Source: Check Your Fruit!
Guess it does not matter anymore . . .
I remember in the 90s when then President Bill Clinton had charges brought against him for perjury and obstruction of Justice because Congress was attempting to impeach him. The real reason behind the impeachment was the sexual harassment charges filed against Clinton by Ms. Paula Jones.
Old boy Bill had been a bit naughty on more than one occasion and the Republicans went ballistic! The party used the morality argument saying how could a man run the country if he could not manage his home?
Evangelicals pounded their chests, pointed fingers and threw Holy scriptures at the Clintons. The First Lady did not get much support as she attempted to pick up the pieces of their broken relationship. Rev. Jessie Jackson reached out to help the couple and despite the president’s success, hanging was too good for him.
This just shows that family values were to be honored in this country and it mattered for the highest position in the free world that whoever stepped in those shoes could tow a moral line.
I have no problem with that, in fact I applaud the effort and at this level we should expect a higher standard of morality from our leaders. Say what you want about the current president, but the Obamas were very strong in this area.
In the history of the US presidency there has only been one divorcee and that was Ronald Reagan. Two presidents were widowers and married while in office and one president was single.
Donald Trump is on his third marriage and has a blended family. He has had as many wives as he has had bankruptcies and people still believe he is a successful business man and his marriages have never come up.
I assume this is where our country is now. We no longer care about family and the purity of marriage. If you have money in this country, you really can do whatever you want because the gatekeepers are sellouts!
The Clintons or Trumps should have never been allowed to run for office. In the 80s and earlier I don’t believe they would have been eligible because of their moral issues.
I appreciate the Bush family for the standard they set for family and all the other presidents who sought to set the example this way. The soul of America is sinful and the spirit is ignorant. It won’t be long before this body is destroyed.
BUT I guess it really doesn’t matter anymore ….
Calm before the storm
It has been a while since I have posted a blog because I have been busy promoting my first book and writing my second, but with 21 days left before election day I felt it necessary to give a few words about candidates.
We are witnessing the last month’s of the Obama era and I remember how I felt in 2008 when we were about to vote for the presidency and I had the opportunity for the first time in my life to vote for a president that looked like me. For the first time I could see a new connection with the democratic process and I thought that for the first time there was a place for me in America.
I actually felt like a pilgrim up until this point. Well, after 8 years and failed expectations that I had for the first Black president, I learned more about government processes than I cared to know. I learned more about my friends (or so-called friends) and more about my enemies. I learned more about why America was in the position it is in and I learned that our political parties are too self serving to do well for the masses.
I want a candidate who takes responsibility for the allegiance to our flag that we speak and who values every person called an American regardless of their color, creed or nationality.
I want a candidate that fears God and believes that accountability is to him first instead of interest groups.
I want a candidate who will end the war against people of color and bring together all sides. I need a person who will stop allowing companies to profit off the demise of others. I want a candidate who will end our involvement in all wars.
Dear reader ask yourself if you would like to be treated the way Black people are treated in this country? Ask yourself would you like to be treated like Hispanics are treated in this country? Or better, ask yourself would you like to be treated like we treat women in this country?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t believe we have ever had a candidate that cared about or could do anything about these things. We have never had a president that made these issues priority with any success and sadly, it will not happen this time either. It has been said that a revolution is coming. Are you ready for that?
Happy Election Day!
We were robbed!
Happy New Year!
This is the time for reflection and change in our lives and hopefully life’s lessons have taught us well enough that we are heeding the call and understanding what we must do to be better. By heeding the call I mean you are actually listening to your inner reflections on your past and adjusting accordingly.
It seems that for some of us our inner voice is “spot on” with reality and helps us out greatly in our decision making. Then there are others who’s inner voice is wounded and we need a little help to make sure what is said is correct and not detrimental to us.
This is all important because we live among thieves. Thieves are all over the place and we all have a little thievery in us. We all don’t loot or rob people at gunpoint, but what I mean is we steal another persons time, energy and space. We rob people of their joy and happiness and we steal ideas and concepts, friends and lovers and items of clothing like there is no tomorrow. It’s hard to be angry with someone when at some level you are doing the same thing. However, as we mature our thievery should subside. We should not be as taxing on our friends and families and we should be more giving with our own resources.
So when you evaluate the people in your life, this tends to be a common denominator when deciding who should stay and who should go. As we get older it becomes more difficult to deal with theft. So we excomunicate them from our lives.
To help you with this task of elimination, I submit four categories of thieves. The first is called commensalism and these are the thieves that are like suckerfish who ride along with the shark to grab his leftovers. These fish do not bother the Shark, but they exist and thrive because of the shark. These would be your family, particularly your kids (17 and under) and older parents. There is such an obligation to help this bunch that this really becomes a labor of love. In addtion, you may have brothers or sisters in Christ who you have helped them get out of foolishness in the past and since they continue to get better, you continue to help them progress in anyway you can. This group will burn a lot of your energy but the results are priceless.
The next group is parasitism and these are the folks are flat out selfish. Family is not excluded from this category. These folks do almost everything at your expense. It is their consistent selfish behavior that makes them so toxic that you have to decide how much more you can take. With this group, over 90 percent is them taking from you. It is even possible for you to be in denial of this and allow them to continue.
