A discussion on Black women and HIV will be hosted on BlogTalkRadio today, June 16, at 3pm EST.

A discussion on Black women and HIV will be hosted on BlogTalkRadio today, June 16, at 3pm EST.

Remember June 27th is National HIV Testing Day! -- also birthday :)

Black Women's Health: HIV & AIDS Discussion

BCU's Dedication to Dr. Dorothy I. Height...Trailblazer!

Heart & Mind

"Heart & Mind"

Rom. 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by 

the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and 

acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

Your mind does according to what is put into it. Your mind can either 
"act" or "react". When things happen to you, your mind will pull from 
what it has been feeding on and address the issue based on what is in 
it! You see, it's like your mind is a tool box and whatever tools you 
have put into it are the tools you have to work with. Thus, when 
circumstances, trials, tribulations, etc. come your way, you have to 
use the tools that you have to deal with the crisis. If all you put 
into your mind is garbage, then your decision making will suffer 
because your mind cannot deal with situations properly. And it will 
also cause you to live according to your thoughts instead of living 
according to the Word. See, the more God we put into our mind, the 
more of him we will have to handle our situations and circumstances 
when they arise. Reading the Word and understanding it will begin to 
saturate our minds and renew us from the wrong thoughts. And our 
thinking will be subject to his Word instead of our own way and we can 
effectively give our problems to him.

To truly give it to God, we have to make sure we have allowed him 
access to our minds as well as our heart. Many of us only allow him 
access to our hearts and therefore, when we talk to him, he feels far 
from us. We sometimes try to carry him around as a tool to use when we 
need him, while we constantly fill our minds with negative things 
via sinful lifestyles, people, places, music, movies, etc. that 
showcase immoral things instead of the Spiritual things from God. 
Eventually, that takes a toll on us. It begins to out weigh the "God" 
in our minds. So, when problems or situations come, our minds "react" 
to them based on what we have filled our minds up with! The more evil 
in there, the more we react evilly. The more God in there, the more God 
can act for us. Sure you may have salvation in your heart, but your 
mind can definitely lead you away from the presence of God and you can 
be a gospel disaster! How many Christians do you know like that? Come 
to church, serve in church, talk about church, but their homes are a 
mess! That's because they have accepted Christ in their hearts, but 
their minds are not sober. To be sober minded requires you to protect 
your mind from corruption so that you do not walk according to worldly 
thoughts, but you govern your life by thinking on things above. Sure 
it's good to have a clean heart, but for your heart to STAY clean, you 
must have a renewed mind.

Suggested Reading: 1Pet. 1:13, Rom. 12:2, Eph. 2:3, Phil. 2:5

Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2010 Emory Commencement Address

When Emory made the announcement back in late March that California's Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger was going to give the 2010 Emory Commencement Speech, I was very disheartened and disappointed in Emory's selection. I was not the only one who was upset about this; many of my other colleagues and friends felt the same way, especially those who were from California. We wanted to know who was on the selection committee and who was on the list of probably speakers. But of course there was no way for them nor me to  get that top secret information.

As the time for graduation drew near, I debated back and forth several times about attending the Commencement ceremony that morning, or just opting to only participate in my school's (Rollins School of Public Health) Degree Ceremony. After contemplating over this issue, I decided, "hey you only graduate once from the Public Health program, might as well make the most for my 2 years of hard work at Rollins!"

With all this being said, I was in no way disappointed in the Governator himself. His speech did impress me, and it was funny and inspiring -- key elements to a good commencement speech. I am glad that I chose to attend the commencement exercises with my other fellow graduates, friends and colleagues of Emory!

Enjoy the speech! Feel free to let me know how you think Gov. Schwarzenegger did with his 2010 Emory Commencement Speech.  

Did he say, "I'll be back." You'll have to watch to find out.... ;-)

                                                            

                                                  

                                                                

Bible Verse of the Day 5/23/2010

Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

— Romans 15:2 (NIV)

Thoughts on Today's Verse...

Being dissatisfied with life can be caused by a myriad of things. But for many of us, this dissatisfaction is a symptom that we have focused too much on ourselves and are angry with life. We have forgotten to count our blessings, neglected giving thanks to God, become silent in our praise to our Father, and have quit helping those around us. Thinking of others is how Christ lived. When we follow his example, our actions make a difference in the lives of those we bless and we also find ourselves immensely blessed as well. Let's get our focus off ourselves and look to bless and build up our neighbors for their benefit and not our own!

My Prayer...

Holy and Matchless God, help me see the brokenness, hurt, and difficulties in the lives around me. Please use me to bless others who so desperately need to experience your love and grace. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Just Beyond the Tear Drops Reveals Bright Smiles

I am not deliberately writing in the color purple because it is my favorite color, but I choose this color to honor a life that was lost. The love of the color purple is just one of the commonalities I had with the person not only I lost, but many of us lost. On October 22, 2009, God called Melva Jean Crutchfield home at the tender age of 24...only 4 days before your special 25th birthday. That was the week of Bethune Cookman University's Homecoming, and the 60th anniversary of our chapter, DynAmic Delta Alpha Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. It was to be an exciting time...celebrations with friends, family, greeks, students, professors...but what I was looking forward to the most was FINALLY taking a completed #14 picture (meaning all the #14s from our chapter from 2000 to 2008) were going to be all together for a Homecoming. No one will understand us 14s and how special and unique we are...we have a strong bond like any of the other numbers that have come through DA. It is something special with all of us...we communicate with each other unlike any other number. 

