My Last Good Nerve!

I wish I had enough time to write a blog everytime I had something on my mind. But there is just not enough hours in the day. Well since the last time we were together, so much has been going on. I tell you folks the truth, I got one good nerve left and it is being plucked at on a daily basis. Now I don't mean your everyday stuff, like being cut off in traffic, although that does tend to be a nerve plucker...I am talking about things on a much bigger scale here. Oh yeah and I am gonna tell you about it because maybe these things have been plucking at your nerves too. So rather than keep you in suspense...I will share these things with you.

Nerve Plucker #6. Guess what yall? Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes got married! How could you not know this? I am so tired of hearing about them. Now it is not their fault but the tv puts this stuff in your face. Like the lady on ET said "The world wants to know what Katie's dress looked like." No the world doesn't. I bet there are some dying men and women in Darfar, who could give a rat's fat hat about Katie's dress. I can think of one Easterbaby who really didn't care either. Oh and what really got on my nerves...the TV guide channel. Now I love watching the TV guide channel, you know to see what is coming on tv. But every since that wedding, they are playing this TWO HOUR SPECIAL repeat about Tom and Katie. And then they follow up the TWO HOUR SPECIAL with a Tom Cruise Special. I can't even enjoy the scrolling TV list. So now I just have to flip until I see something interesting. Gimme a break!

Nerve Plucker #5. How do you spell IDIOT? I think it is spelled O.J. as in O.J. Simpson. Now I can't say whether or not he did it, cause I wasn't there but I can say that he is one of the most ridiculous people on the planet. And the people who helped him write this hypothetical book are about as idiotic as he is. I mean, does he not care about his children's feelings at all? Since he is trying to convince us he knows HOW to kill people without actually doing it, why don't we send him to IRAQ and let some poor tired soldier come home to kids he cares about.

Nerve Plucker #4. How dumb are these internet child predators? First off, how dumb do you have to be to drive hours to someone's house in hope of scoring with a child. The child says "the doors open, come on in?" And you go in. And then some of these guys, say "I have seen this program on TV". But yet you still go through with it? What is wrong with this? And as much as I enjoy seeing these guys go down, I am still trying to figure out why Mark Foley wasn't arrested. I mean he did the exact same thing as these low lifes on TV but they get jail and he gets rehab. Can we say double standard? If you have money and power, you get to use a childhood trama or alcohol to excuse wrong behavior. I bet 75% of those other guys had drug, alcohol, etc problems but they still went to jail.

Nerve Plucker #3. Rosie ODonnell plucks my nerves. Did yall see her little tiff with Kelly Ripa? Clay Aiken put his hands over Kelly's mouth and she told Clay Aiken not to do that cause she didn't know where his hands had been. So Rosie "Needs Jesus" ODonnell accused Kelly of making a homophobic remark. HELLO, who wants somebody to put their hands over their mouths. And Clay never told anybody he played for the other team...yeah I know, what you are thinking. But truth be told...he never said it...so we have to say he is innocent until proven guilty. Anyway, Rosie also said that radical Christians are no better than terriorists...WHAT?! What is a radical Christian? And furthermore, if you are a terrorist, you aren't a Christian. How does that saying go..."everybody talkin' bout heaven ain't going there!"

Nerve Plucker #2. Raise your hand if your didn't see the Michael Richards video. Ok, let me first say I was not suprised at what he said but I am surprised that he said it OUT LOUD in PUBLIC! But what did it for me was this statement on David Letterman, "I am not a racist". Oh yeah? Michael, you are a racist. Now admit it and get help. And this whole "let me go see if Jesse Jackson can help me" was such garbage. First off, I love Jesse but Jesse doesn't speak for all black people and he can't tell me and no other African American how to feel. If Jesse said, "Sherry, you know Michael is not a racist", I'd say, "Rev. Jackson, yes he is" and then me and the Reverend would share some WORD. Cause I would pull out this verse from Luke...

Luke 6:45
45The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

Nerve Plucker #1. This war, this government (all of 'em...I am multi-partisan in my nerve pluckedness) is plucking my nerves. Now they want to reinstate the draft. So if we are winning, then why do we need MORE soldiers? If we are winning, why was Donald Rumsfield fired? I mean that is like the Colts firing Tony Dungy. It would make no sense. I don't buy any of it. And if I have to hear Condi lie one more time...she really plucks my nerves. She had the NERVE to say in her interview with Essence magazine, that people should be punished for talking bad about GWB. WHAT?! I bet Babs Bush talks bad about GWB every now and then. They are husband and wife after all.


Thanks blog readers for indulging me. My poor nerve. Ain't no telling what will be left by the time I write the December blog..but I will hang in there if you will!

Salute to the Baby Trumps!

As promised, I said I would dedicate a blog to those movers and shakers, the folks out there doing their thang trying to earn their own money. Yep those entrepreneurs or "Baby Trumps". Folks who I am glad to consider friends. Which means, (eh-hem) when yall get rich, "Hook a Sista UUUUUUUUUUP!!!"

Anyway, If you are led to patronize any of these people, by all means do so. And share the information with others. You never know when your good deed will come back to you.

So follow me as we travel through THE EASTERBABY MARKETPLACE.

1 - Kathy Smith - Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Our first stop is at the site of a Non-profit organization. Yes, before you spend all your money let's give a little to those who need it. Kathy Smith is dedicated to fighting cancer. She has given unselfishly of her time and money to participate in countless marathons to raise money in honor of her father who lost this battle. And for the money some of yall spend on some of that Starbucks coffee...how about donating to a worthy cause. Go to her website and read her story and donate. You'll feel better than that coffee makes you feel.

http://www.active.com/donate/tntwnc/tntwncKSmith4

2.Keith Lee Johnson author of PRETENSES, Sugar & Spice, Little Black Girl Lost, and Fate's Redemption

Next stop is at the bookstore. Yep...we all know reading is fundamental. So turn off the idiot box (yall know, the television), and pick up a book. If you like heartstopping suspense, lies, murder, and mayhem, you will enjoy reading Keith's books. And I would like to thank Keith for letting me have a little hand in editing FATE'S REDEMPTION. (Oh don't act like yall didn't know the Easterbaby was multi-talented.) Anyway, the experience was priceless. So in return, I am making sure yall know about Keith Lee Johnson. And when one of his books becomes a movie, look for yours truly on the Red Carpet.

www.keithleejohnson.com

3. Belinda Preacher - BB BEATS
Let's go by the virtual music store and pick up some tunes. For the music lovers out there who love to download, here is your one stop shop to satisfy all your music needs from Belinda, a lady who loves and knows music. But she wrote a little bit about her store so I'll let you read it.

www.burnlounge.com/bbbeats is an online music store where currently you can download tracks (.99) or albums (starting as low as 7.98). For instance, Beyonce's latest album is available for 9.99 - that's 13 tracks for 9.99 - I know Walmart has it for 11.98. You need Windows Media Player 9.0 to view the site and this download is available for free. You can share up to 10 albums with your family and friends.

So burn songs to your computer and then burn them to a cd - that's a lot cheaper than buying the entire cd in the store. Not to mention, the artists get paid for the music they produce.

Justin Timberlake, Shaq, and MC Lyte to name a few are artists that market their own material on Burnlounge so they keep a greater portion of the money for the art they produce.

Coming soon - version 2.0 which enables movies and ringtones to be downloaded to your computers!

