DINGTHING

OVERFLOWING... OR NO FLOW?

2011-06-06T06:38:00.000-04:00

I had an occasion to get out on my bike a week ago. I rode on one of the popular rail trails in the area. We have had a lot of rain in the area recently. As I stopped for a snack, I pulled up beside the Potomac River on the C&O Canal. The river was very swollen. As I watched, I notice that the river was washing a lot of debris downstream. When I finished my snack, I hopped back on the bike to continue my ride. Just then I passed a dried out stream bed. As is often the case, I could hear God giving me an object lesson in nature.

Scripture says that "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" John 7:38 (KJV).

We who are called of God should be like the Potomac on that day. Overflowing with the Water of the Spirit so that (1) we can overflow into the lives of those who are "dead in sin and trespasses".

(2) Allowing ourselves to be washed by the Word of God so that the debris that tends to try and collect in our lives is washed away.

Which one are you?

ENJOY THE RAIN

2011-05-04T08:31:00.000-04:00

Today is a rainy day. My co-workers were coming in complaining about the rain and the cold. We tend to not like rain. It's an inconvenience. Sometimes it slows us down. It blows a lot of trash and debris around. As it is in the natural, so it is in the Spiritual. We don't like the rain of the Spirit sometimes. Rain washes us. It blows the debris and trash that has collected around us up and we must acknowledge it and allow the Trash Collector to take it away. The rain of the Spirit of God slows us down and causes us to pause in the midst of our business and acknowledge that God is God and we are His chosen children. So today as we slog through the rain, REJOICE. Know that the Heavenly Gardener is watching the rainfall in our lives, and is tending the gardens of our souls to bring forth the fruit of righteousness (Heb. 5:11), the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22), and fruit that will last (Matt. 12&13). Allow Him to prune as needed!!!
Be Blessed!!

LESSONS FROM A CROSSING LIGHT

2011-04-05T15:47:00.000-04:00

I'm posting this from a hotel room in Savannah, Ga. I've been here 2 days enjoying the city, relaxing and resting. Yesterday I took the opportunity to walk about the city and explore. I was preparing to cross a certain street and had to hit the button for the light. About that time, God decided to show up with a lesson. The light is designed with the sight impaired in mind, so it has an audible voice (those of you who know me, know I have a problem with voices coming out of nowhere...). As I'm standing there, a commanding voice says "WAIT!"... and yet again "WAIT". I began to laugh as I saw God clearly speaking through this annoying little crossing light. I could have very easily ignored the light and attempted to jaywalk, and probably be smashed to bits in the crush of speeding traffic. Finally, the voice said, "the light is on. WALK" And it is safe to cross.

So often in our walk with God, this is often the case. We hear a command from Him, and we may even understand what it is He is directing us to do. However, we must WAIT on his timing or risk being smashed by the "traffic" of opposition and other factors. His timing is perfect. Even when we receive the command to "WALK", there is a timing that comes in to play. Twenty seconds to cross the road. This means that I must "WALK", not dawdle, not linger, but be about the business of walking out the Masters plan, or take the risk of missing His perfect timing.

Obedience is better than sacrifice!!!!

POINTING FINGERS

2010-11-15T06:42:00.000-05:00

WARNING: THIS IS A SECULAR POST

    I have recently been reading about the dismal performances of our young black men in schools across America. I have a problem with this because the blame is totally misplaced. I'm about to get really unpopular here. The professional critics would blame the schools and teachers. However, I'm going to go Bill Cosby and put the blame where it squarely belongs: ON THE PARENT(S). There, I said it! The school only has your child for 7 hours a day. What are you doing to ensure your child succeeds in school? Are you reading with them from a young age? Can you read YOURSELF? Are you instilling in them the need for a good education, that succeeding in education is NOT "acting white". Are you giving them positive role models to emulate ?Ok here comes the argument, "well there aren't many in the Black community" blah blah blah!!! STOP MAKING EXCUSES!!! Get over the rappers, ball players and gangsta's, and look to talented authors, actors with character like Denzel Washington, Hill Harper. If you are a single parent you can still make a difference even working 2 and 3 jobs. Are you faithfully performing well on your job? Do you set a good example to your coworkers? Or do you just show up and act like the boss should be grateful you came?!
    If you are a single parent, are you giving the impression to your children that its better to lay on you back and pop out( or be a sperm donor for) babies year after year, stay illiterate and ignorant, and the the government take care of you forever, or are you picking up a meaningful book, trying to add to your math skills, looking diligently for work, no matter what kind of work that it is ($7/hour is better than $0/hour). Are you speaking correct English in your house or are you lost in the devastating grip of Ebonics?

