If that's what it takes...

Watch "Pour que tu m'aimes encore - Céline Dion" on YouTube

The Prophet on Prayer

It is common to pray in times of distress but may we recommend that you pray,also in the fullness of joy and days of abundance?
We cannot ask thee for aught, for thou knowest our needs before they are born in us:
Thou art our need, and in giving us more of Thyself thou givest all!

The Prophet - Khalil Gibran

The truth

Faith won't work where the will of God is not known.
You have to understand the truths associated with the relationship with God.
If you don't believe in healing, you cannot be healed because your faith will fail you.

Its hard for you to receive truth if you dont believe that God loves you and wants the best for you!

~ Develop an inward reality of the Holy Spirit- Acknowledge God's presence and that He is for you
~ Focus on the new creation I have become - my righteousness, holiness (1 Corinthians 6:17). If God is for me, who can be against me? I dont need Him to show up, I am one with Him! Worry and fear are ridiculous! God knows all things!

The law is not a compass or map

The law was given to Jews under the old covenant but they couldn't keep it, later Jesus walked the earth and we have a new covenant which is open to all. (Hebrews 8:7)

If you want to live under the law and Ten Commandments, stop eating pork and shellfish, don't go to work on Saturdays or do any chores, follow every single rule and make animal sacrifices if you miss it! Stop trying to pick the few rules that work for you while you reject and ignore the others.

We are no longer under the law, we are under grace! Be led by the Spirit, not by the law. This is God's best for you. He will be our God and write the laws on our heart. (Hebrews 8:10)

If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law (Galatians 5:18)

He's one of us

For my brother-in-law's birthday, we celebrated in Connecticut by playing paintball. Some of the members on our team were not a apart of our family so we had to make sure we knew them so we wouldn't attack them. At any moment, yout own team member could shoot you if they did not remember how you look. We would quickly exclaim, "dont shoot, hes one of us!"

I was on the train this morning, a seat became available and an Asian man approached the seat at the same time three black women were approaching it (myself included). Personally, I thought his approach was foul because he practically weaved his way in but then I thought  a series of thought "big deal", "survival of the fittest", "men get tired too", "he was probably hoping he would get a seat and now he was thankful that he did". A woman and her daughter started a conversation that I was not privy to hearing, clearly it was some criticism of this man's actions because it sparked his response
Asian man: do you want to sit?
Black woman: no
Asian man: the only reason I sat here is because there was another seat available there (points to a location two seats down.suggesting that her daughter could have sat there)
Black woman: I am not talking to you, I am talking to my daughter

Have we really evolved that much?

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” Maya Angelou

Tell me why

I don't understand why the minor differences among people are magnified and the similarities are overlooked.

Tell me why the color of someone's skin should be a determination for how they are treated
Tell me why males and females fight against each other, compete or take advantage of one another
Why should outward standards of appearance be the judge of one's character?

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” Maya Angelou

Day with Linda - Bikeriding in Central Park

Linda and I didn't want to take pictures of the watermelon but saw the need to take pics interacting with them!

 Central Park

 We both love Gotye's Somebody that I used to know - these two guys were performing their hearts out

 Time to go home

Metamorphosis: #transformed#

I want my life to give glory to God. I want to be a walking example and testimony of God's ability to change people and His.love for me. I don't want to be holy because I fear hell or God taking His love from me. I do it because I love God and I don't want my heart to condemn me for doing wrong.

God loves me right now the way I am! There is nothing I can do to make Him love me any more or less. Sometimes He does not approve of my actions but He will never stop loving me.

Lets get something straight:

- People dont go to heaven because they are sinless, but because they accepted Jesus
- People dont go to hell because of sin, but because they reject Jesus

Practical Holiness

* Know your righteousness - I am not righteous because of what I do (my actions or performance) but because of what He has done. Know who you are in Christ, you are His beloved!
* Understand how much God loves you - when you comprehend the magnitude of God's love for you, you will be able to rest in His love
* Sin is not the issue. When you think about what God has done for you, you won't even want to sin, you will lose your appetite for it. Once you understand your union with God, you won't want to sin. The grace of God will help you to make better decisions

Thoughts planted in your mind aren't necessarily for the present but for future reference. Guard your mind, thoughts and heart. Nothing good comes from the flesh, don't trust your flesh and don't give it an opportunity or place in your life.

