Chicken and Waffles

Just a thought. Take it with a grain of salt.

So Lay’s Potato Chips is having a contest to see which of three flavors will win over America. As some of you may know, the Chicken and Waffles flavored chips have sparked discussion on whether this flavor has racial implications.

I would like to note that I have no intention of getting into a racial debate.

This is merely to point out that we, as a society, place a high value on the flesh (skin color and the stereotypes thereof) such that even a potato chip inspired by the popular Arizona restaurant, Lo-Lo’s Chicken and Waffles, is able to send people up in arms.

I feel that there is a lot of time spent dwelling on the past. Which is not to say it is unimportant. As George Santayana wrote, “We should learn from history lest we are doomed to repeat it.” To which, I agree completely. It is the value placed on flesh lineage not our spiritual lineage that I have a concern for.

For my purposes here, the flesh is the material substance that we are made of. i.e. skin.

There has been a lot of focus on the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). But I haven't heard anyone speak of the actual flesh (specifically skin color) and the works of the flesh mentioned in Galatians that have come because of it.

So when God gave his son so that we may have eternal life through him (John 3:16), the body of flesh was crucified along with Jesus and we (in Spirit not flesh) were also raised from death with Jesus (Romans 8:1-39, 2 Corinthians 5:14, Ephesians 2:1-22, Colossians 2:10-14).

Pretty epic, right?

Just to drive home the point.

The body (flesh) is merely a place for the Spirit to dwell while we are on Earth (James 2:26, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 1 Corinthians 3:16, Romans 8:10-11).

So when we bring God into our life we are crucifying the flesh (Galatians 5:24, 2 Corinthians 5:14) and no longer being bound by the flesh (John 3:6, Romans 6:6-7 &17-18, Galatians 2:20).

And thus we must live not of the flesh but of the Spirit (1 Peter 1:14-15, 1 Peter 4:2, 1 John 2:16, Colossians 3:1-10, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 8:7, Romans 8:13).

All of that is to say, how are we allowing the color of our skin to separate us from our brothers and sisters in Christ?

For no matter skin color, we (all who accept God into their lives) are children of God and thus, brothers and sisters. (Romans 8:14, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-28, Colossians 3:10-11). The word even goes on to say that our brothers and sisters will be many brought together as one body from many nations, tribes, languages wearing different clothing purposed with different functions (Revelation 7:9, Romans 12:1-21).

I have met many, MANY people who are Christian, who love God, who seek to fulfill the word of God but like the man in Luke 18, overlook the part of their life that is still not in line with God. I do believe God’s word says to “love one another” (John 13:34) not love one another except those white/black/yellow/purple/green people. That also goes for showing favoritism/partiality for a certain skin color. The word says, “God shows no partiality” (Romans 2:11) and that “if you show partiality, you are committing sin” (James 2:9).

From all this, there is no doubt to me that “racism” (there is no biological component to support race it is a social construct http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/does-race-exist.html) is from the flesh not from the Spirit.

So as long as we allow the flesh to dictate how we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ we will never be unified or even free from the sins of the flesh. As illustrated in Matthew 7:1-29, it is so easy to see how others may be sinning but hard to discern where we may falter in our own lives. Like with the Lay’s potato chips, people are quick to accuse them of being racist but fail to look at their own lives and where they too may be faltering.

The take away point would be that we need to strive to be more Christ-like.

We must love one another (1 Corinthians 16:14, Ephesians 5:1-33, 1 John 4:7-21, Matthew 7:12, Colossians 3:12-15) no matter what the color of our skin is.

I’ll close with this:

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:5-8

If you get bored look at Luke 10:25-37.

Shhhh....it's a secret!

What they don't tell you about trying to get healthy and fit when you're neither is...

IT SUCKS!

I'm in my second month of trying to be healthy. For the most part, I do REALLY well.

Drink 60oz of water a day, fruits and veggies,

100% whole grain bread and ham sandwiches (no condiments), and baked chicken....

