Well it’s that time of year where we all say what we will do for the New Year. We make a list of things that seem great but yet we never even accomplish half our stated goals. Why is that? Well personally I feel its procrastination. We all know what’s good for us, what’s bad for us, what we need and what we don’t need. However we sit around and still do the opposite, no matter how much we speak and know we should be doing something else we sit there and procrastinate.

 I went to church yesterday and the pastor preached on letting go for the better. He said you cannot have that breakthrough you need while you’re holding on to wrong.  He also went on to say, we often miss our blessing because we expect everything to come easy and not want to put in the work. I agreed with the message. Year after year I sat there hanging on, settling and dealing with. I constantly was shrugging my shoulders and making due. But how long can you live with just that? I guess that is a question we have to ask ourselves individually. We all have difference tolerance levels; however what will always remain the same for all of us. You will not breakthrough until you let go and live. Let go of whatever is blocking, blinding and hindering your peace of mind and happiness.

You cannot live your life happily without having a peace of mind IMO. You can trick yourself into believing that things are good. You can plaster a fake smile for the outside folks, you can lie and fake it but nobody has to truck into your shoes but you. So go ahead and front, deal with, pretend and hang on to the wrong things all your life. But will you ever receive all that you are supposed to have?  Will you ever fully accomplish all those goals you set up in the beginning of the year? Well trust me the choice is yours and nobody can take that step for the better but you.

The hardest step for a baby is to let go of that table, couch or whatever it is that is balancing them up so they won’t fall. But one day when they’re tired of going in circles, or maybe it’s the bag of cookies that they want some of badly. They stand there and let go and they take that first step to walk, they step out on faith knowing that I might fall, I might not; but I’m going for it. It’s funny how we can learn so much from our kids. But just like that scared little baby who had to believe that they can do it, we have to do the same.  

We have to take that first baby step to better our lives or to get what we want badly, you have to let go of that couch or table that you feel is stable.  If you’re tired of going in circles, if you want to move but you’re scared you might fall, just think about how you gotta crawl before you walk and walk before you run. But you won’t get anywhere until you let go and take a step towards your future. So as the New Year rings in and the months start to roll by; don’t let the promises you’ve made to have a better life fall by the wayside. Don’t be afraid to let go and take a baby step to claim what you want and need. The bible said if you have faith as little as an mustard seed you can move a mountain. Step out on faith in 2011 and let go of whatever that is hindering you from receiving your blessing that God has in store for you. The time is now.  Let go and let God, so hard to do but it’s the only way to do it…

Happy New Year

Nichelle Walker

Lena Horne, who was the first black performer to be signed to a long-term contract by a major Hollywood studio and who went on to achieve international fame as a singer, died on Sunday night at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. She was 92. Her death was announced by her son-in-law, Kevin Buckley.

Ms. Horne might have become a major movie star, but she was born 50 years too early, and languished at MGM in the 1940s because of the color of her skin, although she was so light-skinned that, when she was a child, other black children had taunted her, accusing her of having a “white daddy.”

Ms. Horne was stuffed into one “all-star” musical after another — “Thousands Cheer” (1943), “Broadway Rhythm” (1944), “Two Girls and a Sailor” (1944), “Ziegfeld Follies” (1946), “Words and Music” (1948) — to sing a song or two that could easily be snipped from the movie when it played in the South, where the idea of an African-American performer in anything but a subservient role in a movie with an otherwise all-white cast was unthinkable.

“The only time I ever said a word to another actor who was white was Kathryn Grayson in a little segment of ‘Show Boat’ ” included in “Till the Clouds Roll By” (1946), a movie about the life of Jerome Kern, Ms. Horne said in an interview in 1990. In that sequence she played Julie, a mulatto forced to flee the showboat because she has married a white man.

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I love Tasha Smith not only is she a wonderful story of change she helps others dream big, she’s not just the girl in the Tyler Perry movies. There’s so much more to Ms Smith that meets the eye, if you guys didn’t know Tasha Smith is a well know acting coach who owns her own acting school. Born a twin, Ms Smith who had a rocky childhood sat her eyes on the big city lights of Hollywood. Did you guys also know that Tasha started out as a comedian? Yes, she worked her way up the ranks and look at her now. I love her smooth skin and she is a inspiring person in my book, she’s a prime example of it’s not where you been but where you headed to. Actress Tasha Smith is featured on the cover of Hope magazine, which is the first Christian lifestyle magazine to celebrate the diversity of women of faith. In her cover feature, Tasha discusses her flourishing film career, her Tasha Smith Actors Workshop, and her new career as an author.

Here are a few excerpts from her interview:

Tasha on how in the midst of personal struggles, she was led to the Lord:
“…The second I read the Word of God, it shone light in my heart as to who the Lord was. It is something you can’t explain in a natural, logical way because it is a spiritual experience.”

