ENCOURAGE YOURSELF IN 09

What I Learned Through Loss - Spiritled Woman

2011-02-14T18:59:00.000-05:00

What I Learned Through Loss - Spiritled Woman

Prayer for Life's Journey - May we know that it is the journey that is

2010-12-06T09:01:00.000-05:00

Prayer for Life's Journey - May we know that it is the journey that is

Pepsi Refresh Project: John legend

2010-12-02T06:55:00.000-05:00

Pepsi Refresh Project: John legend

My Gospel Favorites

2010-12-02T06:07:00.000-05:00

World Aids Day

2010-11-23T09:42:00.001-05:00

http://www.bvwellness.com/2010/11/23/world-aids-day-black-stars-lost/

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Butterfly Angel Sisters

2010-05-20T22:30:00.001-04:00

Click here for Butterfly Angel Sisters.doc

Beautiful butterflies

Sista 42 - DivineCaroline

2009-12-01T21:29:00.001-05:00

Sista 42 is a member of the DivineCaroline community and publishes on www.divinecaroline.com. We think you may like to read their work.

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First Family Photo

2009-10-23T21:47:00.001-04:00

P090109-0127
Originally uploaded by The Official White House Photostream

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their daughters, Sasha and Malia, sit for a family portrait

Butterfly Angel Sisters

2009-09-12T05:50:00.000-04:00

THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time Passes.....

Life happens.....

Distance separates.....

Children grow up.....

Jobs come and go. Love waxes and wanes.

Hearts break. Parents die. Colleagues forget favors. Careers end.....

BUT.....Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A girl friend is never farther away than needing her can reach.....

When you have to walk the valleys, the women in your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end.....

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you....or come in and carry you out. Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters.....

Daughter-in-laws, sisters, sister-in-laws, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, nieces, cousins, and extended family, all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and neither would I.

When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead.

Nor did we know how much we would need each other. Every day, we need each other still.

Lil’ Wayne’s wife Toya hits the public eye

2009-07-18T12:42:00.000-04:00

Lil’ Wayne’s wife Toya hits the public eye

Manage Profile: My Basics

2009-07-17T08:58:00.001-04:00

Manage Profile: My Basics

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Tough love from a brother

2009-07-12T21:53:00.001-04:00

BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Tough love from a brother

By Will Ross
BBC News, Ghana

He may only have been in Africa for 21 hours but it was long enough for Barack Obama to send out his inspiring message across the continent - "A New Moment Of Promise," he called it.

He urged Africans to stop laying the blame elsewhere and to take control of their own destiny.

He encouraged the younger generation to catch the "Yes We Can" fever that had assisted his own rise to the White House.

Great Day

2009-07-08T00:06:00.002-04:00

great day

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AddThis Social Bookmarking Sharing Button Widget

2009-06-26T19:11:00.001-04:00

AddThis Social Bookmarking Sharing Button Widget

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Check out Vocalpoint - How to Know When Enough’s Enough

2009-06-25T16:10:00.001-04:00

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Whitney Houston

2009-06-17T20:05:00.001-04:00

Whitney Houston

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (born August 9 1963 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American Pop, R&B, Soul and Gospel singer, songwriter, record producer, film producer and actress. She was one of the most popular and successful singers of the 1980s and 1990s, receiving multiple Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, and an MTV Movie Award. Her vocals are considered to be some of the best ever among pop singers, influencing singers such as Monica, SWV and Brandy. more...

[via FoxyTunes / Whitney Houston]

What Single Women Can Learn From Michelle

2009-06-15T20:09:00.002-04:00

Published on The Root (http://www.theroot.com)

By: Jenée Desmond-Harris

Would most Type A, professional women have dated Barack when he was a broke, big-eared organizer with a funny name?

America has fallen for the Obamas. The history, the high glamour, the PDAs on the White House lawn. It’s a universal picture of love. But for many successful black women, with college degrees, ambitious careers and five-year plans, that enchantment has become something of an obsession.