That's pretty much it.

The problem is that no matter how many veggies I eat...

I. GET. HONGRY.

Seriously.

And at the most random times.

(Which seems to only be when McDonald's, Taco Bell, etc. are the only things available to me!)

When I first started eating healthy, I felt full.

All the time.

But now that I've been doing it a while and I'm working out a lot...

Well, you know where I'm going with this!

And to be perfectly honest, I hated veggies.

Fruits are my homies but veggies...no bueno.

IT GETS BETTER!

I promise.

I'm cool with veggies now. We're not always tight but you have to lay the groundwork in a relationship before you really truly love and appreciate it.

And while all these people tell you to eat healthy, etc.

What they don't tell you is that IT'S NOT PRETTY!

Suuuuuure, once you've been doing it a long time you have gorgeous skin and glitter like Edward in Twilight.

But BEFORE you get there you WILL get blemishes on your face, you will be running to the bathroom A LOT (between all that water and flushing out your system), you're going to feel uncomfortable, you're going to get BIGGER before you get smaller, it's going to suck, you're going to want to cuss at EVERYTHING (even that bleeping paperclip that won't bleeping stop staring at you being all bleeping skinny and curvy and bleep!).

Ok, so maybe I'm being a little dramatic.

But it isn't pretty.

At. All.

Be ready for that. Cause I wasn't.

I didn't think I'd have to fight and push through to get healthy.

Because of that, I've slipped up a couple of times.

Which is OKAY!

YOU. ARE. HUMAN.

We are flawed by nature.

Don't sweat it if you slip.

Just sweat a little more the next day working out and you'll be fine.

Just don't make it an everyday kind of thing.

Duh. :)

That's my spiel.

Keep your head up. You're beautiful. You will get there!

To panche or not to panche?!

6 o'clock Panches! Right now they're at about 5:50! But I'll get there!

Splits for the Soul :)

Splits!

My goal for this week is to get my both legs flat on the floor.

I have been told I could get them in a week.

Let's do it!

Whitney Houston :)

Hi. I'm Kels. :)

Please remember that I am human.

I'm not perfect.

Regard with an open heart.

Melody

My life is a melody a soft and simple rhapsody

A syncopated serenade wrapped with chromatic dissonance

My agilmente berceuse floating through the ledger lines in common 4/4 time

From ab aeterno every heart has kept a tempo

Concertos of their own accord until each beat has diminished

Some beat alla breve, some in caesura, some try to borrow time

A true rubato line.

Kiss Me Goodnight

To the love of my life,

Where ever you are

I've spent a lot of time

Wishing on stars

And praying to God

That where ever you be

You're spending a little time

Thinking of me

But tonight of all nights

Instead of wishing on stars

I've decided to write down in words

All that I will promise to you

I promise to love you with all of my heart

I promise not to text you like crazy when we're apart

I promise to leave you heart shaped stickies

Saying have a good day

And surprise you with kisses when things don't go your way

I promise that when we fight

I won't let you go to sleep mad at night

I promise that when I use glitter

I'll clean it all up and not make a mess with all of my stuff

I promise to order pizza when you have a guys night in

And make little smokies for you and your friends

I promise to always kiss you goodnight

And snuggle up real close and tight

But most of all I promise to you

I'll say I love you in everything I do.

Let's give em something to talk about...

love

everyones favorite subject

so here we go again indulging in the negative

but i think its time i changed my tune

the hour glass broke and the caged bird flew

ive talked until im blue

but its no use

you see i try to put up these walls

build fortresses of distrust and bitterness

hold on to every raw feeling

every hurt every lie every cut

that wouldnt stop bleeding

and then i woke up one morning with the sun shining in my face

soft radiant light

pulling at something i couldnt recognize

because along with all the hate

i forgot about love

zeroing in on pain

i forgot about love

focusing on how to retaliate

to bring men to their knees to feel the earth give under their feet to show them a darkness that sucks out every tiny glimpse of hope

i forgot about love

so its funny to me when people talk about love

romantic love

talk about dogs and hoes and shouldve knowns

but not one twinkle of eyes

or beating of hearts

fingers interlacing like souls entwining

* sigh *

its about those moments

those moments when you forget about everything else

that connection with another person

a bond that cannot be imitated or repeated

not the moment the foundation cracks

the moment the heavens open

allowing all bliss to pour down

showering us with joy and peace unrequitted

After all, isn't that what love is about?

