As a sign of respect, I’m dedicating 2011 to the women that God has gifted to the blended, extended families of humanity’s culturally diverse global village. Since I am the “first man” my daughter will ever love, it’s my responsibility to lead by example. I  choose to love, honor, respect, and protect my baby girl and my wife, KWiz, with my life because as comedian, Mr. Steve Harvey, often says during his morning radio show, “That’s what real men do.“

Whenever time permits, please participate in my year-long tribute to “man’s most valuable resource” by posting a comment about the books you’ve read that were written by and about women.  Hopefully, the men in your lives will do the same. Why?

We, as men, have so much to learn about the wise women God has commanded us to love unconditionally 24/7/365.   As evidenced by Ephesians 5:25-27 NASB, and Ephesians 5:33 NASB, isn’t it interesting that God did not ask women to do the same?

According to the Scriptures, God only asked the wives of men to “respect” their husbands. Do you ever wonder why? If not, reading, “Marital Love,” by Biblical Foundations For Freedom will challenge you to dig deeper into the reasons why God is challenging men to “earn” the respect of the wives in our lives.

Despite what one too many may believe, the men who have chosen to love, honor, and respect all women are hanging our ears on every powerful word you speak. Our hearts, minds, and arms are open as we both humbly and respectfully enter into your powerful presence. We see you!

We, as men, have a lot of work to do to repair the damage that’s been done by the words that have come forth out of our mouths. Matters not how much hearing the sobering truth that makes people free may hurt. We will not run away and hide in our man caves because we’re “here to stay.”

We will not defend, nor justify, our actions by scapegoating the “sins of other men.” We will not blame our misogynistic, dehumanizing, demeaning, demoralizing, devaluing, denigrating, and dishonorable behavior on what happened in times past. If we try, don’t hesitate to check us and if necessary, kick us to the curb until our actions speak louder than our words.

There’s a plethora of excellent books for women and men to read who still may not understand “how” to do better because they still don’t know better.  As always, the choice to seek wisdom and get understanding will keep you from falling to your knees with tears in your eyes while saying, “Baby, please don’t go!!“

Yesterday is now history.  Wise women don’t care and don’t want to hear about what “so-n-so” did yesterday. Two wrongs don’t make it right. Today is a new day.  Women the world over are hurting today because of what’s still happening today. I’m challenging all men to simply say, “ I hear you!” whenever any woman chooses to challenge us, confront us, and constructively criticize us.

Difficult? Yes! Impossible? Not! Together, we can beat impossible odds and complete what may appear to be an impossible task with God’s help. Are you willing to try? For our women’s sake, I hope you will take the time to let our “unsung sheroes” know beyond the shadow of any doubt that we hear their cries for our help.

So men, let’s not blow it this time because we may never again get a second chance to earn the respect and the love of the women who birthed us, nurtured us, cared for us, raised us, supported us, stood by us, cried and died for us, paved the way for us, and saved us from ourselves when nobody but Jesus loved us in spite of ourselves.

During the month of June, I will give the women an equal opportunity to highlight the real men who have courageously risen to the occasion during what I honestly believe is yet another divinely ordained opportunity for women and men to experience tremendous personal growth.

How many of you believe leaders are made, not born? How many of you believe women are better leaders than men? Please feel free to elaborate so women and can engage one another in what I hope will become a mutually rewarding discussion.

Meanwhile, please keep praying, without ceasing, those fervent effective prayers that will availeth much for each of us as the next generation of leading men individually, and collectively face our fears and embrace Change.

The choice to spin from within and begin something new with our God-given gifts will test our faith in God, ourselves, and each other.  With God’s help, the mighty men in your lives will learn to respect “the power of a wise woman’s words” as our humbled souls turn in the refining fire of Adversity’s fiery furnace. We’re listening to you!

Copyright © 2007 ~ 2011 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.

