Signed, Apologetic No More......
As the second week of school came to end, I charged my best and brightest students to stand up and take back their school. "If so many negative behaviors can possess so much attention, why can't the most poignant and stable behavior not (at least) neutralize the atmosphere in which we spend most of our waking hours? If you are tired of something, you, too, possess the power to change your environment. Now HOW that can be done is what is up for debate. But our WHY is already here." With being said, I realized that I was ministering to myself. I will tell why....
I am asked often, "What does #hautemomsrock" mean? I see these t-shirts all over the place, but some of these moms aren't hot. But it's good that you're making them feel like they are." Wait, what did you say? So I began to give my attention to "negative" energy. I began to "dumb down", a defense mechanism some are also familiar with. I began to stumble over my words, trying to make people who really have no desire to understand MY vision understand my vision (wink). I, then, explained to my students that I am just like them. Somewhere in my past, in my childhood, I learned to "dumb down". Because the negative energy around me was so strong, I learned to dim my light. I learned to turn "Shica" off. And in talking with my students, I realized that many of them were doing the same because it has become a learned behavior.
As a society, we celebrate mediocrity. We have lowered the standard by which we live and function. We compromise our excellence, but why? Why do we secretly go after and achieve greatness? Why do we accept what is subpar and not promote and encourage excellence? How is it that those who have no clue what it takes to maintain God-given gifts and talents are able to speak on what they do not possess nor understand? Again, I will tell you why....
When we do not understand something, we "dumb it down" to our level of understanding. Instead of being curious enough to learn more about it, we make of it what we need it be in order to coexist with it. We do not pay attention to the details or the "context clues" of life. Instead of making inferences, we make assumptions because we do not have any schema in areas that do not pertain to our daily lives. We lack empathy and compassion because we have no ability to walk in another's shoes. We think only of ourselves and live and love from a place of "me." I call it the R.J. Stevens complex.
In the movie "Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins", Martin Lawrence portrayed R.J. Stevens, a self-made talk show host known for re-inventing himself. As a child, he never won anything and always made fun of but vowed, as an adult, to become what he thought a winner should look like. He grew up and created "the team of me". In other words, he went away on his own, never dealt with his own issues of feeling insignificant, and became who he wanted to be instead of who he really was with no regard of anyone else, particularly his estranged family. And that is how a lot of us function today. Instead of embracing who really are, we walk around as representatives and/or version of true selves.
Back to #hautemomsrock...... I had to stop myself from apologizing my vision, my brand. I had to stop myself from explaining to those who really have no desire to understand what it really means. I started standing up and living #hautemomsrock. I know that the word "haute" does not mean hot. But even if it did, so what? Why did I need to "dumb it down" in order to for it be accepted or acceptable? Why am I required to make someone else feel okay or secure about moms being haute or hot? Why do I have to explain? And anyway, who wouldn't want to be around haute/hot moms???
Now does #hautemomsrock does embody all things attractive, sexy, beautiful, etc.? Absolutely, it does. I am a woman, and I desire to feel good in the space I'm in. And I do not apologize for that. Yet physicality has nothing to do a person. That is God-given. We give too much power to those who do not possess the qualities we possess. However, #hautemomsrock is all about celebrating the part of you that has persevered, that gets up everyday and starts over again; that part of you that is still here. #hautemomsrock gives life to the very essence of who and what God says you are. It is the JOY to those who have wept. It is our HOPE for our better tomorrow. It is repentance for the gods (idols) we sought approval from instead of paying homage to the only one and living God. #hautemomsrock is restoration, reconciliation, and relationship to the one that was beautifully and wonderfully made. #hautemomsrock is Jeremiah 29:11, Genesis 22:14, James 1:4. #hautemomsrock is Ephesians 3:20. #hautemomsrock is unapologetically me.
So to those who have t-shirts, my prayer is that you wear yours with humility and boldness, understanding that if it had not been for the Lord who was on your side...... you know the rest. I pray that you recognize that you are who you are on purpose with a purpose for purpose. I pray that you feel #godlyproud every time you put it on, whether you dress it up or down. I pray that it serves as a tangible reminder that you matter, your voice matters, and that you have the ability to cause positive change in the earth. I pray that these gray t-shirts neutralize negativity, cancel mediocrity, and excite productivity. I pray that, as they adorn human temples, our actual temples and homes are blessed as well. But more than everything, I pray that God is glorified in it all simply because...... if it had not been for God on my side, where, in the world, would I be?
