Ain’t Slowin Down…

It’s a Saturday night and as usual, I’m home in bed. I was on my way to a lovely sleep, but that was rudely disturbed by someone who has zero regard for anybody else’s rest other than her own…but that’s a blog for a NEVER time.

Typically I would be working on a school project right about now, but it’s Spring Break! Yeah…I should be in some tropical hotspot living it up or maximizing on some serious relaxation after the the quarter I had…right? Welp…no can do. Firstly, I already live in a tropical hotspot. Secondly, I really can’t relax too much because I have to prepare for April because stuff is about to get crunk. Thirdly (is that even a word?), living lavida loca (did i just date myself? oh wait…you already know my age) is out of  the question when you’re low on funds…temporarily.

So what am i gonna do during Spring Break? I still have my radio show…so I’ll be doing that.  Even though I can’t tutor my elementary kids because they’re on Spring Break too, that frees up a lot (and unfortunately no pay for me) of time for me to work on my presentation. I have a Broadcasting Club trip coming up next month. We’re going to Washington D.C. and I’m really excited about that. My professor asked me to do a 5 minute presentation on “How To Set Personal Goals”. That shouldn’t take too long to prepare. Then right after I come back from that trip, I have a conference in Hollywood (not California) where I’m one of the student speakers. So I’ll be working on my speech this week too.

Did I also mention that my new internship begins April 1st? Yeah…gotta mentally prepare for that. I’ll be interning at a production company. I think on the first day I’m suppose to be working with Terry Bradshaw…yup…NFL Hall of Famer…on a new show he’s working on. I can’t wait!

Seems like the pre-hectic has already started before April makes an appearance. So here’s what April will look like: Internship, taking Radio III course, tutoring, still doing my radio show (The Groove Room with Natasha Nicole…check it out!), trip to DC, speaking at a conference, working my home-based business (trying to earn some extra cash), and running my parents around when they need me. Whew! Jesus give me your strength cuz i’m gonna need it!

Staying busy is not an issue for me…I actually forgot I prayed about this. I tend to do that a lot…forget the conversations I have with God. Last year around this time, when I was working for Anthropologie, I told God, “I’m not doing anything other than working at a clothing store. I’m bored. I feel useless.” Well guess what…He answered. LOL But you know what? I’m grateful because even though I do get tired and sometimes overwhelmed to a point of tears, I’m having a blast. Tears are okay…it’s a cleansing mechanism. I cry it out, wipe my face and keep it steppin.

I had to start using my planner again to keep up with myself. It fills up pretty quickly at times, but it also keeps me on task. Time is going by so quickly. I have to remind myself to pause for a second and take it all in while i’m on this amazing journey. So much more to come! I can’t even imagine what’s around the corner. So far the surprises have been great and I like surprises…good ones anyway.

Celebrate Life!

I’m up earlier than I liked to be right now, but I guess this is what happens when you take a quick midnight trip to the loo and can’t go back to sleep…you add an entry to your blog.  *shrugs*

One year ago today I started this blog. It started on my 40th birthday. I wanted to do something different. However, if you’ve been following me, i’m sure you’ve noticed that this blog took a turn.  Ha! I hope you enjoy it anyway.  Usually when my birthday comes around, I take a “birthday trip” anywhere.  Last year I was in Columbus, OH celebrating my 40th birthday with my other family. Unfortunately, my celebration took a nose dive when I got a call from my niece that her Dad passed away. He was sick for quite some time and the Lord decided to put him to sleep.  How in the world do you celebrate after getting news like that??  It was a bitter sweet day to say the very least.  Throughout that day I found it hard to be my usual happy-go-lucky self.  Thank God I had a whole lot of love surrounding me that day and my family made sure that I still had a great 40th birthday…and I did.  It was a day mixed with tears and laughter.

