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Girl Talk Rising

7/7/2013

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       GIRL TALK RISING

So I had the best time talking with my cousin yesterday. It was totally "unscheduled" girl time but nonetheless powerful beyond measure. Spontaneous combustion to say the least.
   Our conversation ran the gamut....we talked about the beautiful shade of rust material her purse was made of... but we also talked about the backpacks she was filling with donated items for students going back to school ....and we talked about the social she was planning with her business partner for back to college kids in the fall.... and the Ignite your Purpose conference she'd be attending with her business partner Krystal in Atlanta.

Phew! and I thought I was busy. This girl is on fire! 
Then we took a breather to say goodbye to the guys (my boys and their dad) and then we really got to talking! This was by no means pointless girl prattle or empty pontification but really it was one of the more enjoyable conversations I've had in a long time. There  was some really deep and meaningful dialogue between our souls.  If you must know, we also talked about the difference between abstinence and celibacy and the need for adolescents and adults alike to be clear about their choices.
 Furthermore we examined what the bible has to say about the impact of those choices on our body temples. I will venture here to say that,  anyone who attempts to exact undue influence on you to make unsafe choices is not a credible witness.
Of course that line of conversation led us down the path to then talk about the perils and pleasures of relationship building in our age of instant gratification and the ubiquitous 'ME'.

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 In light of that we discussed the work of a cutting edge author named  Armani  who wrote the book, 'This is Why I Won't Marry You'. This is a writer who  is definitely gifted with insights into relationship building. Whenever someone tells you that one of the hallmarks of a relationship (or a good life for that matter) is to forgive and forget quickly and easily, then you do need to sit up straight and listen. Armani has obviously tapped into a zone of scriptural truth and spiritual enlightenment.
Our conversation progressed in its deep ascent towards the philosophical construct of Truth. Yes, that truth that we were told as children to speak and speak it well cost it what it will.  My cousin, by the way, has never lost the childlike knack for speaking  Truth with clarity and precision. Thankfully she never developed those adult censors we all have, but at the same time she has a laser like sensor for what people need to hear at just the right time. ( This is her gift and purpose). We were giggling about how Jesus always spoke the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the Truth and how in talking with the pharisees about themselves, the truth is all that Jesus had to tell, even though it hurt like hell. 

The girl talk then turned from  Truth to the lies women and men tell themselves as a coping mechanism in this world of Trauma, Trouble, Temptation and Television. Television in my opinion being the trigger for all the other T's. The stuff television programming is made of is at an all time low save for the highs brought to us by shows such as OWN's Lifeclass.  Or the all time high brought to us by  Discovery in  Nik Wallenda celebrating God as he hangs in the balance on a wire slung high across the Grand Canyon literally. (no lie).
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Nik Wallenda Faith Rising

Some times  its hard to decide on what you will believe your eyes or your spirit. Yes we sometimes struggle earnestly with what our spirit is trying to tell us-  It can be a struggle to dim the din of our internal voices. Not to mention the din of external crises such as the CNN report on the San Francisco Asiana Airlines crash that caught our attention literally mid sentence as we sat on my living room couch. There will always be Breaking News arresting our attention, demanding our participation, but we must  befriend silence in order to find a compass. As we sat together and watched the news in silent disbelief we both knew in our spirits that we were watching a miracle unfold.

I won't bore you with much more of our conversation, but one of the last and most important things we talked about is the need for our young girls and boys to have a mentor in their lives.  Once we have done the hard work of working on ourselves by dutifully showing up for our own life classes, then its time to reach back into our communities and give a hand up to girls and boys who were Born to Rise. Reach back to encourage them not to settle for the mediocre, but rather,  to elevate the level of their own talk to the realm of wisdom and understanding -  mindful of matters of the heart and the mind of God.

I made two subconscious decisions during this 'unscheduled' talk with my cuz.  The first one is that, sometimes being too busy for anything, accomplishes nothing. Secondly I am just going to go ahead and START that  book club I've been TALKING about.  It's Time for us girls to do a BookTalk Rising.  Shoot me an email me with suggestions for the title for our first book.  Email: Tzpora@stelmosfire.org and be sure to join in the conversation here.

Love and Blessings
Zpora


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'Girls Talkin'
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Robin Roberts - True Spark To The Spirit

9/3/2012

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What is that sparkles and shines about Robin Roberts? One cannot really put a name on it , pin it, or place it. We just know that people the world over tune in to listen to her or see her infectious smile. It's a good start to your morning when Robin jump starts your day. So it was no small wonder I found myself crying over the passing of Robin's mom.  I had never before met her or even seen her mom, but still her connection to Robin tugged at my heart and ushered me into a place of deep empathy.