On being a Christian in Hollywood
“People can live anywhere if they understand who they are. My environment does not determine my faith. My experience of God determines my faith, so no matter where I am, I am still a Christian.”

On God teaching her to dream big:
“If God can do anything above what I can dream or imagine, my job is to dream as big as I can because my God can do exceedingly above that!”

I never owned a piece of jewelry that big so I don’t know how you could forget something so large is on. I guess if you have 50 things on your mind I’m pretty sure it can slip your mind. Also I thought it was cute when Beyonce momma said she is praying for babies to, once grandma jumps abroad then it’s baby making time.

Life is a journey that leads us down various paths. And no one better can attest to that fact than R&B star Monica. Monica will be the first to tell you that her path in life has led her to some real turmoil and some real life pain. Monica will also be the first to tell you that through it all, she’s still standing.

Classy, beautiful, and talented are just a few words used to describe this sista who has touched so many lives with her music. Never the one to shy away from sharing her real life experiences in the hopes of helping others, Monica’s genuine appeal has never gone unnoticed and it’s easy to understand why the girl from “ATL” has amassed a legion of die-hard fans that truly love and support her.

Monica has indeed come a long way since the release of her 1995 debut album “Miss Thang.” With well over a decade in the music business under her belt, Monica continues to deliver great music that separates her from the rest.

“Still Standing” is Monica’s sixth studio album. Shaping up to be one of Monica’s best albums yet, “Still Standing” is expected to be released on March 23.

Monica has proven time and time again that she has staying power and I can guarantee that we will hear music from Monica many more years to come. Monica is one sista that I truly admire. She’s compassionate, she’s strong, and through it all, she’s still standing.

“I’ve been through the storm, had dirt on my name. I’m still holding on, champion of the game.” ~Monica

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So Chilli has a new reality show “What Chilli Wants” that premieres on VH1 in April.  With the help of her friends Tionna Smalls, T-Boz and Missy Elliot, Chilli sets out on a quest to meet Mr. Right. However it’s not an easy task. Chilli is super picky and she’d much rather be alone than settle for the wrong person and still be lonely. I don’t know about a woman on a hunt for a man it’s messing up the order God created and in my eyes the relationship will be doom. But that’s just me, I feel the bible tells us “When a man finds a woman he finds a good thing” so if we are looking how can we be found by the right man?

This Smart Chick has survived this music industry for three decades. Sade has always done things her way, she always stayed true to who she is and stood her ground. The timeless beauty that is Sade Folasade Adu, is covering the latest edition of Ebony Magazine. The singer, who recently topped the charts two weeks in a row with her new release “Soldier of Love,” gave the magazine a behind the scenes look into her private life and for the first time discloses why she took so long to release her album and the effect her 13 year old daughter has on her music. You can pick the March 2010 edition with Sade on the cover March 9th.

I remember when Aaliyah came back with this hit penned by Missy, I wanted to be just like her growing up. Her style was so dope and refreshing she was just the IT girl. She was sexy without trying to hard, I know she would still be so huge if she was still with us, I miss you Baby Girl RIP.

Angela and Vanessa Simmons were spotted out and about doing some shopping at Fred Segal in West Hollywood yesterday. I love these Smart Chickz, the have created there own name and wear the iconic Simmons name very well.

Grammy Award winning superstars Maxwell and Jill Scott will kick off their 20-cityU.S. arena tour on May 21st inCleveland with additional dates to be announced through June. Singer and songwriter Maxwellis catapulting off his two recent Grammy Awards and his number one, platinumBLACKsummers’night via Columbia Records, which dominated year-end critics lists. Grammy Award winning singer Jill Scott will be performing hits spanning her 10 year career starting from her double platinum Grammy nominated debut album Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol.1 through her upcoming album The Light Of The Sun out Summer 2010.

Last fall, critics lauded Maxwell’s energetic, crowd-pleasing performances: The Chicago Tribune commented “He worked his band like Cab Calloway or James Brown, the horns slicing and dicing with Ginsu-knife precision, a Hammondorgan taking us to church, the drums peppering everything with syncopated beats. The show had style…Maxwell proved more than capable of taking the abundant personality and intimacy of his theater shows to a bigger stage,”

The NY Post wrote that “Maxwell became the quintessential soul brother. The singer stepped into a lone spotlight in the dark Garden, half singing, half preaching as if he were possessed by the spirit of Sam Cooke” while The Atlanta Journal Constitution said of his show “Within mere seconds,Maxwell was turning up the heat – running up and down stairs on the set, sliding across the floor.”

This tour is being produced nationally by Live Nation. Tickets go on sale in select cities at LiveNation.com.

Details on dates, venues and on-sale information will be announced shortly for tour stops in 20 U.S. cities including: Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, Seattle, Oakland, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, Washington DC, Philadelphia and New York.

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