Contact information:
www.burnlounge.com/bbbeats
www.burnlounge.com
bbmotobb@yahoo.com

4. Een Mayer Young, Mary Kay Independent Consultant
I can give personal testimony to Een because she is my Mary Kay rep. She is knowledgeable about all her MK products and I have no doubt that one day, we will go riding in her PINK Mary Kay cadillac. So far, I couldn't have asked for a better person to do business with. She sends out the products right away when I order them. So if you are looking to get a new look, go to her website and let her fix you up. Yes, they have MALE products too! Men don't try and fool us, we know yall care about how you look. ;o)

www.marykay.com/ms_een

5. Eraina Tinnin, Escentially Eraina
While we are in the mood of improving our looks, we may as well improve our surroundings. Let's go in Escentially Eraina and pick up a few things. Ever wonder how some folks juggle things. Eraina should write a book. She is an entrepreneur, full-time employee, a wife, a mom of two, a sunday school teacher, and my book club president! WHEW! Anyway, Eraina wrote alittle about her business.

eSCENTially eraina is a company that was created with you in mind. We offer handcrafted bath, body and home products at affordable prices. Since products are handcrafted at the time of order you never have to worry about receiving merchandise that has been sitting on a warehouse shelf.

Check us out: www.escentiallyeraina.com


6. Michon McCorkle - Real Estate
Okay, I know I called everyone Baby Trumps, but Michon is probably the real Baby Trump of this group considering, her business is real estate like the Donald Trump-ster. Michon is ready to sell you a house, and not just any house, but the house you have wanted all your life. So contact Michon and knowing Michon like I do, she will take good care of you.

http://www.melccor-realty.com/
melccor@bellsouth.net

Michon McCorkle-Broker/Owner
1.866.548.8048
Real Estate Sales & Property Management Services

6. Gregory Young - PanaGold Entertainment
To the man responsible for all this free advertisement. Greg, I hope that this small shout out to your business brings you lots of revenue so you can pay all your employees, especially those marketing folks :o) Anyway we are back at the music store. On your way home, how about pick up a CD by Gregory Young. He was so kind enough to create his own display for my blog so you can check out his music, however, the blog is experiencing some difficulties with the display. But go to his website and check things out for yourself.

At PanaGold Entertainment , we are in our sixth year of operation as a wholly independent, artist owned and operated record label and music publishing company. If you haven't already, please experience the smooth soul/jazz of "Essential", our premier release and the debut CD from Gregory Alan, a multi-talented singer-songwriter, and producer. Listen to samples at www.PanaGold.com !

"There's one word that best describes his music... smooth. And there's one word to describe the way it makes you feel... soothed."

Available at www.PanaGold.com !
At PanaGold Entertainment, we measure success, not by gold, but by the golden rule!

Well, I hope you are satisfied with your purchases. If and when you purchase something, be sure and tell them The Easterbaby sent ya! And for all yall with businesses who didn't send me any info, sorry you missed your chance for some FREE publicity.

Welcome to Babylon

As I was driving home from school in the rain, I began to think. And the more I thought the harder it rained and the more it rained, the harder I thought. Until finally, I had to stop thinking and pray to God to get me home safely so I could write this blog, Seriously. My sole purpose for surviving was so I could write alittle something for my blog readers ;o).

Anyway, earlier today I had the chance to view some online footage, which I shared with most of you, about the 9/11 events. Having watched these two documentaries, it got me thinking. Now this blog is not about whether I believe them or not. I will say that nothing surprises me and a few unanswered questions that I had about that day were brought up in those videos. Of course, IF these accounts are anywhere close to being accurate, all I can say is that those responsible are about as close to evil as you will get aside from meeting Satan himself.

So if I am not going to give you my take on the 911 conspiracy theories, then what am I going to say? Glad you asked. You see I was thinking that these videos were the result of some folks who apparently have lost faith in their government. No doubt some people will watch these videos and their lives will get turned upside down. Could the government they loved so much really have betrayed them in such an uncomprehensible way? Of course I am not saying GWB and them are guilty of anything b/c it doesn't matter now because what is done is done. But for those who voted for him, you gotta admit even if not out loud, 2 + 2 does not always equal 4 with this administration.

Of course GWB got alot of votes just because of his stance against same sex marriages. But I am thinking homosexual marriages or hetersexual marriages, none of it is gonna matter b/c we are all gonna be BLOWN UP! And don't get it twisted, this is not about being Republican or Democrat or whatever...personally I believe there is only one political party and it is called "Hidden Agenda". No matter which way you vote, know they are all in it for one reason - THE BENJAMINS! (For you less savvy folks, that means "money")

Anyway, so how does one make it without their government? How do you sleep when you can't trust those who claim to have your best interest at heart? Your protectors? Your providers?Well, I can't speak for anybody else but I know where my help comes from and it ain't GWB, Dick "the Quick" Chaney, Condi Rice, John Kerry, Hillary or Bill, none of those republicans nor those democrats. Last time I check, which was tonight as I was driving in the rain, the Sovereign God was taking care of me. And my friends when you know WHO really holds your future, you don't worry about bombs, wars, homeland security or social security. I go to sleep every night and I wake up knowing that whatever happens to me during the day was by God's will. And since I know what He promised me, I am not worried about how or why 911 happened or if it will happen again.

Putting faith in man is gonna lead a whole lot of folks to a place they don't wanna go. I have been let down by alot of people but God has yet to let me down. So being a quick study, I choose to put my faith in my God and not man/woman. And that allows me to get my beauty sleep. (Please keep all snide remarks to yourself). Now I know what some are thinking...why doesn't God put this corrupt governement in their place? Maybe it's because we, in our not-so infinite wisdom, decided we had to separate church and state. We decided God had no place in government and we wanted to be FREE to be who we wanted to be and FREE to practice anything we wanted to and FREE to live life as if nothing or nobody mattered but us. So God said "Ok, you Babylonian wanna-bes, do your thing." So there you have it, so as you worry about terrorism, are you feeling FREE? At what price is this freedom to live like a Babylonian?

Now the original Babylonians were on TOP of the WORLD for a while but God promised that once he had used them to settle a score, He'd bring them down. And if you think things can't get worse, live a little longer. 9/11 ten times over won't compare to the wrath of an angry and jealous God. Now don't get it twisted, God may get angry and jealous but don't you, after all we are made in His image. But God forgives, even if we don't...that is why He sent a Savior. Now should one of us have been in charge of the universe, like me for instance, a whole lot of people would be just like Lot's wife...POOF! SALT! No second chances, no escape route and certainly no Savior. Oh how I love Jesus!

With that said, put aside you disgust for the government, in fact, if you believe in the power of prayer, pray for this world and your government, especially GWB. Put your faith in God and get some sleep at night knowing, regardless of what is going on around you here in Babylon, everything will be alright.

Lessons from the Animal Kingdom

A couple of weeks ago, I told some friends that I had a new reality show that I had begun to watch and they laughed at me. Not because, in general reality shows are garbage (except for maybe The Apprentice and American Idol), but because the reality show I was referring to, called "Meerkat Manor" was about a family of Meerkats. Oh I see, you think that is funny too. Well this is a cool little show so you should check it out. I have always loved animal shows. In fact watching shows about animals is far more interesting than shows about people AND believe it or not, animals tell us alot about how we as humans, the supposedly more superior creature, should live. Have you ever used the term, "dumb ol' animal"? In fact animals are not "dumb" at all, they just do what they do and that is survive.

