Home Life - Sponsored by the Mrs.

Mornin' Family,

Oh how sweet it is! Today, I'll lay out my To Wishin' for the nest I'll design for me, my husband and our children. I see it so clearly.

By the way, it was just today, don't you know, that I articulated the effect certain images have on me. They foster the seeing and To Wishin.' When I'm in need of such, I seek images from Urban Home, the Great Outdoors, and websites with homes for sale. Leave a comment letting me know how they affect you.

One image can lead to hours of imagining, which, in turn, lead to hours and hours of writing. Pictures of homes and lovely decorated spaces touch me deeply within my soul. AH HA! That's why I love me some HGTV!! I'm reminded how much I'm entitled to my inheritance as a human child of God.

Fit for a king and his first family, there's a delicately designed dining room table where connection take place. Our living room is quiet and calm, inviting guest to take a load off. All who enter always feel free. My husband is guaranteed respect and adoration, trust and a loyal following.

For the most part, tap dancing on our bamboo hardwood floors is not forbidden, that is, if homework is finished, and it's raining outside.

My toes revel in the family room's plush carpet. My personal favorite is the easy-t0-vacuum Berber carpet in our entertainment room. We spend lots of time here running around barefoot with no agenda. Few rules are allowed since goofing off is mandatory. Shelves nearly overflow with Outburst, Life, Memory and Monopoly. It's a Saturday so my family and in-laws are over. As was in my childhood, we turn over a recycled Rubbermaid© bin and play Caroms. Poor me... I most quickly tire of winning consecutive round after round. Poor my husband... He insists we put it away and watch movies. I bid for the St. Louis Blues and the kids demand endless Disney Pixar flicks. Dad-in-law vacillates between a nap and a shoot-'em-up Western. We'll toss a coin.

Come closer. You're liable to hear Mozart or Verdi during study time, Hip Hop on Saturdays (especially when WE'RE cleaning the house), Gospel on Sundays, and everything in between every other day.

You hungry? Let me make you a snack of organic apple slices dipped in fresh almond butter. Then, for your potable pleasure, I suggest my famous acai banana smoothie.

We'll have two nights per week of guaranteed connections. Yes, your life too, can be proactively designed so that relationships work because built-in, is their nurturing and feeding.

The date night is exclusive time with my husband. Before the kids, we'll eat out, go to the movies, and, well, you know. After the kids, we'll do the same, except enter the sitter fund. We'll work out a deal with close-knit family and friends.

Family night commences once the kids come along. It's one night per week (from 6pm until) that we all stay home; no church, no work, no soccer practice and no visitors. We do it justice by just us.

The date night came to me via an older couple I met on a cruise. Although total strangers, I reckoned them comrades ready to spare me trouble by imparting life lessons. I asked, among other things, how long they'd been married. The secret to their 35-year matrimony was a commitment to regular time alone. They didn't discuss kids, nor the plumbing. Their focus was each other. "Rain or shine, or even if arguing like cats and dogs," the wife confessed, "we'll still fellowship every Friday night."

The best part about all of this is that I'm single...Excited to date the man who'll be my partner in procreation, progress, and the propagation of purpose. It's not about my Tacori size 6 blinding platinum ring in princess cut. Oh no! It's much deeper than that. It's about deliberate healing for the past 2 years. It's about discovering who I am and what I have to offer. Now, from my man, I receive all that's in him to complement me.

Myisha The Matriarch

Is all well?

I want to show you my domestic side today. Did you know I'm a matriarch--the wife of a great man, and the mother of our three children? Our daughter's name is Donatella ("given by God") Mavourneen ("my darling") and our twin boys are Ezra ('helper') Mitaire and Amadeus ("lover of God) Emmanuel ("God with us").

I first saw Donatella in a dream when she was approximately 14 months old. On our bed, she playfully grooved to the music as my husband and I prepared to go somewhere. Her soft hair was in three ponytails and she wore a white onesie. You couldn't look too long into her huge brown eyes (slightly lighter than my dad's). You were bound to blush.


Our sons were revealed in a flash of a vision. The sleeping newborns lay in the labor and delivery unit, adorable just the same as their big sister. I'll have pictures for you once they appear on the planet.

Curious what my To Wishin' is for these blessings? It's a hope chest. While at Bed, Bath and Beyond this Saturday with one of my nurturers, I purchased the first entry: this apron which reads Kiss the Cook. With utter delight I announced to the cashier, "This has 'wife' written all over it!"

