A Jealous God... Another Collaboration of Two Great Minds...

A JEALOUS GOD by KFarrell People & Cliff Crepsac

Salvation is sought by those who seek to be saved --

The Giver of All, ask not much...

But Believe in... Everything He has already gave...

And a jealous God spake these words

Exodus 20 and 1… a dime of commandments

Divine… details… defined… and from them principles

613 other law spawned by the ancient rabbis

To complete the entirety of Moses’ Law

Thou shalt not… that how He began

On stone tablet’s fabric… because he meant it

Written and prescribed… like a warning and restrictions

On medicine bottles… on glass shelves in medicine cabinets

The inscription wasn’t meant to be for fiction… all its restrictions

By the finger of a jealous deity… like He is in the verses of Exodus 20

The expression was meant to leave an impression

Like tattooed skin… to help us avoid committing this sin

Like He did with Adam and Eve back in the Garden

Before Adam and Eve found out they were naked

On those stone tablets the first commandment was given

By a jealous God… no other gods before me

And the second… no graven image… shall you worship but me

But we all act like we all have forgotten

So a jealous God… sits high… and looks low… at us… in disgust

While we worship everything but Him

We have put everything before Him

Ourselves… our money… our cars…

Our houses… our children… our clothing…

And our significant others… all before him

The Old Testament jealous God… a loving strict Jehovah

Before grace and mercy was applied… god forbid… if you did

The punishment was simply… Death!

And you thought we would have quit

But of course we didn’t… we still ‘til this day

Put everything before… Him

A Jealous God… 

By: KFarrell

In your guiding light

I was made from the temple of the body to the crown of the Mind

I was chiseled by Your hands…

Crafted from Excellence –

I’m at the mercy to the Father of all our time

How can I forget you when you’re EVERYWHERE?

The First & the Only Ruler - the Sender of our Savior

You gave us options with choices,

Where some wrongfully chose

Your Son still taught us to forgive our traitors

Have we lost our way… not I ... "I say"

I pray for the day I can stand by Your right hand side

Life is just a trial basis between…

The innocence of the Young as well as…

The ignorance of a grown man's pride

He shields me from harm… from close to death situations

I came upon… The Highest of them All - Is Most Gracious

We mustn't rush HIM with favors…

But Love HIM with Patience, that act alone should be Instantaneous

A Judge & Executioner to the Lost Followers & False Parishioners

His Strike will be without Notice

The Power of Prayer is the Belief in Strength

HEED: Where Absence of Faith can render you Hopeless

Defers & Non-Believers, claiming they're Soul Survivors –

Disrespect always comes with a Price

Lack of appreciation shows Your worth is in question,

How dare we not hold a Torch to the Giver of Life

Live without sin, claim No Other but HIM

Glorification of Objects are just some… He doesn't allow

Our Creator is watching to feel if He's worshipped,

The Church is a building

But the Heart is where I've written my Vows

The several names You hold or given by others are the same

For HIM: Prepare to be ready

On myself I place blame… my selfish ways ...

It is me who is Jealous Because I Share HIM with many...

By: Cliff Crepsac 

Wordsfromourpens...

Poeticpurpose 4 Poeticpeople

DON'T LOSE YOURSELF. THE POTENTIAL PRINCIPLE.

We all go through different cycles in this production called life that has the potential to educate us if we just allow these lessons to embrace our soul and not ignore them. Life is just one transformation after another. From seconds to minutes, minutes to hours and from hours to days we continuously change. But not all of us evolve. Unfortunately not all of us possess what it takes to learn from our mistakes, as well as our accomplishments, and integrate those lessons into our every day lives. I am guilty of this as well. Instead of embracing my blessings, I've been questioning my shortcomings. Joining the societal pity party in attempts to prove absolutely nothing to nobody. Not tapping in to my true potential and cheating myself and those around me of the greatness that may lie within me. 

Like many of us, our consciousness is still undeveloped and will remain that way without the proper knowledge and determination it takes to awaken our inner force. This begins with attaining the best possible way of not allowing life to control you and learn how to control your life. How, you ask? Well for me it was just getting up and being productive. Procrastination is a dream killer. So I began viewing work and educating myself as something I WANTED to do instead of something I HAD to do. I'm changing the culture of my thought process. This all begins with not allowing emotions to control me anymore. 