    The school system is not going to raise your child. Show up to parent teacher conferences. If you cant show up, call! Fight for your kids. That means when your kid cuts the fool, you discipline him/her accordingly and don't take their side in wrongness. It is 2010, people.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!

IS YOUR LINE BUSY?

2010-08-06T12:50:00.000-04:00

1 THESSALONIANS 5: 24 (AMP): Faithful is He Who is calling you [to Himself] and utterly trustworthy, and He will also do it [fulfill His call by hallowing and keeping you].

As I was reading this verse for another study I'm currently doing, I was awed by what God began to show me in this verse. First of all the word "calling" jumped out at me. Ok, Jo, so what? Notice, if you will this word is in an active tense, inferring that this "calling" is constant and ongoing. This must mean that God calls us beyond the salvation experience, beyond the baptisms of water and of the Spirit, to a constantly evolving life changing, life challenging "call". A persistent wooing, if you will, for more of Him, in as many facets of His gloriousness that we can stand Him giving us!! WOW!! The next word that caught my eye was Faithful. Of course, if we have had any experience with the Lord at all we know He is totally utterly faithful, even when we are not. Scripture tells us this (2 Tim. 2:13). However, this scripture in 1 Thess. tells us that He is faithful in calling (wooing) us and HE will do it (the calling on our lives). AMAZING!! So often as Christians, when we receive the call of God for our lives, we desperately try and work that calling out in our own strength and abilities, but the scripture says that GOD fulfills the call!! All we have to do is trust that His is trustworthy and sanctify ourselves to the work He has assigned us to do!!!
Can you hear His voice? Or have you drowned it out with the cares of the world? Are your hands trembling with new excitement, new joy to do His will as He fulfills His calling in you?

Many of us are in a place of "newness" or unfamiliar territory in our walk. Even those who have walked in their callings for years are at a transition within their calling!! Whether you've walked with God for ages, or you've just begun this life, He's doing something totally new, totally different in you. You can't articulate it, it may seem like you are totally losing your mind, but trust that this is God. He is taking your life and giftings to a totally new unheard of , uncharted dimension in Him! Remember he tells us in John 10 that His sheep know His voice and a stranger they will not follow. If you have never read the book The Master's Call by Dennis Cramer, I would strongly urge you to curl up and read it at least twice through!

Its awesome and wonderful and all in the faithful, trustworthy hands of our Lord!!! Enjoy this wonderfully, mind blowingly awesome "wild ride in the Spirit" with God!!

PROMISES IN A STORM

2010-06-04T10:17:00.000-04:00

I was riding back home down I-95 a few weeks ago when a serious thunderstorm came up. When I say serious, I'm talking huge hail! Now normally I don't drive in a hail storm, but this time I was going to try as I was really close to home and very tired. So I continued slowly on my way, praying and singing as is my wont whenever I drive alone. I watched cars slow down, pull over and stop. I continued on. When the storm let up a little bit later, I looked to my right and a gorgeous rainbow was on that side of me. On the other hand the sun was shining blindingly bright! I began to rejoice right there on 95N!! God chose a hailstorm to remind me of His word. That whenever we are in a storm, and the temptation is there to stop and be overtaken, God reveals His promises, and they are STILL yea and amen! We can continue through the storms of life because the Son is always shining His glorious Spirit down upon us so we don't have to walk fearful in any situation!!

