team is only a team when a group of people work together towards a common goal.  A coach can only be a coach when he has a strong team surrounding him.  A CEO can only lead a company when every person underneath him/her is inspired by the same vision and mission of the company.  A husband can only lead his household when he has his wife at his side.

The White House, home to every US president since John Adams, has seen its fair share of attempts to dismantle its foundation.  The War of 1812 destroyed most of the interior and exterior of the White House. Even after years of reconstruction many of the interior rooms were dismantled during the Truman era due to deteriorating internal wood beams. Kennedy also completed minor restoration projects on the residence, as well as other first families, however, no changes have been as vast as that of Truman.  Every first family can suggest modifications to the private quarters; however, changes must be approved by the Committee for the Preservation of the White House.  

Even the most historical homes must be preserved and changes can not alter the integrity of the original foundation. This statement is also true of the person who is nominated to the position of president. This leader may suggest changes; provide the vision, mission, and purpose of his presidency, however, he cannot lead and make decisions on his own. The president is simply the face or the voice. He is the person that represents the vision, articulates the mission and carries out the dream.  In order to be successful, he must have a team behind him, beside him, and underneath him as he stands before the people and receives both negative and positive feedback.

If the physical White House becomes unsteady, if the internal beams begin to give way, the house will fall.  If the skilled leaders, advisers, and analysts that report up to the president are not on the same accord, their disjointed behaviors bleed directly up to the president. 

To further explain my position, here’s an excerpt from John Donne:

“All of mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated…As therefore the bell rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness…No man is an island, an entire of itself…any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

We cannot thrive as a single person in a single body. We can only be successful when we join together as one; many persons representing one body. 1 Corinthians 12-12 states: The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body.  So it is with the body of Christ. 

This is the case of the President of the United States, the CEO of a major corporation, the conductor of an orchestra, the director of a marching band, the president of a university, or the head coach of a team.

With a strong and sturdy foundation, the President can face the nation, a quarterback can throw the winning touchdown, and the runner can win the race. 

Spend more time uplifting, encouraging, speaking positive life into your leaders. Leaders can only achieve greatness when they are surrounded by a strong and positive support system. 

Still Grambling

I have struggled tirelessly with the words to describe the heartache I feel when I hear negative comments directed towards my great university.  I am further irritated when I hear those words coming from people who call themselves Gramblinites, die hard Grambling fans, supporters that bleed black & gold, or true Tigers.  How can I express these feelings without adding to the noise that is currently polluting so many social media sites? How can I present my opinion in a positive light?  Then I had a thought. What if her walls could talk?  What if GSU, the institution itself, had a voice to speak out on its own behalf?  What if it could address questions and concerns that so many students, faculty, staff, and alumni seek?  What if her walls could talk? What would they say?

If her walls could talk they’d say: 

“Have you forgotten who I am? Do you think that I am a beginner?  I am over one hundred years old.  Three, four, and even five generations have walked through my doors.  I am anything but ordinary. In MY house, everybody is somebody! You need not worry about the color of your skin, the size of your wallet, or the geographic location of your motherland.  I welcome you with arms outstretched knowing that when you leave me you will never be the same.  I have created leader after leader.  These leaders have gone on to represent me at the local, state, and even at national levels.  I have greeted presidents, congressmen, judges, senators, and governors.  I am known throughout the United States and internationally. There is NO other like me.  I have often been imitated but never duplicated.  Even with all of my many accomplishments, I've seen my fair share of disappointments.  The one thing that I must remind you is that there is only one leader, one dictator, one governing body who can determine when my days are done.  HE is the only one who can judge right from wrong.  HE is the only one that can impart real change when my foundation becomes rocky.  So when I see signs of turmoil I simply stand firm and lift my eyes up to the hills where my help comes from.  I remind myself that what I see now is only temporary.  When the enemy approaches my yard in an attempt to break me I again stand firm, unmovable, knowing that this too shall pass. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other supporters remember the words that are written in my Alma Mater. We’re loyal to thee our dear old School. We’ll fight for thee for ever more. Will you fight for me? Will you stand for me again?  Will you join together in unity uplifting one another instead of tearing each other down?  Will you remain loyal even after you've walked across the stage and your time with me is nothing more than a distant memory?  Will you use your talents, resources, and Tiger spirit to educate, encourage, and inspire future leaders of this great institution?  Will you pass on a message for me?  I am STILL Grambling, the place where everybody is somebody." 