I heavily contemplated writing anything at all about this. But I couldn’t start my FABULOUS 41st BIRTHDAY without first remembering my brother-in-law, Everette.  He was the coolest person I knew and I know that God personally designed him for my sister. She can be a handful   He loved his children dearly, he loved family, he was an awesome cook, always had a calming spirit, and can always make you laugh even when you’re mad.  Today, not only do I celebrate my life…I celebrate his life.  Right now…he sleeps until that loud trumpet will sound. (1Thessalonians 4:16-18) Can’t wait to see him again!

Death is inevitable for all of us. However, the beauty of this life is that we can CHOOSE to celebrate life every day…and not just on birthdays.  Yes…we’re human and remembering the loss of a family member or friend can bring about a sadness. It’s a common emotion. We also have the emotion of happiness where we can reflect on the wonderful and great memories about that person and how they’ve impacted our life in some way.  Thank God sadness isn’t the ONLY emotion we have. So today, CELEBRATE LIFE…if you’ve lost someone…CELEBRATE THEM…HONOR THEM BY CELEBRATING YOUR LIFE.  That’s what I’m gonna do! R.I.P. Ev! See ya later bruh! AND HAPPY  41ST BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!! xoxo

Never Have I Ever…

A while back, me and my friends would play this game called “The Penny Game”.  Here’s how it worked. We would all get lots and lots of pennies…each of us. So each would have a huge handful. Then we would sit in a circle around a hard surface table with enough space between each other, cut off the lights so that it’s pitch black in the room, and somebody would start with the statement, “Never have I ever…”. If that person says what they’ve “never” did, the person or persons who “have done” would drop a penny on the hard surface table. The fun part is you only hear the pennies dropping, but you don’t know who’s dropping the pennies. It’s a pretty fun game…you should try it. Beware though…because when you start playing this game and as the night grows later, the “Never have I ever” statements start to get pretty racey. LOL! I’m just sayin.

I was sitting in my room the other night just thinking about how my life has been playing out lately.  I realize that there has been a lot of “never have I ever” moments going on lately that I’m actually doing.  It’s been pretty exciting too! Never have I ever been an Entertainment News Correspondent, but I’m doing that. Never have I ever had my own radio show, but I’m doing that. Never have I ever been an MC for a program, but I did that. Never have I ever been asked to speak in front of a large group for a conference, but I’m about to do that in April…I mean the list just keeps growing.  And you what else? I’ve notice as these opportunities have been presenting themselves, I’m excepting them WITHOUT fear. I think that’s awesome!

Here’s the thing, I believe God has been opening these doors for me.  I know I keep talking about Him, but I can’t help myself, He’s the reason why I’m even here and He’s the one who has been guiding my feet on this adventurous path that I’ve been on. I love that because I’m NOT a boring or dull chick…ha! He made me that way. Anyhoooo…getting back to what I was originally trying to say…I don’t embrace these opportunities with fear anymore because I know He has my back.  Also, I know that he has prepared me to take on these challenges and tasks and while I’m doing it, it’s also preparing me for more “never have I ever” stuff. Make sense???  If He’s opening these doors…why should I be afraid? He’s prepared me and He gives me the strength and the know-how to pull it off. Now I do get a little nervous because I want to do my best…and that’s normal. However, once I start…I GO ALL IN! That’s the Master at work in me! Ha!

I always believe that life is meant to be enjoyed, but I also believe that each of us has a purpose. Each of us are on assignment. So whenever you are presented with an opportunity, thank God for it because it is a blessing, but please know that it’s not just about you. God might have personally selected you to make an impact on somebody out there…and that’s what glorifies Him.

So if you and your friends decide to play “The Pennies Game” and somebody says, “Never have I ever helped a child bring their math scores up and boost their confidence”, or “Never have I ever played a part in building a home for a needy family,” or “Never have I ever spoken at a conference and helped influence a stranger to make the right decision about something they were struggling with”…you can drop your pennies and think to yourself…”hmph! I’ve done that or that happened in my life.”