CHECK YOUR BREAKER BOX

2010-02-13T01:36:00.001-05:00

"Some of us had power outages and some still do not have power yet, so continue to pray for each other."
This is a quote from our Eldership regarding the situations during the recent snow storms. However, as I was reading this message, a thought hit me. Can it be that what is modeled out in the natural is a sign of what is true in the Spiritual? As a church, we've come through a wonderful time of fasting and intimacy with God. Its been about three weeks. How is your Power holding up? Has a switch been thrown to the OFF position in you? Are you still marveling in what God spoke and is still speaking, or has the TV, internet and other things silenced His voice? Remember God didn't reveal all of what He has in store for us during those 3 weeks. Some things he was silent about and is waiting to see if we will continue to "pant" hard after Him. Did we merely follow a regimen because we were told to do so or is our desire for God greater than a mandate from the pulpit. Are we still "breaking every yoke, sharing our bread (the Word of God) with the hungry (the lost and dying), and have we stopped hiding from our own flesh?" (Although after being cooped up with my family, I think they have seen enough of me for a while!) In Daniel 10 vs 2, Daniel states that he was in mourning 3 full weeks. However, in verse 4, scripture states :And in the four and twentieth day (24th day)..." Daniel wasn't satisfied with merely 21 days. Look at verse 12: the "certain man" of verse 5 speaks to Daniel: "Fear not Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard and I am come for thy words." Have we become impatient like the children of Israel when Moses failed to come down from the mountain and returned to our idols? Can we press into God still until the "certain man" of the Spirit of God begins to "come for our words" and we begin to understand the vision both personal and corporate that God has revealed and also our place in it?
If your Power is out, run to the Breaker Box of God and flip that switch back to ON!!!! For those of you who "do not have power yet" Dial up our Power Company (Jesus) and remind Him of His word in Acts 1:8 and Acts 2 1-4 and 16-17 that that you too can flow with mighty power in the Holy Ghost!

SNOW DAY THOUGHTS

2010-02-07T04:54:00.000-05:00

    We are currently snowed in under 25 inches here in the Washington Metro area. One of our Deaconess' asked how we would be spending our Sunday as everything is closed. Well, I have a few bibles and I have a computer. While my son digs me out, I'll have a service online!

    I watched everyone bemoaning the fact that nobody will be moving anywhere unless they have a plow attached to their car for the next few days. A scripture came to mind. Philippians 4:11-13 {AMP}: Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want [ to my ICOG family, remember we were warned my Pastor several weeks ago to prepare so we wouldn't be in want], for I have learned how to be content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am. 12) I know how to be abased and live humbly in straitened circumstances, and I know also how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance. I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation, whether well-fed or going hungry, having a sufficiency and enough tospare or going without and being in want. 13) I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me; I am self sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].

    Learning how to adapt and be content in circumstances means that you have been through circumstances. Going through circumstances causes us to become amazingly resilient. Through God's grace and mercy, we toughen as He takes us through. 1 Thess. 5:16 commands us to REJOICE evermore and verse 18 again commands us to GIVE THANKS in everything. So as you dig out your cars, give thanks. There is someone who wishes they could dig their car out or wishes they had a car to dig out. As you cuddle up to your annoying family members, give thanks. Someone lost a loved one and wishes they had one more time to cuddle. As you gripe because you are stuck in the house, remember the homeless who wish they had a house to be confined to.

   One more thought. A friend and I were in conversation this week and she commented on the fact that the snow was a good thing because the "air needed a good cleansing to remove the viruses" Trust God that what He allows in the natural, he also performs in the spiritual. Are we willing to cause a spiritual blizzard in prayer so that the viruses of the enemy can be destroyed?!!!

