Lord, my prayer today is for women that have given their children up for adoption. Please comfort their hearts in knowing they made the right choice. Please let them know that it’s not for others to say who should keep their child or who should give their child to another. Please let them know that it is stronger woman than I that can bless another family with the gift of life. Lord, please help the adoptive parent(s) receive their precious gifts with understanding of the sacrifices made for them to be parents. Please guide the adoptive parent(s) on their journey so the birth mother’s parental sacrifice is not in vain. Amen.
You can say sorry a million times, Say “I love you” as much as you want, say whatever you want, whenever you want. But if you’re not going to prove that the things you say are true, then don’t say anything at all. Because if you can’t show it, your words…don’t mean a thing.
One day, Heaven suddenly became extremely full, and something had to be done. So the Lord decided to have St. Peter wait at the gate and ask everyone how they died. If it was a grisly story they told, they could go ahead into Heaven. But if not, they had to go to Hell.
The first man walks up and St. Peter tells him what’s happening. “You see, Heaven is quite full today, and we have to ask everyone how they died. If it sounds good, you can go ahead. But if not, you go to Hell.”
“Ok,” the man says. “Well, for awhile I’d been suspecting my wife of cheating on me. So today I thought I’d leave work early and catch her. Sure enough, I got to my apartment and she was lying naked on the bed. I ran all over the apartment searching for the man but couldn’t find him.
Then I remembered that we lived on the 25th floor of an apartment building, and we have a balcony. And there was the man, hanging off my balcony. I beat at his hands and he just wouldn’t let go, so I ran and got a hammer and beat his hands until he fell into the bushes below. I saw he was still alive so I got the refrigerator and pushed over the edge on top of him. But the strain of the effort gave me a heart attack and I died.
“Wow!” St. Peter said. “That really is bad! You can go ahead…”
The next man walked up and St. Peter gave his spiel about Heaven being full and the man would have to tell his story.
“Ok,” the second man said. “So I live on the 26th floor of an apartment building, and everyday I do exercises on my balcony. Well, today I fell over the edge, but luckily I caught the railing of the balcony below me.”
“Suddenly, this man came running out and started beating at my hands. He ran back inside and I thought I was safe, but then he came back out with a hammer and beat my hands again. I finally fell off, but luckily I landed in the bushes below and they saved my life. But that wasn’t enough for the man because he pushed his refrigerator over the edge and it landed on me and killed me. And now I’m here.”
“Wow, that’s a good one too! You can go ahead…”
The third man walked up and St. Peter again gave his spiel about Heaven being full and the man would have to tell his story of how he died.
“Ok,” the third man said. “I don’t know what happened. I was hiding naked inside this refrigerator…”
Several months ago I discovered I had been extremely sad over missed opportunities. Sadness had been with me so long that the emotion masked itself as incurable depression. So, today I’m launching a mini-campaign in finding articles and videos that inspires me.
As I work on transforming how I view life failures I’m inviting you to join me on my journey. I’m hoping to remove my defeated soul from the seat of fear and stretch my spiritual legs to walk, run or jog to reach my dreams.
I got this wonderful recipe from Jennifer Scheumann’s post on Tiny Oranges’. I’m hoping to try it when my hubby returns home. I think he might get a kick out of it! Because the man does love food. And to add a pinch of Colorado I might even try to find some local peaches!
Pork Chop Brine Recipe
9 New York Pork Chops
1 c brown sugar
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
4 T Kosher Salt
2 T garlic powder
1/2 T black peppercorns
1 T allspice (whole)
2 T dried marjoram (or dried thyme)
2 t dry mustard
1/8 t red pepper flakes
ice cubes
Pork Chop Brine Instructions
1. In a medium saucepan bring all ingredients to a simmer (except pork chops and ice cubes- ha!) Stir until sugar and salt has dissolved. Remove from heat and pour over ice cubes to cool.
