ClydeStyle

Blog

  • Determination is our strength; guess where it comes from?

    Determination is the firmness of purpose. Resoluteness. Whenever we see success, determination showed up first. To live life knowing where you’re supposed to go is a beautiful thing. It allows you to step with assurity and act expeditiously.

    Obviously, this state is not so easily attained. Many get paralyzed in their desires and crumble at the stress. When there is no “handout” in sight, can you get the job done alone? Ignorance, prejudice, stupidity, pressure, and focus are always against us. It’s a battle whether you have succeeded or failed we all will have these struggles.

    Then, our upbringing at times is a hindrance to our future because either someone loved us too much or not enough. Perverted things happened that affected our lives forever or we had a loved one missing which left an empty space in our hearts. We were bullied, discouraged, cheated, lied to, and hurt.

    Finally, we lacked the proper examples, we never saw someone else do what we desired to do and we lost our sense of well-being. It was as if there was a conspiracy set against us. But deep down in our souls is a glimmer of hope.

    Now hope is commonly used to mean a wish: its strength is the strength of the person’s desire. This would be fine if there had been no challenges or disappointments in your life. But in the Bible hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised and its strength is in His faithfulness. This means that you have a blessed assurance of trusting in God to bless your efforts according to his will.

    Watch how this works: This would mean that you would never trust a man, you would never even blame a man for his folly. Everything that would happen to you would be viewed as part of a grand scheme by God that ends in your benefit. Completely trusting God and living a life to please him is the greatest thing for a man. The Bible teaches us to seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. It then promises that everything else we need would be given to us.

    When you read about God’s people in scripture try counting all the rich people. Adam was rich — he was the only man on earth. Noah would have experienced this as well being the head of his household. Abraham and Isaac were rich. We literally saw Jacob obtain his wealth. Job and countless others lived extremely well and I believe they were blessed in this way because God saw their heart and knew that wealth would not ruin them.

    The point here is that determination begats success but believing in God begats determination. We come into this world being memorized by what we see. I want you to ignore what you see and live life knowing.

  • These three words: I got you!

    In these troubled times in which we live, there are three words other than I love you that bring healing to the soul, warmth to the heart, and comfort to the mind and that is the words: I got you!

    It’s so simple, yet very meaningful and like the phrase “I love you”, “I got you” has to be used only when you mean it! We are not talking just good intentions here folks. I got you should always be spoken with great confidence and an assurance by the user that heaven and earth will pass away but these words will linger.

    All good dads have this phrase locked and loaded for their families. There is nothing like the securer of the house giving the smackdown on trouble by letting the offspring know this phrase is for them.

    The love of a good mother begins with this phrase. Moms are known for making the impossible happen and coming through in a pinch! Even in the animal kingdom, the female of the species wears the phrase like a budget. Just try to take a lion cub from his mom.

    You can learn a lot about the character of a person by how careful they are with this phrase. This world needs many more people who can open up a can of “I got you” and produce a meal that heals.

    Honor the people in your life who live by this phase and if you find your present company lacking, just know that you deserve better!

  • We have problems we don’t want to be fixed

    Last month Tyre Nichols was funeralized in the usual fashion of a victim of police violence. Al Sharpton did the Eulogy. Various dignitaries spoke out against police violence including Vice President Kamala Harris. We always talk a good game when these things happen but history has shown that when a problem can easily be fixed and we don’t take the steps to correct the problem, then the truth is we don’t want to fix the problem.

    America rules the world in violence and in creating weapons for violence. One of the many lessons we should have learned from our civil war is that we were not mature enough and do not value life enough to use weapons. We should have learned that our nation is not stable and we will always turn these weapons against ourselves.

    When the drugs that our government poured into urban areas back in the 80s got out of hand (which was the plan), we created the war on drugs and we put many Black and Brown men in prison. Even though cocaine was heavily used in the suburbs by whites, they could possess 280 grams of cocaine and a Black person could have the same amount of crack cocaine (or any drug), and the person of color would automatically get 10 years in prison even if that was their first offense. The reason? Mandatory minimums. This is a rule by Congress to stop the trafficking of certain drugs in urban areas and a judge had no choice but to enforce the mandatory minimum.

