What’s Tameeka Listening To?

This is my last What’s Tameeka Listening to post of 2016. I will say this over and over again I love music!!!! When it comes to mainstream music  I enjoy very few songs. My playlist has a lot of old school music in it. I was having a conversation today  and  I was thinking about how  most times my favorite songs by an artist usually isn’t one of their biggest hits. When  I listen to an album I listen to the entire thing not just the big hit. I’ll give an example my two favorite songs by Prince are Money Doesn’t Matter 2 Night and Adore. Most people favorite song by George Micheal is Careless Whisper but my favorite song is Praying for time. Speaking of Prince and George Micheal they will be missed  I can’t believe that they are gone. There were many musicians who passed away this year David Bowie, Phife Dawg, Joey Feek, Maurice White, Natalie Cole, Merle Haggard, Frank Sinatra Jr., Paul Kantner and Glenn Frey to name a few. Life is short get right with Christ, forgive and love.

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Vanity

45th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards - Concerts On Fremont - Day 2

Joey Feek Country Singer

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Maurice White

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Phife Dawg

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David Bowie

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George Michael

Photo of PRINCE

Prince

These people were some incredibly amazing artist; they will definitely be missed.

Blessing Our Food

One of the things that I am most proud of is how my boys have a relationship with Christ. We pray together, and we take our time when we connect with Christ. 4G lightning speed is great, but that doesn’t apply to grace. I don’t care how hungry you are taking your time and show God his proper respect. We have food to eat; therefore, we are blessed.

Where does grace come from? Well, I will tell you blessing food is a tradition that most Christians follow. Jesus Christ gave thanks and blessed the food at the last supper (Mark 14:22-25).

22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.

23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.

24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

25 Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

Every time my sons and I place food into our mouths, we give thanks.  Father God, thank You for always making a way when there seems to be no way at all. Some people aren’t able to eat. Thank You for allowing us to be able to. Please help my sons and me to never take anything for granted.

Spiritual Maturity

I will not and do not pretend that  I have it all together; however, I will say that I am a woman who has learned from her mistakes. One of the biggest mistakes that  I have done in the past is allowing my emotions to control me. Too many times we live off of our feelings when we live from off of our feelings, we don’t make wise choices. Spiritual maturity is knowing how to manage our emotions and not allowing them to control us. It’s good to have feelings they help us to be able to relate to others we can empathize and have compassion, but we can’t allow our feelings to lead us the wrong way. There can be no spiritual growth as long as we follow our feelings; we have to know what feels wrong but choose to do what is right.

The enemy mission is to kill, steal, and destroy the one thing he wants the most is to kill our faith; he tries to do this during times of trouble. How we respond to the enemy attacks is to not act like him but act like Christ. I speak about marriage a whole lot; it’s a covenant that was created by God; marriage is one of the best examples of commitment. Marriage is a beautiful thing, especially when it has God as the foundation. So many marriages end in divorce because people go into it with unrealistic ideas of what marriage is. A word of advice if you are standing in front of the pastor exchanging vows with the thought of if this doesn’t work then. Do Not Get Married!!! Divorce should not be an option if a marriage encounters problems. Unions have problems sometimes  I don’t care how great it is at times. The vows have for better or worse, let’s focused on both words because they are both critical. When people first get married, everything is new, but after a while, it will wear off commitment is suppose to step in, it takes a marriage to a deeper level which is more substantial.

I want a husband that is committed to me once the excitement and newness wear off. I want a husband who loves Christ more than I do, is loyal, faithful, sincere, a leader, and is more stringent than the toughest times that we encounter. Commitment is strength and not giving up just because things don’t feel right anymore. An excellent marriage strength is in its commitment and not just feelings alone; it’s a sign of real victory!! Remember a marriage will lose its newness like a brand new car but you will still keep the car, right? Total commitment is staying committed to the very end.

