I went to see the Color Purple in July with my sister-in-law (her 3rd time) with Fantasia playing Celie, her rendition of the song I’m Here made me cry unexpectedly. I mean cry. Thank God my sister-in-law had tissues on her. I think what makes the song so powerful are how a woman who has gone through so much could still feel so positive about life. That is what I call REBOUNDING!

She not only was positive about the moments in her life that were both good and bad, she was thankful that she had the days to live them. She was thankful for all she had and she was courageous in the face of past betrayal and hurt to announce to the world that she’s beautiful and “I’m here”.

I think this is something we have to work on especially us women. We are not the air-brushed beauties on magazines but everything about us including our unique looks are still beautiful and we have a unique reason for existence. We need to start living out loud and shouting to the world, we’re here!

Today while driving my son to school I heard on the radio that Juanita Bynum’s husband assaulted her in an Atlanta parking lot. Apparently the report went on to say that they were already estranged and they were trying to reconcile. I was so saddened by this news.

I wanted to be sure this was true and everyone has been reporting on it including Christianity Today.  This seems to indicate that there was probably domestic violence going on in the home already and I heard one report that suggested she was concerned about his male relationships which implies at least to me the “down low” factor.

Again, I pray something was left out and that another story, a better, brighter story is written about all this. Unfortunately, if this is true then the world has another finger to point at one of our public figures in the evangelical world.

It’s the last days for sure and this is what the Bible warns us about but its also something that I wrote about in my dissertation. Character isues in leaders. I read recently “no one glows in the dark” and these continuous revelations affirm this statement. If there is anything we need to be aware of is ourselves…our minds, our hearts is the most deceitful and it can destroy so many things in our path.

It’s like a Dr. Jekell/Mr. Hyde situation in the church. Many are not whom they seem to be. Who are YOU? Who am I? Can we look within and answer that question without being afraid of what we find?

trust your crazy ideas? The ideas that scare you because you know they are so different from what you’ve seen done or ever heard? I know that this is something many of us struggle with because when we trust those crazy ideas, they usually led us down a road we don’t want to go through or up a hill we don’t want to climb.

Trusting those crazy ideas that come to our heart and mind means that we also trust the inner voice we usually attribute to God and that alone is scary…is the voice really God’s? Could this crazy idea really be His nudging? One way to tell is that usually God will give you a crazy idea that will seem to big for you to do on your own thus the “there is no way this is God” thought in our brain but it really could be God. He doesn’t want us to ever think we can do what he calls us to do without His help. He never wants us to think that we have enough to do the task. There will always be more that we need because that should keep us near the giver of all things.

I really want to trust those crazy ideas that come to my heart. I pray for the courage to take the first steps even if there is no one there to say “Liz do it”. Sometimes it will just be YOU and the CRAZY I dea. That with God is more than enough.

Hiram and I suffer from an addiction that’s pretty powerful. Nothing we do or try helps us “say no” when around this and our friends and family stating they can’t visit anymore because they are allergic doesn’t bother us. It’s a dog addiction my friends. We have four dogs at present. When no one is around and its just our family, we take our happy four-legged friends out of their very expensive kennel area in our back patio to have them forlick around the house.

Currently we are training Rocko, our 11 week old English Bulldog. Aye. What possessed us to go through this stage again…its that dog-gone addiction.  This picture is a reminder that every day you have to uh eat clean up crap and there’s nothing like the smell of coffee urine to wake you up in the morning.

for this little preemie born in NJ. Doctors give the parents some hope that she will develop normally. I hope so. When my little boy was born at 26 weeks gestation (this preemie was born at 25) he was doing fabulously well so well that the docs took him out of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and put him in a Transitional Care Nursery. Unfortunately, in a less critical area he developed an staph infection which is common among preemies. What was uncommon was the 10 hour delay in DJ’s medication…that ultimately led to him developing menigitis and the rest is history–he is now severely disabled with CP, cortical blindness and hydrocephalus. DJ doesn’t walk or talk. The hospital settled in 2007, seven years after the birth of my son. We’re glad about that but I would have rather had my son fully functioning, able to have a great life. I guess not in this life.

So yeah, I hope the future goes well for this baby and her parents. With a preemie things develop later after you walk out. However, for right now, the future is bright and I pray it stays that way. My prayers are with them.

I start personal training in Hollywood Beach with Bodies Under Construction  this Monday! It will be a 3 day a week adventure but I am looking forward to it. 

AOL had a reason why many should get help with their weight…its called the muffin top.

“If that mention got your mouth watering, you probably haven’t been educated as to what the modern-day muffin top is — it’s that bit of flab that hangs out over top of your pants. It’s also known as ‘Dunlap Syndrome’ as in, your stomach done lap over your jeans. ”

Although I don’t wear low rise jeans I want to do this for my health overall. We have to realize that if we are not healthy we can’t do much of anything else including ministry. I thank God I haven’t had major health issues but with the increase of diabetes Type 2 I don’t want to wait around for it especially since it runs in my mom’s family. So I begin a new adventure…

Hi all! Welcome to lizrios.com the new blogosphere hangout for yours truly. I wanted a site that would incorporate key aspects of my life and I believe my design company did a good job. The frames on the top of this blog represent my newest ministry initiative Rebound Life Coaching, Inc, the middle frame represents my beloved familia and the last frame represents the Center for Emerging Female Leadership.

I’ve been busting at the seams with things I want to blog about but since its late and I have to get up early tomorrow, I’ll have to wait another day. But thanks for stopping by and remember to change any links you may have to my old site. This is where I’ll be hanging from now on.

Paz!

I read this story today and it sickened me. These are the times God’s love amazes me because even this woman would receive his grace and mercy. Aren’t you glad we are not God…I know I am, many would have been snuffed out by me by now…and I would probably not be here either. Thank you Lord for your mercy that endures forever and forever,help us to be more like you in every way.