Thursday, January 30, 2025
Monday, January 27, 2025
The Benefits of Daily Gratitude
From Guidepost -
How to Be More Grateful: 5 Simple Ways
Check out these proven ways to invite more gratitude into your heart, health, life, and spirit.
By Valerie Reiss
“Count your blessings.” You’ve heard it so many times it may not even register anymore. But when you actually take a moment to think about what you’re glad for in your life, it feels good, right? That’s sometimes easier said than done. With so many tasks, chores, and responsibilities, it can be hard to focus on the things in your life you feel gratitude for. Luckily, there are tips about how to be more grateful so you can remember and feel more optimistic in your daily life. Start the positive habit of feeling more grateful today!
Benefits of Being More Grateful
Turns out it’s not just a fleeting feeling; studies show that regularly naming the things you’re grateful for has huge benefits to your life and health. Among other positive effects, having more gratitude may:
- Help boost your mood
- Enhance your immune system
- Lower blood pressure
- Improve sleep
In addition, having more gratitude in our lives can make us feel more positive and hopeful about the world. What could you accomplish with a positive attitude today? How would you interact with your loved ones if it always came from a place of gratitude?
5 Simple Ways to Be More Grateful
But how do you do this, exactly? By using proven ways to invite more gratitude into your heart, health, life, and spirit. Here are 5 ways to be more grateful in your daily life.
1. Keep a Daily Gratitude Journal
Like anything else worthwhile, gratitude takes practice. And most experts recommend practicing by writing it down. A daily gratitude journal list in which you jot down five things each morning can be a great help. Start by opening up to a blank page and thinking about all the reasons to give thanks in your life. Or you can find a gratitude buddy you email or text every day. Some people keep a gratitude jar. If you’re a devout non-writer-downer, try numerating your gratefulness each night before dinner, or counting blessings instead of sheep at night, naming the best stuff as you drift off.
2. Train Your Brain to Seek Good
Gratitude studies have revealed that details make it stronger. Instead of listing “my health” and “my wonderful family,” try something like: “being able to hike on Saturday without getting out of breath” and “eating my sister-in-law’s delicious veggie lasagna.” This will help train your brain to seek good—a helpful, neurology-altering talent, especially if you’re prone to seeing what needs fixing. Consider also paying attention to the characteristics of grateful people in your life. What do they focus on? How do they view the world around them?
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Monday, January 20, 2025
HBCU Named Best Nursing School
From Blavity -
This HBCU Has Been Voted The Best Nursing School In The Country
Blavity-U Culture
by Danteé Ramos
For the first time in its nearly four-decade history, the Southern University School of Nursing was voted the best nursing school in the nation.
Earlier this year, Nurse.org, a website for nursing professionals and students, hosted its annual Best of Nursing Awards, with SUSON taking the top spot.
Dr. Sandra Brown, the dean of nursing and allied health, stressed the importance of this award with WAFB.
 | |
| Photo by Naville J. Oubre III/Southern University and A&M College via Getty Images |
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEk80qLR4Cz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
https://blavity.com/southern-university-hbcu-best-nursing-school
“Who's going to be there?”
An excerpt from Salon -
On Michelle Obama's inauguration absence: No need to be phony or fake, there's real work to do
At times, pretending is necessary, but at some point, we must stop
By D. Watkins, Editor at Large
 |
| Former first lady Michelle Obama speaks on stage during the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 20, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) |
Michelle Obama is not going to the Trump inauguration because she is not a phony — great for her. I hope we take this as a lesson on the proper way to resist.
“Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies,” the Office of Barack and Michelle Obama said in a recent statement. “Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration.”
I can't lie, I have never been more joyous after reading a statement from an elected official, because why go to that?
The trend of being a once-elected president and skipping the inauguration began with former President Donald and First Lady Melania Trump back when Biden beat them in 2020. As spectators and people who love this country, we called Trump out for his childish actions, using language like trader and sore loser; however, I guarantee we will not be doing that to Mrs. Obama because: “Who's going to be there?”
“Who's going to be there?” Is a simple but extremely valuable lesson I learned from my late grandmother Thelma back in the ’80s. She had just got back in the house from a long day of fishing. Scrawny me, about nine years old, was charged with the task of grabbing the bucket of catfish she snatched up out of the car and bringing it into the kitchen where they would be scaled, gutted and eventually eaten. My grandma’s great friend, Miss Betty, walked in as I completed my task.
“Glad I caught you, we taken some crabs over sister Paula house,” Mrs. Betty said, “You should come by around six or seven.”
“Who's going to be there?” My grandma replied.
And I don't remember Miss Betty’s answer, or even if my grandma gave a follow-up to that answer — I actually don't even remember if my grandma traveled to Paula’s house or not — but what I do remember is the look on grandma's face when she uttered those 5 words, "Who's going to be there?" The two women shared a laugh and even though I didn't fully get it, I kind of got it. As I grew older “Who's going to be there?” had officially become a part of my language, especially after I surpassed the teenage and young adult need to be phony. I imagine former First Lady Michelle Obama has fully ended her phony stage after the first Trump inauguration, which she attended.
~~~~~~~~~~
The phoniness that Michelle Obama had to subscribe to obviously isn't connected to a need for success in any way. Next to Oprah and Beyoncé, she's probably the most famous Black woman on the globe. The phoniness displayed by Mrs. Obama is directly attached to her husband being the first Black president, the coolest president, the most likable president — perhaps the only Black person in American history who was savvy enough to get white racists to vote for him. I’m sure Mrs. Obama — a woman who took her love for this country very seriously — knew that the 2016 presidential inauguration was the beginning of a four-year disgusting joke made up of inexperience, racism and goofy theatrics. She was too good to attend that inauguration, but she is also a great woman who decided to stand with her husband. Thankfully Mrs. Obama has evolved past that and I believe we should take this as a lesson.
Nothing is Sacred
An excerpt from AtlantBlackStar -
‘I Knew That Sounded Familiar’: White Preacher Caught In Viral Video Delivering Bishop T.D. Jakes’ Sermon ‘Word for Word’ Fires Back Amid Criticism
By Nicole Duncan-Smith
Many would agree that Bishop T.D. Jakes’ most inspirational sermons came from his “Woman, Thou Art Loosed (WTAL)” conferences, held from 1996 to 2022.
The weekend-long church convention, which inspires women to break free from “strongholds” like addiction, domestic abuse, and low self-esteem, was also turned into a movie starring actors Kimberly Elise, Loretta Devine and Clifton Powell
 |
| A white female preacher is speaking out after a viral video of her using excerpts from a sermon that Bishop T.D. Jakes preached 25 years ago at the 2000 “Woman Thou Art Loose” Conference. (Photos by @kk.trinaa/Instagram; Marcus Ingram/Getty Images) |
That same sermon sparked headlines in 2025 after a young white female preacher was caught plagiarizing Jakes’ portion of the sermon word for word.
The electrifying sermon where both bishops had the crowd of women in a frenzy, claiming their deliverance, was posted in Mar. 2024 on Church Classics’ IG page, possibly where the woman saw this vintage offering.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDnnJbQuRLw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Please check out the original article at the link below to see the first video (I was not able to post it here) and to read some of the comments that are spot on. -Faye
Thursday, January 16, 2025
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