I'm Loving It!

Ahem.

Allow me to reintroduce myself... my name is....

And yes, this is the new and improved version, a 3.0 if  you will.  

And while she is not perfect, she is HAPPIER with herself.

She's learning that she may not be everyone's cup of tea, and that everyone doesn't deserve to take a sip, either.

She loves. She lives.  She laughs. And is embracing her joy.   She's being given the keys to her next step:  they are faith, hope and love.

Faith that she believes and knows the rest of the story WILL be better, as she continues this path of growth and change.

Hope that her life and success, may not ever match up to what everyone else thinks it SHOULD be, but it is what God WANTS for her - and she's doing everything in her power to be obedient to it.

Love for God, love for her family and friends, love for her community, but...and this is HUGE for her: Love for HERSELF.

#heyrenee

Ba-da-ba-ba-bop....I'm Loving It.

Hard Night's Morning...The Attitude Adjustment

<deep sigh>

Yesterday was not a good day.

Too much to do, pulled in about 15 different directions, trying to keep up.

But I got most of what I needed to do done.

And I couldn't sleep last night.

Lemme explain.

At my church, we're in the middle of the "Daring Faith" series by Rick Warren.  The topic last night centered around "Taking the Initiative".

It was broken down into points of OBEDIENCE to God:
 - It should be Immediate
 - It should be Completely
 - It should be Joyful
 - It should be Continually

Right now, my main struggle is Joyful - and I said as much last night during the discussion.  My struggle was turning over in my head:  "what has God asked me to do, that I haven't done yet?"  My list has 5 things on it that are staring me in the face right now.  

One is very personal and private, and has been addressed - swiftly and completely as of 5:35 a.m. this morning.  It meant getting rid of some things that I was holding onto.

One is health-related, which I am working through right now.

One is being remedied through this blog - but I need to start working on the BIG vision.  This helps.

One is an ongoing process, that God is showing me how to manage.

The last one is the one that will be the hardest to do.  Because it means I have to let go of my own personal feelings, and do what God has asked me to do: ask for forgiveness, and to forgive.

Yeah, the "whatever" has to be forgiven, and I have to ask for forgiveness.

Hence the tears this morning during my Bible and prayer time.

(my inner little girl goes off to the corner, stamping her feet, hands over her ears, screaming to the top of her lungs "nononononononononononononono" - the adult me looks at her and just shakes her head, picks her up and just lets her cry. The little girl looks up and says "but you don't know what they did to me!!! I was hurt, I was looked over, I wasn't good enough, pretty enough, kind enough, just not ENOUGH!"   The adult wipes her tears and tells her: "you won't ever be enough for those kinds of people - it's not up to you to be enough - You have a FATHER who is YOUR More Than Enough.  Let Him fill all the places where you feel you're lacking, with ALL of Him."  She hugs the little girl.)

My ATTITUDE is blocking my blessing.  And I gotta learn how to adjust, let go, and keep moving. 

And write a letter of forgiveness.

Imma do it. The little girl needs to heal and grow. So the adult can move on.

Attitude adjusted.

Just Another Day....But I'll Make It!

It's a quiet one, but I'm in a busy state of mind...

Few irons in the fire, one didn't pan out, so I have to regroup.

Trying to adjust, which isn't easy.

But I'm not giving up just yet...And that is the key:

Come too far to give up now.

Your Rights As An AMERICAN!!!

This was on my heart this morning when I went to the polls:

When the Founding Fathers stated in the Declaration of Independence, that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

As an American: I have the right to say what I want, when I want, to whomever I want. This is true.

It doesn't mean you SHOULD.

As an American: I have the liberty to speak out when I see injustice, and I have the right to defend myself when someone else tries to keep me from doing so.  This is also true.

It doesn't mean you INCITE VIOLENCE.

As an American:  I have the right to live my life the way I choose, as long as it does not cause physical harm to anyone around me.

It doesn't mean my opinion is NOT IMPORTANT, JUST BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MATCH YOURS.

As we go to the polls to go vote, I am reminded that the Founding Fathers were trying to base this country's foundation on the freedom to simply BE.

It's nothing wrong with that.  

But when your BE-ing feels the need enslaves others to feel superior, tries to control others by removal or withholding certain vital things that would improve or raise my standard of living, or tries to foster undue entitlement because of our differences:  that is NOT what this country was founded upon.  

The climate of freedom is being threatened by those who feel that they can say whatever, do whatever, have whatever, with no second thoughts, no remorse, no repentance - simply because you think you're better than the rest of us on account of your wealth, status and skin color.