Brothers and Sisters, a hope chest is a powerful concept. My magnificent musings of matriarchy become more real as I collect items to be used for building a home for me, my husband and our children. For me, there's no higher calling to which I aspire.

Oh to be barefoot and pregnant...ROTFL

Orientation (No, not that one)

Let me ask you a question? What is your orientation to life? To events that happen in life?

Well, what is orientation? Answers.com say it's:

-The direction followed in the course of a trend, movement, or development
-A tendency of thought; a general inclination
-One's place and direction relative to one's surroundings; bearings, location, position
-The ascertainment of one's true position, as in a novel situation, with respect to attitudes, judgments, etc.
-An integrated set of attitudes and beliefs
-A usually general or lasting direction of thought or inclination

I was raised around people who constantly spoke, sang, and all but bragged about what they were "going through." It was as if they were super humans because they endured uncontrollable turmoil to which someone subjected them. Well, in 32 years of life, I've come to see that one's orientation to life, one's prevailing perspective, translates into one's daily experience. If your integrated set of attitudes and beliefs is that life is full of proverbial "storms", then guess what 's bound to happen? Storms.

Some people's thought pattern is that of a recording artist I heard on the radio. He said "At any given time, you're in one of three places. You just came out of a storm, are in one now, or about to go into one." Worse than that was the audience cheering in the background.

How could I have a life of victory, which God intends for humanity, if I'm ever looking up the road anticipating the next round of heartache? Fahgitabbouit! I expect to win. My God always causes me to triumph. Why not be so "distracted" by where you're going that you, literally, have no time to regard drama.

Don't misread me, my love! Far be it from me to suggest that one can live trouble free. Nah, nah, nah! What I'm saying is that you owe it to yourself to 1) discover and document your orientation, and 2) precisely define what "storms" you're experiencing. Are you reaping what you've sown? Is it a misunderstanding? Is someone being malicious? Remember Ella's song, Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall? That's within reason. But, C'mon babe! Is this overwhelmingly the case for you? Is someone hating on you at all times? Do you climb the rough side of the mountain every day? Then stop giving it radio play. :) Don't speak of what you don't want and what you won't do. What do you want? I know you're glad you don't look like where you've come from, but what do you look like? Where are you going?

See how long you can go without complaining how bad things are for you. Can you go a whole day without referring to your "trials and tribulations"? I dare ya. :)

Beloved, a change in your orientation necessitates a change in speech. I've met people who's orientation is towards:

pain
struggle
problems
suffering
defeat
enduring
getting by
victimhood
hardship
brokenness
being broke (financially)
offense/being offended
going through (hell)
helplessness

However, try on for size these words to describe your orientation to life.

Progress
Promise
Prevail
Plenty
Wholeness
Victory
Solutions
Overcoming
Foresight
Conquering
Focus

On your side,

Myisha

PS, I dedicate this post to two very nice people I've recently met: Pastors Andrae and Sandra Crouch. A brief interaction with Pastor Sandra reinforced my orientation to progressiveness.

The Vision - Time & Money

Time and money: How do I relate to these resources entrusted to me? Simple. I designate them for the word designation suggests purpose and intention. My time is approached in light of the vision I've created for the year, which is ultimately part and parcel of why I breathe. And my money? Nope. I do not use the B word (“bills”). I decide and design where it will go and how it'll work for me.

I have a surprise! I'll share my Vision3.5.7: three elements of redemption, five years in the making, and seven children's picture books. I'm not a salesperson, nor advisor but based on intense work with my life coach, I've come up with a system to make it happen. You're welcome to use the no-fail documents in my system for your own To Wishin' and dreams.

Step 1 is the To Wishin' Layout, or my down payment on the Vision. I call it the Prophetic Twitter since I proclaim exactly what I will do in the next three years. It's all about TIME.

Step 2, the Dollar Designation, is where I see where my dollars are designated each month. It's all about MONEY. Mostly it's true, but I've changed a few figures to make a point.

Step 3 is the Payday Principal. By inserting a Dollar Designation total, and giving myself wiggle room for other funds, I see how much money is needed each pay date for the whole year. It's all about TIME and MONEY.

Guess what? I don't use the J word either ("job"), which is why Step 3 excites me. I can decide the minimum time I should work in my profession to meet that pay date's total. Therefore, I'm free to devote the maximum amount of time doing what matters: nurturing myself, connecting with those who nurture, counsel, and celebrate me, as well as writing. My Vision3.5.7 moves from five years, to three years, down to each month, and finally to periods of two weeks. The vision literally decides my everyday life. Here is Step 1, Step 2, and Step 3 for you.