GOD'S DIET PLAN

2010-01-25T08:00:00.001-05:00

This month's blog is a bit late due to the fact our church has just come out of a 21-day fast and time of consecration. This was a wonderful time of drawing closer to God and hearing clearly from Him without the distractions of internet,TV and phone, as well as doing the Daniel Fast for food. At the conclusion of the fast, we were all commenting on how good everyone actually looked. According to scripture in Daniel 1:15, when Daniel and his friends completed their 10 day diet plan, they actually looked finer than those who had eaten the king's dainties. One question that kept popping up was "How much weight did you lose?" As always in the natural there is a spiritual side to this question that I want to pose to you. In Hebrews 12:1{AMP}, we are told to "... strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us." In this scripture we see that we are told to "strip off and throw aside". There is no thought given to beg Jesus to come and do this for us, the onus is on us! As one of our ministers marveled that she had lost all of her baby weight, so we too must lose all of our "baby weight" in the spirit. Hebrews. 6:1 declares "Therefore let us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity..." As we move forward in 2010, we are expecting God to do awesome things. Do not go back to the familiar things that beset us and weighed us down and made us ineffective as saints of the most high God. Maintain the spiritual diet and exercise plan that God has laid out for us as we press toward the mark (Phil. 3:12). Cast off the doubt, the low self esteem, the pity party the blame games. God's diet plan is this: Ezekiel 3:3 "And he said to me Son of man, eat this scroll that I give you (the word of God) and fill your stomach with it. Then I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth." Dress yourself in the best (Romans 13:14) and begin (or continue) the exercise plan of God (John 9:4). Hallelujah!

THE CLOCK IS TICKING!!!

2009-12-06T04:14:00.002-05:00

As a single person, some interesting things have been said to me down through the years. Some were of great comfort and others were of great puzzlement at the time. I find that as singles, (and even married people) we hunger for a personal "word from the Lord" for direction for our lives. While there is nothing wrong with this, often times we get out of place in our seeking. Some years ago, a word was given to me regarding marriage. At the time I received it, I took it to mean one thing. However, often times when the Lord gives us a word, His interpretation and ours vary widely. This is the difference between merely hearing and gaining an understanding of what we hear. Because I took the word and ran with the definition of marriage I thought God meant, my thinking was off for many years. This caused me to misplace my affections on the wrong things and miss what God really intended for me to be seeking after. When this word didn't manifest like I wanted (or at least like I thought I wanted), I became depressed and confused. Often, when this happens, we tend to label the person giving the word as false, or perhaps the word just wasn't for us. However, whenever a word is given to us, it is our OWN responsibility to "try the spirits..." (1 John 4:1) Now, knowing that God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33), I had to retrace my steps and found out that the marriage God intended for me was of a spiritual one, not a natural one.

As a woman, I've often used the statement "my biological clock is ticking". But as a saint of the most high God, we should be asking "What about my spiritual clock?" Am I on the time line to birth the thing that God has impregnated me with? (Men, if you are reading, this applies to you also in the spirit). Have I run after my own interpretation of a word and found out that's not what God had intended, thereby throwing my destiny off by weeks, years...? I had to reevaluate the word I had been given and have God shine the light of the Holy Spirit upon it so that the truth could be revealed. Now I'm happily married to the call that God has placed on my life and operate fully and happily in it.

Check your clock!! Will you "spring forward" with God or "fall back"?

NEW TWIST ON AN OLD SONG

2009-11-29T04:46:00.002-05:00

    "I will trust in the Lord, I will trust in the Lord, I will trust in the Lord till I die..." As I was driving home on a very tedious road one night, I began to sing to stay awake. This was the song I began to sing. Most of us know this song, as it's an old revival standard. However, as the endless miles stretched before me, the Lord revealed a new meaning to the words I was singing. The song says I will trust in the Lord till I die. Now most of us take that phrase to mean we'll trust God until we close our eyes for the final time. However, God began to speak to me on a different meaning. In this day and time, God desires that His kingdom be advanced. In order to do that He must have a completely transformed Church. I believe that individually and collectively, He is calling us to death. Colossians 3 is a chapter on dying. Most specifically vs. 5. In the Amplified it reads: "So kill (deaden, deprive of power) the evil desire lurking in your members (those animal impulses and all that is earthly in you that is employed in sin: sexual vice, impurity, sensual appetites, unholy desires, and all greed and covetousness, for that is idolatry the deifying of self and other created things instead of God)."The chapter continues with the remedy of transformation.
In order for the Church to be transformed, we must die. As we sing about trusting the Lord until we die, I wonder if we have grasped that what He is calling for is for us to die TODAY to some things. Will we trust God as He throws us back on the Potter's wheel and begins to remold us and destroy the flaws in our character that are a detriment to His Kingdom advancing. Will we die to the petty issues that we surround our selves with and also to the excuses that keep us ineffective as Kingdom building saints? Will we trust Him as He nails all of our dross to Calvary's cross and molds us and shapes us into the image of Him that He so desires. When the Potter has to remake His creation, oft times He must apply heat. It isn't comfortable, but will we trust God and "Be still and know that He is God" (Ps. 46:10)? The squeezing of the clay is never a pretty sight. The clay becomes malformed, unrecognizable, as He molds and reforms us.
     Often we don't realize what hanging on to things that should die costs us in the Kingdom. We hang on to friends whom God told us to leave... it cost us (Ask Abram). We hang on to habits that sap our energies... it costs us. We hang on to looking at our gifts through the excuse of its imperfections and its costing us and the Kingdom.
    Will we trust God as He calls us to death?

