Flying for Jesus

When the world would wear
and tear
your very grasp
on this feathered thing
this hope
which lifts
and flys
to overcome the whys
and so we sit
and look at the sky
in wonder

the world
continuing to plunder
at the meat of our souls
leaving us hardly whole
till His hand scoops in
to pick us up
gently cupped
to lift above
the reaches below
and show us
the out

that the feathers we had clung to
are tightly woven
into the seams of our shoulders
ready to lift
against any boulder
with two strong wings
our freedom sing
as we flap away

no more to say
why, or how, or what
but only yes
and to believe
that in you, there is no one else to please
and in being who we are
that is how we will go far
and not for us but for you
and that is what
soaring high

I want to do. 

"but those who hope in the lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
      Isaiah 40:31

Faces

I see faces on the street
faces in the cars
face in windows, flowers, and scars
I see faces in the floor
faces in the tree
faces in the cardboard
and all around me!

all around are faces
what else can there be?
when you look around,
what do you see?

Write a comment, I would love to hear ( :

Luke 3:22

A Tale Told Well

Stories
fill to the brim
as the toxic
green tea latte swims
and simmers

his eyes glimmer
as he tells
of the movie
he will soon sell

of a family who loves
and propels him forward
of this one propelling word
"The Doppler Effect"

one that I will soon see
and more so be

Fear grapples our heart in our forward motion
as if in the rippling and building
of the ocean

before a storm
the greatness brewing
to challenge the norm
and we in fear hesitate
to step into the waves
to grab our board and go
the thrill never to know
or the barrel to catch and ride
no more do I want to hide
but always be moving in

in to the places no one else will go
thankful for the people God has helped me to know
and the community that he has helped to grow

and all b/c of contacts and Starbucks ( :

Check out my new friends documentary that he is about to go and shoot from Alabama to Harlem:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1798166652/brooklyn-to-harlem?ref=live

The Gift of Kindness

Have you ever missed your family? Or if you have mostly friends that are girls or couples, missed talking to a guy? Well, I work at a place that is primarily all women and children which makes both of those things even worse.

Today, I was feeling overwhelmed by a mix of those things and was praying about it as I walked into the Lowe's store. Walking in, smelling the sawdust, and seeing all of the tools was almost reassuring enough just by being in a "man's" place.

I walked back to the wood section to get what I came for, but found 5 million different types of plywood in different sizes. Rather than kill my brain in trying to make my way around what all of it meant, I went to ask one of the guys that worked there.

Michael was the perfect man for the job. I asked my questions and immediately, he knew what to do. He took me over to the right one and with animation began to tell me why it was better than what I had looked at. He turned over the board to show me the "c" side where it was a lesser grade and had rugged knots as compared to the "b" side which was smooth and whole. With every word you could just see that wood was something that he knew and loved.  It was a kind of love I haven't known except for words and nature. After a few moments of talking over and deciding he then carted me over to Carmine. On the way over I asked a few questions about his life but then he left to do more work.

Now, Carmine is the guy in charge of cutting all of the wood. Carmine had those strong arms that were tanned with age and sun. He reminded me so much of the men that I had loved and looked up to growing up in my church. The ones that would sit to the side of the fellowship hall talking nonsense or not talking at all but they always looked cool because they had their trucker hats tipped to barely sit on their balding heads.

Well, Carmine was just as sweet. A guy was having wood cut for a box he was building his daughter. Not something you would expect from his epicenter shirt and stylish hat and jeans, but that made his project even better. His cuts took a while and Michael came back to check on me.

He asked how I was doing and I replied nicely. He apologized for the wait but I told him it was no big deal and made a joke. He walked away.

A few of the cuts were altered and changed so it took longer than both Carmine and the man expected. You could see it in their faces. When they finished, we said our goodbyes and Carmine smiled for the first time of the whole time I had been standing there.

He smiled as he thanked me for waiting, thought, and then gave me that same smile as he told me that they didn't normally do so many cuts but the store was slow and it was for the man's daughter. His kindness shone through.

He cut my wood small enough so it would fit in my car. I asked if he liked to work with wood and there was that smile again! He pulled out his flip phone with his beautiful granddaughters as the background on his screen. Carmine scrolled through his pictures to show me a beautiful kitchen island he had made and then an extensive entertainment center that encompassed the wall but was ridden with little touches, angles, and proofs of his handiwork. I genuinely complimented him on his projects.

As we walked away from the cutting station, we met up with Michael. Both out of the blue start talking about me. About how I had been the most patient and kind person they had ever met. But I hadn't done anything. If anything, they had greatly added to my day without knowing it.

How great is our God to show us how even in a small moment of waiting, beauty can be born for all parties involved.

"What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived-
the things God has prepared for those who love him."
    1 Corinthians 2:9

(something that I am continually grappling with to know- his love is too big for our tiny minds!)

A Man's Promise

You know those days where you have a lot to do
and all of it weighs on your heart
and you try to begin
and for some reason can't start
and you are pushed and you're pulled
and can't seem to get full
and no one is around
and you are just crying to hear the sound
of a familiar voice and for a hug
and your heart tugs
at you to move
but all of you is a heap
that really wants to sleep
and so sleep you almost do
till something pulls you through...

This video was that thing to pull me through:

Thank you, Jesus, for loving men who see beyond the lies and elevate the empty and low standards girls (myself included) set!

Trusting

We were meant to share
the things that we carry
and as I sit
and talk to some of the most wonderful folks
afterwards to you 
I wish was the one I had spoken to

to tell about
more than a shout
in my heart
to share

because, Lord, I still care
but, God, it is in your time
and not mine
so I will confine my thoughts
to this rhyme
to know that for this time alone
my hope in You
has shone

beauty all around and forward
just need to bury deep with in Your word
written, spoken, sung
draw a picture of a branch as a lung
in whatever way express
what the world would try to compress

because all I have is Yours
to use and to have
but without others, Lord,
I feel as if a missing half

thank You for providing a person
to speak to
You knew
that my heart desired
on my behalf You had already conspired
to make and be
a day perfectly relaxing, new and free

my mind renewed
still overwhelmed

but

seeing more and more
that You are at the helm

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail."
    Lamentations 3:22

This Morning

A day filled with mixed signals
of what is wrong
and what is right
and what is right within my sight
and as I don these torturous discs
my eye, each time, my finger miss
till watering and blood red
I still press forward
and Chris offers up an encouraging word
till finally in
they go!
and I lift my voice and arms
because I know...

that I can wear contacts ( :

Hope you enjoy this beautiful day today!

and if you know the wonderful Jen Griffin, be sure to give her a birthday call!