Back to blogging. Why?

Obviously December 6, 2008 was the last time I posted anything on this Blog site. I have probably dozens of excuses why. But the main and most important reason has to do with the raising my family. We have been through so much in the past couple of years. I'll be transparent enough to list them, but there won't be any details, at least at this point.

Trouble getting pregnant.

Medical problems during pregnancy.

Death of family members.

Relocation.

Job changes.

Marital issues.

Life happened.

My reasons for writing again are mostly selfish. I don't want to bottle this all in, and I have the platform to do it, free, so why the heck not.

Star Parker on abortion

Star Parker of CURE (Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education) on abortion

Would you give me a gun to kill myself? Then why enable abortion? (also see previous post)

This is in response to the disturbing trend Planned Parenthood is taking. They are now offering gift certificates to people to use their services, including murder, excuse me, I meant abortion procedures.

When I read this my heart immediately began to break, I became sick to my stomach, and I cried out to God for mercy, and I wept for the children who will never get to experience life - good or bad.

Abortion is a moral issue and I understand that it is also a sensitive subject for people, especially in the US, and there are people who defend it with humanist rationalizations who contend we should not legislate morality. But in fact we do legislate morality, that is why laws are established and people are punished for murder, theft, extortion, sex with a minor, selling illegal drugs, etc. So why not abortion?

People argue that it is the woman's right to choose. Okay, I know there are instances when horrible things happen to a woman that she has no control over. In all actuality, factually only 1% of women reported having an abortion after being victims of rape and incest; 75% reported that having a child would interfere with their lives (sin is sacrificial).

If we were to take the blinding light of politics and the love for the almighty dollar out of the way, we would see how demoralizing and repulsive this selfish act of murder this is. Abortion is robbing this society of it's most precious gifts.

There are so many other issues that factor into my stance against abortion, including that witch Margaret Sanger and her goal to use abortion to exterminate Negroes and hold up whites as the superior race. Some say abortion is the leading cause of death in the black community - 63% of abortion clinics are located in or near poor and black communities.

Do not get me wrong, this is not a black or white issue, but a human issue. One possibility is that we value other life over human life. I've watched cable shows where people put themselves in danger to save the life of an animal. Animal rights, over human life...something's terribly wrong.

We have to do something, now. It wouldn't be wise to remain silent on this issue. I can't tell you what to do, but I do encourage you to pray and seek the heart of God, not man or politics, on this issue. I guarantee that you will make the right decision on how to help and what to do.

In His Care,
TLP

CULTURE CAMPAIGN: Planned Parenthood's Holiday Gift of Death

CULTURE CAMPAIGN: Planned Parenthood's Holiday Gift of Death




"Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street." Lamentations 2:19

Martin Luther King vs The Prosperity Gospel

From Hank Hanegraaff of the Christian Research Institute...


There was an Op-Ed piece in the January 21, 2008 USA Today titled "Why Christians Should Seek Martin Luther King's Dream" by Tom Krattenmaker. He says "Despite gains, African-Americans as a whole have yet to attain King's vision. Christians could be this country's greatest force by rejecting the temptation of complacency -- and a me-first prosperity gospel," and if they do that they can "lead the way to racial justice." Krattenmaker points out that "An African-American woman is secretary of State. A black man is a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. African-Americans coached both teams in last year's Super Bowl." However, these are not enough.

Part of the reason they're not enough is that the church itself is communicating a prosperity gospel that has shackled the African-American community. Says Krattenmaker, "as one who has studied black church history and followed the more recent ascendancy of the prosperity gospel, I cannot help but wonder whether this blame-it-on-yourself pessimism among black Americans is not at least partially the result of a troubling message delivered from many popular pulpits....those who follow black church trends today will tell you that this prophetic" message of Marin Luther King "is giving way to something decidedly less idealistic: a prosperity gospel holding that God blesses individual believers with economic advancement."

He quotes here Dyson, a black ordained minister and Georgetown University professor who said "insufficient faith and poor standing with God are to blame for individual blacks who are missing out on the American dream. He put it this way in a PBS interview: 'The civil rights movement said you are responsible for your brother and sister; you ought to bring them along. The prosperity gospel says your brother or sister is responsible for him or herself, and what they should be doing is praying right so God can bless them, too.'"

