Sometimes I wonder if God had the patience of man, what would life be like, and I imagine that a letter from God would probably look like this....
Dear children,
I'm writing this letter to tell you how I feel about some of the things you do. I have given you the power of prayer along with several other tools. I made you capable of doing many things, yet a lot of you choose to do nothing but pray, and then you get upset when you don't get what you pray for. You blame me for everything that goes wrong by saying "maybe God didn't see fit for me to have it". When in actuality I have given you the tools to go out and get it yourself.
I have told you, to bring things to me in prayer, and to leave them. But, some of you keep praying and praying and praying about the same thing. If you're doing that my child, then you never left it with me. I said faith without works is dead, but you must first have faith. Once you've prayed about it and left it with me, get up off of your knees and get to work. How would you feel if one of my children that I have given to you to take care of, constantly asks you for the same thing when you have already told them you would give it to them?
I have already given you many of the answers you seek; it's up to you to use the tools that I have given you. What are you still waiting on? Sometimes, you miss the blessings I have given you by waiting on some dramatic testimony worthy moment when I've already answered the prayer if you would get off your knees and move.
All I have ever asked you to do is believe in me and accept my son Jesus as your lord and savior. I have asked you to love one another and treat each other as you would like to be treated. But, most of you can't seem to do that right. Yet, you think I'm supposed to just jump and fix the things you're too lazy to fix yourself, which I have already equipped you with the tools to fix.
How do you think this makes me feel?
Signed,
Your heavenly father
Don't get me wrong, prayer is a very powerful tool, especially when you feel like you don't know what to do or which way to go. But, it's not the only tool God has given us and sometimes we need to use those other tools rather than going to God with things that he has already given us tools to handle.
Well that's the Green Chimp's take, what's yours?
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
The Skin I'm In
There used to be a time when Black people weren't as health conscious as White people. Either you were naturally thin or you participated in some sort of activity that kept you trim and fit. Having gym memberships, jogging and exercising regularly, and eating healthy foods were seen as things White people did. There was also a time when anorexia and bulimia was considered to be a White folks disease (yes, they are diseases).
Aside from the obvious difference in skin color, the way Black people were built was also a factor that differentiated Blacks from Whites; which I suspect was an underlying cause of so many cases of anorexia and bulimia. White people were really shallow and judgmental of other White people with even the slightest bit of puffiness around the midsection or buttocks, a characteristic usually associated with Blacks due to the eating habits they had grown accustomed to since slavery.
It seems that things have come full circle. More and more Blacks own gym memberships, exercise regularly, and eat healthier. But why? Is it because most diet and exercise related diseases affect Blacks at a higher rate than their white counterparts (although, a lot of these conditions are hereditary)? Or, is it because they have become more conscious about the way their body looks in the same way that White people are/were?
More and more White people, on the other hand, seem to desire the very things that they used to despise. They are getting injections into their buttocks, lips, and breasts in an effort to appear to be more voluptuous or more like Black women.
Although, White people still tend to be just as shallow and judgmental about a person's physique or figure, it seems that a lot more Black people have joined them in this.
If you're not coping with high blood pressure, diabetes, or any other diet and exercise related illness, then do your thing, live your life, love yourself. However, make sure you remain conscious of eating foods that may lead to the onset of those illnesses.
Other than that, love the skin you're in.
Well, that's the Green Chimp's take on it. What's yours?
Aside from the obvious difference in skin color, the way Black people were built was also a factor that differentiated Blacks from Whites; which I suspect was an underlying cause of so many cases of anorexia and bulimia. White people were really shallow and judgmental of other White people with even the slightest bit of puffiness around the midsection or buttocks, a characteristic usually associated with Blacks due to the eating habits they had grown accustomed to since slavery.
It seems that things have come full circle. More and more Blacks own gym memberships, exercise regularly, and eat healthier. But why? Is it because most diet and exercise related diseases affect Blacks at a higher rate than their white counterparts (although, a lot of these conditions are hereditary)? Or, is it because they have become more conscious about the way their body looks in the same way that White people are/were?
More and more White people, on the other hand, seem to desire the very things that they used to despise. They are getting injections into their buttocks, lips, and breasts in an effort to appear to be more voluptuous or more like Black women.
Although, White people still tend to be just as shallow and judgmental about a person's physique or figure, it seems that a lot more Black people have joined them in this.
If you're not coping with high blood pressure, diabetes, or any other diet and exercise related illness, then do your thing, live your life, love yourself. However, make sure you remain conscious of eating foods that may lead to the onset of those illnesses.
Other than that, love the skin you're in.
