Spirit Filled Sunday #6

Merry CHRISTmas! In the midst of all the presents and good food, please remember that JESUS is the reason for the season. Without HIM, there would be no us. Give HIM the praise HE so greatly deserves!

The message today comes from the Word of GOD:

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace". ~ Isaiah 9:6

Thought Provoking Thursday (#5)

to provoke your thoughts...

Love and Cherish by Fred Matthews

Writer's Block Wednesday (#31)

The word this week is "watches"... and by the way, the artwork accompanying this piece is the work of my mother (insert kool-aid grin here)

Contemplation

copyright 2011

watching

for your headlights

waiting

for your entrance

wanting

your kiss

wishing

it wouldn't be the last

wondering

how to say goodbye...

Tuesdays with Nikki (#20)

Time to visit with the poetess....

Poem

(for EMA)

By Nikki Giovanni

copyright 1978

though i do wonder

why you intrigue me

i recognize that an exceptional moth

is always drawn

to an exceptional flame

you're not at all what you appear

to be

though not so very different

I've not learned

the acceptable way of saying

you fascinate me

I've not even learned

how to say i like you

without frightening people

away

sometimes i see things

that aren't really there

when people are mean

but sometimes i see things

like fear and want to soothe it

or fatigue and want to share it

or love and want to receive it

is that weird

you think everyone is weird

though you are not really hypocritical

you just practice not being

what you want to be

and fail to understand

how others would dare

to be otherwise

that's weird to me

flames don't flicker

forever

and moths are born to be burned

it's an unusual way

to start a friendship

but nothing lasts forever

Spirit Filled Sunday #5

Happy Sunday!

This piece tonight was inspired by a sermon preached today by Rev. Keenan Actkins. As always, I pray you will relax, reflect and enjoy...

No Limit

copyright 2011

How do you explain...

a 5' 7 pro basketball player

dunking over a 7' 7 player during a game

winning the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Contest

a poor little Black girl

born to an unwed teenage mother

raised on her grandmother's farm in Kosciusko, Mississippi

growing up to become

one of the most influential women in the world

a Black man

becoming the President of the United States

a sweet girl

born with a serious heart condition

requiring immediate surgery

that would cause her to be taken from her mother's arms

to spend a month in the NICU

tubes running through her body

finally coming home

on a feeding tube and an APNEA monitor

now at almost 3 years old

dancing, running, singing at the top of her lungs

eating pork chops, fried corn and collard greens with her Minnie Mouse fork

water

turned into wine

a giant

slain by a young boy

yielding a single rock and a sling shot

a man

living in the belly of a whale

an ark

large enough to carry

all the animals two by two

a furnace

holding with 3 men

who walk out alive

no bumps, bruises or burns

a rose

growing from the concrete

How do you explain it?

Well, it's really quite simple

We serve a GOD

with no limits...

Thought Provoking Thursday (#4)

Thoughts?

Writer's Block Wednesday (#30)

The word for this week is "bottle". Here's what I came up with... relax, reflect and enjoy.

Just a Spoonful

copyright 2011

Fine wine

ages in a bottle

Jim Croce

sang about saving time in a bottle

A poetic love struck woman

writes a note

puts it in a bottle

seals it tight

puts it in the ocean

hoping one day

it will wash up on a beach

to be found by her one and only soul mate

Talented people

with extreme patience and

awesome hand eye coordination

build intricate ships in bottles

And there are a few

lucky divas

with bodies

shaped like Coke bottles

If I could bottle anything

it would be the

undefinable pleasure

of your lips

pressed against my neck

and your hands

running down my bare back

But instead of a bottle

I would seal it in

a honey jar

carry it with me everywhere

and enjoy a spoonful a day

any more than that

and I surely

would not be able to function....

Tuesdays with Nikki (#19)

It is a cold and rainy day in my neck of the woods. I am NOT a fan of the rain. I hate to drive in it... I hate to walk in it... I hate to be in it PERIOD! But since I know nothing grows without a little rain, I am thankful that GOD sees fit to let it fall. This short poem by Ms Nikki G states exactly how I want to spend a rainy day....

Rain

by Nikki Giovanni

Copyright 1968

rain is

god's sperm falling

in the receptive

woman how else

to spend

a rainy day

other than with you

seeking sun and stars

and heavenly bodies

how else to spend

a rainy day

other than with you

Spirit Filled Sunday #4

It's Sunday! Time to get "spirit filled"! I wrote a poem for today's post. I pray you will relax, reflect and enjoy...