    With guns and policing this principle of mandatory minimums would deter crimes if they are enforced. What if you were a gun owner and your son took one of your guns and shot up his school? If the gun owner would suffer a mandatory minimum of 10 years, I would bet his son would never get near his guns. Or what if the seller of the gun was held accountable? There would be no shortcuts in background checks then.

    What if police officers got mandatory minimums for lying on their reports? Ten years for falsified documents, 3 years for not turning on your body camera, and 5 years for witnessing any wrongdoing by an officer and not reporting it or intervening to stop it. Shooting an unarmed suspect when you should have used any number of non-lethal options like pepper spray, tasers, and nightsticks should be a mandatory 20 years. There would instantly be a great decrease in police shootings and school shootings if this plan was implemented.

    Of course, the best plan would be to get rid of handguns and automatic weapons for good. The police would not need to carry them and they could adopt the same plan Japan has. In 1989 they had their last mass shooting by banning weapons for civilians. Their police force carries no weapons but they all have been trained in martial arts. When will our government feel that we are too civilized for weapons?

      ,.

  • Still not a fan of Black history month

    Well, I couldn’t let February exit without mentioning something about the concept of Black history month. I just don’t understand the purpose of it.

    Black people are probably some of the most talented people on the planet and it seems that in everything they take part in they end up taking it over. This is not something to brag about, it’s just a fact. In the sciences, Black people have been behind some of the greatest innovations known to man. And in most cases, some white guy took the credit because Blacks were unable to hold patents. Research all the inventions Thomas Edison is credited for and when you do you will just call him a thief.

    In the medical field, Blacks have also dominated the industry starting with the first Black man to practice medicine in America. Dr. James McCune Smith was the first in 1837; Dr. Charles Drew changed blood transfusion storage; Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performed one of the first open heart surgeries and founded the first Black-owned hospital; inventor Otis Boykin improved the pacemaker; and everyone knows what Dr. Ben Carson did.

    Of course, in sports, there are way too many to name but the greatest boxers, basketball, football, baseball, soccer, tennis, track and field competitors and golfers are people of color. Before the NHL was formed Canada already had the Colored Hockey League (CHL) and many of the innovations in hockey came from that league.

    Cooking, business, construction, you name it, but throughout history, there has been a great fear coupled with the mistreatment of people of color. Exclusion, inequality, racism, and the like have been embarrassing to this country. So it seems to have a month to celebrate the contributions is a slap in the face.

    Some of the greatest movies, music, art, poetry, and entertainment have always come from people of color. Yet somehow in all of these fields, Black people have still not benefitted financially from being the best.

    It would be better to just not have a month to discuss any minority contributions. We should just compensate them properly for their contributions and move on!

  • Happiness is still two kinds of ice cream

    Are you happy??

    Well first let us define our terms because sometimes we confuse happiness with joy. Joy is a feeling of great pleasure and happiness and it’s based on a response to a known stimulus. Jesus is Lord of us all. That is a fact to all who believe and as long Jesus maintains his current position as both Lord and Christ, we will remain full of joy despite our current circumstances.

    Happiness is similar. It is a feeling or showing of pleasure or contentment toward a situation or circumstance. Both joy and happiness begin in your brain.

    Not to get too technical but Endorphins are created in your pituitary gland and hypothalamus, both located in the brain. Endorphins are a type of neurotransmitter, or messenger in your body. They attach to your brain’s reward centers (opioid receptors) and carry signals across your nervous system which tells the rest of your body you’re happy. Imaging studies suggest that the happiness response originates partly in the limbic cortex. Another area called the precuneus also plays a role.

    Dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin along with endorphins are the hormones that are responsible for our happiness. Dopamine is the main contributor as it is stimulated by compliments, good decisions and anything that makes you feel good.

