Frank Ocean Comes Out Of The Closet

Earlier this week, popular R&B singer Frank Ocean announced that he's bisexual.
My first reaction to this was,
"Who the hell is Frank Ocean?"
Seriously, I don't listen to any of this so-called R&B music that's played on the radio today.
My second reaction to this was,
"There is no such thing as being bisexual, you're either gay or you're not.
While I don't agree with the lifestyle, I applaud this brotha for having the courage to come forward.
Too often, gay men try to hide their sexuality by publicly dating women, and privately dating men.
That is so cowardly!
Be who you are and stop playing games with the lives of millions of unsuspecting, innocent women.
(Although some of you women are so blinded by his "sweet" personality that you miss all the warning signs.)
Warning Sign #1
If all of your boyfriend's close friends are gay-or have gay traits-chances are your boyfriend is also gay.
I'm just saying............

Again, I don't agree with the lifestyle, but I applaud Frank Ocean for having the courage to come out of the closet.

Happy Birthday Malia Obama

I think I speak for every father when I say-regardless of how old our daughters get, they will always be our baby girls.

I'm sure the President feels the same way.

Happy 14th Birthday Malia!

What A Man REALLY Want In A Woman?

A friend of mine asked me this question about two months ago.
To be honest with you, I politely blew it off.
It was nothing against my friend, she just happened to catch me at a time when I was dealing with my thing.
(see previous blog)
A few weeks later, another one of my friends hosted a discussion on the exact same topic.
It was a great discussion because she interviewed some real brothers .
These men weren't trying to say what they thought women wanted to hear, they were expressing how they believe most men feel.
So after watching that discussion, I began thinking about an answer to my friend's question;
"What does a man really want in a woman?"
I thought about it......and then I thought about it some more.
I knew what I wanted to say, but for some reason, I just couldn't figure out how to say it.
Then I saw the above picture.
Coincidentally, I saw the above picture a few days after God granted me my RELEASE from the thing that I'd been dealing with.
(again, see previous blog)
You see, my thing was a previous relationship.
One of the things I used to do in that relationship, was lay my head in the lap, or on the chest of the woman I was dating-just like the man in the above picture.
When I did that, I felt like I was in a safe place-just like the man in the above picture.
I truly believe every "man" wants one thing, and one thing only from a woman-to feel like she is his safe place.
When a man finds that safe place, he feels relaxed.
When a man finds that safe place, he feels at ease.
When a man finds that safe place, he feels like he has somewhere to rest the burdens that may have kept him up all night.
When a man finds that safe place, he feels like no obstacle can get in his way.
When a man finds that safe place, he feels like regardless of how many enemies he has, he can win the battle.
When a man finds that safe place, he feels like he can confess his faults and failures and still find encouragement.
When a man finds that safe place, he feels like he can talk openly about his past without being judged or condemned.
When a man finds that safe place, he feels like he can make a mistake without it ever being thrown back in his face.
When a man finds a safe place, he feels like he can deal with the gossip, rumors and lies of church folks because he has a prayer partner at home.
(my bad-that was personal)
When a man finds that safe place, he feels like regardless of how well he's doing, he can always push himself to do better.

I could go on and on and on, but there's no need to do that.
If you want to know what a man really wants in a woman-all you have to do is look at the above photo to find your answer.

RELEASE ! ! !

We're all family here, right?
(Cool, that's what I thought.)
Since we're all family, I've decided to be a little transparent with this blog.

Have you ever had to deal with a certain thing that had control over your life?
This thing can be something from your past.
It can be an incident from your childhood.
It can be a past relationship.
It can be low self-esteem.
It can be an addiction.
Itr can be a number of things.
But I'm sure everyone, at some point or time in their life has had to deal with a certain thing.

About a year or so ago, I started dealing with a thing of my own.
I recognized it, and decided to deal with it.
In fact, last year when I went on vacation, I got up early one morning and released my thing into the Atlantic Ocean.
I even took the above picture to remind myself that this thing would no longer have control over my life.
Well somehow, someway this thing navigated itself back to Birmingham, Al. and found me again.
Once it found me, it began to control me-again.
It controlled my thoughts.
It controlled my decisions.
It controlled every aspect of my life.
I mean, I woke up thinking about it.
I went to work thinking about it.
And I went to bed thinking about it.
This thing hurt me, it made me angry, and it made my bitter.
And you know what's so sad about it?
I didn't even recognize that this thing was back in my life-until a few weeks ago.

A few weeks ago, I was talking to one of my very good friends (Carvice King) and she was telling me about the thing she was dealing with.
I've known about her thing for years, and we've discussed it over and over and over again.
But this time when we were discussing it, she sounded different.
She sounded like her thing didn't even exist anymore.
Then out of nowhere, she said something that literally changed my dispostion.
She said, "I turned it (her thing) over to God and He RELEASED me from it."
I paid no attention to it at the time, I just continued listening.
She said, "Once He released me from that situation, a door opened that I thought I had closed years ago.

*detour*
Never open or close a door, until GOD tells you to open or close a door. Because if you open or close a door without his permission, that door might swing back and hit you in the face-which can be very painful.
(you'll catch that later)

*back to the blog*
After we got off the phone, I continued on about my business.
Then I started hearing the word;
RELEASE!
I brushed it off, but minutes later I started hearing it again, and again, and again.
Pretty soon, it sounded like a thousand people were in my ear screaming;
RELEASE!
RELEASE!
RELEASE!
(similiar to the end of the Sunday's Praise & Inspiration video below)
Then before I knew it, I was asking God to RELEASE me from my thing.
Within seconds, He granted me my RELEASE!.
Immediately after that,  things started happening.
I started getting my focus back.
I started getting my vision back.
I started getting my swagger back.
(Well, I never lost my swagger-but you get the point.)
Things started happening to me that hadn't happened in almost 18 months.
I started to feel close to God again.
I started to feel like I was walking in my purpose again.
I started feeling like, well, I started feeling like the Chairman of the Board again.

My point is this:
Whatever you're going through...........
Whatever you're dealing with..............
Whatever your thing is, don't try to deal with it on your own.
Don't try to hide it, fight it, or ignore it.
Recognize it, confess it, and turn it over to God.
And I promise you, He will give you a RELEASE!

Sunday Morning Praise & Inspiration