AZA Means Strength

Throughout life I have had many "friends". People who I thought I could trust and would be there for me through anything. As time moved on and we grew older our friendship faded and then that was it. Our friendship was over. That type of situation used to bother me. I would ask myself if there was anything wrong with me, did I cause this friendship to fall apart? But I realize that people just grow apart. Each individual has experiences in life that everyone cannot be apart of. I know that this interpretation does not make the ending of  a friendship easier, but this is what I have told myself in order to deal with the fact that this person and I are no longer friends. People lose friends for so many reasons. Some reasons being good, and some bad, but either way that relationship has come to an end. Now that I am a bit older, I can count on one hand the number of friends that I have. One thing that my grandmother used to tell me was "nowadays you are lucky to have one go...

Here is some inspiration for your day! Make it a great one!   Every artist was first an amateur. Ralph Waldo Emerson Experience is the child of thought, and thought is the child of action. Benjamin Disraeli The more difficulties one has to encounter, within and without, the more significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be. Horace Bushnell No great man ever complains of want of opportunities. Ralph Waldo Emerson Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true. Leon J. Suenes You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Wayne Gretzky    

This is my Theme Song for the Year! So Motivational!!!!

Why do we hold grudges? Why do we allow arguments or disagreements determine our happiness? When we take the time to think about what caused the disagreement, we realize that it was over something stupid or we even forgot what the argument was about. I have had situations like this happen and now I am at a point in my life where I can make amends with the situation and move forward with life. If I have been the cause for the disagreement, I am willing to take the mature approach and sincerely apologize for what I have done. I understand that if I can face my faults and admit my mistakes, I am growing to be a better person. Is this an approach that you are willing to take? Are you willing to admit your faults and apologize for past hurts that you have caused? If you answer yes to these questions, then you are ready to make peace with yourself. If you are not at that point, it is okay. It takes time to get to this point in your life. Perhaps it's not your time to get here, you have m...

     ©2001, 2006 Karen K. Talley The truth of the matter is There is nothing more beautiful Than a black man Whether five-two or six-seven, Yellow fabulous or chocolate heaven There is nothing more beautiful Than a black man Long and lean With deep brown eyes Wavy hair or dreds With strong thick thighs There is nothing more beautiful Than a black man Bald head with goatee Cornrows or a fade A little thick, a little thin Oh the choices to be made There is nothing more beautiful Than a black man Scholarly or not Wall Street or hip hop I'll sing your praises To the mountain top Head of the home Provider and love Obedient son and loving brother There's nothing more beautiful Than a black man A mighty provider you've proven to be Sacrificing your life to keep me free Working for crumbs When the table is bare Praising the Lord Leading the fam...

Relations As our lips met, the conversation grew deeper. It's like I could taste the words that were coming next. I almost choked on his sweet breath cuz He spit some real s**t that I could only respect Now, this kiss was no normal kiss at all It was more fictional, A conversation turned visual (in my mind of course). This brotha let words pass so easily through his lips That whatever he said sounded good, even if it was just bulls**t. So my naive mind allowed him to manipulate my thoughts. He invaded me on a mental note And honestly... I didn't want him to stop So I, searched for something more to talk about, But he caught on to my game. He started speaking to my heart and my mind, Trying to make it orgasm in this small amount of time. His flashy smile only made it worse. I was in love with the current situation though so I, Snapped back to reality and realized that conversation and good words have only Lead me to broken hearts so I, Quickly withdrew mysel...

Here are some quotes that I think that you will enjoy! The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can. ~Robert Cushing Know thyself means this, that you get acquainted with what you know, and what you can do. ~Menander God ever works with those who work with will. ~Aeschylus We are sometimes as different from ourselves as we are from others. ~Francois de La Rochefoucauld   We only become what we are by the radical and deep-seated refusal of that which others have made of us. ~Jean-Paul Sartre If we all did the things we a...

What do you do when all hope is lost? Do you give up? Or do you keep trying? Many will say that they will keep trying because that is the thing to say. If it is mentioned that we decide to give up on something, we will be seen as weak or a failure. So in order to keep up with societal norms, we all try harder and harder just to make it. We will struggle and sacrifice and lose sleep just to make it. And all that we go through is worth it, we go through all of this struggle just to make it and we never gave up. But.... What if one day I said you know what, I am tired and I do not have the energy for this, I don't want this bad enough. Does this make me a loser? Am I weak? Many may say YES! But what if this is our way of knowing our limitations? There are some people who just don't like college, they don't like sitting in a classroom and they do not like taking classes on line. Are these people weak if they tried and said that they just didn't want to go that route and...

