Passion 2011

 Good day all, 

So i'm very excited because i will be going to an awesome conference called "Passion 2011" come Friday. The conference will be at Atlanta from Jan 1st until Jan 4th. There are lot of amazing speakers and artists that will be there. Most notably, John Piper and Lecrae. Anyone who knows me or followed my old blog, knows how i seriously feel about Lecrae's music, they would also know my thoughts on John Piper. In 2010, my top three non-personal Christian role models were Shane Claiborne, Lecrae and  John Piper. I met Shane Claiborne last year in Urbana, but have never been to a Lecrae concert or listened to John Piper speak live(even though i have kinda tried). I registered to go to Passion 2011 with my church about a week ago, but this week i found out that both Lecrae and John Piper would be there. Words can not explain how excited i am. Those two people are only a small part of why i am so excited.  

• My old blog's name came from a lecrae song called: Go hard(one of my many theme song), check out articles i wrote on Lecrae click HERE

• To learn more about Passion 2011, click HERE

• To see articles i wrote on John Piper on my old blog, click HERE

Have a blessed day. Chizzy D and Happy New Years

My Hair Inspirations

 Good day all, 

Featured are a couple of my 2011 hair inspirations.  I have added a natural hair tab on the top of this page that features all types of beautiful natural hair, so check it out.

 Have a blessed day, Chizzy :D

Enjoy some Christmas Joy

Merry Christmas guys,

Enjoy this beautiful flashmob!!








Have a blessed day. Chizzy D

Understanding how food works: Documentaries

 Good day,
Here is a list of some interesting films that will help explain the way Food works in the United States. You will be shocked what you see, maybe not. You may think these films are exaggerating things, take it from me, they are not. I interned TWICE with a very major food company, the company is mentioned in some of these films. I also have classmates that interned with some of the other companies.

Documentaries on Food

• Food Inc. (Trailer)

• Ripe for change

• The Future of food

Have a blessed day. Chizzy :D

Stop killing yourself: Understand how food works in America

Good day all,
You may not realize it, but what you put in your mouth plays a huge role in your physical, mental, and emotional health. More and more people in the United States are starting to understand how the food in our local grocery stores is killing us. About four years ago, i started questioning what goes into my body, where it comes from, and the ACTUAL effect it has on my body. As a result, I started by only eating Organic foods, which lasted about a year. My health got alot better, i got sick less that year. About a year and a half later, i became a vegetarian(who ate seafood). Then months later i became a Vegan pescetarian. I was that until this summer in Asia, i was forced to go back to being a vegetarian because of the environment that i was in. When i was a Vegan pescetarian i was the healthiest i had ever been in my life. I didn't get sick that year, which is rare. My skin was VERY clear and i felt healthier.


 After returning from Asia i thought it would be easy to return to my Vegan pescetarian ways, but it wasn't at all. I tried but kept failing. This battle was harder than when i decided to stop eating MEAT seriously. During the month of November, i failed miserably. It was the final weeks of school and went bad food crazy, i mean cake like every other day, cookies, chips, soft drinks(keep in mind i hadn't eaten these types of food in years.) The only thing i didn't do was eat meat. I think it was the stress of school that made me go crazy.  My face is broken out like crazy, i got sick multiple times in the last six months, and i don't feel healthy at all, forget the fact that i have gain about 15 Ibs. 
Bad food in this country is like struggling with SIN, it keeps tempting you and alot of the time it wins. Sad. Good news though, just like sin, if you pray and have a plan in place, you can be victorious when temptation does (and it will) shows its ugly face.
I am not waiting until New year's to start being healthy again, i feel awful, i started this week.

To people outside the states, do whatever possible to avoid American food.

*More on healthy living later* If you have an questions, let me know.


I think this can only be seen in the United States, if you live here and cherish your life, watch the documentary below.




Definitions:
Vegetarianism is the practice of following a plant-based diet including fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, nuts, and seeds, with or without dairy products and eggs. A vegetarian does not eat meat, including: red meat, game, poultry, fish, crustacea, shellfish, and products of animal slaughter such as animal-derived gelatin and rennet.^[1][2] There are a number of vegetarian diets. A lacto-vegetarian diet includes dairy products but excludes eggs, an ovo-vegetarian diet includes eggs but not dairy products, and a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products. A vegan diet excludes all animal products, including dairy products, eggs, and honey. Vegetarianism may be adopted for ethical, health, environmental, religious, political, cultural, aesthetic, economic, or other reasons.
Semi-vegetarian diets consist largely of vegetarian foods, but may include fish and sometimes poultry, as well as dairy products and eggs. With these diets, the word "meat" is often defined as only mammalian flesh.^[3][4] A pescetarian diet, for example, includes "fish but no meat".^[5] The colloquial application of the word "vegetarian" to such diets has led vegetarian groups, such as the Vegetarian Society, to clarify that such fish or poultry-based diets are not vegetarian, due to the fact that fish and birds are animals.^[6]

