Frustration

Tried to express myself in the most articulate way possible

No matter how articulate I was, my expressions fell short

I wish you could have heard my heart speak

'Cos when my mouth tried to form the words, they fell short

Alas, my words failed me.

They say out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks

My heart is full of many beautiful words

But this mouth does not always convey the right message

And my words come out in spurts

It's only a semblance of the image I would like to paint

Only a shadow of what my heart projects...

Copyright ©2009 Maxine Mosley Totoe

District 6

I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien, I'm an Englishman in New York... (Sting and Police)

I saw District 9 this weekned and at first I wondered, "where are they going with this alien ish"? I was not even sure if I liked it and would have left the cinema if we had not paid for it. After the first 15 minutes however, I started wondering if it might be a satire and decided to think of it as such. Apparently, the eviction and relocation of the aliens is based on District Six, a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town, South Africa. The district was declared a 'whites only' area by the apartheid government in 1966 and the population of 60,000 forcibly removed to Cape Flats, 25 kilometres away during the following years.

This movie really got me thinking about Zimbabwe's current situation too. There are so many individuals and organizations with good intentions but when good intentions go bad, who remains to clean up the mess? Ever heard the saying " the road to hell is paved with good intentions? I think various international aid groups need to watch this movie. Sometimes, I feel like everyone wants to do so much good that they forget about the needs of the people in need.

I also begun thinking about America with it's non-immigrant laws which don't really seem to make much sense to me sometimes. At times, it feels almost as if once you are not born here, you are an inferior breed. I wonder if any of those law-makers have any non-immigrant relatives and if they have ever bothered to ask about the challenges of these people. I almost understand why there are so many illegal aliens! I do! How do you pay for legal fees that run in the $1000s and forms that cost an arm and a leg when you are unable to work legally? hmm... The focus of ones help can never be put above the needs of the person in need. Every now and then, we need to evaluate and re-evaluate our decisions. I'm still in thought. I could be wrong.

ps: If you're Nigerian, you MUST see this movie!...lol...
pss: 50th post! whoop, whoop!

Her Life

Little sister so young and tender
So much wisdom she’s got to ponder
Tender shoot, root so strong
Uncompromising to please your ideals

In her words
“So I walked on,
Like every other
Didn’t care to turn back
See if the road was right
It felt right
Everyone walked on the same road”

Her joy so infectious
They wonder what happened
She said He did it
So much of Him
Very little of her
Now you look at her
All you see is Him

Little sister so young and tender
So much strength for this offender
Fragile heart, faith renewed
Unshaken reserve to please only Him

Copyright ©2009 Maxine Mosley Totoe
Again, if you haven't done so already, check out KRey music @http://www.integritymusic.com/ecard/1W1G

Trickery and Disguise

Glossy sultry Lips,

Perfectly arched eye brows,

Eye lashes about an inch long,

Complexion with speckles of gold dust.

Ah, women and their makeup!

I was looking at a couple pictures of mine and I noticed that some of them had me with brownish

lipliner that was a shade too dark than I would have liked.

I am not a beauty expert but when I see people with really dark lip liner or eye shadow on as if they are in a circus act, it really irks me. I have always considered makeup as a way of enhancing or improving ones own features but when you go beyond that and start looking like a clown, you need a second opinion! Some will argue that Make Up is an Art form and if that is the case, then you should be able to express yourself through that. Fair enough, but in doing so, I believe we should make it as natural as possible. I don't really believe much in trends. I'd rather be classy and go with a classic fun look than what new today. Oh by the way, Fall trend for lips is apparentlly super dark shades! Grrr...

How to apply LIPLINER:

1.Outline your lips with a lip liner that is a little darker than your lipstick color. 2.Apply your lipstick using a color that closely matches the lip liner. 3.Use a lipstick brush or your index finger to blend the lip liner with your lipstick. 4.Apply a sheer lipgloss. You just have to keep practising until you get it right.

There are certain occasions which do call for a little bit more than the usual mascara, lipgloss and foundation or concealer. The worst is the fake eyelashes which look like giant tarantulas trying to eat the eyes out! Why people, why at all do we do this to ourselves? I remember my sister took me to a beauty parlor in Ghana about a week to my wedding to get my eyelashes filled in. Mind you they are already long. They were individually filled in and looked quite natural but it hurt like crazy too. I wondered for a minute in that chair I was strapped in, if this was some sort of torcher chamber. It could very well have been with the kind of painful moans and groans from different corners of the room.

I guess my point is, keep it natural and not too harsh or severe!

By the way, Ken Reynold's CD's are now available and can be previewed here http://www.integritymusic.com/ecard/1W1G It also has links to where you can purchase it. I have been blessed by this CD and I hope you will be too! God Bless!

ONE WORLD l ONE GOD

Hi Bloggers! It is Today!
My Worship pastor, Ken Reynolds with Reslife choir(My church choir), Madison Square choir and New Hope choir in association with Integrity Music will have the Album release of the recent CD One World/One God. This is an amazing CD! I can't wait to get my copy. People if you want a really great worship and praise experience, you have to order a copy! The CD release is today August 11th! Follow this link for a preview! http://www.integritymusic.com/ecard/1W1G

If you listen hard enough, you might hear me singing! If you live in the Grand Rapids area, the concert to celebrate the CD release is August 16th! Be prepared for an amazing worship/praise experience!
I also encourage you to join the official Ken Reynolds Facebook Fan Page: http://Facebook.com/KenReynoldsOfficial or http://myspace.com/KenReynolds you can also follow him if you are on Twitter at KReynoldsMusic . Thank you so much, God Bless!