I have learned a few things from animals, even the little Meerkats and I would like to share just a few things:

1 - Sisterhood! - If women would work together, we could achieve some things, like saving our children...did I hear somebody say "do our children need saving?" Uh...yeah they do. Anyway, let's talk about the lioness. When hunting needs to be done, the lioness does not go at it alone. She and her sisters tag team the hunting. They work together to feed the little baby lions. They help take care of each others cubs. They even keep each others cubs in line. Even elephants will nurse another baby elephant if that baby's mother dies.

Heaven forbid, somebody says something to your child in chastisement. It's on! Nowadays, working together to bring up baby is difficult b/c everyone has different views on what is best. For the lioness, if the babies spend more time playing than learning, they will not survive. If the orphan elephant is not adopted, it will die. If we don't learn to care about all children not just our own, the generation coming along is going to die, not just physically, but spiritually and emotionally.

2 - Tough Love is okay! - Now I know I don't have any kids but I got a brain and I do know right from wrong. And I certainly know coddling and pampering when I see it. Some parents think letting kids make mistakes is child abuse. So how is this for child abuse...let's talk about the black bear. Believe it or not, black bears have predators, such a pack of wolves. Now normally if a wolf is gonna attack, he isn't going for the mama, it is much easier to go after the cub. So what does mama do? Now don't get mama wrong, she will fight that pack to the death but the cubs have got to be out of harms way. So at a young age, she teaches them how to climb trees. So what's so tough about that?

Imagine making your kids climb trees that are much higher than they really ought to be climbing. In fact, one slip and the little cub is a goner and all mama can do is watch and wait to see if her litte one will go up and come down safely or plumment to its death. Now the cubs don't really want to do this tree climbing lesson, they'd rather play but she makes them climb that tree on their own anyway. There is no time for whining and tantrums are useless. When the time comes, and the wolves are circling, the baby cubs climb the trees like little pros out of harms way. Mama bear knows best.

Imagine how much more prepared our children would be for life's obsticles if we were like that mama bear...

3 - Don't mess with Jr! - Another thing a mama bear will do is fight an overgrown male bear which is twice her size if he comes too close to her cubs. Oh yeah, male bears don't really care about cubs, in fact, they would like to have the cubs for dinner. But mama ain't having it. She might be smaller but she would rather die than let a male bear harm her baby. And the cool thing is, most of the time, the male bear usually backs down cause an angry mama bear is no joke.

Now look at today, you see on Dr. Phil and Oprah or you know children that were victims while Mom sat back and did nothing. That my friends is not natural! The male bear can represent many things, molestation, abuse, drugs, violence, TV, music...anything that threatens to harm a child. It just so happens, bear cubs have fewer things to worry about, either way, mama bear knows how to protect them. How much smarter and fiercer are human mamas? Come on Mom, fight that male bear who is after your cub. If God put that protective instinct in a bear, you know you got what it takes to save your child. Don't give up!

4 - Long live the King! I love to watch any show with the BIG Cats! I was watching one about the lions. As stated before females do the hunting and tend to the babies. In fact, the female lioness, will hunt all day and bring home a kill and guess who comes along and gets first servings? Yep the king of the jungle. At first, I was like, so who does the lion think he is? He sleeps all day and then eats the kill after having done none of the work. So I am thinking, this is no king, this is a bum! But I soon learned why the Lion is the king. You see, the lion doesn't eat all the food, he leaves some for his family. But scavengers, like hyenas, want it all. And hyenas don't travel alone, they come in gangs. Unlike human hunting, real lioness hunters expend alot of energy hunting, so they are not really up for fighting hyenas over food. Besides, hunting and fighting do not require the same skills.

But the KING is ready. He is no hunter but he is a fighter. There is no animal in the jungle who can beat a fully grown male lion in a fight, not one! (And that is not including elephants because elephants and lions don't fight! Lions aren't dummies either) Anyway, a male lion is the Protector of the Pride. That is his job. He will go to battle for everyone in the pride against any animals including other lion prides. So the king isn't lazy like I thought, he just has different priorities. Sometimes the lionesses get alittle ticked off but they know who keeps them safe.

So imagine a world of men who knew their priorites. Protecting their families no matter what. So many single family homes where the women are the hunters and the fighters. Different set of skills needed which is probably why it is hard to do both. Not saying it can't be done, it is just harder. Men have got to stop leaving women to do the job of the lion. Who would protect the pride if the little male lion cubs never had the big males to watch and learn from? It is not the lionesses who teach them how to fight, hunt maybe but not fight. The pride would be in serious trouble. Are you all following where I am going? Good.

5 - For the Good of the Family! Let's talk about the little meerkats. Whatever happens in a meerkat clan, it is all for the good of the family. If it doesn't add to the well being of the family, it is cut off. Meerkats are little guys with no major way of protecting themselves other than vigilance and cooperation. Meaning searching for food is a dangerous task if no one is keeping watch. Now in the world of meerkats, there is a leader and the leader is a female. She is the breeder and directs the little clan in attempts to keep them safe. If any of the others, in particular a female usually her offspring, steps out of line, she is banished and not accepted back into the clan. Life as a lone meerkat is lonely and dangerous. But interuptions in the family way of doing things can be costly so there is no room for rebellion. It is a matter of life or death. Although, sometimes a repentent meerkat is accepted back into the clan. But she must submit to the leader. Only then can she experience the safety of the family.

This piece of meerkat life makes me think of something alot deeper and on a more spiritual level.

John 15:1-2 1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

Like meerkats family, some of us will either be pruned or cut off by God. I think those who are willing to repent will be let back in the fold but the rebellious ones will eventually be cut off. In the world of a meerkat, a predator comes in all forms...owls from the sky, snakes from the ground. It takes the whole family to watch out and protect the babies as well as gather food. It is called survival. Rather than have one mess up the sanctity of the family, the rebels have to be cut off. For me, surviving is living under God's protection anything outside of that is rebellion - like a lonely meerkat trying to figure out how to keep watch and gather food. It's a hard tough life.

6 - Darwin never watched Animal Planet! Okay all you evolutionist, get mad and stay mad but I am here to say, Darwin didn't watch animal planet, therefore I say he got it all twisted. The main reason I watch animal shows because it confirms for me what a MIGHTY GOD I serve. Oh yeah, I hear testimonies all the time of things God has done for other people and I am like "Go God!", but after watching an animal show, I am always in AWE!

Each and every living creature has its own way of doing things and it own unique little means of survival. For example, there is a cricket like bug who can survive extreme cold...You know how? It freezes itself. Yep, it freezes itself so the cold weather doesn't harm it. Once the cold weather passes, it unthaws and goes about its business. It can stay in this mode for weeks. Can you freeze yourself? I didn't think so.

Each species of animal copes with life its own special way. Does it always work out? Not all the time, but that isn't even true for man. Anyway, the thought that all animals including man, came from one cell is borderline ridiculous and insane. Only an all wise, omnipotent God can create with such precision and accuracy each animal and their traits. What is funny to me is why it is so much easier to believe all these unique animals came from one cell than to believe a Great God took time to make each creature special. I don't know about you but I feel pretty special and it ain't cause I came from an ape!

Psalm 8
For the director of music. According to gittith.

