-
One Of The Guys
Back in the summer of 2004, I got to spend 3 weeks with my father at Arkansas Governor’s School. For those who don’t know, this is basically like a summer camp for what college will be like for Juniors before their Senior year in high school. This was a huge deal for me as I never really got to spend this much time with my dad so I was over the moon about it. I don’t know what I expected to get from my time up there, but what I got was something I’ll never forget. There were two Residential Assistants there who were pivotal in my experience, Everette Callaway…
-
Ma Doodle
There are so many stories I can tell about my mother and how much she has sacrificed for me and BibleStudyGirl. She is a shining example of Godly service and I don’t know where I’d be without her. One of the defining moments in my life that let me know how much she trusted God, and consequently how much faith she had in me, was before my first year of college. Now I’m not being mean to myself when I say this, but I wasn’t the most dedicated student in school. If you couldn’t tell from my post about my wife, I liked to write my own stories more than…
-
First Best Friend
The first friend I ever made in life was Bible Study Girl. She was my best friend in fact, and the only person I ever wanted to play with outside of my cousins. I trusted her and still do trust her with my life because, in my eyes, she is truth personified. She protected me and even beat someone up who tried to bully me one time. Anyone who knows me will know that I love my sister with everything that is in me. She took me on my first date, gets all of my jokes, and without trying makes me feel comfortable being me. She’s my sounding board and…
-
I See God In Your Eyes
I remember back when I was in 10th grade. One of the most prophetic days of my life. I was sitting behind my future wife who just didn’t know it. Or rather didn’t want to show that she knew this to be true, and I was in deep thought. I wasn’t paying attention to class at all. There was something much more important on my mind. See, at the time I wrote a lot of poetry. So I would constantly have a composition notebook with me and my only desire would be to write whatever came to mind. Whether it was a song or a poem, I just had to…
-
Everyday is Thanksgiving
Every year around this time we come together to be with family, friends, and loved ones. We enjoy eating copious amounts of food, watching football, and shoppping like mad men. This is the time of “Thanksgiving.” The funny thing about this holiday is the fact that, by all accounts, it’s a scheduled time of thanks. Which, as I grow closer to God, seems odd. Do I really need a reminder to be thankful? Has God done so little for me that I somehow can get all of my thanks to Him done in one day? Being continually thankful is hard. I struggle with it. Especially when I’m going through…
-
What is Forgiveness? Part II
Super heros are an amazing creation. It’s even more incredible when you know one in real life. To me, that person was/is my sister. For the majority of my life, I’ve seen her do the most difficult things with extreme ease. She is, by all accounts, the purest definition of black girl magic. I aspired in a lot of ways to make my sister proud of me. She was my first best friend and de facto parent when my mother wasn’t around. What does any of that have to do with forgiveness or finding out what it means you ask? Well, all siblings fight. And our biggest fight was surrounding…
-
What is Forgiveness? Part I
Six years ago this November, a couple days after my 26th birthday, my uncle was shot and killed. I don’t often think about it. In fact, most days I just lock it away in the deep recesses of my mind. I seal any emotionally draining thoughts inside a vault of ironclad stoicism just so I can function. I do this so I don’t break down. Reality can be harsh sometimes. I stare in the mirror and wonder what it truly means to forgive. And can’t seem to come up with an answer. Somewhere, deep inside me, it feels like defeat to say “Hey, I forgive you for murdering my uncle…
-
How I Learned to Read
We aren’t born knowing what expectations we should have for ourselves. It isn’t something you just stumble across by serendipity. In fact, it’s more like osmosis. There was a special summer I spent with my grandmother the year before I started elementary school. My sister and I would get to go swimming, devour amazing meals, and go to the library, amongst other things. The library was significant because I’d get to enjoy videos of my favorite characters, Winnie the Pooh, etc., which allowed my imagination to explode into the cosmos. “What does this word mean?” or “Ooo, I like the way this character sounds.” The thing I didn’t realize was…
