Monday, November 21, 2011

"IF" The" Bread" of Life.

IF.....

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!  ~ by R. Kipling



This poem makes me think about one my Mothers favorite bands. Bread.Their catalog of music was as much of a staple as the band name in our house. "If" you don't know Bread "IF" Click here 

Mom loved great bands of the 70's.

Here are a few more favorites -
Chicago (the band) Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? Click here

Three Dog Night Joy To The World, Click here

Yes  Respect Greatness! This..I..Just..the words will make you out~n~out Click here
Roundabout Lyrics Click here 

Someone in my house loved Roundabout, played it all the time..um...

Fleetwood Mac ~ if you don't know Stevie well..., Bee Gee's   AND The Ohio Player, E.W.F, Heatwave and KC and The Sunshine Band Shake Your Booty Click here are among others I have named in other post. 


Nothing like a band.


It's Sunday!  I hope you had time to reset!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Sunday, Sunday, bah da bah da da da..

Sunday!

It's my favorite day of the week! Sunday means family, good food, relaxation, laughing and smiling.

Things I love about Sunday -

  • A Big Sunday Breakfast!
  • A Big Sunday Dinner!
  • No Traffic!
Except the "Sunday Drivers". And on Sunday, I don't mind a bit the "lil old whom ever" cruising below the speed limit in the far left lane. No traffic makes going around them a simple notion. Usually I would shout "Jesus"! then groan out something like "why do people drive like they got their license out of a "Cracker Jack" box". But not on Sunday.

Easy Like Sunday Morning. Click here


Sunday we have -
  • Gospel Radio and Sports!
I must confess I am a fan of sporting events, not a Sports Fan. I love sports for their entertainment value. A live venue is my favorite way to watch sports. My first trip to a professional sporting event was to "Wrigley Field". It was a Sunday. I am so thankful it is still called "Wrigley Field".

No value in History makes me sad.

But not on Sunday! On Sunday I Smile :-)

Smile - GP are you with me? Click here

It's the God in me. Mary Mary

Those two songs are from a short list of Contemporary Spiritual/Gospel music I enJoy! Coming from a rich Louisiana Baptist background practically everything other than those old moaning and whaling hymns of my youth are contemporary.

EnJoy! The Gospel of my youth.

Mahalia Jackson - Move on up a little higher. Click here
Mahalia Jackson-Move on up a little higher lyrics. Click here

We did not have "the greatest gospel singer of all time" in our Sunday services at "Greater King Solomon" or "Jackson Chapel", but the Sunday music rotation in our home made her number one on the Sunday playlist. My NOLA Grandmother was a total Mahalia groupie. Truly Mahalia was loved by the people in New Orleans, Chicago and all over the world. There is a video on line that shows her singing "The Lords Prayer" and the audience giving her the standing ovation is all white. I love that.

Wikipedia says-

Born as Mahala Jackson and nicknamed "Halie", Jackson grew up in the Black Pearl section of the Carrollton neighborhood of Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana. When she was born Halie suffered from genu varum, or "bowed legs". The doctors wanted to perform surgery by breaking Halie's legs, but one of the resident aunts opposed it. In 1927, at the age of sixteen, Jackson moved from the south to Chicago, Illinois, in the midst of the Great Migration.

Possessing a powerful contralto voice, she was referred to as "The Queen of Gospel". Jackson became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world, and was heralded internationally as a singer and civil rights activist; entertainer Harry Belafonte called her "the single most powerful black woman in the United States".



Mahalia Jackson died in Chicago on January 27, 1972.

I was six years old and will never forget that day. My school announced her passing over the loud speaker which could be heard in the school courtyard where we were halted to listen. When I close my eyes and remember this day, I am taken back to that courtyard and can still smell the pinto bean aroma in the air from our lunch menu.

Mahalia had funeral services in Chicago and New Orleans. It was a true media sensation.