Well, that's the Green Chimp's take on it. What's yours?
Friday, April 9, 2010
Top 10 Things Going Through Tiger's Mind At The Masters
10. I wonder if that housekeeper speaks English....
9. My last name aint "Woods" for nothing, Good "morning" Augusta!
8. Damn, I haven't seen this many crackers since I visited the Ritz factory!
7. I can't believe they fell for the sex rehab bit.
6. Where's Reverend Al when you need him?
5. It's hotter out here than that time me and Elin stumbled upon that cocktail waitress convention!
4. Where da h*es at?
3. Heads Pink Pony, Tails Magic City
2. A male waiter???? Very f*cking funny.
1. Now that I'm back to hitting this little white ball, it shouldn't be long before I'm back to hitting the little white h*es too.
9. My last name aint "Woods" for nothing, Good "morning" Augusta!
8. Damn, I haven't seen this many crackers since I visited the Ritz factory!
7. I can't believe they fell for the sex rehab bit.
6. Where's Reverend Al when you need him?
5. It's hotter out here than that time me and Elin stumbled upon that cocktail waitress convention!
4. Where da h*es at?
3. Heads Pink Pony, Tails Magic City
2. A male waiter???? Very f*cking funny.
1. Now that I'm back to hitting this little white ball, it shouldn't be long before I'm back to hitting the little white h*es too.
Over Before It Ever Started
In any relationship there's a beginning and an end to the relationship. How the beginning and the end are determined varies on a case by case basis. Sometimes there is a somewhat mutual understanding between the people going into the relationship. There are also instances when people actually sit down and discuss the parameters of their relationship and they lay out what their relationship will entail. The latter is few and far between.
The same holds true for ending a relationship. Sometimes, people just grow apart and no longer communicate with each other. Then, there are the relationships that end with people actually sitting down and deciding to go their separate ways. That sort of ending is also few and far between.
When entering a relationship, do you discuss the relationships details and make sure you both understand that it is an exclusive relationship? Or, do you look for certain indicators that say you're in a relationship with a person, (i.e. after having sex with a person, spending a certain amount of time with a person, or some other kind of indication)?
When ending a relationship, are you usually the one doing the breaking up, or are you the one that's usually getting broken up with?
Do people even really break up anymore, or do they just have a big argument and stop talking to each other, or simply drift apart?
If there's is no official beginning can there ever really be an official ending?
Closure at the end of a relationship is vital. Is the lack of closure in relationships the gateway to bitterness and is this why people feel like they can't find solid relationships?
The Green Chimp wants to know, what you think.
The same holds true for ending a relationship. Sometimes, people just grow apart and no longer communicate with each other. Then, there are the relationships that end with people actually sitting down and deciding to go their separate ways. That sort of ending is also few and far between.
When entering a relationship, do you discuss the relationships details and make sure you both understand that it is an exclusive relationship? Or, do you look for certain indicators that say you're in a relationship with a person, (i.e. after having sex with a person, spending a certain amount of time with a person, or some other kind of indication)?
When ending a relationship, are you usually the one doing the breaking up, or are you the one that's usually getting broken up with?
Do people even really break up anymore, or do they just have a big argument and stop talking to each other, or simply drift apart?
If there's is no official beginning can there ever really be an official ending?
Closure at the end of a relationship is vital. Is the lack of closure in relationships the gateway to bitterness and is this why people feel like they can't find solid relationships?
The Green Chimp wants to know, what you think.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
What happened to Mrs. James?
Right at the corner of Oakhill Avenue and Lillian Avenue stood a pillar of the Adair Park community in Atlanta. There was no statue or plaque located here. It was simply Mrs. James' front porch. Every child in that neighborhood had to pass Mrs. James' front porch for some reason or another. Whether it was going to the park or the neighborhood store, the route you took led you past Mrs. James's porch.
Mrs. James' porch was significant in that this is where the mother of the neighborhood spent most of her time. She would sit on her front porch and watch what went on in the 'hood. She knew every child and she knew their parents. If you were out of line in the presence of Mrs. James, you may as well have been out of line in front of your own parents. She would chastise you as if she were your mother and make a phone call that would beat you home before you could tell your side of the story, which led to whipping number 2. As a matter of fact, just about any adult on the block would get you if you were in the streets disgracing your parents' good name.
What happened to the Mrs. James’s in our community?
I'll tell you what happened to them. A new breed of parent came about. This new breed of parent said things like, "You better not lay a finger on my child" and "That damn teacher gets on my nerves calling here"; all the while never addressing the behavior from the child that caused the phone call or the discipline from another adult. Then the kids just got out of control. No discipline at home and none in the streets. Now it appears that they are so out of control that people are afraid to say anything to them parents included.