    So a song or movie can change your mood or you can just decide to be happy or sad. You can choose to be angry or any of the emotions. Someone can commit an offense against you and instead of being angry, you can choose to be content. You don’t have to respond with anger — that’s just the first choice of your flesh when something happens but like a radio station in the car, you can choose another station when you don’t like the song.

    This process is a higher level of self-control which is possible to achieve. You would be teaching your body how to wait on you for the response instead of selecting the reaction for you. It takes practice but you can do it. One exercise I use to help me in this process is to practice the emotions often when there is no stimulus for them. I can be angry when I want to and I can be happy when I chose to as well and I can feel it in my body.

    The title of this blog simply means that happiness simply requires a cause to be. I keep a happy cause locked and loaded in my mind for when I need a different response to things — all facts, no fluff.

    Give it a try and see if we can make the world a happier place together!!!

  • New venture! Enjoy!

    https://open.spotify.com/show/3CXKjEMPAuFmArItXeMOZg

  • Oh boy, here comes another Valentine’s Day

    Don’t get me wrong — there is nothing wrong with the concept of Valentine’s Day. I mean how could celebrating your sweetie be a bad thing?

    Couples across the nation will celebrate this holiday having dinner, buying gifts, getting all dolled up to make this night special and to renew or refresh their relationship. So why do we need a holiday for that? We need a holiday to tell us not to fight and argue with each other? We need a holiday to tell us we should be nice and not take our partners for granted? We need a holiday to make up?

    Shouldn’t all of these things happen organically? The holiday means nothing if the behaviors and activities on that day don’t match the rest of the year. It’s a miserable life if you need a reminder to do these things. You’re living too fast! You need to set a new pace that allows you to enjoy the things in life that really matter.

    Happily married couples or mature dating partners don’t even celebrate the holiday because chances are they did whatever people celebrating the holiday did yesterday or last weekend. What they do is stay home and make jokes about all the couples out spending money, buying flowers that cost twice as much as they did last weekend, eating at expensive restaurants and making social media posts to prove their love to each other.

    Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye sang a song called “Ain’t nothing like the real thing”. It’s worth a listen not just because it’s a great song but it reminds us what it’s like to yearn for someone and truly be in love. It’s a reminder that life is like a vapor that appears for just a little while and then vanishes away.

    Valentine’s Day is a holiday for the folks that don’t have a good grasp on the concept of relationships. It’s for all the newbies who are still trying to figure it out because the faithful don’t celebrate it, they live it!

  • Resolution over already???

    It is not uncommon to have ended your resolutions prematurely. Most who make resolutions fail to see them through. They were made with good intentions I’m sure but either poor planning, lack of desire, or it was too difficult, we start them and it doesn’t take long to snap back into last year’s habits.

    Don’t beat yourself up about it. In most cases it really just means you must take smaller steps. No one’s humanity enjoys cold turkey resolutions. You have to start somewhere so that needs to be something easier to handle.

    Many people are seeking to lose weight and for many it is because of health problems or to avoid future problems. You know you need to lose weight but do you really want to? All resolutions look good on paper, but in your heart of hearts is that really what you want?

    If you are 40 and you have been big all of your life, how long do you think it will take to get small? Definitely not likely in a year because the discipline is not there. And without professional help and support network — forget it!

    The bigger question is what do you do now? Do you try again? Do you select something easier? Do you even have to have a resolution??

    Someone planted a seed which said that if you are not moving forward then there is something wrong with you. We are all supposed to strive to be the be person we can be — who said we had to do that?

    Maybe your resolution should be all about making your own decisions. You should decide what happiness is for you. You should decided what type of lifestyle you want and live it! It is when we are trying to change for other people is where it becomes problematic.

    Love yourself enough to make small changes in your life to improve your well-being but don’t become obsessed. How you look, your job status and your bank account should not be our measuring sticks! Our character, integrity and servant hood should be the standard of person we become.