How to stop doing what you don't want to do! First, don't be condemned over your bad decisions, don't be dominated because there is residue from the "old landlord" - you are a new creature, you live in a different place
* Renew your mind with the Word of God and walk in the Spirit ~ this is a lifestyle
* Meditate on your oneness with God

Holiness means being of one mind with God. Whatever He says is right, I agree that it is right. Holiness is not a conduct, its a way of life and thinking. Holiness is not the lack of makeup or adornment. Holiness is not whether a female wears jeans or earrings. Holiness is not in our flesh or outward appearance. It is being in Christ! The opposite of holiness is not sin, its being common, accepting the norm as the standard and going against God's standard.

fun in chi town

I love you

These three little words which have become so cliche can be so impactful,they can be like music in your ears.

I recall comforting my girlfriend as she came to the realization that she was in love with her boyfriend. "How am I going to tell him? Should I tell him? When is the right time"

Two things ring true for me:
1. Love is such a beautiful expression and when I tell someone that I love them, I dont expect an answer, usually I prefer if they do not because I dont want the response to be reciprocated for the sake of being polite
2. I've realized that if I love someone, whether I tell them or not, I still love them! Omitting the feeling doesn't change or negate the fact that they exist.

Improptu KTV singing

So Alice comes over and we cook a Chinese meal.

Before and after  - we had eggplant, green beans, potatoes, chicken and eggs/tomatoes served over rice. It sounds a lot more appetizing in Chinese lol.

After our very delicious meal, we just broke out into karaoke singing some of our favorite songs.

It's the little things in life that count ;)

Chicago with Katie

Despite being cold in the morning, Katie and I decided that it was going to be a nice day and whether the weather agreed or not, we were putting on swimsuits and heading to the beach

Clearly its not that warm since I have on a hoodie!

We got to the beach, undressed and the weather was gorgeous!

Lake Michigan

After laying on the beach for about two hours, we walked to Devon Street - Little India

and devoured some delicious food!

Chi town bound

I was sitting at work and I felt a sudden need from a prolonged desire to see Katie. I sent her a text message saying "I don't miss you a little, I miss you a ton. How about I come to Chicago this weekend?" She responded "yeaaaahh" and so I booked a ticket.This morning I got home at 12:30am from a wedding. I threw some clothes into a suitcase, took a shower, slept for two hours and woke up at 3am to the airport.

6:25AM my flight took off and I was already asleep. Less than two hours later, I landed in Chicago beaming with excitement to see Katie. 

Janice and Charles' wedding

After I hectic day at work, I tried to pull myself away to get dressed for Janice and Charles' wedding. The plan - simple and easy to remember - Monique and I were supposed to meet at her house at the very latest by 4PM. At 4:30PM, she was in a cab rushing to her house and I was two blocks away. At this time, my hair is not done, I have not steamed my dress, haven't done my makeup - literally no preparations. At 4:45PM we finally meet and decide that we need to hop in a cab immediately. By this time, Mo had on her dress and did her makeup in the cab ride back to her house. I still had on my work clothes. Neither of us had the address to the ceremony on us so we are calling and texting to find out the info. We get a cab and when he asks for the destination, I advised him to go in the general direction of Harlem and we will provide him with an address later. Someone finally picks up their phone and gives us the address. I start changing in the cab and doing my make up! We arrive at 30 minutes late, minutes before the bride was going to walk in! I still haven't seen a mirror and my hair is not done but we ran inside the church and sat down.

Finally I see a mirror:

Not bad for a ten minute get up lol

At the reception 

Congrats Jan and Charles!