Quick Marriage

If you think someone's marriage material in 6-12 months, you're crazy. Please stop making yourself look crazy with that statement.

— Florida Made (@RichardMIATL) December 16, 2014

 When I hear people say they know if someone's marriage material in 6-12 months, my "Liar" meter goes off immediately because for one thing, you cannot know that fast someone's marriage material. People sound crazy when they make that statement because 6-12 months is the introductory period, that's the time where couples are getting to know each other. You're learning their likes/dislikes, their personality, and their outlook on life. You mean to tell me that you can learn ALL of that information in such a short time? I didn't fall off the turnip truck, I know better. It takes a minimum of 2 years to get to know a person, then shortly after comes engagement, then marriage. After being together for 2 years, then you speed up engagement and marriage because those 2 years of being together, you've established a foundation. A solid foundation ensures future success in relationships. A Facebook friend left an interesting comment that read (I'm going to paraphrase): It's a spiritual thing. If you have a solid prayer life, God can give you confirmation of someone being right for you. That's a real statement because when God gives confirmation of something, you know it's right for you and you won't have to 2nd guess. No sorrow will be added, no strings attached, just straight up confirmation from the Lord. Once you have confirmation, you can move forward with no worries, because you know someone's right for you because you took time to pray, and use discernment. Then & only then, can you speed up the process of marriage.

Taking Your (Wo)man For Granted

A man will not go hard for a woman who takes him for granted, just like a woman won't go hard for a man who takes her for granted.

— Florida Made (@RichardMIATL) December 16, 2014

A man will not go hard for a woman who takes him for granted, just like a woman won't go hard for a man who takes her for granted. Why should spouses continue showing love to unappreciative mates? Sounds stupid if you ask me because here you are doing this & that to please your spouse, and they take you for granted. It's like they EXPECT you to bless them regularly. People do nice things because they want to, not out of obligation. Some (wo)men don't have to go out of their way for their spouse, but because of their love for him/her, they go as hard for them. I hate to see mates take each other for granted. It's the selfishness that turns me off from relationships as a whole. Honestly, I see why some people become selfish because they're tired of giving to unappreciative people. After being unappreciated for so long, two things happen: 1. You become selfish or 2. You limit your giving. If couples choose to continue doing for each other even if one is being selfish, that's their issue, but it won't be mine because I'm quick to say no, even if the request is reasonable. I don't mind doing for my lady, but she better appreciate it. Just as fast as I bless her, I can easily stop all that. Spouses need to learn how to appreciate each other, because at some point people get tired of being taken advantage of. Once someone reaches their breaking point, nothing you can say will change their mind.

A Private Life Is A Great Life

A private life is a great life.

— Florida Made (@RichardMIATL) December 2, 2014

 I don't know about anyone else, but I value my privacy. I've been a private person for as long as I can remember, and I intend on keeping that way. I don't like many people in my business, even if they mean well. Some things I prefer to deal with on my own (with the proper exception of Jesus), and move forward. I believe if you're too open with your affairs, you can have your information used against you. There are some people who are genuinely concerned about your well-being, and there are some who pretend to be concerned just so they can have something to gossip about. How do you tell the difference? It's simple. In general, you can confide in your true friends and know their mouths won't shoot off like a rocket. The gossipers slither in like snakes and fake concern just to get your guard down. Once your guard is down, you start confiding in this person. Next thing you know, your business is all over the city. The person who confided is at fault because (s)he didn't "read" this person like they should have. (S)he should've asked themselves: Is this person going to tell my business? Any doubt of a person's confidentiality should be met with a swift no. That's how you keep yourself from being hurt, by staying low key. I've mentioned this in previous blogs, and I'll say it once more: There is such a thing as being TOO open. When you're too open, you run the risk of being hurt due to sheep in wolves clothing. Not everyone has your best interests at heart.

Peter Thomas to Cynthia: REALLY?

Cynthia lost all her heart. She was so gung-ho about cutting Nene off, but obviously she wasn't about that. #RHOA

— Florida Made (@RichardMIATL) December 14, 2014

Cynthia lost all her heart. She was so gung-ho about cutting Nene off, but she wasn't about that. Nene and Cynthia had a conversation on last night's Atlanta Housewives about their friendship, and Cynthia made the decision to cut Nene off because NeNe called Peter a b****. Cynthia was telling Peter how upset she was that Nene called her husband out of his name, how she was going to give Nene a piece of her mind, and so on. When the time came for Cynthia to confront Nene, Cynthia got that Scooby Doo like she didn't know what's going on. Cynthia was the same woman talking this & that about how Nene's a bad friend, but she threw all her heart out the window when she patched things up with Nene. They have a lot of history together, so in some strange way I can understand why both were hesitant to end their friendship. When you've been friends with someone for so long, you can't just terminate the friendship with the quickness. 

