My Name is Jali

It's Friday night, and I'm just reflecting on some of the funny things my girls and I have said about what we wanted in a husband down through the years. The phrase, "I want a man who will grease my scalp!" came to mind and I went into a fit of hysterical laughter. Crazy woman lives alone and laughs out loud by herself. I know, whatever. ... Anyway, I just thought about this journey that I'm currently on, and how connected I really am with my hair. Whoever I end up with is gonna have understand and respect that connection. Ideally, he'll be totally on board and interested in whatever happens with my hair. I believe that woman's hair is her glory, and I know that many of my girlfriends feel the same way. Our husbands are gonna have to know that our hair is just as important as anything else on our bodies. So, I came up with a list of demands. At first I was gonna call them Commandments, but there are more than 10, and I'm kind of finicky about stuff...

Ezra 1-6 The main point that I’m getting from the book of Ezra is that obedience breeds blessings. The people of Israel were obedient and God provided for them in many ways through unexpected avenues. They had every reason to be fearful, but they stood strong and continued to obey God. Even when people forcefully tore down the wall they had started to rebuild from scratch, they continued to build. In chapters 5 and 6, I was very impressed at the refusal of the Israelites to respond to opposition (Tattenai and others), although they had the power to harm them if they wanted to. When they sent messages to the king, thinking he would give them the authority to take down the Jews, they were sorely disappointed to find that not only would he not stop the rebuilding of the temple, but they now were ordered to help them. The Israelites did not allow fear of man to rule them, but obedience to God.  I never realized how vulnerable I was to fear until just recently, when I asked the Lor...

Sharina Clarke, author of Mom.Me , voiced her thoughts on the recent suicide of Freddy E. Buhler . She found it to be a very sad event for someone who showed so much promise, and I am inclined to agree with her. Freddy E. was an up and coming rapper, and creator of the popular JerkTV channel on YouTube. The shocker was the fact that he was 22 years old, and had so many opportunities unfolding right before his eyes, and yet still found that his life was not worth living. You have to wonder what was so bad that he just couldn't take just one more day? It's very easy for those of us on the outside to jump to conclusions and become self-righteous and judgmental of his decision to take his own life, but it's important to remember that we really don't know what he was going through.It should also be a reminder to all of us that we never really know what anyone is going through. Some of the major stereotypes about Black people is that we don't go to therapy and that ...

Well, Happy New Year and Happy Sunday!! It's my next to last Sunday in Brooklyn before I go back to (finally!!) move into my new apartment, and I cannot be more nervous or excited! I truly believe that 2013 is going to be full of pleasant experiences and surprises. 2012 was challenging, but the Lord took care of me in the midst of everything, and even made a way for me to have new and rewarding experiences. There's no god like my God!!! Anyway, I thought I'd kick off this year with the book of Daniel. We all know about the story of Daniel in the lion's den, but many people are a little hazy on the details leading up to that. Here's how it all started: Daniel 6:1-3 "It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first; that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above th...