Sycomore Fig

Being a '70s baby, and growing up in the 80's, one of my favorite songs was "I Can't Go for That", sung by one of the greatest pop duos of all time, "Hall & Oates". Now, the portion of the song that was the catchiest went like this: But I can't go for that, no (no) no can do   No, I can't go for that, no (no) no can do   I can't go for that, no (no) no can do.    To watch the video, go here:   https://youtu.be/ccenFp_3kq8 If you're anything like me, whether as a child, teenager, or adult, you've said 'yes' to plenty of things you should have said 'no' to, and as the new year approaches, there will be plenty of 'New Year Resolutions' and statements of what things we will start doing when January 1st rolls around. Well, I've decided to compile a list of "10 Things I Will Not  Do In The New Year" (and this list is by no means exhaustive): 1. No...I will not go into debt by living abo...

*For this final portion of the series, I thought it would be great if my husband shared some of the lessons he’s learned over the last 19 years of our marriage….so shout out to Takim Raye-Brown for lessons 13-19…enjoy! Lesson #13: Let your help mate, help! As men, we tend to let our pride get in the way because we don’t want to admit that we don’t have all the answers . In doing so, it will cause some frustration in your marriage. You just may find yourself on your knees asking Yah for help, and he answers you by saying, “fool, the help has been lying next to you all this time…duh!” You guessed it, your wife. He saw that we were lonely and knew we couldn’t make this journey on our own, so he created another version of himself, the “wo-man”. I know I can do some great things by myself, but man, how much more could I accomplish by allowing someone who genuinely loves me, believes in me, help and support me to success? I’ve learned that my wife is willing to “ride or die” wit...

Lesson #7: My role as their mother, should never supersede my role as his wife. As much as I love my children, and as much as my daily routine is scheduled around what their needs are (school, homework, football/volleyball practices, etc.), my relationship with them does not come before the relationship I have with my husband. But honestly, I didn’t  learn this lesson until our 2 nd child (our son, Takim Jr.) was born. After we were married, my husband and I waited nearly 4 years before we decided to start having children. On May 25, 2002, we were blessed with the birth of our first daughter, Kimberlyne Dee, and 3 years later, our son, Takim Jr. was born. I was blessed to be a stay-at-home mom for the first 4 years after Kimmy was born, and prior to her birth, we were your typical newlyweds. We did nearly everything together, and meeting one another’s needs was our highest priority.  But, once the babies started coming, I don’t believe I could have ever been prepare...

Coming soon!

Coming soon!

“Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate." Mark 10:9   My husband and I were married in front of family, friends, and loved ones on May 23, 1998 . Now, you may be wondering why I didn’t hold off on writing this particular post next year – after we reached the 20 th anniversary milestone. Well, the simple answer is that each day, each month, and each year of a marriage counts . No fast-forwarding allowed, and since tomorrow is not promised to any of us, I believe now is a great time for me to share. Instead of listing all 19 lessons in one post, (I’ve chosen to break them up into a 3-part post, this first one containing 'lessons' 1-6), so make sure to check back regularly for lessons 7-11, and 12-19.) *Just in case you're wondering, they are not ranked in the order of importance. Lesson #1: LOVE is an a ction word. During the dating phase (or “courting” phase depending upon the generation you were raised in), LOVE tended to be based...