Instead of the sweet sounds of Mahalia in service, our service was more...
It goes a lil something like this... and a 1 and a 2...Click here

The unison clapping, stomping, rocking rhythmic melding of voice and spirits soothed my soul. It was as though someone hit the reset button on life and everything was made new again.

"Rocking was a term first used by gospel singers in the American South to mean something akin to spiritual rapture". - By Dr. Frank Hoffmann

Even without regular Sunday service and certainly no music like this. I still love Sunday for family, for music, for food, for Joy!

Sunday, Reset!

Now for Monday....
Monday, Monday bah da bah da da da..

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Delight In the Little Things

Once a month I cook breakfast for women and children at a shelter program in a suburban town outside of Chicago. A longtime family friend and I arrive at 2:45 am and stay until breakfast has been served assisting with clean up prior to departing around 6:45 am. This program runs from October - April each year. I have volunteered for the program before but this was the first time for my friend. When I asked my friend if he would consider volunteering with me he immediately said yes. I was impressed. It is one thing to be able to help others; it is quite another thing to be willing to do so. I believe most of us have more to give than we realize.

More of a blessing than the abundance itself is to realize abundance in your life and want to share that abundance with others freely. When I say abundance you may immediately think wealth or excess, when I simply mean enough to share. The caveat of that thought is "what is enough"?

We run on empty with our busy lives filled with chores and errands and activities required of us to be considered active, engaged, connected. But when is enough, enough?

There are multitudes of regurgitated hypotheses written on the topic of satisfaction. The elusive condition we all seem to crave. We want satisfaction in our relationships or our work, but for some great mystery or some great UN achievable process, we the masses, still "can't get no satisfaction".

Mick Jagger Break
The Rolling Stones - Satisfaction Click here

After all, what is a blog about life, love and music with out a nod to The Rolling Stones? Maroon 5 know a great recipe for a hit song. Lie about your moves, add one of the best voices in the world, mix in clips of the funkiest front man of the best known band, stir or is that a shake, bake until the world believes you got moves. No M5 video posted as to not insult T.R.S. The M5 dude barley moves - really people?

I refer in previous post to the Bible series "Reaching Your Financial Destiny" as the spark to my current condition of thought and activity. In the study, I re learned that satisfaction is not about achieving more. It is about being happy or content with what you have now. If we looked at what we already have as abundant or enough, what would that do for our lives?

Have we stopped counting our blessing- daily? Is counting our blessings a falsehood to the reality of our lives today? Do we really feel blessed? Perhaps if we felt we had more, we would find that we could share more. More time, more love, more understanding, more patience, more Joy.

Last week at the shelter program I shared, along with my time, an easy bake apple pancake. I can tell you the women, children and my co-volunteers seemed to be delighted and it was enough.

2 recipes for your enjoyment- The first, THERE IS JOY AND SATISFACTION IN THE LITTLE THINGS! Try that recipe and the one below.

Easy Bake Apple Pancake

Ingredients

Complete Pancake Mix
2 Eggs
4 Granny Smith Apples
1 TBS Cinnamon
4 TBS Granulated Sugar
4 TBS Butter

Prep

Peel, core and slice apples to 1/4 inch thick slices
Mix sugar, cinnamon and apples together until apples are coated with sugar mixture
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Mix pancake mix to directions on package for 6 - 10 pancakes, beat in two eggs into batter (set aside)
In 9 inch oven ready pan/skillet (cast iron is best) on stove top melt butter in pan over med high heat (turn off heat when butter is melted)
Place apple mixture evenly on bottom of pan and return heat to med high
When apples bubbles pour pancake batter over apples, spread batter evenly remove from heat and place in preheated oven

Cook Time

Bake pancake 20 - 25 minutes until pancake lightly brown or tooth pick removes clean. Turn over onto serving plate warm from oven.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.


Pic


This is not the traditional "German Apple Pancake" but a simpler version. If you want to have a batter closer to the German styles try 2 additional eggs in pancake batter.

I ate this mini version pictured for dinner all by myself. Joy!