In other words, according to this article, and I think correctly so, the African-American community is being placed back in shackles by a prosperity message that is communicating that faith is a force, words are the containers of the force, and through the force of faith one can create their own reality. Therefore, if you do not have prosperity there is nowhere else to look but yourself and the fact that you are not communicating faith-filled words. Which is to say, if you have sickness in your life it's because you called that sickness into your life by speaking words of fear, and if you have want instead of wealth, you created that as well by speaking words of fear rather than words of faith.

The prosperity gospel, unfortunately, is as popular anywhere as it is in the African-American community. In other words, it is probably predominant in that community today, at least in America. I think, as a result of that, we should be teaching that this is mythology. It is the skin of the truth stuffed with a great big lie. It either compromises, confuses or outright contradicts the Gospel. To that end I wrote a book called Christianity in Crisis as well as an audiotape series in which you can hear prosperity teachers from Kenneth Copeland to Benny Hinn to Frederick Price and many others teaching doctrines that come right out of the kingdom of the cults, and in the process they are enslaving people.

For more information please visit Equip.org

Be Blessed

Lil Sally Walker by Mama Brenda Matthews

Wish I knew more women like this...



Thanks Jenae for the heads up.

THE COPING DIET

I received this in my inbox recently...

THE COPING DIET

Only girlfriends can understand this one. This is a specially formulated diet designed to help women cope with the stress that builds during the day.

Breakfast
1 grapefruit
1 slice whole wheat toast
1 cup skim milk

Lunch
1 small portion lean, steamed chicken
1 cup spinach
1 cup herbal tea
1 Hershey's kiss

Afternoon Snack
The rest of the Hershey kisses in the bag
1 tub of Hagen-Daaz ice cream with chocolate chips

Dinner
4 glasses of wine (red or white) (Please Don't - TLP)
2 loaves garlic bread
1 family size supreme pizza
3 Snickers Bars

Late Night Snack
1 whole Sarah Lee cheesecake (eaten directly from the freezer)

Remember: Stressed spelled backward is desserts.

A Prayer For Every Day

Daily Prayer


Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits.

Father, in obedience to your word, I recall and receive anew today all the benefits Jesus has provided for me: He has forgiven all my sins. He is my healer, and I receive and protect my healing and health today. My life is redeemed from destruction. I am crowned with his loving-kindness and tender mercies. He satisfies my mouth with good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagles'. He executes righteousness and judgment for me against oppression and depression. I'm free! He makes known His ways to me. I am His child and I follow Him. I receive His grace and mercy and obtain it in times of need.

Father, according to Ephesians 1:16-23, you have given me the spirit of wisdom and revelation of Jesus Christ. I thank you that the eyes of my understanding are being enlightened to know the hope of your calling and the riches of the glory of your inheritance in the saints. You are revealing to me the exceeding greatness of your power, according to the working of your mighty power, which raised Christ from the dead and set him at your own right hand.

According to Ephesians 3:14-20, grant me according to the riches of your glory to be strengthened with might by your Spirit in my inner man. That Christ may dwell in my heart by faith that I being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height; and to know the love of Christ which passes human knowledge and reasoning, that I might be filled with all the fullness of God. I praise you, Lord that you are able to do exceeding abundantly above all that I ask or think, according to the power that works in me.

According to Colossians 1:9-11, I pray that you fill me with the knowledge of Your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that I might walk worthy of you unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of you; strengthened with all might according to your glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.

Unto you, Lord, be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.

In Jesus' Name, Amen!



Awake to Righteousness

"Awake to righteousness, and sin not." (1 Corinthians 15:34)

Father, I confess anew Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior today. Lord, you are the head of my life. I completely yield myself to you. My will is now your will. My plans are now your plans. I praise you and magnify You, Jehovah Tsidkenu, my Righteousness. Thank you for becoming sin for me that I might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

As a new creation in Christ Jesus, I accept the gift of righteousness and all that gift includes: health, prosperity, peace, joy and life abundant. I put aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets me. I now look unto Jesus, the Author, the Finisher, the Perfecter and Developer of my faith.

