Back to the Basics

Happy Sunday.  Wow!...what a weekend!  If you have not been affected by the tragedy that has taken place in Connecticut, then I don't know where you live; because even around the world, people have felt the pain of the families and friends in the small community of Newtown, CT; it has truly been overwhelming.

So with that being said, I want to talk about, "getting back to the basics."  What are they you ask?  Family.  Things and people that you cherish and that have value. 

In the midst of our busy schedules, we tend to place people and some things on the back burner; we don't mean to, but it just happens like that and because we live in a world where cell and smart phones dominate a huge part of our lives by allowing us to talk, text, tweet, FB, Instagram, etc on the run, we have a tendency to skip the basic steps such as hugging, kissing, touching and laughing with our loved ones.  Now am I knocking technology, absolutely not. Technology, when used in its is proper place, is what makes the world productive.  But what technology has done, I believe, for some of us, has caused a disconnect to the basic human values in life.

Most of us when we leave home, we are rushing.  The time that should be taken to spend time with our love ones, we set aside; because now, we text them, I love you vs. telling them face to face.  And although we think we know how our day is going to go, we are out the door assuming that all will be intact when we get back. Really??

So much calamity has hit our country this year - people have lost their homes and possessions in the wake of the storm Sandy; and throughout, many lives have been taken by senseless, random acts of violence.  Will it stop?  I don't know; because as flawed humans, we are unpredictable in our thinking and in our actions when it comes to certain circumstances that we are dealing with in our lives.  But while in my time of meditation and self-evaluation, here is what all these tragedies have taught me:

• Love your love ones with all of your heart and with all that you have
• Forgive each other quickly because you don't know if it will be the last time you see, talk or hug and kiss them
• Pray.  Pray individually and collectively as a family.  Remember the saying - a family that prays together, stays together
• Every chance you get let your loved ones know how much you love them
• Communicate - get to know how your loved ones feel, what they think, what's important to them. 
• Make time, to spend time with each other no matter how old they get...keep that connection to come together to fellowship with each other. 

Now I can't say with us doing these things that there will not be moments where we still do not get upset with each other; that's inevitable, but how long we choose to let it go on is of our own volition.

But here's my thought:  I believe all that is going on throughout our country is awakening on so many different levels.  And not to take away anything from the things of the past; but when traumatic events come in waves so forceful to the point we cannot compose ourselves before another one hits, its time that we step back and begin to look at what is important and what isn't. 

So today, while in your quiet space, let's get back to the basics.  Let's prioritize the things that have value, worth and meaningfulness.  Agree?

Peace and Love.....

Inspire A World

Happy Wednesday!!  How was your day?  Today is 12/12/12.  This is the last time we will ever see anything like this.  Did you do anything special to make this day memorable or did you just go about your day like any other regular day.  I kind of just floated through it as peacefully and quietly as I could.

Tonight, I want to talk about "inspiration".  What and who inspires you?  Who gives you the drive to do what you do.  Can you pinpoint just one person or is it persons.  Is it a song, a word, an event or situation, that inspires you.  Do you even feel inspired?  Has it left you?  Are you searching for it?

Well here's a little secret...you don't have to search too far to find it and you don't have to wait for something spectacular to get you going; and you know why...because inspiration is there the moment you open your eyes, all you have do is take hold of it.  The power lies within your hands. 

In 19 more days we will be entering into a New Year.  What is your vision for 2013?  What are you feeling "inspired" to do in the upcoming year that you did not move on to do in 2012?  What will it take to get your mojo moving, to get your inspirational juices flowing?  I say, all it takes is one single thing.  Whether it is seeing the sun when you open your eyes, hearing the sound of the birds chirping outside your window or seeing your loved ones sleeping peacefully in their beds; inspiration, is all around. 

So with being said:  Be inspired in this upcoming year and share it with the world because there are people out there waiting on your inspiration, to inspire them.

Peace and Love...

Today Is A New Day...Get Moving

Today is a new day.  A day to get up, get moving and start living like it's your last.  Hey everyone how are you?  I'm up early enjoying the quietness and stillness of the morning.  I like to think this is the best part of the day.  Everyone is still sleeping and it's just you and God communicating.  I call it, the peace and tranquility time--that window of time before the busyness of the day starts.  And now that the holidays are upon us, we run into the frenzy of Christmas shopping.  So for just a few minutes, whether it be in the shower or bathtub; enjoy the solitude that the early morning brings.