For those of you who have been consistently reading this blog since January 1, 2007, you know that blogging was an “act of faith” for an ex-perfectionist like me.  Like many of you, I am a fallen, imperfect person. I, too, have good intentions. But I’ve also got some bad habits and some great weaknesses.  Sometime my Big Dreams don’t cooperate.  So we probably have a lot more in common than you think.

During the past four years, you chose to love me, to challenge me, to encourage me, to pray for me anyway. And for that, I will always and forever be grateful.  Although we’ve never met face-to-face, I still love you more than you could ever imagine.  Your love lifted me out of the ashes of obscurity.

You’ve graciously endured my many mistakes during my humble beginnings.  You’ve watched me fail publicly, stumble badly, and fall flat on my face.  Yet and still, so many of you refused to give up on me.  You’ve made my private victories possible.  By choice, you became my “champions.”  So many of you loved me unconditionally and encouraged me despite my many shotcomings.  Because of your love, I kept getting up, showing up, and challenging you to take the next step towards making your own Big Dreams come true.

To this day, your love, your private words of encouragement, your comments still inspire me to keep blogging and doing what I love to do — write.  I hope and pray that all the culturally diverse members of our galvanized community will choose to “keep loving to love one another” as we share our thoughts and ideas. So please don’t stop challenging the rest of our blended, extended family members to keep risin’ to our feet after every fall our gifted souls survive until the day we can all stand side-by-side and meet the greatness of God’s faithfulness.

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.” ~ Proverbs 27:6 NASB

Together, I honestly believe those of us to whom “little” appears given really can make a difference in the lives of the children who will become the next generation of leaders.  Do you? I hope so. Remember, upon first glance, looks can be deceiving. As always, the choice to dig deeper so you can climber higher than you thought was possible is still yours alone to make.  I believe in you.  But do you believe in yourself? Gee, why not? Think about it.

“But by grace still go I”

Copyright © 2011 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.

“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” ~ Amos 3:3 KJV

S.I.N.™ Stop Incivility Now™ Quick question.  How many more women and children must die for nothing before real men like you and I rise up and start walking together in peace while working together as one to help cultivate a culture of civility? Think about it.

When the world least expects it, a swift paradigm shift will happen that is going to change the way men see women, treat women, relate to women. Matters not the colour of their skin. Real men will choose to Live, Love, and Lead United™ to stop the culture of incivility that condones sex trafficking, rape, and slavery in any form. Difficult? Most definitely! Impossible? Not!

Imagine the endless parade of possibilities that will appear when the women that real men love, honor, and respect finally stop living with Fear. My challenge to all who read this is simple. Stop Incivility Now™! Dare to dream bigger and act like you honestly believe it’s possible to beat impossible odds with God’s help.

As always, the choice for “this one” and “that one” to agree as one that it’s time to do something that has never been done before is theirs alone to make.  But please don’t take too long before deciding to do the right thing by letting love lead the way because it’s much later than you think. Can you imagine a world without women? I can’t. Can you? I hope not. S.I.N.™ Stop Incivility Now™

Copyright © 2011 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.

“Teaching children and adults to read, write, and comprehend is not only our essential duty and investment in America’s future; it is also an act of love.” – John Corcoran, author of The Bridge to Literacy and The Teacher Who Couldn’t Read

Mr. Corcoran is a former adult nonreader who decided to make a tangible investment in America’s future. Please visit Mr. John Corcoran’s Blog to see what I honestly believe is an excellent example of “Personal Leadership.”  As a sign of respect, I’m shining a light on this philanthropic literacy advocate for having the courage to “face his fears and embrace Change.”

“Out of 191 million adults in the U.S., as many as 44 million cannot read a newspaper or fill out a job application. Another 50 million more cannot read or comprehend above the eight grade level.” -from the 1998 US Government Report, The State of Literacy in America, released by the National Institute for Literacy (NIL).