The Children's Song by Rudyard Kipling

To All Our Veterans

I sing to thee a poem -

Land of our Birth, we pledge to thee
Our love and toil in the years to be;
When we are grown and take our place
As men and women with our race.

Father in Heaven who lovest all,
Oh, help Thy children when they call;
That they may build from age to age
An undefiled heritage.

Teach us to bear the yoke in youth,
With steadfastness and careful truth;
That, in our time, Thy Grace may give
The Truth whereby the Nations live.

Teach us to rule ourselves alway,
Controlled and cleanly night and day;
That we may bring, if need arise,
No maimed or worthless sacrifice.

Teach us to look in all our ends
On Thee for judge, and not our friends;
That we, with Thee, may walk uncowed
By fear or favour of the crowd.

Teach us the Strength that cannot seek,
By deed or thought, to hurt the weak;
That, under Thee, we may possess
Man's strength to comfort man's distress.

Teach us Delight in simple things,
And Mirth that has no bitter springs;
Forgiveness free of evil done,
And Love to all men 'neath the sun!

If you have checked my profile, you know I do not have favorite books. I do have favorite Poems and Poets and Authors.

Rudyard Kipling (Born December 30, 1865, Died January 18, 1936) for one.

If you are interested in learning about Mr. Kipling and his work check out this site -http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/kipling_ind.html


The last stanza of this poem is a life creed I live by. What a world this could be if more people adopt and live that as truth. My next post is dedicated to this poem.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Going Home- Birthday Joy - I Will

I Like to Dance! Are you ready? Yeah!
A few days ago, my BFF from childhood celebrated a Birthday at a local night club here in the "Chi" and it was truly "Old Home Day." BFF and I were super close through high school and we remain close. She is my Sister from another Mother.

When I got the text that she was having a party in a night club I thought it was a joke. Really I did, because BFF is not the clubbing kind at all. I would be hard pressed to remember the last time we went out to a club together, if ever. Eventho' I'm no longer the party animal I once was; I had to go just to see it for myself.

Plus, I LOVE Birthdays!!! "Two most important days in your life are: the day you were born, and the day when you find out why." - Mark Twain

The two most important days in my life, were the day my Daughter was born and the day she gave birth to her son- Ultimate Joy! I know now this is why I was born.

The day you were born impresses me as the only real holiday in ones life. The one true celebration of life should be the celebration of your life, for without your life does any other day matter?

In New Orleans every reason and none were justification to put on a pot of something, crank up the tunes and pour out a lil' liquor. OK who am I kidding, a lot of liquor. Did I say every reason and no reason in NOLA we party? Death is reason to celebrate where I'm from. "Second Lines" would assemble at the church and dance your soul to the hereafter. Never mind the after party.

Want to see what a Second Line is? Click here This is the best way to celebrate a life in death.

But until my birthdays end, I want to party a little bit every day. I think everyone should bust a lil" shuffle everyday just like the tune below which plays every time a get a text or voicemail on my cell phone.

Put on some socks, go in the kitchen and shuffle baby.

Party Rock Click here Oooooooooo that's my jam!

If not to that one then...everybody on the floor and represent for the "dirty south" Cupid Shuffle or walk it by yo'self! I do!

As I walked into the club for BFF's Birthday bash the cupid shuffle was playing, I think it is always playing and almost immediately I was whisked away to the dance floor in my spiky slingback pumps. Joy! and Pain.

There were friends at the party I have not seen in years and thought I might never see again - Joy! We took a few pictures and reminisced about the good ol' days. It was good to see everyone and shake a tail feather.

I did not let the excuse of being tired or not wanting to get dressed stop me from going and I am so happy I went. It reminded me to keep dancing on the Joy list and get out a bit more. Until the next night out I can party a lil' bit everyday!

I will "bust a move" even if just in my car "dance driving", and be grateful for every birthday I get to share, mine or others.

I will have more Joy! I will, until I go home.