According to your Word, I can now reign in this life as a king. The power of sin and death in my life has been overcome. No longer am I ruled by the forces of evil but by the God above all gods. I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me.

I determine today to walk consciously of my right-standing with You, Lord, and with every step to draw closer and closer to you. Thank you for the gift of righteousness. Because of that gift, I can do all things trough Christ who strengthens me.

In Jesus' Name, Amen!


Prayer and Confession for the Tongue and Thoughts

Father, in the name of Jesus, I enforce my quality decision to take control of my tongue and my thoughts. I renounce, reject and repent of every word I have spoken against you and your operation in my life. I renounce, reject, and repent of every thought I have pondered against you and your operation in my life. I cancel the power of those words and thoughts and dedicate my mouth to speaking your word only and my mind to thinking your thoughts only.

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks; so I set myself to fill my heart with your word. Put a watch, oh Lord, over my lips. I set myself to speak and think in line with the word of God. As your child, I confess that I am healed. I am filled with your mighty Holy Spirit. I am the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ. I am victorious in every area of my life, because I speak it and believe it and you have made it so. Father, I thank you that no longer am I double minded by the words of my mouth. I let the word of Christ dwell in me richly in all wisdom. My mind is renovated by the word of God. Everything I do, whether in word or deed, I do in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to Him. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

I would like to attribute these to the right source, but I can't since I can't remember where I collected them from. They work though. Just adapt them to what you want to pray and offer the Father. Use these a just a guide to get you started.

Bless You!

Would America Be Better Off If More Black People Were Dead?

Who Are You Voting For?

If you care to share...who are you voting for on November 4, 2008?

What does it mean to be a modern day Christian?

I was just wondering...what does a modern day Christian look like? Are the teachings of Jesus and laws (not to be legalistic) of the OT important to adhere to, or does God change with the times, evolving His image to conform to the humanism of our culture?

Well, I guess you pretty much know what I think. But I want to know what you think, so chime in on this. Don't be skared.

Can't wait,
TLP

Been Evaluating

Been gone for a minute. Ladies, always remember to take time to be with the Lord and to refresh in His presence. It's the only way.

In Him,
TLP

The Seven Principle of Kw...I mean Seven Reasons Not To Celebrate Kwanzaa

Blessed Christmas to you and your family. My wish for you is that God would shine his face upon you and show you his favor.

I just wanted to pick your brain a little. I have to decline celebrating and feel inspired to just share why I do not welcome the made-up alternative to the celebration of Christ's birth.

1. Dr. Maulana Karenga (Ron Everett), the inventor of Kwanzaa is a convicted felon with most of his injustices committed against other Black people and the most horrifying crime against two Black women - after the Kwanzaa inception in the 1960s. In this way, he directly contradicts all seven principles of this "celebration".
   
2. Also, his blatant attempt to separate Blacks in America from the strong faith in Christ which flamed the spirit in our ancestors to endure decades of slavery in America. Kwanzaa is an anti-Christmas celebration.
   
3. Kwanzaa is primarily recognized and celebrated in America, not in Africa, even though he took certain spiritual rituals from Africa and included them in the seven-day celebration.
4. I only want to give my first-fruits and thanks to Almighty God, not to African gods (idols)
5. Ron Everett prefers to be called "Maulana" meaning "master teacher" and "lord" I worship the One True Lord. Everett is not a Christian and cares nothing for the God we serve. He does not acknowledge Him by name only by "creator" which typically refers to Rah, the Sun God.
   
6. While it is important to esteem and encourage others, I cannot justify celebrating myself or my heritage for seven straight days.
7. Kwanzaa: A Black Racist Celebration

It is my sincere intention to share information that I have discovered and my conviction and utmost dedication to Jesus Christ does not allow me to embrace Kwanzaa knowing full well it's intention is to defy the celebration of Christmas. I did not write this to cause any dissension between you and me but to do what the Scriptures encourage us to do, which is to also encourage each other in the Truth. That's all!

If you care to read any further into the history of Kwanzaa and it's founder please go to these websites.

