New Beginnings-Rebirth of My 31-yr old Son

Greetings all! I have not blogged in a while, but this topic was a true motivation for me to do so. As you read in the title, it's about a new beginning and a sort of "rebirth" of my 31-year old son Jesse Muhammad (he's the tall one on the left in the pic). Allow me to share the details. Immediately after his 31st birthday on September 4, my son told me that he set a goal of finding out who his biological father was by his next (32nd) birthday. You see, he had presented me with the question of his lineage a while back and I had to honestly share with him that I was not sure. In the past while he was growing up I named the man I was in a relationship with when he was born as his father, however, after much soul-searching and recollection I recalled getting out of another relationship and quickly getting into that one. Long story short, my son set out on his mission for answers. One man is deceased, so God allowed us to contact the other one, who consented to do a DNA test. If I tell you God gave my son immediate answers, believe me it was so! It was just like the scripture says in Matthew 7; Ask, Seek and Knock, and God will give you what you want. The test results proved that the deceased man, Joe McCray is the biological father of Jesse, not Earl Rideaux, the one I had initially tagged. The weird thing is that, up until the day he died, Joe insisted that Jesse was his son, and loved & provided for him like a father.
I gave this post that title because it describes this momentous event perfectly. It is a new beginning for my son as well as myself. We have been blessed by God to not have to question his lineage anymore and for me it is like giving birth to him all over again. What a beautiful process it is, and this time it wasn't physically painful. LOL I had to share this blessing with you all and may God show favor on anyone else who embarks on the journey of knowing who you are! Peace.

September- The Month I Love!

Greetings Readers!

This year has just flown!! It is already September and I must say the year has blessed me in many ways. I love this month for two reasons; 1) it is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month and 2) it is the month that I was born. There will be many observances held in honor of NADAR month and one is the “Families Aiding In Total Healing -Solving Together Every Problem” (FAITH-STEP) two-day drug prevention/drug free recovery conference. It will be held September 17-18, 2009 at Texas Southern University. The issue of drugs throughout the city of Houston and lack of effective wholistic drug reform has prompted Councilmember Jarvis Johnson to partner with many in hosting this first of its kind event. I was invited to be a part of it and Councilmember Johnson unveiled details of this solution-oriented conference at the Official Press Conference on Friday, August 28, 2009 on the steps of TSU Granville Sawyer Auditorium. The press conference also featured TSU President John Rudley, Conference Co-host Mrs. Cleo Glenn Johnson-McLaughlin, Rev. James McLaughlin, community activist Deric Muhammad, myself Mavis Jackson (LCDC,CART), Atty. Michael Harris, Janice Paul of the City of Houston Health & Human Services Dept, TSU Provost James Douglass, and more. Sponsors of the 2009 Recovery Conference also include Communities Of Tomorrow’s Economic Redevelopment/Gift OF Life Drug free, (COTER/GOLD), TSU Center on the Family (TSU/COTF), and the Black United Fund of Texas (BUFTX). This event is well-worth the registration of $199 and even more. For registration information about the FAITH-STEP Conference log on to: http://jarvis-johnson.com/. I am posting pics from the press conference and I hope to see you all there! Peace & Blessings

Texas Business Alliance One Woman Business Conference

Last weekend I attended the 1st Annual Texas Business Alliance One Woman Business Conference and it was phenomenal!. The focus of the conference was minority, women-owned and small businesses. It included a plethora of information and networking with all types of professional business women and men. The workshops included: "Tweet What?"Social Networking Revealed; Business Enterprise Academy Mini-Seminar; and "Be a Marketing Maven" which had a panel that included my marketing genius of a son, Brother Jesse Muhammad. There were many other workshops that covered topics ranging from beginning business information to financial empowerment. We were entertained by local and national television personalities, and enjoyed scrumptous food for breakfast and lunch with some panel discussions on various subjects. There were businesses from all over the city of Houston and some from other cities and states who offered tips and advice to everyone who seeked it. On the final day there was a "Soaring Heights Awards Brunch, Live Entertainment & Keynote address by Comedian Joan Rivers. Needless to say, she put the icing on the entire cake! There were vendors from a myriad of businesses and authors with inspiring and informative books on hand.