1 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;

8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Soap Writing 101

In case you didn't know, I am and have been for a long time, a dedicated watcher of soap operas. Yes, this guilty pleasure began for me at the tender age of 4. And you ask, who lets a 4 year old watch soaps? Well, you have to address that question to the adults who were suppose to be looking after me. Anyway, so you don't get alarmed, after the soaps, I watched Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers like other kids. Thank God I was not subjected to that scary purple dinosaur Barney ;o). I am currently a one Soap watcher now, ALL MY CHILDREN, but I have watched just about all of them at some point in life from Young and the Restless, the Bold and Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, One Life to Live, Guiding Light...the list goes on. Oh yeah I watched the night soaps too...Dallas, Dynasty, etc...

Now most soap watchers know that you can go months maybe years without watching a particular soap and pick up right back up where you left off. It's that easy. With that in mind, I have decided I could probably write a soap. I say this with confidence because I can always predict where the story line is headed...is it that I am so intelligent or that the soaps are that predictable? I answer yes to both questions.

So, I know you all are wondering where I am going with this blog...I have decided that I am going to share with you how you too can write a successful soap opera. And I am going to do it FREE OF CHARGE. Now sure I may be the writer in this group but I believe there is some inner writer in all of you. So why not start with the soaps? Because with my 10 steps, it is that easy. Here is all you need to create your own soap*:

(*Recommendations, while based on over 30+ years of soap watching experience, can be trusted but guaranteed success is ultimately your responsibility...in other words, don't come trying to sue me if you get turned down.)

10 - Your characters need to be rich. I mean, how cool is a soap with poor people? Poor people have to work and we all know that soap characters do not work. Okay, they might show up at their office once a week but it is only when there is about to be a corporate take over. Otherwise, how could they get into all that mischief if they worked?

9 - You gotta have one old guy that is richer than all the other rich folks. Because he runs the largest business in town, or appears to since he is never at work. He is usually the villain and has about 200 ex wives but he is never broke because for some reason these guys are never sued for alimony. So you also need to create a very smart lawyer to handle his business.

8 - You gotta have a functional hospital. No soap opera can do without a local hospital. And usually the only folks who work on soaps are the doctors and nurses. You need a hospital to treat all the attempted murders, suicides, extremely critical operations that must take place. Now if you are sensitive and can't write this kind of stuff, get out now. No successful soap can survive without some violence usually committed by a psychotic female character.

7 - The town must be centrally located within the US so that your rich characters who all own private jets can fly to Europe or the Islands in a moments notice and return home in the same day if need be. These are no ordinary jets, my friends. I don't even think military jets can travel as fast as soap jets can. Also, the rich don't usually have limos, they drive themselves everywhere. This is done so you can easily incorporate a tragic car crash in somewhere. A car crash is not quite the same with a limo.

6 - You gotta have some adultery. Now this is another subject that is not for the sensitive. But the foundation of any soap revolves around some adulterous behavior. It is a must! And you gotta add some "baby mama drama". Yep somebody has got to be pregnant and not know who the daddy is until the baby gets sick and needs a blood transfusion. And then the real daddy must be revealed. Also feel free to add some baby switching, too. That usually works with the fans.

5 - All children must be able to grow from age 4 to age 15 or 16 in about 1 year. Now this takes some finesse. You gotta make the kid go to boarding school or live with a far away relative so when they come back, the fans won't know there was not enough time to pass for this child to be that age. Apparently kids between ages 5 and 14 don't make for good story lines. So keep this in mind when including young characters.

4 - Apparently black people don't make for good story lines either but you have to have at least one or two to keep the ACLU off your back. Now I have to admit the few that usually are on the soaps have pretty good jobs. They are lawyers, doctors, and oh yeah, if you have a chief of police, he is definitely a brotha. But they must never marry or have kids. They must stay single and always full of good advice. They are never really rich because they are usually working.

3 - Now if you got a police chief, you gotta have a police department with one detective who gets all the cases. You only need one. Your town, while full of crime, is never big enough to support more than one detective. Oh yeah, he will usually get shot a few times but you never kill him off. I mean, if you kill him off, who will solve the BIG ONE!!!

2 - THE BIG ONE. Now at least once a year you gotta be ready to write the big one. You know the one bad guy who has ticked off everybody and then BAM! Somebody kills him but you don't know who did it. Now make sure the murderer is some insignificant character who you can send to jail OR a main character who receives a last minute testimony in court which will get them off and they don't have to go to jail. Never send main characters, no matter how many crimes they commit, to jail.

1 - And if you are truly going to be a soap writing master, that bad guy who gets killed and everybody sees him die and goes to his funeral, will come back alive and well in about a year or two ready to enact revenge on everyone for killing him. This is no walk in the park writing, you have got to make the comeback believable, if not, your fans will know. But for goodness sake, don't make the whole thing a dream because (1) that has been done already and (2) it's a really stupid idea. Ask any former Dallas fans about how well this went over.

Now that you have the guidelines, you are ready to start your own soap. Who knows, one day I'll be recording your new soap everyday at 1:00 instead of All My Children! Happy Writing!

The Mark - Are you scared?

Today I was driving and thinking about stuff as always...I thought to myself, that I am so glad I have a relationship with the Lord because with the world as it is today, it is the only thing in my life that completely makes any sense. Everything else just leaves me scratching my head. I just wonder how people without Jesus actually function. They are probably all confused and jacked up in the head. Seriously, these folks are most likely the ones going around worrying about tomorrow being June 6, 2006. Haven't you heard? The date will be 6-6-06. Ewwwww! Before you run and duck for cover with your bible in hand, let's talk about this thing...

Now the media, in all its dysfunctional wisdom, has hyped up this day as being a day representing 666 which is according to the book of Revelation the Mark of the Beast. And they are making this to be the most scariest evilest day EVER! At one point it was Jan. 1 2000, remember the hype about the world ending. I believe it can't get much scarier than 9-11-01. Anyway, there are women, postponing C-sections so their babies won't have this birthday. The movie "The Omen" comes out tomorrow. All these goofy rock groups are just clamoring away to release their albums in salute to satan. Yeah, there are people losing their minds because of a date! Can we all say "date" together. "DATE"! Thank you...moving on.

Now let's clear up one thing...Last time I checked 6-6-06 and 666 is not the same thing. Neither is 6/6/2006 or June 6, 2006. No matter how you write, this is not the same. So why is everybody tripping? I don't have a definite answer but I bet they probably haven't even picked up a bible much less read the book of Revelation. But since I have my handy website www.bible.com, I can provide you some of my own "revelation".

Revelation 13:11-18

The Beast out of the Earth
11Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. 12He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. 14Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.
18This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.

Now this is only a piece of the book. But get the whole picture you have to read everything to put stuff in context and that is what I did and I learned a couple of things:

1 - The beast in this passage is not satan. Nope, it's one of his boys. Satan is refered to a dragon in the book not a beast. This beast is also later called the "false prophet"and is one of the three in an alliance against God's kingdom. He appears to do good but is sent by satan to deceive. Seems to me this mark is a way to mark those blinded by his evil deception and it would seem that this is already happening.

2 - The 666 mark has many interpretations. The Word says it is the number of man. Not sure what that means. Others say it represents the lack of perfection. One interesting interpretaion is the it represents the evil Roman Emperor Nero whose names in Greek letters total 666. But make no mistake, this mark represents nothing Godly. Now is this an actual 666 or a metaphor for being on the wrong side, I am not sure.

