The BIG C....That is Cancer

Purchase the "Shack"

I guess you're asking me, "Why are you writing about CANCER if this is a blog about the Best Loved Things?".  Well, I am here to tell  you that if you have cancer or know someone who does, LOVE THEM and YOURSELF the BEST! Don't give yourself or them a death sentence.  It is a wake up call to love better and deeper than you ever have in your life.  Here is my take.  It is all about your mind and your GOD over matter.  Don't carry having cancer or knowing that a beloved one has cancer as a sign of pending disaster. Know that once you  have settled it in your mind, you can handle having cancer or supporting someone who has cancer! Now, hand it over to GOD because at this point it does not matter.  God is the ultimate healer.  Now let's begin to work on doing some of the things that will make us feel better.

1. Pray and find your spiritual center
          Start by saying... I am too blessed to be stressed. Another good one to start the day is, Don't tell God  how great the storm is... Tell the storm how great YOUR GOD is.
Spiritual Quotes

2. Surround yourself with positive energy and people with WINNING attitudes
Winning Quotes
Successories Winning Quotes

3. Understand the importance of food and nutrition.  Junk + Junk = 2 much Junk
    There are 10 Foods that you must incorporate into your diet.  Every day at  least three of these should           be consumed!
    GARLIC
    BERRIES - Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries
    TOMATOES
    CRUCIFEROUS  VEGGIES - Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus
    GREEN TEA
    WHOLE GRAINS - Oats, barley, brown rice, whole wheat
    TURMERIC - can also be  found in Indian curry
    LEAFY GREEN VEGGIE - Greens (Mustard, Collards Kale), spinach
    RED GRAPES - A glass of red wine or red sangria is great too
Great Cancer Fighting Foods
Health.com's 6 Cancer Super Foods

4. Educate yourself.  Understand your condition. Don't  be afraid to ask questions or say you do not understand what you are hearing.
MD Anderson News

5. Get a second opinion.  Doctors are human. YOU know your body. Confirm the confirmation!
Cancer Centers Of America

Family Love

It is so easy to neglect our family.  I believe this happens because we take for granted that they will always be there.  Around this time in 2005, I had closed on a new home.  My mother and sisters came to Florida to help me move into my new home.  Think about it.  Christmas coming, unpacking, setting up a new home and trying to decorate all at the same time.  It was so chaotic that I had to laugh.  We actually were able to put up the Christmas tree on Christmas eve.  By New Years day, we had gotten some semblance of order.  The day after New Years day my mother and sister left headed back to the Carolinas.  Little did I know that this would be the last holiday that we would spend with our mother.  On January 9, 2006, my mother died of a blood clot in the lung.  Talk about shocked and devastated.  I am just glad that I had a special time with my mother that holiday.  I hugged her and kissed her and just babied her.  This was something that I never did because my mother was such a strong black woman.  There was never any room to pamper her.  However,  the time that we spent together during that Christmas revealed a vulnerability in her that I had never seen.  I can remember whispering in her ears that I loved her. It was like a vale was removed between us and roles were beginning to be reversed.  For the first time in my life, I saw her as my baby who needed to be loved and protected.  I am so glad that God granted me this time with her. I am glad we spoke those words that are often times left unspoken.  I know she left here knowing that I truly loved her and I know that she truly loved me.  Take time this holiday to mend fences and speak the unspoken.  We never know for whom the bell will toll.

The Greatest Love Affair

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to meet the person of your dreams? I mean, the perfect match. Not only meet this person but find that you also are the person of his or her dreams.  Yes, we are truly talking about a match made in heaven. Before I die, I want to experience "The Greatest Love Affair".  Is this just a female thing or is this something that men desire too? For me, I want this affair to be all encompassing. Great sex, passionate and spine tingling kisses, intellectual compatibility, common likes and interests.  Yes, the whole shebang!  Am I being unrealistic?  I know that I am a dreamer. I know that every day can't be like heaven. However, I would like to think that I can coexist with a special someone and feel the magic of true love. Are there others like myself who desire this experience? What more, are there couples out there living my dream? I was married before and divorced so I don't have my head in the clouds but I would like to think that I have learned from my past mistakes and can strive to have a Great Love Affair.  Where are you on this one?

Another Great Book - "The Conversation" by Hill Harper

I am always one for a great book so when I read one, I love to share that knowledge.  Hill Harper does an excellent job in this book discussing how men and women, particularly Black men and women, can build loving, trusting relationships.  I will tell you that he left NO stone unturned.  There are great conversation points that will definitely add a spark to your next dinner party.  I particularly loved the quotes that started each new chapter.  Some of my favorites are: "Patience is a secret weapon that forces deception to reveal  itself.", " The relationships that I have taken most seriously are the ones that progressed from A to F to I...Acquaintance to Friendship to Intimacy.",  "Wise commitments do not bind us; they free us.  To the spiritually immature, "commitment" is a very scary word because it is internalized as bondage. But to the spiritually mature, commitment is the equivalent of freedom because it bestows authentic happiness that cannot be taken away.", and last " Love seeks to satisfy others at the expense of self.  Lust seeks to satisfy self at the expense of others.  WOW!  This is what I call great stuff!  Read "The Conversation" for yourself and tell me what YOU think.

