Strawberry Letter: Jan. 19, 2015

Normally when I do Strawberry Letters, I always post the link to the letter and give my $.02, but I want viewers to listen to the audio version of Steve's Strawberry Letter. This situation is bonkers.

Zing! Pt. 2

It's hard to find people that are worthy of love. No wonder why most people remain single because you have to go through so much crap, much of which is out of your control.

2. Some (wo)men say they hate their spouses, but they love how (s)he puts it down in the bedroom. 

3. Most women have Master's Degrees in Taxation, but somehow they consistently pick doggish men.

4. I'm starting to enjoy Scandal. It's got a strong plot, which is ironic because I was the same one ranting & raving against the show. Moral of the story: Give something a chance before you write it off.

5. President Obama has had everyone at his head from Day 1, but he shut everyone down with his famous statement: "I don't have anymore campaigns to run, because I've won both of them."

6. It's sad that majority-black cities have very high violent crime rates, poverty, and failing schools.

7. Memphis is a city I wouldn't mind living in long-term. Lots of black history, and interesting culture. Reasonable cost of living and the job market is pretty good.

8. NCIS Los Angeles has had some serious firefighting. Good guys and bad guys exchanging gunfire.

9. Since I've been following Billy Graham's Bible reading plan, I've gotten so much out of God's word.

10. This is someone's response from a Facebook group I'm in: You know if you asked a lady the difference between thyme and oregano, she'd think you were being disrespectful, but if you asked if she did anal, she's going to give a coy smile.

Confession: What I Dislike

Until today, I've never done a confession. I'm going to start doing a series of confessions as to what I dislike about humanity. There's a time for positivity, and a time to be real in your writing, so that's what I'm about to do. Today's Confession is titled What I Dislike. Here we go:

1. I dislike people who can't get along with others. It's not all about you, so get used to having to co-exist with various personality types. That doesn't mean you have to be friends with them, in fact I'm a proponent of assembling with likeminded folks. Opposites do not attract, as society has you believe.

2. I dislike men who put women on a pedestal that they get in their feelings if a woman rejects them. She rejected you, so what. One may say no, another will say yes. I've never had to deal with rejection from women because I don't value them enough to want romantic involvement.

3. I dislike people that talk too much. You have the right to remain silent because anything you say, can & will be used against you.

4. I dislike those who try to shame me into feeling bad for being single. While you're fussing with your spouse, I'm good on this end. No arguing, having to compromise to please her, etc. You folks can have that "For Better Or Worse" nonsense. My happiness and peace of mind is far more important than loving someone at their worst.

5. I dislike women who say "I can't stand women that can't get along with other women". If getting along with other women means catty behavior, no wonder most women refuse to associate with their own gender. I don't blame them.

6. Everybody has a gift of "discernment". Right, they think I was born yesterday. Discernment is a silent gift, meaning you don't have to brag about having it.

Church Meets World, World Meets Church

The world has become churchy, and the church has become worldly.

— Florida Made (@RichardMIATL) February 8, 2015

You can't tell the difference between the church & the world (and vice versa) nowadays. The church has become worldly, and the world has adopted a church mentality. Keep in mind that I have NO problem with secular society adopting a church mindset because there are unsaved folks that are more Christlike than Christians themselves, which is crazy but it's the truth. Some unsaved folks know more about Christianity and God's word than Christians, but that's another topic. If more of the secular world adopted the church mindset, there would be a major shift in society. Many of society's ills would be wiped off the map. 

My issue is with church folks adopting a worldly mindset. You have some Christians who are scared to speak against immorality for fear of being disliked. I like Joel Osteen's preaching style, but I have to be real: When Houston mayor Annise Parker (Houston's first openly lesbian mayor) went on a rampage against various Houston ministers, Joel should've spoke out on their behalf. It's by God's grace Annise didn't go after Joel, but if a fellow brother or sister in Christ is being attacked, Christians are supposed to stick up for them. By Joel not speaking out against homosexuality, to me he condones the lifestyle.

When I say some Christians have adopted a worldly mindset, I was serious. Many Christians are so concerned with building a comfortable life for themselves that sometimes they forget about hurting people. Christians should want to live comfortable; that's evidence of God's blessing upon them. The Bible warns against the dangers of selfish ambition because some Christians get caught up in their ambition that they make it their God. There should be no surprise as to why many unsaved folks don't come to Christ, because some Christians are just as secular as they are, so you can't tell the difference.

