Posts filed under 'All About Women'
On November 5, 2007, I asked a question to my fellow bloggers that arose during the final editing phase of Steppin’ Out Of The Darkness. The question posed,
“When does a girl become a woman?”
Marva, author of Opinionated Black Woman and Woman To Woman, responded by writing a post worth reading. As a gesture of my gratitude to MarvalusOne for taking the time to answer my question, I’ve decided to spread some link love by sharing her reply.
Click on “Sunday’s Thoughts On Tuesday: Womanhood” to read her reply. I hope you enjoy reading her post as much as I did. If time permits, please leave her a comment.
Thank you, for helping to spread some love on Good Friday, a day when Jesus Christ loved us enough to die on an old rugged cross in order do what had never been done. Because He lives, ….
Copyright (c) 2007-2008 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.
Popularity: 99% [?]
March 21st, 2008
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During the final editing phase of my book, Steppin’ Out Of The Darkness, a question arose that I thought insightful, critically thinking bloggers like you would best be able to answer.
When does a “girl” become a “woman?”
Copyright (c) 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.
Popularity: 17% [?]
November 5th, 2007
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“Dear Mr. President,” by Pink, is one of those rare music videos that stirs the soul as it tugs at our hearts. Matters not if you’re a Democrat or a Republican. Click on the highlighted words “Dear Mr. President” to watch Pink’s video.
Pink, our “politically corrected” leaders could learn a lot from you if only they’d slow their roll and listen to the voice of reason. It’s a shame the mainstream media, radio stations, and television stations refuse play a song that’s filled with so much relevancy, honesty, and truth.
Kudos to Mr. Jimmy Kimmel for letting Pink perform “Dear Mr. President” on his show.
Pink, as a sign of respect, I tip my hat to you for having the courage, the compassion, the empathy to write such a powerful, insightful, thought-provoking song for such a season as this.
Copyright 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.
Popularity: 28% [?]
August 13th, 2007
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This morning, I was pleasantly surprised to discover an unexpected email from one of America’s most prominent and respected ministers and biblical scholars, Rev. Dr. Renita J. Weems. During the first half of the 1990’s, I was introduced to the power of this wise woman’s words during an extended series of sunny-side-down days when all appeared lost and I feared that my worst nightmare had already come true.
After my great fall, I endured a time, a season, when God’s voice vanished absent any warning whatsoever. It didn’t take long before I found myself feeling hopelessly lost in a darkness so thick that it made me too sick to care whether I lived or died. I doubted myself. When God was silent, I questioned God’s love for me because church folk chastised me and accused me of not having enough faith, for failing to pay the price required for God to bless me? Have you ever been there, done that?
Because of the personal relationship I had established with Jesus Christ, I trusted God even when I didn’t understand the reasons for the prolonged periods of silence. Because of God promise to never leave, nor forsake me, I waited on God despite how uncomfortable it felt to do so. It was definitely a struggle to endure the silence that initially frightened me.
I started writing poetic essays about what God was teaching me to prepare me for an emerging career as a writer and public speaker. Keeping a journal became a necessity because I learned so much during my spiritual crisis that my fears exacerbated when God remained silent. For years, I began writing on anything and everything I could get my hands on. Now, I blog.
I learned how to love me even when my peers hated me, betrayed me, and abandoned me to avoid being seen with someone popular people perceived as a failure. I learned how to listen to what God was speaking to the heart of my soul through the series of books I began writing. I learned how to be still long enough to know that God is still God. During God’s silence, I learned more about myself and God than I ever did during the Sunday morning sermons I listened to.
How many of you are currently experiencing a spiritual crisis because of God’s unexpected silence? When God is silent, what do you expect to learn? What are you learning about yourself right now? Are you beginning to feel secure enough about your intimate, healthy relationship with God to wait upon the Lord, to be still when you want to run away and hide from the truth about yourself?
When God is silent, what do you hear? Whose voice do you hear? Has your faith in God been tested so severely that you can comfortably stand in the face of Adversity without fainting? When God is silent, you will discover whether or not you have the character, confidence, and courage to stand alone when your friends choose to ignore you?
During those spiritual disconnects with God that we all experience, what do you do? Do you start praying vain, repetitious prayers just to avoid the deafening silence that enables you to hear a pin drop? Do you get panicky, become desperate, feel discouraged, or do you keep pretending that all is well with your personal relationship with God?
