Nothing Wasted...

It's times like these that I am reminded that God is with me.  He's using every piece of me-  every piece of my life- and transforming it all into a great masterpiece.  I am a witness that God has a way of taking every part of us and using it to produce greatness.  I've seen how God has taken pressure and pain, interrupted sleep, frustration, tears and fears, thoughts and feelings that I can't seem to articulate...I've seen how he's taken these things and used them to compose visions for poems and paintings.

Images in my head and stanzas to poems serve as witness to me that HE IS WITH ME.  They remind me and reassure me that He's working with my pieces.  

This morning, I rest in that space.  I rest in the space of "process."  I rest because I am assured that NOTHING WILL BE WASTED.  Every piece and every process will be used for the greater good.  I rest knowing that I AM OK....just as I am, right where I am.  I AM OKAY, because He is with me; keeping me; growing me; and working in, on, and through me.  I rest because of His love.  I rest because of His faithfulness.  I rest because of His presence and the greatness within the process.  I rest because I am assured that He's arranging my pieces for an amazing masterpiece, and nothing- no piece- will be wasted.  

THIS MORNING'S PIECE:  "Every Tear"

THE THREE SONGS ON MY ROTATION THIS MORNING:

"I am Light" by India Arie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ism8dBjxKvc

"Fly" by Nicki Minaj featuring Rihanna

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n71KUiWn1I

"Over and Over" by Trin-i-tee 5:7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OHI5PBA9n4 

Running with Time

Standing on the Word...Variations

 Standing on God's Word

In high school, I drew a variation of the first picture.  The concept was the same, but the woman's hair, clothes, and style were different. Last year, I found the picture drawn in high school and recreated it.  As I reflected, two more images came to mind.  The lady in the first picture is standing strong and smiling- sunshine and rain- firm on the word. 

 The first picture would be ideal, but it's not always the case.  For me, sometimes standing on the word has looked/felt/been more like this:

 And sometimes like this:

Though each picture is different, there is a common theme in all three pictures:  the woman remains ON THE WORD. 

Even more true for me would be the following picture.  I've posted it before, but I'm posting it again with this series.  This remains to be my truth:  I am IN HIS HANDS.

Greatness...

"Greatness"

This piece was inspired by a conversation I had with Jeremy Ellis, a man of greatness.  He endeavor's to live a life composed of thoughts, choices, and actions within the realm of the 3%.  He's a man of intention, enlightenment, and purpose.  

I'm a visual learner.  As he described his analysis of where most people operate in life and where he wanted to operate (within the 3%)...an image came to fruition in my mind.

The picture above is created in honor of Jeremy as well as in honor of the idea of living beyond the mediocre- living a life of greatness.

Check Jeremy and his partner, BG out at:  http://www.freelunchpodcast.blogspot.com/ .  Share in one aspect of his greatness and be inspired to pursue your own version of greatness.

Do more than exist.
Live!

With love and passion,
Ashley


Other modern men of greatness:  my cousins, Amir Usher and Jason Wiley.  Check them out!

Amir Usher:  Under 30 and has his own clothing line:  http://www.amirjames.com/

Jason Wiley:  Listed as one of the 40 under 40:  http://whartonmagazine.com/jason-wiley/

untitled...A Piece for Arrie...

Pieces...Pieces in the Potter's Hands

I remember nights, ailing over heartache...ailing over what didn't work and the time it was taking God to make things happen for me.  One night, I was wallowing in sorrow and decided to put the "pieces" of my heart onto a canvas.  I had told God that I felt like my life- my heart- was in pieces.  My attempts of FIXING, ADJUSTING, and REASSEMBLING pieces seemed futile.  I just couldn't seem to make things work or make things better.  I felt like a mess...

So...that night, God allowed me to use the creation of the collage/painting above as a means of RELEASE and THERAPY.  I laid down after finishing, thinking my work was done.  Not long after I laid down, I was prompted to get up and start another piece.  I felt God wanted me to know that laying out my pieces was not the end of the process.  Now that I had cried, vented, and turned my pieces into an ART piece...NOW it was God's turn to speak.  Thus...the second work posted above:  "Pieces in the Potters Hands."  I felt God teaching me that if I would just place all my pieces into his very capable hands, then He could transform my pieces into HIS masterpiece.

We may not be able to fix everything or always gain the type of closure we are looking for. We may not be able to see how things are going to work out or come together, but one thing I feel God has been trying to teach me time and time again is this:  If you would just trust Me and entrust ALL of you (and your pieces) to Me; I will take care of you far better than you could take care of yourself.