Overall, the conference left me and many others highly motivated to continue in our endeavors as new business owners. I left there a smarter, more informed woman who has additional knowledge, resources and connections to be successful! Thank you to Jeffrey Boney and the Texas Business Alliance!! And a special shout-out to Margo Williams Handy for the fantastic job she did coordinating this event, and to Stephanie McKenzie , who I discovered is not only a great marketing expert, but a fellow CME as well!

IT FINALLY HAPPENED!!

Well folks, it finally happened! That Today Show segment that I taped back in May aired on July 27 at 8:30am our time. It was surreal to watch myself on television and the show was totally cool! They say that the camera adds ten pounds, so the good news is, all they showed was my waist up! (LOL) The taping can still be seen on the Today Show website and I have to be honest and say I watched it more than once. That experience is one that I will take with me in my future endeavors. I can proudly say that I was a television star for a day! Of course I don't plan for that to be my last appearance, there will be more to come!

You can go to BGDL.com and see photos of the entire shoot and other information about this fantastic organization that I am blessed to be a part of. The big payoff for my television debut was that a woman new to the alopecia areata contacted me after viewing the show. Now that is real success!! I am praying that we can reach all women with this condition to let them know they are not alone. "I'm ready for my next close-up, Mr. Director"!!

AND THE BEAT GOES ON!

Wow!! A lot has happened since I last blogged. Some good things, some not so good things and some total shockers. The main good thing is that I am still alive and kicking along with millions of others. For that I have a multitude of gratitude. The not so good for me is the monster of unemployment, which occurred unexpectedly and has things in a bit of a disarray. But I remind myself everyday that it could be worse. The shockers of course, are the deaths of so many famous as well as some not so famous people. I think the biggest one being the King of Pop Micheal Jackson. As a counselor, I can only imagine a different outcome if he had been receiving and receptive to therapy and treatment for his addiction. As a recovering addict, I can definitely testify to a possible different or more delayed ending to his life. And as a fan, I can express my sorrow at a extraordinary talent having left us. My sincere condolences go out to his family and friends and also to the families of others that transitioned. Life surely has no guarantees except that one day we will all make that final transition, and when we do, the beat will surely go on.

The Source

I decided to come off my hiatus and post something today. I am truly motivated by the topic of this post, namely, The Source. Guess you ask, Who is this source?? Glad you asked. The Source of my life is Almighty God and right now, at this point in my life I have never been more in touch with that fact. Right before the last post I did, I was terminated from my job and the results of that event have been phenomenal. I have been experiencing more peace and serenity than I had in a very long time. I am getting things done that had been placed on the "back burner" which are integral to my having a successful future. It feels like I am really taking care of myself mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. And all this is made possible by The Source. Don't' get me wrong, I definitely know that I need a job to meet financial obligations, but the loss of a job is sometimes a blessing in disguise. But you won't be able to appreciate that blessing unless you truly understand about The Source. Today, more than ever, I see evidence of that Source working for good. I have lost nothing, not been evicted, not gone hungry or without clothing and still have a roof over my head. In other words, all my needs are being met in spite of my not having a job. For me, that is nothing short of a miracle (another one) and I believe those only come from one Source. I pray that everyone will experience this awesome spiritual awakening at some time in life. To miss out on it is to miss out on the real meaning and pleasure of life.
An extra added bonus to this wonderful time is my being allowed to find a new Women's Program to work with, and guess what the name is...The Source. Do you know The Source?

LIGHTS, CAMERAS, ACTION!!!

Well, I am now officially a television star! I traveled to Chicago, Oak Brook, Illinois specifically, to be part of taping a segment of the Today Show. This dubious honor was the result of being a member of the Bald Girls Do Lunch group of women with Alopecia Areata. We had a wonderful time and I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the shoot. I just had to post the pictures and show you all what a great time I had, and so you wouldn't think I was making it up. The photos are of me and the other ladies that were there, including the founder of BGDL. The one with just two of us is me and my makeup consultant., and boy, she did a fantastic job!

I believe this is just the beginning and that God has some more really special tasks for me to do and the best is yet to come!! Enjoy and tell me what you think. Peace

OH!! THE TAPING WILL AIR ON MAY 26TH SO BE SURE TO TUNE IN TO THE TODAY SHOW & SEE US AND SEND IN REVIEWS!