Are we afraid of the next generation? Are we allowing them to throw their lives away out of fear for what they might do if we tried to talk to them? Is it their fault that they're lost or are we part of the problem for not showing them the way?
An African proverb says: "It takes a village to raise a child". Our village needs to come together and step up, so that we can start raising ALL of our children, not just the ones inside our own homes.
That's the Green Chimp's take on it, what's yours?
Mrs. James' porch was significant in that this is where the mother of the neighborhood spent most of her time. She would sit on her front porch and watch what went on in the 'hood. She knew every child and she knew their parents. If you were out of line in the presence of Mrs. James, you may as well have been out of line in front of your own parents. She would chastise you as if she were your mother and make a phone call that would beat you home before you could tell your side of the story, which led to whipping number 2. As a matter of fact, just about any adult on the block would get you if you were in the streets disgracing your parents' good name.
What happened to the Mrs. James’s in our community?
I'll tell you what happened to them. A new breed of parent came about. This new breed of parent said things like, "You better not lay a finger on my child" and "That damn teacher gets on my nerves calling here"; all the while never addressing the behavior from the child that caused the phone call or the discipline from another adult. Then the kids just got out of control. No discipline at home and none in the streets. Now it appears that they are so out of control that people are afraid to say anything to them parents included.
Are we afraid of the next generation? Are we allowing them to throw their lives away out of fear for what they might do if we tried to talk to them? Is it their fault that they're lost or are we part of the problem for not showing them the way?
An African proverb says: "It takes a village to raise a child". Our village needs to come together and step up, so that we can start raising ALL of our children, not just the ones inside our own homes.
That's the Green Chimp's take on it, what's yours?
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
16 and Preggers
There's a show that runs on MTV that is in its second season called "16 and Pregnant". After watching several episodes from Season 1 and several from Season 2, and I'm of the opinion that if I'm a 16 yr old girl thinking about having a baby, this show would do absolutely nothing to discourage me!
Often times people really lambast BET for its choice of programming. However, I think as bad as BET's programming is, this show can be far more damaging than ANY of the coonery and bafoonery found on BET. To me, this show serves no other purpose than to glorify and glamorize teen pregnancy. Of course MTV argues the opposite. MTV, says that this show sheds light on the difficulties and struggles of teen pregnancy. All the while billing its trailer like this, “16 and Pregnant” returns with new girls, new stories and all-new drama". Does this sound like it's trying to illustrate the negative aspects of teen pregnancy to you?
It is important not to generalize about the potentially negative outcomes of teenage pregnancy. Not all instances of teenage child bearing are detrimental for either the mother or child. Nevertheless, most teen pregnancies are unintended. In fact, 8 in 10 of these pregnancies are unintentional and 81% are to unmarried teens. "The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized world. The Center for Disease control says that one-third of girls get pregnant before the age of 20."(livestrong.com).
With numbers like that, is this really a show that needs to be airing on one of the most watched stations by teens and young adults?
In the age of over-night sensations, and viral videos, what's to keep a young girl seeking her 15 minutes of fame from getting pregnant just to have her own episode? This is a failure of epic proportions by this network.
Well, that's the Green Chimp's take, what's yours?
Often times people really lambast BET for its choice of programming. However, I think as bad as BET's programming is, this show can be far more damaging than ANY of the coonery and bafoonery found on BET. To me, this show serves no other purpose than to glorify and glamorize teen pregnancy. Of course MTV argues the opposite. MTV, says that this show sheds light on the difficulties and struggles of teen pregnancy. All the while billing its trailer like this, “16 and Pregnant” returns with new girls, new stories and all-new drama". Does this sound like it's trying to illustrate the negative aspects of teen pregnancy to you?
It is important not to generalize about the potentially negative outcomes of teenage pregnancy. Not all instances of teenage child bearing are detrimental for either the mother or child. Nevertheless, most teen pregnancies are unintended. In fact, 8 in 10 of these pregnancies are unintentional and 81% are to unmarried teens. "The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized world. The Center for Disease control says that one-third of girls get pregnant before the age of 20."(livestrong.com).
With numbers like that, is this really a show that needs to be airing on one of the most watched stations by teens and young adults?
In the age of over-night sensations, and viral videos, what's to keep a young girl seeking her 15 minutes of fame from getting pregnant just to have her own episode? This is a failure of epic proportions by this network.
Well, that's the Green Chimp's take, what's yours?
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