The Bluebird Patch

       "Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it."   — Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) 

Street GRACE and Whitestone Motion Pictures have partnered together to launch a 12-month campaign against CSEC, which is the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. To raise awareness about this issue, director Brandon McCormick has created a 30-minute film called the Candy Shop.      The Candy Shop was filmed in Atlanta and is a thirty minute film about child sex trafficking. The story is as follows: Jimmy Balcom’s new job selling newspapers is a God-send to a kid working hard to help his family survive during the depression. But then Jimmy figures out what’s happening in the candy shop across the street. And he is confronted with a choice that no twelve-year-old should ever have to face. Giving his family a better life, or keeping his soul. Doug Jones stars as the Candy Shop owner in this original film from director Brandon McCormick of Whitestone Motion Pictures in conjunction with the Doorpost Film Project. This film will be used to provoke meaningful acti...

Stop Violence Against Women Day Event   at the Georgia State Capitol Stop Violence Against Women Day is an annual event held at the Georgia State Capitol at which advocates, survivors, and allies come together to raise awareness about domestic and sexual violence against women and to advocate for laws and policies that enhance safety and promote justice for survivors.    This event gives attendees an opportunity to get connected with each other and with the larger movement to end violence against women. It also gives them an opportunity to foster relationships with their legislators in order to inform them of how domestic and sexual violence is impacting the lives of their constituents and their communities. Stop Violence Against Women Day begins on February 3, 2011 at 8:00 AM with breakfast and educational briefing at Central Presbyterian Church, 201 Washington St., SW , Atlanta , GA 30303 .   Attendees will be escorted to the Capitol building across the...

New year, new segment. As part of our commitment to always bring you stories, articles, and inspirational thoughts that help you lead a happy and positive life, we will occasionally be posting interviews from people who have persevered in the face of adversity and lead extraordinary lives. Today's interview is about Cristyle Johnson. Cristyle Johnson or sometimes credited as Cri$tyle is an amazing female producer, artist, and songwriter signed with So So Def/EMI Music. She was born and raised in Decatur , Georgia and wrote her first song at the age of ten. Cristyle received  this year two 2011 Grammy nominations for  Rihanna's "Only Girl"( Best dance record) and Monica's "Love All Over Me" (Best RnB album). Both records were #1 on the charts in 2010. In addition to writing those songs, she also has written #1 records on Mariah Carey and Natasha Bedingfield!  As if that isn't enough, she's written songs for Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez , B...

“Every now and then a new leader comes along that really knocks it out of the park.” Those who really know me knows that I'm not a political person or a believer of religious fanaticism. When it comes to the content of this blog. I usually try to keep it as neutral and family friendly as possible. However, after watching Rev. Samuel Rodriguez speech at Ebenezer Baptist Church during the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, I knew something had to be done in order to help our community. It baffles me with some many civil right violations happening in the Hispanic community why a leader has failed to emerge and be the voice of reason just like Dr. King did with the African-American community.  I sometimes feel like the spirit of the Hispanic community has been annihilated into a million pieces, mainly due to all the jokes, remarks, racial profiling, discrimination, and ignorant stereotypes they endure. Is almost as if they have resigned to live like this...

I am always on the look out for uplifting and  inspirational music to add to my 10 y/o MP3. While browsing at videos in youtube this video came up. It was love at first note. I absolutely love the arrangement and the energy of the song. The song is "Oh Happinness" by David Crowder Band.  The David Crowder Band (marketed as David Crowder*Band) is a six-piece Christian Modern Worship band from Waco, Texas. The band began when David Crowder, from Texarkana, Texas, realized that almost half of the students at Baylor University were not attending church, which he found surprising since it is a Christian university. He and Chris Seay started University Baptist Church (Waco, Texas) in 1995 while he was still a student. Crowder led worship there and continued to do so throughout the year. The church's congregation grew, as did the band's lineup.  Here are the lyrics (Chorus) Oh, happiness There’s grace enough for us And the whole human race (Verse 1) Friend ...

Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of  Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want (Penguin Press, 2008) has researched the science of happiness for years. Here are her tips to help you cope with a bad economy, and increase your bursts of happiness throughout the day.  1. Focus on Your Relationships You don't need an expert to tell you that relationships are critical to happiness. Not being the bread-winner anymore or not being able to fulfill your kid's needs can weighh down hard on your family life. But the trick is to stop feeling guilty and focus on nurturing your loved ones. 'I was at a psychology conference where an expert was talking about the effects of this economy on families and how parents can't afford to buy their kids luxuries like toys anymore,' says Lyubomirsky. 'But what they don't realize is that kids don't care about toys -- what they care about is parents being grumpy and taking it out on them.'   2....