Woke Up With This On My Mind…

There are some mornings when I wake up with a song in my head. Usually it’s a gospel song. This morning I woke up with one of my FAVORITE songs on my mind. The song is called “Sovereign God” sung by Maurette Brown Clark. The Lyrics go a little something like this:

There aren’t even words to describe just how great You are
In all Your majesty
You continually
Provide for me
There just isn’t anything that You can’t do
Lord I’ve seen Your work before
So I’ll trust you all the more
Because You are

You are the sovereign God
Bigger than all my problems
And every situation
There is nothing too hard
For the sovereign God

A wave of Your hand can command the seas to hold their peace
If you can handle the seas
Then I know that You can deal with all my needs
So I will put every situation
Into Your capable hands
I don’t have to know the plan
Because You are

You are the sovereign God
Bigger than all my problems
And every situation
There is nothing too hard
For the sovereign God

He is able to do exceedingly abundantly
Above all we ask or think
So take all your burdens and lay them at His feet
And watch Him meet the need
We have the victory
Because You are

You are the sovereign God
Bigger than all my problems
And every situation
There is nothing too hard
For the sovereign God

He is sovereign, He is
He is sovereign, He is
(repeat sequence 3 times, inverting each time up to one octave…)

You are the sovereign God
Bigger than all my problems
And every situation
There is nothing too hard
For the sovereign God

Whenever I hear this song, I just can’t hold back my tears because there is sooooooo much truth in this song for me. I’m crying NOT because I’m sad, but because my heart is bursting with joy…particular now.

If you read my previous blog (go ahead and read it if you haven’t), my Daddy was in the hospital for some complications. He’s 89 years old. My Daddy is no average 89 year old man and although nurses and doctors kept marvelling at how strong he was and couldn’t wrap their brain around how he was progressing so well and so quickly, I knew that it was my Sovereign God at work.

My Daddy was in the hospital since December 24, 2012. He was released into rehab about a week ago and TODAY he comes home! TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!! TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!! So you see these are the reasons for my tears…tears of joy…this early in the morning. When I think about the lyrics to this song that I woke with on my mind…

There is nothing too hard for the Sovereign God. A wave of His hand can command the seas to hold their peace. If God can handle the seas, then I KNOW he can handle my needs. When I left to go to Atlanta knowing that my Daddy was in the hospital, I had to trust that the Sovereign God was gonna take care of Him. The funny thing is I thought Daddy would have been out by the time I came back. Ha! He was still in there. I have this really bad habit of thinking that I know what God’s next move will be. Ridiculous…right? When you put your trust in God, you have to put your trust in Him ALLL THE WAY…even when you don’t know what the next move will be. There’s a verse in the song that says, “So I will put every situation, Into Your capable hands, I don’t have to know the plan, Because You are”…that’s just it. When you say you’re gonna trust Him…that means “you don’t have to know the plan”…He is God after all.

When I came back from Atlanta and went to the hospital to see my Daddy…he looked worse than when I left him Christmas Eve. I broke down in a puddle of tears. After a reminder of who was ultimately in charge…I thought about that part of the song, “I don’t have to know the plan”. That’s when my “Beast Mode Faith” kicked in.

I’m so thankful to God for what He did for my Daddy. He has the blue print for his body, so who else could fix him. Through the doctors, nurses, respiratory specialists, physical therapists…God was in that room with him, showing him compassion, strengthening him, making the decisions, guiding the hands of the surgeons, taking care of him. He was there. He was there.

Everytime God does something amazing, He just adds more testimonies to the rolodex in my head that I can refer to whenever i forget to put my complete trust in Him. Oooooooh…I’m so overwhelmed with joy and gratefulness right now! There is NOTHING too hard for my Sovereign God. He is in control of EVERYTHING! He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all we can ask or think!

MY DADDY COMES HOME TODAY!!! TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

BEAST MODE FAITH!

