She Can, She Do Intro 8: I'm stuck in a storm and I can't get out

Storms are supposed to pass.
They are not supposed to hover over us for a life time.
If it continues to rain in one spot, eventually there will be a flood. Maybe we should move on
to higher ground.

check out the Gospel Nerve Story Cafe for the latest characters and situations in their lives . . . (c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve . . .

She Can, She Do Intro 7: Dig in, Hold on, & Ride it Out As If You Expect It To Pass

I just hate that . . .

1. I hate it, when everything is not perfect the way it is supposed to be.


2. I hate it when people can't or won't see my point of view too.


3. I hate it when I have the answer and no body cares to listen.


4. I hate it when everything could have been easier, but the people around me make it harder.


5. I hate unnecessary drama, and do not like being around the people who cause it.

My old lists of hates could go on for days, I know people and love people who have this same list of hates. Life is easier when everything is perfect and the way that we think it is supposed to be, when people listen to us, when people care more and recieve the help that we sometimes, freely give.

But the messiness of human choice and personality is a part of life too. What if the lesson is

--us learning how to navigate the waters (no matter how calm or turbulent) with some grace

--us developing skills that we never knew we had

--us recognizing and overcoming the vices in our own personalities that we never noticed were present?

What if tough times and difficult people where designed to train, test and teach us how to win no matter the challenge? If we took it as a lesson, maybe we could learn

How to hold our peace,

How to restore the order out of another woman's storm,

How to speak words that penetrate,

How to step back, pray, regroup and move forward, anyway.

How to redesign our own lives, when it doesn't go as planned.

How to use a bevy of weapons on demand,

Because some battles require brute strength and others require a well turned phrase.

But all battles require an element of grace and wisdom in order to win (succeed, grow, overcome) every time, so

dig in, hold on, and ride it out as if you expect it to pass and you have planned to win . . . besides, how do you know, your true character and your real strength, if what you say you are is never tested?

James 1:2-4 AMP

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve . . .

She Can, She Do Intro 6: Press On*

We don't have to be perfect to be blessed, but we have to be warriors, and we have to be in motion. I haven't figured it all out yet and Lord knows that I haven't reached my goal, but there is one thing that I can do and one place that I can put my focus: I try my hardest to forget what lies behind me and I strain for what lies ahead. I press on toward my goal because there is a reward that I am hungry for, a dream that motivates me, a hope that must become a reality. I press on because my life is more than me. And there is this promise that was made to me, engraved onto my heart you see, because of this promise, my dreams, they follow me, waiting to see me become woman enough to raise them up into reality, all beautiful, strong, independent, and free.

Our dreams have a soul, don't let them die in a hell that they were never designed for because we were meant to live the dream in this life time. But what do we do when it gets hard? . . .

*These are my feelings, but I wasn't the only one to ever feel this way. Phil 3:13-14.

(c) Jamillah Warner, http://www.gospelnerve.com/, I got the nerve . . .

She Can, She Do Intro 5: Dear Lady

To the woman who is under whelmed by the lack of excitement in her life
To the woman who is over-whelmed by the responsibilities and the disappointments of her life
To the woman who fears so many things . . .
To the woman who is afraid of the storm and a wind that she cannot handle
To the woman who fears the monotony and a life with no wind at all
To the woman who wants more and is almost too afraid to reach out and get it,
Dear Lady,
learn to ride the waves, no matter how high or how low;
learn to whether the storm, no matter how great or how strong;
learn to rest in the calm, and to still discover the peace in the rage;
learn to make your own waves: when everything has been far too quiet for too long
and learn to do it all in a grace that looks like the heart of God.

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve . . .

She Can, She Do Intro 4: To Will & To Do

We are wired for success, God made us that way.
She Can, She Do is about learning to respond to the spirit in us that craves the best.
And I don't mean the best cars, the best houses and the best vacations (though we want that too); I mean the best work, the best effort, the best vision for our lives and our communities, and the best in us. No matter how much intestinal fortitude (guts) it takes to become best, this woman knows She Can, so She Do.

We are the ones who have not quite reached the dream yet & on some days we are on the verge of giving up, because we think that it has been too tough and that we have worked hard enough. In our weaknesses, sometimes we forget ourselves. If we fail to allow God to whisper in our ears, we forget that we are strong and that we have more to give and more to live and so much more to dream, to will and to do.

