My Birthday...My Transformation

 In the beginning...God created me in His image.

Somewhere in between...the world redefined that image with its backstabbing, lied on and lied about, misuse, abuse, rape, unacceptance, abandonment, deceit, gossip, slander, etc.

Then... I redefined it even more with my rebellion, sexual impurity, stealing, lying, gossiping, name-calling, back bitting, betrayal, deceit, slander, idol worship, etc. Regardless of my reasons, instead of following the rule to treat others the way I wanted to be treated, I began to treat others the way others treated me.

I, After I lost everything and gained it back, I learned:
- My strongholds could only be removed by prayer and fasting.
-If I rescued someone once I would have to continue to rescue them so it is best to lead them to the source that does the rescuing.
-If you are willing to do everything for someone, they'll let you and then blame you when it doesn't
work out.
-Every now and then it is okay for me to take time out just for myself without the stigma of being
selfish.
-I don't have to feel bad about the success and blessings the Lord has given me in my life.
-Love those that despitefully use me cause in time they'll realize who I am.
-That just because people have a title doesn't mean that I should believe what they say. There is a
the reason the Lord says that His sheep know His voice.
-You don't have to tell someone off just because they have offended you. You can simply tell them
that they have offended you.
-Just because you forgive or have been forgiven, it doesn't mean you forget; therefore, you should
speak the forgiveness every time you remember.
-People come and go, but those that remain and fight the good fight shall receive the promise.
- There is no guilt or shame for a truly repentant person.

There is much more, but I will leave it at that for this birthday. The world may not be perfect, and I may not be all that I should be, but God shall have the victory and finish the work He started in me before the world knew me.

Thank you Heavenly Father for your kingdom and for giving me the tools to help build it and for doing your will on earth as it is in heaven. Father, thank you for this day and for my spiritual, as well as, my natural food on this day. Thank you Father for guiding my footsteps from the sins mentioned above and all other temptations that are common to me, and for delivering me from those that seek to harm me or mean nothing but evil towards me. Forgive me Lord for my sins mentioned above and even the sins that I committed unknowingly as I forgive those that I have hurt. Also, Father forgive me as I ask those in the past that I have hurt to forgive me as I also forgive myself. Father, you said that there is no condemnation for them that love the Lord. I thank you Father for those that you have allowed to stay in my life and for the ones that you have taken away...thank you for removing them. It's my birthday Father once again...Here I AM LORD...TRANSFORM ME! In Jesus Christ Name I pray...Amen

BLACK GIRL MANIFESTO -by Devynity

 I had to repost this note posted by my Goddaughter. It is so special to me. I didn't put my name in this poem, but the person who wrote it did as if she knew my story. When I was younger, I got talked about excessively. When I get older, I talked about, but by Christian women who I learned that their statements about me were no more true then the words of the children who thought teasing me made them better people. God is awesome...His sheep will know His voice!

 They told me I was ugly,

Something like Pecola,

undeserving of love—no kisses, no hugs

“Go scrub my floors!” they said

“Nurse my children and when they grow up they will call you ugly too because ugly’s what you are…