Happy New Year! Yeah I know we’re like in the 3rd week of January, but I had to say it because I haven’t posted since last year. Hehehe

The last two weeks of 2012 for me have been a mixture of great times and a little challenging too. Months prior to December, I made plans to spend Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Atlanta, GA. It was a trip of both business and pleasure. Christmas Eve brought an unwelcoming surprise. My father was experiencing severe abdominal pains. Now for anybody who knows my Dad, he has never been a sickly man and not one to complain about anything…even pain. But when he came to me and said he was in a lot of pain, I immediately put on my clothes and drove him to the emergency room. We were both confident that it was probably something minor like gas or whatever, but that emergency room visit turned into a night observation. I stayed with my Dad and wishing I could take the pain away. I wanted to cancel my plans to go to Atlanta and I would have…if it was just a pleasure trip, but it wasn’t. I really needed to get some business handled that could not be postponed any longer. I tried to move my flight to a later flight, but Spirit Airlines and those ridiculous fees would have left me penniless. So I prayed and asked God to take care of my Daddy. I trusted Him, left my Dad, went home to gather my things and headed to the airport.

I had a wonderful time in Atlanta spending time with my brother and his family, spending time with friends that I love and adore, and I even got my business handled. Through it all I saw God’s hand moving and even in those moments when I began to feel guilty for having fun knowing that my Dad was still in the hospital, God nudged me and said, “No you don’t! Don’t worry. I’m taking care of him just like I promised.”

When I came back home on New Year’s Day, I went home and rested a little and then got up to go see my Dad anticipating that he would possibly be released, but when I saw him my heart sank. He had all kinds of tubes coming out of his body and the one tube we both hate the most is the NG tube (very painful going in and coming out). When i walked in I greeted him with my big smile and stepped out for a moment to cry. I felt so helpless. One of my friends, Byron, sent me a text at that moment and said, “This is God’s problem to handle. Give it to Him. Pray and have faith that He will do what’s best. Period. Have worship and Praise God for His goodness. I’m not joking.” So I wiped my face and I did exactly what he said. I went back into the room with my Dad, I praised God, sang and worshipped. I promise you…after that…my faith took off into beast mode!

My Dad ended up having 3 surgeries in the span of 4 days. He went through a lot, but I made sure everytime he saw me, he saw my smile. Every time he heard my voice, there was joy in it. Every time I whispered in his ear, it was a reminder of who was in charge…our Almighty God.

The night of January 8th, I was experiencing some severe abdominal pain. A pain that was all too familiar from my past. I’ve had intestinal issues since I was an infant and have had 3 major surgeries in my 40 years of living…all because of my tricky intestines. I got scared because I knew the pain all too well and in my mind that meant more surgery which I just had 3 years prior for the same thing…my intestines/bowel obstruction. The pain was too much for me so I called my brother Steve to come get me. We tried some alternative procedures, but the pain was not letting up so we got in the car and headed to emergency…a different hospital from my Dad though.

Here’s what was crazy…Broward General Hospital (ironically where I was born) is ALWAYS packed in the emergency room. But there was only 2 people in there. I was registered and was seen less than 10 minutes. Unheard of…trust me. One nurse attendant came to treat me asked us, “How do you guys get through so quickly?” We told him there were only 3 people in the emgergency room. He said, “Are you sure??? There were tons of people in there. It has been a crazy busy night for us!” Brother and I just looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders.

They took a catscan and when the tests came back…sure enough it was my intestines again. I broke down in tears because I didn’t want to be cut open again and I DIDN’T WANT THAT DREADED NG TUBE IN MY NOSE AND DOWN MY THROAT! IT. IS. PAINFUL! After I came to grips with what was going to happen with the tube, I took my brother’s hand and my faith went into beast mode again. They admitted me and God has been handling EVERYTHING since. I’m still in the hospital right now. They found some other stuff for Him to take care, but I’m not worried…I haven’t been really. God worked it out so that I didn’t need to have surgery again. You see, my intestines were twisted and inflammation was everywhere, but GOD! LOLOL!!! The doctor said the inflammation went down and my intestines untwisted itself. Ha!!! They were also concerned about my kidneys because they found a huge fibroid. I can actually feel that fibroid as I’m typing this blog. Tests came back and the doctor said my kidneys are doing just fine, but they wanna keep an eye on me concerning the largeness of the fibroid so it won’t cause damage to my kidneys. I am not worried about a doggone thing. I know my God will take care of that fibroid too.