ARE YOU READY TO SOAR?

2009-10-22T08:36:00.000-04:00

I recently returned from a vacation to Tennesee. I often go there just for one reason. The mountains. I love the mountains. As I'm driving towards my destination, often I can feel tension and stress leave me just thinking about the gorgeous heavenly views I will soon be surrounded by. As is often the case for a mountain morning, the clouds are low lying and numerous. On this trip, they were also gray. As I looked out of my window, it seemed like it was going to be a gloomy day. Often as Christians, we too look out of the windows of our lives and see many gray clouds. We can't seem to see anything but the clouds. The clouds dampen our spirits and our outlook. We become depressed and saddened and wonder where the sun is. However, there is an interesting fact about the sun. If you were to board an airplane and fly to an altitude of about 40,000 feet or so, you would find that the sun is still shining. This is a natural truth that has a spiritual truth as well. When we look out on our lives and can see only clouds, we should be reminded of Isaiah 40:31: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Funny thing about eagles. When eagles get hurt, they fly UP to the sun to allow the healing properties of the sun to heal them. As saints of the most high God, we too must learn to soar. We must learn to soar above the clouds of our lives in order to see that the Son is still shining. We must rise to new heights and allow the healing in His wings to touch, renew and restore our wings. We must leave the lower elevations that the enemy would have us remain in and rise in faith to Christ.

FREEDOM...REALLY?

2009-10-16T09:07:00.003-04:00

I asked the following question of a few of my single friends the other day:

"Are you taking advantage of your freedom or is your freedom taking advantage of you". I got responses relating to horizontal relationships (man-woman). To say I am disappointed in the answers is mild. As singles,we are constantly told that we have the uniqueness of freedom. Freedom to come and go as we please, when we want, freedom to spend our income as we wish, etc. But scripture speaks of freedom from several aspects. (1) That we have been freed from sin through the shedding of Christ's blood on Calvary. (2) That our freedom is not to be used maliciously (3) That we are to STAND in our liberty. So as a single, how does God expect me to utilize the freedom that I have been given? Knowing that I am a blood washed, born again, spirit filled believer, I am convinced that my freedom is to be spent pursuing Godliness and Holiness. This means that in my singleness, I am to use the gifts and talents, monies and time that I have not in pursuit of flesh tickling, time wasting pursuits, but rather in the furtherance of His Kingdom. To allow my freedom to take advantage of me means that I've lapsed in the "running with patience the race that is set before me."(Heb.12:1) because I've gotten off track by pursuing what God never called me to pursue. Please understand what I"m saying. I'm not in anyway knocking leisure, but when leisure leads, lackadaisical soon follows. I need to use this time that I have to spend in prayer, listening, seeking opportunities to minister to others without the restraints that the married life has. I think we should take the focus off of the SINGLES in Singles ministry and refocus on the MINISTRY of Singles ministry.

A CHANGE IN DIRECTION

2009-10-15T15:18:00.003-04:00

Up until now this has been a lighthearted blog, just something I did for fun. However some things have been violently shaken up in my little world since my last post many months ago. I have come to realize that I am many things. First and foremost, I AM A CHRISTIAN. While this is not a popular thing to be in this day and age, I realize that I don't and haven't cared for a very long time. I will continue to stand as a Christian fully and completely and without apologies. The second thing that I acknowledge is that I am a woman. I accept that (as if I had a choice in the matter) and embrace it. What I will not do is try and conform myself to some standard set by the world as to what and who that really means. These realizations have caused no little consternation within me but also have released a flood of defiance. So should you encounter me in your daily activities, know first that I am about advancing the Kingdom of God first and foremost, attempting to seek and save those who are lost.Everything else comes after that mission is attempted to be met on a daily basis. BOLDNESS is my desire.