”They said the lighter, the better, but still not good enough

Made me hate myself and my sisters

Showed me thin white ladies with narrow noses

Striking elegant poses

Accentuating their emaciation, then they told me I was fat

They put Hottentot Venus on display; with thick hips, thick thighs

and supple behind

And proclaimed her a freak of nature

They called me mammy

And nanny, jigaboo, sapphire, jezebel, harlot, skeezer, slut,

chickenhead, nappyhead and

Too proud and independent

Too loud and too relentless

The Black males’ emasculator

But still a welfare mother with one baby on each hip, 5 walking behind

Legs spread open and wide

To keep those checks coming

They probed my insides

Mutilated my body in the name of science

When I complained, I was reprimanded and called defiant

They made me hate myself and

My Blackness

My African-ness

My natural curves

With a nose like your father

A smile like your mother

African—yes! Before American ever was

And beautiful

Strong, yet delicate

Like the dandelions

They put Donyale on the cover of Vogue but made her

cover her face

They’ve denied us Oscars and accolades

Told us we should hate ourselves

Told us we should have no pride

Hate our heritage, our culture, our lips, our nose

Then Imus got on the air and called us nappy-headed hos

Told us hip-hop made him do it

As if the word whore was somehow created by our music

As if we criminalized ourselves

They showed me Shirley Temple dancing with Bojangles

Showed me Marilyn Monroe, Raquel Welch, Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra

Then they gave me Aunt Jemima, gave me ashy knees and swollen feet DAX grease, straightening combs and bleaching cream

My kinky hair the crown God gave me to wear

And so I permed it

Twisted it out of shape and I pressed it to make it straight

I burned it and colored it blonde

They called me exotic

At once marveling at my beauty and making a mockery

of my humanity

And I’ve been made an exposition

They greased me up and stripped me down

Til there was nothing mo

’Still, they copy my style—from my braids to my wrap to my fro

Still, they sing my songs

And envy my complexion

Still, they put me down

I’m so yellow, so red, so black, so brown

So beautiful—it’s true

They almost convinced me I was ugly

Til I saw you

My sister

Your radiance resonates in my reflection

With cornrows and thick lips

And the backside that switches like a pendulum

Jumping double Dutch in the schoolyard

Color confident

Almond-shaped brown eyes

As if we enslaved ourselves

As if we segregated ourselves

As if we were brought here hating ourselves

Well this is my Black girl manifesto

For my sisters in the suburbs and the ghettos

For Nikki, Alexis, Keisha

For Jessie, and Khalilah

For Black girls who beg their mommies for white Barbies

Looking in the mirror, hoping that their faces will change

For the mikas and the iquas and the aquas and the fiyahs

You are beautiful the way God made you

The sun loves you

Can’t you feel it embrace you?

A MOTHER'S LOVE

 This note is in preparation to my daughter Destiny's 16th birthday on August 25th:

Mother and daughter relationships are complex because the daughter looks to her mother as a role model of what a woman is. As she grows up and sees another woman who lives their lives differently, she chooses between imitating her mother or another. As an adolescent, she may come to look down on her mother and think that other woman are much better. Of course she is not a fully grown woman, so she does not understand the challenges and choices that her mother faced or faces. It is only when she herself becomes a woman that she can fully appreciate her mother.

 Because I'm Your Mom

Because I am your mom, I loved you before you were ever seen

I thanked God for this miracle, this little human being

So exciting, yet fragile it all seemed to be

Hearing your little heart beat inside of me

 

Because I am your mom, no pain was too great for me to bear

Now you and I have joys and pains to share

And so into this world your life began each breath now on your own

One day we will look back at just how much you’ve grown

 

Because I am your mom, I worried for you within my every bone

I finally let go of your little hand to take your first steps on your own

 

Because I am your mom, I showed you through the years

To care about others and their feelings and the things that they hold dear

 

Because I am your mom, I taught you right from wrong

Understanding that your faith in God will forever keep you strong

Showing you that being your own person is the only tool you’ll need

When morals and values are your foundation to succeed

 

Because I am your mom, I loved you enough to also be your friend

I would be right there in ways that no one could see or ever comprehend

When there was no way you thought I could ever understand

There I would be, non-judging and willing to lend a hand

 

Because I am your mom, God’s gift to me was you

As my daughter I will always love you and promise to be true

I thank you for so many things and will try to never make you sad or blue

 

Because I am your mom, and one-day you will be a mother too

I pray you never forget all that you’ve been through

You are my daughter and in my image I hope that you are proud to be

By the grace of the Lord you were created, and then you came to be

I love you mhy darling DESTINY and pray that you never forget whose you are (God's), who you are (God's child), and what you mean to me (Everything)!