I’m happy that all of this happened…even the things going on with my Dad because I was taken to a place of faith where I can say I’ve never been before. It took me to a place of trust in God that I have never been before. Don’t get me wrong…the pain I experienced sucked and seeing my father in that hospital bed had my head spinning, but once I locked my mind and heart into the assurance that God was handling EVERYTHING…I was good. I am good. Daddy is good.

I don’t know who’s reading this. You maybe someone who is not a believer in God or this might be a boost for a believer in God. I can’t force you to take what I’m saying is truth or fact or whatever…I just know that God is amazing and whatever He decides to do from here on in even if I don’t understand it right away…He has shown me in so many ways that I can trust him with my life and the life of those I love the most.

Whether you are a believe or not…I hope this encourages you. Peace and blessings!

An Unusual Surprise

This year, I’ve had some pretty cool surprises. However, the one that really caught me off guard actually took place at work. I work part time at an elementary school as a 5th grade tutor. I signed up to be a reading tutor, but somehow I end up tutoring math. I HATE MATH. That’s not the surprise though. For years, I was pretty certain that I didn’t like being around kids. Although, I’m with these kids M-F for a few hours a day, I find myself looking forward to hanging out with these “crumb snatchers”. LOL…yeah…that’s the surprise. Some of them really tap dance on my last nerve, and some even make me down right angry. But I get angry at some of them when they won’t try their best or when they’re disrespectful to their 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Lancaster. That woman loves them sooooooo much and she is the bomb at math. I wish I had her as my math teacher when I was coming up. Maybe I would have had a better math experience.

God has a really quirky sense of humor when He’s answering my prayers. I’ve been praying for patience and he’s using these kids…some of them a down right pain in my ars…as tools to help me with my patience. Example…there’s a kid named Jorden…he’s sitting next to me right now as I type this…HE HAS ADHD!!! Really God??? But you know what?  I love Jorden! That kid is ridiculously smart and he makes me laugh so hard (on the inside) and we share a great appreciation for Fat Albert and the Gang. That’s my buddy. I just need to help him stay focused. Pray for him though…I don’t know how he’s gonna make in middle school. He really has a hard time staying focused.

Yeah. I like being around these kids. I think about doing fun and creative things with them and for them all the time. Whenever I have a few dollars left, I bring them donuts or snacks, but only if their not acting crazy. I refuse to reward bad behavior.

Tomorrow is their last day at school, then they go on Christmas break. God-willing, I’ll see them next year. What they don’t know is that I’m going to surprise them with a pizza party. Yeah. They’ll like that.  

October 28, 2013…Early Voting!

This guy was one of the many who bombarded me on my way to the polls.

I woke up this morning and thought, “Hmmmm…what a nice day for a stroll to the polls.” I grabbed my “Produced by Faith” book, my sweater because it’s starting to get cooler here, and had my iPhone in tow for my musical pleasure. I anticipated that I would have been standing in a long line since my mom warned me that there would be one according to the morning news.

It was a nice walk. I took my time even spent most of it talking to my girlfriend Gwen on the phone. Once I got to my destination, volunteers directed me to the front of the building. I was wondering where everybody was because it looked like nothing was happening. I followed the directions of the blue-haired volunteer and as soon as I turned the corner to where I needed to be, BOOM! IT WAS THE PAPARAZZI(see the guy in the photo)…EXCEPT THEY DIDN’T HAVE CAMERAS…THEY HAD FLYERS, PAMPHLETS, POSTCARDS, YOU NAME IT! ALL RUSHING AT ME TELLING ME WHO TO VOTE FOR! I WAS LIKE…WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON???

What was even more annoying about that horrible intrusion was the deception of who was Democrat and who was Republican.  One person would hand me a list of names telling me they were all Democrats and then I walked about another five feet and somebody else would tell me those names were actually Republicans and then hand a new list of names proclaiming Democrats.  I had enough! All I wanted to do was get inside and cast my vote. That’s all!