I started off with, "today is a new day;" and if you think about it, it is.  Yesterday is gone with all of its problems and challenges that it brought, but today gives you another chance to live and do something different than you did the day before.  But why is it, that we like to stay in the past.  Why do we have such a hard time "moving forward" from the things that have not benefited or caused us to grow in certain aspects of our lives.  Well I may not have all of the answers but here is one that I think I can personally elaborate on -- we still have yet to understand this precious gift that has been given to us called, time.  Michael Jackson said it best on his Triumph cd:  "Time Waits for No One."
While we sit and ponder on the things of the past, continue to stay in relationships that mean us no good, keep stalling and making excuses as to why we can't accomplish our dreams, time is steadily moving; and before you know it, another day, month or year has eluded us.  And when you think about it, whose fault is it really?  It is our own.

Now you can say, sometimes in life different things come up which causes us to stop for a minute; and I will say true.  But when the minute/situation has passed, what do you do next.  Do you ponder over what was or do you continue to "move forward" because each day you choose not to, you are wasting the precious gift called, time.

In the wake of all the calamities that have been hitting our country and surrounding countries, the one thing I am clear of...time is very short; if we do not learn the value of it and learn how to maximize it with things that are beneficial to our lives and the ones who are connected to us, it's going to pass us by.

So today, get up and get moving because it's a new day and before you know it, another day will be on the horizon.

Peace & Love.....

Replenish

Happy Thursday Evening DGWOS!!  How are you?  Did everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving?  Are you getting ready for Christmas?  Can you believe it's here at our front door again, already.  Wow.  Last year I said I was going to shop earlier and not wait until the last minute; but guess what, I'm back here at at the last minute line, again.  Go figure.  Hopefully next year I will do better.  Lol!!

Well, it has been 28 days since I last posted, but I never stop thinking about you guys.  No matter what comes and goes in my life and no matter how time goes by, DGWOS is always in my heart.

Tonight, I want to talk about a word that I believe is very vital to our existence and that we all need to do at some point in our lives - replenish.  Exactly what does that mean, you might say.  Well, replenish means to renew, refill, refresh and replace.  Though these words are synonyms; you get the point of what they represent - when you have depleted all of your energy, time and mental capacity, you have to take the time to refill, refresh, replenish. 

I remember growing up, I really hated to see the wintertime come.  The winter represented darkness, coldness and dryness -you couldn't just go out and sit on the steps, jump doubledutch or run up and down the streets with your best friends playing hide and seek.  No, you went to school and you came home and went straight in the house because the "hawk" (that's what we called the winter wind) wasn't no joke. 

There I would sit home and stare out the window and long to go outside.  Sometimes it would rain and sometimes it would snow and although the snow would be pretty coming down, I still longed to go outside.

The bible says in the book of Ecclesiastes, to everything there is a season.  When I used to read that, I didn't quite understand, but now that I'm older; I totally get it.  Winter time, the season that God provided for us, is the season to "replenish."

Now he truth of the matter is, replenishing can be done anytime and at any season in our lives; but I find that when it its warm and sunny outside (all that the spring and summer months bring), we have a tendency to run and run until our mind, body and soul is almost depleted and then what happens, the Lord in His infinite wisdom, provides a space, a season where we can replenish.

So with that being said, take some time during this holiday season to steal away and renew, refresh and be refilled.  Replace some of that everyday busyiness with some down time.  Let your spirit get revived so that you can enjoy that family time during the holidays.  Replenish.

Peace & Love....

Hey; It's Better Late Than Never

Helloooooooooooooooo everyone!!  How are you?  How quickly a year passes.  Yes, a whole year.  Wow; where do I begin.  I believe the last thing I posted was the Exquisite Diamonds Conference.  Well, since then, an abundance of exciting events have happened: my son graduated from high school and is now attending college, I have a new grandson (him so sweet) and.....I got married.  Yes chile....married.  Nobody but the Lord orchestrated that.  Amazing, right?

So now after all of those exciting things have happened and now that my life is getting back on track; I am back; even if it is at the end of the year.  Hey; it's better late than never. 

In this upcoming year, look for new changes to DGWOS and some new exciting postings.  We will tackle some topics that are good and some that are not so good, but just know; it will all be for the betterment of us all.

So with that being said, I look forward to chatting with you soon.

Peace & Love......

An "Exquisite Affair"

Hellooooo.....guys, I know you think I have totally forgotten you; never! June and July were some busy months, but never once did I not think about you and our connection that we have. So, with that being said, how is every one's summer going thus far? Have you been on vacation yet? Have you had a chance to make it to a beach or pool? How many family reunions have you gone to. Have you had the chance to read Reflections66 (I know..shameless plug...lol!!). But seriously, have you had a chance to read it. You guys know I can't write without putting a little humor in.