Idols

Whatever occupies your thoughts is your god. Whatever occupies your bank account is your god. Whatever occupies your dreams is your god. There is only one true God. He is the Alpha, the Omega, the Beginning, and the End.  He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  God is Love.  

REPOST: Roll Them Over

August 7th - Hearing from God Each Morning by Joyce Meyer 

Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed. (PROVERBS 16:3)

If we want to be in intimate relationship with God and live lives that are truly committed to Him, we have to take everything about ourselves and say to Him: “God, I give this to You.  I give You this problem.  I give You this situation.  I give You this relationship.  I completely release it and let it go.  It is too much for me.  I am going to stop worrying and trying to figure everything out—and I am going to let You take care of it.   God, I also give myself to you because I can’t do anything about myself either.  I give it all to You.  I give You my strengths and weaknesses.  I want to change, but You have to change me.”  It was a great day for me when I finally learned that it was God’s job to change me and my job to believe!

Psalm 37:5 says, “Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass” (NKJV).  What does it mean to commit our ways to God?  It means to “roll” them off of ourselves and onto Him.  When we roll our problems and human reasoning onto God, which means to trust them completely to Him, then He changes our thoughts and makes them agree with His will. In other words, His thoughts become our thoughts so that  we want what He wants.  When that happens, our plans will succeed because they are in complete agreement with God’s plans.  Release yourself and all your cares today and relax so you can hear God speak to you. 

GOD’S WORD FOR YOU TODAY: Roll all your problems onto God.  

Use Your Words

There's a popular phrase among parents of preschool and elementary aged children. "Use your words", they say, when their child is moody, whining, or struggling to express their juvenile needs or worries.  This simple phrase sends somewhat of an electric shook to the brain of the child which almost always results in the kid quickly straightening up and attempting to verbalize their emotions.

After having somewhat of an unpleasant confrontation with a fellow co-worker involving her rolling her eyes and me exiting the room, I had a thought. What if, we as adults coined the phrased "Use your words." Why is this lesson only good for elementary aged children, when adults are the ones that struggle the most with communicating their needs and wants?  And what if, just like that the physical emotion that we were acting out quickly turned to words filled with less emotion but more truth?

Instead of slammed doors, rolling of necks, fists against eyes, and tears along cheeks, what if we simply stopped for a second and pleaded, "Use your words."  We live in a world with a vast amount of communication tools, but yet face so many situations where the tools seem to get in the way of what would better understood and received verbally.

What if we used our words and said "I love you" instead of typing "I <3 U" in  a text or email? What if we used our words and said, "you hurt me" or "Don't call me" instead of ignoring phone calls? Sometimes non-verbal communication speaks louder and often times sends the incorrect message.

What if we used our words instead of assume the worse or even the best in certain situations?  What if we said out loud what we mean instead of taking to Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to discuss a private matter publicly?

What if we used our words?

I may be an optimist, but I think that by using ones words out loud a divorce could be reversed, a promotion could be given, or even a life saved.

I don't know... just a thought...

Use your words and be blessed,
Christy

One day it’ll all make sense…

One day we’ll understand why so many had to die.

One day there will be no more tears left to cry.

One day the wrong will be made right.

One day we’ll all stand together and fight.

One day the storm will pass.

One day true love will last.

One day sinners will be judged.

One day there will be no need to hold a grudge.

One day the violence will come to an end.

One day we will learn to transcend.

One day mass destruction will be a thing of the past.

One day we will sing, pray, and fast.

One day can’t come soon enough.

One day the roads won’t be so tough.

One day the fallen will rise again.

One day the victory song will begin.

