Lent is About Sacrifice, Not a Dare!

"RT @M3RLz: Why would you celebrate lent if you never go to church?!

I'm so confused... Just call it a dare since that's basically what it is."

As a person who was born and raised in church, I am greatly offended when people use religion as an excuse when it suits their needs. One current pet peeve is hearing people say that they are celebrating Lent but cannot for the life of them remember the last time that they attended a church service.

By definition, the season of Lent is the time of preparation for Holy Week, leading up to Easter. According to Wikipedia, the purpose of Lent "is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus". Lent should not be taken as a joke. While most people use it to become closer to God, others are "observing" the religious holiday as a challenge to see if they can avoid doing a certain thing or avoid a certain food for 40 days.

As someone who does not take God or the Christian religion lightly, I am appalled to hear someone say: "I'm giving up [ ] for Lent". Will that bring you closer to God in any way? Will you use that time to pray more or to attend more services? Of course not, so you're not really celebrating Lent, you're challenging yourself to see if you can make it without something for 40 days; or you can even call it a self-imposed dare.

You might be wondering why a person who has been missing so many church services would be insulted by such statements. To be honest, I think I'm entitled since I'm practically a PK aka Preacher's Kid. For 24 years straight, I've been in church every single Sunday and have attended non-Sunday services. I've sung in countless church concerts and my mother has held high-ranking positions in every church that we've attended, therefore basically giving my sister and I the Preacher's Kid treatment. Even when I had chest pains (which was often due to my poor eating habits) or when I twisted my knee or ankle (which was also often since I was active even though I have weak ankles), I was there with cane in hand on a few occasions.

My very religious mother didn't exactly give me a choice; It was either go, or get out. I was never given a choice of accepting a corporal punishment/spanking or going to a Sunday night or a week-day service instead. "If you're not going to go to church, get out of my house." Anyone who knows my mother, knows that she does not joke around when it comes to anything related to God, so it was never a bluff.

When I tried to test her leniency, out of spite, she made me join three church choirs, which meant that I had to go to three, yes three, churches every Sunday. For more than five years of my life, I attended a Pentecostal, Methodist, and a Baptist church each Sunday. So yes, I'm entitled to be upset when people disrespect an important aspect of my religion.

Bottom line: Lent is meant to be a sacrifice, not a dare.

I know I haven't been on in months, but I had to come back since I didn't feel like bombarding my followers on twitter or my friends on facebook with how I was feeling. What's a blog, if not for posting frustrations?

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***Clarification:

my sense of entitlement was in regard to being upset about people misusing the term "Lent", not about redemption or salvation.***

Yes , we can...but we won't...

CNN conducted a new study about race: the researchers concluded that both Caucasian and African-American children are still as biased towards lighter skin as they were in the 1940's. Um...duh?! Did we really need a study to confirm what we already know?

Why did people automatically assume that an African-American president would compel racism to cease to exist? So after hundreds of years of slavery, the Unprejudiced/No Racism Fairy would magically appear, wave her wand and sprinkle fairy dust, causing all bigotry, intolerance, and self-hatred to miraculously disappear? If you believe that, I have an island in New York City for sale.

Now back to the study. Of course it reiterated what most people already know, but one part that stood out was a statement made by child psychologist Margaret Beale Spencer:

"Parents have to reframe what children experience ... basically reframing messages that children get from society."

That, my dear readers, is the reason why there is so much hate in this world. I understand that she is referring to African-American families, but just think about it: if parents took the time to replace, instead of reinforcing the negativity taught to their children, the human race could finally take initiative and head towards utopia, a.k.a. world peace!

When parents neglect that vital aspect in a child's upbringing, the child must rely on their friends and media for edification. That's basically the blind leading the blind. Does this world really need anymore light-skinned, light-eyed, blond, stick figures? We come in all different colors and sizes for a reason. Instead of ostracizing people who are different, why not embrace nationality? This has all been said millions of times before, but so many people are neither listening to nor hearing what is being said.

Since I don't have children, I rarely give advice to parents, but when I do it is usually to remind them to teach their children self-love. Kudos to the parents who realize that self-image and self-esteem inter-depend with every decision that will be made by their children in the future.

I could go into a rant, but I'm reserving my energy for short-term goals, like battling this sinus cold. Do you have anything to add? I'm listening!

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Christmas Caroling

Christmas is a time for....do you really care? I know I don't.

Any who....