    Children are looking at us and they will take on our trials and tribulations. They need to be taught what is right as defined by you (I mean they are your kids). You control their level of involvement with social media and the greed of this society. You can choose to be different and raise children that will be productive citizen and not self-absorbed mini me’s that struggle each year with resolutions because they think they are not enough. Balance is key!

  • There is nothing like a good. . .

    There is nothing like a good teacher. Our educational system has a lot to be desired especially when being compared to foreign countries we’re not even in the top 20.

    But a truly good teacher is hard to find. Good being defined as one who unconditionally treats the children as little sponges that can absorb anything. These teachers change lives, inspire kids and builds confidents. They make learning fun and they make no distinction between the children. They do everything possible to make sure no child is left behind and they keep our kids safe.

    There is nothing like a good first responder! Whether you needed a firefighter, police officer or a paramedic these folks are gamechangers. They jump in the middle of tribulation and trials without regard for their own well being. They are selfless. They will be there when you need them without bias or fear. These individuals make the uniforms mean something and they are a blessing in any community. My heart still hearts for the Evalde, TX children who could have used such warriors but couldn’t find any. God bless our first responders.

    There is nothing like a good pastor! Someone who will lay down his life for his sheep. One who gives the right counsel in the time of confusion, a strong word in the moment of doubt and is a comfort to those in fear. A good pastor always prays, hopes, loves and endures. He has studied his craft and doesn’t live a contradicting life. He smells like sheep! Thankful for the pastor!!

    There is nothing like a good parent! It’s not easy to make a home and there are many broken and dysfunctional families in America but God bless the parent that keeps his family safe, provides a decent living, loves unconditionally, demonstrates and develops character, integrity and faith among the children. A good parent knows what the child needs before the child does. They nurture, teach, provide comic relief and empowers their children. Good parents teach their kids not to be bullies, to respect themselves and others, to work and play hard and most importantly to know Jesus. The parent is responsible for maintaining the sacred bond and trust between the parent and child for as long as they live!

    And finally, there is nothing like a good neighbor!! One who shows themselves friendly. A person who is helpful, resourceful and positive. A good neighbor cultivates a relationship that benefits both parties and does things never expecting any credit for it. A good neighbor keeps and eye on their surroundings to make sure it’s safe for all and they know when to get involved and when not to. Good neighbors build strong neighborhoods and even elevates the property value! Long life the good neighbor!

    Hopefully this blog as got you thinking of other good people in your life that are making a difference and to remember to give them their flowers before they die. 2023 is a good year to begin showing gratitude for the wonderful people God has place in your life!

  • Be who you want to be

    In Proverbs 23:7, the bible tells us that we are who we think we are. It literally says as a man thinketh, so is he. This is a very easy going statement that makes it seem that if a person thought they were great, then they would be. Or if I believed I could be a millionaire I could be. There is one common denominator that decides how true the statement is and it’s our belief.

    So many people have thought less of themselves or lacked confidence because of the way they were raised, or what someone said or the disposition of their family.

    Some even buckle under pressure to be something or act a certain way or even live up to another person’s expectations.

    Futher, we live in a society where people do a lot of comparing and measuring each other. We are pitted against another in competition and no one really wants to work together. As a result our society suffers from low self-esteem, self-worth and insecurities.

    The bible makes it so simple that your heart actually holds the key of who you can be and if you can see it, then you can be it! If you can be an eyewitness to other people’s accomplishments it’s easier to see the possibilities within yourself.

    So, we are now in 2023 and we want to make changes. The changes don’t have to be believed by anyone else but you. Right smack in the center of your heart will this change take place. You may doubt in your mind and your family and friends my not even want to support your change, but your change is for you!

    Stand tall and believe in your heart that on some level you can do anything anyone else can do. Follow your heart and allow yourself to grow and learn the character and depth of the person you really are. Look around you and see all the possibilities others have done and believe it because you are next!