One day the tears of sorrow will turn to joy.

One day the mother will be reunited with her little boy.

One day the runner will reach the end.

One day we’ll heal from deep down within.

One day will be one day since.

One day it’ll all make sense. 

#Pray4Boston41513

Shell of a man

A friend asked me one day, 

“Why don’t you date that guy?”

I took note of his bald head, brown skin, white teeth, and slim physique and told my friend,

“Girl, that’s a shell of a man.”

“A what?” she said.

“A shell of a man.” I said. 

“He shows us what he wants us to see. Remove those clothes and peel back those abs you’ll find a lonely heart that skips a beat. Cut away that smooth skin on his perfectly shaved head and you’ll find a tiny brain. If you rip his skin from shoulder to shoulder you find the absence of a spine. So, no thank you dear. I prefer my man to have a big heart, a head full of knowledge and a back so strong that he can take on the world with his right hand and hold me up with his left.”

“And you can tell all that just by looking at him?” remarked my friend.

“Yeah, it took some time, but I had to learn to look past the obvious in order to see the invisible.”

Pride and Prejudice

I had the pleasure of watching the film “Pride and Prejudice” for the first time a few nights ago. I recall hearing the story of the arrogant Mr. Darcy and the "barely tolerable" Miss Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bennett. From first glance Mr. Darcy is clearly captivated by the simple beauty of Lizzie. Lizzie's was so confident and unlike any woman would have been during her time.  Lizzie was strong and articulate. Women during this time period looked at marriage as the ultimate goal. Getting married, especially to a man of wealth was the job for these women. 

Mr. Darcy was standoffish, arrogant, and a bit rude. Like Elizabeth Bennett, Mr. Darcy knows exactly what he wants and he knows exactly who he is. What is so beautiful about their love story is that it is a secret. Lizzie doesn't share her feelings about Mr. Darcy until after he asked her father for her hand in marriage. This was weeks or maybe even months after their first meeting.  Their love was honest and pure. Their love was filled with stolen glances and in depth conversations.  Unlike in today's world, the women kept their bodies a mystery by wearing long gowns. Even their arms were covered. They relied upon their God given beauty, intellect and charisma to win over their men. The men, especially Mr. Darcy, were gentlemen at all times. They dressed in the best suits and walked confidently, shoulders back and head up into every room. Even the men who were considered "lower class" carried themselves in this manner. The people of this time had pride about themselves. Grand balls were held to welcome the soldiers and any visitors who may have been passing through. With a mother with five daughters like Mrs. Bennett, this was a time to show off her girls in hope that they would secure a husband. Because a woman only worked in the home during this time, it was important for her to secure a husband to take care of her. Mr. Bennett was an older gentleman, so he wanted to ensure that his wife and daughters would not be thrown out on the street after his death. Marriage was the way out. Being married was the epitome of success during this time.  There weren't long courtships. Men and women didn't "shack up" first before marriage. No. A man simply saw it as his duty to find a woman suitable for his estate. The "women in waiting" spent their time reading, drawing, and playing the piano so that when their time came to be married there would be no doubt that they were suitable candidates.

These people had it right. It saddens me how far we have moved from such a godly tradition. In my opinion, women are in constant competition with men. From the type of jobs that women and men do today to how households are ran. We have lost are way somewhere. Instead of women keeping their bodies a mystery and relying solely on their charisma and God-given beauty, they've placed everything out in the open. Men no longer have to be well groomed on proper to catch the attention of a young lady. Men, in some cases, don't have to be physically attractive, but yet hold some level of status in society in order to be seen as "suitable".  Suitable for what? Marriage is no longer the ultimate goal.  Marriage has become a bonus. Being a trophy or arm candy of a man of social status is more important than being his wife. Men no longer have to woo their women or ask for their hands in marriage in order to become intimate. No. They can simply appear to have wealth and the women will flock; not to be the wife, but to belong to someone.

There are some women and some men who still believe in tradition, but they are few and far between. If a woman is more reserved, educated, and proper she is boring. If a man has achieved some success, but can't afford the lavish lifestyles of his brothers in the lime light, he is ignored.

