HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

**Song of the post- Celebration By: Kool & The Gang**

I’ve seen it happen too many times where folks are down on their luck and other people who are doing better than they are financially or otherwise find happiness in seeing that person struggle while thinking that’ll never be them. For some reason, they don’t seem to believe in the law of gravity that what goes up will come down, but life has a way of reminding them of this very thing when they end up experiencing a little turbulence in their own day to day living. So, never take pleasure in someone else’s downfall because you’ll eventually find yourself down in the trenches right next to the person who brought you so much joy.

**Song of the post- Joy and Pain By: Maze featuring Frankie Beverly**

Her man was at the cash register paying for the items that he wanted to purchase when she walked in, and she approached him. She stood beside him for a moment, and the next thing I knew she reached over and plastered herself to the side of his body like a piece of Velcro. It was blatantly obvious that she was marking her territory and I wondered why she felt the need to do that. I hadn’t noticed anyone else looking at him in any way that would’ve warranted what she did, however, she may have saw someone do something that I didn’t. I know that I probably shouldn’t have, but I chuckled at the sight she made with that he’s mine expression on her face while she held on to him as if he was going to disappear into thin air at any second.

They made small talk while he paid for the items, and he asked her did he get everything to which she said yes before they left the store. Now I’m all for public displays of affection because I love to see folks in love, but when the p.d.a. makes you look desperate and thirsty instead of the confident queen that you are, you may need to reevaluate some things to figure out why you feel the need to do this and work on that aspect of who you are so that you don’t have to do that anymore. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with letting the world know that you’re in a relationship and who that person is that you’re in the relationship with, but the way you do it will sometimes tell your business about the state of your relationship with your mate before you even open your mouth. And in the case of the young lady clinging to her man for dear life at the cash register in the convenience store of all places, it appeared as if their relationship may not have been as solid as it should have been.

**Song of the post- Solid By: Ashford & Simpson**

Yes, you’re supposed to hold people accountable for what they do in the church or out of it to a certain extent, however, it’s God’s job to sit in judgement of them unless they’ve physically committed a crime and then it’s God’s job and an appointed judge of the court system’s job to pass judgement on the person. No one is perfect in this world; it’s just the way God made us, so never throw stones at someone when your backyard may be full of them. It’s okay to throw your two, three, and even four cents in on something that may affect you personally as an individual no matter where you are, but how does what someone else wear on their body affect you, especially if it’s someone who God is using to deliver you a message? Does it make the message any less powerful because you didn’t approve of what the person may have been wearing at the time?

I don’t care if God sends someone wearing a burlap sack to deliver His word or whatever message He would want me to receive as long as I get it. I said all of that to say this, if folks would pay more attention to the message instead of the messenger and actually take heed to what’s been said, you may get to your blessing a bit faster. Just a little more food for thought.

**Song of the post- Blessings on Blessings By: Anthony Brown and group therAPY**

I was searching through my treasure chest and found a topic that I believe that everyone can relate to somehow. The topic of the day is understanding by and by. This thing called life will throw you a curveball out of the blue that’ll have you conflicted and confused sometimes. You’ll find yourself asking why it happened many times but won’t find out the why until much later.

I’ve learned that there’s a reason and a season for everything and the why of it all will be revealed to you when God is good and ready to allow it to be revealed. That’s where that by and by comes in at. Now the understanding part of it may take a moment or three to grasp, especially if it’s a situation that has altered your life in some way and not for the better. At least it appears that way in that moment.

However, just know that God won’t put any more on you than you can bear. And He sometimes allows things to happen to you so that you could be a voice for and help others somehow. Understanding by and by. It’s hard to do sometimes, but it’s necessary when navigating through your day-to-day life.

**Song of the post- We Gon’ Be Alright By: Tye Tribbett**

Today’s topic for “The Who of the Day” is the strong friend or family member. I’m not talking about the person that’s physically strong, but the one who seems to have it all together. That person who seems to take on life’s trials and tribulations with ease and seems to not need any help from others while they’re doing it. They’re the ones who no one thinks to lend them a helping hand when they see that person struggling for whatever reason because they just assume that the person will figure it out on their own and take care of it when they do.

Most folks don’t even bother to ask that strong friend or family member are they okay. They just assume that they are. Yes, there are a lot of assumptions about the strong friend or family member, but at the end of the day, this person is a human being just like everyone else and isn’t as strong as everyone thinks all of the time.

I said all of that to say this- check on your strong friend or family member from time to time even if you just call them to say hello and to check on their wellbeing. A simple “I was just thinking about you and was calling to see how you were doing and if everything was okay with you.” That’ll do the strong friend or family member’s spirit wonders because then they’ll know that they’re not in this world by themselves. Just a little food for thought until the next post.

Were you the one who married Mr. Right, built a life together, and then started having children together? Or were you the one who met Mr. Wrong, got pregnant with no ring in sight, and became a single mom at an early age? Were you the one who graduated from high school or even college when most of your family didn’t? Or did you drop out of high school to pursue other endeavors of the adult variety because you felt that you’d learned all you needed to learn in that environment and the world would be a better teacher than the ones in the classroom?

Some people can relate to the questions after or because they’ve done some or all of those things along with quite a few other members of their family. I’m even guilty of the first or myself. Some may consider both questions of or to be a curse since it runs rampant through so many family members and other people they may know, but I believe that God places one person to a few people in each generation of a family to be the curse breaker. That one or few who stands out in the crowd and goes against the grain of what everyone else does and considers to be the norm.

It seems as if this person or persons were hand-picked for greatness and the anointing on them could be felt by anyone in their presence. And not only is it felt by others, but they can actually see your potential to do great things and be great at them. However, you may not see what they see, and in your quest to find the right glasses to put on to repair your vision, you sometimes end up becoming a statistic instead of the curse breaker.

At that point, it seems that the only way to see your potential for greatness is to wear your thick coke bottle glasses with the bifocals. Some folks won’t see the good in those glasses and will therefore continue to be just a statistic while the true curse breaker will use those glasses (which represents their life’s experiences) to their advantage and actually become the curse breaker that God put them on this earth to be. Life is going to happen no matter what, and it’s not only whether you bounce back from life’s happenings but when and how you do it that are just as equally important. This is what separates the curse breaker from being the statistic. Have a blessed one.

And not being comfortable with change has been my testimony for as long as I can remember. Oh yes, I’m that person who’d hang in there a lot longer than she should have because I have a tendency to get comfortable with the space and place that I’m in. I know that it’s a conundrum because I’m not comfortable, but I get comfortable.

Anyway, I say all of that to say this, sometimes change is good, especially if it’s for the better and who better to encourage you to move into better places and spaces than the Way Maker Himself? I’ve found that change isn’t always easy but it’s necessary, so very necessary.

**Song of the post- Movin’ On By: Jonathan McReynolds & Mali Music**