Now does any of this make you scared to wake up in the morning? Not that you have a choice, either God will wake you up or He won't. Let me go on and explain why this mark is about as scary as the the Stay Puff Marshmellow monster in Ghostbusters...at least not for the believer.

1 - Satan and his buddies are only doing what they are allowed to do by God. God is in control. Don't believe me...let's see:

Revelation 17:17
17For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until God's words are fulfilled.

2 - I also learned Armageddon is not a horrific "meteor hit the earth", "global warming diaster", "10 point earthquake event". Naw, Armageddon is a place, a battlefield to be exact. I know, I know, you need proof:

Revelation 16:12-16
12The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 13Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.
15"Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed."
16Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

3 - Satan, the beast, and beast 2 (false prophet - the one with the mark), will meet their doom. So all those who receive the mark are really siding with the "losers" which makes them "Losers". And we all know nobody wants to be called a "loser". But hey, that's the bottom line.

Revelation 20:7-10
Satan's Doom
7When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Feeling any better? No. Still afraid of June 6, 2006. Don't be cause the only reason that date should cause you any anguish is if Jesus decided to come back tomorrow and your name is not is his book. Other than that you can rest easy. Remember no one knows the day nor the hour, you just gotta be ready. Oh yeah here is some more good news:

Revelation 21:1-7
The New Jerusalem
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
5He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
6He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

Do We Remember...

Happy Memorial Day? Is that an appropriate phrase? Is anything about the way we celebrate Memorial Day appropriate? Let's see according to Wikipedia:

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday that is observed on the last Monday of May (scheduled next for May 29th, 2006). It was formerly known as Decoration Day. This holiday commemorates U.S. men and women who died in military service for their country.

Now where in that definition does it say "have a cookout", "go to the beach", or "spend 2 million dollars at an amusement park". (I just happen to have had the opportunity to just attend an amusement park and it is about 3 million dollars.) But these are the activities we associate with Memorial Day. You never hear anybody say they are going to do any remembering. But this would be sort of a downer, huh? To actually stop and think about the military dead. Well, I am using my May blog to remember the military dead. Why? Because it's Memorial weekend and I am going to remember and two...I don't have any cookouts to attend, can't afford to go to the beach, and I already spent 4 million dollars at Universal Studios and three...I have family who have been in the military and or are currently in the military and I want to THANK GOD they are not memorials. They are still here.

Now like any career, military service is a choice. A choice I couldn't make for a few reasons. In my mind, military people are quite unique and I would like to tell you why I think they should be remembered:

#5 - They apparently have no fear of dirt and dust. Now as a kid, I could kick up the dirt with the rest of the kids no matter how much trouble I'd get in. But as an adult, I like being clean and I like clean surroundings. And we aren't even going to talk about what dust does to my sinuses.

#4 - They are able to function on a minimal amount of sleep. Now back in the day, I could go a whole day on few hours of sleep. But these days, I need my 8 hours plus a nap every now and then. If I stay up really late, it takes me about 3 days to get back to normal.

#3 - Patience is a virtue. Military personnel must have lots of patience. Imagine being away from your family for months, maybe years not knowing when you will go home. Or having to wait for orders before you make any moves. Which brings me to my next point...

#2 - Military personnel are very disciplined and trusting. They carry out orders without question all the while trusting the fact that the person giving the orders knows what they are talking about. It takes a special person to trust like that and be that disciplined. Now I am neither disciplined nor trusting. I mean I can't even commit to a regular exercise program. And there is no way I could just take an order without asking a few probing questions. Let's just say I would probably be dis-honorably discharged.

#1 - And my number one reason I think military folks should be remembered is...They are fearless. Oh yeah, I mean beacons of COURAGE! You see, I have seen pictures of the GIANT spiders that live in the Iraqi desert. Those thing are the size of baby rats. Now most of yall know I don't like bugs the size of a period on a sheet of paper...now if a spider the size of a baby rat came at me, there ain't a 5 star general plus his army that could get me to do anything but scream or faint! Don't get me wrong, they are brave for making it through combat too! But dealing with the giant spiders and swarms of flies...makes them super men and women in my eyes alone!

So as you chow down on your ribs or rub on your suntan lotion or spend 6 million dollars at a theme park, stop for a minute and remember the men and women in uniform who have died or who continue to serve our country.

*This blog is dedicated to my cousin Carl (Pudgey), currently serving over in Iraq*

Happy Birthday to Me!

This picture was taken at my 5th birthday. You can't see it but my cake was a big pink Easterbunny! An easterbunny for the easterbaby! From the looks of things, I have always enjoyed birthdays and 30 years later is no different. And to kick off my 35th birthday blog party, I decided to try a new look for the blog. I hope you like it!

Well Readers, April 11 is a CELEBRATION of the Lord's grace and mercy for 35 years of my life. In commemoration of my birthday, I would like for you to join me in a walk down memory lane of the last 35 years of my life with a few SHOUT OUTS! Over the years, I have had many people come in and out of my life. Now if you are reading this blog, it means you are not OUT but still IN my life. So don't get mad if you don't get a shout out cause obviously you are still important to me. No, this shout out is for those who I will no doubt never see again (and in some cases, that is a good thing.) We all know that people, no matter whether it is good or bad, have left their mark in our lives. From each interaction, there is always an opportunity to learn something. So here's a SHOUT OUT to some folks who in some way whether it be big or small helped make me who I am today. This may be a little long, but hang in there...it is a interesting trip.

Age 4 - Here is to the little boy in my day care who called me a "Bald Headed Kojak". Hey don't laugh. As you can see I was not bald headed - I just didn't have a lot of hair but I was still cute. Anyway, I guess I never got past it cause I am always so self-conscious about my hair (most of the time). Not sure where that kid is today but I hope he's bald! I really hated him for saying that and to make matters worse, he was my escort in our daycare pagent and in the picture that was suppose to be of he and I, somebody cut me off the picture and all you see is this mean name calling kid.

Age 8 - Here is to Ms. Duncan, my second grade teacher. She had red hair and freckles just like me. She used to make us write these sentences when we cut up in class. The sentence was "I like to write sentences." Funny huh? Anyway, I liked her because (1) her boyfriend was our mailman and he used to bring us candy to class every now and then and (2) she taught us these silly songs. But what I remember most is, being in a class with 3rd graders. You see Ms. Duncan had 2nd and 3rd graders in one class. And when she was teaching the 3rd graders, she didn't mind if we second graders listened in. Yeah, I was a nerd at an early age. So I'd like to thank her for kicking my education up a notch.

Age 12 - A big shout out to Mr. Yarborough, my 6th grade teacher, for without his meddling, I would not have known I couldn't see. Yep, he's the one who told my mom I may need my eyes checked. Because while my desk was located in the back of the class, I usually complained about not being able to see the blackboard. He also taught me that Vietnam Vets could be some scary people. On a good day, he may just throw an eraser or a piece of chalk at you. On a bad day, he may just tip your desk over or clear everything off his desk in one swoop of the arm. But no matter how mad he got, his winning point was that he loved recess. So even on a bad day, we had recess.