My Click

I'm from Houston, Texas

I represent that screwed and chopped

But like the Screwed up click

I got screwed up quick.

Dj Screw may he rest in peace

Took music in a new direction

Slowing down the hussle

Piecing together the puzzle

Need to put my mind together

Cause I'm fading fast

Feignin for that purple haze

Leanin like it'll help me through the maze.

Like Keke I got a hardhead

Can't see whats right before me

You knew me

You don't know me

You see me but you don't see me.

Feel me?

I need 50 feet.

So let's take it way back

Farther than Lil O and back back

I'll hit you with that 8 Ball and knock the pictures off your wall

From Z-Ro to 60

In just a few milli

Chamillionaire

I got that Ultimate Victory

But no one to share it with.

Cause you see I'm MRs. 3-2.....1.

I take ambition over adversity

Tupac said it best

Right before he went into cardiac arrest.

Turn adversity into ambition

Now blossom into wealth

Believe in yourself

That's all you can do

Cause its the same thing a different day

That's what Trae would say.

But before I lay me down to sleep

I pray to the Lord who keeps my faith

Don't let me drown in my own despair

Keep my head up like my nose is bleedin

Stand up for love

And shut down the hate.

Or we'll all suffer the same fate.

Jessie J - Nobody's Perfect

Heart Shaped Boxes Tied With A Black Bow

Dreams will give you insight

To the psyche of your mind

Dark and twisted corners

Of the past you try to hide

Heart shaped boxes

Tied with a black bow

All wrapped nice and pretty

Hiding what's below

We neatly put away our fears

Incompetence and distance ourselves

Smiling through grotesque facades

Ignoring our misfortunes

One run sends the fabric unraveling

While were desperately trying to catch it

To stop it to cover it

To put duck tape over it

But every wound needs fresh air to heal

You can't suffocate it

And pray it will disappear

As much as we like to believe

Duck tape does not fix everything

Kellinator

My name is Kelly

I like peanut butter and jelly

I be jammin' on this mic

All grape no banana

You'd think I'd quit while I'm ahead

But I'm peelin' out with an orange dreamsicle on top of my head

Cream vanilla clouds underneath my feet

I be flyin' high no orange can crush me!

So this is to you.

Where ever you are.

Look up at the night sky

Those clusters of dust, barely visible to the naked eye

Are dancing just for you.

I make the galaxies twirl and twinkle

The stars, the moon, and the milky way too.

They are bound to one another in a loving embrace

So that one day, we might take their place.

I bundle up in my sweats and pj's

Hair all a mess.

I drive til I reach water.

Still, placid.

I sit on the hood of my car

and look up at the stars.

Star light, star bright, the first star I see tonight

I wish I may, I wish I might....

I know you're there.

Somewhere.

Standing outside.

Looking at the same stars. The same moon.

Making the same wish.

One day our worlds will collide.

That is the day that all of creation will stand still.

Everything will fall silent

As you take my hand.

And we'll dance.

Slow.

Twirling, twinkling.

With all the galaxies in our eyes.

There will be no need for space or time.

As long as you keep your hand in mine.

Until then, I will wish upon the stars and moon beams.

And this is to you.

Where ever you are.

Goodnight, my love. Sweet dreams.

