Enkounters

I love reading the Bible because just when you are patting yourself on the back, thinking that you know a passage or scripture inside out...POW!!! Something new and fresh comes right at you. Upon reading this scripture again I realized, from my Communications/Marketing point of view that authors and spiritual speakers have been packaging and peddling this passage to the wrong audience -young single women. There are some men who won't even read this blog post because Proverbs 31 is in the title and because they automatically assume I'm directing this post to women. There are some men's ministries that would never even consider a group study on Proverbs 31 because they'll automatically think...that's for women. And they have good reason to think that because it's all in the marketing. Don't believe me? Take a visit to your bookstore and look at the packaging of anything that says Proverbs 31, visit websites like this then read Proverbs 31 for yourself an...

Yesterday was the wrap up of Max On Life by Max Lucado in our bible study group. It is a wholistic study of life so we touched on parenting, finances, relationships and personal witness/ministry. In the study we examined the lives of people who didn't think they could accomplish God's Will in their own strength and those who seemingly detoured from the purpose they thought their lives would/should have.  I was intrigued by the story of the lady who thought God's plan (or maybe her plan) for her life was to marry and have children. Then at age 66- a successful single CPA- when that dream did not materialize, decided to adopt. She now has two children 8 and under and is convinced that this is God's Will for her life to make a difference in the lives of these children. It sparked an interest because I am now approaching the end of my 20s and I initially thought that by now I would have been married with at least two children. I do have a desire to marry and even feel calle...

Love this little poem, note to self Monday: If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill, be  a scrub in the valley-but be the  best little scrub by the side of the rill; Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If you can't be a bush be a bit of the grass, and  some highway happier make; If you can't be a muskie then just be a bass but  the liveliest bass in the lake! We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew, There's something for all of us here, There's big work to do, and there's lesser to do, And the task you must do is the near. If you can't be a highway then just be a trail, If you can't be the sun be a star; It isn't by size that you win or you fail Be the best of whatever you are! ~Douglas Malloch~

The other day I was standing at the bus stop when two little Haitian boys (about 5 and 8) came running towards me ahead of their father and then...*SPLASH* The day before, there was a snow storm and that day the sun started melting away the snow, creating huge puddles. School was out for Spring Break so I guess that also added to their excitement.  The elder boy jumped in a puddle and got muck water all over my boots and leggings ( the boots I didn't mind...but my leggings...cringe). He immediately said sorry twice and I forced a smile and said okay. As soon as the father caught up, the younger son started telling him what happened (in Haitian Creole) and I instinctively turned to the dad and said, "He said he was sorry." (In English)  The elder boy with a puzzled look on his face said something to his dad in Haitian Creole and the dad replied in English, "Why don't you ask her?" The conversation... Boy: (Smiling) Do you speak Creo...

Like most people whose sole impression of New York is through the movies, reality shows and songs I thought New York was this big glamorous place where most people dress like they do on Project Runway and attend all the best restaurants, films, museums, etc. you catch my drift... Needless to say I was shocked when one of the first things to greet me was the dark and danky subway where no matter what time a day you got on, there was guaranteed to be someone covered up under a torn dirty blanket taking a nap. And where the station/stops are just plain filthy. So it turns out, New York is a real place, with real people struggling with real issues. How could I already have forgotten the recent historical facts that I knew? Fact 1 : Tragedy of 911 It was late August 2001 and my two sisters and I had just gotten back to Jamaica from our first no-parents trip, as teenagers, to Detroit. Only a couple days later, September 11, 2001, I would sit transfixed looking at the TV in horror ...

On my most recent trip, my travel friend, Daniella, who is a Chilean, introduced me to this: Mate tea This my friends is called 'Mate' (hard 'e' on the end...mah-teh...not 'Matey' my Jamaican family :D). The metal straw is called a bombilla. My friend poured a combination of cool and hot water on some dried herbs as she excitedly explained that this is how they prepared and drank tea in Chile. She then promptly explained all the health benefits and offered me a sip. I instinctively refused because my first impression and thoughts to myself were... what manner of couldron is this?  And then, why is steam consistently rising from cool/lukewarm tea? I had honestly never seen anything like it before. Che Guevara sipping from a Yerba Mate. She explained that it was made popular by the legendary Che Guevara and is a common practice in several South American countries including Argentina, Brazil etc. Now I regret passing on my first opportunity to si...