Malia and Sasha Obama are having the time of their lives as they travel the world this summer with the President, their father. 

Memories are being created and I applaud the move that the Obamas made to take the girls with them. What an education!

And again, black children need to see this. They need to see that there is life outside of their city, their state, their town.

White folks take their children abroad with them all the time. The Clintons took Chelsea all over the world and that’s a good thing.

One of the reasons I will not allow or entertain attacks on the Obama family here is because I know that the only reason they are being attacked is because they are black.  There is a group of mentally disturbed black folks out here who don’t want to see other blacks do well.  They hate themselves. And there are some whites who are offended that a black family is in the White House.

For me, there is nothing but pride. And as I look at the Obama girls, I see future Ivy Leaguers—girls who will receive top educations and do great things in life.

Ohhhhhh, I so want that for  ALL black children, that they will be well educated, exposed to great cultural experiences and travel—-and that they will grow up in homes headed by MALE FATHERS and FEMALE MOTHERS.

I’ll end by saying that the haters are making a big deal about a child name Malia wearing a peace tee shirt. That’s their mental problem, not mine so I won’t even allow their quotes on this blog.  My only comment is, Obamas, keep on doing what you are doing because you do it well!

By:  Lynn

With so much negative in the news lately, I was thrilled when my husband emailed me this story.

A Jacksonville researcher has developed a way of sewing up patients after hysterectomies that stands to reduce the risk of complications and simplify the tricky procedure for less-seasoned surgeons.

Oh, and he’s 14 years old.

WOW! Brotha-man is so bad (meaning great!) that he presented his finding before a group of medical doctors.

How did he end up in that position at such a young age?

The seeds of his project were planted last summer during his internship at the University of Florida’s Center for Simulation Education and Safety Research, based at Shands Jacksonville.

To understand why a teenager would be a hospital intern, it’s important to know that Tony is a student down the street from Shands at Darnell-Cookman Middle/High School, a magnet school geared toward all things medical. (Students, for example, master suturing by the eighth grade.)

Fascinating young man. GO HERE to read story in its entirety

By:  Lynn Green

   Is civil rights great, Rosa Parks’ body cold yet? Well apparently her clothing items are “hot” as her extended family is about to sell them off to the highest bidder.

A collection of Rosa Parks’ personal items — letters, presidential and congressional medals and the hat she was wearing on the day she sparked the Montgomery bus boycott — is close to being sold, and could make its way back to Michigan.

There are two serious contenders bidding on the multimillion-dollar collection, said Arlan Ettinger, owner of Guernsey’s auction house in New York. Ettinger would not identify the prospective buyers. But an official from the Henry Ford in Dearborn confirmed it is in talks with Guernsey’s to acquire the collection.

“We have inquired about the collection, and our conversations with the auction house remain open,” said Christian Overland, vice president of museums and collections for the Henry Ford.

The Henry Ford already houses the bus Parks made famous on Dec. 1, 1955, after she refused to give up her seat to a white man, helping spark the civil rights movement. The museum paid nearly $500,000 for the slice of history.

Parks died in October 2005 in Detroit. She was 92.

My sorority sister, Rosa and her husband did not have any natural children. So……the situation below erupted:

Parks left nearly all of her assets to the Detroit-based Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, which was created to teach young people leadership and character development. But her 13 nieces and nephews, who for years questioned the motives of Elaine Steele, Parks’ longtime friend and cofounder of the institute, contested her 1998 will six months after she died.

Parks’ family argued that Parks suffered from dementia when she signed the will and was unduly influenced by Steele. A settlement was reached in February 2007, though terms of the deal were sealed.

Proceeds from the sale will go to Parks’ heirs, many of whom live in the Detroit area, and the institute.

LET US PAUSE THERE! If Mrs. Parks left her assets to her foundation, WHY exactly did her “family” contest the will and claim that that precious woman was senile?

Okay, let me sit down and take a few deep breaths. Read the rest of this nonsense HERE

By:  Lynn Green

   I’m certain that the residents of Hicktown will join me in sending out a huge CONGRATS to Desiree Rogers. This Wellesley and Harvard educated woman has been appointed the FIRST African American social secretary for the White House under the Obama administration.

This is a precious time in American history everyone. The examples being set for our black children are far reaching and I praise God because I believe that His hand is behind this election.

Chicagoan Desiree Rogers is expected to be named special assistant to the president.

White House social secretary, sources said.

In her new job, Chicagoan Desiree Rogers would be in charge of social functions at the White House for Barack Obama. She would be the first black to hold that job.