Do You Understand Grace, Mercy and Faith?

Three words that everyone should put on their "Bucket List".......Grace, Mercy and Faith... I pray that we experience ALL of the wonders of these three words.  These were the words that I placed on my Facebook status today.  After typing these words, I truly wondered if many people got my message.  This year has been a very educational year for me.  I have become wiser, stronger, more patient and overall a nicer person.  I attribute my changes to my fufilling my desires to undestand the words of God for myself.  Yes, I  began to read and study the bible with more deliberation.  However, what I found profounding were three simple words that I have heard all of my life....Grace.....Mercy......and Faith.  Here is why.  Let's start with Grace and Mercy.   Grace is defined as unmerited divine assistance given to a human for their regeneration or santification.  Mercy is defined as compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender.  So now you may be going where's the big bang out of those two definitions...  Well with that being the case, let me bring in an authority a little better than my Meriam Webster definitions. Pastor N. Jerome McClain, Sr. summed it up as follows: Justice, Mercy and Grace......Getting, Not Getting, and Getting Not Getting.  God is Just, Merciful and Gracious.  In the Justice of God, He took our place.  In the Mercy of God, we are not punished.  In the Grace of God, He gives us eternal life.  This brings us to the words Grace and Mercy; both are directly related to unmerited favor.  It is from this power of the Savior that we have life, justification and ability.  Justice is getting what we deserve.  Mercy is NOT getting what we deserve.  Grace is GETTING WHAT we DO NOT deserve.  WOW!  I hope you got it now! If not, Pastor McClain has an anology for you.  Let us suppose you have a bicycle and I want it.  One night I sneak over to your house and steal it.  You catch me and I go to jail. Jail would be where I PAY for my crime of breaking the law.  The penalty is met and that is justice.  I get what I deserve.   Change the scenario a little, I sneak over to your house and steal your bike.  You catch me. You do not send me to jail.  Instead, you tell me to forget about it.  The penalty is not met. This is Mercy! I did not get what I deserved.  Now one more change.  I sneak over to your house and steal your bike.  You catch me.  You do not send me to jail.  In fact, you give me the bike plus one hundred dollars.  This is Grace!  The penalty is met by you paying the damages and I was given what I did not deserve (the bike and money).  So now how about the words GRACE AND MERCY?  We have not even discussed FAITH.  I'll leave the word Faith for my next blog.  You have enough for now. Remember to give grace and mercy during your life.  You certainly have gotten them.

Grace and Giving Back.

We all have heard of paying it forward.  How many of us actually practice giving forward?  I learned recently that God requires us to do good works every day and the type of crown that we will receive will be based on the works that we have done in his name while on earth. Because of who I am  striving to be and how I would want other to treat me, I try to do one act of kindness every day.  The easiest for me is allowing people who have much less items than I to go ahead of me while standing in line.  However, I do ask that the person pays it forward...that is do something nice for someone else.  My sister reminded me recently of a time when I paid for the grocery of an elderly woman.  We (the elderly lady and I) stood in a long line waiting to check out.  We spoke about various things.  I noticed that she started pulling items out of her cart as if trying to decide what she must have.  By the time she got up to the checkout, she must had pulled out about 8 -10 items.  I felt bad.  I had a cart full of items.  Some of the things I did not even need and here was a woman putting back apple juice and butter.   Unknown to her, every time she took out an item, I placed it in my basket.  When she was checking out I placed all of the items back on the checkout belt and when she turned to the side to get her money I gave the checker my debit card and paid for everything.  Little did I know until she spoke that she was deciding if to eat or to pay for her medicine.  She kindly thanked me and happily went to the pharmacy to buy her medicines.  All I can say is.... God certainly works in mysterious ways.  Do something nice for someone.  God too might be working on your gift from some stranger.

True Friends

           It is a blessing to have True Friends.  You know, they are the ones that have been a part of your life forever.  They have been a part of major heartbreaks, milestones, celebrations, and successes.  They know things that you would not dear tell anyone or that anyone who knows you now would not believe could be true about you.  They are the people that you have loved, cursed out, drank, cried, laughed and sat up all night with.  They are the people that even if you don't see them for years when you do get together it is like you have not missed a beat.  You pick right up where you left off.  I have three such people in my life.  Now, you know that I can not mention names for fear of hurting feelings.  But I have three ride or die chicks.  I know them and they know me.  I love them just as they are and they love me despite who I can be.   These are my girls! Who are your true friends? Do they know how much you value them and what their friendship means to you?  Take a moment and call your best friend or friends.  This is a perfect day to have a good laugh and to remember the fun times.