Flowers for Mom...

Dancing on Water...

This piece is called "Dancing on Water."

This pieces was inspired by reflections on Matthew 14:22-33 when Peter walked on water.  How much TRUST and FAITH would it exemplify to be able to not just walk on water but to dance on water?!

Not distracted or deterred by the winds or waves of life...

Trusting

Resting in God's presence and intent 

The purest form of a child trusting her Father's protection and care

Dancing

on water

In places beyond your natural capability to be in

In spaces deemed "impossible"

In places that demand FAITH and TRUST to stay afloat

Dancing on Water

I Am Spaghetti

I Am Spaghetti
by Ashley Jataun Moore
3.1.10

I am spaghetti

Sometimes sticky with emotions

Brittle when dried out

Coming to life when refreshed by Living Water

Expanding rather than breaking in boiling water

Resilient, growing, developing

Flexible, wanting to accommodate and please

Other times congealed and settled

Not always making sense

Sometimes tangled up on the inside

Rinsed in the Spirit, I am clean

With the right combinations and connections – ground chuck, Ragu, Pesto –

I reach my fullest potential

Green peppers, onions, tomatoes – I go to higher heights

A little brown sugar, dash of salt and pepper – life is more full

I am spaghetti

Though at times fighting against the nature of pasta

Trying to make my noodles into waffles

Thinking that life would be easier if I felt, acted, thought differently

Thinking I should and could have a better handle on things if I were different

Having a different kind of strength, a different type of structure, a different mode of thought and expression

Nevertheless, I remain to be pasta

I am spaghetti

At times it’s necessary to go against the current of life

Moving beyond the status quo

Pressing to reach the fullness of potential

Endeavoring to be in the heart, the center of God’s will

Choosing to live the life of one chosen, set apart, “in the world but not of the world”

Nevertheless, intuition and discernment are necessary

Discerning the tide, identifying the current

Not fighting against who I AM

Knowing what habits and cycles must be changed and broken

Yet realizing the core, the essence of me is to be developed and nurtured

So…

I am spaghetti

Meant to have a life intertwined

Jesus all day, flowing all throughout my veins

Love and compassion 24/7

A mind alert

Birthing poems at 7, 3, 12, and 1 AM or PM, it doesn’t matter

On napkins, in notebooks, in the margins of programs

Wisdom never resting, but ever growing

A student and teacher simultaneously

Humble and confident

Weak yet strong

Passionate yet disciplined

Free yet knowing when and how to submit

I am spaghetti

The Spirit within

Offering to regulate and call forth what’s needed to be

When it’s needed to be

The Spirit within, my on and off switch,

My indicator and dictator of when and what features are to be dominant or recessive

I am spaghetti

Entrusted with the task of practicing and continuing to be led by the Spirit

Continuing to develop me

Every aspect

Letting myself evolve and develop into all God called me to be

Not fighting against the core of me, the calling on me

Not trying to fit a different mold

Rather being okay with who I am

Making decisions that will help me fully develop into all of me

I am spaghetti

For My Sis...

Just Me...

I Am Enough

by Ashley J. Moore

4.1.12

I am enough

Just as I am

No need to look around me

Comparing and contrasting

Trying to alter, adjust, measure up, and make up for

Trying to win and keep...my stuff, "his" eye, “his” heart, my place, my position…

God has settled me

He settled me in His truth

The truth that makes me free

The truth that reminds me who and whose I am

The truth that reminds me that what God has for me is for me

The truth that reminds me that HE is the one who's keeping me and preserving my destiny

The truth that reminds me that in Him I am enough

The truth that reminds me that it's IN HIM that I "live and move and have my being"

The truth that reminds me that "my sufficiency is in Him"

The truth that frees me to develop the me that I was created to be

Rather than looking about me, checking myself, uncertain, unsure, afraid, always trying- Never settled…

NOPE.

Not anymore

I am enough

My sufficiency is in Him

He's not only keeping me, but He's also keeping the things, places, positions, and people He has for me

So...

"I fling my arms wide...dance...and whirl" as Langston Hughes might say

I delight in me

I delight in His love

I am okay

I am enough

I am free

I am now free

Not only to love and develop "me"

But also free to love, encourage, and uplift my sisters and brothers

I am now free to love and live and be

No fear

Just love

and liberty

Free to be

Free to embrace

Me

Rain

Sunshine

Blackbird...Born to Fly

Below are the two songs that played on repeat as I completed this piece.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rpcQrxakRA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51NVWg4JhIo

The melancholy lyrics resonate with something within me.   From that same melancholy place,

stirs hope, strength, and a knowing...

that I was not only born to fly, but also that I shall fly...that I shall soar...above and beyond the things within and without that would hold me down...

