2011 Project 3 Revealed

     Hello Friends and Non-friends,
     This is going to be the last post for year 2010. It has been a wonderful awesome year on my end. God's willing, I will take some time in 2011, to look back and reflect with you into my 2010 journey. Increase and growth at all levels, physically: I went from a size 2 to size 4 (to my mom's delight) and in my own terms I went from bony to fleshy; financially: personal GDP of 2%, not a lot (we can blame that on the recession), and spiritually: it was an exponential growth, if I had to write a mathematical function it'd be: f(x) = e^x where x is a real number.
     Well I'm here to reveal to you project #3: TDB is going to rehab, she's voluntarily committing herself to detox against...Soap Operas for 3 weeks!!...That's all she can guarantee for now. How is she planning on accomplishing this? First, by going on vacation to a much warmer place, definitely warmer than the sunshine state. I'll take this opportunity to request prayer for protection and a safe trip [Thank you.]
Of course there's much more to this trip than rehab. God's willing, I'll share tidbits of it with you but not until I'm back. On this note, I wish you all a wonderful, merriful Merry Christmas [the time of the year where we act the way we should the rest of the year~lifeline production], and don't leave out the reason of this season out of your season.

Merry Xmas and see you next year

Stay Tuned, Stay Beautiful, Stay Christmas-y.
Tresor De Beaute (TDB).

Was It Too Late? A True Story of A Dying Man

 It was about 7:45 am and I was getting ready for work when my phone rang: "Allo?"
"Remember Ruben, my roommate? He's dead" blurted the voice on the phone. "Yes I remember him, what happened?".
I had visited this family in 3 different occasions, and have met Ruben during one of those. He was this big chubby and very private person. Aside the time, we got introduced, the only other time I heard Ruben make some noise was one morning during prayer time and Ruben knocked on our wall to make us understand that we were loud.
The day before he passed away, Ruben seemed a little more agitated than usual. He asked for Mr Price and was told that Mr Price had traveled for work and ministry and wouldn't be back until the new year. So he asked for Attorney Lawrence who also works in ministry but on that day was attending a church event. Meanwhile, Ruben was getting more restless, looking at his watch and inquiring about Att.Lawrence whereabouts, wondering when he'd be back, pacing around the house. At one point in time, Zelly noticing his restlessness, inquired about his wellbeing, to which he replied he was fine and that people were coming to pick him up and he needed to speak with Att. Lawrence. He then went on asking about Jesus to Zelly: "How do you know Jesus is the answer? How do you get saved?" She explained to him "Jesus died on the cross for us, you just have to believe and ask him to forgive your sins." Then once again he asked for Att. Lawrence. Several phone calls and sms could not get him back at home until very late at night.
The following day, as Att Lawrence, was wondering about Ruben's request to speak with him, he went into his bedroom, only to discover him bent on his knees, head on the floor, dead.
Was he praying when those "people came to get him"? Did he receive the Only one who can guarantee Peace? Did he accept Jesus in his heart as Lord and Savior? It is impossible to know for sure.

     This will certainly sound like a "whole bunch of garbage" for some and for others just another reason, to despise Christianity or roll their eyes given that Christians nowadays are nothing but examples of backstabbing, jealousy, adulterous closeted gays and lesbians and more. Nevertheless, each one of us is still responsible for our own salvation. Buying a bad cantaloupe from a grocery store doesn't mean that all cantaloupes on the market are bad. To associate with Christians who make bad choices doesn't invalidate the existence of the real good ones that are still out there nor does it invalidate the existence of the Real Good God who longs for a personal relationship with each one of us, wants to share his treasures with us, and above all wants us to live a quality life beyond what we can imagine. The choice is left with us.

Stay Tuned, Stay Beautiful, Choose Well
Tresor De Beaute

Whatever people think of you will never change your destiny. However what you think of other people may change it.-- R.W.

2011 Project 2 Revealed

     TDB's next project could be quite a challenge if there's a lack of interest, determination and discipline: Read the Bible in ONE YEAR, the entire bible not just snippets of familiar stories we've heard in church. What makes this project more exciting is the fact that I'll be reading the bible for the first time in English. For the life of me, I still do not comprehend how I've managed to rob myself from that experience. Now, don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that for the ten years I've been in this country I've not read my bible, I'm saying I've not read it in its entirety in English, whereas I've read it in French about 12 times cover to cover, and the New Testament several times both in French and English.

     
     So why is it important to read and know the bible? Isn't it the Pastor's job to read it and preach it to us?