I’ve come along way, and  I have been through a lot, but I thank God for all of it. Every day I commit to putting on love, kindness, and patience regardless of the situation or how I feel. People have disappointed me, betrayed me, let me down, and hurt me even after  I have been helpful to them. I feel sorry for people who are always angry; it’s a sign that they are operating off of emotions alone, and that is never good. Regardless of how people treat me, I am still going to do things on purpose like loving those who have hurt me and pray for them. Hurt people hurt others healed people heal others; I am whole!! I am always counting the cost of every move that  I make, and I am walking in love too. Thankful so much for becoming strong spiritually off of the Word of God.

Colossians 3:14

And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

My Greatest Gifts

Merry Christmas to Everyone!!!

I’m not crying the blues; however, being a single parent is tough; that’s a reality. All  I want like most single parents is for my parenting skills to have the effects of a two parent home. I love my two sons with everything that  I have. When  I write papers in class, I always speak of how the ultimate gift of parenting is how your children turn out and how they choose to raise their children like how they were raised.

This year  I was blessed to be able to give my sons some great gifts still  I was going to talk like  I always do with my youngest son about Christmas. As  I have shared, my youngest has autism, so things have to be repeated a lot until he grasps it. I walked in the bedroom with my youngest, and he goes to Jesus the reason for the season. The tears just started to stream down my face even with his disability; he understands what Christmas is what an awesome gift that was for me to receive. I want to thank God every day I pray for the best for my sons; one of the things that  I want them to have the most is for them to have a relationship with Christ. I have instilled into my children that without Christ, we are nothing so never leave Him out of anything. It’s not Happy Holidays, Xmas; it’s Merry Christmas always, Christ is to be kept in everything always. When we allow God to lead our paths, we can’t go wrong, and things can only go right.

The second gift that  I received was a letter from my oldest son he wrote:

I love you mom

Merry Christmas mom your love is more powerful than a nuclear bomb. You’re better than the rest. You are a fighter and a great provider. You are so smart. You get A’s on your school work, and I am proud to call you my mom. I pray that you have lots of success because you deserve it. Merry Christmas mom I love you very much!

I want to thank Christ for all that He has done and what He continues to do. God is the reason why I made it this far in life and with raising my sons.

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Do Nice Guys Finish Last?

Recently I watched a video and the guy was saying that nice guys always finishes last that mean guys get the beautiful girls. Immediately it got me to thinking about last according to whom? Who’s race was he watching? We all have hopes, dreams and wants I get it. But we cannot get caught up in man’s race. If we look at others as competition and try to keep up with what they are doing then of course you will come in last. When we try to race in someone’s else race we will always finish last in someone else’s race; it’s not our race.

I don’t know about man’s race but  I know that God keeps His promises every last one of them. God does not lie because He can’t lie!!! God’s timing is perfect. It’s okay to glance at other people’s blessings as an inspiration only not as a competition. Everything that God does is incredible especially His blessings. If we stare at other people’s blessings like driving on the road staring at another car we will miss our turn. If we keep our eyes on the road that God has destined for us only we can win. No one can finish last in their own race. Being in competition with others is very unhealthy anyway we need to focus on the road that God has already mapped out for us individually.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 – To every [thing there is] a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

 

A Letter To My Boaz

The Book of Ruth has been a blessing in my life. It made me want to be the best wife that I could be when God feels that  I am ready. I want to live according to His will. On my journey, things will come along as a distraction to get me to miss my blessings. To me, the most significant sign of maturity of a person’s walk is admitting to their faults and learning from them. When I got married ,God wasn’t in it, a marriage cannot survive without God being the foundation. God wasn’t in it but who knows what God can do. Everyone wants marriage but not the responsibilities that come with it.

Another thing this doesn’t apply to me but a good man wants a good woman of good quality. It’s not a good thing to be posting distasteful photos on the internet remember:

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Back on topic, I learned that sometimes gaining something you may have to lose something. I also learned that if you have a relationship with Christ, there will be less tough lessons to learn because you will be in tune with His voice. Christ is hope with Him in our lives; we will always make the right choice.