Age 13 - Here's to "Booky" Harvey. She was one of my best friends in the 7th grade and she just happen to be white. And this was significant because back then I thought those kinds of friendships only happened on tv or in books. Prior to that, I had white aquaintences but never one as close as me and Booky. One of the things I liked about Booky was not only was she a nice person, but she knew more about the opposite sex than I did. So while having a boyfriend was simply out of the question in my house at age 13, I could live my life vicariously through Booky because she had lots of boyfriends.

Age 15 - Here's to David T. My first real crush but this was a one way crush at least most of the time. What I learned from this was never make the first move. It was Christmas and some school club was selling carnations. White for "Friendship", Pink for "I'm interested" and Red for "I love you". Well, I didn't love him but I didn't just wanna be his friend so at the coercion of some friends, I decided to send him a pink one but being shy, I signed it anonymous. Well, he got the carnation and guess what? He gave it to someone else!!! Yeah my feelings were hurt and I vowed to never do anything like that again.

Age 18 - Here's to Corey from DC. He was me and my roommate's, 3rd roomie my freshman year in college. Everyday, he always came by after we got out of class with a 2 liter of soda and some chips to play Nintendo until the wee hours of the morning. He never studied and eventually left the spring semester but for that first semester Corey was our loyal friend. He didn't mind if we studied as long as he had his chips and 2 liter, he'd sit and play video games while we studied. But what I learned from Corey is that I am a good friend and cleaning up puke is not fun! One weekend night Corey came by the suite after having drank some Orange Mad Dog 20/20 (yeah I said Mad Dog, I am talking about college, okay?) Anyway, on Corey's way out, he left me and my suitemates a special gift all down the hall and in the bathroom. Let's just say, when I saw Corey the next day, I told him he better not EVER come back to our suite drunk again!

Age 21 - Here's to my play brother, Tim F. For my 21st birthday, he took me to the club since I was legal. Tim just happen to be one of my favorite people but he fell off the face of the earth after some of his friends abandoned him in Atlanta, GA during Freak-nik. After that, he left school and I nor any of his other friends ever heard from him again. Tim, where ever you are...I pray God's grace and mercy is with you! My fondest memory about Tim was his red chevette that had vinyl seats but he always thought it was "leather". I never had the heart to tell him that those seats weren't leather!

Age 23 - 26 - I have quite a few shout outs during this time. I was at a textile plant in a small town in NC working my first real job:

1. Here's to another missing play brother Terrell. (Am I bad luck or something?). Anyway, whenever I here the song "Ain't no stopping us now", I think of Terrell cause that was our theme song. I also pray that God continues to watch and keep you.
2. To John H. and Tommy B. Remember I said these shoutouts were from those I probably won't see again...well these two men I hope I never see again. These were my supervisors both sent straight from hell to make my life miserable. But as I said too, every interaction has a lesson. And I learned that I am alot tougher than I thought. So thanks guys for the test cause it gave me a testimony.
3. To Johnny E. - A big shout out for being my sounding board and friend when I was dealing with Satan's flunkies. I probably would have not have lasted as long as I did had it not been for Johnny. The two things I learned from Johnny was (1) there were actually people who did not wear shoes in the house because of germs and (2) his favorite saying "You can only trust God and your dog but even the dog will bite ya!"

Age 27 - A rest in peace to Dr. H. Pride. He gave me a place to stay in Charlotte during my co-op with Phillip Morris. He didn't know me from adam's house cat but he trusted his granddaughter and took a chance. And all I had to do was buy my food. Not many people today are so trustworthy to open up their homes to strangers.

Age 28 - Here's to Mary S. - My last semester of getting my thesis, I had no more funding and no money and I needed a job. Of course, nobody was looking to hire somebody fulltime for a semester. Nobody that is but Mary at Kelly Services. I am so glad she took a chance on me and gave me the job knowing I would be leaving.

Well between then and now, I pretty much still see most of the people I met along the way. But I am sure in the next 35 years I will meet some more folks who will indirectly affect my life. However, just so nobody's feelings are hurt:

HERE'S A BIG EASTERBABY SHOUT OUT TO ALL MY BLOG READERS! WITHOUT YOU, THERE WOULD BE NO NEED TO BLOG!

"Happy Birthday" by Stevie Wonder (The Easterbaby Remix)

"You know it doesn't make much sense, There ought to be a law against, Anyone who takes offense, At a day in MY celebration,

Cause we all know in our minds, That there ought to be a time, That we can set aside, To show just how much YALL love ME.

And I'm sure you would agree, It couldn't fit more perfectly, Than to have a world party on the day I came to be!

Happy birthday to Me! Happy birthday to Me! Happy birthday! Happy birthday to Me! Happy birthday to Me! Happy birthday!"

March Madness

Oh yeah, it's that time of the year...March Madness time. For all you who don't follow NCAA basketball, it is the time of year when the best college basketball team is crowned. My team, the NC State Wolfpack, unfortunately lost in round two but I'm not sad. Wanna know why? Because SO DID THE TARHEELS!!! I will pull for anybody but those overrated bunch of pastel-blue wearing no real mascot LOSERS! Oh yeah I said it - exactly how does a TARHEEL equate to having a RAM for a mascot anyway? (btw - Go BlueDevils)

Okay, now that I have that out of the way and hopefully, I didn't lose some of my audience by dissing the tarheels...let's talk about March Madness. I mean real March Madness or maybe it's just MADNESS period.

1 - I am just so outdone by this teacher chick who had sex with a 14 year old and the charges were dropped. I mean, there is a big double standard here and it is blinding!!! There are men being charged left and right for having sex with minors (I believe it is called RAPE) and doing some serious time. But this attractive, young, female teacher does it and it is called "having sex" and not "rape" and she is on the tv talking about she is in therapy and she is going to school to be a jounalist. There is no trial to avoid adding any stress to the victim. WHAT?! Does this not sound like madness? Excuse me, I need to go HURL!

2 - Okay I'm back. Now you can't talk about madness without talking about this war and our president, GWB. Bless his heart. Now there is civil war in IRAQ. Looks like the USA really is handling things over there, huh? But I still can't correlate this war and fighting terror and 911...I am so confused. Bin Laden is still loose, Saddam is giving the court system pure "h-e-double hockey sticks". How many criminals get to actually run the courtroom like he does? He's got the judges so frustrated, they quit every other day. People are acting the fool everyday over there, strapping on bombs. Madness!!! Soldiers, hang in there! I am praying for ya!

3 - TV is madness! I am not sure what I can watch anymore. I mean there is so much garbage on tv, I need a landfield in the backyard. And how about Issac Hayes mad about the depiction of scientology so he quits the South Park show as the voice for "Chef". He claims he is against how the show depicts religion. Now if you have ever seen South Park, it is a blasphemous- everybody-involved-with-it-is-going-to-hell show if I ever seen one. I mean they had an episode with a AK-47 toting Jesus looking to blow up some folks. And about 3 year later, ol' Issac has a problem. Exactly what is Scientology anyway? If Issac and Tom (Cruise, that is) can be outspoken about their religions, where are the Hollywood Christians? Collecting paychecks, I guess. If they ain't gonna speak out, then I hope they are at least paying their tithes and offerings! Madness!

4 - The weather is completely out of control. A couple of weeks ago when it was still winter it was about 80 degrees in NC. Then on the first day of Spring, it sleets! Today I am freezing! I tell you, we are messing up our atmosphere and regardless of how many planets you can count, we can't survive but on one. So when this one is messed up, I believe that's it. Now of course, the bible speaks of all these weather changes. The end times is near and you wanna talk about madness, if you ain't going back with Jesus...boy oh boy!