Thee Master's Piece

copyright 2011

I am a Master piece

created by GOD

I am perfectly put together

from the top of my head

to the soles of my feet

and all that is in between...

the stretch of my arms

the stride in my step

and even

the thunder in my thighs

My spirit was created in HIS image

My earthly body is HIS design

HIS workmanship is marvelous

GOD don't make no junk

Before I was formed

in my mother's womb

HE knew me

all the hairs on my head

are accounted for...

even the grey ones

all the tears I cry

are spoken for

BEFORE they fall from my eyes

I am perfectly put together with purpose

HIS thoughts of me outnumber the grains of sand

HE knows the plans HE has for me

that means your thoughts of me

are irrelevant

your plans for me

can quickly be canceled

I am perfectly put together with purpose by the Potter

I am clay in HIS mighty divine hands

HE is still molding me...

Thought Provoking Thursday (#3)

A picture is worth 1000 words....

Southside Chicago Boys 1941 by Russell Lee

Writer's Block Wednesday (#29)

The word for this week has given me some trouble. I thought about it. I prayed about it. And because this IS Writer's Block Wednesday, I put fingers to keys. The word this week is SLAY...

Dragon Slayer

copyright 2011

Boss Man

you will not pass me over because of my gender

Crazy Co-Worker

the truth is, you got nothing on me

I'm getting that promotion

Cause..

I am knocking down doors

in stilettos and a pencil skirt

Ex lover

the memory of you will not paralyze me

So called friends with the best intentions

you will not hinder me

I'm going to find true love

Cause..

I'm jumping fences

in Air Jordans and Daisy Dukes

Publishing companies...

your rejections will not crush me

Agents ...

you will never blur my dreams even though you can't catch the vision

I'm going to see my dreams fulfilled

Cause...

I'm moving mountains

in ballet flats and skinny jeans

devil

your lies, schemes and distractions will not deter me

I'm going to live GOD' s purpose for my life

Cause....

I'm slaying dragons

in the full armor of GOD

Tuesdays with Nikki (#18)

Tonight's post is dedicated to all the couples who don't just love each other but are still in love. I gotta admit, I am totally and completely sprung on my husband. So I guess this one is for us too...

Love in Place

By Nikki Giovanni

I really don't remember falling in love all that much

I remember wanting to bake corn bread and boil a ham and I

certainly remember making lemon pie and when I used to smoke I

stopped in the middle of my day to contemplate

I know I must have fallen in love once because I quit biting

my cuticles and my hair is gray and that must indicate

something and I all of the sudden had a deeper appreciation

for Billie Holiday and Billy Strayhorn so if it wasn't love I don't

know what it was

I see the old photographs and I am smiling and I'm quite

happy but what I mostly see is me

through your eyes

and I am still young and slim and very much committed to the

love we still have

Spirit Filled Sunday #3

It's Sunday! The beginning of a new week of opportunities to live out GOD's purpose for your life. If you have looked closely at my blog you will see a quote by a friend of mine, Michael Collision. His words inspired me to move forward with taking the first steps to fulfilling my dreams and doing what I know is GOD's calling on my life. He stated "Life will be empty and meaningless until you live the life GOD has purposed for you." These words ring true. Think about it. How many of you are just going through the motions? Getting up and going to work just to get the bills paid? Running here and running there with no really purpose? If this is you, you are not living life... life is living you. A new Sunday School class started today at church. The focus of the class is to facilitate Christians in identifying their individual GOD given purpose. I learned seven principles that I want to share with you tonight in hopes that you will pray, mediate, reflect and apply.

Seven Principles of Purpose

1. GOD is a GOD of purpose.
2. GOD created everything with purpose.
3. Not every purpose is known to us because we have lost our understanding of GOD's original intent for us.
4. Where purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable.
5. To discover the purpose of something, never ask the creation; ask the creator.
6. We find our purpose in the mind of our maker.
7. GOD's purpose is the key to our fulfillment.

You were created with a purpose. Isn't it time to walk in it?

Thought Provoking Thursday (#2)

Your thoughts?

The skin I'm in by Laurie Cooper

Writer's Block Wednesday (#28)

Happy Wednesday! The word for this week is drink. Wrote a poem about it. Wanna read it? Here it go...

Thirst Quencher

(for Kareem)

copyright 2011

Excuse me miss, can I buy you a drink?

No thank you.

Whatever you want, it's on me.