UndergoundNotes.com - The Roots of Kwanzaa
NationalCenter.org Project 21 New Visions: Why Black Christians Shouldn't Celebrate Kwanzaa
Wikipedia.org - Ron Karenga
Christocentric - The Contradictions of Ron Karenga
AnnCoulter.com Kwanzaa: Holiday from the FBI
IndependentConservative.com - Jesus does not celebrate Kwanzaa-Highly Recommend by me

His Touch,
TLP

When Beauty Lies

This past weekend I was invited to the viewing of a documentary produced by Ms. Courtney G. Smith of Control Your Auto Productions in Chicago at the Gene Siskel Film Center on North State Street. My husband an I were greeted at the door and then met with gifts and appetizers as we checked in.

While waiting to enter the theater Ms. Smith, with her petite frame and ever so-pleasant smile could be seen chit-chatting and posing for photos with her guests, seemingly unconcerned with the stress of making sure the event runs smoothly and on time.

The documentary, "Beauty Does Lie: The Untold Stories of Autoimmune Diseases" explores the lives of seven women as they cope on a daily basis with their various autoimmune diseases while dealing with the ignorance they face in society due to their healthy outer appearances.

Courtney, "the best-looking sick person I know" faces challenges with the autoimmune diseases Myasthenia Gravis herself but, she's feeling well and energized as she introduces the audience to her film and informs us of some startling statistics about these diseases.

Did You Know...

• 15 million Americans live with over 80 autoimmune diseases and 11 million of these people are women.
• There is NO CURE
• Autoimmune diseases as a group are one of the top-10 leading causes of death for women age sixty-five and under.

A YouTube preview of the documentary can be seen in the clip below or by clicking here.

Don't just watch...do something! Tell a friend! Pass it along! Email this post to someone!

Contact Courtney G. Smith and Control Your Auto Productions at http://www.controlyourauto.com/.

Love and Believe

Your Purity is Priceless

The following poem is take from the latest album titled Open Book from Da' T.R.U.T.H.
Rose

Soft as the open air
As gentle as the common breeze
Is the beauty of the crimson rose
God has made you to be
Planted in the garden of life
By the King of Kings
And watered by His everlasting love
Each petal gently kissed by God
And enlightened by heaven’s face
Forever surrounded by heaven’s soil
And growing in heaven’s amazing grace

[Da’ T.R.U.T.H., Open Book: Rose Intro Featuring Lisa McClendon, Live Virtuously (2007)]

I am making this available because I believe it's important for girls to recognize and understand that purity IS a big deal. I'm preparing some words and other posts on purity that will be up shortly. In the mean time please enjoy the poem and a Da' T.R.U.T.H.s Purpose video below.

Da' T.R.U.T.H. Links:

1. Who Am I? Featuring Tye Tribbett
2. Da' T.R.U.T.H. Official Website
3. MySpace.com - Da' T.R.U.T.H.

Good Doctrine Makes Better (Teenage) Saints

Proof that teenagers want the True Gospel From Desiring God: www.desiringgod.org

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By John Piper August 15, 2007

Here it is again. More evidence from surveys what the Bible makes so plain: superficial, non-doctrinal, non-serious Christians sin pretty much like the world; but more serious, more doctrinally oriented Christians lead lives that are morally distinct. Two years ago Ron Sider flagged this in his book The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just Like the Rest of the World?

Now a new book by Mark Regnerus called Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers gives the same bleak picture of so-called “evangelical teenagers” who sleep around as much as unbelievers. But again the book points out that “the 16% of American teenagers who say that their faith is ‘extremely important to their lives’ are living chastely” (Gene Veith, “Sex and the Evangelical Teen,” World, August 11, 2007, p. 9).

Some of you may remember what Sider said two years ago. But here it is again. The point is that what he said then has now been confirmed again by a totally separate survey. May the Lord use both these studies to encourage us that even though growing a church by serious teaching of biblical truth may be harder and slower, it does bear more radical fruit than less doctrinally serious strategies of growth.