Two Married Men and A Preacher

Two Married Men And A Preacher

Let's have a moment of silence for this woman. *30 Second moment of silence* Now that that's done, I'm gonna get right into today's message. She has no shame in her game to sleep with not one, not two, but THREE men (one of which is a preacher). I don't see how some people carry on a relationship with multiple partners at the same time, but that's none of my business. Having a relationship with various people requires a tremendous amount of skill, luck & planning because you have to find a way to balance time with each spouse. I don't know what her schedule's like, but I imagine she's a busy woman from what she says. Knowing this, why would she risk getting jammed up with 3 men? That's the part I don't get. The crazy part is that she's feeding these men the same bull: "I don't love him, I love you. You're who I want to be with." Even worse is that these men are all blind to each other. When a man is exclusive with his woman, he chose her for a reason. He sees something in her that doesn't exist in other women. It takes a lot for a good man to settle down with a good woman, but when he does find Ms. Right, he's all in (or we hope). Men are territorial by nature, we don't like other men infringing on our woman. A man will knock a dude smooth out if he feels threatened by another man pushing up on his lady. What's interesting about this story is that none of the men know about each other, which I suspect why she's managed to last this long. She needs to figure out who she wants, and stop with these silly games or she runs the risk of being exposed. Eventually, the best of us slip. Her time could be sooner rather than later.

God Forgives, I Don't

Just because God forgives you, doesn't mean others will. Some people will always hold your past against you.
— Florida Made (@RichardMIATL) February 5, 2015

It should be easy to forgive, right? Depending on who you ask, you'll get various answers. Some people forgive quickly, others take time to forgive someone especially if the hurt was intentional and deep. There was a time where I would take a long time to forgive, but now I brush that off. My reason is that I refuse to give any clown that much power over me. They're keeping it moving while I'm sitting back looking crazy holding a grudge. One thing I've learned is NOT to expect an apology from anyone when they hurt me intentionally. This is for 2 reasons: 1. Their apology isn't sincere-Let's be honest, most people are only sorry for being caught, not for their mistake. 2. To shut you up-Some people will only apologize to you in order to get you out of their face. If someone keeps comes to me asking for an apology, then I'll PROBABLY apologize just to get them out of my face. I'm not that callous of a person because I respect people's feelings enough to understand that that's all they have. In other words, I'm man enough to apologize when I'm wrong because I want to sleep good at night.
A good example of this is Mark Wahlberg. Mark Wahlberg ran the streets as a youth and ended up in jail on attempted murder and assault charges. Some of his crimes involve harassing black children in Boston and blinding a Vietnamese man. He's paid for his mistakes and works with troubled youth, successful actor and restauranteur. By all accounts, he's changed his life. This black woman who was a victim of Mark's harassment spoke out against Mark Wahlberg saying "He was racist back then, so he's most likely racist now. He's not fooling anyone with his so-called redemption." Another woman spoke in favor of Mark's redemption saying "Everyone has done stupid things in their youth, stuff that they're not proud of. I believe in forgiveness." It's like this: You can do a 360 and some people will always hold your past against you. It doesn't matter what you did, not everyone believes in forgiveness. To quote one of Rick Ross' albums: God Forgives, I Don't. Just because God forgives, doesn't mean other people will; especially if you've slighted them in a major way.

Happy Valentine's Day To Me?

When I read about the woman who married herself, I thought that was silly until I discovered something else that's equally bonkers: Single women wishing themselves Happy Valentine's Day. I want to send a special shout out to all single women wishing themselves Happy Valentine's Day; so have no idea where they do that at, and I'm not going to do any research to find out where. It's funny how some single women boast about not needing a man until Valentine's Day. All of a sudden, a single woman wants companionship; she wants a man to wine & dine her for one day just to feel special. I could be wrong, but if you claim to not need a man, doesn't that include not needing a date for Valentine's Day? I'm sure it does because if you're a single woman that boasts about not needing a man to make you feel special, that extends to romantic holidays. I'm all for a woman pampering herself, but don't flip-flop in your stance: You don't need a man, but when V-Day rolls around, you get lonely like Bobby Womack. I call these women Special Occasion Golddiggers. You folks know the kind: Some of these women brag all year about not needing a man until Valentine's Day rolls around. That bragging turns to desperation. Doesn't matter if he's taken, just the fact that a man is showing a beautiful woman a good time is enough for her. I'm just saying: Ladies, don't brag about not needing a man when it benefits you. Never talk about not needing a man all year, then turn around and want to be pampered on Valentine's Day or any other romantic holiday. That is not a good look.