2. Once cooled, place New York Pork Chops in the liquid and refrigerate, brining for 1-2 hours.
3. Remove New York Pork Chops from the brine, pat dry with a paper towel, lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper and rub with a touch of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Grill It Like a Steak!
Grilling a New York Pork Chop is very easy, you simply grill it like a steak!
Susanne cooked them on a medium heat grill, and turned a total of 4 times, for 2 minutes every turn, to give them the nice grill hashmark. The length of time you want to cook depends on the thickness. Click here for an easy cooking times and temps guide.
Grilled Peaches Recipe
4 peaches, quartered, pit removed
2 t maple syrup
2 t balsamic vinegar
2 t brandy (or sherry wine)
2 t Extra Virgin Olive Oil
salt + pepper
fresh basil, rinsed and torn for serving
Grilled Peaches Instructions
Toss the peaches the rest of the ingredients about 15 mins before ready to grill (except basil).
Grill until just browned and caramelized, turning frequently to maintain the structure of the peach. Remove from grill and return to the balsamic/maple liquid.
The video that I’m sharing today pricked my memory. It brought to the forefront the importance of parents planning for their children’s future for in their untimely death.
I was angered at the sight of seeing children being abused. Viewing the video made me feel helpless as a woman and certainly as a mom! Without thought I wanted to find the man in the video and beat him with his stick! It was clear to see the man was an ungrateful person. The punishment he was handing out to parentless children for whatever reason was abuse. And I wanted him to feel the sting of abuse he deserved. I wanted him to feel a hard bald fist hit from an angry and very pissed off mother. I wanted to be those kids protector. I wanted to give them the loving shelter of a mother’s care. I wanted to forget that I was a woman and whip his [implicative deleted]! I’m still upset! And like I said his actions pricked my memory. Well any way . . .
When I was a young single mother I was sold a life insurance policy I could not afford. What prompt me to buy life insurance was the untimely death of my younger, and only, brother.
Later people looking to profit and move up within a pyramid financial company tried to get me to stop the policy. But I was bent on keeping it because I wanted to leave my son’s a little something should I die. And I thank God for common sense! Because, honestly, their sales-pitch came across as fishy as they tried to sell me a policy I did not need nor want.
They weren’t concern with what would happen to my children in the case of my death. All they wanted was a sale like the first insurance salesperson. And what I needed during this particular moment, as a single mom with three young children, was someone who knew the insurance business and knew about life. Other words, I needed someone to help me make final financial arrangements for my young dependents.
I called my auto insurance agent and told her my dilemma. She arranged a meeting with me to discuss affordable life insurance.
The meeting went well. She sold me a policy that would fit my strained income. But before she sold me the policy she asked me the below questions:
How much is your mortgage?
How many children do you have?
How big is your house?
How old are your children?
Then she went on to express the importance of having life insurance. She could not guarantee that my children would not be mistreated. But I clearly remember her saying that if they weren’t a financial burden to others they would probably be treated okay. She included my mortgage in the policy in case the caretaker needed a place to stay. She said the other half should be placed into a trust fund for the boys college expenses. And she pointed out my Social Security could pay for their living expenses while they were under the age of 18.
Like I stated earlier, I found the video very disturbing. It was clear to see the horrid man was not thankful for having employment. His lack in kindness prevented him from being grateful; therefore, it was easy for him to cross the threshold of abuse. Because had the man been grateful for employment he would have found a kinder and constructive way to punish the children.
A true friend knows your weakness but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities.
Today Brandon posted a photo that was disturbing to me. It was of a young man from Kampala, Uganda. As you can see the young man is sitting among broken pieces of furniture. The young man is quoted as saying, ‘The landlord doesn’t care how much furniture you’ve sold this month.’
No one should be homeless. No one! And no one should live in fear of becoming homeless.
What makes this photo so distressing to me is that I can’t help. And I’m sure if I could pay his rent for six months, his landlord would exploit my gift by raising his rent.
The video that I’m sharing today pricked my memory. It brought to the forefront the importance of parents planning for their children’s future for in their untimely death.
Black Women Have It Going On 