Who do you run to while trying to escape the discomfort we often feel whenever God leaves us alone to deal with our deepest fears? What do you hear in your inner ear when God’s silence forces you to listen longer than you’d like to your thoughts about you, your life, your calling, your purpose for living?
Who do you choose to listen to when God is silent? What does God’s prolonged silence mean to you? Do you begin wondering whether or not you’re “good enough“? Do you begin pondering the possibility that God doesn’t love you anymore, that you’re not worthy to experience the intimate fellowship you once shared with the Master?
When God is silent, does your soul get filled with doubts about God’s eternal promise to meet your unmet needs? Do you stop acting like the eternally optimistic person you once were and start behaving like your pessimistic peers who question God eternal existence? Do you start thinking nothing but negative thoughts? Does your soul become filled with fear, anger, bitterness, and resentment towards God during the silence that you believe is a betrayal?
Can it be that God is speaking to you by using the silence to get your undivided attention because you kept ignoring the still, small voice you heard when you didn’t like God’s answer to your prayers? If you still doubt that God can speak to you through His silence and still refuse to believe that God can witness to you without words, you haven’t met Rev. Dr. Renita J. Weems.
Listening For God: A Minister’s Journey Through Silence and Doubt, is the title of one of the many insightful books Rev. Dr. Weems penned that I’m adding to our Bookstore under the new category, “Books By And About Women.” The following is a brief excerpt from this courageous, thought-provoking author’s book Listening For God.
“Journal writing is for me a form of prayer. For more than twenty years now it has been my principal way to talk to God. When it began to hurt too much to pray, I started journaling as a substitute. Talking to paper was the only way I knew how to talk to God, and it proved to be an ideal form of prayer because it gave me a way to see what was going on in my heart.”
–Renita J. Weems
Reading Listening For God inspired, encouraged, and empowered me when I needed to hear from God after my great fall. Because Jesus treated all people equally, it didn’t bother me that God had chosen a woman to minister to my cast down soul. In my weakened condition, it didn’t matter how God redeemed, renewed, and restored my socially ostracized soul.
After the fall, I already felt marginalized, diminished and devalued by the sting of the resulting ridicule, rejection, and humiliation my psyche endured due to my personal, financial, and professional failures. When God was silent, I experienced a spiritual crisis that was partly responsible for changing the way I felt about female ministers. I learned to respect the “power of a wise woman’s words.”
It didn’t matter to me that a manifestation of God’s love, grace, and mercy showed up dressed as a woman because my critically ill soul was strengthened by the power of a wise woman’s words. For those of you who have never heard this eloquent orator speak as she teaches and preaches God’s word, I can assure you that you will walk away from your unforgettable experience a changed person.
If you don’t know her inspirational story, you will enjoying reading about what this extraordinary woman did when God was silent. “Something Within” is the name of Rev. Dr. Renita J. Weems’ blog. For reasons now known, it is indeed an honor to introduce this phenomenal woman to all the culturally diverse members of our blended, extended family.
As a sign of respect, let’s tip our hats, extend our hands in peace, and welcome our distinguished guest. May this gifted writer’s inspiring words of wisdom comfort you and keep you from doubting God’s love during His silence.
Copyright 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.
Popularity: 22% [?]
May 25th, 2007
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As promised, we’re continuing this month’s series, Women Of The Bible, with yet another look at the life of Eve. If you haven’t read Genesis Chapters 2 and 3, please do so in order to better understand the harsh reality of the truth and the ugliness of the dilemma Eve faced after the fall.
Since we’re dedicating the entire month of May to women and issues relevant to women, we’ll discuss Adam’s role in the fall of humanity next month with the message, “Adam, Where Are You?” For now, we’ll stay focused on the life of the woman whose name means, “Life-giving.” Imagine hearing God saying to you what Eve heard after the fall that gave birth to death, to pain, to shame, to fear, to the emotional division that still exists between man and woman.
Yes, it’s true. We’ve all blown it. We’ve all made mistakes. Big ones. Small ones. Inadvertent ones. Intentional ones. We’ve all done something we shouldn’t have at some point in our lives. We’ve all been in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people. I know I have. Have you?
Take some time right now to search the seat of your soul, to dig deeper into the cluttered place where all our secrets still hide and reside. Uncomfortable? Most definitely! But necessary. Take a moment to take a closer look inside the heart of your soul. What did you find? What did you do? What did you say?