Here is what Sider says the more radically transformed Christians believe:

These people believe that “the Bible is the moral standard” and “absolute moral truths exist and are conveyed through the Bible.” In addition they agree with all six of the following additional beliefs: that God is the all-knowing, all-powerful Creator who still rules the universe; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life; Satan is a real, living entity; salvation is a free gift, not something we can earn; every Christian has a personal responsibility to evangelize; and the Bible is totally accurate in all it teaches. (Scandal, p. 127)

Then Sider lists the kinds of behaviors this more doctrinally rigorous group tend to show.

They are nine times more likely than all the others to avoid “adult-only” material on the Internet. They are four times more likely than other Christians to boycott objectionable companies and products and twice as likely to choose not to watch a movie specifically because of its bad content. They are three times more likely than other adults not to use tobacco products and twice as likely to volunteer time to help needy people. Forty-nine percent of all born-again Christians with a biblical worldview have volunteered more than an hour in the previous week to an organization serving the poor, whereas only 29 percent of born-again Christians without a biblical worldview and only 22 percent of non-born-again Christians had done so. (Scandal, p. 128)

Sider concludes with a word that pastors and youth leaders should hear with great seriousness—mainly because the Bible teaches it, but also because Regnerus’s new book points in the same direction. Here is Sider’s conclusion:

[The] findings on the different behavior of Christians with a biblical worldview underline the importance of theology. Biblical orthodoxy does matter. One important way to end the scandal of contemporary Christian behavior is to work and pray fervently for the growth of orthodox theological belief in our churches. (Scandal, pp. 129-130)

Yes. Pray for sure. And work our heinies off teaching and preaching and modeling the Truth. And resist an entertainment model for youth ministry. And cultivate a joyfully blood-earnest atmosphere for worship. And call for our youth and our retirees to go risk their lives somewhere for the risen King Jesus. This is where serious truth-driven ministry takes us.

Growing in the knowledge and grace of Jesus with you,

Pastor John
By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

Congratulations Robert and Kimberly on the birth of your son!

Congratulations Robert and Kimberly on the birth of your son, Camren Emmanuel Owens (CEO) on 10th September, 2007, 8lbs.

Welcome and Happy Birthday from uncle Joe and aunty Tiff. We give you lots of love.

What a blessing it is to add to your family this bundle of joy - who by the way looks just like his father.

To Rob and Kim, we're so proud of you and you know you can call on us anytime. Keep smiling and praying. And GET MARRIED so that you may experience God's blessings in that wonderful union.

To Demetrius, I hope you're prepared for your role as the big brother.

Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children are a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Psalm 127: 3-4

You Think I Look Like...

I mistakenly stumbled upon a site, MyHeritage.com that among other things, allows you to view and compare yourself to celebrities through its "face recognition technology." I was curious to find out what celebrity I resemble the most. So I registered with this site and uploaded a picture of myself. A few seconds later, I was paired with nine celebrities (I was only allowed to select 8) that this recognition technology thought I resembled the most, including rapper Kanye West...What? - I know, right.

As it turns out (and you can see the above results), I most resemble Gabrielle Union followed by Whitney Houston, Alek Wek, Jayne Mansfield, Michelle Branch, Brandy Norwood, Rosario Dawson and Vivica A. Fox.

I've seen this type of comparison and commentary by late show comedians and other entertainment shows that would attempt to make a comparison as to what celebrities resemble other celebrities. Some even joke and predict what the offspring would look like if they were to "hook up.”

This behavior say's a lot about our culture and sickness of heart, that we would subject ourselves to compare ourselves with each other. This is dangerous because besides both physical and spiritual consequences are far beyond our comprehension. The Bible warns us of that it is not wise to compare ourselves; We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise (2 Corinthians 10:12) This scripture is hard enough to understand; however I would suggest that the meaning is that we should never look upon another's successes, losses, works, gifts and say that we are better than them or would be better-off had we had the chances and resources as the other person.

Young women should never physically compare themselves to anyone, particularly celebrities because more often times than not, the reality behind the projected image(s) have been altered. The result is a lie or fabrication that has been presented to us to make a profit off of their "product." Do you understand what I’m saying to you?