These words exist to whisper in our ears and to remind us that we are the ones who can and do.

And we can stand the test of time because

"it's not in our own strength,"

"it is God who is all the while...at work in us, energizing and creating in us the power and desire, both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight...*"
Let our lives be God's best designs and our best efforts.

*Phil.2:13 (Amplified Bible)

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve . . .

She Can, She Do Intro 3: Turning Thirty with an Attitude

My sister turned thirty with a twisted ankle and a swollen knee. I turned thirty and gained an extra twenty pounds promptly. My aunt turned thirty and she was in the best shape of her life. What in the world is thirty anyway? What does it mean to be in our thirties?

Turning twenty was easy and exciting because we are beautiful, passionate and fearless at that age; we have everything in front of us; and we know it.

Turning thirty is not nearly so exciting, because we are keenly aware of how easy life was supposed to be and how challenging it actually is. Our minds are full of all the impossible things we thought we would have in our twenties but have yet to accomplish as we knock on the door of another decade.

We are that forgotten age that few people think of unless you are one.
We are young but not young enough to be dumb anymore
or cowards anymore or to hide anymore or to wait any longer;
We are tired of what we have been doing, and we want more.
This is the age where we truly decide our lives.
Will we settle or will we fight for our dreams?
Will we be/become wise women or wallow in our old and foolish mistakes for the sake of our pride?
Will we go on and be young
enough to keep learning, old
enough to live out loud, and bold
enough to make something spectacular happen for ourselves?
This is the age where we decide to step up to the plate for a lifetime or just take what is in front of us.
This is the beginning of the true design of our lives.
In our thirties we find out who we really are and just what we are made of .

Will you walk every morning to control a body that seems like it wants to control you, or will you sit there?

Will you work the extra hours after you have done all the work that you think you can possibly do in a day, just to build a dream that only you can see in the beginning, or will you continue to sit there?

Will you fight when others quit, will you stand when others fall, will you live what others will only dream?

Design the life that you truly want and refuse to settle on less.

-MizJAI-

turning thirty

She Can She Do Intro 2: Give Fear No Right

Just like I used to do with my writing, (unfortunately & true to form) I did the same thing with the merchandise for the travel agency. I let it sit around.

And I wasn't around moping either; I just kept 'busy' doing 'other' things. And my behavior was shocking because this time my fear was costing me money. I had paid up front, and in order to recoup my expense I had to sell.

Yet & still, I left the luggage, handbags and purses all over my personal space, staring me in the face daily; and I did nothing about it on purpose it seemed--for fourteen days, all because I was afraid. And it drove the wisdom right out my heart.

Fear is a lonely place that is full of the best of us. It is one big bluff, we just have to call it out, take back our hearts and our guts, and no longer allow it to control our lives.

Fear has no right to steal the best in you.

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve . . .

She Can She Do Intro 1: I Used to Be Afraid

I wrote these words to encourage myself in a moment of paralyzing fear. Not that my life was in danger, but my dreams were.

I had stepped out, spent money to purchase high end travel merchandise to resale for low prices in conjunction with my travel company, and I was scared everyday. So afraid that I allowed the merchandise to sit around my room for two weeks, instead of posting it to my online store for immediate turn over.

I had a problem, and it was time to come to terms with it. I was a scaredy cat who was afraid of failure more than anything else.

In the past I had written countless poems, essays, short stories and all manners of materials for books, but when it was time to print them and move into the final steps that would make a book a reality; I would hide my work away, buried deep inside journals and begin another project. I told myself that because writing was so dear to me, then the fear was understandable and acceptable; and that I would wait for a more perfect time…but Solomon says that she “who observes the wind [and waits for all conditions to be favorable] will not sow,” and she “who regards the clouds will not reap.”

In a lot of ways, there is no perfect timing, only faith and action. We just have to move forward in faith no matter what, because the saying is true, No Guts, No Glory. . . if we won't get up and live our own lives, then who will?

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve . . .

Music Once More

Now that music is no longer a crutch to us, we can use the power behind it to soar.
Music sets atmosphere, calms spirits, awakens the excitement in us, expresses our mood.
It feels wrong to say 'it is just a song ,' when music is strong enough to make us cry or laugh or dance or scream . . . in knowing the power of music, learn to be wise in how you use it

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve . . .

The Music & The Silence

I just have to have it. I need it. I find myself a little desperate without it. I use to think that I could not live without it all the time. The Music in my life used to be an excuse not to hear my own voice. I thought I needed some type of sound playing in my head all the time. I thought that this desire proved my love for music.

Then the day came when I listened to the music in the silence around me, and I didn't melt away or loose my mind. I lived through it effortlessly and learned something . . . that music is the accompaniment to the thoughts in my head. I choose the words and the melody and when I choose it, then I choose my life.

In other words, I can live in the silence and trust the sound of my own voice. Sometimes, I turn everything off just to hear her more clearly. Music is my friend though, sometimes I enjoy her just for who she is, and sometimes she helps me drown the world out when I need to. For that I am grateful.

It feels good to be free, so dance in the silence and dance in the melody; and above all, take the time to hear yourself and to know your own voice.

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve to say . . .

Rejection 2: Men

Rejection from the opposite sex some how feels more painful, as if it cuts into a deeper part of us. I have watched girls turn that pain into songs, poems, and paintings, as well as depression, seclusion and suicidal attempts.

I learned a few things facing my own sense of rejection. We are more likely to have an intense response to rejection, if we have been rejected by our fathers in any form or fashion; that is if they abandoned us or showed up late in our lives or where physically present but emotionally distant. Some of us respond with self protection. We will not allow any man to get too close: Thinking that we are proving our strength and independence, when we are actually demonstrating and indulging in our fears of being hurt once again. Others of us melt in the face of any attention, making us available to be the victim, yet again.

I believe that we have to put ourselves out there, if we are going to truly live. BUT we owe it to ourselves to make sure that the men we choose are worth the best in us--above all, we must
1.have the guts to walk away should we discover that they are not
2.have the guts to love should we discover that they are

Relationships are a challenge, and I am no expert, but I know this, the best relationships begin with the best you that is possible, and then you build from there. You have to have the guts to truly live and the wisdom to live well.

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve to say . . .

Rejection 1: Can't Stop Me Baby

I saw Meeghan Good (actor, one of the sisters in Deliver Us From Eva) on television last night. She was a guest on Cynthia and Friends. Meeghan is beautiful, talented and pursuing her dream. To us, she is famous; and rejection is an everyday part of her job. What are auditions, but thousands of people with hearts and dreams trying to get one part which results in 999s rejections.

We have avoided pursing the things and the people that we want in our life because of rejection. We don't want to feel the sting of it. Who does? But I am wondering now, for every school that said no, maybe it got you closer to the ones that let you in. For every job or gig that rejected us, it also shows our destiny. Because the real ones reinvent themselves and show up at the next audition, the next job, the next gig; they submit the article to a new magazine, they find a different stage, and they don't stop until the world recognizes or they become what they need to become to truly win; excellent and tenacious.

And sometimes there are those of us who must create our own platform, because what is inside is so unique that there is no place for us in the mainstream, and that's alright. Learn from every opportunity in front of you and then move on . . .

Use the pain of rejection to create the dream, one transformation at a time:

But when it comes to men, it's a different animal and we'll talk about that tomorrow . . .

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve to say . . .

No Limit!

The desire to win is tattooed on the human soul.
We crave it.
Some us claw and fight till we get it.
Others give up if its too hard to reach it.
But the truest parts of ourselves must admit that we want it.
We want to win. We want to be the best at something.

Master P tapped into this with his song, No Limit Soldiers. Minus all the cursing, the point is...the man is unstoppable. It wouldn't hurt us to have the same tenacity, to face hell and move like we still expect to win, instead of crawling in a corner waiting for life to pass over us.

Soldiers fight. They discover their greatness in battle. It's just that in this day and age, the battle fields take on different landscapes. My battlefield is a blank piece of paper, my weapon is a pen. I have the power to create words that teach the army to win. Your battlefield may be the hospital room. You arrive on the job with both skill in your head and faith in your heart. Or maybe it's the classroom. You believe in that one child that everyone else gives up on.

Today's battlefields are countless in form: the hallway, the grocery store, the break room, the back office; the point is,
when everyone else has lost their joy, you hold on;
when everyone else has lost their faith, you hold on;
when everyone else has lost their mind and good sense, you hold on.