5 - Does anybody care about what is happening in the motherland? Aids, famine, genocide...the stories are horrible. What I can't figure out, is why the GREAT and MIGHTY rescue the world - USA has not made helping the African nations a priority. Is one life more valuable than another? I mean, how can freeing the oppressed people of Iraq (who don't really want our help) have any more priority than the oppressed people in Sudan? Racism is Madness!

6 - True madness is having mardi gras celebrations when your city still has people without homes, power, or anything. How can anyone think to get on a plane or in a car and travel there to get drunk and party but you didn't go down there when people needed a helping hand during Katrina. Now I am certainly not discounting any person who went to help rescue or support the victims of the hurricane, HOWEVER, I can safely bet that quite a few of the people who went to Mardi Gras probably weren't Red Cross volunteers or pulling dead bodies out of destroyed homes. Oh yeah, the word on the street was New Orleans needed mardi gras to lift the residents' spirits. Okay, let me just say if Winston Salem is destroyed by a hurricane or anything of that nature and I am left with absolutely nothing and you want to lift my spirits...don't throw me a party! Help me get on my feet...can I get a job or some food or some place to live? Can I just have my basic needs met? That's all I am saying. That is just utter and complete MADNESS!

I think the writers of the classic movie, "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" need to do a re-make. Let me go send this idea to Hollywood...catch yall next month.

OH and by the way, next month is extra special...a certain EASTERBABY is having a birthday. I think I may have a party on my blog. Stay tuned for more details.

We're still Munchin'

Today is Valentine's Day and I am sure alot of you will be getting your fill of chocolate. And while it may taste good, just don't eat to much because you don't want to get sick. Right? Don't we get sick when we over indulge in too much food. I know I do. If this be the case, the why on earth are we still munching on that apple? What apple? Glad you asked. You know the one Adam and Eve chomped down on...the one ol' Satan gave them. That's the one.

Genesis 3:1-4
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Don't think because this happened a long time ago that the disobedience stopped in the garden. Oh no...we are still taking bites of that apple with our bad decisions and Satan is tap dancing a little jig each time we do because he knows the consequences of our actions. You see the serpent was more crafty than all the rest of the wild animals the Lord God made.

What we need to realize is that for every decision, there are always consequences good ones and the bad ones. Whether or not we had good intentions or bad ones, there are always consequences. The very first decision ever made (to eat or not to eat) had everlasting consequences. But it is no different with us. Our decisions will have long lasting consequences.

We choose to lie knowing the truth eventually comes out...and then wonder why we have no credibilty...and then say "People just don't understand me" (Munch Munch...Tap Tap).

We choose to hold on to hate and wonder why we never have any peace. We say stuff like "I am just not meant to be happy". (Munch Munch...Tap Tap)

We refuse to forgive others but say "Lord please forgive me of the millions of things I do wrong" and when we don't get an immediate response...we say "God doesn't hear me" (Munch Munch...Tap Tap)

We choose not to pay our debts but ask for God to bless us with this and that but when it don't happen right away, we say stuff like "it's just not my season" (Munch Munch...Tap Tap)

We choose to make bad relationship decisions, most of which are outside of God's will, all the while praying to God for a soulmate but wonder why it all goes to hell within a matter of months. We justify it by saying "The devil just wants me to be lonely." (Munch Munch...Tap Tap)

We choose to abuse our bodies with bad food, drugs, etc... and then we have to take all this medicince but all along telling folks "My God is a healer." (Munch Munch...Tap Tap)

Why should we expect to receive any more than we give? And then blame God for our bad decisions. Or we beg Him to get us out of the mess we made. Or we sit in denial of the mess and carry on like nothing is wrong. We are munchin' and the devil is tappin'!!! You see the serpent was more crafty than all the rest of the wild animals the Lord God made.

Ignorance is no longer an excuse to do wrong because once the apple was bitten we learned right from wrong. So where does that leave us? Lost in the sauce? I don't agree with that because God made provisions but some have decided to ignore His provisions (Munch Munch Munch...Tap Tap Tap).

You see the serpent was more crafty than all the rest of the wild animals the Lord God made. Don't let Satan tap dance in your life by convincing you to make bad decisions which will have everlasting consequences. I don't know about you but after a while that ol' apple doesn't taste as good as it once did.

That's Amore!!!

In case you didn't know, next week is Valentine's Day...The day of love or as I like to think of it as the Day after Thanksgiving for Card and Flower shops. Of course, this day has sparked in me a brand new set of reflections that I would like to share with you all, my dear readers.

The bible is filled many notable verses that for some reason or another resinate louder in the hearts of man (woman) than others. I like to think it is because there is so much truth in them that you can't help but take notice. For me, there are 3 verses which prove themselves to be true and powerful. And when thinking about the L-word, I find them even more powerful.

They are (NIV):
1. John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

2. 1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

3.Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

Number 3 - Now I know someone is saying "But Brain, the word love is not mentioned in the third verse..." To which I reply "Good observation Pinky, I am quite aware of that." But you know I am going to tie love in that verse so in order to remove the suspense I will start with the last one first.

Do not be decieved my friends! We are all reaping what we sow. So what exactly are we sowing? Casualties of war...wayward children...hate crimes...crimes against children...corruption...perversion...the list could go on and on. But I am certainly not here to depress you. My only goal is to make you think. We are sowing some pretty pitiful stuff into this ONE life that we all get. Just ONE life to make a difference. Just ONE opportunity to do something meanful. Just ONE chance to make this time count for something. What are you sowing into your life? We sow garbage and expect flowers. We sow into our children bad habits and expect them to be angels. We sow into our lives an "its all about me" mentality and hope to reap respect and honor from our peers. We sow all the wrong things into the life field and expect wonderful things to happen. It is no wonder living in this world is like watching a bad B horror movie.

But if you are reading this blog, that means you are alive and God has granted you another day to get it right. Must be something about you! Something deep down worth sowing into somebody's life. AAAAAAHHHHH...the L-word. Yall knew that was coming. How about sowing some love and watch the harvest you get. I can't say I have ever seen anything bad happen when someone expressed REAL LOVE to their fellow man. Key word "REAL"...not the phony, cliche love but genuine love. Imagine if everyone sowed some love...all the bad things that we are watching today in the world would eventually disappear. But sadly, everyone is not going to do that. But if we commit to expressing some kind of love to someone who needs it...not your mama or your child or family, although they need it, that is too easy. I mean to someone who really needs it. I believe everything else will fall into place.