RAW Incite Fashion Show 05/12/11 When: Thursday, May 12, 2011 @ 7:30PM Where: Ghost Lounge | 202 N Central | Phoenix, AZ 85004 Details: 18+ event. Cocktail attire. Tickets are $10 via presale Featured Item: Shelvey Skirt In early 2011 Sharra took her love of art and design, and behold, the “Shelvey” skirt was created. Sharra states that she was inspired by her aunt Shelvey Myers who was a strong influence in her life from the love of God to walking without fear. “Shelvey” skirt represents the confident, timeless, elegant, sophisticated and unassuming uptown girl. Please support my Soror Sharra Harvin!!!! She is a talented artist and designer and she needs your support!!! If you are in the Phoenix area, you can support by attending the event above. If you are not in the area and want to know more about Shelvey Skirt, please visit Sharra's website www.movementartgalerie.com. On her site you can see more designs of the Shelvey Skirt as well as her art collect...

Most people think that they have to settle for what is right in front of them. Many think that because they do not have the money, they can't live. We should all make the most of life and enjoy it! Why have bread when you can have a salmon? We only have one life to live and since that is the case, we all might as well live it by doing something that we enjoy! Just think about it...What is it that you are passionate about? Do you like the job you have? Is there something else that you wish you could be doing? Now with the economy being how it is, I am not suggesting that you quit your job today, but I do think that if there is something that you are passionate about or you want to do something different then take the chance and do it! Just go for it, today maybe the last day that you can!

FREE GAS!!! That's right FREE! How is that? You ask, well it's easy, the first 5 people to join my blog at http://azameansstrength.blogsp ot.com/ will receive a $20 Chevron gas card! Once you've joined my blog, send your name and email to my Facebook Inbox so that I can verify the information. Once everything has been verified more instructions will follow. Thank you and Good luck!

This drawing is by Jobeth Hood-Mayberry. Here is her explanation of the drawing: This is my drawing of a woman after a day being a mother,nurse, and teacher.... But after all that she is still a WOMAN! Thank you Jobeth for sharing your gift for all to see! You are a woman of AZA!

When you read this think about who you were before your children and who you are now! Thank God for allowing us to have children to bring out the best in us! Before I was a Mom Before I was a Mom - I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday. Before I was a Mom - I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations. Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on - Pooped on - Spit on - Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and My thoughts. I slept all night. Before I was a Mom - I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching...

Not understanding why you are here, the absence of time allows you to lose track of who you are to be. You try different avenues to fill unused space because you have no clue of what else to do. "Why me? What am I to do? Who am I to be?", are the questions of the lost soul. The lost soul has no limit because being lost does not come to an end.  "I guess I will try this drug thing to fill my void or have sex with countless partners because I do not have anything significant going on with my life," says the lost soul to self. At rock bottom you come to the conclusion to end life, you feel that there is nothing left to live for because you do not know what to live for. Deep down something keeps you from dying, something keeps you from giving up. Maybe there is hope, a light at the end of the tunnel. In order to find out, you must live, you are lost to find your way and when you do, you have a story to share for other lost souls that will come your way.

Hello All!!! For the Month of May I will be posting poems and art from Artistic individuals! If you have a poem or a picture that you would like posted on the AZA means Strength blog, please inbox me your information on FB. Thank you and remember there is AZA within you!

In today’s society women are not in love with themselves. Many are in love with the idea of loving self, but they do not understand what it really means to love self. Some feel that by having a man it means that they know how to love. There are some women who believe that if they are beaten by their men, she is being loved. Why is it that we do not understand what LOVE is? Is it because we were never shown by the women before us? Is it the influence of television and media that says women should objectify themselves in order to find love? I believe that all women, young and old, not matter the race, size, height, etc., should learn to love self. Once we learn to do this, no one will be able to tell us who we are, how we should look, what type of job we should have, how we should dress. Once we learn to love ourselves, we will be a force to be reckoned with! Once we learn to move on from pasts hurts and realize that our past does not determine the outcome of our futures,...