The Gift of Giving

Are you a giver?  Do you enjoying giving to others?  Do you give of yourself and your time freely, without delay or hesitation? 

Do you talk-the-talk or walk-the-walk?

Giving to others gives me a warm feeling inside, especially when I give of myself to the MYGIFT Girls every month.  Since MYGIFT started in 2007, each month, I tell the girls that it doesn’t matter, if I have one girl or 100 girls; I will go through with our entire agenda.  Well, last program year, we had one girl to show up for the entire day.  At first, I was in disbelief and I kept expecting the door to open and girls to walk in and say “Hi Miss Michelle”, I’m sorry for being late; however, that never happened.  We always prepare for 20 girls and we set up for at least 10 girls every month.  I have to be honest, I thought about asking her to call her mom to pick her up, but I kept hearing my own voice saying “No matter how many girls we have, we’re going through with our entire agenda”…so we did.  Nikki and I started the day, as if we had a room full of girls.  The young lady, D’Azanti, was a little puzzled, but she played along, because I guess she was expecting other girls to join her shortly…but they didn’t. 

The three of us had a great day; we watched a documentary called “The Souls of Little Black Girls”.  When we started watching the documentary, I was concerned that she would not be interested in spending the day with just two staff persons and I was right because she asked if she could leave early.  Initially, my heart sank, but I smiled and said “Yes, you can leave early”, immediately after I responded, I was worried that I might have answered too quickly, but I didn’t want her to think that she had to stay all day.  After the documentary, I told her that Nikki and I are going to stay until 3pm, so if she wants to stay with us and complete the workshop, she was welcomed to do so.  She immediately said that she really wanted to say, so she called her Mom back and told her that she was staying.  I stayed true to my word and we rolled out the entire agenda.  We gave Dee our undivided attention by answering all her questions about the documentary, as well as other questions she had about image and the importance of having a positive image.  We had Chipotle for lunch and Rita’s for desert.  She said that it was the best workshop ever for her and I had to agree, because it’s never about the number of girls that attend each month, it’s always about the quality of the curriculum that we prepare and how well we present it the girls. It’s about giving of yourself, so that you can pass the blessing forward. 

I learned a valuable lesson that day…be true to yourself and your commitment to giving to others.

Words of Inspiration by Mother Teresa

It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.



The Law of Giving (“The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success” by Deepak Chopra)

The Universe operates through dynamic exchange…giving and receiving are different aspects of the follow of energy in the universe.

And in our willingness to give that which we seek, we keep the abundance of the universe circulating in our lives.

Applying the Law of Giving

1.  Wherever I go, and whoever I encounter, I will bring them a gift.  The gift may be a compliment, a flower, or a prayer…

2.   Today, I will gratefully receive all the gifts that life has to offer me.  I will receive the gifts of nature:  sunlight and the sound of birds singing, or spring showers or the first snow of winter…

3.   I will make a commitment to keep wealth circulating in my life by giving and receiving life’s most precious gifts: the gifts of caring, affection, appreciation, and love…

"Words of Inspiration" by Booker T. Washington

A sure way for one to lift himself up is by helping to lift someone else.

May I Have Your Answer by Tyrea Covington

Tell me what should I do?

When I feel alone and I have no one talk to

Do I say, I give up and I don't care?

Or do I jusr hang in there.



People say I'm a strong girl and I can handle anything

But, I just don't see or feel the strength and power within me.



I close my eyese and I think about what I've been through

I say man, what did God put me into

As I continue to see people struggle more and more

My feet are just walking closer and closer to the door.



Just tell me have you ever been through this problem before

Or have your ears heard enough, you just ready to step forth

Well, I guess I have to sit in misery until someone gets back to me.

Tyrea is the MYGIFT Girl for November

Tyrea is our November MYGIFT Girl. She's 13 yrs. old and here's what she had to say about the November Workshop:



What did you learn at this month's workshop?

"I learned to wait to have sex."



One thing you learned today that you didn't expect to learn by participating in this workshop?

"I learned some personal things about myself."



Her favorite things:

Favorite Color: Yellow

Favorite subject in school: Math

Favorite female singer: Jennifer Hudson

Favorite male singer: Trey Songz

Favorite rapper: Nikki Manaj

Favorite book: I don't have a favorite book

Favorite outfit: I don't have a favorite outfit

Rita's or Coldstone: Coldstone

Pet Peeve: When people talk about me

What Are You Thankful For?

Are you thankful for your health, your family and your friends?

Are you thankful for passing that test that you did or didn't study for?

Are you thankful that you listened and didn't go to the party that ended in a big fight and someone got hurt?

Are you thankful that your home pregnancy test was negative...this time?

Are you just thankful that you woke up this morning?

Whatever you're thankful for can be used to motivate you to accomplish greater things in your life...be thankful.

The Choices You Make Now, Could Determine Your Future

We're not perfect and we all make mistakes.  How you deal with the mistakes can determine your future. You can have a positive future if learn from your mistakes.  Unfortunately, you can have a negative future if you keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

Will you have a positive future, filled with...

Acceptance, Adventure, Creativity, Faith, Freedom, Leadership, Achievement, Character, Fame, Fun, Respect, Talent, Education, Fitness, Inner Strength, Peace, and Wealth.

Will you hace a negative future, filled with...
Prejudice, Survival, Disease, Loneliness, Addiction, Conflict, and Selfishness

What kind of future will you have?

Being a Girl in Today's Society: What message are we sending our girls?

Women need to always be aware of the message we're sending to our young girls, by the way we dress and conduct ourselves, in public, and especially in relationships with males. It should be our number one priority to protect and encourage our young girls, so they will realize the power that they hold. 

We have to show them, by example the importance of having a positive image. It is our responsibility as women to ensure that our young girls have the right road map for their journey into womanhood. Showing them that, regardless of what their friends say, it's cool to be a respectable young lady, who chooses to wait for sex until they're old enough to handle the emotions that come along with being intimate with someone.

Think about your responsibility, the next time you smoke, drink or use profanity in front of a young girl.

Think about your responsibility the next time you say it's okay, to dress like a video vixen.

Think about your responsibility the next time you decide that it's okay...if he's seeing someone else.

Just think!