I Made It!

Two-thousand twelve Anno Domini. It's been a very wild ride, but I made it

I've experienced ups and downs during these past twelve months. I've had extreme joy and bad bouts of depression. Business is booming one minute, then clients are scarce the next. Still, all was well and I made it.

It is by the Grace of God that I'm several hours removed from seeing a new year. He has brought me through, and as always, He has provided me with the victory. Yes, there were a series of unfortunate events in 2012. However, the victories and milestones far outweighed those negatives by a landslide.

Did I mention that I made it?

I'm not promising anything new for next year simply because I don't know what the next hour will bring, let alone the next 365 days. Still, I'm moving forward. I'm confidence that though I don't know what tomorrow holds, I do know Who holds tomorrow. That, my friends, is very reassuring.

...and Lord willing, I have every intention of making it this time next year.

From The Tree House In Bessemer, Alabama, I wish you and yours a very safe and happy New Year!

Jingle All The Way

Not meaning to sound Scrooge-like, but here it goes...

Many of you know how much money is at your disposal. If you're like me, you also know how next month may be looking like as well.

Having said that, I know we want to give our kids the latest gadgets and/or fashion item (i.e. footwear branded after a world famous retired athlete) this Christmas.  However, money is tight these days and while it's your business on how you utilize your funds these next several days, use some financial common sense.

It's kinda difficult to enjoy ketchup-covered sneakers in a cold, dark house.

A Big Mountain To Climb

This is my first time blogging in a long time.

Correction, it's been a long time since I've expressed my thought here on Blogger. The rest of the time I'm opening up on Facebook.

Right now I'm dealing with a major decision; I'm pondering on whether or not I should pursue a relationship with my newly discovered paternal sisters. I been in communications with the older one. I've know her for almost 30 years...even attended high school with her, yet did have any idea she was my sister.

The younger one, well, as of this writing she doesn't know she has an older brother. There's a reason why, but I won't get into any details at this time, if ever. My five closest friends know and that's that.

At first I was excited about it, but then bitterness and resentment overcame me. To this day I ask myself why wasn't I a part of my father's life. Why was I denied the opportunity to have interaction with my sisters growing up? I just have to accept what the songwriter says: “We'll understand it better, by and by”.

I can't blame my sisters for what happened in the past. I have to be an overcomer in all of this. I have to be able to get up, dust myself off and move on. Yeah, that sounds perfect on paper, but how will that pan out in practice? I reckon I have to ask the Lord for strength, courage and guidance on this particular journey, and then go from there.

Thanks for reading.

Whitney Houston: My Thoughts

Whitney Houston by Vectorportal

The world said goodbye to one of the greatest entertainers that ever graced the face of the earth. I not gonna into the demons she faced and whatnot; There's enough sites and news program that will have its fill of that for months.

I've noticed that you have several extremes in light of Whitney's passing:

On one side you have fans who have canonized her and will tear your head off if you dwell on the negative aspects of her life.

On the other side, you have those that are so heavenly -minded that they're no earthly good. They like to say if the fans promoted the name of the Lord as much as their public mourning of Ms. Houston, just imagine what could happen.

Finally, you have those that can be just flat-out harsh about her sad demise. Forgetting the fact that she was someone's wife, friend, cousin, sister, daughter and most importantly mother.

I will say this...

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;

Philippians 2:12 (New American Standard Bible)

With that said, I do not have a heaven or a hell to send Whitney to. I have my own salvation to work on to be concerned about anyone else's eternal destination. The best any of us can do is hope she settled her account with the Lord before she crossed over into eternity. In the meantime, let's pray for her daughter, mom and the rest of her loved ones.

  

2011: The Year In Review (Kinda)

I'm not going to sit here a type out a dissertation on what the year 2011 was to me. Truth be told, I suspect that this year, the few exceptions here and there, probably had the same impact on me as it did on everyone else.

The thing that stands out the most in my mind is the ending of two major friendships. One was an ex-girlfriend; while I truly have no regrets that we were no longer a couple, her friendship to me was truly invaluable. The other was another female acquaintance who sadly revealed her true colors over a major difference of an opinion. I have never been disappointed in a person in all my life.

The rest of 2011? Hmm...I truly don't know what to say. There's one thing that occurred recently that I will not publicly discuss that really put a damper on the earlier part of the holiday season. I will say that things seems to be moving in the right direction. Still, there's a lot that remains to be seen.

Other than that, I've had my usual high points and low points. Perhaps the only major milestone is that I started wearing prescription eye wear for the first time in my life. There were prospects of contract work along with full-time positions, but the talks latter on became just that...talks. Thankfully, the good out-weighted the bad by a considerably margin. In the overall analysis, I have no regrets and I thank the Lord for bringing me through and being better to me than what I truly deserve.

What does the year 2012 hold for Mike Walker? Heck, I dunno. I like I decided to do in the last quarter of 2011, I'm gonna go with the flow and not worry. I'm not gonna force things to work; if it was meant to be, something will happen. I'm gonna do what is required of me and whatever I cannot do, I will put it in the Lord's hands and go from there. It worked out good in 2011.

Here to the wonderful year that 2011 has been, and to the mysteries and challenges that await us in 2012.

Lord help us because we sho'nuff gonna need it.

Dream On, Part 1

I had the strangest dream...

I dreamed that not only it was Christmas Day, but we were celebrating the birthday of Brian Eldridge. He was here in my pad with his wife Dene' Donley Eldridge to participate in the festivities we were about to have. For some odd reason, were comparing the frames of our eyeglasses.

As I was going to my kitchen, I say Sister Mary Ella Proffitt from my former church walking around. I then decided to go to my living room to see the other guest and there were a lot of people there. I knew these were my friends, both online and off, but the only one I recognized was Monica Jones and she was holding a conversation with my Mom.

I went outside to see even more guests and I saw First Lady LaKindra Harkins and the Chairman of the Deacon Board Johnnie Proffitt, both from my former church home as well.

In any case, the get together went well and we apparently had a good time. The really odd thing was that my floor was leaking water, which in itself was covered in Cheerios.

My alarm went off. I really need to talk to the doctor about these meds.

You Agreed To The "Terms Of Service"

Allow me to begin by stating that I am in no way an apologist for Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook, or any other social network. With that said...

The above image involving Zuckerberg and Julian Assange inspired me to write this blog. I saw it posted on a non-connection's page on Facebook, and below it were many comments that were complaining about the sites privacy policies. They were also lamenting the fact that there were also some censorship issues in regards to Facebook.

Folks, I'm like this: If you don't like it, no one is forcing you to stay.

I am very much a supporter of freedom of speech, but sadly I feel there's a lot of individuals out there who truly do not where freedom of speech begins or ends. Web sites have certain guidelines we as users, especially of a popular free social network, have to to follow. Contrary to popular belief, we cannot do and say as we please on these sites. To put it in a simpler perspective: If you live in your own place and and you have guests, they have to follow your rules. If you are a guest at the home of someone else, you have to follow their rules.

What in the the hell makes this so darn complicated?

Look, there have been a lot people who have complained about Facebook's policies and such. The thing that befuddles me is that despite all of the discontent, they remain there with there membership account intact. No on putting a gun to their head or anything like that. They remain there for whatever reason(s) they have. I guess they're afraid they might miss out on juicy gossip, drama or something.