Melva was not only special because she was my number,but she was also my baby duck. I was her DP, her Delta Madre that I brought her into the chapter with the rest of her LSs...the 19 Iconz of Integrity. They were my last batch of baby ducks before graduating from the Great BCU and moving on. I am always thinking about Melva and carrying her with my in my mind and in my heart. I miss Melva so much, but I find comforting in knowing how much love she had here on Earth and what an impact she had on those she came across during her time here. Although her her life here on Earth is done, she is still living, living in another place that many of us hope to see after our time here is over. I find peace is knowing that she is living on and is happier in her eternal life, and I know that she is looking down on us all, and waiting for our time (whenever that may be) to join her with open arms. I love you always and forever MJC #14 DKA: "IQ #5"

They are not dead,

Who leave us this great heritage of remembering joy.

They still live in our hearts,

In the happiness we knew, in the dreams we shared.

They still breathe,

In the lingering fragrance,windblown, from their favourite flowers.

They still smile in the moonlight’s silver,

And laugh in the sunlight’s sparking gold.

They still speak in the echoes of the words we’ve heard them say again and again.

They still move,

In the rhythm of waving grasses, in the dance of the tossing branches.

They are not dead;

Their memory is warm in our hearts, comfort in our sorrow.

They are not apart from us, but part of us,

For love is eternal,

And those we love shall be with us throughout all eternity.

I Am Who I Am?

I am who I am...but am I really who I say am or Am I whom I am, because I think I am that?

I must say, it is quite frustrating and very much of a rude awakening to learn that you aren't who you thought you were. I know it is must seem crazy that a person doesn't know who they are. Believe me...I am just as in shock as the next person.

Often times, I struggle with trying to understand just how I got to this point. Where were the warning signs? Was it a sudden change? A gradual change? Or is it something that has been inherent inside of me, but external stimuli allowed it to manifest and show its self.

Sometimes it takes a situation or a special someone to open your eyes and call you out on your faults. And believe you me...the faults..or rather the real you can be uglier than a star nosed mole. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star-nosed_Mole). You would think that at the age of 26, I might have it all figured out or at least partily, but unfortunately I don't and I feel like I am really just learning the real me.

Have I been living a lie or a facade this entire time. I hate to think that I have, but it is a very real reality that that just might be what it's been. I am not content with this person that I am, have been or have become, but the hardest part besides facing the music is figuring out how to stop being that person. Can you really change who you are before you have accepted who you are?

I feel like people can change their perceptions and attitudes-- a large portion of what makes us who we are, but how can you change yourself if you haven't accepted who you are? And how can I accept myself for who I am if I don't understand how I got to be who I am? Is that even necessary or important to know how I got to be who I am in order for me to change things about myself that I don't particularly like?

We all have issues that we struggle with...some people accept their struggles, some people mask their struggles, some people suppress their struggles, some people are unaware of their struggles, and some people hide from their struggles. Any one of us could fall into any one of those categories, but what category we fall in dictates in many ways how we deal with and see life...

Lord knows that this is not an easy task... I constantly ask God for answers. Because this not only affects me as a person, but it has a tremendous impact on others that are around me, especially the people I truly love and care about.

Not knowing exactly who you are or accepting who you might be can destroy friendships, relationships, and ultimately yourself, because within that thus you struggle to find true happiness. How can you find happiness if you can't accept your situation and where you stand? How can you expect to get better and be satisfied if you don't know who you are?

What if the real me...the person I think I am is someone who can't be fixed or repaired? What if its too late, or what if who I am is a someone that cannot be fully loved because I am who I am in reality and who I say I am? What if I have not only deceived myself, but deceived the person who fell in love with me? Then what? Are we left to part ways after finding love within each other? Or did we find love in a person who is not real, someone who was mistaken to be something she is not. That is a hard pill to swallow, that our struggles, our love, and our time was spent in vain, because I am not who I say I am and I am someone else. Someone not as pretty as the bright yellow sunflower that makes people smile upon sight, the person that I allowed everyone else to think that I am, but rather the dried up black rose that never knew that it was intended to be as pretty as the color of passion .

When will I find peace within myself? How do I accept and understand me for me? All these questions that race backwards and forth through this racetrack called my mind, when will I get the answers to my questions and my prayers.

Only God knows the answers to my questions, and only he knows my future and my destiny. And I will find out in due time, but what God says I must do, then I must then do what he says regardless of difficulty (that's the hardest part), but I know it works...just have to have faith, trust, believe, and full commit thyself.