Like A Circus

You're magical, majestical,

Mr. Egotistical

Your a one man circus

The ring master and the animals

You do your dance on the high wire

With no net below

You magically breath fire

And no one knows

Behind that careless facade

You're nothing more than a palm reader

Using smoke and mirrors to hide the inner you

Tell me my story young ingenue

And I'll show you a magic trick, too

Look deep into my eyes

As they turn from green to blue.

Smoldering, simmering, but shinning all for you

Let your defenses down

Let the audience enjoy the clowns

Give me that character of a lifetime

Give me that glimpse of sunshine

On your mind.

Show me the role you dare not play

The role that keeps the tigers caged.

You don't have to razzle dazzle me

No wowing spectrometry

I just want that real view

Of the real you

The lucid you the allusion of you

Join me in my acrobatics

My flight on the trapeze

My aerodynamics.

Flying at such immaculate heights

A dare-devil on the wings of a cannon shot.

One man wonder

Strong man underneath.

The bearded lady sighs

As Glitz and Glitter pass her by.

The herpes of the performing world

The dynamic duo turns and spins. Doing tricks.

I wave to the chimps and bow to the elephants

Cotton candy laughs with a soft but sticky rasp.

Take me to that land of a thousand wishes.

I wanna go there.

Take me there.

Where you'll take off the false pretenses

and let me see you

Not through camera lenses

Or kaleidoscopes, too.

But multiples of the real you.

Laying in the grass soaking up the sun

On the bank of a river admiring the view

Sunset clues

And sunrise dreams.

Ashes smoulder but the phoenix flew.

And all that is left is me and you.

Miscommunication

I think I've come to realize something.

This proverbial dream is nothing.

What is to love?

And be loved?

Cory and Dapanga were meant for each other

Chuck and Blair, too.

But why is this always on tv,

never happening to you.

You can pour your heart out

Til you just want to jump and shout

But like the Little Match Girl

The match always burns out.

Flickering images of moments you hold so dear

Bring heartache and pain when that light turns out.

Loving with a fire red now its turning blue

until the mirror tells you the truth.

Mirror Mirror on the wall

Who is the fairest of them all?

Pieces of glass stick to your sole

As you walk across the burning sands.

Is it better to love and lose then never love at all?

Trace the lines across your hands

And see what your future demands.

Even what appears to be

That archetypal relationship

Cracks and shatters when no one is there to see.

The ones on Mount Olympus are thought to be at the highest peak

But I'll remind you, nothing is as it seems

It's Mount Everest that they seek.

So that begs the question, how deep is your love?

Is it love that we aim for or just that peak?

We pretend to be amicable people

We act, so to speak.

But you have to work from the ground up.

A tree with no roots is dead to me.

We like to skip that part.

Forget the pretenses and act our part.

Cause that tree is looking pretty bare to me

Or maybe that's just cause I'm looking up

Knowing that will never be me so I hardly speak

Where do they come from? All the lonely people

Wishing they could reach that peak

So again I'll ask, how deep is your love?

Cause if you take it apart

You might see that inversion

Like Homer and Bart

They seem like the same person.

Real talk

They're nothing alike

Especially when I say epic poet.

But that's part of the equation

Miscommunication.

Life

Love is a dog from hell.

Man, Charles had it right.

Just pause. Stop. Think about it.

Not every man is a dog,

But every man can dog ya.

Dogma. Straight up karma.

Ha! Sometimes it feels like it goes around

before it comes around.

And what's the point?

I know men who would be the world for their women

Be the completion

The I don't need another one

No prenups.

Nah, we all need prenups.

But for real dog,

the good men can still dog ya.

Spit that tight game

But leave you for the altar.

That doesn't mean they're bad

Just bad for you.

I've heard many men say

I'm better than that right now chick

I'm that stay around chick

A life chick a wife chick

That right chick.

But all I hear is that chick, chick.

It makes me sick, you prick.

You don't get. it.

Put that period behind it and get up out my life, quick.

You're right I'm better than a chick.

And no man will walk me down the aisle as their chick.