Our goal and heart should be set on pleasing God and making every effort to Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. (Ephesians 5:1-3)

If you still need it put another way before you consider what I’m trying to say, imagine this: You and your friends are walking down King Drive, when a car pulls beside you. Two men jump out of the car and force you and your girls into the back seat. They take you to a place unrevealed to you until you arrive there. You find out that you have been taken out of the United States to a country where your freedoms, language, customs, education and beliefs mean absolutely nothing, because now you are forced to do whatever the king has demanded – no questions asked. If you refuse, you are subject to the guillotine to be executed. However, you want to eat some of your favorite foods, but all that’s offered is the king’s food. You want to pray to God and worship the King of kings and Lord of lords, but you know if you did this, you would be taken into the guillotine.

What would you do? Surely, you wouldn’t give into this king who took you from your home without your permission and is now dictating to you every second of your life.

I could tell you what I would do, but that would be cheating. I would hope however, that you would make a decision to be faithful to what you have learned and to honor God even if that means to the point of death.

Now, I know that comparing yourself to a celebrity is not to the extreme that I described above but you need to be prepared to understand the difference of being “in” the world and not “of” the world. That’s what Daniel and his friends (read Daniel Chapt. 1) Despite the decrees from the king, Daniel and his friends refused to bow and turn from God. Which is what we must do when this world would attempt to dictate to us that we have to be as they are.

Would you search your heart for the dedication that Daniel had, and consider repenting (turning away) from all that separates you from God? I want you to think about making a decision to be like Christ. Make a decision to take a risk and share this with others.

Check out this video by Dove, The Evolution of Beauty. Although I don't agree with the whole self-esteem campaign, I do believe that our image of beauty and what beauty is has become distorted. Allow Christ to renew your mind that you may see that you are a creation of His.,

High School Musical: Singing The Same Ol' Song

Young girls today are arguably making decisions about their lives with little or no guidance, support or supervision. It is clear and we can all see with our own eyes via the consequences that result and expose this very fact. Vanessa Hudgens is a very fine example. Although some think her current mis-hap is very well calculated to boost her career.
View this on Vanessa Hudgens posted by healtheland.

Can I Reach You?

Perhaps the title of this post should be "How Can I Reach You?" I'm talking to the African American girl(s) that invests her time watching the "reality" shows and music videos that increasingly tell you that you are nothing. That you are not good enough the way you are-shrewdly convincing you that you need more of whatever it is they have or want to sell you.

Who are they? I'm glad you ask. They are the conglomerate corporate monsters called businessmen and CEO's that sit and wait for you to fall for the schemes that they portray to you as real life. They care nothing about you-it's all about the money, honey.

You see, as long as you are unaware of the manipulation of your mind, they can convince you to do anything, watch anything, think they way they want you to think and eventually steal your very identity-that's the thing that make you unique in personality and character. How can I convince you of this? Just think for a couple of seconds as to the last time you made up your own mind about the brand/label of jeans you purchased...go ahead, think about it........... Now, I can guarantee you that you saw your favorite singer or actress wearing and bragging about theirs. Then you just knew you had to have yours, right? Right! Okay, now think about the number one song from five months ago, four months ago, three, two, one. Can't remember can you? We'll that's no accident. Things change in the entertainment biz, they have to because those behind the scenes know that you (the consumer) are smart and will eventually put the pieces of the puzzle together and come to the conclusion that you have been duped out of your money (for purchasing the crap they sell) so the things have to continually evolve. They evolve from being good to great, then hot to hottest, from crunk to tight, eventually...nothing will be good enough - I call that the distortion of morality and judgement of the American culture, particularly the American Black youth.

I know that you have a mind of your own and I am not here to manipulate you to think the way I think, but I want you to think independently of the culture that has been spoon-fed to you since the day before you were born. I care about you and the quality of life you live. I am here to tell you the truth about what the world thinks about you and why they do NOT want you to rise above the BET/VH1/MTV culture.

So you see... I want to reach you not for me, but for you. I believe that the time for young ladies to be young ladies is now. I hope you agree. Some things we take for granted too often and sadly, one important thing we take for granted is ourselves. We are young women and if we act like young thugs, then what has happened to us? Where is our etiquette, moral conscious and faith?

I know this is a lengthy read but before you exit, think about how you want to be remembered when you cease to exist on this earth - that is when you die? What do you want to be said at your funeral? Will they say about you?