To my future Boaz:

I want to thank God

For making you just for me

A faith, loyal, praying

Man of God

Even though we both have

Encountered tough times

God allowed us to survive

We learned what we wanted

Wasn’t what we needed

That when God isn’t in our lives

There’s more of a chance of

Us not doing what’s right

You need to know that  I value you

Already without even meeting you

Yet

I respect you

My Boaz with Ephesians five standards

I trust your leadership

Because  I trust God first

I want to pray with you

Read the Bible with you

Worship and fellowship

With you

If you have children

They are included too

Understand that there is no we or us

If everything or everyone that we love

Isn’t involved

I want to be a problem solver

Not a trouble maker

I want to ease your pain

And not cause it

I don’t care about material things

They come and go

Besides the Bible says that when

A man finds a wife he finds a good

Thing and will receive favor from

The Lord

So until the day, we come together

I want  you to know that

I am working on being awesome for

God and you

I want you to be my Boaz

And  I want to be your Ruth

I love the Book of Ruth

Ruth 2:4  And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee.thee.6

Wedding Rings

I truly believe that healed people heal others; that’s why  I don’t mind discussing events that have taken place in my life; I pray that it helps someone else. Think about the Bible; everyone in it had some sort of battle that they all overcame with God’s help, of course. God wanted us to see ordinary people tackle everyday problems with the help of an extraordinary God!

Back on topic, it seems like every channel I watch is promoting commercials about wedding rings, it’s Christmas, which is the time when most people get engaged. A wedding ring though it is a small piece of jewelry it’s meaning is very significant. A wedding ring is worn on the fourth finger on the left hand because it was believed that the vein in the fourth finger ran directly to the heart. It’s sad that some people don’t take wearing their wedding rings seriously, which is the reason marriage end it’s not taken seriously. Marriage is a covenant and not a contract; God intended it to last for a lifetime. A marriage can only survive on the foundation that is Christ-based, loving freely, and unconditionally committing. Marriage is not something that we pick and choose to do when we want to. I wish that  I knew these things years ago. I sure hope that this help someone somewhere.

So marry the person who you can’t see yourself without. Marry the person who is your best friend. Marry the person who regardless of who comes along your love, reminds strong.  Marry the one who you can’t stop thinking about or talking to. Marry the one who makes you better and even when you don’t feel your best; they treat you like you are. Marry the one that even if the ring came from a bubble machine, they would wear it proudly.

Wear your wedding ring always it’s not about the value of it but about the person whom you are married to for they are priceless.

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Genesis 2:24

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Last Month of the Year

My, My, My this year sure went by really fast. The year 2017 will be here before we all know it. I have to say that  I am pretty content with the way my year went. I’m very thankful for the things that happened and the things that didn’t. I am thankful for the people who came, went, and the ones who stayed it was all apart of God’s plan. There have been situations that have gotten me to think about what took place throughout my life. I’m taking a new course called Intercultural Competence it’s fascinating so far in the class we had to write about an experience in our lives that impacted us. The life experience that came to mind immediately was being a single parent. I am so thankful for having a relationship with Christ if it wasn’t for Him, not sure what my life would be like.

When  I think of single parenting, I reflect on the way  I was raised. I grew up in a single parent home for a short period which is sadly the norm in the African American community. I’m used to getting slammed for my views; however, I don’t care someone has to speak about it. I have numbers to back up what  I say African Americans are a minority yet 57.6% of fathers are absent from the home 31.2% of Hispanic fathers are absent from the home, and 20.7 white fathers are absent it’s a cold situation. Something has to be done; I am not sure exactly I have three sisters, and every one of us is single moms; it’s worth thinking about. I care about the children my mother was blessed to have someone special to come along; unfortunately, not everyone is. I would like to see a positive outcome, not sure how it will happen all  I know is God can do anything. I’m stay prayed up; it’s all we can do when there are no other solutions in sight — just looking forward to having a stronger relationship with Christ so I can continue to weather any storm that comes along.

This month  I believe in Christ doing something big, being an incredible mother, lasting relationships, success in my education, being a blessing to others and for God to use me anyway that He can. Lord, I’m ready to do Your Will and what You want me to do. I realize it took a certain situation to happen to help me to become a better person. Whether we want to believe it or not making us better may mean some not so good things were happening. December may be the last month and cold too; however, one can still look on the bright side new beginnings are on the way.