Those of us hoping to find suitable mates in a dating landscape that is, statistically speaking, pretty grave, are absolutely giddy about the very existence of the first family and especially about the possibility that we could find our own Barack.

We’d give up three hair appointments in a row, our designer puppies and that annual tropical vacation with our best grad-school friends to meet a man like him. Brilliant. Confident. Best smile ever. So into his wife. On the cover of April’s issue of Washingtonian magazine, he appears shirtless to illustrate the publication’s No. 2 reason to love D.C. (“Our new neighbor is hot!”) But if we’d first encountered him the way Michelle did, as a regular guy, under the glow of office lights instead of the spotlight, would he have made our lists at all?

In footage that plays when the networks mention how our cool, young, black president shot hoops [1] with his staff and friends on Election Day, Obama is close to gawky in a simple gray T-shirt tucked in just a bit too tightly. Between plays, you notice tapered pants pulled up a little too high. A slightly skinny build. In those few frames, he’s not the hottest guy on the court, let alone in the country. When he appeared as a presidential candidate on The Ellen DeGeneres Show [2], my initial swoon as he stepped on stage was short-lived. He playfully hip-bumped the host in an overly bouncy dance routine that embarrassed me into looking away. Suddenly, I was watching my boss get down at the company Christmas party or a friend’s dad grooving to Earth, Wind and Fire at her wedding. Not bad. Endearing, even. But “swagga” did not spring to mind. Sure, Obama is a dad and a boss to many . . . but I get the impression he’s been dancing like that his whole life.

I’ve played matchmaker, unsuccessfully, for scores of black professional women. And I’m convinced that Michelle’s got something on many of us. Not her intelligence or her confidence or sense of style, her glowing skin or the carved silhouette of her arms. I could fill a room with friends who have all these qualities to spare. I’m talking about the choices I imagine she made in those crucial moments between meeting Barack and deciding who he would be to her. She must have focused on an abundance of goodness instead of his hint of goofiness and fixated on a warm smile instead of a pair of oversized ears. It’s easy to see now that he was a great catch, but how many of us would have been open to this guy who strayed so far from the black Prince Charming ideal, starting with his very name?

My single friends and I mingle at events dubbed Pandora and Equilibrium, or with long acronyms about political engagement or the black community, where open bars and soul food buffets are the draw but really not the purpose. I will often identify a black man who “someone should be dating” and talk him up to a female friend, colleague or neighbor, offering descriptors like: Funny. Laid-back. Attractive. And more honest ones like: Ambitious. Shy. Soft but not fat.

Just as I picked at the less-than-cool undercurrents of that presidential pickup game and talk-show dance party, my female friends home in on the negative as they snub my suggestions.

His toes were ashy.

He seems like he’d be a really cool friend, but I don’t know, those lips. . .

He was wearing a bubble coat, and seriously, it was not that cold.

We had a good conversation, but I like a man to be more aggressive.

That was our second and last date. He used the word “authentic” like 14 times.

How many times do I have to tell you I’m looking for someone TALL and HOT? Keywords being tall and hot.

He drank a hot chocolate instead of coffee. What is he? A 6’4’’12-year-old? (I’m putting myself out there—this was my own reaction to an otherwise pleasant date just a few years ago.)

In these comments are echoes of my conversations in mini-communities of black professionals—at brunches, bar-passing celebrations and housewarming parties. I think of my years at Harvard Law School, which has 150 black students at any given time. One would have thought that the Black Law Students Association was a group of first cousins; dating among members was so unusual and so scandalous when it did occur. In these “professional” contexts, women are shaking with one hand and tossing men right into the friend zone with another. Across the country and over the years, the take-away often has the same theme: There was not a single guy there I would date.

Yeah, he was tall, but his head seemed a little small for his body.

It was loud in there, so I’m not sure. Did I detect a stutter?

Boy, was he sweating!

He seems like someone who would like Star Trek.

I don’t care if he can’t see. He should have left those glasses at the office.

He was dancing (or worse, trying) way too hard.