I went inside and I was a little worried because although I was registered to vote in Florida, I still had my Georgia driver’s license (i love my GA driver’s license…best pic EVER!). Thankfully…it wasn’t a problem and I moved right along to my polling station. The line was short and moved smoothly and quickly. Funny though how after I got to my post, I looked behind and a mass a people showed up out of nowhere. Ha!

Immediately I got down to business and filled in my bubble for the presidency. As I scrolled down the ballot and casted my vote regarding other issues, I had an overwhelming feeling that I wasn’t just voting for myself. I felt like I was voting for my mom who is a senior citizen but is not a citizen of the United States. I voted for my brother who is incarcerated and does not have the right to vote. I felt like I voted for so many people that I know for whatever reason are not a registered voter. It felt like a HUGE responsibility.

Welp…I’ve done what I was suppose to do and now I wait with the rest of the country to find out who will be in charge for the next 4 years.

 

Young Republicans and Democrats…by default

5th grade students viewed a recap of the presidential debate via CNN Student News.

I’m a part time 5th grade reading tutor/teacher’s assistant at an elementary school. I saw something very interesting today at work. I was grading papers and the teacher called everyone’s attention to the front. So I stopped what I was doing and decided to check this video that she was setting up. On the projector I saw CNN Students News. Of course, I really got interested since I’m a Broadcasting major. I thought the kids were going to see students/interns doing their thing at CNN, but I saw something instead. It was actually coverage from last night presidential debate between President Barak Obama and Governor Mitt Romney.

The enthusiast news person highlighted some of the topics they covered and even showed some clips from last night’s debate. I’m thinking, “Do these kids know what’s really going on besides America trying to decide who will be our President for the next four years?” We’re a few minutes into the video and I’m scanning the room for glazed over faces of boredom and random doodling at their desks, but all 21 pairs of eyes were glued to that screen up front. Here’s what really got my attention though. As the clips are shown, one guy would come up on the screen and I heard some cheers and even saw some fist pumps. Then the other guy would pop on the screen talking and I saw thumbs down and even heard, “LIAR!” I thought, “Wow. Now that sounds familiar, but among kids???”

Biases are easily formed especially among children. However, in a situation like this, I really hope these kids are asking questions at home and getting the facts…I hope. I think it’s wonderful that they are interested in the political process. But what I saw today seemed to be mimicking of what they see and hear at home. Would it be too much to explain to them what’s really going on without overwhelming them? I mean afterall, they are in the process of learning about colonies and which wars formed America.

One of the kids asked me who I’m going to vote for and at first I was going to keep it to myself, but I told him and he gave me a 5th grader approved nod and fist pump to match. His classmate sitting next to him just kinda shrugged his shoulders.

Oh well…isht happens!

Hey guys! Yeah yeah yeah…I know I was suppose to be doing this daily Q&A blog, but I’ve totally fallen off. Truth is…the more I asked people to pose for a photo after answering my question, the hard it got for them to say yes. Doing this type of blog became uninteresting for me eventually. Hey! I’m a sanguine (look it up…it’s one of the 4 quadraints of the brain and sanguine is my primary quadraint) I get bored quickly. I’ve even had a couple of you ask, “Hey Tash! What happened to your blog? I miss it.” I attempted to start it up again, but…

So there it is. The purpose was to prove to myself that I can start something and see it through to the end. Maybe I failed at this one thing, but I’m not a failure. I’ve learnd it depends on what it is that i’m working on determines whether I finish to the end. You know? Maybe I should have started this blog by posting once a week or once a month or just whenever the mood hit me. I swallowed waaaaay more than I could chew with this little project. *shrugs*

Q56. Who would play you in a movie about your life? Is it a good movie?

“My name is Renata. I would say Jennifer Beals. Yes! I think number one…that is a very good question because I’m a professional actress myself. And two…I think Jennifer is a great person who is fun and free-spirited and she loves photography! She is just a good human being. So I think that represents me well…I hope. LOL! Yeah. She’s had a lot of fun in her life and we’re pretty similar. It would be a good movie. LOL!”