Decide to live like there are No Limits! on your life. Get ready for greatness. Les Brown says it best, "When you are pursuing your GREATNESS, you don't know what your limits are, so act like you don't have any!"

-MizJAI-

Watch What You Say

We CAN DO It ALL!
We can all things through the WORD that burns inside of us, strengthening us . . . Because we know that Inspiration is the breath of God living in use.

Whatever the Word is that fires off in our brains all day long, then that's the word that we believe, and that's the word that is giving us the lives that we lead. There are no exceptions, you cannot speak curses and get blessings.

I'm writer. I didn't begin to live the writer's life and get the writer's reward until I could say it in my own head with confidence and consistently. What good is it to be a singer, if you are afraid to say it, be it and then live up to it? Teachers teach in their heads when there are no students around, because they're getting ready for class. Say it to yourself and then say it out loud.

We can do it all, but only through whatever the word is that we allow to live inside of our hearts and heads. Things that I say to myself all the time

I am more this
I am more than my past
I am more than a victim
I am more than just a survivor
I am more than this job
I am more than my title
I am more than a conqueror
I can do it all through Christ Jesus (the Word) that strengthens me
I am strong
I am a soldier ready for war (we'll talk about that later)
I am bold enough
I am beautiful
I am resilient
I am wise
I will grow, I will change, I will become better, wiser, stronger, I will become more, I will excel,
I
am
moving
in
to
greatness.

Be advised: a blessing is a spoken thing. Learn how to speak your dream. Decide to watch what you say. Check your language, because you just may be cursing your life today.

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com. I got the nerve to say . . .

My Long Handled Spoon

Don’t let the ones who are afraid FOR you to try, stop you from trying at all.
They are afraid in their own lives,
don’t let them deter you
and don’t take what they do personally.
Most of the time their response is automatic;
the fearful developed it over the years believing that it would protect them from pain.

That phrase of doubt was coming out, you just happened to be in the way.

So side step them, and love them
from a distance.
This is what I say to myself, when I fell the sting. Maybe you also need a-

Long Handled Spoon
I have to talk to you,
when it’s over.

Once the dream is a reality,
then we can have a quick chat and see,

but not for too long
and not before,
because you have a tendency
to kill my dreams.

I’m not sure if you even see,
but I do,
and that’s all that matters.

So for know,
see you later

…indefinitely

I use this poem to remember who I am dealing with. Some of them will come around, eventually, when they see that we intend to do this thing, and if they don’t, then we’ll love on them from a distance. You don’t have to share your dreams with everybody; Discretion Baby.

And when I say we, I mean, you and me; because I know that if you are reading this, then there is something that you want out of life, so we are probably heading the same way, right into our best lives. And you don’t get there without risk, persecution, and a whole list of other challenges that we are strong enough to face.

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve to say . . .

What are you waiting for? You can do this!

You can do this
Even if you have to do it alone
Even when the people around you
don’t seem to get you or to care enough about you
You can do it
When everything that’s wrong with you seems to be the main thing that people see in you
You can do this
if you have to stand on the stage alone,
then stand there,
stand anyway
if you have to walk that walk all by yourself,
then walk it,
walk it anyway
if you have to sing that song on your own,
then sing it in a way that only you know how to sing it
you get yourself ready, to live

Because I know you,
you want to go places that you have never been,
so get ready
to do the things that you have never done,
let’s start with one,
believe
in your own dream…

Let the people who doubt you,
yell and scream and holler in the distance behind you,
because
no matter what, you are moving forward,
today.
Let the tears that burn on fat checks and tight dreams,
fall to the back

You, walk with a full plate of fire and let these words blaze you
are pretty enough, you
are strong enough, you
are bold enough, you
are beautiful, capable, and necessary, you
are more than enough for this dream, so you
get ready to walk into your destiny, and you
stay alive, step high, look strong, move on, reach out, and go forward
with your life

What are you waiting for?
You can do this!

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve to say . . .

Body 1: It ain't me! Well, maybe it is

"My clothes don't fit the same.
I think they shrunk in the wash."

"I can't walk as long as I used to without getting out of breath,
I think the air is changing"

"I feel so tired and sluggish all the time,
I think it's somebody else's fault, anybodies else's fault, except my own."