I Have a Cavity in My Heart

I Have a Cavity in my Heart

By Ashley Moore

1.29.15

I have a cavity in my heart

I know it by its dull ache

I have a cavity in my heart

I know it by its sensitivity to hot or cold substances

Broken down by what has rested on it

Not being brushed enough

Not being rinsed and washed off enough

Decay has set in...

I have a cavity in my heart

Persistent dull ache

At times writhing pain

Sensitivity to hot or cold

In need of urgent attention

In need of a drilling down and cleaning out

I need to see the Doctor

To let Him fix me and send me on my way again

Drilling down

Cleaning out

And filling in

Sending me on my way; in a better state; with warnings, tools, and wisdom

Forming new habits of precaution

Rinsing twice a day

Brushing after meals

Flossing hard to reach places

That my heart may stay clean

Touched, but unhindered by the things its exposed to

Whole

Protected

In good condition

In full use again

WHO I AM

WHO I AM, is who I am

and where I am 

is In His Hands

On His word (ultimately)

I may falter

I may stumble

I may bruise

I may run

I may cry

I may grow

I may change

but what remains

is the core

the core

of WHO I AM

and WHOSE I AM

and ultimately 

WHERE I am

Where I seem to always come back to

my origin

my destiny

ON HIS WORD 

IN HIS HANDS

by Ashley Jataun Moore

1.14.15

This pieces is called:  "Standing on His Word."

Even If You Have to Take Baby Steps...

Go After Your Dreams...

Even If You Have to Take Baby Steps

Since, I was a teenager, it has been one of my dreams and desires to freelance for a card company.  I'd find myself sitting in the isles of Walmart or the grocery store reading greeting cards.  Over the last several years, I've found myself buying cards and sending love ones pick-me-up notes.  (I know we're in an email/text culture, but there's nothing like receiving a handwritten letter or note in the mail!)  One day I decided to start sending my own cards.  I began using my art and creating postcards.  I felt like God wanted me to use what I had and start where I was rather than waiting for some GRAND opportunity.  What if those grand opportunities are wrapped in small opportunities?  What if those big breaks are wrapped in small moments?  What if living fully not only comes in the leaps but also in baby steps?

Maybe one day, I'll freelance for a well-know card company.  Maybe I won't.  Maybe one day Oprah will buy one of my cards to send to a loved one.  Maybe she'll never know I exist.  Maybe one day there will be an article in Essence magazine featuring my story.  Maybe there won't be.  

Regardless of the outcome, I choose to LIVE FULLY.  I choose to believe in myself and value what I have to offer.  I choose to use WHAT I DO HAVE and make the most of it.  I chose to use what's ALREADY IN ME to CONTRIBUTE TO and to ADD LOVE and BEAUTY to the lives of those I am connected to.

Value what you DO have.  Work what you already have.  Don't belittle or downplay baby steps.  They are still a form of MOVEMENT.

Be Blessed.

Ashley Jataun Moore

A.J.M.

Radiant

Pityriasis Rosea

The Fight

(Picture retrieved from Window's 8, Microsoft clip art)

Resisting

By Ashley Jataun Moore

4.23.11

He tries to make me feel that I am losing

Losing

Losing it

Lost it

Lost him

Lost her

Lost me

A loser

But I am not.

He tries to show me that I’m falling

Keep falling

Have fallen

Slipping

Falling

Falling for, tripping over

Falling

A failure.

But he’s a lie.

I am not.

He tries to convince me that I’ve missed it

Missed it

Missing it

Cause I’m missing you

Can’t see my way

Missed that turn

Missing my glasses, misplaced my keys

Missing you

Missing out

MISplaced, MIStaken

I’m missing it

Missing something, not enough,

Missing it, not getting it, not comprehending

Missed it, fallen short, messed it up

But I haven’t.

He tries to show me that I’m broken

Breakdowns, broken down

Broken pieces

Broke, thin pockets

Broken

Broken down

Broke it

Broken

But I’m not.