There comes a time in everyone life where we have that one moment of clarity. Whether it stems from tragedy or triumph life just seems a little clearer. It can come from a broken heart or abundance of affection, but whatever the basis for such comprehension you just want to change. To be different. To be better. I have loved and I've been loved. I have hurt and I've been hurt. I have lost those who are irreplaceable and decided that was all the reason I needed not to push on. To accept an attitude that I have come as far as I can and I was now to be sucked in to my own proverbial quicksand and allow life to suffocate me. In a sense I was committing mental suicide and emotional degradation. That was until my own moment of clarity warned me of my inevitable destruction like the 'Check Engine' light just popped on in my soul. I needed to repair myself on the inside first and decided I would do this by eliminating limitations. Through the years my devils within has convinced me that I was incapable of achieving. But through reading, studying and enlightenment I learned that when one puts a limit on what he CAN be, he has put a limit on what he WILL be.

In a nutshell, our potential is limitless! 

This isn't me attempting to be a self-help guru or anything like that. I'm just sharing in hopes that someone will embrace this and want to do better. I have come in contact with way too many people that have given up on the evolution of their life. Folks that just settle. But why settle when life and everything in it could be yours if you just reach out and grab it. Claim it. Because your overall potential lies in what you can do but have not done yet. BE GREAT.

Love.

UNDER THE SAME MANAGEMENT

WE WILL BE RETURNING DECEMBER 2012. STAY TUNED.

The Angry Black Woman

*Hey folks! We been away for a minute and for that I apologize. Unfortunate circumstances led to a minor hiatus but we're back. So let's get right in to it!

For centuries the angry black woman has been a widespread stereotype in the United States. Personally I think that this is an unfair stereotype that has been placed on the black woman by those that just don't understand black folks period. The overall strength and confidence of some black women are often interpreted as being unpleasant and quick tempered in modern society. It doesn't help that reality TV exploits negative and volatile, finger-wagging, neck rolling images of black women on shows like "Real Housewives of Atlanta" and "Love and Hip Hop" either. There are too many images of black women in mainstream media with chips on their shoulders and not enough depictions of the strong and assertive yet caring and nurturing black woman that I know and love.

On that note, we have a guest touching on this sensitive topic because it is near and dear to her and she would love some feedback. She's a working mother of two great kids, a loving wife and a dear friend. Her name is Candy Charlene Hambric-Wilson and she asks some poignant questions and raises some very good points regarding this topic.

Have you ever wondered:

Why Black women are often labeled as being angry, scorned, having a bad attitude or just being a bitch? Why do a lot of our men often stick around when they are broke or depend on us to get on their feet  and when they “make it” they often turn to white women, because they don’t "bitch or complain"?
Who is most responsible for building up a black woman’s self-esteem  as a child? Her mom, her dad, or both.

Does it take a real man to come in and relieve her of some of her pain and past hurt?
Since many black women make bad choices when choosing a mate, just because they feel they are in love and the person turns out to be Mr. Wrong, should she just lay in the bed she made? What can be done to stop this cycle ?

Perhaps, black women are just misunderstood. Could it be the fact that they sometimes carry the world on their shoulders? Most black women take on the responsibility of taking care of the household and children while sometimes working and going to school. Black women have to deal with prejudice in the work place, not only because of their skin tone but also because of their gender. Many feel unappreciated and do not have a great support system.  It may take the head (man) to run the family but the head can’t move without the neck (woman). Perhaps, most black women have to play both parts. 
What are your thoughts?

Dedicated to my Mom, From her Son.

No Words. For Uhuru (Barbara Lou Dennis)

                by Ayo Hakim Peay

I am anxious…I imagine on September 19^th, 1973 she was too.

I imagine her sitting in a window somewhere in Harlem. It was a cool late summer evening.

She sat with the window open and smelled the fumes of that rotten glorious city burn in a fiery red blaze towards the East that seemed to set the skyline on fire.

I imagine she turned her gaze into the eggshell painted room. The paint on the walls looked like old dry skin. 