1.  Be an intellectually curious Christian. Read the bible just because! Be curious about it. Don't let some preacher masticate it for you to swallow and this brings me to the next point.
2. Take responsibility for your own salvation. Your pastor, priest, or Christian friend is NOT responsible for it, you are. Become familiar with the stories and parables. Examine it every time you're in church or when listening to predications to see if what the preacher says it's true. So many of us Christians are just plain gullible, believing all kinds of things. Let's start acting like the Berean who would examine the Scripture everyday to see if what Paul said was true*. This is Paul we're talking about, the guy whose simple touch would heal, his words could make go blind or walk again if you were crippled. Some today would've called him a charlatan. The Berean weren't impressed. They cared about the TRUTH. So they checked the Scripture everyday.
3. Be loaded with answers. Put yourself in a position where you can answer any question about your beliefs. What is salvation? How do you know heaven or hell are real?
4. If possible, enroll a family member, a friend or a close one. Be cheer leader for each other, encouraging one another.
5. Why should we read the bible at all? [it's funny as I'm writing this very sentence, Barbara Walters's Special Edition is on and she's asking our President Barack Obama if he reads the bible to which he responds "Yes, everyday.".So this could be your motivation.] This is the answer a grand-father gave to his grand child as he was putting charcoal in a basket. He asked the child to carry the basket down to the river and to bring him back some water in it. After several attempts, the kid feeling discouraged  wanted to stop. At his grandfather nodding, he looked at the basket and noticed something different about it. It was CLEAN. It has gone from dirty to clean. And the grandfather said: "my son, it's the same thing that happens when you read the bible,... your soul changes."

 
     I hope this gives you enough incentives to embark in this journey with me. As stated earlier this project, it requires discipline, and who says discipline, says schedule, who says schedule says calendar. Here is a remarkable online resource that dissects the entire bible into portions scheduled on each day of the year. It gives the choice to read it beginning to end, chronologically, historically, new then old, or old then new. It lists all the different versions and main languages. Last but not least it gives you the choices to start either on the 1st or the 15th of a month. Personally, I anticipate starting on the 15th of January 2011, using the New/Old method. I used to read it beginning to end but after a while about half way into the OT, I would feel "hungry" for the NT.

     How to do this practically? Some do's and don'ts 

• Schedule it on your calendar. I use Google Calendar and I've set it to send me reminders to my cell phone. If you decide to choose the old/new or new/old method, you can schedule the new in the morning and the old in the middle of the day.
• If you have a smartphone, download a version of the bible on it. During your downtime.
• Don't, no let me rephrase that, NEVER schedule your bible reading before bed time.
• Don't beat yourself up if you skip a day, just take it as a challenge to be more disciplined.
• Don't use it as a fetish. I remember someone once told me that they would always travel with a bible in their bags for protection. The person did not read, did not care about its instructions, let alone honor the God it talks about.

 As the first 2011 project targets the body, this one targets the soul. What's left is the spirit. So stay tuned as there is more to come.

*Acts 17:11

Stay Tuned, Stay Beautiful, Stay an Intellectually Curious Christian
Tresor De Beaute

http://twitter.com/TresorDeBeaute

Whatever people think of you will never change your destiny. However what you think of other people will change it.-- R.W.

2011 Project 1 Revealed

     For those of you who haven't guessed it yet from the new profile/background pictures, TDB is going Naptural. Yes you read it right NAPTURAL as in Nappy Natural :). She has decided to become a  "Nazarite" of some sort. Let me explain, back in the days, and I mean waaayy back in the days, the hebrews/jews had this tradition of dedicating themselves to God, it was called the Nazirite vow: The vow was taken by individuals who had voluntarily dedicated themselves to God. The vow is a decision, action, and desire on the part of people whose desire is to yield themselves to God completely [http://www.gotquestions.org/Nazirite-vow.html].
     The individuals had to abstain from a certain number of things during their consecration period. As for me, all I have to abstain from is the "creamy crack"/perm. However this resolution to go back natural is more than forgoing "crack" altogether, it's a physical manifestation of my inner metamorphosis. It's a rebirth, a return to "the things I did at first"*. I started perming my hair about ten years ago, a few months before I immigrated in this country. And with each crack session, my hair started growing thin, breaking and finally got damaged, nothing but a simple reflection of what was happening in the inside. So many bad things happen inside of us all, bad thoughts, bad desires, impatience, one compromise after another, envy, jealousy...etc. We live by them, we sleep by them and some even die by them. It's time to STOP and to "Consider how far you have fallen! Repent (change the inner man to meet God's will) and do the things you did at first [do the works you did previously when first you knew the Lord]"*. NO more excuses, NO more apologies, no more postponing. Three Simple steps:

• I did the Big Chop (BC), I removed all the processed and damaged hair [I got rid of all the toxic things and people of my entourage].
• I shampoo and condition my hair once a week and the rest of the time I just moisturize it. [I go to church once a week and the rest of the time I study, read and listen]
• I bought products to help me achieve my goal of new long healthy hair. [I surround myself with people who share the same beliefs as I do, who help me fulfill my Nazirite vow. I stay vigilant of who to admit in my inner circle as it is not everyone around you who have your best interest at heart]

And the results so far are just...life changing. Check for yourself:

For more: click on the link below (I believe you have to be logged into facebook to see them all):
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31750982&l=3d26331e22&id=1435775079


Don't forget to follow me on twitter for more thoughts, for more musings:
http://twitter.com/TresorDeBeaute


*Rev 2:5 amplified version

 Stay Tuned, Stay Beautiful, Stay Naptural
Tresor de Beaute (TDB)

Whatever people think of you will never change your destiny. However what you think of other people will change it.-- R.W.