Number 2 - Other bible translations of this verse say the love of money is the root of ALL evil. However you look at it, I can say this is true either way. This verse popped into my brain after a question was posed to the radio audience of a local station. The DJ asked if we thought it was wrong for the gospel group Mary Mary to record a song with the rapper LL Cool J? And I was pondering this and thinking how whether it is right or wrong, nothing surprises me anymore. But then into my thoughts jump this verse..."For the love of money...blah blah blah..." For the record, I am not saying either of these performers are evil cause I don't know them. But I think what God was saying to me is that an extreme affection for the green stuff makes people do things they may not normally do like mix secular music with gospel music. What does the second part of the verse say: "Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

Think about it. (1) The War in Iraq, most of us know it is about the money but some of us won't admit it. If it was all about war on terror, Bin Laden's boys wouldn't be on tv telling GWB "I bet you don't know where I am" Come on! We can build a satelite which supposedly will travel 9 years and find the planet Pluto and we can't find a man in the desert. (2) Reality TV...why else does Flava Flav have a reality show about finding a girlfriend. For those of you who don't know who he is...he is a former member of the rap group Public Enemy. All who need further explanation may I sugget www.google.com. Anyway, if you do know who he is, you would agree how ridiculous this is. But to the movers and shakers in Hollywood, it is all about the dollars. Why else would people eat 1000 year old cheese on the show Fear Factor for the CHANCE at $50,000? BTW - where do you find 1000 year old cheese? All for the Benjamins! NC just got approved for the lottery. In the mist of all these layoffs and unemployment, you can best believe there will be some folks at the 7 Eleven buying lottery tickets. In the words of the Mighty OJays, "Money, money, money, Mon-Ney, Mon-Ney" Let's face if we don't soon stop worshiping the Money idol...we are going to reap what we sow.

Number 1 - No greater love. I believe I have a blog entitled this. Must be a reaccuring theme for me. There is no greater love folks than laying your life down for your friend. This is what Jesus told his disciples and then he backed up his words with actions. Now I am not suggesting for you to go physically die this minute to show your love for your buddies. But think about this passage from my favorite book in the bible:

Roman 6:8-14 8- Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 - For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 - The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 - In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 - Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 - Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14 - For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Dying with Christ because we love him and he's our friend. I hear a question "You mean I can do what Jesus did without the nails, the cross, the torture, and the pain?" YEP! Somebody is gonna have to meditate on this for a while. Since it is a reaccuring theme, I am sure this verse will come back on the blog scene. Of course there are always opportunities for us to die to selfishness and do something for some else. Die to the ordinary and do something extraordinary. Die to fear and stand up for what's right. Die to arrogance and spend some time with someone who doesn't run in your circle. Lots of things we can die to and put the needs of others first. But this ain't easy but I pray I can get better at dying to my own needs and wants and sowing life into someone else.


IN CONCLUSION - Remember this: "Love, exciting and new...Come aboard, we're expecting you...Love, life's sweetest reward...Let it flow, it floats back to you" Everybody knows the theme from the tv show THE LOVE BOAT. No doubt you've tried to sing it. But sing those few lines again (with feeling now) but think about the words and you may have a new impression of the L-WORD!

Happy Valentine's Day! Now go spread some Love! (((BIG HUGS)))

If you don't stand for something...

Happy New Year Bloggers! So much has gone on since I last blogged. It seems so much crazy stuff happens so fast that when I think I want to blog on a subject, a new subject comes along and then I am in a torn on whether I should blog on my first thoughts or my new thoughts. Of course while all this is happening something else comes along and the process starts again.

Anyway, I finally narrowed it down for this blog. This blog is in response to a response to an email I sent out last week. I sent an email concerning the new NBC show "The Book of Daniel" about a priest, who has frequent chit-chats with an "in the flesh" Jesus, and his dysfunctional family. For those who didn't get it, basically some church folk are starting a petition to get this show banned. Some are opposed to the shows topics about premarital sex, drugs, addictions, sexual orientations, and any other controversial topic, I suppose.

Well, I have not nor probably won't watch the show for a few of reasons: 1) I don't really have time for much television. Once I finish watching my taped "All My Children" I usually go to bed. Aside from my favorite soap, I can only usually squeeze in a couple of other shows per school semester. In the Fall, I made time for ER and The Apprentice. This Spring semester, I will still make time for ER and of course, AMERICAN IDOL!!! (WHOOOO HOOOOO). Oh yeah and there is football. 2)When I saw the commericals, I was not real impressed. To add an additional show to my schedule, it has to peek my interest. 3) and what really did it for me, was the Jesus character. First off, this guy looks pretty creepy to me. And second off, who decides what Jesus is suppose to look like. Now this ain't about race...Is Jesus black or is he white? Personally, I think he probably looked more like the people we are over there declaring war on. But I have told many people this, I don't subscribe to any pictures of Jesus. I don't own any and probably won't ever buy any. Why? Here's why:

Exodus20:4 - 4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

Deuteronmy 4: 15-19, 15 You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, 16 so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, 18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. 19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.

I actually choose to find Jesus in everyone since we are made in his image. Which means he has a lot of looks. Okay, let's progress...

So that is how I feel about the new show, whether it is as bad as what these protestors are saying, I'll never know because I don't intend to watch the show. But a response I got to the email I sent made me think and I will share a piece with you to make you think as well:

Also, I must say, as you know, I get a little bothered by the Christians who hold up their bibles and tell us all how 'the Bible says this, and the Bible says that..." when it comes to homosexuality, but conveniently forget that it is not our place to judge, condemn, or ostracize each other. I think that if we are living our lives as Jesus has shown and instructed us to do, then we wouldn't worry about our unsaved friends and neighbors watching a TV program and forming skewed views of us as Christians. That's like saying all wives should be mad about how we are depicted in the TV drama 'Desperate Housewives'.

I don't know of any Christian who doesn't have an alcoholic, drug abuser, tax cheater, cable stealer, or homosexual in their immediate or extended family. Because, as Christians, aren't we supposed to all be brothers and sisters in Christ? So, why we would get so bent out of shape over a TV drama that depicts things that actually happen here on earth, escapes me.

After all, I thought that the Christian thing to do is to show others how to use our lives (the sinners that we all are) as an example of how messed up and human we are by nature but how we are redeemed and made clean in the blood.

Oh yeah this made me think...and when I was asked my opinion, I thought I better let the Holy Ghost help me out because I was like this person is right. However, I was also given an additional revelation.

Now ministers are humans and they have human family members. So sin is all around everyone, everyday. No one can claim a perfect, sinless family. If they do then they are what my mama would call a "bald-face lier", and Jesus says the devil is their daddy:

John8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

And it would be naive to take think these types of situations depicted in this can't touch your family. You can probably count already all the dysfunctional people you share the same blood with, truth be told, it might be YOU! Anyway, we love these folks and at best we can pray for them and live a life that sets a good example.

Now, we should not be surprised that the church is under attack. For John 15:18 - 23 says:

18"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23He who hates me hates my Father as well.

Does this mean we are suppose to sit back and take what the world dishes out. Oh no...As the saying goes, "if you don't stand for something"...yall know the rest. When the people turned the synagogue into a marketplace, did Jesus say oh well, they just don't like me or my church. Naw, he went in there turning over tables and cleaning house. When the Pharisees started talking junk, did Jesus set back and not respond. Nope, he always had a word for them and it's funny, his response usually started off with a few unflattering names. He called them names like "brood of vipers" and "snakes". Doesn't seem too passive to me but we always try and depict Jesus that way. (And there ain't nothing tough looking about that Jesus dude in the picture up above...like I said before "creepy")

So in my humble opinion, it is not a bad thing for Christians to take a stand against the world. In fact, I think we have to. Now with the tv show, the question is the motivation behind the stand. What becomes of it, I have no clue. But I believe we all have an assignment and perhaps, the leader of this NBC revolution felt this was theirs. I conclude by saying don't be afraid to take a stand just because you are a Christian. Of course, know why you are taking your stand and give the credit for the victory to the One it's due.

*This blog is dedicated to my dear friend "Tricky"... Thanks for keeping a sista on her toes!