Roberta Flack ‘s haunting voice playing softly against the whistling of the wind passing through the railroad style apartment.

High ceilings and an ambience only constructed during an error before the world found itself at War for the second time. 

The dark, hard wood floors looking like glazed chocolate in the last of the day’s shadows. 

Her skin mimicking the tone of the floor, like a chameleon.

Her youngest child, soon to be the oldest, asleep on the day bed in the corner.

Cigarette buds in the dish on an antique table.

A half empty bottle of red wine from the night before.

I imagine her short-cropped Afro. Deep dark brown and rich like her eyes.

Soft and curly hair; smelling of peppermint and sandalwood.

She would sit there, one leg on the windowsill the other dangling like a lazy feline.

Occasionally staring at the cracks in the old iron fire escape concealment that resembled an ancient mosaic in the last glimpse of the setting sun.

The twisted metal cascading down to the busy street below.

Bustling people, loud music, car horns and sirens played a cacophony that was the background music of this great metropolis.

I imagine her in a long dashiki dress, embroidered with silver trimming, like a Dhoti gown.

She wore brown wooden prayer beads around her neck. Braless and barefoot.

A “woman” in every sense of the word.

She rubbed her belly that late day on September 19^th.

She closed her eyes and rubbed her belly.

I can see her face.

Round soft jawline.

Almond eyes.

Her white ivory gap tooth smile peeking through full brown lips.

Her nose, which she got from her mother.

Her Southern attitude, and big city dreams.

She was anxious. 

Like I am now.

A bit scared

But ready.

Ready for one of life’s transitions.

She wondered about the future. As I do now.

One thing she knew was certain was that she loved how she felt giving life.

She loved to feel her children grow inside her.

And as much as she loved him

Oh, how she loved him.

She giggled at the thought that she just knew she could give him as many new lives as she could.

An ultimate form of her love for him. 

And she would. And she did.

She gave him two in the summer

Two in the winter

And one in the spring.

It was never enough for him.

But always everything she ever wanted.

All that she loved

Fought for

Worked herself to the bone for

 Cried for

Laughed for and sat anxiously waiting for each of their seasonal arrivals.

He’ll never know

He’ll never understand this love.

But I imagine somehow she knew that and loved him anyway.

Unconditionally.

Anxiously.

I imagine that night on September 19^th, 1973 that she foresaw all of this.

She’s like that sometimes.

She sees things.

Knows things.

Even things I think she knew she could have avoided

Pain she could have bypassed

Sorrows she did not have to experience

But she knew it was written and she played her part.

Played it brilliantly.

It is the spring of 2012.

I am anxious.

She is leaving now.

She has given life.

Now she awaits the transition of her own.

She’s anxious and I know she is scared.

I know she regrets nothing.

I know, somehow, she knows everything now.

Mom.

Go travel.

No more pain.

I am anxious.

As I imagine you were waiting for my life that late summer evening.

I now wait for you.

I was in that room with you on that cool September night in 1973.

As I am with you now.

Anxious.

A little scared.

But ready.

For mom,

There are no words.

You never liked using them to say things that people seem to cheaply throw so freely around.

You showed it in your actions. I knew it.

You never had to say it as I won't say it to you now.

I finally understand.

 When it's like this.

When its real.

There are

No

Words.

FOR YOU MOM

Image isn't everything (but it helps!)

We all know how important it is to keep up appearances and actually look presentable. But for some its a lot easier said than done.

How many times have you looked in the mirror and was completely happy with what you saw staring back? How many times have you told yourself to get out of the bed and get on the treadmill or get to the gym? How many times have those jeans that fit like a glove just 6 months ago barely come up past your knees?
In this age of social networking, Iphones, DVR's and movies at the click of button its easy to lose focus of your appearance and become complacent.
It's especially difficult for females to locate the motivation and desire to not only get in shape, but to STAY in shape.
And for all of those women who lie about their weight, please stop.
Stop lying to men.
Stop lying to your doctor.
Stop lying to the DMV! You're not fooling anyone!

Just because you may have found a way to hide the extra pounds with a Vicky Secret garter belt or squeezed into a certain outfit you put together doesn't make it any better either.
If you put a dress on a pig its still a pig.