On the flipside of this script, what didn’t you find? What didn’t you do when you had a chance to take a stand? What didn’t you say when you had an opportunity to clear the name of an actually innocent person who was falsely accused of a crime you know they didn’t commit? Justifying your unethical actions by telling yourself that “I was just doing my job” doesn’t make the pain go away.
Do you feel like crying right now? Go ahead, cry if you must to cleanse your face and rid your soul of the toxic residue that’s poisoning your body. During my showers in the mornings, I cry often. Do you? The water from the shower symbolizes the tears I shed. The shower cleanses my body as it washes away the dirt I picked up from the previous day.
The tears cleanse the heart of my soul as they wash aways the residue of all the unwise decisions, the mistakes, the dirt I’ve done. Crying is better than dying a slow death from the anger, bitterness, and resentment you feel towards yourself for failing to face you deepest fears. Weeping may endure for a night, a few nights, a season, but sooner or later, joy always comes in the morning.
As some of you may know, the morning is symbolic, a metaphor for the glorious day that the long-awaited sunrise will appear and allow your eyes to meet the “greatness of God’s faithfulness.” Have you been waiting a long time for the light of God’s love to pierce the spiritual darkness of the hopelessness Despair creates?
Maybe you said something you shouldn’t have and harmed somebody you love with the words from your own mouth. Maybe you betrayed somebody’s trust and lost their respect, their friendship, their financial support. Maybe you let somebody down who depended on you to keep a promise, to fulfill a commitment, to prepare an important sales presentation, to keep your end of the bargain. But you blew it big time.
Saying, “I’m sorry,” isn’t enough this time. The damage is done. You’ve blown it one time too many. You finally found the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. If only you had the supernatural power to turn back the hands of time. Alas, you don’t and now you must sleep in the mess you’ve made. If you’ve been there, done that, you can imagine how Eve felt once this woman finally realized that her mistake would affect generations of women who had done no wrong.
Imagine how it must have felt to know that both she and Adam could no longer stand in God’s celestial presence without feeling “naked and ashamed.” Both Adam and Eve had sinned against God. The word sin means to miss the mark. Despite your noble efforts, your due diligence, your good intentions, how many times have you missed the mark?
“Okay, now what?” you ask yourself. “Where do we go from here?” you wonder as you ponder the eternal consequences of your disobedience, your failure to do the right thing, your willful act of rebellion. Matters not the reason why. Where do you start? What steps must you take in order for you to feel good about the person you face in the mirror? I don’t know. But God knows. That’s where I’d start.
During your dark night of the soul when all seems lost, remember that God is still standing closer than a brother. God will not leave you nor forsake you. God still loves you despite what you’ve done or didn’t do. Don’t give up. Don’t give in to the pain you feel. Don’t quit. Today is the beginning of the rest of your life. The present, not the past, is a great place to start doing something new.
For some of you, today’s challenging message will be liberating. Some of you will find the song you stuffed deep down inside the seat of your souls that you’re afraid to sing because you committed a sin you’re ashamed to admit to yourself, to God. Haven’t you noticed that our deepest fears have an uncanny way of silencing us for too long and keeping us from singing our song for all the wrong reasons? What are some of the reasons that you’re still afraid to sing your song?
It’s true. Each one of us is capable of doing, or saying, what we all know is wrong. “Okay, now what Mr. know-it-all?” Some of you will hate me for loving you simply because you still don’t love you. You still hate yourself. You hate anybody that looks like you and reminds you of you. Some of you will become defensive, misunderstand my intentions, and choose to personally attack me for challenging you to face your fears and embrace Change. But that’s to be expected.
“Better the wounds of a friend than kisses from an enemy.”
Some of you may decide to thank the person who keeps loving you enough to tell you the truth about yourself. I find it interesting that Jesus never identified, with specificity, the truth that makes people free as evidenced by the Scriptures. So, what is the truth that will make you free? Does this truth differ from person to person? Think about it.
Knowing the truth that, in God’s eyes, we are all created equal and will be treated equally may liberate you. For others, it may be just knowing the truth that God loves each of us absent any conditions. Knowing that we’re all imperfect people living together in an imperfect world may make you free enough to finally forgive you, to highly esteem you so you can learn to love you again.
