I went to the movies yesterday, literally, like I saw saw two movies in that theatre. I saw The Vow and Safe House. What I thought was interesting, aside from Channing Tatum and Denzel Washington, was that both movies reminded me of Jesus. Random maybe, but I doubt it. I think God has this amazing ability to be found a lot of places, I guess that’s why they call Him omniscient, but I digress.

Why did The Vow remind me of Jesus?

Well by the time the movie was over, I had all this warm, fluttery feelings I don’t generally have (because I choose not to be that girl). I sat there even as the credits rolled, still reflecting, when I heard myself utter “Channing Tatum Movies make me wanna fall in love”. You know how you say something and then you hear it and the thought continues to sit there? That was one of those, because I later realized I used to say the same thing about God before the love of this world hurt me and I didn’t wanna be that girl as I mentioned above. Sometimes Jesus will use the things we enjoy in this world to soften us to the message and love he has for us, that’s why The Vow reminded me of Him.

So that was a pretty easy connection, but Safe House really?

Yes really, Safe House, an action packed drama in which Denzel stays cool no matter what the whole movie, too cool for me. But that’s not what reminded me of God. At one point, a character exchanging dialogue with Mr. Washington, noted that you get to a point when you got more past than future, and you make a decision. It sounded so hopeless to hear this idea of having more past than future and I remembered the urgency of God’s call for us to witness because that’s a reality still for some. However, the thing is, it doesn’t have to be because Jesus died so that we could have a new everlasting life, kind of like a power up in those war and fighting games, that make it possible to keep playing just before you die. So my quiet time reminded me of this phrase “got more past than future” and said instead:

[Bless the Lord] who redeemeth thy life from from destruction…” Psalm 103:4

Hope something in here blesses you like it did me

here’s the real deal, the skeleton’s that have taken on flesh, grown muscles, found deep breaths, and gotten too big for their holding cells. I want to move on but I can’t leave somewhere I’ve never gone… from the deaths I didn’t mourn to the hearts I said had never torn, this debris accumulating has far outgrown me- another person, a separate entity, some other being wholly outside of me. so I’ll take up exorcism, day and night fasting, breaking, praying, undoing the creation I’ve become, unearthing the remnants of a heart I’d shunned, bleeding wounds not fully formed, shedding tears I never wore, and assessing the wardrobe I’ve hidden here.

Warmth cascading around you enveloping you like a mother’s hug- held tight with   j u s t enough space     to    sigh.

Head resting comfortably like a feather down pillow, only re-arranged in the presence of other people. But alone…you can be a pillow…shedding feathers that have worn you down for even a moment too long, leaving your past present the further you traverse and all without the pressure to hide it. 

This is your mess. You are your mess…and no one is picking at you, judging you, reforming you, with empty eyes that speak volumes.

Body fluid yet completely still, the clock has no power here. Here you can move at will.

The minute hand is not all that long. It will continue on even if you don’t.

Stay. There should be only one cool side to the pillow.

so he said: you ain’t got no talent

if you didn’t have a face

you wouldn’t be nobody

and she said: god created heaven and earth

and all that’s Black within them

so he said: you ain’t really no hot shit

they tell me plenty sisters

take care better business than you

and she said: on the third day he made chitterlings

and all good things to eat

and said: “that’s good”

so he said: if the white folks hadn’t been under

yo skirt and been giving you the big play

you’d a had to come on uptown like everybody else

and she replied: then he took a big Black greasy rib

from adam and said we will call this woeman and her

name will he sapphire and she will divide into four parts

that simone may sing a song

and he said: you pretty full of yourself ain’t chu

so she replied: show me someone not full of herself

and i’ll show you a hungry person

Nikki Giovanni, “Poem For A Lady Whose Voice I Like” from The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni. Copyright © 1996 by Nikki Giovanni. Used with the permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

I told you about my TV loves but there’s a greater love I have.

The bible is so full of drama but it’s the best love story I know. Surprising I’m sure considering Twilight and all right? (don’t you wish you could see me rolling my eyes and I liked Twilight but come on, really dude?) Moving forward, some of my favorite bible episodes are:

Genesis 2 is pretty epic considering God is making us in His image and that He has a purpose. I wasn’t able to fully appreciate this passage until I went to IVLI when Michelle Graham and Caroline broke it down. This is like God’s boot camp right here, he’s making Adam a helper, translated ezer a term used to signify strength and power. He was preparing them for battle. This is one of those episodes that makes you think this ended too well I wonder what’s gon happen next week. “…and they felt no shame”. (Gen 2:25 NIV)

Exodus 32 is another good one. I think it’s pretty hilarious because the people are like we don’t know where Moses has been or if he ever existed make us a God we can see Aaron. So Aaron’s all puffed up, like I’m in charge coo, give me all ya gold, ya jewlery and he made them a calf. Then God saw what happened and sent Moses to check on them. I liked this part because it was a total Kevin Hart and his daughter moment. He went Aaron like you in charge what happened?! Aaron still in play mode and he like this what happened Moses, the people you know they crazy, they asked for a God and this calf POPPED out the fire. lol Moses of course aint go for that so everybody got a whoopin. Great episode.

I also like 1 Kings 19. Elijah is on the run from Jezebel and he had grown weary, he had given up on life. Then God comes to him in the middle of all this, feeds Elijah and gives him rest. Then confronts him like what are you doing and Elijah complains that he’s the only one left doing God’s work and that he is tired. But God is like I have thousands who have never bowed to Baal, go back.

Well there are plenty more bible loves I have from Job to Hosea to the gospels but more on that another time. 

What are your bible loves?

it’s difficult to detect change that occurs so subtly. often blatant failures, blatant successes announce their arrival so glaringly that we overlook those changes. it’s not until you see old and new side by side that you can objectively view them