I don’t mean to minimize the statistics that are the baseline explanation for black women’s dating difficulties. They’re so distressing that last year CNN dedicated an entire segment of Black in America to the dilemmas of successful black women in dating and marriage. The Journal of Higher Education published statistics last year showing that less than a third of black males who enroll in college graduate within six years, and that black women outnumber black men in higher-education settings by 2:1. Between 1970 and 2001, the marriage rate for black men and women fell by 34 percent, versus 17 percent for the rest of the nation. The most recent Census Bureau figures show only 70 single black men for every 100 single black women. And those 70 men are not necessarily available—the figure includes single men who are incarcerated. The same survey showed that 45 percent of black women have never been married, compared with 23 percent of white women.

The idea that things are hard for black women who want to date black men who match us in academic and career success is a well-worn cultural narrative.

But if black women are going to defy the statistics, they need to start being more realistic. Holding out for the perfect man, someone who is intellectual but not nerdy—cool but not arrogant—impeccably dressed but not effeminate—not a player but with just the right amount of edge—is useless. Smart can go with a little nerdy. Artsy can be accompanied by off-beat. Ambitious and focused may mean less than a social butterfly. Yes, there was that one guy in law school who was easily 6’5’’, a Rhodes Scholar and a rapper, with a baby face to top things off. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but please!

And let’s be fair. We expect men to resist what society tells them about ideals when it comes to us—God, help the brother who admits a preference for skin or hair displayed on every magazine cover; or the arrogant fool who holds out for his own Clair Huxtable, not acknowledging that The Cosby Show was fiction. We’re justifiably upset when unrealistic standards are imposed on us, but many of us don’t seem to give black men any breaks in return when it comes to the superficial.

I was lucky enough to meet my beautiful, hilarious and unfailingly confident boyfriend two weeks after arriving to D.C. to begin my legal career. (By lucky, I mean I tracked him down in a Giant parking lot, tooting my horn to get his attention and asking if he was new in the neighborhood or needed a ride.) Jason works for a nonprofit. He drives a rattling, rimless Mazda. He has a particular pair of pants that were cuffed too ambitiously by his tailor, and he still wears them to work with determination because he paid for them. He has long dreads that see neither a twist nor a drop of beeswax in between the days I style them. If a tuft of hair escapes a lock in the middle of his forehead and I don’t see him for two days, it sits front and center for meetings and happy hours and pictures.

That half an inch of sock peeking out between his pants and shoes when he takes a long stride and that rebellious tuft of hair might have led many of my cohorts to let him walk out of the grocery store without a second look.

The point is simple. Given the numeric and historical facts, those of us who do seek to have relationships with black men of similar circumstances might need to open up a little. That doesn’t mean giving up on attraction. Attraction cannot be faked or forced. But we must start to question our assumptions about what our ideal really is. If a guy with a tentative smile and an awkward two-step could still get a dance (before he made the cover of every magazine in the country), more black women might just find a relationship they could believe in.

Jeneé Desmond-Harris is a graduate of Howard University and Harvard Law School and lives in Washington, D.C. Her previous work includes an analysis of the career choices of black Harvard Law graduates. She can be reached at jdesmondharris@gmail.com

SBF Seeking Her Own Barack [5]
My Love is Like Premium Cable [6]
Match Points [7]
When Tom Met Sally [8]

Source URL: http://www.theroot.com/views/what-single-women-can-learn-michelle
Links:
[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFVbt2VOPKE
[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsWpvkLCvu4
[3] http://www.theroot.com/printmail/13089
[4] mailto:jdesmondharris@gmail.com
[5] http://www.theroot.com/views/sbf-seeking-her-own-barack
[6] http://www.theroot.com/views/my-love-premium-cable
[7] http://www.theroot.com/views/match-points
[8] http://www.theroot.com/views/when-tom-met-sally

Blogs - Emotional Health Blogs - Sistah42's Blog - Everyday Health

2009-06-05T09:16:00.001-04:00

Blogs - Emotional Health Blogs - Sistah42's Blog - Everyday Health

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Take Root and Write Digital Magazine, Issue 14, 2009, May 25-29