It says that "all men are created equal".  To me, the Founding Fathers understood a very simple, yet relatively complex idea:  men, no matter who they are, are all the same.  They want the same things:  to take care of their families, to live a good and comfortable life, to believe what they want to believe, and their offspring to have better than what they had.  This is the belief for ALL people, no matter what walk of life you come from.

When what you believe causes harm, fosters violence, and splits a country - that is not freedom, that is not truth, that is NOT YOUR right.

And my right is this:  I can ignore you.  I can tell others to not play into your ignorance. I can choose another way - I can accept my fellow man as he or she is.  If you don't like it, we can agree to disagree, and still get along.  Respect me, and I'll respect you right back.

I'm just saying.

MYODB!

Because I can't say what I REALLY feel.....

Hence, the title of this blog today.

Sigh.

Two beautiful girls, along with their parents and guests of theirs, dressed to the nines.  Aren't they just GORGEOUS?

Normally, a parent would make sure that the clothes their children wore were age-appropriate and event-specific clothing to a shindig.  Especially when they are meeting company of their parents.

And in this case, this is a shindig times 1000.

A reporter in San Francisco, Kristie Sze with ABC7 News, was prompted to ask this silly question on Twitter:  "Malia and Sasha wore $18-20K gowns to the State Dinner.  Moms, would you do this?"

She has, since this posting, taken down her tweets.  As SEVERAL of my esteemed sister girls hit her back with some of the following comments, this was the general consensus to the stupid question:

I don't think either Obama Girl has been drunk in public like one of the previous President's daughters. Okay!

Should've apologized! If you're bold enough to post it for all to see, don't hide now! Be bold enough to apologize in public.

Why everything the Obamas do is questioned Why? That's the price of the dress and so What? Those young ladies have Awesome parents who have instill great values and life experience in them.

 No one criticized Nancy Reagan's tacky clothes

To all of the aforementioned comments, I 100% COSIGN!

Lemme explain:  the gowns for Malia and Sasha did cost $18,000 and $20,000.  However, they were NOT PURCHASED, they were DONATED.  Once the State Dinner was over, the gowns go on display to the public once President Obama's term in office is OVER.

In layman's terms; YOUR TAX DOLLARS DID NOT PAY FOR ONE SINGLE STITCH OF CLOTHING THE OBAMA GIRLS WORE THAT EVENING!!!!

I need America to STOP TRIPPING!

These girls are being raised in very EXTRAORDINARY circumstances.  Trust, their father, our President, has had to suffer through name-calling and other incendiary things.  His wife, their mother, has suffered at the mouths of pundits and blowhards for the past 8 years.

BUT WHEN YOU TRY TO TALK ABOUT THE BABIES, I DRAW THE LINE!!!!

Kristie, what did they ever do to you?

The State Dinner is prom times 10,000.  The President entertains dignitaries from all over the world.  It is a FORMAL affair.  You do not wear Target, Wal-Mart, Aeropostale, and Forever 21 to a State Dinner.  You rent a tux, you buy a gown.

In the case of the Obama girls, who are 17 and 14, who do not work and earn a paycheck, it is up to their parents (in this case, their mother) to make sure that they have something that fits the bill for the State Dinner.

Michelle BOUGHT her dress.  She can afford it.  She was a lawyer before she became FLOTUS.  Her style is impeccable.  I would trust her to dress me, much less her children and husband.

I am so sick of the American people who think they have a right to comment on every little thing they FEEL is a misstep of the First Family.

As my grandmother was fond of saying, "If you can't say something nice, be quiet." In other words:  Mind Your Own Doggone Beeswax!

Kristie, my parting gift to you:

Getting Back to Normal

(gonna be short today)

It's been quite a ride!

However, once you get off the rollercoaster, you need to take a minute to readjust to normalcy.

And to have NOTHING to do after you get off the ride... is a good thing.

So, to all of you who have had life take you on the fastest, wildest ride of your life...celebrate being on level ground again!

Love and Grace to you.

Back to Work!

Been Gone for A While, Now I'm Back Again...


With the demise of the "Whateva?!", I've recently gotten back involved with my sisters in the Sorority.  Which one? I'll give you a hint:  we've been RHOyal since 1922, love to the Gold and the Blue!!!


Ain't it funny, how we let things/people/situations distract us from what we love?  I don't think I would have made it out of my black hole, if I didn't have my sisters.  It's so good to know that while chance made us female, choice made us sisters. "By each sister, will I stand until the end."  Y'all made it happen!


So, a shout out to my lovely sisters of the EBS chapter...thank you for loving me back to life!

"Greater Service, Greater Progress!"