Thoughts on a Tree

2009-04-26T02:48:00.003-04:00

Today I went for a short bike ride. I went to my favorite spot on the lake by my house. I sat and looked at a tree. This tree is affected by a parasite. How ever what I noticed about the tree was this. It was standing in the middle of the lake, its roots submerged in the water. Yet it was dead. This made me think of a lot of Christians. They are surrounded by Water but they are sill dead. There is an internal parasite that is sucking them dry. They stand in water but have not life, and have no function except to allow birds of prey to nest in them. There is no vitality and they are a shell of their former selves.

Missing Out

2008-05-06T15:45:00.003-04:00

As I stated in the previous notes, I like to bike. However I find that I'm usually alone on the scene from the African American standpoint. I tend also to do a lot of traveling to historic sites, battle fields and the like. Again, I'm alone. What is the problem I asked myself? It seems that we as Black people aren't interested in history, or beautiful scenery. I like to day hike and it kills me to hear the negative comments I get from black people who eschew the outdoors!! Granted I know there is a group of Black Scuba divers in Florida, there is a Black cycling group in Kansas somewhere, but here in the DC Metro area where there is close proximity of beautiful mountains, lots of cultural things to see for FREE, the attitude is that "we" don't do those things. Its shameful. I drag my son to a lot of out of town history sites (Harpers Ferry, Antietam, Gettysburg) and he impressed his teachers with what he as a black child knew of these sites and the events behind them.

Now the question becomes: How do I get black people involved. I'm not talking about the older people who were taught and appreciate history, but the younger generations, my age group. Just a day hike (since I admit, I love a hotel and hot shower, although I'd like to at least try to rent a rustic cabin as long as its not too rustic- gotta have indoor plumbing!) There is a "mountain" that is close to my house and its free to whomever most of the year. I day hike there all the time. Great spot for meditation. I hope that the craziness of gas prices will at least drive more black people to consider biking and get them in the habit. One can only hope

Confessions of a Fair Weather Cyclist

2008-04-23T16:07:00.004-04:00

Well, it appears that Spring has finally decided to show up for good. This means its time to dust off my bike for the warm weather and have another go at being semi-green or whatever the current popular thought is on environmental issues. Why am I a fair weather cyclist? Well, I'm not good in rain, snow sleet and hail and since I don't work for the U.S Postal Service, have no need to prove anything by riding in such weather! Another thing is , I live in the DC Metro area. While cyclists are tolerated, there is still the pervading sense that we don't belong on the road. I'm also more of a utility cyclist when I do ride. The occasional trips to the store, movies, noodling about my neighborhood at a leisurely pace. What I have found is that I appear to be a rare breed in these parts. I have noticed that I tend to be the lone African American (ok, I'm tired of being politically correct, black is still safe to say around me without getting beaten, people) woman who dares to ride. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this. While there are more black people as you get into DC proper and Northern Virginia apparently, as you come North the numbers lessen shockingly. I'm lonely out here people!!!! Oh yes, I do occasionally don the spandex but more often than not I'll be in regular clothes for the bit of noodling I do. I was pondering another bloggers post about riding gear earlier today. We Americans get in such tizzies over the littlest matters. Who cares what people are wearing when they ride. If they are comfortable in it and it isn't violating any laws, why get in a snit over their business? Another issue, sidewalk vs. street. Lord what a war this one starts. If you are Lance Armstrong and can blast along in traffic at 20+ mph, hallelujah for you, go right ahead. As for me, my heart starts getting very anxious at high speeds for the moment so a leisurely (and courteous to walkers that I encounter) 10 and under it is for me, thank you very much. I would really like to see more people bike commute in my area though for real. I have a coworker who bought a bike with me last year and hasn't ridden it yet. I'm gonna have to get my bat out I think! This neighborhood is relatively safe for bikes, as we have a fair amount of sidewalks to accommodate the state's "50mph+-take the sidewalk laws" Since I work in a healthcare facility, I'd like to challenge folks who live less than 10 miles away to try cycling in now that gas had gone through the roof. I've been blessed to live next door to my job so I walk around the fence. Maybe I'll try again with Bike to Work day coming up.