Some women have gotten way too comfortable with being lazy.

Now it is a fact that some women are just naturally "big boned" and destined to be on the more curvier side of things. Some even carry it very well. ------->

This is primarily addressed to those that think they have it going on without ever putting in the work to get there. You know the kind that only post the Facebook picture from the neck up. Or the one that thinks her booty looks good in a $400 pair of Roberto Cavalli jeans but her flabby midsection is dripping over the waistband. Can you say muffin top....Let's get real ladies!

Sure there are many factors that may lead up to weight gain such as; pregnancy, depression, stress, medication, a medical condition, and i'll even throw menopause in there. But this is for the capable women. The girlfriend/wife who used to be hot as a pistol that just decided to shut it down, roll around the house and dare anyone to question or address all this new flesh she accumulated.
Did you ever think this may be one reason that he may not be that into you anymore? Hmmmm...
You know who you are!

And its time to do something about it!

No more midnight trips to the refrigerator.
Stop with the second helpings.
Leave the junk food ALONE.
Know the difference between SIMPLE and COMPLEX carbohydrates and most importantly, GET ACTIVE.
Newton's Law is basic common sense. A body at rest will stay at rest. So go for a run, jog or even a simple walk through the park a couple times a week.

Trust me, not only will you eventually look better but you'll feel better!
Love....

10 Painless Ways To Lose Weight

Trayvon Martin & Race in America

In the wake of the Trayvon Martin execution I felt it was only right to divulge into a subject that never seems to get easy to talk about. Race in America.

For those of you that don't know, Trayvon Martin was a 17 year old black high school student from Miami, Florida that was visiting his father in a gated and predominately white community in Sanford,  Florida when he was approached by George Zimmerman, a White/Latino neighborhood watch vigilante, who ultimately shot Trayvon point blank in the chest killing him. Even though there are other factors that led up to the shooting, the reason for this cold blooded murder is simple; Trayvon was black and was deemed "suspicious" and was profiled by Zimmerman as being up to no good. The family of Trayvon Martin and the nation is in a justifiable uproar because Zimmerman has not been arrested despite this clearly being a hate crime. Listen at the 2:21 mark as Zimmerman refers to Trayvon as a "F**king Coon".

I pray ever day that Trayvon Martin gets the justice he deserves but unfortunately this is not the first and it certainly won't be the last time a person is profiled and stereotyped because of race.

Whether Black, White, Hispanic, Chinese or whatever your ethnicity, racial tensions and misunderstandings in this country are just as American as apple pie....this country has came a long way from slavery, Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Movement to where BLATANT racism and segregation is not tolerated as much anymore,  but it's still alive and thriving in many well known cities throughout the country. For example, check out Huffington Post's 10 most segregated cities in America as of 2011.

ARE YOU THE LEAST BIT SURPRISED BY THIS???

Too many people still believe that race mixing is wrong and some even deem it biblically immoral to marry and/or reproduce outside of their race. I personally feel folks should be with whomever they want despite race, religion, background or sexual preference. Respect, trust, loyalty and most importantly LOVE is all that really needs to be evenly yoked, because without them it doesn't matter what flag is mutually being waved...ignorance will eventually rear its ugly head!

But lets not submerge too deep into this topic because we'll be here all day.

But until we learn to do better as a nation when it comes to race relations and equality we will continue to be disgusted and saddened by the events that took place in Florida on February 26.

If people took HALF as much energy as it takes to hate someone and redirect that negativity into respecting each other, then things like this would not happen!

We wouldn't be a country full of bigots and racists and separate ourselves from each other in the name of equality and religion. We wouldn't judge based on looks and allow how an individual is dressed to determine whether or not they are a good or bad person.

There's no telling how many more generations will be subject to this type of ugliness but unfortunately it looks like it's here to stay.
So we have to EXCEPT the fact that some parents are raising their children to fear what they don't understand.
We have to EXCEPT the fact that the media portrays certain groups and ethnicity's less than favorable. We have to EXCEPT the fact that there will always be cultural division.
Or do we?
What happened to all the DREAMERS?

Symposium on the State of Race in America on April 9, 2012 in Washington D.C.