I looooove food. Love it!…*hugs self*
I think I love it, more because of watching mom cook. Watching her, learning from her, laughing with her, as she tried chicken, baked awesome pies, prepared mouthwatering cakes!…*hugs self*
I especially loved cake baking times. The smells. The sounds of batter being whipped furiously within the mixing bowl.
I listened to the whisking sound, day dreamed of the scrumptious cake to come.
ALL the while, hovering near, hoping, daring to dream, of the moment when mom would expertly pour the creamy, golden batter into the pan I had proudly been allowed to prepare by coating in flour and EXPERTLY patting the extra flour away…*hugs self*
It was ONLY then that mom would scrape the bowl, with her well worn spatula, leaving just enough batter, on the spatula, for a tantalizing taste of cake.
NOTHING compared with her handing us the spatula, with a smile, as we slowly licked that spatula clean!
Surely, she gave more then the spatula should have held. Why, she scraped EVERY last drop of batter, from the mixing bowl.
The spatula, though…!!π
I would dance around the room, with said spatula, acting as though I had won an Olympic Gold Medal.
I had won! Chosen to have the spatula. I almost felt bad for he who came in second…*shakes head sadly*. They were left with the scraped clean bowl. Poor dears.
Those memories, those I hold close to my heart. The same way that I am holding on to yesterday, STILL, not wanting to turn loose my ‘spatula’ given me by mom(from heaven), God and Life.
The moments, even the terrifying flying down the mountain moments, have meant so much I can’t turn them loose.
Am licking each and every drop from this day, from these moments, from my heart, from God’s Heart, from Life’s Heartbeat as I can.
Although, I anticipate the coming ‘cake’ with gladness. I am enjoying the NOWness, of these moments. They shall NEVER come again, in this way.
Life is short, beloveds. Enjoy your moments. Relish your ‘spatula’. Enjoy the cake, when it arrives.
UNTIL your ‘cake’ comes:
Live.
Love.
Laugh.
Allow God and Life to Live, Love and Laugh with you.
Keep going.
#YourLifeMattersToMe
Cassandra FULL AND GRATEFUL

- WHAT IF. WHAT IF YOUR PREFERENCE IS REALLY A RULER? LOVE IN ACTION. IN REAL TIME. Beloveds, I watched something this morning that reached underneath several conversations I have been having lately. It was an episode of the Dear Future Wifey Podcast called βGod Delivered Us From Our Preferences,β featuring Joshua and Courtney Washington. You can watch … Continue reading WHAT IF.
- (no title)π ITβS NEVER TIME TO QUIT β PIECE THREE COLUMBO DIDNβT NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING. Beloveds, I have apparently become Columbo. π€£π΅πΏββοΈ Not intentionally. Nobody issued me the trench coat. I did not apply for the position. But after spending an absolutely ridiculous amount of time trying to figure out why my posts suddenly would … Continue reading
- Just stopped by to ask…Just stopped by, beloveds, to askβ¦ How are youβreally? Not the answer you give because somebody is waiting, somebody needs something, or you do not feel like unpacking the whole suitcase today. I mean you. Have you eaten something? Had some water? Taken your medicine? Rested before your body had to submit a written complaint … Continue reading Just stopped by to ask…
- ITS NEVER TIME TO QUITπ ITβS NEVER TIME TO QUIT β PIECE TWO WHAT IF I DONβT HAVE ANOTHER TRY IN ME TODAY? Beloveds, Yesterday I told you that sometimes the way you refuse to quit is by refusing to keep going the same way. Today I want to talk to the person who read that and thought: Cassandra, … Continue reading ITS NEVER TIME TO QUIT
- ITS NEVER TIME TO QUIT.π ITβS NEVER TIME TO QUIT β PIECE ONE SOMETIMES THE WAY YOU REFUSE TO QUIT IS BY REFUSING TO KEEP GOING THE SAME WAY. Beloveds, I want to start this new series by clearing something up. When I say, βItβs never time to quit,β I do NOT mean you should keep pushing yourself until … Continue reading ITS NEVER TIME TO QUIT.
- SUNDAY WITH CASSANDRA. IT ME!SUNDAY WITH CASSANDRA. IT ME! π SUNDAY GRATITUDE JOURNAL WITH CASSANDRA πͺπ Beloveds, Come sit with me.Yesterday, I invited you to the movies. Today, Iβm inviting you somewhere quieter. Pull up your chair. πͺBring your coffee.Bring your tea.Bring your questions.Bring your faith.Bring your doubts.Bring your laughter.Bring your grief.Bring the parts of this week that made … Continue reading SUNDAY WITH CASSANDRA. IT ME!
