Blah Monday!!

It's Monday, and it's just Monday...

I don't have a bunch of papers to grade, and I have pretty much planned my classes all the way to Springbreak, which is at the end of the Month.

I don't have anything great planned this week, but I sure am expecting something great to happen.

I have not worked out with the greatest trainer in the world since Wednesday, and I can't wait to get my workout in today. I hope that it is a strenuous workout, so that I can feel strong, invincible, and extremely happy at the end of the workout.

We are expecting snow this week, and I am believing for school to be closed both Wednesday and Thursday, but I'll take just Wednesday if that is all that I can get.

I went out of town this past weekend for a quick girls' trip, and I had a 'good for the soul' time, but I sure did miss writing..............

Well, this is all that I have on a Monday.

What's going on with you?

March Gladness...

IT'S MARCH!!!

And, I am bubbling over with Gladness....

I am looking forward to warmer weather, more bike rides, more time with great people, Springbreak, daylight savings time etc.

So much March Gladness!!!!

Happy Friday... My People.

We Got The Power!

It's the last day of February, and it has been a GLORIOUS month!

Tracy and I are so excited about exercising the power that God has given to us and honoring the people of the Montgomery Boycott. And, we are also happy that so many people joined us on this journey. (People need other people!)

Earlier this week, Tracy sent me a video of the song "Ain't no stopping us now," because ain't no stopping us now......

One of my co-workers has been on this journey, and she gave up potato chips. She has not had a chip all month, and she is planning to stay on this journey until at least after Easter. I am hoping that she stays on this journey of self discipline forever, but her journey is her journey!

I have not had any artificial sweeteners, I wrote twenty-eight blogs that I absolutely love this month, and No FACEBOOK. I feel extremely powerful.... Ain't No Stopping Us Now!

Sooooo, let's hear from Tracy and some others who decided to take this journey with us:

Tracy

"The self discipline fast went very well for me. I gave up all processed foods which included sweets, chips, and all other man made junk food. (lol) I ate only fruits, vegetables, and boiled or baked seafood. I also fasted from any food from 7pm til 7am!! I also gave up facebook and replaced that time with more prayer, and I completed numerous books! I feel so great knowing that nothing (but God) has control over me.."Whom the son set free is free indeed," and, I got the power!! As for our kids, Tia, our 7 year old, was the only one who made it through the month without any slip ups! I remember a few nights ago we were out, and someone offered Tia some Hawaiian punch, and she boldly said "No, I'm fasting red juice." (lol) I have learned that self discipline is a muscle that must be developed in ALL of us, and I applaud all of our children for their courage to attempt this 28 day journey! As for me, this journey will not end here, but I will continue to practice self discipline as a part of my lifestyle, and I feel GREAT!!!"

Testimony #1

"I am so glad that you and your sister decided to fast for Black History Month. I decided to be intentional about my reactions to people and situations in honor of my ancestors who sacrificed their lives for my future,. We live in a fast paced, instant, selfish society and people often only think about themselves. We, excuse my French, I often react when I feel that someone has wronged me, or I am misunderstood, or even when people are rude. During this month, I took the time to not respond, not to be so easily offended, keep silent, or even speak life. I am part of an higher education community that is experiencing some racial tension. I received a message from a young white female who is concerned and fed up with some things that have been said by a young black male student. She said, "I like the way you explain things because I know it's from a place of passion and not out of bitterness." This is what happens when you attempt to live in the Imago Dei."  

Testimony #2

"When I began the "Discipline Fast" I chose to fast sweets from my daily meal plan. No chocolate, donuts, cookies, or Little Debbie snacks for the month of February. The first week was really hard, as I could feel my body craving just a little something sweet. The second week was easier, and the third week got even better! By the end of the fast, I felt like I had gained control over my body and beat "the sweet monster cravings!" Anything you don't give life to, will die! As a result of the "Discipline Fast" I shed 11lbs in 27 days!!!"

Testimony #3

"My testimony... All my life I have really loved dairy foods, and I have chewed gum like every day, even in my sleep. I know it sounds crazy. But being under Pastor Tracy, when I prayed and fasted, I have been delivered from those things. Since the fast started, I feel so much better! It works, Praise the Lord! I thank GOD for her; He puts people in our lives for change!"

Testimony #4

"In my quest to do something for the month of February, I decided to do something for others by giving blood and participating with a mission group. For myself, I gave up sweets, increased my veggie intake, and increased my workouts. There were a couple of weak days, but overall, I did something! I'm grateful that my friend Jack came up with this 'initiative!"

Testimony #5

"The fast went good; this is what my body needed due to the food poison that I had a week ago. I must practice fasting on a regular basis and this will give me a clearer vision on my goals and will be beneficial to energizing my brain and body health."

Testimony #6

"My fast was not to watch any secular television only Gospel/spiritual. This fast helped me to become more disciplined with my prayer times, reading the Word of God, as well as, other books. I accomplish more during my evenings now. Also, now I go to bed without my television on (this is something I never did in the past, my TV always put me to bed at night. (LOL!) When the fast is over, I will continue to limit my time watching secular TV."

Testimony #7

"I did cut back and cut down on my choices of what to drink and sweets. I was blessed, because I didn't realize how much time I spent unconsciously snacking. I replaced the snacking with reading or studying. I have enjoyed the journal and actually seeing how my time was spent. My new book should be here tomorrow, and I'm excited about reading it and continuing the mentoring. Have a blessed night."

Our Power Movement is a success, and "Ain't no stopping us now!"

I'm going to leave you with "Ain't No Stopping Us Now:"

A Student's Response to Life of Pi!!!

I was extremely excited to start the discussion on Life of Pi with my students, but they did not seem to share my enthusiasm. I began to question if they had gotten anything from this novel.