Well, if you have read over this blog, you know that Exquisite Diamonds (my business) had its first conference. Guys, can I tell you; it was work - but the ED team pulled it off. Which is another thing; it is very important to have a good team, and I surely appreciated mine.

The conference was held on Saturday, July 30th and it was a success. From the speakers, to vendors, to the mini makeovers (hair/nails/make-up); it was phenomenal. Although I was all over the place until my son told me to have a seat somewhere, I was in awe. Sometimes when you have a vision, you often wonder how it's going to pan out. Well, the Lord took it beyond what I saw (but that's how He does things - isn't).

As women; young and old, we came together in the spirit of sisterhood and celebration. No one cared about all the other things women have a tendency to focus in on when in the company of each other. You know what things I'm talking about: who is she, look at her outfit, what kind of car she drive, what do you know about her, etc - all of the things that separate and bind us from being our sister's keeper. Things that make us envious and jealous of each other before even getting to know a person, properly. That kind of mentality has, and continues to plague us as women. But at the conference, our sisters; black and white, celebrated each other with open arms. We danced, we cried, we hugged, and we laughed. My heart was overwhelmed - I loved it.

For anyone that understands me; I am one who is always observing. It took me a week to process and dissect every part of what happened on last Saturday. And although the ED Team and I received many positive comments and feedback (thank you to everyone who shared), as the owner of Exquisite Diamonds, this is what I saw:

Exquisite Diamonds are among us every day, but they just don't know it. The Exquisite Diamonds that I observed on Saturday, were the women who were vendors talking and sharing about their products and businesses. They were the Liz Adams - a woman who sacrificed celebrating her birthday to bring a group of young ladies out to the event because she cared about them more then they understood themselves. It is the Director of the Eastern Shore Pregnancy Center (Mrs. Jacquelyn Seldon), who opens her heart up to young expectant teens. It was the young ladies from the Beauty Academy who came and enhanced the beauty of a group of single mothers by doing their hair and nails. It was Ms. Alicia Dennis, the Mary Kay Consultant who added the finishing touches to those young single mothers after the Beauty Academy were done their part. It was the two Oncology Nurses who came and took blood pressures and who made energy flags (thank you Marti Ellis) that we waved in the air as we shook our groove thing to the music that was played (thank you Tyshon Smith) and that represented breast cancer, because I had shared with Marti prior to, that one of my friends (Tanshelle) had just been diagnosed. The Exquisite Diamond is the young single mom, LaToya Johnson who just started an organization called Single Moms on a Mission aka SMOM. It was our Mistress of Ceremony (Ms. Savasti Brown) who always says, "I'm about two things: Business and Babies. My business has to be straight in order to take care of my babies." Amen sister! It was my best friend from Philly (Marcella Tinsley) who too, is a single mom working two jobs just to put her daughter through college who come this year (2012) will be graduating in May. The Exquisite Diamond is Ms. Stephanie Milbourne, a mother of three and my cousin, who no matter what I do, is always there to keep me straight personally and professionally. The Exquisite Diamond is my friend (Deja Bell-Johnson) who came all the way down, she and her husband at the very end of the conference to show their support, because she gave me her word that she would. The Exquisite Diamond is my friend (Sheila Dunn) owner of Treasured Moments who sowed into the vision because she believed in it. The Exquisite Diamonds were the speakers (Dale Reddish, Joyce Farrare, Sara Miller and Jacquelyn Seldon) who all had a story to share that enlightened, motivated, inspired and encouraged us to continue to shine brightly mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. It is the ones, whether far or near, that prayed and sent their love and positive energy to us. It was the ones who faces and spirits glowed in the presence of each other as they took in what was going on around them. It is the woman who did not want to be mentioned that donated bags and lotion and shampoo, for the cause. Ahh yes, they are the Exquisite Ones. I can still feel their spirits just typing this.

So you see, Exquisite Diamonds is not something where you have to be all deep and stuck up or super important with multiple titles behind or in front of your name in order to shine brightly. All you have to know, is your worth. What I observed in that conference is: Exquisite Diamonds are your every day people, who sometime get noticed and sometime don't, who are just trying to do the very best they can with what they have been gifted with, to live the abundant life that God has blessed them with. Some understand their exquisiteness, and some don't. And for those who don't yet; well, that's where we will come in to guide and direct until they can see if for themselves.