What must we do to get our men and women to see marriage as the ultimate goal? What must we do to show future generations that wealth and happiness is not defined by your bank account?  What must we do to show our young women that soliciting their bodies will not get them closer to fame and fortune?  What must we do to show our young men that the definition of a man is not based on how many women he can sleep with, but yet how he can provide, protect, and love the one woman God has created for him?

I don't have all of the answers, although I wish that I did. Who's job is it to make things right?

Pride and Prejudice shows us that social status, wealth, and even beauty is irrelevant when it comes to matters of the heart. Love is something that is derived from inner beauty. When your inner beauty shines through that's when you know that you're walking on God's path. 

 Christy

Call the Maintenance Man

A few weeks ago, I shared a story with you about how I was locked inside of my apartment.  Well, wouldn't you know it the handle on the inside of my door is now broken.  I immediately thought to myself, “Okay, now what does this mean?” I believe that everything happens for a reason.  The first day that I noticed the broken handle my first thought was to call downstairs to the main office, so that the maintenance guy could have it repaired that same day.  My second thought was to make sure that I could still open the door and I wasn't trapped inside again. I left the house that day with every intention of calling the maintenance man.  I went about my day forgetting completely about the door until the next morning when I set out to leave.  Before leaving the house in a hurry, I wrote a reminder on the imaginary notebook in my head and again I left to start my day.  Of course I forgot to call the office again.  Well, this went on for a few days.  Soon I had figured out a way to open the door without the handle coming off.  It was still broken, but I had figured out a temporary solution to exiting the house without having to call down to maintenance.  Long story short, I am living with the broken handle. You know, I’m dealing with it in the meantime.  There is an easy fix to my problem; call the maintenance man.  It’s his job to help in these types of matters and he’s actually on call waiting to respond to small issues like mine or larger issues like backed up plumbing.

In life we often times get use to broken relationships, broken promises, broken hearts and just broke people. These people or situations find a way into our lives and instead of calling God, the man who can fix ALL things, we simply deal with them.  We allow these issues to stay and harm us like a malignant tumor. We place them on the shelf or put our focus on things that we feel are more important, but at the end of the day we find ourselves in a broken home with a broken foundation, surrounded by broken people.  It is up to us if we want to remain in this broken state.  We have a direct and divine connection with God, so that even before we make our request known He is already on the job fixing things for us.   

At the end of the day you have two choices: Call the maintenance man (GOD) or live a life of brokenness.

Be blessed,

Christy

31 of 365

Well, there goes the month of January!

This morning I felt a bit frustrated as I looked at my to-do list.  There are so many things that I have yet to begin and already 31 days of 2013 have passed me by. What's a girl to do?

First of all, I plan to celebrate the small wins, you know all of those baby steps towards the big goal at the end. It is a trick of the devil to make us feel that we haven't really arrived or reached success if we don't have several dollars in our pockets, fancy cars, or a reality show (okay so maybe I went too far with that one).  We all have individual goals and assignments. We can't compare our path to that of someone else.

Focus on you and your life and everything will fall into place. Have faith that what you desire will come to pass and watch God work.  "Because of your faith, it will happen." Matthew 9:29 That is God's promise.

Here's to the next 31 days of 2013!

Christy

Locked in, but almost Hooked up! Cont...

Who was it?

I don’t know, some guy I’d never seen before, but was definitely attracted to. He was probably about 6’3 or 6’4. I could tell because while I was inside of the freezer I had managed to get on my tip toes to reach the Lean Cuisine Thai spring rolls putting my height at about 5’9.  What did I do when I saw him, you ask? Nothing.  I opened the freezer door again and pretended to read the label of the frozen meals until I figured out my next move. 