From broken to better

Broken to breakthroughs

Every broken piece

Every fragment, quilted together to cover and warm

Crying babies, hurting moms, cold brothers

I’m healing souls and warming nations

Preserving life

From breakdowns to broken spells, broken curses

From brokenness to breakthroughs

For me and those I’m called to touch

From missing out

To missing hits and blows

Sheltered in the shadow of the Almighty

From missing it to making it

Through and to places

On the way

Fulfilling my destiny

Giving folks rides

Car tires, bike wheels, sore legs

Pushing, encouraging them to make it too:

It’s not too late

God is within

Nothing needed is missing

That can’t bloom from a heart of faith grounded in His word

He thought he had me

Had my mind

My heart

My soul

Darkened, deceived, weary, fatigued

Thirsty, craving, starving, longing

Dying

BUT GOD

BUT GOD

BUT GOD

I am living

Believing

Walking

Thriving

Dreaming again

Face forward

Achieving

Believing

Hoping

Trusting

Living

Laughing

Loving

Ignoring waves and winds

And voices

Tuning in to the station, “I can…”

Setting my eyes on the words “I will…”

Grounding my heart in His love and faithfulness; prices paid; ways already paved

Resisting the enemy

Shutting him up

Shutting him down

I PRESS ON.

Relentless

By Ashley Jataun Moore

4.28.12

I see now

That I must be

Relentless

So…

Relentless is what I will be

Relentless is what I am

I will be relentless

Bruised knees, hoarse voice

Bloody knuckles

Yet unwavering

Fighting for you

Fighting so that you will LIVE

I need you to LIVE

I need you to keep going

I need you not to faint

So

I’ll stand

I’ll fight

I’ll keep praying and believing

I’ll pull out my sword

And war on your behalf

I am my sister’s keeper

I will fight for you

I won’t leave you hanging

Relentless I’ll be

Relentless I am

Blows to Satan’s head

Wrecking havoc on his kingdom

Relentless to protect, take back, and preserve what is truly God’s

I am my sister’s keeper

The gravitational pull, drip drop of your tears

Is the same force that weighs on my heart

I will fight for you

I will stand when you are down

I will pray when your words have gone

I will believe when your heart has turned cold,

Frost-bitten by life and people

Cookie crumble, crumbs

Your heart in pieces

I will sweep them into a jar

And place it in the Potter’s hands

That He might make anew

Refresh, restore, revive, renew, recreate…do a new thing

Relentless, I will feed myself on His word,

Fill myself with His light

That the fire within might grow

That I may be able to warm, revive, and help you

Relentless I will be

Persistent in prayer, intercession, and faith

Relentless I will be

In praise and worship

Even when my voice fails

My limbs will activate

Like David, I will dance

Giving Him glory because of His faithfulness and because of who He is

Relentless I will be

Though aching from my own pains

I will stand anyhow

Relentless I will be

To leap and reach, to go and do, to speak and believe

Relentless I will be

Even when I am afraid

Relentless I will be

To live

To keep the faith

To fight

To love

To heal

To grow

To lay myself before Him as a “living sacrifice,”

A life poured out

Relentless I will be

So that in my living

And through my life

-Because of the God in me

You will live…and be…and continue…and get back up

Because someone…God through someone

Was relentless about loving you

Relentless about being there for you

Relentless about reminding you of the princess that you truly are

Relentless about standing up for you

Relentless about believing in you

Relentless about fighting so that you might experience the life God has for you

My sister, I love you

And for you

I will be relentless

Melted Art

ART WITH A MESSAGE

This piece is called JOY; although, at times it represents sorrow. 

This piece began as a creative experiment during an art night with friends.  Early on, problems emerged, and this piece looked like a "hot mess!"  I contemplated trashing it, but hated to see a valuable canvas go to waste.  Only three eyelashes were melting, and it looked like (and was described as) a lady with mascara running down her face.  Another friend said I was making a mess.  After everyone was gone, I continued to chisel away some of the "mess" in hopes of reviving this piece.  Over a period of days I chiseled, added, melted, and rearranged until I got the piece you now see.  

The process and the piece became therapy for me, and I felt a message emerge.  I began to see how God takes us and all our messes...how he calls us his own and refuses to give up on us.  I began to see how He chisels, adds, rearranges, melts, spreads, covers...until He has molded and shaped us into His beautiful work of art.  

No longer should we give up or count ourselves (or others) out because of weakness, messes, mistakes and/or challenges...But rather we should let God have it all...knowing that He can work wonders with a life left in His skillful and Almighty hands. 

In His love and by His grace,

Ashley Jataun Moore

A.J.M.