May you be richly blessed, strengthened and encouraged.

I'm for you,
Myisha

Husband List

Hi Family,

By now, you know I'm big on To Wishin'. I must envision and decide what I want and keep it before me. With my choice in a husband and father of our children, the same principles apply. My dear friend, Jan, and the honorable Dr. Phil McGraw (Love you, Sir!) inspired me to develop my husband list.

Jan says that each time she and her husband went apartment hunting, they had a strategy, stuck to it, and the universe delivered every time! They never compromised; not even one dollar over their price range. She said if they compromised with one characteristic, others would soon follow.

First, after determining what they needed and wanted, they made two lists. The Deal Breaker list was of features absolutely essential (e.g., 2 bedrooms and office space). If the apartment didn't have them, it was no longer considered. The Highly Desirable list was of things they considered nice to have, but not required (e.g., a recreation room).

Second, on a map, they highlighted the boundaries within which they'd search.

Since they put time and effort into paying To Wishin,' the vision was complete. The search would be a breeze so on to step three- filtering newspaper ads against the lists.

Apartments which held up, received a phone call. If still on the list, the property earned a visit, during varying times and conditions: at night, early in the morning, and on the weekends. What was life really like in the neighborhood? After thorough inspection of the premises and several conversations with the manager and current tenants, they were richly rewarded with a dwelling that fit them like a glove.

Last I heard, the property was so loverly, they signed a 30-year contract. I bet their HOUSE is a sight to behold.

Would you like to see my husband list? Here you go.

Coat of Arms - Gift to the United Nation's Committee on the Rights of the Child

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I'm proud to present the Coat of Arms declaring the welfare of children globally. I commissioned it on December 1, 2008, and will present it to the United Nation's Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) this fall. Why do I fly to Geneva, Switzerland quarterly, paying out of pocket, to attend Committee sessions? It's because I believe in them and the document they oversee, the beloved Convention on the Rights of the Child. This “children’s bill of rights" consists of 54 articles detailing rights every human child has. For example:

The right to a name (Article 7).

The right to an identity (Article 8). In many patriarchal societies, the birth of baby girls is not recorded at all.

The right to have food, clothing, and a safe place to live (Article 27).

September 12, 2009 I'll excitedly make my fourth European pilgrimage, but this time we'll do more than hear how countries implement the Convention. We will celebrate the Convention's 20th Anniversary.

I'm thrilled! Let me tell you the symbolism behind this Coat of Arms--designed by Herald David Ortiz, and brought to you courtesy of my year-long love affair with all things Medieval, heraldry (the study of arms and it's relation to genealogy) and blazonry (the study and art of accurately describing arms).

The Arms is a visual representation of the Convention, so its three charges center on its three categories of rights:

-Life, survival, and development – an Oak Tree for a Crest

-Protection – a Panther in the Shield, which, in heraldry, fights to the death to protect its young

-Participation – 7 Hands in the Shield, one representing the children on each continent

I finish it off by infusing meekitancy. A lamb and a lion are the Supporters of the Arms. I give you meek – a lamb rampant (both forelegs are up). I give you militant – a lion rampant guardant (forelegs up, facing the viewer).

I hereby proclaim my philosophy and approach to ensuring children’s welfare. Every child on earth will be treated with love, gentleness and respect, as seen in the meekness of a lamb. Anyone in violation will face the militant: the wrath of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. God Himself will handle such.

Thank you and good day.

Meekitant Myisha

Baby Regan & Chemo

Hi Family,

My friend told me about her pastor's daughter. This gorgeous Baby Girl named Regan, who just turned five years old, is going through chemotherapy right now. Her Mom and Dad report that she's lost her hair, has sores in her mouth, and is very tired. Would you take a moment and pray for her and her family? Here's some words of encouragement I sent her way.

To My Beautiful Baby Sister in Christ,

We haven't met yet but I love you! You are such a strong young lady. God gave you a whole lotta people who love you, especially your Mom & Dad. I join them, along with other family and friends, in prayer for your strength and victory. I was a sick child too and I remember my last surgery. I lay in the hallway all by myself before being taken into the operating room... Jesus' presence was so real, like I could literally touch Him. The same Lord is there for you and with you... God has great plans for you so look forward to middle school, high school, prom, college, and a long life serving the Lord. I wish you the best, Sweetheart, and I cain't wait to meet you!

Rooting for you....Rah, rah, rah!

Myisha