So I pray that this blesses the lighthouse keepers and that you never dim your light. I encourage the brilliant ones to be the catalysts you were created to be. To the artists, please keep creating the colors and sounds we need to keep moving. To the righteous, pray without ceasing. To the game changers, show up and show out!!!! The time is here; the time is NOW!!!!!! And never forget, #hautemomsrock.....
I am asked often, "What does #hautemomsrock" mean? I see these t-shirts all over the place, but some of these moms aren't hot. But it's good that you're making them feel like they are." Wait, what did you say? So I began to give my attention to "negative" energy. I began to "dumb down", a defense mechanism some are also familiar with. I began to stumble over my words, trying to make people who really have no desire to understand MY vision understand my vision (wink). I, then, explained to my students that I am just like them. Somewhere in my past, in my childhood, I learned to "dumb down". Because the negative energy around me was so strong, I learned to dim my light. I learned to turn "Shica" off. And in talking with my students, I realized that many of them were doing the same because it has become a learned behavior.
As a society, we celebrate mediocrity. We have lowered the standard by which we live and function. We compromise our excellence, but why? Why do we secretly go after and achieve greatness? Why do we accept what is subpar and not promote and encourage excellence? How is it that those who have no clue what it takes to maintain God-given gifts and talents are able to speak on what they do not possess nor understand? Again, I will tell you why....
When we do not understand something, we "dumb it down" to our level of understanding. Instead of being curious enough to learn more about it, we make of it what we need it be in order to coexist with it. We do not pay attention to the details or the "context clues" of life. Instead of making inferences, we make assumptions because we do not have any schema in areas that do not pertain to our daily lives. We lack empathy and compassion because we have no ability to walk in another's shoes. We think only of ourselves and live and love from a place of "me." I call it the R.J. Stevens complex.
In the movie "Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins", Martin Lawrence portrayed R.J. Stevens, a self-made talk show host known for re-inventing himself. As a child, he never won anything and always made fun of but vowed, as an adult, to become what he thought a winner should look like. He grew up and created "the team of me". In other words, he went away on his own, never dealt with his own issues of feeling insignificant, and became who he wanted to be instead of who he really was with no regard of anyone else, particularly his estranged family. And that is how a lot of us function today. Instead of embracing who really are, we walk around as representatives and/or version of true selves.
Back to #hautemomsrock...... I had to stop myself from apologizing my vision, my brand. I had to stop myself from explaining to those who really have no desire to understand what it really means. I started standing up and living #hautemomsrock. I know that the word "haute" does not mean hot. But even if it did, so what? Why did I need to "dumb it down" in order to for it be accepted or acceptable? Why am I required to make someone else feel okay or secure about moms being haute or hot? Why do I have to explain? And anyway, who wouldn't want to be around haute/hot moms???
Now does #hautemomsrock does embody all things attractive, sexy, beautiful, etc.? Absolutely, it does. I am a woman, and I desire to feel good in the space I'm in. And I do not apologize for that. Yet physicality has nothing to do a person. That is God-given. We give too much power to those who do not possess the qualities we possess. However, #hautemomsrock is all about celebrating the part of you that has persevered, that gets up everyday and starts over again; that part of you that is still here. #hautemomsrock gives life to the very essence of who and what God says you are. It is the JOY to those who have wept. It is our HOPE for our better tomorrow. It is repentance for the gods (idols) we sought approval from instead of paying homage to the only one and living God. #hautemomsrock is restoration, reconciliation, and relationship to the one that was beautifully and wonderfully made. #hautemomsrock is Jeremiah 29:11, Genesis 22:14, James 1:4. #hautemomsrock is Ephesians 3:20. #hautemomsrock is unapologetically me.
So to those who have t-shirts, my prayer is that you wear yours with humility and boldness, understanding that if it had not been for the Lord who was on your side...... you know the rest. I pray that you recognize that you are who you are on purpose with a purpose for purpose. I pray that you feel #godlyproud every time you put it on, whether you dress it up or down. I pray that it serves as a tangible reminder that you matter, your voice matters, and that you have the ability to cause positive change in the earth. I pray that these gray t-shirts neutralize negativity, cancel mediocrity, and excite productivity. I pray that, as they adorn human temples, our actual temples and homes are blessed as well. But more than everything, I pray that God is glorified in it all simply because...... if it had not been for God on my side, where, in the world, would I be?
So I pray that this blesses the lighthouse keepers and that you never dim your light. I encourage the brilliant ones to be the catalysts you were created to be. To the artists, please keep creating the colors and sounds we need to keep moving. To the righteous, pray without ceasing. To the game changers, show up and show out!!!! The time is here; the time is NOW!!!!!! And never forget, #hautemomsrock.....
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