Peter went in on his woman, and with good reason. Cynthia does overlook a lot of Nene's nonsense. I don't know if Cynthia is scared of Nene because of Nene's brash, outspoken personality or what, but Cynthia does need to hold Nene accountable for getting out of order. The irony is that Cynthia went in on Porsha for being tardy, and I mean WENT IN. Porsha has said foul things about Cynthia, and Cynthia had no problem checking Porsha, so why couldn't she check Nene? Nene wouldn't tolerate Cynthia coming at her crazy like that. I can't be mad at Peter because he had a point in what he said. It's easy to say you're going to do this & that, but when it's time to put action behind your words, most people are not about what they speak on. You can talk about cutting someone off, but when the opportunity presents itself, are you going to do it?

Freedom Of Religion? Yeah, Right.

People get offended when Christians proclaim their faith, but Hindus, Muslims, and other religions can practice theirs free & clear.

— Florida Made (@RichardMIATL) December 12, 2014

Freedom Of Religion is defined as the freedom to practice one's religion through observation of religious holidays, participation in religious events, etc. If America prides itself on Freedom of Religion, then why do people get offended when Christians exercise their faith? Last time I checked, Freedom Of Religion extended to Christianity so people have no reason to get offended. Hindus, Muslims, and people of other faiths & religions can practice their religion free & clear, but let Christians celebrate Jesus, and it's a problem. It's stupid because if you come to America, you know what you're getting into. What's good for one, should be good for all. For some reason, Christianity has a bulls-eye. Christians can't mention "Jesus" without someone being slighted, yet homosexuals can push their agenda on every sector of society. Bills are being passed forcing schools to teach children about homosexuality.

I'm going to be 100 with what I'm about to say, and I don't care who's slighted. If Hindus, Muslims, and people of other religions can freely practice their religion, Christians should be able to do the same. Who cares if someone's slighted at the name of Jesus? Really, it's time out for Christians cowering at mentioning the name of Jesus. These are the same Christians that are quick to be crude & disrespectful, gossip; basically act no different than the world. America was founded on Christian values, but you'd never know it today because God has been forced out of American culture. Prayer has been taken out of schools, the 10 Commandments can't be publicly displayed, instead of saying Merry Christmas, people say Happy Holidays; and the list goes on. Considering where God has brought me from, I'm going to say Jesus every chance I get, and if someone gets slighted, who gonna check me? Matthew 10:32 MSG tells it like it is: Stand up for me against world opinion, and I'll stand up for you before My Father. If you turn tail and run, do you think I'll cover for you? 

Character Over Shape

A lot of men look at a woman's shape, instead of her character.

— Florida Made (@RichardMIATL) December 9, 2014

I know most men look at a woman's looks when getting to know her. Is she cute or average looking? Nothing wrong with that because as much as we don't want to admit it, looks do play a role in someone's attraction to a (wo)man. Personally, I don't place high value on a woman's looks because unlike most men, I look deep within. A woman can be gorgeous, but if her attitude reeks, then that makes her ugly in my eyes. A gorgeous woman is appealing physically, spiritually, and mentally. She's respected by her loved ones, and acquaintances. Given her reputation, if you asked 5 of her closest friends about her character, you would be listening all day because they would rattle off stories of how she has encouraged them in a time of need. Bel Biv Devoe made a song in the 80's called Poison. The concept of that song is you can never trust a shapely woman. She looks good, but looks can be deceiving. 

It's hard for me to be empathetic towards men who get jammed up with the wrong woman. Those men focus more on a woman's curves than what's in her heart. How is her character? How does she treat her loved ones in her life? Does she have common sense? Some men are scared to ask their prospective woman the hard questions because they're so worried about what her mouth does, instead of what her heart does. 

Close Proximity

#ItsNothingLike living close to where you work, shop, play, eat, etc. You save on commuting (travel time and gas).👌

— Florida Made (@RichardMIATL) December 6, 2014

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a big fan of convenience. There's nothing like having what you want & need in close proximity. You won't have to go far because what you need and want is right there. For example, if you have a job then it would make sense to live close to where you work. I'll never understand folks who live on one side of town, and work on the other; that's crazy because your weekly commute time can easily exceed 45 minutes to an hour, especially in major cities and peak traffic. I cannot see living far from where I work because that means daily commutes which will eat up gas to and from work. Taking into consideration that after work, you want to go to Happy Hour at your local club, and unless your club of choice is nearby, that's an extra 15-20 minutes depending on traffic. It's something about working close to where you shop, bank, eat, live, etc that does it for me.

There's a show on HDTV that chronicles young professionals looking for residences close to their jobs. Looking at the prices, I assume these young professionals have good paying jobs because anyone familiar with the real estate market can tell you that the closer you live to shopping, work, nightlife, gym, restaurants, and other attractions, you're going to fork out some coins for convenience. You're getting what you pay for, so if you want convenience, you'll pay top dollar for it. By close proximity, I mean living no more than 5 minutes from your job, bank, restaurants, nightlife, gym, church, recreation and attractions/Points Of Interest. You can live 10 minutes from those things, but the ideal for living in close proximity is 5 minutes. The larger the city, the more opportunities abound for living in close proximity to employment and attractions based on that city's infrastructure.