Through the glass I could see his long sleeve black under armor shirt and grey sweatpants (Thank you Jesus for pants like that!) pass behind me.  When I turned around he was nowhere to be found.  At this point, I had two choices: (1) I could grab the spring rolls and head for the self-checkout or (2) I could grab the spring rolls and walk to the back cooler for a gallon of soy milk which would allow me the opportunity to see Mr. Black shirt and Grey pants again.  Of course I chose #2 because out of the six months that I have been shopping at this local Wal-Mart I had never seen N-E-Body remotely attractive and so now after having recently escaped from what could have been a life or death situation, God had blessed with me some eye candy that was so sweet that I got a cavity the moment I saw his face. 

For the record, most single females would have gone with the #2 option. This type of thing happens all of the time.  When we see a guy that is cute and if time permits we conveniently place ourselves in his path to “get a closer look” or to give him an opportunity to make his move. 

Right after the breakfast cereal and just before the paper goods I spotted Mr. Black shirt and grey pants. Again, we locked eyes and even though I was looking for him I was startled when I finally saw his face.  I headed straight for the milk cooler and took longer than normal to locate the Great Value light original soy milk and just as I opened the cooler to retrieve my dose of dairy, I saw his reflection through the cooler door.  “YES!” I thought. “And I didn’t even have to go looking for him again.” I grabbed the milk and began walking in the direction of Mr. Black shirt.  BINGO!  I spotted him on the wine aisle. I decided it was now time for me to head out. I was too shy to say anything to him. If he and I were to bump into each other again it would have to be fate and not based on me and my antics. 

I started walking towards the front of the store and then there he was again in my peripheral.  I couldn't have him walking behind me.  I wanted to be the stalker not the stalked.  I dipped into the soup aisle and studied the Campbell’s chicken noodle soup can until I saw the black and grey disappear down the main aisle.  Okay now I was trying to avoid him.  I didn’t want to come across as a stalker (blank stare), so when I saw that he had made his way to the express line and I stepped slowly towards the self-checkout.  Just as I walked up he turned his cart from the express line and headed for the same self-checkout line as me.  Again, we shared a friendly glance and I even gave off a smile this time.  Seeing that there was only one free lane open he said to me with a smile, “You can go ahead.”  I managed to get out a very shy, “Thanks.” I moved quickly towards my lane.  We didn’t lock eyes again. We both worked quietly scanning our items and paying for our groceries.  Grabbing my receipt I walked away slowly giving myself an opportunity to see which door he would exit out of.  I walked briskly through the rain to my car smiling the entire way.  As I pulled out of the parking lot, I saw Mr. Grey and Black again loading a large SUV.  If I wasn’t so shy I probably would have spoken to him. 

So, the moral of this very colorful story, sometimes God holds you up. Sometimes He places you in a situation beyond your control so that you can take a moment to enjoy the simple act of doing nothing. He also gives you this time to reflect and focus on the things that matter most.  Usually after one of these tests there is something sweet waiting for you on the other end. 

My evening would have ended quite differently had I not been locked inside the house. I would have eaten too many carbs, I would have missed Mr. Black and Grey, and most of all I would have missed out on sharing my story with you good people.   

Locked in but almost Hooked Up!

I found myself locked inside of my apartment the other night. I had only been home long enough to change clothes, order some wings from Wing Stop and grab the overdue Redbox DVDs to return to Wal-Mart. I went through my normal exit-the-house routine grabbing my keys, turning off the light in the kitchen, and finally unlocking the door.  When I tried unlocking the deadbolt the handle of the lock turned but the deadbolt scowled at me as if to say, “Where do you think you’re going?”  I tried twisting the lock a few more times, but nothing. Luckily it was only about 5:30, so the main office in my building was still open.  Amy answered with such enthusiasm, but when she heard me say, “I am locked inside of my apartment!” Her tone quickly changed.  She paged our maintenance guy and he was there in less than ten minutes.  His suggestion was for me to unscrew the deadbolt lock first and then he would attempt to remove the lock from the other side.  I only had the flathead screwdriver (two notches) instead of the other one with the four grooves which made the unscrewing process very tedious. Any who, I kept at it until I was finally able to unscrew the lock.  Unfortunately for me the deadbolt still wouldn’t budge.  The maintenance guy sent for another guy with a drill to take his place.  Bless his heart. He worked diligently, but he didn’t speak very much English.  After successfully removing the entire key lock from the door, he peeped his head inside the bottom lock which was now only a gaping hole and screamed, “Can you unlock?” So I peeped my head through the same gaping hole and said, “No! It’s the deadbolt.” I gestured to the top and finally he realized what I was saying.  He went back to work.