I'm sure we can all think of people like Robin who are like soothing fresh air, who tend to make you feel calm, hum a tune, smile inwardly - A few on my short list would be, Maya Angelou, Joel Osteen, Lady Di, Dr. Ruth, Mandela, Dale Bronner,  you get the picture. You may never have met them in person but from a distance they look like a friend. Their spirit reaches out and connects with yours in 'un-nameable' ways.

We can only hope that we come close to achieving this state of natural mystic. Our aim should be to possess or nurture that that 'IT' which makes us beautiful human beings with that incredible spark that emanates outside of our awareness and leaves an indelible mark of goodness on others every time they cross our path.

Robin may your beautiful mom rest in peace. I know her work here on earth was well done because even as her unencumbered spirit rises to her maker, it yet remains in you and you with us inspiring us to greatness
.

Love and Blessings
ZP
ora

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Time to Sparkle and Shine

8/18/2012

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PictureJordin Sparks and Whitney Houston
This weekend is the premiere of the much anticipated movie, Sparkle. 

As we enter movie theatres and engage in dialogue about this movie, it's a good time to activate the idea of a spiritual revolution in our own lives.

Let's wisely use this time as an opportunity to Sparkle for God's glory. 
 
Dig  a little deeper to find and ignite the true inner light source of the Human Spirit.

Maybe its 'reel' time for the Holy Spirit to direct you on center stage in your very own biopic. 

 There's never been a better time than Now  to sparkle, shimmer and shine in  a moving understory - Your life as  a reflection  of God's Great Power and Glory.

Love and Blessings
ZP
ora

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Lord,
Let me shine,
Shine like the moon,

A reflection of you,
In All that I do.



Lord let me be,
A light for your truth,

Light of the world,
I want to be used,
To shine for you.


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Thank You Lord
I woke up to another day,
Another day to celebrate

Your beauty and your mystery, Is more than any eye can see.
I'm not who I was before
With you my life is so much more.

Break the chains and open doors,
To a world I can't ignore.
Lord Let me shine Shine Like the moon...
 

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Sparkle With His Glory and Sparkle For His Glory

3/4/2012

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The Word Sparkle means:
To give off or reflect flashes of light ~ glitter ~ To be brilliant in performance ~ To shine with animation.
The root word
Spark also means to fire or ignite. If we use this etymological analysis of the word in light of God's relevance to our lives, then we uncover a bright and powerful truth. When we align ourselves with God's purpose for our lives then we can't help but Sparkle For His Glory and Sparkle With the Light of His Glory. When He ignites our Spirit with his love then we in turn emit reflective points of light into the world. We perform brilliantly and even our speech shines with animation when we speak of his love. Interestingly enough the word animation comes from the greek word anima which means soul or life. Coincidence? God's truths sometimes comes to us in a series of incidents, accidents, and seeming coincidences, but its just God's way of remaining anonymous until we gaze intently into the light of His Word and catch a glimpse of the plans he has for our lives. Brilliant plans for a full and rich life that sparkles with his Glory.
Love ZPora
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Year of the Argyle Pink Jubilee

2/23/2012

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Isn't it nice to know we are children of a King whose gifts are permanent treasures
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The beautiful pink diamond recently unearthed in Australia reminds me of the nuggets of truth which I have enumerated here. It is my hope that these 10 nuggets of truth will be jewels to illuminate your journey to that great city where the Glory of God shines like a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal....

Ten Nuggets of Truth For Living The Good Life
Let Go and Let God

God gives Peace like a River
Listen when God Speaks
Nurture God’s children

Move on Purpose to God’s rhythm for your life
Mother Nature - God’s gift to Earth
You were made to Worship God 

God’s Holy Word - it’s all Inside
God is our Comforter and ONLY Hope
God IS Love

Love ZPora


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Nugget #10 The Greatest of these is Love

2/12/2012

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The Crown Jewel - Nugget#10 
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Many waters cannot quench love nor can the floods drown it.  Solomon was onto
something. He struck pure gold in that nugget of truth. The Love of God, how
rich, how pure, how marvelous... How Spooky? Einstein might add. How does one
quantify God’s Love for humanity. Our spirits are inextricably and inexplicably
connected to God through time and space. We feel God’s love even though we
cannot see him. He is in another entirely different realm, dimension, yet our
lives depend on His matchless love. The same building blocks coalesce into a
mother’s love, a mother bear’s or penguin‘s; I’m talking Jane a
nd Mr Rochester here; the undying love and devotion of soul mates, the outstretched hand to a
 stranger in need. This thing called love is no small matter. It’s the same love that caused the Creator of the Universe to send His only son to die on the cross. Love in its purest form ultimately becomes a religion for humanity. By its nature and design, Love makes all the necessary provisions for your soul. When  we place ourselves at the centre of God’s   Love, we  enjoy a quantum entanglement of Epic proportions.  