Water, Water, Everywhere!

Well as some of you have figured out already, I am a health nut of some sort. Not my fault, it's the Nurse in me. When I was younger, my mum used to have a glass of water by her bedside every morning and I used to wonder why she would do that. I hated drinking water unless it had some sugar in it or was carbonated! She always encouraged us to drink a tall glass of water and I guess she was on to something. Here goes...

... DRINK WATER ON EMPTY STOMACH. Apparently, it is popular in Japan today to drink water immediately after waking up every morning. Furthermore, scientific tests have proven its value. Now I can not vouch for these research claims but I can attest to the fact that drinking water on an empty stomach in the morning, gives me the same boost of energy as eating a small bowl of cereal and also gets your metabolism going! Just try it for a week and see if you don't feel better. I also aim to drink at least 4 bottles( 600ml) each day! I realize that most of the time, the majority of colored people admitted while I was working at the hospital were dehydrated so consider this my little campaign to get us hydrated! Quench your thirst, people!

Also, the following fruits are dear to my heart and if you are not a huge fan of Bananas like myself, you can substitute with Plantains.

Bananas: Protects your heart , Quiets a cough ,Strengthens bones ,Controls blood pressure, Blocks diarrhea

Blueberries: Combats cancer, Protects your heart,Stabilizes blood sugar,Boosts memory, Prevents constipation

Broccoli: Strengthens bones,Saves eyesight,Combats cancer, Protects your heart,Controls blood pressure

Cabbage: Combats cancer,Prevents constipation,Promotes weight loss,Protects your heart,
Helps hemorrhoids

Have a happy and Healthy Monday!

Scheduling Conflict?

I thought about you today
As I got up from my bed

All I could think of was you

I wanted to talk

Slowly I pushed myself up

With my right hand

Sat at the edge of the bed for a few minutes

Then I thought to myself:

Did he give me a kiss good morning/good bye?

I kept thinking about you

As I walked to the bathroom

Subconsciously, I whispered "Thank You"

And did the usual " a couple silly faces to make me smile"

I stared back at the image

And wondered why you gave me these features

Walked purposefully to the kitchen...

Then I thought to myself:

Did I eat too much dairy again?

I'm still thinking about you

1,2,3 O'clock come by
Emails checked, replied,

Facebook checked and stalked

Blogspot checked, new followers

Mine, where did the time go

Turned the TV on to while away the time

Then I thought to myself:

Did I call him already?

I thought about you
I know it felt like I was stalling

I could have made the contact there and then
Is it OK if I don't talk to you today?

Would you understand if I pretend that's okay?

Would you always care anyways?

Whether words are spoken or not?

Then I thought to myself:

Does it even matter?

So here I am at the close of today

Still thinking about you

Wishing I could talk to you
Cluttered my world with unnecessary chatter

Confused myself with insignificant banter

When all the while you watched on with a smile
Thinking of me as another day begins

Love

Why do they say they "fell" in Love?
In my experience a fall comes with pain and hurt
So would falling in love give you a positive outcome?
What would happen if you were to rise in love?

If we were smart we will "grow" in love , I think
Growing comes with hopes of better days and renewal
So growth in love is my fervent prayer
That hearts maybe safe from the hurt that come with falling in love




image by karinkazune2 via photobucket

Disillusionment...

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Refusing to be disillusioned is the cause of much of the suffering of human life.

... And this is how that suffering happens;

When we love someone we demand total perfection and righteousness from them,

and when this does not happen, we become cruel and vindictive;

Yet we are demanding of a human being something he/she can not possibly give...

If our trust is placed in human beings, we will end up despairing of everyone!

I say there is only one Being who can completely satisfy to the absolute depth

of the hurting human heart!

(paraphrasing Oswald Chambers~)

Ask yourslef, are you disillusioned? It means having no misconceptions, false impressions,

False judgements in life; it means being free from these deceptions!

Lofty thought are good... as long as you acknowledge that they are not necessarily the ideal.

Becoming stripped of your illusions can be an absolutely painful experience;

Growing up and maturing, not so fun but it has its perks :)

Frenimies

You meet and through some commonality you become friends

Then you meet at a different time and she/he kind of ignores you

You say hi and they respond with a quick and courteous hello

Then another time they relate to you an experience in their life

And everything feels like the first time you met

"There's two sides to this person", you think
There's days when they are present in their body
There's days when they do not remember you
But that's cool 'cos when they remember, you're still there
And you'll always be that sister, 'cos you really can't choose your family


Backgrounds seem similar
So why can't you relate?
Money ain't a thing and no situation is permanent, my friend
Just remember that no matter what, we both want to please Him
And he only looks at the heart, not what's on the outside


So yeah, you try to put it out of your mind
Maybe you're just being paranoid
Is that smile genuine or not?
Didn't mean to steal your shine, friend
And remember, you're a star all your own...