Have a blessed day. Chizzy ;D

Mold me Lord

The Potter's Hand

 Verse:
Beautiful Lord, Wonderful Saviour
I know for sure, all of my days are held in your hands, crafted
into your perfect plan
You gently call me into your presence guiding me by Your Holy Spirit
Teach me dear Lord to live all of my life through Your eyes
I'm captured by Your holy calling
Set me apart, I know you're drawing me to yourself
Lead me Lord I pray

Chorus:
Take me, Mold me, use me, fill me
I give my life to the Potter's hand
Call me, guide me, lead me, walk beside me
I give my life to the Potter's hand

You gently call me into your presence guiding me by your Holy Spirit
Teach me dear Lord to live all of my life through your eyes
I'm captured by your Holy calling
set me apart, I know your drawing me to yourself
lead me Lord I pray









Have a blessed day. Chizzy D

Rest, relax, and spend quality time with those you love

Good day all,

 During this holiday season: Rest, relax, and spend quality time with those you love.
 (Keyword here being Quality)

Merry Birth-of-Jesus-Christ yall :)

Have a blessed day. Chizzy D

Wanna play?

Good day to you,

So i have graduated!!! 

Praaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssseeeeeee the loooord!!!!! Thank you Jesus.
I am in the middle of moving from one city to an other. I barely have internet, but that will change after i move. I look forward to catching up with everyone's blogs.

Prayer request:

I have recently been presented an opportunity to practice forgiving and I'm soooo not feeling it, pray for me as do that.
In the meantime, enjoy the games below. I can't even get past level one in the first game.
What was your highest score? P.s. the meat and eggs need to be place on fryer first before the sandwich.
 **Let me know if the games below doesn't work in your country.

*** update: i finally got to level two, but can't complete it. I'm #35 on the global wall of fame list..ya me..my goal is to beat out as many Asian people(they dominate this game) as possible, maybe be top 20...ehh? Tell me how far you get, i'll be checking the top scores.
**** update again: Made it to level three..WHAT!!!....i'm now #18(as of12/17/2010) on the wall of fame...WOW...top ten anyone?...
im pretty sure this type of entertainment is too immature for most, what can i say, i'm a big kid. :)

Play more time management games!



Have a blessed day. Chizzy ;D

Crunch Time

 
 Good day all, 

I will be taking a break from blogging for the next couple of weeks. Why? Because it is the last two weeks of school for me and i need to focus. I will not be blogging or reading other blogs. See you later :)



Have a blessed week. Chizzy D

How to forgive

The bible  commands us to forgive because Christ has forgiven us. Forgiving is much easier said than done as we all know. I read this article by: Leo Babauta from www.zenhabits.net and wanted to share it with you all. I hope it helps. 


Take it away Leo----------------->
We’ve all been hurt by another person at some time or another — we were treated badly, trust was broken, hearts were hurt.
And while this pain is normal, sometimes that pain lingers for too long. We relive the pain over and over, and have a hard time letting go.
This causes problems. It not only causes us to be unhappy, but can strain or ruin relationships, distract us from work and family and other important things, make us reluctant to open up to new things and people. We get trapped in a cycle of anger and hurt, and miss out on the beauty of life as it happens.
We need to learn to let go. We need to be able to forgive, so we can move on and be happy.