Foreigner - I Want To Know What Love Is by manon42
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Nugget#9 The Comforter does repeat visits

2/6/2012

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Three years ago when my dear neighbor passed away into eternity I thought I would die my self. Never before had I experienced such a sudden and gut wrenching loss. My heart went out to his wife and his soulmate who I felt certain would be plunged into despair. I found myself thrust into the role of comforter, counselor. I felt out of my element and ill equipped. I literally found myself stepping up and growing up fast entering into a new and untidy space. Amidst the fog though I caught glimpses of comfort and God's divine order. But still it was not until I stood by his gravesite with my little boys and held hands a few months later on Father's day that I had a better view of the Great Comforter. On seeing that I was bereft of words, my little 8 yr old 'messenger' offered to pray. As I stood and listened to the beauty of his words fall like nuggets of truth and comfort from his lips, I felt the arms of the great comforter encircle me. I slowly began to feel better until.....fast forward to July 2011 my beloved father passed into eternity within 5 months of learning that he was ill. Again I was thrust into the abyss of super sized shock and deep sorrow... but here we are with the fire of hope burning brightly. My Comforter has come.... yet again.

Mature subject matter, reader discretion advised. Only faith and hope will help with decoding this text. ZPora
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Nugget#8 Truth Buried in Plain View

1/29/2012

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'Open your eyes and look around there is beauty everywhere'.. A line from one of my favorite poems from childhood. The same tenets of truth hold firm if you open your Bible and look around.. there are beautiful nuggets of treasures everywhere. The language of Love everlasting emanates from His Word.
The Bible...it's all inside. Grab and Go Give to others the Golden Gems  that you have gleaned from his Good Book....He sent His Word to heal and ensconce us in a banner laced with the Lapiz of Love... His shed blood  drips with rubies of redemption.... and it flows like veins of turquoise threaded with truth...God's living Words are deliberately placed to cut like a diamond into our spirits and deposit therein, wisdom to direct us on our journey Home. We only need to open our eyes and look intently into the Word. There we will find Truth and understanding..An uncommon understanding that manages pain, uncertainty and disequilibrium in our lives.

Be Blessed Zpora

But whoever looks intently into the perfect law and gives freedom and continues in it - not forgetting what they have heard but doing it- they will be blessed by what they do. James1 :25
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Nugget#7 Music of the Spheres

1/22/2012

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Unearth the Gifts to your spirit in 
Music's Treasure Chest
Discover A Haven of Rest

You really don't need a crystal ball to help you understand that there is a Supreme Being behind the cosmos. Take a moment to witness the order and hear the symphony in your universe.  Be still and listen to the celestial music playing in your ear. It's the same micro matter that has given birth to musical geniuses of our time and the stuff that music legends are made of. The pulsating beats of the African drum, the dizzying crescendo of a classical orchestra, the soul stirring melody of a gospel choir - music has such power to minister to our hearts, minds and spirits. Surround your soul with the sounds of meaningful music that moves you, ignites your spirit. While you're at it let's not forget that there's music in the movement of the spheres. Sychronise your movements and keep the tempo..
 My playlist http://www.stelmosfire.org/haven.html
Be Blessed ZPora


Here's A musical treasure if I've ever heard one
Video uploaded by http://www.youtube.com/user/rlmayhan
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Nugget #6 Landscape For a Good Earth

1/15/2012

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Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds."And it was so."Genesis 1:11 ( NIV) Be still and survey God's good earth and witness the beauty, the glory and the divine artistry of the land.
But, be cautious that you do not  cull the beauty and glean over the ugly underside that has been created as a result of man's mindless interventions.
There are minerals, trees, water, oil, plants, fruits, and yes people who the Creator has placed on the land in order for us to have a sustainable earth. However, we have ravished  the earth for our own pleasures and for our insatiable need to lay up treasures on this earth
. The beauty and the ugly of our landscapes and cityscapes, glide across our mindscapes giving us conflicting reports of the goodness of our earth. Where were we when God laid the foundations of the earth? Do  we know what His intentions were? I believe we (like Adam and Eve), have an inkling, but our human frailties have inserted itself on God's planned landscape for a good earth. We must begin to envision a new land, a new earth where children and people of all nations live in peace harmony, dignity, prosperity, sustainability. What part can you play in reimagining a landscape for a good life on earth? Add your seeds of thought...Be Blessed ZPora

See videos below: Ignite your spirit of Environmental Awareness
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Wangaari Mathaai. Environmental Princess. Landscape for a Good Woman
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