The next group I refer to as spitefulism. I may have invented this word but the meaning is real. This is when two people are together and their brain’s pleasure center allows them to be so taxing on eachother that both are suffering from the interaction. I have seen these couples in counseling. They have come to me and neither party wants to give up anything. This proves that some people should have never hooked up. How do you stay in a relationship where both people are miserable and neither wants to get help. This behavior leds to eventual self-distruction.
The final group is mutualism and this is exactly what it sounds like: Both parties benefit from eachother. In this relation you don’t mind giving so that there is no thievery. This can be with a spouse, sibling or friend.
So now you have been blessed to see another year. The longer we live, the better life should get. If life is not getting better, this is the first indicator that something is wrong. Choose this day who will be in your life. Part of our free will is having the choice to chose our circles. Choose wisely my friend. Because although there is not a precise measure of your stress to life ratio, what is certain is that stress is killing you. Not only is stress killing you, but there are already people plotting for your stuff.
Happy birthday to me
Today I turn 49 years old. It is hard to believe that when I was 16 years old I did not think I would make it to age 30. It was because there were gangs in Detroit and Black males between the ages of 18 and 34 were killing each other or going to jail.
So, I made it…and some. I have learned so much between the ages of 16 and 32 and now 32 to 49 I believe that I have arrived in a few areas and I would like to share.
First, I am thoroughly convinced that I am overall a good person and I love me unconditionally. I make mistakes, I am flawed, I still carry a level of inmaturity and I’m OK with all of that. I love being me and I would not trade that for the world.
Second, I do not have or own anything that I am not willing to part with. Understand what I am saying, all material things serve as my enjoyment, but I can give them up in a heartbeat. Furthermore, my “status” in life does not define me. I am a pastor, author, business owner, psychotherapist and family man and if it all ended today it would be well with my soul. The reason is because I understand that all of these things came with an expiration date. If my bible study is correct, my real treasure is in heaven.
The last thing I will share is that I am most proud of this truth: I am my own man. I am free to do as I please and I chose to serve Jesus the Christ. I understand that whatever I set my mind to do, I can do it. I am not loyal to any earthly group and my belief and ideas are not shared or pressured with a common interest. I am a driver. I make things happen and I fix things. I have many items available to help in my tool belt and I am an agent of change. I am a healer.
So as I celebrate the day of my birth, I thank all who thought to give me a shout or post something on social media. I am praying for continued growth, health and strength but most importantly that I can always live with the person I see in the mirror. Thank you God that I am not a sellout and I understand that I have been purchased already and my soul is not for sale. More on this in 364 days!
Finally
After more than 5 years of blogging I have finally reached the title of author. Although I have been a published journalist for years and I have a published dissertation floating around out there, my passion for helping others and my desire to glorify God have come together to produce this book.
The title: The Sincere Milk of the Word, Volume 1, I shall not be moved: A study of fear was placed on my heart in 2006 when I started Clydestyle Services Group. I always knew that I would be the type of psychotherapist who would mix theory with scriptures to help my clients. I have been apart of much healing and I am grateful for that. If God be willing I will have three additional books published in 2016 including a book on grief and Volume 2 of my current book.
The cover of the book was created by two very talented people. My cousin Marcus Mayberry — who is the best tattoo artist in Michigan — did the original artwork from a dream I had. He captured it perfectly! Then my personal graphic designer, Maggie Young, brought it to life. I shared the dream with her but never gave her the colors of the book. Believe it or not she matched the colors of the book from my dream on her own. I am extreme blessed to have each of them in my life.
The following is a segment of the introduction from the book which will explain a bit more of what this book is about. Preorders are continuing and today through Nov. 15th you can purchase the book for $12. Just go to http://www.clydestyle.org and click on “my book” tab and follow the paypal instructions. The official release date is Nov. 24th and there are several release parties scheduled. There will be more information about that forthcoming. Thank you all for your support.
A taste of the Prologue:
. . . This book is not meant to be a personal account per say as it is a spiritual journey with common sense application that has eternal benefits. I hope that is not vague. This is not a textbook, a dissertation for scholars or some exegetical discourse. These are the words of an unworthy guy, in an unlikely occasion, with the opportunity to magnify the Lord. If after reading this book you feel closer to God, then mission accomplished. If it causes you to evaluate some areas of your life where you have struggled then I just hit a homerun. And if it makes you smile, cry, shout and/or change for the better, then I present that as my evidence that God’s hand guided this work.
. . . This book is written for regular people who are searching. It is written for the person that has been made to feel less than. It is written for the person who occasionally experiences some suicidal ideation or just simply feels they are buckling from the weight of life. There is hope in this book. There are clear biblical principles presented here that should make your spiritual walk easier. You will feel that you understand your purpose in God’s plan and how to go about executing that plan.
. . . Many could not put two scriptures together and make sense and although they were acquainted with Christ (basically had followed Mark 16:16), they had no depth or second teaching to learn how a life in Christ works. So, without being taught they began to do and learn God based on Hollywood’s version. Movies taught them about God and fairytales were their application — and it was not working for them. So, instead of living this life like the child of the King they lived in fear — spiritual paupers left defenseless against their own vices.
This book will correct this scenario and put you on the path of righteousness.