Preparation Projects

     As the new year is approaching Tresor De Beaute is preparing herself for an upcoming and very important trip,  there will be some changes around her blog. Starting with the new background design. She'll be experimenting before settling. Please send in your comments and recommendations if any. Before finishing this post, I peaked into my inbox and found this comment [in French]: Humm c'est toujours la nouvelle annee la que tu prepares comme ca...Hummm Is that the new year that you're still preparing like that?? So commentator, there you have your answer.
     Tresor will also be revealing what she will be up to for the upcoming year. Lots of exciting news and projects with the central theme: Discipline. So please, stay tuned and enjoy the ride with me.

Stay Tuned, Stay Beautiful, Stay Prepared ;)
Tresor De Beaute

Prepare Yourself for 2011--Part 3

     This is the last series of my three-parter "Prepare Yourself for 2011". And this post will elaborate on one crucial step that you can apply to successfully prepare for the new year ahead of you: Retrospective.
     To retrospect is to look back at past events. The goal is to look back with the most possible objective mind, marking pluses on great things accomplished and minuses on not so great things.
     Then beside those plus signs, list the things or persons that contributed to the success of your accomplishments. Think about the strategies and guidelines you had to put in place to ride this successful operation or plan of yours and re-implement them for your 2011 plans. Thank the people who were there for you.
     Do the same for the minus signs. Mark down those inglorious moments that sparked mishaps and groaning unintelligible sounds.  Learn from your mistakes and other people experience, as Dr Murdock says "Some Learn Best Through...The Rose of Mentorship. Some Learn Best From...The Thorns of Experience". And It's funny how at times, "the older the wiser" doesn't always apply to the entire population but rather to a sample. So careful who you listen to, who you believe in and who you rely on.
     And last but not least, if you haven't done this before, then do it now. Be thankful to God then reward yourself for each one of your successes. Lament your failures but don't give up and ask your Creator for help.
That said, my job here is done. I gotta go prepare myself for some awesomeness for year 2011.

As you're fully and happily living your life, make sure the present you're living will not be the past you'll regret in the future --TresorDeBeaute

Prepare Yourself for 2011--Part 2

     You have to meet certain conditions in order to prepare for a new year, a new job or a  new opportunity. Actually there's only one condition you have to meet: you have to be healthy: healthy in your body and healthy in your mind. I will emphasize mostly on how missing the latter requirement can have many unintended consequences. Most women (I'm not sure about men) in their 20s and 30s get sick in their mind at the wake of an emotional disturbance, either a breakup or a relationship gone south. Usually we women like to get ourselves into projects, just to distract us from the fact that we just wiped out an acute sentimental failure. And this behavior is ingrained into the belief that "the cure to a man is to get another man". Hence we get ourselves into rebounds, going from one rebound to another. So ladies, if you're in this situation, your project/resolution or plan for 2011 is to take time to heal first, face the pain, the hurt and the rejection meanwhile remembering that "Rejection is the proof someone couldn't master you. It's the reaction of the weak to your difference." [DrMM]. Review your morals, review your standards. I know we live in an age of "I'll figure it on my own", the reality is if your car has a problem, you bring it to the mechanic or better to the manufacturer especially if still under warranty.

     Four years ago, I had the best looking convertible in my neighborhood, then the transmission went bad, I brought it to the manufacturer who estimated the repair cost to about $4000.00 (four thousands dollars). The price to pay was too high, I was still a student with a job barely allowing to pay all my bills and my tuition. So I found this mechanic who promised to fix the car for half the price. The mechanic ended up damaging the car [which not only did I lose but paid even more money in the process] by replacing the bad transmission with a different, non matching transmission.
     We do the same thing to ourselves when trying to cure our man disease with another man, when looking for "projects" to distract ourselves from the situation at hand. If your mind, your soul or your spirit has a problem, bring it to The Soul-maker, they all have a lifetime warranty, a prepaid liability sealed at Golgotha two thousands years ago. To prepare yourself for 2011, you have to be HEALTHY first.
I've tried it, it worked, why couldn't it for you?

Stay Tuned, Stay Beautiful, Stay Healthy
Tresor De Beaute

"Your Future Is Decided By Who You Choose To Believe" -- DrMM