Well folks, whatever your pleasure, racer, utilitarian, or noodler, be safe and happy as you peddle about.

Mac Attack

2008-04-14T15:51:00.002-04:00

Well, I've officially joined the ranks of Mac user. I bought a 15 inch Mac Book Pro 2 weeks ago. I'm quite enjoying it. The reason for this switch was I was not in any way enthralled with Vista even though I hadn't used it personally. The negative reviews I was reading kept me from the cheaper Dell I was looking at. So now I have to learn new keyboard short cuts which is n't a problem, and buy some new software. I have also resolved to not put anything Windows on my new baby. I've had good luck finding replacements for word processing and several games that I like. The only problem now is when my still-lost-in-windows friends call and ask for help I hae to remember what to do for them!!! There is a thought going about that Mac's are getting more popular due inpart to Vista's nightmares. I think this is good and bad. Good because the barriers can finally come down between the two camps. Bad, because with more market share comes the greater potential for malware, hacks, virii (??) and other malicious attacks on the system, which up till now has enjoyed somewhat of a carefree life (the recent "hacking" of the MB Air not withstanding) We Mac lovers will lose the badge of nerds and geeks and antidisestablishmentarian people as others join on and see the intriguing things this OS offers.

ON TIME!!!

2007-11-17T17:34:00.000-05:00

Ok, I admit. I'm a punctual person. I guess it comes from being in the Navy for almost 20 years. I learned to be wherever I had to be at least 15 minutes early. So I have a very big problem with grown people who can never make it on time to the same event they attend weekly or at least on a regularly scheduled basis. If you know that you have this particular activity SCHEDULED the same days at the same time, and no one had informed you there has been a change in time or a cancellation, why can't you be there on time. Yet when you do decide to grace us with your presence, you have the nerve to complain about the activity being too long!!! I feel its disrespectful to the person holding the activity as well as to the other people who show up on time, expecting to start and end on time!! If this was a job related function and you were getting paid for it, I can guarantee you would be there on time!!! Or the person who asks for a ride, you give them the time you will be there to pick them up and they have the nerve to make you wait. I've started driving off!!! That is the height of rudeness. Whatever happend to manners and respect

AND THIS YEARS GOLDEN FLIP FLOP AWARD GOES TO...

2007-11-16T10:16:00.000-05:00

Hmmm.... well this one would be a real hard one to figure out. I've tried sitting through the debates to see who would gender my vote this year and NO ONE is impressing me at all. This is the first year that I've felt like not even bothering to vote. And I am big on voting. The main reason is I'm an African American woman, and on both counts, my people have had to fight entirely too hard to get the privilege. But this year, I jsut don't know. Hillary seems to flip flop a lot, Obama is ( a) too fresh and (b) African American, for which I truly fear, were he somehow to magically win the nomination, would place him squarely in the crosshairs of some racist kooks gunsights. I like Bill Richardson, but he's just too far down the line. What's a good American to do?

OFF THE TOP

2007-11-09T08:41:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess I'm officially a blogger now. I started this venture because my soon to graduate son kindly informed me that I need a hobby. So after seeing an interesting piece about blogging on the evening news, I've decided to give it a try. My current train of thought is about the spate of recalls of products produced in China. My thoughts on this is that this is a "chickens coming home to roost" moment. America has tried to get goods and services for little or nothing and so outsourced everything possible overseas. It would make more sense to bring all the manufacturing jobs back home (we have a source of cheap labor here now but thats a rant for another day) where they can be more strictly overseen than to keep paying through the nose with recalls and loss of revenue. Is China's "Most Favored Nation" status soo important that the lives of Americans (and their pets) must be sacrificed to maintain it