2009-06-02T07:42:00.001-04:00

Take Root and Write Digital Magazine, Issue 14, 2009, May 25-29

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2009-06-02T06:43:00.001-04:00

Check out Vocalpoint - Message Boards

2009-05-31T17:56:00.001-04:00

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Perry Hires Blige for the Big Screen

2009-05-24T14:28:00.003-04:00

Tyler Perry is bringing some soul to the big screen -- he has signed R&B superstar Mary J. Blige to star in his next movie I Can Do Bad All By Myself.

The filmmaker has cast the "No More Drama" hitmaker opposite Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson in the movie, adapted from one of his early plays.

Blige will play a nightclub manager who is best friends with Henson's character.

It's the singer's first return to acting since she guest-starred on TV hit Entourage in 2007.

The movie is slated for a September release.

David H. Murdock: A Recipe For Longevity: 33 Of The Healthiest Foods On Earth

2009-05-23T18:28:00.001-04:00

David H. Murdock: A Recipe For Longevity: 33 Of The Healthiest Foods On Earth

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Gospel Today

2009-05-13T08:19:00.000-04:00

Open publication - Free publishing - More tony woods

http://issuu.com/franknitti/docs/hmn0901

2009-05-04T18:11:00.005-04:00

BDO's Weekly Housecall May 4, 2009

A growing body of research proves that fruits and vegetables are critical to promoting good health. In fact, fruits and vegetables should be the foundation of a healthy diet.

Share this BlackDoctor.org Fruits and Veggies Chart with everyone!

SoulCity Graphics.com

2009-05-04T18:09:00.000-04:00

African American Graphics
Myspace Comments

God's Creation

2009-05-03T04:14:00.004-04:00

fashionable first lady - Michelle Obama

2009-05-03T03:59:00.001-04:00

fashionable first lady - Michelle Obama
Originally uploaded by Fashion Clipping

AddThis - Custom Button

2009-04-30T21:27:00.002-04:00

AddThis - Custom Button: "Bookmark or ShareBookmark or Share"

Check out AskWiki: Google's photo organizer is really amazing !!

2009-04-29T09:44:00.001-04:00

I want you to take a look at: AskWiki: Google's photo organizer is really amazing !!

The Empowerment Experiment in CNN's Situation Room

2009-04-26T22:49:00.001-04:00

Wolf Blitzer invited The Empowerment Experiment into CNN's The Situation Room. This segment shows highlights of a day in the life of EE, with award-winning journalist, Susan Rosegen. EE is about ...

Have a Blessed Week

2009-04-26T20:33:00.001-04:00

2009-04-26T10:10:00.000-04:00

Get your own - Open publication

To My Single Sisters...

2009-04-19T01:06:00.002-04:00

To My Single Sisters...
Posted: 17 Apr 2009 11:39 AM PDT

I would like to share this beautiful poem with all the women that bless my page. This poem made me realize, when I was single, that my being single may not have been a bad thing. Maybe it was just what God intended for my life. Because I realized, while I was single, that what I needed was a closer more intimate relationship with God. Once THAT became my focus, God took control of my life, and when the time was right according to His plan, I was blessed with a wonderful husband. And this I realized, that this poem is not only for the single, it's for us ALL.Ladies, I know we sometimes wonder if we will ever find a good man, if we will be single forever, what will our lives be like... But one thing is for sure, regardless of what your situation is, there is always room to think about this poem and impliment it into your lives.

God bless,~Spirit

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone, to have a deep soul relationship with another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively.But, God, to a Christian says: Not, until you are satisfied, filled and content with being loved by Me alone, giving yourself totally and unreservedly to Me alone, discovering that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found will you be capable of the perfect human relationship that I have planned for you.You will never be united with one another until you are united with Me. Exclusively for anyone else, Exclusively for any other desires or longings I want you to stop wishing and allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing.One that you cannot imagine I want you to have the best. Please allow Me to bring it to you. You must keep watcing Me, expecting the greatest things. Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I AM, keep learning the things that I want to tell you. You just wait, wait. That's all.