What happened to respect?

What happened to class?

What happened to truth?

I don't know what to do.

Give up or give in.

Is that the way it's supposed to be?

Give up everything or just be alone.

I don't know about you but if this is what God wanted then I need a recount

Like Al Gore, I need a way out

A way to the top

To live that dream life

That surreal life

That it'll never be real life.

Life

The following isn't fun. I'll try not to be too vivid. In actuality I may not be clear enough for you to get what I'm talking about.

Innocence on the wings of the wind.

Blown away only too soon.

Crude awakenings as the harsh world takes hold.

Walking a grown woman's walk with a six-year-olds talk.

As a swan flies a flamingo tries

And innocence dies.

Sheets of satin hold no comfort as they linger near.

Thread count in the thousands but not one count can replace the thread now bare.

Stripped of all the childish joys she dreams of how high she could fly.

Head bowed in shame as she tries to explain

But not one whisper rings true in the eyes of those who matter most

Where were you when that innocence floated away?

On to another, back to the next.... pause, rewind,

please don't play it back.

Searching for wings to take her away

She can feel a breeze caressing her hair and tickling her cheek

Instead of comforting it only stings.

Turning her back on the one who was supposed to be there for her

The one who promised her she would never be hurt

Promised her that no enemy shall prosper against her.

Before she even knew what the words meant she felt the pain.

Tears like acid rain flowed in dark bedrooms and hidden corners.

Years later those tears still flow deep inside tearing away, corroding, leaving treads like car tires.

Her whole life lived in darkness.

Smiles with shadows holding up every corner.

Laughter shaken by emptiness.

Until she couldn't take anymore.

She lifted her eyes toward the sky.

And that is when she found her wings.

Just watch her fly so high.

So High

I fly so high.

Sittin on top of the world.

I'd say the sky is limit. Nah, that ain't me.

The sky is proverbial, I'm extra-terrestrial.

Not alien.

Ha. Keep playin.

God made me in his image. Yeah, He don't play.

You think he'd make me green or like E.T.

Song playin over the beat...Phone home, phone home.

Lil Weezyana keep that please. I don't need your rhymes or that sick beat.

Even Nas had a point, if Heaven was a mile away.

Except he's only a prayer away.

Swallow that.

You see I got three guys fightin for me.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Ok that's one.

But my one don't need a two.

To the three, to the four.

He wrecked that beat and you don't even know what you waitin for.

Apocalypse maybe?

Come here, baby.

Smh all over the place.

Actin up, sippin up, livin it up.

Puh-leez.

I ain't crazy. Ok I take that back.

But better to be crazy then crazy and dead.

All up in the bed.

I'm not perfect don't try me.

But baby baby please save me.

Save me? Save you.

I'm rubber and you're glue.

Whatever bounces off me...please tie your shoes.

Safety hazard.

Don't want to trip before you make that fall

Into oblivion.

Come sit in my pavilion.

I got a gazebo that goes wherever he go.

Cause though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

Oh man, you playin. There's that gazebo.

Come on here we go.

I come to the garden alone but we all know

Those footprints aren't mine alone.

He carries me.

Like Drew Kerry he knows every line.

But let Wayne Brady hit that repeat.

Yeah, that's right.

Wayne Brady smash it everytime he sing.

I watch those international delight commercials

Just to wish I had a smiley face cup

And say a little prayer for you, forever and ever and ever its true, I will love you.

Ok check it, one two one two.

I was told rappers don't count on the mic

But if they don't count there then where do they count?

Ah, a play on words. I'm so funny.

Psh. Puh-leez.

Let's get back to the subject.

Soul Searching

I walk in circles stopping only to see if the view has changed

Everything blurs, and twists, and distorts but remains the same

There's a bandana covering and coloring my world shades of red and black

Though weary, I refuse to raise my white flag

My path is uncertain and my way unclear

The snares of life threaten and the bandana tightens

But music has never let me down