Only two things I love about Christmas: The carols/songs and the gift receiving!

What else is there anyway?

Christmas is about spending money! Point blank. Yeah, you get a day off from work, a few days off from school, get to spend time with your family, put a smile on the faces of your children... ...


But come on! Go ahead and ask yourself: What is Christmas really about? And don't you DARE say it's about the birth of Jesus! As a person who was born and raised in church (my grandmother, step-grandmother, and mother were/are very religious) and as a Christian, I know that Jesus Christ was born in August. If you want to know more click here.


...WHOA.... I felt a rant coming on...

The real reason I started this post was to show you guys this video!






If you can listen to the whole song, without cracking a smile, I commend you!





Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, or Happy Kwanzaa!


Thank you for tuning in to hear my two cents!

Luv ya lots, M3RLz....

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Tyra/Natural Hair

It seems like all of the hair blogs I'm subscribed to, have been buzzing about what former model and tv host Tyra Banks meant when she stated that she was "going to only wear [her] natural hair". Here's a comment I posted on one of those blogs: 

I think that most people didn't understand what Tyra was saying. When she said that she was going natural in those articles, she continued by saying that she was no longer going to wear weaves, wigs, or hair pieces.

I guess people, like you, were too LAZY to do your research and gather all the information, or didn't read the FULL articles surrounding this whole "natural hair" thing.

I'm completely natural, but not everyone needs to be! Just because someone is still chemically treating their hair doesn't mean that they're wrong. This post sounds like you're attacking her just because she's not really [all] natural. I feel like you're looking down upon her because she is still perming her hair. That's the same as people with relaxers trying to make you feel bad about not perming your hair.

BTW - I'm a HUGE Tyra fan but I didn't watch that episode because I knew before hand what it was really about! :0) Because I like to get my facts straight BEFORE attacking someone.

That was my social worker response, minus the comments that were crossed out.

Like I mentioned before, I'm a big Tyra fan and I don't appreciate people attacking her because of her hair.  I think she's gorgegous however her hair is styled. Don't knock weaves and wigs.  They are good for changing up your every day look.

I guess she felt like she was lied to but what's the point of attacking her anyway? She's not going to read your comments. She's too busy living it up with her millions of dollars. Right? LOL You think she cares what YOU think? Please....

Anyway, that's my two cents. What do you think?

My First Music Concert

HOSTED BY WBLS (it was FREE!)




HELD @ SUMMERSTAGE




CHICO DEBARGE




GINUWINE






JOE




MICHAEL JACKSON TRIBUTE




I LOVE JOE!!!

Nia Long is RIGHT!

Nia Long is right!

Beyonce can't act for $#!T...

Just coz you can sing,

doesn't mean you can act!

Why don't you go sit down,

and give movies to talented actresses!

First things, first: I'm not a Nia Long fan and I don't hate Beyonce.

But there are a lot of good, better yet, great actresses out there.

Let me see....from the top of my head, I can name at least 10, yes 10, better actresses that can blow Beyonce's horrible performances out of the water.

1. Kerry Washington,
2. Kimberly Elise,
3. Vivica A. Fox,
   
4. Jada Pinkett-Smith,
   
5. Gabrielle Union,
   
6. Sanaa Lathan,
   
7. Elise Neal,
   
8. Jurnee Smollett,
9. Meagan Goode,
   

and last but not least Queen Latifah! (But let's not forget the TRULY TALENTED GREATs like Angela Bassett, Alfre Woodard, Regina King, Halle Berry....but let's be real, Beyonce is no where close to taking money out of their pockets!)

You want me to keep going? Because I'm definitely able to! LOL

I can't stand when celebs think they can do anything just because they have enough fans to support them.

It's bad enough that these fools -- excuse me, fans -- encourage celebs to dabble in everything they can get their hands on but COME ON!

How many movies have they put Beyonce in when they could have hired one of the better actresses listed above? She's been in more than 8 movies and I think the only one she did any justice in was Cadillac Records . It almost made up for all the other crap she tried to force feed us with....

Beyonce, from one black woman to another, please get some acting lessons before you accept any more movie or tv roles. I love your songs, fashion sense, dancing, and music but please for the love of Pete, have your hubby or father pay for some acting lessons!

BTW - I know it's a recession and all but if you'd like, you could even ask your "cousin" Kelly Rowland for some cues.