Just know that God isn’t surprised, nor is He disappointed by anything we may say or do. Despite what occurred in the Garden of Eden, God has a plan and a purpose for each one of His children. Knowing that our most merciful and gracious Father was willing to sacrifice the life of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, in order to pay for the sins of the world did it for me.
The truth that makes people free is knowing that God’s love inspired Jesus Christ to pay a debt He didn’t owe because we all owed a debt we couldn’t pay. After the fall, Eve also experienced the grace of God. Hence, our next message will deal with Eve and God’s amazing grace. I hope and pray that you will feel better about you today now that you know that God still loves you.
Copyright 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.
Popularity: 24% [?]
May 15th, 2007
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Standing “beside” every good man is a wise woman whose love inspired him to become a great man during a crucial age and critical stage of his personal development. Please note that this wise woman is not standing behind, nor in front of, the inspired man whose life she is enhancing. Why?
Real men choose to treat women as equals. Real men refuse to abuse women. Real men refuse to relegate women to subservient positions. As a man, I know that I’m a much better person because of my wife, KWiz, and the plethora of wise, godly women who have contacted me and impacted my life over the years.
According to Ecclesiastes 4:8 NIV
8 There was a man all alone;
he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
“and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
a miserable business!
God knew how much the first man, Adam, would need the assistance of a woman. As evidenced by Genesis 2:18,
The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (emphasis added)
Can it be that the same rings true for a woman? How many of you honestly believe that it is also not good for a woman to be alone? How many times have you personally heard a woman say,
“I don’t need no man!! I can do bad all by myself?”
or
Men are nothing more than “sperm donors.”
How many of you have ever personally said that, thought that, or believed that to be true? What tragic, traumatic event happened to make you feel that you didn’t need a man? Do you still feel the same? If not, what happened to change your mind?
How many people in your circle of friends can you turn to, or can turn to you, in times of need? Who depends on you when they’ve fallen only to discover that they can’t rise to their feet absent the assistance of another? Have you ever been hospitalized because of a high risk pregnancy or incapacitated because of cancer, a long term illness, or a debilitating physical injury?
Did you have a faithful, reliable, trustworthy person standing by your side? If not, how did it make you feel to know you were all alone? After your recovery, what did you do to ensure that you would have the help you needed in the future? If yes, was the person you sought help from male or female? Did their gender make a difference or did it even matter as long as you received the help you needed?
So, what’s the significance, or the relevance of the person’s gender who’s helping to heal me? Our life experiences, both individually and collectively, do affect our perceptions and personal beliefs about the particular people we choose to trust, to love, to ask for help.
How difficult it must have been for Eve to risk exposing her weaknesses and vulnerabilities to Adam after he made her his scapegoat. How difficult has it been for you to dismantle, tear down, or break through the emotional walls your peers helped you to erect just to protect the deeply wounded soul of your broken heart from harm? Are those walls still standing? What will it take to inspire you to tear down these walls?
Do you ever wonder how Eve must have felt towards Adam after he “blamed” her for his lack of leadership, for his failure to protect her from the persuasive words of the “Original Down Low Brother,” for his deliberate act of disobedience? Do you think Eve could stand before Adam “naked and unashamed” as easily as she did before the fall? Reading Genesis 2, “The Creation Of Man And Woman,” will prepare you for our next discussion.
It’s difficult for a woman who been traumatized and victimized by a man to accept help from another man as evidenced by the previous statement
“I don’t need no man.”
It makes a difference if your Mom was the only person who took the time to teach you how to interact with men in professional settings, how to handle abusive, misogynistic men who sexually objectify women just for fun? If you grew up in a home without a “father figure,” how easy is it for you to turn to a man when you need help?
God willing, and if the creek don’t rise, we will begin digging deeper into the lives of the women in the Bible to see how they responded to God’s love, grace, and mercy. So, please feel free to invite your family, friends, and peers to join us and actively participate in the early stages of our developing discussion.
Hopefully, each of you will enjoy your personalized journey as we explore the individual lives of the 52 women who have been highlighted in the book, Women Of The Bible. This treasure chest disguised as a book was birthed by authors Ms. Ann Spangler and Ms. Jean E. Syswerda.
Any and all suggestions and comments are welcome and will be respected at all times. When all has been read, said, and done, it’s my prayer that women and men who hate to love each other will begin to realize just how much women and men really do need each other.
According to Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NIV
“9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:
10 If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
Together, we can make a difference. Will you help? I hope so.
Copyright 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.
Popularity: 25% [?]