So, I gave the students some quotes from the novel that I thought were thought provoking, and I asked them to write their thoughts about one of the quotes. I was nervous about this assignment, but I really needed to know if I should continue to teach this novel.

Here is an example of the kind of responses that I received:

"If Christ Played With Doubt, so must we. If Christ spent an anguished night in prayer, if He burst out from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" then we are also permitted doubt. But we must move on. To chose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a mean of transportation."  (From Life of Pi.)

"This quote provoked a lot of different thoughts when I read it and other thoughts, Pi had on religion.  The only time I was consistently going to church was when I was very young. When my dad died and my mom married another man, I began to take on my step-dad’s atheist views.  Recently, realizing I had not studied religion that much, enough to decide what my label was, I decided I’d look into it at some point.  Being a teenager, living in the environment I do, it’s easy to be busy and join the majority of the student population in their belief that religion is silly and a waste of time. Hearing many bible stories, I denounced them as ridiculous, contradictory, and some cruel.  When I see all the hate that comes from religious people and learn about all the ancient wars that were started between people simply because of their different religion, it makes it easier to claim you will never be a part of it.  I know it’s most likely hard to believe, that a respectable character in a fictional novel could sway my opinions on something so universal and important, but reading this book changed my way of thinking. When Pi states that agnostic peoples’ way of thinking, doubting that there’s a higher power but never deciding one way or another, is foolish, it struck a realization in me.  Since my church-going years I decide that if you ever had a doubt God exists, you can never go back to fully believing in him, but this quote from “Life of Pi” simply made so much sense, especially with its reference to Jesus. In life you cannot have all the answers to everything, so some things you simply have to trust and have faith in. I was never big on believing in something even if you could never know for sure, until reading this book.  By the end, when Pi was telling the interviewers his second, more sensible story, I found that simply believing the first one was true, came much easier. With the help of the story of Pi’s life and his views on trusting things that are outside the realm of reality, I concluded that believing in things without doubt and with imagination about things would make for a much more enjoyably life.  Granted I do not think every philosophy in the bible should be applied today, because some of it has made this world a hateful place, but simply believing in a higher power, living your life as a good person (which I believe should be the main focus of religion), simply believing things will get better and everything happens for a reason would help any citizen live a more fulfilling life.' 

WOW! All of my doubt is gone, and I'll be teaching this novel for quite awhile.

Life of Pi helped me to do my job: Get Students to Think.....

Our Future is Bright! 

"Nowhere is it written that we should not be happy!"

Robin Roberts...Still Winning!

I am a HUGE fan of Robin Roberts....

One of my many joys of the summer is being able to watch Good Morning American where Robin Roberts warmly gives us the news.

She is such a display of a strong women who is caring and soft at the same time. (She has a great balance!)

I've been following her health journey, and I must say that her journey is one that makes me extremely happy; Robin is a winner!!!

Watching The Oscar's, I must admit that I was a little jealous of Robin's arms, and I called my trainer to tell him that I need to do more arm work.

Robin's story was told on 20/20, and she stated: "Nowhere is it written that we should not be happy."

Hearing that made me so happy, because I believe that we all should consider striving to be happy everyday; I do believe that it is possible.

Everyday, I find myself doing a lot of laughing, mainly because I absolutely love to laugh and laughing makes me feel youthful...

Being happy is contagious, and the joy that Robin brings to Good Morning America is definitely contagious.

I'm extremely happy that she is back and is spreading HAPPY!!

I can't wait until the summer so that I see Robin everyday....

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis

Well, sometimes we just don't make good decisions!

In the last two months I've read Sister Citizen, The Darkest Child, and The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, and that was a BAD decision. NEVER, and I mean NEVER read these three books in such a short span of time. It's enough to make a person go over the deep end. Toooooo much to think about!

In Sister Citizen, Melissa Harris-Perry talks about the three African America women stereotype types: Jezebel's sexual lasciviousness, Mammy's devotion, and Sapphire's outspoken anger. The Darkest Child and The Twelve Tribes of Hattie seem to perpetuate these images.

When the Negro national anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing, states, "felt in the days when hope unborn had died,"  that's how I felt about these novels: the characters' dreams were dead before they could even dream them.

In The Twelve of Hattie, one of the main characters, Hattie Shepard, has eleven children. Ayana does an incredible job of telling the eleven children's stories, one grandchild story, as well as, Hattie and her husband, August, stories. However, the stories are such gloomy stories, and they reminded me of The Darkest Child because of the hopeless tone.

All of Hattie's children and her marriage seemed to be effected by what was perceived as Hattie's anger, but I think that Hattie was not angry, but was just so busy cooking, cleaning, and trying to survive, until she forgot or didn't think to laugh or even smile. She showed her love through doing for her children and husband.

This novel, after reading Sister Citizen and The Darkest Child, forced me to think about Black women who appear to be Angry; how birth control is one of the best inventions ever; about the idea that today a woman does not have to settle for the first man who wants to marry her, or the fact that a woman never has to get married and can have a great life; about why are many African American books depressing with a lot of "unborn hope that has died;" is the strongblackwoman image killing us, our families, and communities etc.

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is a great, quick read. But, I do not recommend reading it after reading novels like Sister Citizen and The Darkest Child.

My people, I NEED a book that is not depressing and is not the same story that continues to perpetuate the same negative African American women images over and over and over again.....

So, I am going to read Half A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Join Me.....

An 11 Minute Video that just may help you to see things differently!

My friend, T. Smith, did it again. I was talking to him this morning, and he told me to watch this video and call him back...I must share it with you:

Enjoy!

Please, share your thoughts.

Happy Sunday!!!

If you get this post through email and the video does not show up, go to www.theseaisfull.com, and check it out.