"Can You Just Smile For Me?" - Kirk Franklin, I Smile
So I wasn't a huge fan of this song, but I ♥ the video! How could I not? It's so joyful! Before I knew it I'd played it back to back over 5 times. *sigh* I'm now addicted to the message & wanted to share it w/ y'all. I promise you it's almost impossible not to smile watching God's people smile & sing w/ such genuine emotion. Heck I cried & smiled at the same time (dang you Jill Scott). Seriously, I am convinced the joy of the Lord radiates through smiles. So no matter what you're going through (& we all have our trials & tribulations) you must believe it's only temporary. Remember, "This too shall pass" & SMILE. Let this song & video be the start of the upliftment of your heart! *blows kisses*
Peep The Lyrics:
I almost gave up,
but a power that I can’t explain
fell from heaven like a shower.
I smile, even though I’m hurt see I smile,
I know God is working so I smile,
Even though I’ve been here for a while
I smile, smile...
It’s so hard to look up when you look down.
Sure would hate to see you give up now,
You look so much better when you smile.
One day a man saw a butterfly shuddering on the sidewalk locked in a seemingly hopeless struggle to free itself from its now useless cocoon. Feeling pity, he took a pocket knife, carefully cut away the cocoon and set the butterfly free. To his dismay it lay on the sidewalk, convulsed weakly for a while, and died. A biologist later told him, "That's the worst thing you could have done! A butterfly needs that struggle to develop the muscles to fly. By robbing him of the struggle, you made him too weak to live."
Started my train trip (from NOLA to B'ham) off right @ 7:33 a.m.!
Sade, Kiss of Life blasting from my iPhone Pandora.
"When I was lead to you, I knew you were the one for me."
*closes eyes & sways*
- Sade, Kiss of Life (Live)
Reason #2 Why I ♥ the Train: Scenery.
Alabama = Gorgeous Red Clay Roads.
"Da*mn, let's go see if somebody need some help bruh."
As I road into my hometown Birmingham, Al the scenery became a living nightmare. This is video of a rescue (Pratt City/ Cherry Av.) shortly after the storm. The footage is shaky, but worth the watch. These brothers saved a little boy & his mom trapped inside their home just minutes after the storm. After a tearful reaction I decided to share b/c it's important to see neighbors coming together in times of need. On the drive home (5/13/2011) my mother made some turns so I could view the destruction. With a heavy heart I took photo's of the devastation in my neighborhood. The tornado hit a only few miles away from my home & I am beyond blessed that God spared my mother's life & our home. My mommy said she ran to her closet, hid & screamed "God have mercy on us!" For those who are less fortunate than I you are in my prayers. We are Alabama. We will rise again. Amen.
Tornado Destruction: April 27th, 2011
Cherry Ave., Forestdale, Alabama
Tornado Destruction: April 27th, 2011
Pratt City, Alabama (Smithfield Estates)
Tornado Destruction: April 27th, 2011
Pratt City, Alabama (Smithfield Estates)
My mother & I took our burdens to the altar at Living Stones Temple.
'Netra (choir director) sung a beautiful Gospel melody that lifted my heart.
Here are the incredible lyrics.
I believe God
He is incredible, invincible
He can crumble the impossible
Yes, I believe God
Although my faith sometimes is tested
On this shaky road I trod
I, oh I believe God
When life's storm is harsh and bitter
And my ambition starts to wither
I wont be driven to crumble or complain
You see, doubting God is never
The option to consider
I've seen too many miracles
Are You a Hardworking Sistah Girl? You Deserve This CD!
Clearly, I've been under a rock! The Girlfriends Soundtrack has been out since 2008 & I'm just finding out about it. Nevertheless, you can never hear about good music too late. I am absolutely in ♥ w/ virtually every cut & it doesn't hurt that Girlfriends is my favorite sitcom EVER! These songs not only embody the characters, but Sistah's everywhere. In my opinion the show was one of the most gorgeous, realistic portrayls of Black women to date. This album is a representation of all of that & some! In my mind I've already grabbed a glass of Fu-Ki Plum wine, lit some Nag Champa Incense, & grabbed a good book. I've included the soundtrack tracklist as well as 4 songs (via YouTube) for y'all to sample. Enjoy!
Yo, I LOVE the Beyonce's "Who Run The World? (Girls)" joint! If you know my musical style this may come as a total surprise (as it was to me), but I couldn't resist shaking my body to this female empowerment chant. I find myself yelling at the top of my lungs "WHO RUN THE WORLD? GIRLS!" whenever it hits the radio. So tonight I had a sudden urge to hear my joint & while surfing YouTube I rolled up on this KICK AS* video of these Sista's gettin' it in! Then I realized I knew one of these ladies (shout out to Allison Barnes from B'ham) & these amazing dancers. Yea, yea, yea I know these chics are 1.) Barely clothed. 2.) Sticking up middle fingers. 3. Movin' to a SCREAMIN' Beyonce' track. But F' it! We're all allowed a guilty pleasure (or two) & this one is all mine in May! Enjoy.
"We're smart enough to make these millions,
strong enough to bare the children,
& then get back to business."
"But if a woman nourish her hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering"
- Corinthians 1: 11 (Douay-Rheims Bible)
So I've officially f*cked up my natural, thick, beautiful hair. I'd like to send a huge middle finger to weaves, flat irons, & hair color! A big freakin' thank you for this thin, lifeless, heat damaged mess. Aight, now that I've gotten that out...*sigh* let us proceed. For the last month I've been on this healthy hair journey. In 2008 I started my "natural hair journey" & did the "big chop". I rocked it well *pats back*. However, around this time I wore alot of weaves & micro-braids until I grew it out. After about 4 months my hair was beyond gorgeous. I literally couldn't go anywhere w/o people gawking over my tresses. Ahem, I then proceeded to destroy it (every week) for the next three years. Soooooo I'm starting over, AGAIN. Currently I'm a little frustrated, a lot impatient, & at times joyful. I'm trying my best to stick to a healthy regimine (no heat, natural/Ayurvedic hair regimens, protective styling, etc.)
For those working toward more healthy hair there are a lot of YouTube videos/ blogs that have assisted me in doing the d@mn thang & I wanted to share! Enjoy.
As a black woman and a feminist I listen to the music with a willingness to see past the machismo in order to be clear about what I’m really dealing with. What I hear frightens me. On booming track after booming track, I hear brothers talking about spending each day high as hell on malt liquor and Chronic. Don’t sleep. What passes for “40 and a blunt” good times in most of hip-hop is really alcoholism, substance abuse, and chemical dependency. When brothers can talk so cavalierly about killing each other and then reveal that they have no expectation to see their twenty-first birthday, that is straight up depression masquerading as machismo. [...]
This is crystal clear to me when I’m listening to hip-hop. Yeah, sistas are hurt when we hear brothers calling us bitches and hos. But the real crime isn’t the name-calling, it’s their failure to love us – to be our brothers in the way that we commit ourselves to being their sistas. But recognize: Any man who doesn’t truly love himself is incapable of loving us in the healthy way we need to be loved. It’s extremely telling that men who can only refer to us as “bitches” and “hos” refer to themselves only as “niggas.” - J. M.