Quick question. Who, or what, is still stopping the millions of illiterate adults who never learned how to read above a 5th or 8th grade level from doing the same? Hmmmm. Think about it. In the meantime, check out the U.S. Department of Education’s website.

It’s still true.  One person really can make a difference. Difficult? Most definitely! Impossible? Not!

Copyright © by Roderick O. Solomon except where otherwise noted.  All Rights Reserved

COME MORNING, an inspirational story about personal leadership, will inspire you to believe it’s possible to achieve your Big Dream when nobody else does.  The optimistic attitude of an innocent child too young to know what lies ahead inspires a defeated man who has lost his passion to dream, to write, to live.

The protagonist of this provocative love story stops believing the truth that fallen, imperfect people like him with good intentions, bad habits, and great weaknesses like his can “rise to the level of excellence every Big Dream demands.”

Discover how to negate the “seeds of self-hatred” and how to nullify “the greatest lie ever told” and sold for a profit.  Before you stumble badly and bump heads with Adversity, Failure, Setback, and Poverty, find out why the term “self-esteem” is really a verb instead of a noun.

See why the next generation of leaders chooses to cultivate a “culture of civility” so women, children, and the elderly can begin to feel safe and secure within the comfort of their own skin.

Reading this compelling story about “a novel idea whose time and season has finally come” will give you a reason to believe in yourself again, to love loving you again, to remain hopeful until your morning comes.

When life happens and Adversity strikes, COME MORNING will inspire you to “keep rising to your feet after every great fall you survive until your eyes meet the greatness of God’s faithfulness.”

Copyright © 2010 by Roderick O. Solomon.  All Rights Reserved.

This “revised” post now only contains the Prologue to Steppin’ Out Of The Darkness, “When Good People Become Great.” As time permits, I will begin posting brief excerpts from this introspective, inspirational story about “personal leadership” to inspire you to “face your fears and embrace Change.” Only then will you choose to take the next step necessary to make your “Big Dream” come true.

In the meantime, please feel free to peruse “The Archives” to see how far this humbled beginner has come by faith since January 1, 2007.  As many of you know, I didn’t “choose to write this book.” Over 10 years ago, this thought-provoking, 272 page book chose me.   If I can beat the odds with God’s help and choose to “keep risin’ to my feet after every fall I survived,” you can do the same.  The choice to do so will always be yours alone to make. So choose wisely.

“But by grace still go I.”

The Prologue — “Always Expect The Unexpected”

Quick question. Did reading the Prologue to Steppin’ Out Of the Darkness inspire you to sit up in your seat and say “Hmmmm” upon first glance?  Hopefully, what you found has peaked your curiosity about what else you’ll find beneath this book’s cover.

When time permits, post a comment to let me know if you felt inspired you to “finish writing the vision” you prematurely abandoned in the “valley of sun-dried bones” sometime “after the fall” you survived.

Copyright © 2007-2008 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.

It’s no secret that Christian marriages are still failing at an alarming rate. Why? I honestly don’t know. But today’s provocative post about love, sex, and relationships will present a few questions about the monogamous relationship Adam shared with Eve to provoke thought. Like many of you, my heart’s desire is to make love work, maintain an intimate, healthy relationship with my wife so that our marriage will last till death parts our paths.

I, too, am still searching for a few answers in a proactive attempt to help our generation break the generational cycle of divorce that’s destroying our families. Doing the reading and research required to prepare for the “Women Of The Bible” series revealed something that I’d like to share with you today. I’m still searching the Scriptures found in Genesis 2 and 3 to discover specific details about the health of the intimate relationship Adam “allegedly” shared with Eve while living in the Garden of Eden.

Since Eden means, “place of pleasure,” here’s a perfect man and a perfect woman that God made for each other who had it all. Adam and Eve had a legitimate “marriage made in Heaven,” a sanctified, sexual relationship that was holy, ordained, and blessed by God.