Rogers is currently president of social networking for Allstate Financial, a unit of the Northbrook-based insurance firm.

SOURCE

  Here she is on the far left at a social event. That’s Linda Johnson Rice, head of Ebony Magazine on the far right.

 By:  Lynn Green   

Do you view yourself as good enough to be someone’s wife or husband? Do you believe you are worthy?  I ask that for several reasons. Many in our society follow the Oprah view that marriage is no big deal and that it’s fine to just shack up with someone without a legal bond of marriage between you. And of course there are numerous celebrities and others who are having children outside of wedlock. Look at Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. They are not married and they appear to be baby machines at this point. I believe they have about six young children at this point.

Early this morning, I visited SojournersPlace. While there I followed a link into a blog called Songsinthekeyoflife, where the writer revealed that Erykah Badu is pregnant with her third child (and each child has a different father). I was surprised to see that and I will tell you why.

  Years ago when Erykah was dropped by Andre, the father of her son, I remember reading an article that she had either written or dictated. In it she talked about the fact that she had never envisioned herself as a “baby’s mama” and she shared the pain of the break up. At the end of the melancholy aritcle she said something to the effect of….”I guess I’ll just sit on my porch in my red dress and rock in the rocking chair.”

The article left me feeling sad for her, which is why I remember it so vividly. Keep in mind that she indicated that she had never envisioned herself as a baby’s mama. Yet, here she is about to have baby #3. No birth control? And when does it end? At baby #12 by the 12th baby’s daddy?

I don’t want to come off like I’m judging her. I’m just sorry that she has taken the route she has taken, given that she has said she never saw herself in the role of a woman having babies out of wedlock and being left alone. Has she given up on finding a man who would find her worthy of being a wife? It’s sad in my opinion.

GO HERE to read her response to those who question what she is doing.  Her response is the first comment you will see and she goes by Analogue Girl.

In some ways she reminds me of Lauren Hill, who appears to have suffered an emotional break down based on years of  disappointed and hurt.

My question for you is, do you view yourself as good enough to be a wife—as opposed to a baby machine? No little girl (who grows up normally) dreams of having baby after baby by various men. Are you a single mother? And if so, would you be comfortable having numerous children by several different men? Do you see any problem with it at all?

For the men, do you desire to be a faithful husband and father? Or are you comfortable just having sexual relationships—friends with benefits, etc.?

I just want to have an idea of what’s going on in our society. This blog encourages the making of families. Family is a man, plus woman married to each other…and children if they desire to have them. Keep in mind that most of the black men in jail have grown up without a father. Fathers are necessary, which is why God created fathers. However, we have a nation who are trying to phase fathers out. I don’t even see the black community getting healed until we get our families straight.

Anyway, I am not attacking Erykah Badu. I am just surprised that she has apparently given up her dream and that she now asks “what is marriage” and is finding reasons to justify having baby after baby by different men.

Share your opinion. I’m curious as to what you think on this topic.

By Lynn Green

Most of my blog posts are news related. I enjoy watching the news and reporting on what’s happening while adding my view and opinion. I especially enjoy warning people when I run into fake ministers because they are, in my opinion, fleecing the flock, scattering the sheep, and ruining people.

Well, this post won’t be about news or preachers. This one will be about love. And I really want to post this because so many HickTowners are single and some are lonely and several have shared with me via email their sorrows.

We all know about eros love and philadelphia love. But what I want to talk about for a minute or two is a “comfortable love”. When I was a teenager and in my twenties, I had no idea what to look for in a man. And consequently I often ended up with guys who were not worthy of me. When I look back on it, I was never even comfortable in any of those relationships. I never had the sensation that I could relax and know that he would always be there.

As humans, we think we know what we want. But don’t you know that God knows what we need? It was not until I let go and let God be God in my life that I met my husband. He is totally perfect for me. Kind, gentle. Loving. Giving. He has a heart of total compassion and mercy. Is he perfect? No. But he is perfect for me. Do I get angry at him from time to time? Yes, but only for a minute. He is a sensitive person—exactly what I need. 

But what I appreciate most about my husband is that he is a man of his word. If he says it, it’s as good as done. And I have a comfort level with him that I have never experienced with another human being. I am comfortable that he loves me, respects me and cares for me. I’m comfortable that he is my best friend. And I’m comfortable that I never have to worry about him walking out on me or cheating on me. It’s the type of comfort that I had only experienced with Jesus.

