The 100M Dash Generation

I have some great friends. Often times we (young adults) brag about the wrong kinds of things. We talk, text, tweet and scream to the mountain tops about our new Louis Vuitton bags, the girls/guys we bagged, the accolades we win, and the money we can spend. We hardly ever shout to the world about the kinds of company we keep. And, well, I keep some good company. And honestly, what makes them the most sound, confident, loyal and trustworthy friends is their relationship with God.

We all fall short. I used to express to one of my best friends about the guilt and frustration I would feel when my relationship with God was “lackluster”. It felt as though there was a blockage in the way of my spirituality and me. I was scared of the disconnect. Understand this: I have seen and felt things that no one my age should ever have to see and feel. During those dark moments, it literally felt like God took my hand and led me minute by minute, day by day. I owe EVERYTHING to God, even before I was dealt a complicated hand.

I say all of that to get to the point (lol). A relationship with God is just like any other relationship. It needs communication, trust, and priority.  Talk to God and LISTEN to what he tells you in return. Trust God with everything – academics, health, relationships, MONEY & ROMANCE (I capitalize the last two because those are the things that we think we can “handle” without God’s help .. wrong). Lastly, make God a priority. I used to be so hard on myself (and sometimes I still am). But contrary to popular belief, we are not made whole in one proclamation of God’s grace. We do not reach perfection after one church service or one day of good deeds. EVERYDAY is a battle between the person we are and the person God has called us to be.  It is a marathon race and only those with endurance will get what they truly want from a relationship with God.

corpulent conduct .

Our bodies & our "spiritual bodies" are very similar when it comes to nutrition .

What you put into it will surely produce results .

Some lives are filled with "junk food" . all we stuff into our "spiritual bodies" are materialism, lies (either to others or ourselves), promiscuity, gossip, hating, over ambition, deceit and distractions . Our lives suffer the consequences because of what we feed it . before we know it, our lives are unhealthy and shutting down . it happens just like a body does ...one organ fails, then another, then ANOTHER: we lose focus in life, our mindset is negative, relationships fall apart, & people treat us differently, ...sooner or later, all the aspects of the bigger picture are destroyed and we wonder where we went wrong .

Some people want to take the quick approach and "liposuction their life" into the right place . instead of focusing their lives on God, we turn to quick fixes to solve our problems ... alcohol, drugs, & sex that create pleasure for the time being & a sense of hollowness afterward. We feel guilt . We let all of the junk in our life prohibit us from turning around and being healthy . Sometime we feel like it's too late . Then slowly but surely, that tummy-tuck life alter leaves us unhealthy again . &/Or we are left with excess skin & scars ...proclaiming to the world that something didn't work out like we originally planned .

Some people are in denial about their disintegrating "bodies" . On the outside, everything looks perfect and society tells us that we're "badddd" . so, we believe them . If we look healthy from the outer perspective, then everything on the inside has to be . Gorgeous, thin people have heart attacks, get diabetes, or liver failure too . Just because they have a slim body does not mean that they are taking care of themselves nutritionally. Similarly, SPIRITUAL BODIES are the same way. Kanye said, "the prettiest people do the ugliest things" . Just because we "seem" like our lives are beautiful and perfect on the outside, does not mean that the unhealthy things inside cannot do damage .

We need to be real with ourselves about how much societal junk we consume =/ .
It's never too late to insert God into our diet .

my people! my people!

as a person, i hold myself to a very high standard and i tend to be hard on myself to succeed and excel in life . with that being said, i am also hard on the people i love to be the best they can be . . . including Black men . so i have a public service announcement .

BLACK MEN .

i feel for you . i may not give you the credit you deserve, but you are truly a diamond in the rough of America's terrain . im not saying that you have it the hardest and im not saying that you have an excuse not to succeed . please don't mistake what i am saying as such . HOWEVER, i am saying that i applaud the Black men who are trying to succeed . . . regardless of their circumstances .

but perhaps you do not know the circumstances ? Black men struggle not only to succeed in society, but also to motivate themselves when no one else will . Ever since i was a young girl, my mom and dad have been breathing down my neck; they made sure i tried my best in life... but even more importantly, they told me that i was special . they told me that i was capable of doing anything i wanted . they made me believe that they would support me through it all . they did the same for my brother .
a lot of young men do not have that support system ... or the expectation . they are simply told, "graduate high school and dont get no girl pregnant" . they are expected to go to work after highschool and do what they can . therefore, if they want to go into higher education . . . they are forced to pump themselves up to get an education and develop values . If i get tired of college, i know that i need to suck it up and push through because my parents sacrificed for me to be here . However, a lot of Black males feel discouraged while in school, and are only encouraged to quit by their families -_- . "school is too expensive" and "i dont feel like filling out your FASFA" or "you NEED to get a job !!" i know its hard to be your own cheerleader, so im here to let you know I SEE YOU (:

so, to all the Black men out there who are self-motivators and pushing the limits of what you were 'labeled' to do ... i applaud you and i am so proud of you . to all the men who are first to graduate high school or first to go to college, you can do it .

XOXO,
stevi renee .

The ______ States of America

Obama's State of the Union Address took place last night on every channel imaginable .

& i have a few things to say:

Obama is a an impressive president . he was MAN enough to inherit the country in one of its worst economic & national safety eras . When i say he was "man enough" i dont mean he ran for president . I mean he was "man enough" to not only become the president, but also try to promote change ! I firmly believe that John McCain would have put on his rose-colored glasses and let the country plummet into a black hole of deeper debt and disaster . The republicans have a history of looking out for number one (themselves) and turning their back on the little people (ex. Nixon, Bush & Reagan) .

Barack is also one of our first personable presidents . I dont know about you, but it's nice to see a living, breathing president for a change . Bush was a puppet with his father's hand up his ... anus lol . Barack thinks for himself ... he jokes, he's witty, he's smart, he smiles, he can relate to my cynicism of the government and he's passionate about the potential of the country . I love having a president that has not given up on America . I can also appreciate that he is honest about the current state that we are in (economic wise & military wise) . He admitted that he promised to get us out of Iraq and unlike his predecessor, he is not scared to have a set goal for that day . I can also respect him putting pressure on the congress & lobbyist , instead of being politically correct .

A lot of Christians have a problem with Barack because of some of his left wing stances on moral issues . Im not going to lie, that is a very important issue and it is a reason to be concerned . However, I am not willing to lose my house, my health care, and my family's safety just because John McCain "claimed" to be a conservative . Being a Christian is very important, but Bush claimed to be a Christian and he was still willing to sell the well being of this country in exchange for his own gain . I can at least feel comfortable knowing that Obama cares about me (instead of going golfing while the people in New Orleans were drowning in their own feces and disease..cough, cough BUSH) . Obama promotes unity, honesty, dignity, hope and justice ... are those things not of the Christian morale ? hmm .

Lastly, did you see him shout out Michelle ? BOW ! that man is so suave lol . the cutest couple ever !! :)