According to the Scriptures, the Master Potter deliberately, and with premeditation, tailor-made a woman for Adam and nobody else. Since God created Adam, it’s safe to assume that Adam was perfect in every way before his great fall from grace.

Since our Creator doesn’t make any mistakes, one can only imagine how beautiful, how blessed, and how alluring Eve must have been to Adam. Adam had the perfect partner to share his life with for all of eternity. Imagine how much Adam must have loved and adored Eve. Since God created Eve while Adam slept, this woman literally became this man’s “dream come true.”

But what about Eve? Here’s where this epic love story gets interesting because some traditional, long-standing assumptions have been made about the first family’s divinely ordained marriage. Has anybody else out there in the blogosphere ever ponder the possibility that Eve never felt the same way about Adam?

Nowhere in the Scriptures does it ever say that Eve “loved” Adam. But don’t take my word for it, take a look for yourself and tell me what you find. Can it be that Eve just wasn’t that into Adam? Maybe Adam didn’t “fit the profile,” didn’t “measure up,” didn’t meet her expectations.

Ladies, how would you describe the man of your dreams, the man you’d ask God to tailor make just for you if given the opportunity? Only God and Eve know if Adam was tall, dark, and handsome, if he had a six pack, if he was a good hunter, if he could sing a love song like Luther Vandross. But what if Adam wasn’t all that Eve expected from the man of her dreams?

If Eve was just as enamored, infatuated, and as in love with her ideal man as Adam was with his ideal woman, how in the world did the “original down low brother” manage to get her undivided attention? Maybe Adam didn’t satisfy Eve, didn’t listen when she talked, didn’t know how to communicate with her. Maybe Adam didn’t have what it takes to make the heavens and the earth move when they made love together.

Maybe Eve “felt” lonely, bored, and had grown tired of living a mundane existence with a nice man, a good man, a predictable man who never made her cry, never gave her any drama. Did Eve need Adam as much as he needed her since it wasn’t good for a man to be alone? If Adam was indeed the perfect man for Eve, how did some charismatic snake in the grass manage to successfully seduce his woman?

What empty promises did the father of lies proffer to distract Eve while Adam was “allegedly” standing right beside his woman? Had Adam become so emotionally disconnected from Eve that he didn’t know Satan found a way to get his hedonistic, misogynistic hooks into her? Do you ever wonder if Eve cried out to her man for help or ask the question, “Adam, where are you?” because Adam was missing in action?

Why didn’t Adam intervene, do what real men do, and kick Satan to the curb before a bad thing could happen to these good people? Before God created Eve, did something go terribly wrong with Adam? Maybe Adam had issues that didn’t get revealed until it was too late to reconcile their intimate relationship with God. Have you ever pondered the possibility that Satan had also attempted to seduce and deceive Adam before God created Eve to be her husband’s helpmate?

Do you ever wonder what prompted to God say that it wasn’t good for a man to be alone? Did Adam develop some type of pathological, dysfunctional behavior because he walked alone in the garden of earthly delights long enough to become too lonely for his own good? I wonder why God never said the same thing in the Scriptures about a woman. Do you?

What did Satan say, or do, that Adam didn’t say or do? What were the persuasive, albeit deceptive, words that flowed out of the perverted mouth of this fallen, false angel of light that convinced Eve to “doubt” God’s words in the first place? Did Satan convince Eve that Adam “wasn’t good enough” for her? Can it be that Eve didn’t appreciate Adam, wasn’t content with the perfect man God created, and secretly desired a “bad boy,” “a gangsta,” a “street thug” that she could hate to love for more than one night?

Quick question. How many married people do you personally know who are living with a person they secretly hate to love? Can it be that sharing a love that’s worth receiving and giving is an act of faith that a person chooses to do without ever expecting anything in return. I wonder if God is the only one who loves a cheerful giver? Think about it until the next time we meet.

– To Be Continued –

Copyright 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.