Spirit of Thankfulness (THANKSGIVING 2014)

Teaching our kids the act of remembering what all we have to be thankful for thus far. God has brought us through and blessed us with many miracles. To forget our family legacy of faith and God's presence would be like a crime! So we had the kids do thankfulness turkeys. And a very cool idea was put on my heart to write on stones and stack them up in a jar of thankfulness. (Joshua chapters 3-4). This is something we will now do every year as a family tradition. Your family is welcome to join us. All you need is ribbon, stones, a sharpie, and a jar with a lid. We put cotton balls on the bottom so the kids don't break the glass.

New Book~ Early Origins: Collection of Poems

 

 

Newest book available on LULU.COM!  So excited about this one, her first poetry book published.  This book is a journey in poetry, from Stephanie Josiah’s early childhood experiences to some of those from her as a young adult. Creative writing at its most transparent, humorous, sick-minded, and raw. Featuring: Poetry, quotes, journal entries, random silly freestyles and so much more…

THE PRINCESS AND THE VOID

The Princess and the Void By: Stephanie Josiah I'll never forget the day Our Ariana realized her Little brother, Ishypoo, Wasn't coming back It was late morning Early winter light was Cascading down through Bedroom curtains Spotlighting the hallway With metallic starbeams As I walked that longest walk From bed to where he used to sleep Just passing by - at first Hardly looking into the empty room - until I caught her profile Sitting in the mix of silver-blue And shadow Our fast-paced, warrior Princess sat statue-still Such an unusual way to find her One arm on her lap Covering her legs Which spilled off the side Of the vacant bunkbed, feet hovering over the floor Her face turned toward the indent In the mattress; outlined with his toys Where her other hand was pressed And the air went out of me The vacuum, the void Focal point in the room Highlighted by a grieving four year old My proud, booming girl now Sunken-in-slouched pulled down by loss's gravity An entire secret universe in a room Space, radiant light, undeniable dark, an unseen pull Shapes hanging in suspended Chaos-ordered A galactic museum featuring a wooden bunkbed-frame Observed by a too-young girl Realizing a piece of our Masterpiece Gone. Missing. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Horrible enough to be a parent burying a child. But to be a kid, burying a sibling? Only the strongest children get to wear these battle scars. And only the toughest families know they'll need a God-powered strength to get through a lifetime of grieving. I dedicate this poem to my children, my friend Lauren and Mitchell's family. Love, Steph

Faces by: Stephanie Josiah 2014

Faces
Not just people
But the expressions
That we meet

Places
Not just spaces
Of where we traveled
On the street

The corridors of cyber land
circles of people huddled in
Pages or groups and followers
Live interaction's subtle end

I miss the silent roar of conversation
The buzz of small talk in the air
I miss the human to human face time
Where folks say pull up a chair

It hit us hard
An epidemic called social media
Google plus, facebook and Twitter
And dang that Wikipedia!

We used to congregate for small groups
We used to gather at folks' homes
Now the libraries and meeting places
Are modern day catacombs

There's no connection
For all the WiFi
Not enough computers on the land
To bring back the days of people listening
It flew away with more broadband

A family outing at Outback
They ordered from the waiter, Bill
Then buried their heads in their cellphones
Like family time's against their will

I miss the glory days of story telling
And sitting outside on the stairs
The children yelling, playing, dancing
Folks swaying in rocking chairs

I miss the oldtime toys and train sets
The days before the batteries
Were required, not included
In our children's diaries

I miss looseleaf the pen and paper
The brand new or old hardcover smell
But now we have no time to stop in peace
In our convenient cyber hell!

What does the church of today look like?
Before we read our Bible app
We make sure it doesn't conflict
With any other cyber crap

And we pass the hoards of sorrowed faces
Not even looking and that's fine
Because charity has been made easy
We can give our gift online

I'm not saying burn your laptop
Like any tool, it has its perks
But have we traded in what made us human
And become cyberholic jerks?

Whispers

 By: Stephanie Josiah 2014

Whatever happened to

our responsibility

our overall mission

not impossible, just unfulfilled

 

The corridors we navigate

littered with voices

will they echo forever

when our spirits shed these ears?

 

voices… whispers of other former

earth wanderers reach me

asking about my faith

and why I never shared it?

 

inquiries carried on puffed breezes

wanting to know why I was so loud

about Stephanie and quiet

about Jesus

 

wanting to know why I wasted

precious tick-tocking seconds

of hope-bringing time

to cut side-eye glances at

 

women on street corners, or sagging baggy jeans

or dirty wounded hands holding up signs that

read, “will work for food”

and I missed my chances to share

 

the only bread

I know

that won’t go stale

 

Is that how I worship on Sunday?

Do I swallow in the God-sized drink

of volume, rhythm, hands lifted in swaying

connection Jesus sessions

 

and miss the mark?

In those four walled holy jam sessions

I practiced my connection with God

but forgot His people whispering outside

From Galaxies to Genetics

(c) Stephanie Josiah 2014

I thank you, God, that when you set us on mission we don't go alone! You have been faithful to me all my life. When I wasn't faithful, when I wasn't pursuing, when I wasn't loving, or believing... You kept your hand over my life. You sheltered me from danger. I am alive today, in spite of my enemy... Even in spite of myself because of your goodness.

