all is vanity.

Emunah- Faith

"The Hebrew root aman means firm, something that is supported or secure. This word is used in Isaiah 22:23 for a nail that is fastened to a "secure" place. Derived from this root is the word emun meaning a craftsman. A craftsman is one who is firm and secure in his talent. Also derived from aman is the word emunah meaning firmness, something or someone that is firm in their actions. When the Hebrew word emunah is translated as faith misconceptions of its meaning occur. Faith is usually perceived as a knowing while the Hebrew emunah is a firm action. To have faith in God is not knowing that God exists or knowing that he will act, rather it is that the one with emunah will act with firmness toward God's will."

This is powerful beyond explanation.
My whole hearted desire is to have impenetrable faith,
to look at the mulberry tree and say with unmeasurable certainty,
'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea.' [Luke 17:6]
And, without a doubt, know that it will be so.

Hebrews 11-
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God...
By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain
By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death...
BUT without faith it is impossible to please him!
By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household...
By faith Abraham obeyed ..
By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country...
By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive...
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months ..
By faith he forsook Egypt...
By faith he kept the Passover..
By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land..
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.
By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish..

Is this making sense to you?
By faith, by FAITH, BY FAITH!
These tasks were not simple, in fact some of them were considered impossible by others.
But by choice these people went forth, with firm faith, and trusted the Lord.
That is what I want.

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.
-1 Corinthians 16:13

Wisdom

Sometimes it feels as though wisdom is one of those things you spend all of life searching for,
and in the end have only trivial fragments of it [her] pocketed away...
And our perception of her [wisdom] is like sifting sand through our human hands,
like an attempt to grasp the wind...
It is beyond the bounds of possibility,
it is nothing without HIM.

As I was thumbing through the Word this morning I fell upon Job 28...Verses 12-28 struck a chord my heart and I want to share it with you because these discoveries are not meant to be hidden,
but rather shared.

But where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
Man knoweth not the price thereof;
neither is it found in the land of the living.
The depth saith, It is not in me:
and the sea saith, It is not with me.
It cannot be gotten for gold,
neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir,
with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
The gold and the crystal cannot equal it:
and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.
No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls:
for the price of wisdom is above rubies.
The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it,
neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
Whence then cometh wisdom?
And where is the place of understanding?
seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living,
and kept close from the fowls of the air.
Destruction and death say,
We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
God understandeth the way thereof,
and he knoweth the place thereof.
For he looketh to the ends of the earth,
and seeth under the whole heaven;
to make the weight for the winds;
and he weigheth the waters by measure.
When he made a decree for the rain,
and a way for the lightning of the thunder;
then did he see it, and declare it;
he prepared it, yea, and searched it out.
And unto man he said,
Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
and to depart from evil is understanding."


WOAH.
"Behold, the FEAR of the LORD, THAT is wisdom!"
And I thought I had it all figured out.

First Date

Shaking hands
wipe salt beads from his face.

Breathe, just be

The spice lingers,
smells of his father.

Hope she likes it.

Walking slowly,
heart in a ritual drum circle.
Eyes losing focus,
lovers knot in his throat.

Hi, hello.
Um I'm here to pick up your..
Good evening sir, I'm here to..
Please don't kill me.

Her father awaits him,
fingers drumming the coffee table,
knees that won't still.

Knock knock..

In His Shoes

Lonely wanderer
where do you go,
where do you come from,
what made this so?
He passes me by with his head held up high,
heart on his sleeve,
humbly abiding.
Watching intently from behind the glass
at the sight of this man I am filled with compassion.
His dreaded locks made from the dust of the earth,
eyes filled with deep longing,
belonging to a world who discounts him,
no concern for his hurt.
Knapsack on his back,
hands in his pocket,
a locket of timelessness trapped in his mind.
He crosses my path,
his eyes looking yonder.
Despite all his troubles,
his face still holds a wonder.
And I ponder
a day in the shoes of this lonely wanderer.

a place that I love

She is..

She is a midsummer nights dream.
a journey into the unseen.
her loveliness, a mystery.
Her aura,
a bouquet of orange blossom
drifting through peaceful meadows.
Her laughter paints the many colors of wildflowers,
splashing freedom on a once blank canvas.
Hips sway
with the grace of a petal caught in a light breeze.
Her eyes,
vintage wood-paned windows,
like a kaleidoscope view into
the center of her universe.
The intricacy of her entity perplexes me.
Her voice,
is as blue as jazz to a tired soul.
In every breath,
poetry flows pure as crystal waters from an arctic spring.
Memories,
once vibrant in design,
now stained with time,
like archaic photographs.
She is a symphony of artistry,
a collage of complexity.
Clothed in strength and dignity,
she can laugh at the years to come.

Revolution

I wrote this a couple years ago and thought I'd share it...
It was written from a place of "I just don't get it" mixed with a hint of, obvious, sarcastic humor...

The common, simple
Cubans
paper-skin hands holding
ration books

yeah-- ration books
sweating, hours in line-
waiting. A gallon of milk (but only for 7, younger or dying)

A delicious ad in eye-catching colors;
The fresh cut deli-style, dripping, saucy sight....
Layers of savory meat,
nestled perfectly between aged cheese and
July's garden of veggies.
Senses halt to take it in.
"Cuban sandwich.."
Sweltering buds play kick-ball in my mouth.

Huh....Meat?
Most eyes have never seen.
Half a chicken [a week]for FOUR!
Is doled by luck itself.
So I have to ask,
What exactly IS a Cuban sandwich?

Wait--
It must be part of the green movement..

Irony stands proud over eco-friendly wasteland.
Waving red flags of peace-
[15% organic folks!]
While X-mart peddles "transitional cotton" wear
hand-stitched by children,
we sit with suction-cupped eyes to the tube,
in our non-toxic, biodegradable homes,
proud to be American, where at least we know we're free?
And self preservation devours Cuba
licking fingers as if each were--

"Cuban sandwich...."

Now that ladies and gentlemen...
....that is a glimpse of a Revolution.