WHAT ALL YOUNG LADIES SHOULD HAVE AT THE TOP OF THEIR "LIST"

What All Young Ladies Should Have at the Top of Their "List"

MARRIED...BUT CELIBATE

Thanks to Shellie Warren & XXXChurch.com for the opportunity to contribute this piece. My prayer is that it helps someone...

Married...But Celibate

NIPPY NEWS

three days after the transitioning of whitney houston, the mere thought of it burns as intensely as it did on saturday evening when the first facebook update scrolled up the screen of my mac pro. the heartache...the heartbreak comes from deep within a place that always hoped she would come back a champion. she was sure to pull a george foreman before it was all over & at least sparkle once more; that's how eye envisioned it just days earlier as my daughter & i comparatively discussed whitney & dianna ross in the very context of what they will continue to mean to generations yet to come.

she was so many things, to so many people: daughter, mother, sister, aunt, godmother, friend, vocalist, actress, and so much more...a beacon of light shining in so many places all at once. it is evident from the various testimonies from her family and friends that she was well aware of the greatest love of all & did her best to display that love to them.

ultimately, that's what this life is all about. how. we. love. she may have not always made the best decisions; none of us do. she may have not always been in pleasant spirit; none of us are. she may have caused her fair share of hurt and pain to the people she loved the most; all of us have or will...eventually.

to hear loved ones speak of how spiritual she was exposes the roots of her very nature - spiritual, here on earth having a natural experience...a temporary experience, from which we all benefit. because of that spiritual connection, i feel like i lost someone i knew. she was like me or any of my girls, living a very real life in a very major way. yeah, she was on another level, but it's all relative...famous people are still just people. being in the industry numbs the star appeal once you start seeing celebrities in their own element & realizing that they too put their pants on one leg at a time. with whitney, it was beyond the star appeal for me, there was a like-spiritedness to which i & so many other around the world could relate.

*sigh*

the blessing in all of this has been the opportunity to celebrate her life both face-to-face & virtually with so many of those 'others'.

this last footage of her singing with kelly price has to be one of the most beautiful displays of love i have ever seen one sister express to another. so intimate. so genuine. sure, whitney's singing voice could be criticized, but that moment was so much bigger than her voice. eye believe that the most high was using that opportunity to remind us that ultimately & in the end, what matters most, is how we love.

period.

MAC MAMA

Besides the library, the MAC store is my favorite place to spend my free time. Currently posting from one of their iPads. I set all of the iPad screens to my website (orianalee.com) so that anyone who looks at it sees me first...Lol Baby hacker...

Steve Jobs: How to live before you die | Video on TED.com

Steve Jobs: How to live before you die | Video on TED.com

LIVE IN CONCERT

The band had been introduced, and the final bow had been taken, yet even after Sade Adu & her 9-piece touring bunch had left the stage, the house lights in the FedEx Forum had not come up. As if that wasn't an obvious sign that the show wasn't over (imagine the lawsuits that could come from releasing thousands of patrons into the darkness), rows began to flock for the stairs & exit signs, apparently unaware of "encore etiquette". I felt for those who were about to miss out on the big finale due to their haste, because as a seasoned concert-goer, I knew what it was, so I waited with baited eardrums, like my life depended on it. After about 5 minutes of screams & cheers, she reappeared in a sleek red nightgown, as the music of Cherish the Day quickly filled the air. I was in sensory overload at this point, and was floored that I hadn't even missed that jam in the main line-up. It was the perfect ending, to the perfect show, as she stood on top of a skyscraper prop that rose about 10 feet from the floor, smoothly singing Memphis a midnight lullaby. She was so great o stage that I almost forgot the show started half an hour late. Once she opened with Soldier of Love, I was on the front lines (or at least on the front of my seat) for the duration.

That was pretty much how the whole show went, one surprise stage screen after another; one wardrobe change after another (thinking there were 5-7); one hit after another. What can I really say about Sade's performance other than it was a phenomenal show! I previously heard a few personal opinions from attendees in other cities about how remarkable her performance was, but it was truly something to be experienced. That's exactly what it was: The Sade Experience. The only thing that I would have requested if I had the chance would have been for her to play the guitar live. Other than that, I'm satisfied beyond measure.

And guess what? Someone loved you enough to upload the encore to youtube, so now you can share it with me! I literally screamed when I found this! HAHAHAHA! My kids came running to my aid thinking something was wrong. Not this time though, I was screaming because finding this means things are just TOO right!


Enjoy!

SABBATH TEACHING (PART TWO)

As I was reading Psalm 119:35 (directed from my Jesus Calling devotional), I started thinking about the "commands" of YHWH. I went on to read the whole 119th chapter, and I was reminded about how our obedience is centered around the laws, decrees and commands of GOD, which led me to the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). I began to meditate on how keeping the Sabbath is such a tough law to keep in our society, but it was revealed to me that it is most important to keep as ones who call ourselves "holy", as the scripture says it is the day that the LORD blessed and made holy. Seems the Holy Spirit has been dealing with me a lot on this issue lately (see my last post), and again, the LORD has instructed me to share it with the masses.

Just as I would encourage you not to lie, steal or commit adultery, I'm encouraging you to pray about how valuing this commandment along with the others might further bless your life. Not only is it important, but lawful to "keep it Holy", meaning, refraining from work on that day and focusing only on rest and worship. It is evident how our GOD loves us tremendously to build us in a break (you know you need one), so we have to be sure we don't let the world take it from us, and that we especially don't take it from ourselves. If we continue to allow the world to dictate to us how we are to honor GOD, we will never receive all of the riches that have been promised to those who obey (Deuternomy 5:29; 6:17-19; 11:13-15). I do not want to be in the wilderness forever, I want to cross the Jordan and enter the Promised Land. Don't you?

Beyond The Ten Commandments, the following scriptures are the root sources of the Sabbath law:
Exodus 31:12-18
Exodus 35:1-3

Here's a link to a kids magazine that I love to use to teach kids about the Sabbath. As believers, we are to be like little children (Matthew 18:3), so I believe that we too can benefit from this information - it's simple and concise, with lots of scriptures to help us understand that it's all throughout the "Good Book":

SABBATH FACTS & FUN

KEY VERSES:
“Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2)

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)

“He said to them, ‘Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” (Deuteronomy 32:46-47)