I'm so proud to be his friend.....

Have you ever met someone so amazingly special that you said to yourself, "They still make your kind?" Well, in my life, that's my friend Andre. Ya see, when I got off work this afternoon, I received a text message from a friend stating: "Andre's in the paper for his volunteer efforts in New Orleans!"

Funny, I've talked to Andre almost every single day and he hasn't mentioned a word about it....typical humble Andre!

Well, thank God for online newspapers, because here's his story:

http://www.mlive.com/flint/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-45/118831105574760.xml&coll=5&thispage=1

Let me tell you a little about Andre. When you hear that Black men today "ain't about nothin," Andre's the poster man for hope. He has two degrees, one in MATH (Who, other than my sister, Tiffany, gets a degree in MATH!) and one in accounting, and he's currently working on his MBA. He currently works for University of Michigan-Flint as a Project Manager for the Office of Research. Andre's there when you need him and is always a shoulder to cry on. Andre is probably one of the smartest people I know, yet he doesn't like to talk about his accomplishments....matter of fact, you may have to pry it out of him.

Most importantly: he's incredibly humble. Last year during his spring break, Andre visited New Orleans to help in the rebuilding of houses.

Andre, whether you choose to know it or not, you're TRULY one of the best around.

Now, don't make some cheesy comment, Andre (I.E. "I paid Joslyn to write this") just take the compliments!

We Gotta Pray For One Another

From what I hear, marriage is very hard. From what I hear, being married to a preacher is even harder. I know first hand that the preacher seems to be attacked by Satan harder than anyone else. What better gossip is there than "church gossip?" If you don't know who this couple is, it's Pastor Thomas Weeks and Rev. Juanita Bynum-Weeks. Apparently, this couple have been estranged and decided to meet up to try and resolve some marital issues. What started as them trying to reconcile, ended up being a pretty bad beat down. Here's the source for the full story: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2007/08/22/bynum_0823.html

Some sources are speculating that he had an "uncomfortably close" relationship with some men in his church, and she obviously took issue with it. This, of course, could just be media speculation. Regardless of whether or not it's the truth, this couple needs prayer.

Ya see, Juanita has always been brutally honest about her past. I can remember watching "No More Sheets" where she talked about her failed marriages, being on welfare, and promiscuity. I can remember when she announced her engagement, and how happy she was that she received her blessing from God. I can remember seeing the lavish wedding on television. (No, the church didn't pay for it: Juanita has several legitimate businesses and has written several books).

But now, here's the attack. When I have had failed relationships, or when couples I know get into fights, it doesn't break into national news. You're able to deal with it "somewhat" privately. Whatever the reason they were fighting, and no matter what the outcome will be; let's pray for our bothers and sisters. Doesn't matter if they're wrong, doesn't matter if they've been living a lie: Let's just pray for them....

Is Michael Vick Worse Than Us????

Okay, so if anyone knows anything about a Libra, you'll know that a Libra generally tries to look at a story from all sides before they come to a conclusion. I'm sure that everyone knows the story about Michael Vick by now, and if you don't, here's a link to the full story. http://www.postchronicle.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=24&num=92774

Here's what I've been pondering:

Everyone says: "Oh, it's just dog fighting for Christ's sake! It's not that serious! Just another way to keep a good Black man down!"

My take: Do you have any idea what goes on during the breeding process? Let me break it down for you. To breed a certain type of dog, there is actually something called a "rape stand." This stand is used to hold the female dog in place by clamping her head and raising her hind, so that the male dog can impregnate her. Also, once a dog was found to not be aggressive enough, he couldn't just sell the dog, the dog has to die. Not only does the dog have to die, but traditionally it dies in a brutal fashion, by being slammed or shocked or drowned. (Damn, couldn't he just shoot it???)

Yup, there was a rape stand found in Vick's house.

So now you're probably thinking, "Okay, so at least he wasn't killing people! Who cares since no one was hurt!!"

Well, here where it gets tricky..

Ya see, when profiling serial killers, it was found that most serial killers started off torturing animals. So we can't act as if it's no big deal. We have to act on the warning signs....right?
http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/abuse_connection.php

Okay, so flip the script.

I know many women with fur coats. To make the furs, many of these animals (chinchillas, minks, foxes) have their necks broken or are electrocuted.......but it's legal....
http://www.mercyforanimals.org/fur_farms.asp

Hmmmm, anyone see the correlation here???

If I wear a dead animal, should I be convicted? Are the people who break the necks or do the electrocution of these animals potential serial killers, also? What makes what the fur makers do legal, and what the dog fighting illegal?? Aren't they both used for frivolous reasons?

This is not to excuse Michael Vick from being, what I call, just plain stupid; however, one has to wonder just why he's potentially about to go to prison but the fur makers are walking around.

You're thoughts?

Can't Replace Love.....Can I????

Whew!

It's been a long week! Between getting two blowouts on the freeway on the same day, playing volleyball (my newest love) and catching up at work, I've been busy! As a matter of fact, I think that I've been staying busy on purpose. See, if I'm busy, then I can't notice that my heart is still broken...

This'll work, right????

*Going to sign up for more weekly classes*

Thank God for broken hearts....

I thank God for growth.

Ya see, I was always the girl who cried over the ex-boyfriend a little too long. I would break up with my boyfriend and the world would literally end all around me. I remember when I was 19 and found out my boyfriend cheated on me (caught him RED HANDED on the morning of my birthday) I went crazy...

Seriously...

I keyed his truck.

Okay, so I have to admit that while keying his beloved truck felt sooooo good at the time; in hind-sight, it was so stupid and it's actually something that I'm very ashamed of.

For the longest, I went through the "I want to be with him all the damn time" phase. My whole entire day would revolve around the boyfriend. Whatever he wanted me to do, I did. I would ignore my friends and obligations BIG TIME to be with him.

Then there was the "going through the cell-phone" phase.

Sigh, this gets bad....

I had a feeling that my boyfriend was cheating on me so I went through his phone.

Okay, so HE WAS cheating, but that doesn't make what I did okay.


Like I said, I thank God for growth.

Through my broken hearts, I've realized that losing one boyfriend isn't the end of the world. I understand that he doesn't have to be my whole life, and guys actually like it when you got something going for yourself!

Here's another good one: Sometimes, it's best to let God handle the whole cheating thing.

This isn't to say that if you find out that you just be non-responsive; but you don't have to go looking for it. Ask God for undeniable evidence, if it exists and in the event that it doesn't exist, ask God to help you with your insecurities.

As of recent relationships, I've been accused of being too non-responsive and laid back...



Who knew, but THANK GOD FOR GROWTH!!!!

Whelp, it's all Andre's fault.....

Hola!

Due to the fact that Andre has a blog, I figured that I should start one too, and steal his fan base!

*Grins evily*

Welcome everyone, intriguing topics soon to come!!!