Final word - I was glad to connect with other Diamonds last weekend. We made a light so bright that even the help of the facility in which we held the conference had to take notice. It was truly an "Exquisite Affair".

Normally, I would end this by saying peace & love...but today, I'm going to end it by saying,

Shine brightly Exquisite Ones...

Soul Investments

Happy Wednesday guys. I know what you are thinking; long time, no write. Well, you are absolutely right. I have been so busy with all kinds of projects. I pray all of you are doing well and that you are making progression towards your goals, dreams and aspirations. I pray that all of your loved ones are well, too. Though I have not written much, you are always in my thoughts and prayers. You are the reason I do what I do, and your encouragement is the energy that I use to keep going.

Well, we have transitioned into summer. Who's ready for the beach? I know I am.

Tonight as I sit in quietness (my son is working ya'll - hallelujah, doing my happy dance, strike up the band, wooohoo!! Sorry about that, but I had to get that out), I want to share something that I like to call, " An Investment to the Soul."

Movies, as I'm sure we all like to watch, have so many different messages and stories that they are trying to portray. But then there are some movies that you were so glad you watched, because they were life changing, eye openers, an investment to your soul. I can think of one in particular that I shared with friends and admonished them to go see and that movie was, "Pursuit of Happyness." Talk about an investment to the heart and soul. Outstanding!

Though it was scripted and acted out wonderfully by Will Smith and his son Jaden; that movie stirred something in my soul - it moved me with compassion and determination and once again opened my eyes to how some of us really take our blessings for granted. Well tonight, I was reminded (reminders are something we need throughout life to keep us focused) again of how blessed we are and don't even realize it.

This evening I had the opportunity to hang out with a person who I consider to be like a sister. Though she quietly and apprehensively (she is a very private person) came into my life; her presence, has spoke volumes. To look at her you would think she is just an average person you see in passing, but this quiet spoken woman packs a power within her that would knock you off your feet. Her testimony alone is unbelieveable. I don't know who led who to who; but all I know is, I thank God she's a friend of mine.

Mrs. Brown, I like to call her, invited me to step inside a part of her world that she lovingly gives service to. As I watched her along with others care for the people who were coming in seeking a place of refuge and a hot meal, I marveled at her smile as she greeted each one with love and compassion. Truly this is not something she does to get recognition, to build up her business, to impress people, or to get a pat on the back; this is something that she does out of her service to God for His people.

I quietly sat and watched and said hello to different ones that spoke and smiled from the help, to those being helped. As everyone talked and laughed among themselves, immediately, I said to myself, "We are clueless to all of our blessings." For some of us, me included, we complain about the smallest things that life throws at us. Though some things are bad; trust me, it could be so much more worse. As I continued to watch Mrs. Brown and her friends; something, just like how the movie did, something stirred in my soul; and I thought about this:

Wouldn't it be nice sometimes if we just stopped for a moment trying to be important, trying to make it big, trying to impress people who really don't care about us anyway and see that there are people all around us who are less fortunate, but who have a bigger heart than most us have. That's what I saw tonight. I saw people who knew their situation, but yet they came in as if they didn't have a care in the world. They talked, they laughed, they ate, and they smiled - something that we can hardly do with the blessings we already have. I noticed they didn't care who was looking at them, they didn't care what you had on, they didn't care what kind of car you drove, and they definitely didn't care about your titles; all they cared about was what they were there for.

I watched Mrs. Brown and her friends as they walked among those they had served and how she took the time to cater to an older gentleman who could barely walk without the usage of his cane. Matter of fact when he came in, it was like she was waiting for him. Immediately she came to his aide.

Finally after a half-hour had gone by, some left; and those who wanted more, she and her friends served with the same smile and enthusiam they gave as if the room was crowded.

I will say, I was truly impressed, although I know that's not what she was trying to do. I believe all she wanted me to see was a peek inside her world outside of what she normally does. I believe she wanted me to see her passion; and why not, I've shared mines with her. I'm assuming she said, "now that I know what you like, come see what it is I like to do. And it hit me, what she likes to do is not glamourous, but what she does, is how she is personally - private and quiet.

In closing, being with Mrs. Brown tonight reminded me once again, that some things you see, some things you feel and some things you do, are "Investments to the Soul." Thank you Mrs. Brown for sharing that through your actions and service.

"Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand: Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger and ye took me in: Naked, and you clothe me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me." Matt 25: 34-36

Peace & Love...