As he continued to drill and hammer away, I thought, “Okay, God so what’s the lesson in this?” You know there’s always a reason for everything.  Since my Wing Stop and Wal-Mart trip had been temporarily delayed I decided that I would at least make use of my time at home.  My first thought was to work on the project schedule that my Portfolio Manager needed for Friday or I could work on my vision board from 2012 which had been tucked away in my guest room closet since this time last year. I had just left the office, so I chose the vision board. 

It’s amazing how unbelievably calm I was acting about the entire thing.  I kept telling myself, “Everything happens for a reason. I’ll figure it out later on.”  After ripping through a few back issues of TIME and US Weekly (I still don’t know how I ended up with that magazine), the maintenance guy gave the door three loud and quick taps with his hammer and BAM my door came flying open.  I have never been so happy to see the outside of my door!  He quickly replaced the bottom lock in silence giving me a new key.  The both of us gestured “thank you” and “you’re welcome”. 

Next I was faced with another dilemma; lock the only lock that remained or say a quick prayer of protection and leave the door unlocked. I said a prayer and left the bottom lock unlocked just long enough for me to grab my car keys, new house key, and the Redbox DVDs and again set out for Wal-Mart.  I did, however, lock the door behind me. I would rather be locked out then locked in. 

When I reached Wal-Mart I returned the Redbox DVDs and picked up a few more.  As I waited for the DVDs to pop out like pop tarts from the side of the kiosks I noticed an older gentleman kind of checking me out.   I gave him a quick nonchalant smile and thought, “Yep, I still got it!” 

Since I was abandoning the idea of having Wingstop for dinner, I decided to grab one of those pop-in-the-microwave healthy dinner meals. 

I must have stood with the Lean Cuisine freezer door open for over fifteen minutes trying to decide which one of the sometimes bland meals I would select. If you’ve ever stood with one of those freezer doors open you’d probably noticed that the glass fogs up after awhile.  This is what happened to me. That is why I could not see who was entering the aisle from the other end.  Giving up completely, I shut the freezer door and there he was, standing there between the T.G.I.F frozen dinners for two and the Stouffers meals.

To be continued...

Happy New Year

I didn't make any resolutions this year.  I did, however, decide that I needed to begin living my life as if all of the things that I have asked God for or that God has promised me are already here.

I realized that although I am not married and I do not have children it is no longer acceptable for me to live like I am single.  I actually have to cook real meals, get enough sleep (whatever that is), be more active, keep  an organized house and stuff like that. It's been going okay for the most part, but in the midst of "living" I can't help but to feel the loneliness that singleness brings.  I have found myself often being angry with God for being silent or for making me wait so long.  That reminds me of the ketchup commercial from the 80's.  The guy that decided to wait for the ketchup to drip from the bottle got the girl in the end.  So, here I stand posted, waiting for the imaginary ketchup to drip from bottle and receive the prize that waits for me in the end.

Somehow I thought that I was the only one experiencing these thoughts and these emotions, but after talking to a few girlfriends I realized that I wasn't alone. All of us were single (unmarried but dating), successful in our careers, have a relationship with God, but yet feel as if life has yet to begin.

Does the start of life or living begin when you say those two magic words surrounded by your family, friends, and a bunch of free loading extras? Does your life begin when you finally hit the six figure dollar amount at your corporate job? Does life begin when you bring another life into the world?

What's the real answer to this question? Why does it always seem that we're waiting for something in life instead of just living each day?

I'll continue to ponder on these thoughts... In the meantime, I wish you a Happy New Year.  I hope that your 2013 will be filled with new steps and new discoveries.

Christy