If you were not good, the whole world would be evil. If you weren't divine, the world would lack inspired thought. If you weren't creative, the world would be cookie cutout copies of monotony. If you weren't a healer and protector I wouldn't be here, my sons wouldn't have made it and my mother would have died ~ten years ago. If you weren't compassionate, the cries of the hurting would go unanswered. There would be no desire for justice in our hearts... No understanding that it is even a divine need. Beetles don't need such systems put in place... Yet you even outdo yourself in the complexity of ecosystems and mechanics. You show up because you are faithful... and show off because you are able to do exceedingly more than our minds could even fathom! You make a way through shut doors, and spring forth leaders from closed wombs, you do it all from galaxies to genetics and aren't too proud to let us think we've "discovered or invented" something.
Rainbows in the skies and swirls of color in creatures' eyes. Dreams, thoughts and visions... Cellular division... Beating hearts and rhythms of the earth all tapping out a ballad to your ears. You are so invested, so interested in us. Tiny as we are... Each hair counted, each pore on our skin known... From head to toe... What don't you know?

The whole earth couldn't contain all the loving thoughts you have for me and all the ways you've jumped to my rescue or lifted me from the ground! I couldn't sing a long enough song or pen a psalm that could capture how you've captured me. I am totally yours, I was yours when you made me. But you didn't force me, you wooed me! You sang me to sleep in your arms.
You are such a good and amazing Father, such a defender and lover of my soul! You even love me enough to not do everything for me. You offer me joy and give me tools to take it... You offer me peace, and gift me with your Word as I study and commit to time in closeness with you, you don't spoon feed me wisdom... You let my bumps and bruises remind me of my limits. You map out a road for me but get tickled when I go in circles because I tuned you out. You hate seeing me on the floor defeated, but you won't always drag me toward victory. You say, "get up, come to me, remember... You and I have been through hardships before... Today I'm not carrying you, today I'm going to show you that my Spirit is in you and you can walk in my Spirit, and you can run and dance in my Spirit... And you can fly over this pit!"

You already know how great you are, but you love it when I see it! You aren't too proud to let me be oblivious of your goodness. You care too much to let me miss you being everything you are.
You can't stop being amazing, you can't stop being loving! How many times did I say I was yours - not realizing just how powerful and transformational being yours is?
And you let me learn more of it every day!
‪#‎JustWow‬!

FRU!T

Fru!t
(c) "Stephy Jay" 2014

Because of DNA
Divine
Natural
Attachment

I catch myself spinning
in 3rd person...
One speck of glitter
On the celestial marble

Aware of how tiny
How bright and noticeable
I am
a golden apple

Dropped from your throne
Fruit of your tree
Connected to your nutritional tissue with every Word

The attachment is profound
With each of us
Both seen and unseen so very real
Woven with fibers of breath and light

I feel it deeper
However painful and unnatural for human tissue
Stretched upward
Still connected

To my fruit
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A Facebook post from FEB. 18TH, 2014

My brain hurts... I just finished the preface and first chapter of "Spiritual Leadership" and it was like seeing everything that ever troubled me in high def. The world is hurting for leaders who love passionately, live in transparency, and act according to the principles they claim to follow. How to better the leadership when the world is already overrun with mega-prosperity-but low spiritual imp...act churches and falsehoods oozing from within the staff/leadership teams... Would best begin by a true acknowledgement of who we are vs. Who God is. If we remove ourselves from the throne and realize we would have nothing if not for God... We would operate out of thankfulness to Him and glorify Him instead of trying to glorify ourselves...

My non-Christian friends aren't fooled, they know we have faults. It is our self-righteousness and masks that disgust them... Not our weaknesses. It is our love of self that prevents our ability to lead or be influential. In our imperfections we can still point upward and say... Follow me because I love you and any good in me and any love you feel from me and see in my actions is from what God has put in my heart.

New leadership begins first by returning to our first truth... God is God and we are not.
Nothing we do will be of any importance to the kingdom until we first master this!

At the click of a button the world can learn what it wants about God... But we are the face He chose and that face hasn't been so lovely, compassionate, welcoming, trustworthy, or been a blessing to others... Is it any wonder why the world is bleeding out for spiritual healing but hates the thought of going to church?

Not all leadership is corrupt... But with all eyes on us (despite the gospel of tolerance being king in the 21st century) we cannot afford to be dishonest! We are supposed to be representing the truth!

Soapbox...step down...

WHAT WILL YOU SAY?

I am a child of God, so I've come to tell you that depression is NOT our inheritance... Hopelessness is NOT our inheritance... Chaos and confusion are NOT your inheritance... Hostility and offense are NOT our inheritance...
JOY is, BELIEF, HOPE, PEACE AND WISDOM... GRACE toward others and ourselves are all our inheritance. The ability to stand up and be counted when someone is hurting... To show compassion, to stand for what is right, to call for correction and the ability to give wise counsel... To encourage... To speak words of life into dead places because He is in us... That is our inheritance.

What will you claim?

This BREAKING FREE study is growing me closer to the truth of who I am. God didn't make me to be junk... So why, in all my anxiety and fear... Depression and doubt... Have I owned titles that were not mine?

What title do you respond to?

If I hear a whisper in the wind that says I am to be called "worthless", "abandoned" or "unloved" haha! I'll laugh...

"You must have the wrong number!" I'll say...

What will you say?

IF I HAVE NOT LOVE...

I read that "If I have not love... I am nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate..." "If I come close to you with my mouth full of praises but I don't care for my neighbor my words and my actions are hollow." (Paraphrases)
I would be a clay soldier... Lifeless, not fit for battle. My emptiness, my incompleteness;the sole goal of my enemy; fulfilled. Redeemed and then bound again...
To find pure an...d righteous love and not LIVE it, is to spit on my inheritance.
Are we sitting on the fence still about what we are called to do?
We are called to love and if our actions don't show love... Who is our king? I am who I am in actions... Not just in words. He says He is "the I Am", (the ultimate example of living it) and all of His titles are backed by action.

He doesn't breathe it if He cannot bleed it.

#FoodForThought
#LiveWhatYouSayYouAre
#ChurchOfActs