- MOVIE SATURDAY WITH CASSANDRAππ¬π©πΏβπ¦ΌπΏπMOVIE SATURDAY WITH CASSANDRA Beloveds, Pull up a chair. I have something new for us. Every Saturday, weβre going to the movies together. Well… Sort of.You donβt have to buy a ticket.You donβt have to get dressed.You donβt have to leave your house. And you certainly donβt have to pay movie-theater prices for popcorn. Every … Continue reading MOVIE SATURDAY WITH CASSANDRAππ¬π©πΏβπ¦ΌπΏπ
- (no title)π¬ COMING ATTRACTIONSβ¦ Beloveds, Tomorrowβ¦ π΅πΏββοΈπ THE ADVENTURES OF LIEUTENANT CASSANDRA COLUMBO. One woman. One phone. One mysterious formatting problem. Approximately 9,742 attempts to figure out why something that looked perfectly normal over HERE suddenly became: WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT?! over THERE. ππ€£ Just one more thingβ¦ π Tomorrow morning, we are going … Continue reading
- Today…It’s been a day. Be encouraged . Cassandra Today was… *sigh* Whew!! It’s not the 2nd but still…
- π¬ MAYBE THEY WEREN’T βTOO BLACK.β MAYBE I WAS STILL HOLDING THE RULER. πͺπBeloveds,I told you I caught myself watching Black romance movies and thinking:Too loud.Too boisterous.Too Black.π³And the Holy Spirit convicted me.Then I watched Deliver Us from Eva.WHEW.πBecause suddenly I wasn’t only watching Eva.I was looking at the ruler I sometimes used to measure everybody.Let’s start with Eva.She’s intelligent, professional, beautiful, protective, loving, bossy, controlling, loyal and complicated.All of it.πShe doesn’t have to become either the Angry Black Woman Who Needs Taming or the Strong Black Woman Whose Every Choice Must Be Defended.Eva needs correction AND Eva deserves dignity.She helped raise her sisters after their parents died. Protection became part of her identity.But eventually protection sometimes became control.βοΈ If I don’t manage everybody, everything will fall apart.π I can love grown people without controlling grown people.Her sisters need a key too.You cannot keep handing somebody the clipboard to your life and then get mad because she keeps writing on it.π€£Eva has to stop managing.Her sisters have to start owning.Everybody gets a chair.πͺAnd YESβTHE MEN TOO.π€£πͺπͺπͺπͺRay begins by deceiving Eva.That matters.But eventually βthe problemβ becomes a person to him.Eva.And Ray changes.π Sometimes genuinely knowing somebody destroys the caricature we created from a distance.But Ray deserves his own humanity too.He’s working, dreaming, saving, flawed, funny, romantic, masculine and tender.He doesn’t need to become a CEO before he’s worthy of love.There’s that ten-times-better ruler again.πThen Mike.Mike has a legitimate frustration with Eva’s interference.His solution?SIR. SIT DOWN.πͺπ€£Because here’s another key:π A legitimate grievance does not automatically make every remedy legitimate.Pain deserves acknowledgment.Choices still require accountability.Then Tim made me ask:What does a Black man have to look like before we consider him βman enoughβ?Dominant?Always in charge?Never soft?Never uncertain?Why?Tim doesn’t need more masculinity.He needs his voice.πA loud Black woman shouldn’t have to shrink.A quieter Black man shouldn’t have to perform dominance.Both get chairs.And Darrell?π€£Some people are intellectual heavyweights.And some people areβ¦Darrell.π€£β€οΈHE GETS A CHAIR TOO.Intelligence isn’t the admission price for dignity.Sophistication isn’t the admission price for love.Black people are allowed to be ordinary.Goofy.Messy.Wrong.Funny.Tender.Brilliant.Ridiculous.Rich.Poor.Loud.Quiet.Human.And suddenly the Holy Spirit’s conviction went deeper.Maybe I had become nervous when Black characters weren’t representing us βwell enough.βWhat will THEY think?Why are they so loud?Why aren’t they more polished?More educated?More professional?More respectable?Moreβ¦acceptable?π³And suddenly I’m not watching a movie.I’m conducting a performance review of Blackness.βοΈThat’s exhausting.Because Black characters should not have to carry the reputation of an entire people on their backs.And sometimes, without realizing itβwe help load the backpack.That was part of what the Holy Spirit showed me.Not merely:Cassandra, look at them.But:Cassandra, look at your ruler.πWho handed it to you?Why are you still carrying it?And I knew part of the answer.Ten times better.There was love and survival inside what Black folk taught me.They were preparing me for an unfair world.But:βYou may have to be ten times better to receive the opportunityβcan quietly become:βBlack people SHOULD be ten times better.βNO.β€οΈβπ©ΉI reject that.Black excellence is beautiful.Black dignity is unconditional.Eva gets correction and dignity.Ray gets tenderness and accountability.Mike gets frustration and responsibility.Tim gets quietness and voice.Darrell gets goofiness and dignity.The sisters get love and agency.Nobody has to become less Black.Nobody has to become ten times more human.EVERYBODY GETS A CHAIR.πͺπͺπͺπͺπͺπͺπͺAnd maybe that’s what the Holy Spirit was really asking me:Cassandra, why are you still holding the ruler?π³My answer?I’m learning to put it down.πAnd maybe you have one too.Race.Education.Disability.Age.Money.Accent.Religion.Politics.Body size.Mental illness.Addiction.Sexuality.Somebody whose life simply doesn’t look like yours.Don’t perform an answer for me.Be honest with you. For, HIM.ππΏWhat ruler are you carrying?Who handed it to you?Who have you measured with it?Have you measured yourself with it too?And if the Holy Spirit is showing it to you, maybe He isn’t giving you the ruler so you can beat yourself with it.Maybe He’s saying:Child. You don’t need that anymore.Put it down.πβ€οΈβπ©ΉPull up your chair.πͺLet somebody else pull up theirs.And let people be fully human in front of you.Includingβyou.π©πΏβπ¦ΌππΏβ€οΈβπ₯πAsking for A Friend,Cassandra#YourLifeMattersToMeNote: One step. One step. One step. You are loved. You are NOT alone. Keep on beingβ¦YOU!Unapologetically His.Unapologetically yours.