This is something I learned the hard way — after years of holding onto anger at a loved one that stemmed from my childhood and teen-age years, I finally let go of this anger (about 8 years ago or so). I forgave, and not only has it improved my relationship with this loved one tremendously, it has also helped me to be happier.
Forgiveness can change your life.
Forgiveness does not mean you erase the past, or forget what has happened. It doesn’t even mean the other person will change his behavior — you cannot control that. All it means is that you are letting go of the anger and pain, and moving on to a better place.
It’s not easy. But you can learn to do it.
If you’re holding onto pain, reliving it, and can’t let go and forgive, read on for some things I’ve learned.
1. Commit to letting go. You aren’t going to do it in a second or maybe not even in a day. It can take time to get over something. So commit to changing, because you recognize that the pain is hurting you.
2. Think about the pros and cons. What problems does this pain cause you? Does it affect your relationship with this person? With others? Does it affect work or family? Does it stop you from pursuing your dreams, or becoming a better person? Does it cause you unhappiness? Think of all these problems, and realize you need to change. Then think of the benefits of forgiveness — how it will make you happier, free you from the past and the pain, improve things with your relationships and life in general.
3. Realize you have a choice. You cannot control the actions of others, and shouldn’t try. But you can control not only your actions, but your thoughts. You can stop reliving the hurt, and can choose to move on. You have this power. You just need to learn how to exercise it.
4. Empathize. Try this: put yourself in that person’s shoes. Try to understand why the person did what he did. Start from the assumption that the person isn’t a bad person, but just did something wrong. What could he have been thinking, what could have happened to him in the past to make him do what he did? What could he have felt as he did it, and what did he feel afterward? How does he feel now? You aren’t saying what he did is right, but are instead trying to understand and empathize.
5. Understand your responsibility. Try to figure out how you could have been partially responsible for what happened. What could you have done to prevent it, and how can you prevent it from happening next time? This isn’t to say you’re taking all the blame, or taking responsibility away from the other person, but to realize that we are not victims but participants in life.
6. Focus on the present. Now that you’ve reflected on the past, realize that the past is over. It isn’t happening anymore, except in your mind. And that causes problems — unhappiness and stress. Instead, bring your focus back to the present moment. What are you doing now? What joy can you find in what is happening right now? Find the joy in life now, as it happens, and stop reliving the past. Btw, you will inevitably start thinking about the past, but just acknowledge that, and gently bring yourself back to the present moment.
7. Allow peace to enter your life. As you focus on the present, try focusing on your breathing. Imagine each breath going out is the pain and the past, being released from your body and mind. And imagine each breath coming in is peace, entering you and filling you up. Release the pain and the past. Let peace enter your life. And go forward, thinking no longer of the past, but of peace and the present.
8. Feel compassion. Finally, forgive the person and realize that in forgiveness, you are allowing yourself to be happy and move on. Feel empathy for the person and wish happiness on them. Let love for them, and life in general, grow in your heart. It may take time, but if you’re stuck on this point, repeat some of the ones above until you can get here.
Have a blessed day. Chizzy ;D

Black Friday

As most of you know, today is Thanksgiving Day here in the United States of America, sooo Happy Thanksgiving to my folks in the states. I'm grateful for so many things. The lord has blessed me in so many ways. As much as i love thanksgiving day, i love the day after thanksgiving even more,    "BLACK FRIDAY " it's called.
Now for the readers that have no idea what i'm talking about, exhibit A--------------------------->
Seriously that's what major stores look like from 4am until about 11am on Friday morning.

 what is black Friday you say:

Black Friday is the discount shopping day that follows American Thanksgiving, which is always on a Thursday. Retailers promote Black Friday as the day to start shopping for Christmas. Black Friday is often advertised with "Christmas Sales" as well as "Thanksgiving Sales."
The word "black" in Black Friday refers to the term "in the black" meaning making a profit. Today, Black Friday is not a crucial source of profit to retailers, but is important in driving traffic into stores. Many retailers mail special Black Friday circulars to consumers, announcing deeply discounted items in the hopes that consumers will visit their store on Black Friday. 

 Why do i love Black Friday: 
The women in my family take this day seriously(not really)..lol...its not really even about getting things really cheap(by the way walmart is selling a laptop for $198 on Friday, if you want it make sure you go stand in line at 6pm tonight, stores open at 5am tomorrow), its kinda of a family tradition. We love standing in line in the cold 8 hrs before a store opens, out running folks when the door does open, grabbing a item right before the person behind you does, and running as fast as we can back to the car to go to the next store. I guess you can say it's kind of a sport for us. Now this shopping day is not for normal people. Other options for my normal folks is shopping online on friday or going to stores after 10am(by then the crazies are very tired and want to go home and sleep).

Tips for shopping on Black Friday
Click -----^
 I don't plan on buying anything tomorrow, i'll just be going to look, observe, and maybe take pics. 





Have a blessed day, Chizzy ;D

Make your own hair and body moisturizer **very easy**

The hair moisturizer that i use is incredibility easy to make. Everything involved is natural and simple. Perfect for every hair type.