There are some many things in our lives that we can not change. We shouldn't waste any time lying to ourselves over the things that we can. It's not our imagination, it's not our clothes, it's not the wash, it's not the tailor that we never took the clothes to. It's us, we feel like we are simply too busy to take care of our bodies, and that it's just too hard.

Well, I'll tell you what's truly hard...
...a sickness that exercise and a change in eating habits could have cured
...being left behind because the people that you love the most are dead from diets that destroyed them
...living young and strong in your mind, and having a weak, out of shape body hold you back
...not possessing your best life right now and walking in it daily.

Speaking of walking, get fed up, and then start with just one step . . . and keep going, now.

This is the first installment of the Body Series. You can find the second one at Body 2: The Couch is Calling My Name.

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com I got the nerve to say . . .

Inspiration is like breathing

Inspiration is like breathing,
it becomes a constant part of you

Inspiration is organic,
it melts right into you

Inspiration is necessary
it keeps you alive and reminds you

to dream and to dance and to feel things passionately
to laugh hard and smile big and walk strong

On a bad day
finding inspiration is everything
On a good day
living inspiration is the dream.

Inspiration says, "you can't truly live without me."

She is simply breathing, and the words that ride on the waves that enter your ears and release through you speaking the thoughts on your mind
Inspiration is the best part of us, the strongest things on the inside
rising to the surface and becoming the beautiful things around us
Inspiration is the hope in your eyes and the song in your heart
the joy in your day and the life line that brings you home

Inspiration is strong,
She'll reach into the gutter and pull you out, if you take her hand
She will save your life, and live with you, if you let her in
She will show you things and take you places that you have never been

Inspiration is real
Inspiration is the beginning . . .

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve to say . . .

Miry Clay, Rocks & Such 6: He came for me

He draws me out of a painful pit of destruction,

He draws me out of the miry clay,

He draws me out of my slime and my mess

He sets my feet upon a rock,

He steadies my steps,

He establishes me

I now know who I am,

why I am here,

what I am doing,

because He loves us,
we don't have to suffer for life times,
despite our past,

we can live free

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve to say . . .

Miry Clay, Rocks & Such 5: Yokes & the knowledge of our freedom

I was trying to find out exactly what a yoke is. I have heard the word but never really understood before.

It's this wood and metal collar-like thing that you put around the neck of animals. It weighs them down, it's a heavy harness, a way to control. Not something that I want around my neck.

As it turns out though, I used to live with yokes (s0 to speak) daily, because for us a yoke is bondage, like being forced into heavy labor. I have had relationships that felt like heavy labor, where the simplest things became painful, constantly. I have had jobs that felt like heavy labor, where my creativity was limited and my sense of accomplishment was smothered. I have had friendships that felt like heavy labor, we just didn't seem to connect like we should or like we used to. So what do you do to make it better? Sometimes I had to get out to make it better, other times I had to change or backup.

What I know for sure is, I am not meant to live with a yoke around my neck.
But what about you? What do you know for sure?

he beats you and you stay,
that's a yoke

she touched you, you never told, and now, you are afraid to this day,
that's a yoke

depression clouds your mind so thick that you contemplate suicide the way other people consider breakfast,
that's a yoke

you have things you would like to say, songs you would like to sing, but you have always felt like nothing and now you are too afraid to dream,
that's a yoke

you cut yourself to feel, because there is a pain that you are afraid to face,
that's a yoke

your last boyfriend, you think, was the best boyfriend you ever head (and that was years ago), and because of this fantasy, there is no room for something better, because you are so caught up in this old thing, when there is a future waiting for you,

that's a yoke

We are not meant to live with yokes around our necks, we are meant for freedom.
And freedom comes when we stand up for our lives and when we have the courage and the grace to forgive the fact that the ugly parts of our past ever happened...

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve to say . . .

Miry Clay, Rocks & Such 4: Rape & A Conquerors Spirit

Don't die inside,
Don't live in your mind,
Don't recede into those dark places
Don't let the flashbacks take you under,
Don't remain numb inside,
Don't stop feeling at all


Wake up, speak up, step up and find someone or something to pour your love into
if you ever intend to truly live again. And when I say love, I don't mean romantic, I mean agape, because some child needs you to laugh with him, some teenage girl needs to learn how to dress from you, some old lady needs your ears to hear her stories, somebody has a dream and needs someone to say that "I believe in you. Now let me tell you where to get some help for that idea of yours."


