Enkounters

Ok, so I recently got a paradigm shift at the most unexpected of times. This past Thursday night I went to meet up for a late night chat with a friend before going home. I had to take two buses and two subways to get there but it didn't matter, I needed to talk. So much had happened that day as a result of some negative BS that was flung my way for no good reason. Anyways we chatted for an hr up until 11:45 pm and I guess clarity finally came because when I took the bus back home the unexpected would happen... That Night . So it's Thursday night and I'm standing at the front of this bus (so I wouldn't miss my stop) and all of a sudden I hear some loud expletives. I turn around to see this Black woman cussing two other Black women about what I don't know. I found it quite strange that this woman was cussing these two women and that they weren't even responding to her, they just looked on, only mumbling to themselves. Anyway, the bus came to a halt at my sto

Emma & Mr. Knightly Not so sure how I stumbled upon the BBC series Emma, but I am so happy I did. It took me a couple of nights this week to watch all the scenes in the four part series but it was well worth it. It is one of the most classic romantic stories and I feel, Jane Austen's finest on the topic. So, as I always believe that there are life lessons to enkounter everywhere, below are my 3 little love lesson tidbits from the movie : 1. Giving up your 'Mr. Martin' for a 'Mr. Elton' is not a good idea . Or as we like to say in Jamaica 'Yuh cyaa give up sure fi unsure' (You cannot give up what is sure for what is unsure). This was a mistake the young Harriet Smith made. Under the guidance of the well meaning but trifling Emma Woodhouse, she refused the man whom she really liked and who loved her because she was told that she was settling and could do better. As it turns out, the man she had in mind (Mr. Elton) thought he could do better than her

Picture courtesy of: A Dreamy World As I have mentioned before in a previous post, I keep having recurring dreams. I think what is most interesting about these recurring dreams is that the events may differ but the location, the landscape, the houses, the feelings are always the same. I digress...        My most recent recurring dream was in this city. I've been here countless times in my dreams and I am certain I have never been to any place like it in real life. It appears to be a real life commercial city, and many events have happened here - in my dreams. It has several elegant plazas and shopping malls on the most prominent strip. Both sides have factories (furniture and pillows for e.g) and malls interspersed with popular restaurants. They also have connecting allies that could take you behind the buildings.For example, in one of my previous dreams, in this same location, I dreamt that behind those allies were very dangerous and that there were mobsters or some very dark

        Stumbled upon this while surfing the internet wondering where my muse went. I found it interesting so thought I would share it here. Below are some appeals to common sense that were engraved on a plaque in a Dutch home: 1.     If you open it, close it.   2.     If you turn it on, turn it off.   3.     If you move it, put it back.   4.     If you borrow it, return it.  5.     If you break it, repair it.   6.     If you make a mess, clean it up.  7.     If it is none of your concern, keep it that way. Makes sense to me. Now I am curious to know more about the Dutch :) ~Love God,Live life,One Enkounter at a Time~

Ok first of all let's be clear...IEPC does not mean 'I eat pig competition' :)...It actually stands for International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (hosted by the World Council of Churches), which I was blessed to have attended,  from Friday, May 13-25 2011, as a Steward. Below are some of my reflections as shared elsewhere : WCC-IEPC 2011 Reflections- ‘ Glory to God and Peace on Earth’ “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one--as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me ." John 17:21 As a Christian I have always questioned the unity of the Church; wondered why we were so different and segmented; wondered if ever a day would come when our fractured light could shine bright enough to convince others of a God who is Holy, loving, just and peaceful. From May 17 th -25 th I had the privilege of attending the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) in Jamaica as a Steward. The

~Love God,Live life,One Enkounter at a Time~

When I was younger I had a picture in my mind of what individual witness looked like. I remember having two distinct images; one of individuals walking through neighborhoods and knocking on other people's doors, handing out tracts and being thought strange and two of people jumping on buses and preaching and being thought strange. Ok maybe I wasn't that young when I got the second impression. However, as I grew and became more serious about living for God, I began to see and learn more about sharing Christ with others through various young adults and student ministries. I began to realize more and more that there was no text-book definition for telling people about Christ and that you really cannot (should not) separate who you are from what you believe. Despite all this I never imagined that I would end up witnessing to anyone @ the beach!  It's funny and crazy now that I think about it... I went to the beach very early so that I could have my own little personal retre

Calm winds blowing.... thoughts, light showers of rain...more thoughts, bright neon colored kites splaying across bright blue sky, plates clanking with servings of spiced bun and cheese and.... even more thoughts on this here Good Friday! A couple nights ago I could not sleep so I opened my little black kjv bible to find a verse of sedation and I ended up reading Matthew 24-27 which includes an account of the crucifixion. Now I accepted Christ in my life about 12 years ago but the crucifixion is one story I've never been able to fully accept. I knew it was God's good and perfect will and I understood then that there were certain cultural norms and practices that were relevant then, but sometimes it is still hard for me to accept that Jesus had to die under these circumstances. Lest we forget, it's not just that He was nailed on a cross. The events leading up to it shows that Jesus experienced emotional abuse of the highest degree. He was crucified with so much ha