Benefits of olive oil:

Scalp & Hair

Vitamin E, polyphenols and powerful antioxidants

Improves overall scalp and hair health

Restores, Protects, and Softens 

Soothes Dryness

Absorbs easily/deeply

Deeply conditions

Restores elasticity

Helps prevent dandruff

Reduces synthetic product buildup and pollutants

Good for scalp rashes, eczema, psoriasis and allergies

What you need:

So, basically what  you do is:

• Get some olive oil 
• Mix it with your favorite essential oil or light perfume (my favorite is Eucalyptus )
• put it in a bottle of your choice and shake it so that it mixes well
•  soooo ummmm, yep that's it :)

I was using store bought olive oil hair moisturizers(which had weird ingredients) for months until i realized that i could make my own.


TIP: Make sure you take the time to smell different essential oils, so that you pick out something you like.


Tip: You don't have to add essential oils to olive oil, you can use it just like that. I don't like the smell of olive oil, so i mask the smell with essential oil.

You can also use this as body oil during dry(winter) months..add a heavier scent to the olive oil.

Do you make any of the products you use, if so please SHARE!!!

Have an awesome day, Chizzy :D

Umm death..Are you ready for it?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29175012@N03/

So I've been thinking about death alot since returning from Asia this summer, i'm not sure why. Maybe it has something to do with my experiences in Asia or a combination of other things. Either way, like i said in an earlier post, "We have all been diagnosed with a terminal illness(called: our bodies will fail us one day illness) so why not decide today to make sure everyday is not wasted." 

Most of us walk around pretending that death is something that only happens to others. Why do we do that? Now i'm not saying that we should go around thinking about death 24/7. I'm simply saying that it's important that we realize that this earth is not our home and any day, any minute, any second, we will disappear.



 Listen to this very passionate piece from p4cm.



Have a blessed day. Chizzy D

The story of Black women's hair and the Revolution that i see happening

More and more i am seeing black women chop of their relaxed hair and REPRESENT the hair God gave them. Now i'm not in any way bashing or demeaning my sisters with relaxed hair (the hair wars are stupid), i'm just loving that natural hair is becoming more accepted and mainstream. The night of my high school graduation, i chopped off All my hair...like there was no strand of hair on my head. When i started University there was only about 3 black girls on campus that rocked their natural hair, today about 20% of gals on campus are rocking natural hair and i am sooooo loving it. When i first went natural there was no youtube help, natural blog/vlog or any of these awesome tools that are around today, my only source of education was fotki.com (photosharing site) and nappurality.com(natural hair forum)
Five years and six months natural and i can say with no doubt that a relaxer will NEVER touch my head again.




Have a blessed day. Chizzy D

Josephine Baker: A very interesting Life

Although i had heard of this women before, it was not until this last Friday that i fully got to understand this woman's story. Although i disagree with some things she did, she truly inspires me and I felt empowered researching and learning about this women. She did all that in the 1920's, seriously lady?

Have a blessed day. Chizzy D

Simpify your Life Tip #1: Edit your wardrobe

Good day,
I will be giving tips to simplifying ones life.  Today's tip comes from Zenhabits.net, awesome site by the way. This is something that i will be working on comes late December.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/renolauren/

Take it away zenhabits.net---->
Take a look at your closet — is it stuffed full of clothes you don’t wear? Do you have trouble picking out what to wear in the morning? Are there clothes you don’t fit, don’t like, or can’t wear because they are stained or torn? How about your clothes drawers? Overstuffed?
If so, your wardrobe may be in need of editing. Let’s be honest: most of us are in this category. And even though I’ve greatly simplified my clothing needs, every six months or so, I need to go through my closet to see if there’s stuff in here I no longer wear. I pull out a bunch of things and put them in a bag for donation. My closet is simpler, and my mind is more at ease.
To edit your wardrobe, here are some simple steps:

• Pull out all the clothes from your closet. Put them on your bed. Now go through this pile, one item at a time, deciding what stays and what goes. Follow these rules:
  1. If you haven’t worn an item in months, put it in the donate pile. There’s a reason you don’t wear that item — you’re probably not going to wear it again for a long while, if ever.
  2. If you no longer fit an item, donate it. Yes, you plan to lose 10 pounds to fit into that outfit. Well, when you do, go to the thrift shop and get some better-fitting items. Until then, they’re taking up space in your closet.
  3. If an item is stained or torn beyond repair, donate it. If you can repair it, put it in a bag and take it to be sewn tomorrow (or do it yourself). If that bag sits in your house or car for more than a week, you’ll probably never do it, so donate it or toss it. For myself, I often keep stained or torn clothing, if I really love an item, but I only wear it around the house. I save the good clothes for company. :)
  4. If an item is out of style or doesn’t match anything else you own, consider donating it. OK, if you really love it and still wear it, go ahead and keep it. Butterfly bell-bottoms? You’re still cool.
  5. When in doubt, put it in a storage container, label it with today’s date, and put it out of sight for a few months. If you ever really want to wear it, it’s still there. But if you open it in a few months, and you never needed it, donate it.
  6. For seasonal clothes, such as winter or summer clothing, put it in a container and label it. When the season comes, break out that container. No use keeping it in your closet the whole year round. Where I live, there’s always tropical goodness year round, so this isn’t an issue.
• If you still have a lot of clothes left, consider the following:
  1. Keep clothes that are of the same color scheme, and toss the rest. This way, everything matches, and you don’t have to worry about what goes with your chartreuse blouse. Neutral colors like tan and white are great, with some color tossed in. I avoid bright colors, especially those that bleed in the wash. I don’t like to worry about that.
  2. Keep clothes that are simple in design, and can be paired with anything. Jeans are a great example (not the kinds with bells and whistles, the simple kinds). You can put just about any shirt with jeans, and you’re good to go. Shoot for this kind of philosophy. Don’t have pants or a skirt that can only go with one or two other items. Be able to mix and match with ease and without some kind of complicated chart.
  3. Make comfort a priority. Looks are important, but comfort is more important. You want to be at ease in whatever you wear, so keep that in the forefront as you edit your clothing.
• Hang the clothes back in the closet nicely, in some order. Pairing by color is nice, and has an especially nice effect if you use the same color hangers. If you have fewer clothes, they look much nicer in the closet.
• Repeat this process with your clothes drawers. Throw out the torn underwear and stained socks. Once you weed out a lot of the stuff, fold them neatly and put them back in your drawers nicely. Again, fewer clothes look much nicer in your drawers.
• Edit your wardrobe every 6 months or so. It’s best if you refrain from buying too many more unnecessary clothes, but I know some of you are shopaholics, and even the rest of us accumulate stuff over time. Make this a regular event, and you’ll keep your wardrobe nice and simple.

Personally, I simplified my wardrobe years ago. In fact, new employers know that I dress very simply, usually wearing jeans or slacks with a T-shirt or polo shirt and sandals or Docs. I’m a simple guy, and if my employer doesn’t like it, they don’t have to hire me. I feel my talents are more than worth any casualness. And when I need to dress up, I do have some button-down shirts and ties for emergencies, but I’m not comfortable in them on a daily basis.
I still need to edit my wardrobe, though, on a regular basis. I know when it’s time when it’s hard to find stuff, and when I look through my closet and find lots of stuff I rarely wear.
Simplify your wardrobe, and your life will be much simpler and stress-free. It’s wonderful. Give it a try!

Choices, Lack of choices, whats next?

 Good day, 
Welcome to my new blog, I'm glad your here, look forward to your contribution.

Sooooo....So much is going on in my life. I will be graduating this December by the grace of God. I have applied for sooooo many jobs and have been interviewing for jobs as well. This process is alot harder than i thought it would be. I always thought i would get a job in my field easily because in the past semesters, students(in my field) that had resumes that looked like mine got plenty of job offers. I am now REALLY aware of how bad the US economy is. 

I have no idea where i will be, or what i will be doing come January. At first this really scared me, then i got a tad depressed cause being rejected over and over is kind of a self-esteem blow. Now i'm at the point where i see this situation as a blessing because it is forcing me to depend on Christ alone. 

Last week on Friday,  ridiculousness happened that had me messed up for some days. Twin sisters (International students from India) that were my exact age and were also set to graduate this December with Masters degrees in Chemistry, got in an accident coming back from an Indian wedding. A car hit them from the back. One of them died that night in the hospital and the other twin woke up a couple of days later to realized that she is paralyzed from the shoulders down. They have not told her that her twin is dead. I started envisioning the accident over and over in my head and what the family may be going through for many day. A couple of days ago, I realized what i was doing was not healthy and decided to pray for the family every time my mind wanted to replay the events.


That situation reminds me of a banner i have on the left side of this page that reads: "Dream as if you'll live forever, Live as if you'll die today."
Here's my remixed version of that quote: " We have all been diagnosed with a terminal illness(called: our bodies will fail one day illness) so why not decide today to make sure everyday is not wasted. Application: " Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands i have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."Matthew 28:19-20

 Pray request: That God's will(not my will) be done come January.


Question: Have you been at point where you did not know the next step? What did you do?


Have an awesome day my friend,

Chizzy D

Post #1

Hello world, this is my first post on this blog, just testing things out. :)