Please understand, I'm not thirsty

See, my man is...

hot chocolate on a cold night

vodka and pineapple juice when I wanna get it crackin'

sweet tea on a Saturday afternoon

egg nog and Southern Comfort while cuddling by the fire

camomile tea with a spoonful of honey when sickness is creeping in

wild cherry 7Eleven Slurpee when I'm feeling nostalgic about the "good ol days"

cold Dr Pepper sipped through a straw after a long 10 hour day at work

my red Kool-Aid any time and any day of the week

He quenches my thirst...

Tuesdays with Nikki (#17)

Oh how I love the poetic verses of Ms Nikki Giovanni....

Dreams

by Nikki Giovanni

Copyright 1968

in my younger years

before i learned

black people aren’t

suppose to dream

i wanted to be

a raelet

and say “dr o wn d in my youn tears”

or “tal kin bout tal kin bout”

or marjorie hendricks and grind

all up against the mic

and scream

“baaaaaby nightandday

baaaaaby nightandday”

then as i grew and matured

i became more sensible

and decided i would

settle down

and just become

a sweet inspiration

Spirit Filled Sunday #2

It has been a busy weekend. Thanksgiving with my family was wonderful. Delicious meals, heated discussions, walks down memory lane and plenty of smiles and laughter. Words can not fully express my love and appreciation of my husband, children, parents and brother. GOD surely did bless me!

With that being said, I have not written a poem for this post. Yep... it's true. But I do have a Word to share! At church today, my pastor preached on the following scripture:

But those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar high on wings like eagles.

They will run and not grow weary.

They will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Pastor Fort shared the definition of "wait" according to Noah Webster: " to stay or rest in expectation until the arrival of some person or event"

and the definition of "renew": "to exchange... take off the old and put on the new..."

Are you resting in expectation?

Are you ready to exchange the old for the new?

When you are in a relationship with GOD you can call HIS name and know without a shadow of a doubt that HE will be there!

HE can exchange your sorrow for HIS joy...

your pain for HIS peace...

your doubt for HIS confidence.

Place your hope in HIM!

No matter what you are going through, you can experience comfort and peace in GOD.

Thought Provoking Thursday (#1)

Happy Thanksgiving! Today has been a blessed day. I am thankful to GOD for so many things: my husband whose love is unconditional, my son who is talented and bright, my daughters who are spunky, spirited and oh so loving, my parents who have given me a solid foundation, my brother whose laughter fills the room and my friends who keep me encouraged.

If you haven't done so already today, take the time to thank GOD for the things HE has done and for being who HE is: Prince of Peace, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End...

Today marks the beginning of a new blog: Thought Provoking Thursday. This blog will consist of a picture or an image or a word that is meant to provoke thought. That's it. It is that simple. Why? Because I get inspiration from so many things and perhaps on Thursdays, I can inspire you in some way as well. So if you are so inclined, post your thoughts...

Soul Food by John Holyfield

Writer's Block Wednesday (#27)

It's that day of the week. The day I conquer writer's block with a poetic verse or two based on a word given to me on Monday by my friend Whitney. The word for this week is "pictures". Here's what I got. So as usual go ahead and relax, reflect and enjoy!

Mind Full

copyright 2011

I see me

cooking you dinner

wearing just an apron and stilettos

whipping up lobster tails dripping in butter

bacon wrapped shrimp

and very dirty rice

i'm flirting

I see me

standing in front of a sold out crowd

on Broadway

receiving a standing ovation

on closing night

of a 7 month run

of my original stage play

i'm ecstatic

Got the pictures in my mind

The dream in my head

I see me

sitting next to Oprah

discussing my New York Times

best selling novel

she has chosen for her book club and

one of her "favorite things"

i'm beaming

Flip the photo album

see me

walking the red carpet

looking fierce and fine

wearing vintage Versace

Chanel accessories

Jimmy Choo heels

my handsome husband

looking fly in his tux

"Over here! Look this way!

Who are you wearing? You look stunning!"

Why yes. Yes I do.

See the pictures in my mind

Look at me

spitting poetic verses

on a Def Jam Poetry world tour

signing autographs

dining with literary greats

Nikki Giovanni, Sapphire, Maya Angelou and Ntozake Shange

There I am

speaking love, encouragement and inspiration

to young women

beaten down

by life's disappointments

sharing my testimony of God's never dying grace and mercy

I see it all...

My gifts making room for me

But first

I gotta

picture myself

getting up

off this couch...