thank you for the insight

So my dear friend deanna directed me to this interesting site about enneagrams. i don't know much about them but below is my profile. My enneagram type is INVESTIGATOR--no surprise.

take some time today and check out the site for yourself. ( took the free test!)


free enneagram test

the constant haunting

so i entitled this post the constant haunting because that is the only way to describe the feeling i have about trying to figure out what i want to do when i grow up. i feel like i am constantly and consistently wrestling with my fears about everything in life, whether it be my vocation, my marital status, finances, or just anything related to the future.

because i have let fear rule so many areas of my life...especially in the area of vocation, i decided that during lent i would take more risks. and so far it has been interesting to see how much more enjoyable life has been and how much more freedom i am experiencing. now i can't say that it has all been roses because God has exposed the depth of my fear and anxiety, as well as a vision as to what kind of person i will become unless i make different choices.

this weekend while at a conference at the beautiful campus of the University of Notre Dame, i met this wonderful catholic woman who ministered to me with this beautiful prayer-similar to the Lord's prayer- that is recited at mass.

"Protect us, Lord, from every evil

and grant us peace in our day.

In your mercy, keep us from sin

and protect us from all anxiety

as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ!

For the kingdom.....now and forever!"

Amen

No turning back

So it has been a while since i have written anything, but not for lack of not wanting to write or for not having anything to write about.

since i last wrote, i turned 29 and was given the nickname Youngblood by my Uncle Al. i am not sure what the nickname means but I like it and i feel that it appropriately fits my personality.
Thank you Uncle Al, i will spend this next year living up to my nickname.

it is amazing how powerful a nickname can be and how they can shape your outlook on life and give you insight into how others see you and how you see yourself. What is your nickname and how have you embraced it or not at all?

I spent the past 7 days or so seeing my self though the eyes of relatives. I spent the past 7 days or so seeing old photographs of my great grandmother, Gertrude Wilson and i learned that she was inquisitive and assertive, i believe she passed on those wonderful traits to me. Because I now know her name and seen pictures of her, there is no turning back for me. in the pictures i caught glimpses of a past that i did not know existed. i caught a glimpse of a woman who i could become in all her beauty and brokenness.

the past 7 days exposed my desperate need to know where i came from....to know where i am going. the black and white photos showed me woman who i knew nothing about but need to know something about.

Who knew 7 days in Opa Locka Florida could stir up so much in my soul?

What journey do you need to go on? What do you yearn to know about in your family?

Reading is Fundamental

Here are some Black History Month literary selections--both for children* and adults

*Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters-
an African Cinderella story by John Steptoe

*Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry
-Mildred Taylor

Beloved
The Bluest Eye
-Toni Morrison

Invisible Man
-Ralph Ellison

Another Country
-James Baldwin

Kindred
-Octavia Butler

Small Island-
-Andrea Levy

The Known World
-Edward P. Jones

White Teeth
On Beauty
-Zadie Smith

Race Matters
-Cornell West

anything by bell hooks

poetry by Nikki Giovanni, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Claude McKay...just to name a few

Black Boy
Native Son
-Richard Wright

A Raisin in the Sun
-Lorraine Hansberry

Things Fall Apart
-Chinua Achebe

More Suggestions Please!

how could i forget.....

Soi must apologize because i have missed some important musicians that need to be acknowledged and I failed to list them the first time.

Al Green
Alicia Keys
Curtis Mayfield
Sade
Maxwell
Amos Lee
Prince
John Legend
Chaka Khan
Lauryn Hill
Billie Holiday
The Fugees

Sly and the Family Stone

Outkast

everyone needs a soundtrack for their lives

Ways to Celebrate Black History Month

So as I promised, I wanted to give a list of "resources" if you will, to check out during Black History Month.

I love music so I will start there:

Anthony Hamilton
Ain't Nobody Worryin'

Marvin Gaye
What's going On* This album will change your life

Nina Simone
High Priestess of Soul

Okay so some may disagree with me but Kanye West's albums
College Dropout and Late Registration

Any album by The Roots, I really like Things Fall Apart

And my personal favorite, A Tribe Called Quest * beginners should try Midnight Marauders and The Low End Theory

The following artists you can't live without, at least in my humble opinion
Stevie Wonder
Aretha Franklin
Sam Cooke
Otis Redding
Earth, Wind, and Fire

If I have missed some obvious musicians/artists, please contribute some to this list.

~Angela

Black History Month

Well it is February 1st and i just want to wish everyone a Happy Black History Month!

I am sure if you visit your local fast food restaurant paper placemats with famous black people on them giving you important facts about black people in the united states.

if you visit your local bookstore/library, you can take some time to browse the Celebrating Black History Month display table that only stays up for 28 days....if even that long.

In order to refrain from too much sarcasm/bitterness about how short Black History Month is... i will turn this into an opportunity to share a list of books, music, movies that might help in the Redemption of this month.

It might take me a while to get to it, hopefully it will be done before the month is over. :)

Just kidding.

Stay tuned for more.

I have no choice but to turn 29

In eleven days I will be entering into the last year of my twenties, and though i know that i am still young, i do wonder where all the time has gone. I am more nervous about turning 29 than i thought i would be. i am nervous about what 29 will bring or not bring....for that matter.

in the christian culture, there is often that sense that by a certain age, namely early to mid-twenties, I should have been married now with kids. But I am not, so i often i feel as though i don't fit into the christian culture that often presents the message to women that you don't arrive in this world until you have a husband/children. I don't know if this is the same message for men, that you have not "arrived" or you are not whole until you have a wife/children.

as i watch this message invade the minds and hearts of christian singles, i being one of them, i feel very sad....to put it simply. i feel sad as i talk with my friends about the restless and sleepless nights that we have about the fear that we might always come home to a roommate and never a spouse.

So as I think about the implications of being a late twenty something christian single, I wonder about how the Church can help in being a safe haven for those who often feel so alone and afraid in this world where most things come in pairs and not singles.

Thoughts?