Get up on purpose,
live on purpose,
push back and fight back on purpose,
because you have a conquerors spirit inside.


And at night when there are no distractions and your mind wonders to your pain, then you find a song to sing, a word to say that will get you to the morning. You decide that no matter how hell chases after your soul, you will not be devoured anymore, you will not be destroyed, you will not be devastated forever, because you Conquer, you Win, you take back your life for the sake of another.


You take your life back. Survive and Soar so that the next woman who feels your pain, can follow your footsteps to her freedom again. Rape violates your control, and it last so much longer than the act. But you are more than that, so prove it by living and living strong!

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve to say . . .

Miry Clay, Rocks & Such 3: Incest & Overcoming Broken Promises

"Did it have to be this way?"

"He was her father, he was her lover, and he was supposed to be her protector. But he let himself have his way with her, he let himself violate her incessantly. He was a liar and the frequent demon in her dreams. He is the voice in her head and he has been dead for years.

And here she is, a woman now, unnaturally afraid of most man; wild and refrained at the same time, a confusing fact to the lovers that came after her father raped her. She fancied herself obsessive compulsive because she couldn't get one phrase out of her head. It had been years, and she still dreams this same thought, "did it have to be this way?"

This is an excerpt from the Beginning of Things by Nyjer Blu.

After reading it, I didn't know what to think or what to say. So often, when we think of molestation we forget the fact that it's a mental rape of innocence, and a physical violation of a child's body. Incest is violation among the family and this is the kind of stuff that you don't overcome by yourself. You need something bigger than you, you need the Spirit of God daily.

So many of us have been molested by cousins, uncles, and parents. And that's a broken promise because family is supposed to be our safe place, and when it's not, then we have to learn to overcome that too, one step, one pray, one song, one poem, one painting, one dance at a time.

Which takes me write (right) back to art,

sometimes God uses the magic of our gifts and passions to save our lives. He reminds us of our voice, our right to exist, our ability to outwit destruction, our power to rise above the painful things and still find a righteous dream to hang on to.

He reminds us that we are not our past, we are whatever we choose to live up to, we can become beautiful again, a transformation that is no more than a second away.

So I say, take that step, say that pray, sing that song, write that poem, paint that picture, dance yourself right back to freedom . . .

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve to say . . .

Miry Clay, Rocks & Such 2: Molestation & restoring broken hearts

She thought she was safe with him,
but he touched her in places
no grown man should ever touch a child.

Mothers leave their children daily
with all types of known & unknown enemies.

The truth is most of us know that some adults rape children;
some boys violate little girls;
some women turn the innocent out.

It's an epidemic
that creates this sickness inside of us
and the virus entered in on the day that we were touched inappropriately.

Sometimes people do things to us that we are not sure that we can ever get over.

I believe the worst part is pretending that it didn't matter, when it did.
It happened and it matters.
It was wrong,
a big mistake that someone should have saved you from,
but it's too late for regrets now,
because the past is gone
and what you have is your future
and there is so much power in your future.

Because in your future
you can face your past
and not be destroyed by what happened.

In your future
you can stop running
and realize that you are safe.

In your future
you can heal;
and your future

is now.

(c) Jamillah Warner, http://www.gospelnerve.com/, I got the nerve to say . . .

Miry Clay, Rocks & Such 1

I read this scripture once where David said that God brought him up out of the miry clay and placed his feet on a rock. I think I sung it in a song one time too, and I know I never truly understand what it meant. But now I know.

The miry clay, those are the slimy, nasty things that happened in our past and just latch on to our futures. It's the things that mistakenly control parts of our destinies because we find it so hard to outrun pain. The miry clay are the things that stick to us and make us believe that they have a right to stay in our lives and in our way, when they don't.

The miry clay, those are the overwhelmingly painful things like M-molestation, I-incest, R-rape & all the other Y-yokes that devastated our past.

And the ROCK, that's God

R-Restoring my heart, God making me strong enough to
O-Overcome temporary set backs, God
C-Conquering the confusion of my past, God ushering me into the
K-Knowledge of my freedom

That's all it is,
the miry clay, the Rock & such
It's our pain &
It's God, bringing clarity to our lives,
when all we had was confusion.

(c) Jamillah Warner, www.gospelnerve.com, I got the nerve to say . . .