Don't be anxious, don't worry, don't look around at the things that others have or that I have given them, don't look at the things you think you want.You just keep looking off and always to Me, or you'll miss what I want to show you, and when you are ready, I will surprise you with a love more beautiful that you could dream of. You see, until you are ready and until the one I have for you is ready, you will never be able to experience the great love that is waiting you you (I am working even at this very moment to have both of you ready at the same time.)Until you are both satisfied with Me and the life I've prepared for you, you won't be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with Me, and this is the perfect love.And dear one, I want you to have the most wonderful love. I want you to see in the flesh a picture of your relationship with me and enjoy materially and concretely the everlasting union of beauty, and perfection and love that I offer to you with Myself.Know that I love you utterly.I am GOD...Believe it and be satisfied."Be Still and know that I AM GOD" ~ Psalm 46:10

Motivational Quote of the Day - Motivational Products from Successories

2009-04-02T15:41:00.002-04:00

Motivational Quote of the Day - Motivational Products from Successories

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DO YOU TRUST YOURSELF?

2009-03-25T07:59:00.003-04:00

Do You Trust Yourself?
By Gail Rideaux

There was a very thick fog on the roads this morning which made driving to work in the wee hours a challenge! But, in turn, the fog also was my muse to understand the lesson of trusting. Although I could not see the road very well in the thick of the fog, I still maneuvered through to reach my destination.

http://www.isispages.com/artman2/publish/Wisdom_Circle_27/Do_You_Trust_Yourself.php

I Will Do More

2009-03-23T15:56:00.001-04:00

I Will Do More

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Sharing 80+ blogs re: EMPOWERMENT

2009-03-22T07:46:00.001-04:00

Sharing 80 blogs re: EMPOWERMENT

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ADD. EVERYDAY.

2009-03-14T21:37:00.002-04:00

ADD. EVERYDAY.

2 Peter 1:5-8

“Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

DailyOM - Letting Go of Perfection

2009-03-11T19:19:00.004-04:00

It is good to remember that one of our goals in life is to not be perfect. We often lose track of this aspiration. When we make mistakes, we think that we are failing or not measuring up. But if life is about experimenting, experiencing, and learning, then to be imperfect is a prerequisite. Life becomes much more interesting once we let go of our quest for perfection and aspire for imperfection instead.

This doesn’t mean that we don’t strive to be our best. We simply accept that there is no such thing as perfection—especially in life. All living things are in a ceaseless state of movement. Even as you read this, your hair is growing, your cells are dying and being reborn, and your blood is moving through your veins. Your life changes more than it stays the same. Perfection may happen in a moment, but it will not last because it is an impermanent state. Trying to hold on to perfection or forcing it to happen causes frustration and unhappiness.

In spite of this, many of us are in the habit of trying to be perfect. One way to nudge ourselves out of this tendency is to look at our lives and notice that no one is judging us to see whether or not we are perfect. Sometimes, perfectionism is a holdover from our childhood—an ideal we inherited from a demanding parent. We are adults now, and we can choose to let go of the need to perform for someone else’s approval. Similarly, we can choose to experience the universe as a loving place where we are free to be imperfect. Once we realize this, we can begin to take ourselves less seriously and have more fun. Imperfection is inherent to being human. By embracing your imperfections, you embrace yourself

Did You Know?

2009-01-31T10:35:00.001-05:00

I'm Healed

2009-01-24T22:39:00.001-05:00

Ur A Phenomenal Woman

2009-01-13T19:41:00.002-05:00

A woman has amazing strengths.She can deal with stress and carry heavy burdens.
She smiles when she feels like screaming. She sings when she feels like crying.
She cries when shes happy and laughs when shes afraid. Her love is unconditional. There's only one thing wrong with her, she forgets what shes worth! Pass this to every beautiful woman you know and remind her that she is unique!!