To my unmarried HickTowners who are alone, lonely an longing, I’ll say this. Many will tell you that if you feel that way, you need to grow closer to Jesus. However, I have been married now for two years and before getting married, I promised my single friends that I would not forget what it felt like to be single and I would never insult them by telling them that they need to cure their real feelings by reading the bible. Yes, we do need to read the bible, go to church, and pray. But we also are human beings with human feelings.

Don’t allow anyone to make you feel guilty about wanting to be loved and wanting to love in return. Don’t allow any of the “holier than Thou” crew to try to make you feel guilty about wanting a husband [or wife, for the male readers]. I guarantee you that the same ones who are trying to tell you what you should be doing and feeling were the main ones weeping when they were waiting for their love to come along.

I’ll say this. I stand with my single HickTowners in prayer that the Lord will bless you with a spouse who respects, admires and loves you to a degree you never imagined possible. Don’t weep. Instead, rejoice! Rejoice that the same God who put that sun up in the sky is the very God who has the ability to send the right mate across your pathway so that you may wisely choose and experience a level of mature and comfortable love that only the Good Lord can bring.

God bless!

Check out this beautiful song…..PRESS HERE

  I will never forget how shocked I was the first time that I heard that MLK had been a womanizer and that the FBI had tapes of him with various women. It shook me to the core. But I quickly recovered because it reminded me that he was real. He was human. He was not perfect and he was not God.

Since then I have heard many horrible things about MLK, including people saying that he had strange religious beliefs or that he was not saved.

You know what I’ve learned? I don’t know people’s hearts. That’s God’s lane and His job. I’m not in a position to determine whether or not MLK ever accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. I certainly hope he did. In fact, I believe he did. But that’s for God to sort out. 

I’ll tell you what I do know. I know that there is nothing anyone could ever tell me to turn me against this great man. Are you aware of the fact that MLK was not even 40 years old when he was murdered?

Think about that. This is a man who KNEW that he was going to die and leave behind a wife and four children but in spite of that, he moved forward for his people.

It is because (in part) of the late, great MLK that I can walk freely into any public bathroom or bus I desire. I’m free. I can work any place I choose to as long as I have the qualifications. I was able to freely choose my college of choice. And I was able to choose to get my Masters degree and live a comfortable life in a comfortable neighborhood of my own choice with my husband! In fact, my husband and I have just started our own business and it is because of MLK and people like him that I did not have to stop and ponder if it was okay due to the fact that I’m black.  

I LOVE you, MLK and respect what you did for your people. I respect the fact that you bravely and boldly died for what you knew was right. I’m reaping the benefits of your labor and so are many others.

I have a Dream

Happy Birthday song

You know what? The bible tells us to “write the vision and make it plain” (Habakkuk 2:3). That time honored and tested piece of advice holds true even today and will forevermore.

I don’t care how old or how young you are. If you know in your heart that you have a goal, what you need to do is act upon that goal. Write it down. Doing so breathes a little life into it. Tell people about it. That gives that goal a bit more life. Then do some research to find out what other steps you will need to take to bring that goal or dream to fruition.

Is it a business? Then in order to make the vision plain, you need to buy a book on how to write a business plan (or hire someone to write the plan for you). You need to get that business plan down on paper, then ACT ON IT.

Are you called to ministry? Then tell people. And start taking steps towards your calling. God said write it. Then make it plain, clear.

Check out the vision that a 17 year old teenager had. And this young lady brought that vision from her imagination into reality:

Hundreds of Cambodian villagers welcomed the arrival of a new school Wednesday, a gift from an American teenager who raised $52,000 after reading about the hardships of growing up in Cambodia.

Rachel Rosenfeld, 17, made her first visit to the Southeast Asian country for the opening of the R.S. Rosenfeld School, which brings five computers and Internet access to 300 primary school students in a small village of Siem Reap province, a poverty stricken area that is home to the country’s famed Angkor Wat temple complex.

Rosenfeld, of Harrison, New York, said she learned about the village of Srah Khvav after reading a newspaper article last year that discussed the plight of poor Cambodian children who often have no access to education. The American said she was horrified to learn that some young Cambodian girls end up being sold into prostitution by their parents.

The teen said she set out to help after spending most of last year battling a stomach disorder that caused her constant pain. She required months of medical treatment that forced her to miss a year of school.

To raise money, Rosenfeld sent out hundreds of fundraising letters, sold T-shirts and offered naming rights for several structures in the school, a statement said. The $52,000 she raised was supplemented by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, which contributed $10,000 and $13,000, respectively, said her mother, Lisa Rosenfeld.

“It makes me feel great to know that I was able to help so many people,” the teen said when contacted by telephone. “Just seeing everyone so happy (today). It meant a lot to me.”

Read remainder of story HERE