Courtesy of: Thingsveryspecial.com Be careful what you pick up what traits you copy and what habits you adopt; It’s never easy to shed the old self and it takes even longer for people to accept the new self. Be careful what you say. Think it through a hundred times or more if it needs to be said. Words expose your true character and what you say cannot be taken back.   What you say has the power to build up as well as tear down another;what you say has the power to make you unclean. At times silence is best kept. Exercise wisdom in all things Wisdom comes through experiences. No one can gain it for you It is the good that you take from experiences both good and bad that is the building block of wisdom… Not the wisdom preached by this world, but the wisdom which comes through knowing one’s self. Practice self control. The small step you take today in this direction will make a huge impact tomorrow. Discipline is key to growth while indiscipline leads to sta

~Love God,Live life,One Enkounter at a Time~

Psalm 62   is not normally considered the prototype amongst the passages looking at love, but read a bit further and decide for yourself. “ 1 My soul finds rest in God alone; My salvation comes from him. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.  11 One thing God has spoken, Two things have I heard that you, O God, are strong,  12 And that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done”. Out of all the verses in this Psalm, these are the four that struck my fancy at a particular point in time and out of the four, verse 11 is the one that intrigued me the most.  God is strong and God is loving . It just hit me like Wow , God is loving and God is strong! This psalm really speaks of God as a refuge and impels readers to place their trust and hope in God. Though not a prototypical passage on love, this made me question for the umpteenth time what is love? Surely, this feeling that human beings all yearn for

In awe of you I stand, examining your plan for this life and the next, but all the world’s a mess My vision is at best clouded and all around me shrouded by the darkness that unfolds in the most unlikely of places I see it on those faces Once filled with your joy and peace Now they’re longing for release From the sickness and disease in life See how they struggle with the strife that seeks to pull them under Lord sometimes I wonder, when will it all end? But until then Until the answer comes When at last the battle’s done My gaze will remain transfixed Never flailing, forever remaining with you The Unchanging One. ~Live Life, Love God, One Enkounter at a Time~

I am not familiar with any studies on the topic and I am no anthropologist but I have observed an increase, worldwide,  in the ‘awareness’ of some of the more noble things in life, like family life and spirituality. At this time, I can point specifically to Marriage and Lent.  There seems to have been a reversion of sorts where, like their fore parents, the young working class of the 21st century are marrying comparatively early. It seems they have diverted from Sociologists' projection of them delaying marriage in favor of career advancement and extended exploration of their sexuality etc.  Similarly, at the start of Lent, many appear more spiritual and express a growing interest in parting with prized possessions or giving up comfortable habits for the period. While these two seemingly unconnected things are outwardly praiseworthy, it would be interesting to consider the heart of the matter . After all, the heart has been said to be deceitful above all else! Truth be told, if we

~Live Life, Love God, One Enkounter at a Time~

I feel your pain I look to you and I cannot imagine how You pulled through, how You were able to still go on You were made an example of how I could pull through the storms of life. Could I? What immeasurable strength What grace in the face of hardship For a moment you stumbled For a moment cast down under The burden of despair and the past. Then like an eagle on fresh wind You alight to face the new horizon Staring blatantly in the face of uncertainty To taste the dew of new mercies. Dare I Empathize? You my friend are the epitome of Strength. ~Live Life, Love God, One Enkounter at a Time~

Ok...here's the story behind this event. I have two blogs that are my pride and joy that I like to experiment with, one can be traced back to me and the other is fairly anonymous (innocent stuff:). So I was doing some updates and checking out the stats, tweeting and all of that when I stumbled across #februarywish as a group/topic/search trending worldwide on twitter! Anyway, not surprisingly, most of the persons on there were throwing a pity party online and I could so relate. Bah Humbug! Last year that was my position. I even wore full Black (was going for the Mortisha Adams look) to the Pre-Valentine's Dinner I attended and was sour most of the time to say the least. Mid-way through the dinner and even during my 'on-stage performance', I just wanted to go home, not even company in misery could cure this case. You see the thing with Valentine's day is that there is no fooling yourself...you can't ignore it (unless of course, you are half robot). It is just

Yes folks, the love month is officially here... Hip hip hooray!!Now time to have some fun...  As a special countdown to the day we celebrate romantic love I am inviting all you love birds and love hopefuls to hit up my blog and big up the love of your life!  How? By s haring your stories, right here, about the moment you knew he/she was 'the one'. Where? In the comments section of this post. The story voted as most ' awwwww ' inspiring will be featured for the entire Valentine's day right here on Enkounters ! So what are you waiting for? Let the lovin begin... x o x o Here's the special love story of my very special friends - The Devlins! Tara and I had met a few times but it was only when we were both leaders at a national youth conference in Scotland that I had the moment where I thought "this girl has something about her". Tara was the speaker at one of the main meetings and it was the things she said that really made an impression on me

B eing black does not allow you to E nvy another person whether Black I ndian, Asian or White trying to get by. N o! Being black does not allow you to G ive less than your best thinking you deserve the best just B ecause you are black you should rise above L oathing in self pity and hatred towards A nother brother or sister trying to C limb their own ladder of success through K nowledge, hard work and love. D oing the best you can regardless of others O pinions of where you should be because of your E bony skin, broad nose, kinked hair, S trong bones, dark aspiring eyes. Being black N ever allows you to use black as an excuse to O ffend your neighbor, throw out the golden rule, T amper with the color of your skin? A ncestors did so much more than die a martyr's death L ying amidst other lives ill spent awaiting judgement L onging for generations to come to choose a better way O nly to hear the Earth cry out at the sheding of 'black by black' blood? W