R.I.P Michael

The King of Pop, Michael Joseph Jackson, died yesterday on June 25, 2009. I was too distraught to write anything when it happened. Plus, I was literally shaking and in complete denial the whole day. My heart sank when TMZ announced that he was rushed to the hospital.

It still feels like a bad dream.

The media kept going back & forth after TMZ announced his death. I kept praying over and over that it was a mistake. I couldn't believe it! He was just too young to die!

When it really sinks in, his death is going to hit me very hard. It's like a close relative has passed. I'm still not all here.

Still think I'm gonna wake up from this horrible dream....

I just thought GOD would have given him one more tour, one more comeback, one more song... Or at least a chance to clear his name and leave this Earth as the icon he once was.

Thanks to the movie, Say Uncle, I no longer believe that he was a child molester. Just wished he had a chance to prove it.

Even with his quirky behavior, I still loved his music. I couldn't even begin to comment on his impact in the music world. It takes an extraordinary man to be named a king, let alone The King of Pop. The man was a genius. The greatest entertainer to ever live. Why do the good ones die young?

I love you and I will miss you, Michael Jackson.






(August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009)

George Carlin

WE'VE LOST A GOOD MAN!!!

GEORGE DENIS CARLIN DIED ON SUNDAY, JUNE 22, 2008 OF HEART FAILURE AT THE AGE OF 71, IN SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA.

HE WAS KNOWN AS A COMEDIAN, BUT I THOUGHT OF HIM AS A GENIUS, WHO WAS NOT AFRAID TO SPEAK THE TRUTH, NO MATTER WHO IT WOULD HURT.

HE SPOKE ON A LOT OF SUBJECTS THAT PEOPLE REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE OR EVEN DISCUSS.

HE WILL FOREVER BE MISSED!!!!

R.I.P. MR. CARLIN!

My First Comedy Show

Last night, I attended a free concert in Central Park hosted by Comedy Central.
It featured Steven Lynch and Mike Birbiglia, two hilarious comedians.


Steven Lynch



Mike Birbiglia "I'm a bear, etc."



Two hilarious comedians! You should definitely check them out when you can!
I was shocked that they would give a free show and put these two great comics on it!

Brainwashed

What is my favorite number? 3... Actually to be precise it's 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30..... lol

Everyone is always asking me why 3 is my favorite number but I could never remember why.
Finally after spending some time on Youtube watching MadTv spoofs, I came upon my favorite number and the reason why I love the number 3 and it's consecutive numbers so much.

I thought, similar to everyone else, that it was because I was so "special/original". But the real answer is that it's all because of Schoolhouse Rock. THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER!!!! I knew I got it from somewhere! lmao

I must have been old enough to remember the song and I quickly learned the 3 times table.



I feel so programmed..... should I change my favorite number? I would have to change all my passwords and what not. I don't want to start over.

Three is a magic number. Just like my favorite color purple is majestic! Every little girl thinks she is a princess, so of course, I deserve to love the color purple!
Lol, boy did I have an avid imagination! lol

I would have to change everything!!!!
AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Damn Schoolhouse Rock.

Bill Gates

Just found out a couple of important facts about Bill Gates. I'm sure this has been circulating all over the place, but I never cared enough ...well until now anyway.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is worth $38.7 billion. How convenient, right?
Of course, they donate to aide the poor.

But what I didn't know was that they also donate to speed up the development of vaccines for AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.

I wonder when AIDS will finally be cured....maybe around the time of my grandchildren. The medical companies make way toooooo much money on the cocktails to ever think about giving up a vaccine! (Yeah, I know I sound a little looney, but there's always a conspiracy! After all this time, they should at least be a quarter of the way to curing it!!!)

As if they weren't giving away enough money, they also donate to America's education system. (That's good that someone is trying to educate those idiots who are going off to college when they still can't read at a 10th grade level. I wouldn't be surprised if America ended up like in the movie Idiocracy (2006).) I guess they also want another future for these future McDonald's' employees. lol

Now I bet you're wondering if Gates donates his own money for these charities. Well he doesn't; Would you? Instead he sells somewhere about 20 million Microsoft shares every quarter. Also, the richest man in the world (for 2008 anyway) Warren Buffett, who is also a friend of the family, has given at least $31 billion as gifts. He's worth more than $62 billion and he's leaving most to charity once he croaks!

I bet hundreds of people are still peeved that they didn't buy a couple of shares 33 years ago.... lol
oh well!