Destiny

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbfc4FOMOVc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Victory

Maturing is something that takes many mistakes. You have to get tired of falling before you decide to stand firm. I fought hard to not get on the straight and arrow until I couldn't fight anymore. So glad that God did not give up on me. He won the fight, the best loss I could ever face.

 

Victory 

Oh I put up a fight

I mean I put forth every ounce of effort I had

Trying to defeat him

I exhausted all of my energy just to run away

Scared, no stupid because I didn’t even know what I was running from

My blind eyes were focused on all the wrong things

I couldn’t even recognize right

If right was in my face

So I woke up every day determined not to get caught

At least not willingly

I dodged his arrows of faith

Bullets of belief

And bombs of sacrifice on a daily

Wasn’t gonna let his book of words tame me

I was caged, just not in his world

And if I really am his daughter

I betrayed him just like Judas

So foolish of me to run in the opposite direction

Chasing after affection and approval

Removing myself from his graces

Running on my last ounce of mercies

Yet he still pursued me

Like the last apple that fell from the tree

Bruised on all sides he treated me delicately

Washed me, polished me

Gave me the strength to believe

But why

I did the best I could to distance me

Hiding behind masks of too proud

And years of whatever

I never imagined this shift

He sifted through all of my flaws

To find the true beauty in me

The diamond in the rough

And he extracted it slowly

Showed me that there was so much more to my life

A way to turn my wrongs right

And at my lowest point why not try

It can’t be that bad

He wouldn’t have put forth the time or effort if I wasn’t worth it

He so confirmed it

The day he turned my dull to shine

Opened up these nonbelieving eyes

Told me to trust him

I never envisioned that God would win

But this victory I owe to him

I Choose

Sometimes just letting someone know how you feel isn't good enough. Some days you may just have to provide them with examples to let them know how much you truly care for them. It's always good to know what someone is willing to compromise to keep you in their life. 

I Choose

 

I choose short nights and long days

I choose tornadoes and hurricanes

I choose headaches and back pain

I choose dysfunctional and just strange

I choose no drinks and no food

I choose hand me downs and no shoes

I choose no wins and all lose

I choose whatever it takes to keep you

I choose to walk the extra mile, and swim the extra lap

I choose to take the extra time, and wear the extra hat

I choose to make the sacrifice and make the compromise

I choose to take the extra hurt and hear the extra lies

I choose cloudy mornings and misty nights

I choose no running water and no bright lights

I choose lack of sleep and blurry sight

I choose whatever I have to, just to keep you in my life

I choose the red if you hate the blue

I choose the shade if you hate the hue

I choose the dark if you hate the view

What I really mean to say is

I choose you

 

 

Nakesha Graves

I Am Sorry

It seems that every day we can ask God to do something in our lives, yet we are not doing the things that he wants us to do. I just want to apologize to God for not being consistent, and pray that I can improve in my walk with him.

I’m Sorry

 

God

I am so sorry

I’m not the person you want me to be

My heart has been covered with cement

And every time I try to chip away at what used to be so innocent

The rocks impede my path

I am barefoot

I have not soaked my feet in your word

I take every step without your armor

And expect to advance unprotected

Living by chance

When I should be living for you

Broken Pieces

Sometimes my life feels so shattered, like I'm not whole enough to do what I am purposed to do. It's a vicious cycle of falling and getting back up again. I'm so glad I am a child of God, because there were plenty of times that I did not want to get back up. But my faith keeps telling me that there is something greater out there for me. I believe this and I believe my God will prove my faith right.

Broken Pieces

 

Pressure busts pipes

Boy did they hit that saying on the head

I just exploded not too long ago myself

Every last bit of my sanity just fell

To the floor

Disguised in the shape of tear drops

It even had the wet feeling that they produce

A puddle formed out of a broken me

Pieces so shattered you wouldn’t even believe

Wasn’t even sure if I could rebuild my castle

Because before my breakdown, I was a queen

I was never torn in between

A stuck, failure slash indecisive human being

Procrastinating on cleaning up my own mess

Wasn’t sure if it’s even worth it

It felt like I intentionally lost my purpose

As a matter of fact I didn’t even know what it was

I thought maybe if I evaluate my pieces

Pick them up one by one

Dust them off, shine them up

I can get back who I once was

But it was like a thousand pieces fell out of that box

It would take days to put me back together

Where would I even start

Is my heart even ready to take that charge

Or was it broken along with the rest of me

Why was the devil always testing me

Because this was definitely his work

He prides himself in seeing me fail

A train that’s derailed

 A prisoner with no bail

A path with a maze for a trail

I guess he forgot who guides me

Who lifts my spirits over the clouds

Who wipes me off and stands me back on my feet

Sometimes God himself has to remind me

Because he is always there to help me regroup my pieces

To reshape, realign and apply new meaning

To every part of me

You see he reaches straight to the heart of me

And always succeeds in lighting back up that spark in me

I don’t know how many times it’s been extinguished

I can’t even count

All I know is I appreciate every time he drug me out

Kicking and screaming because I couldn’t see the future in me

All I saw was the past

It just kept haunting me, taunting me and flaunting all of my mistakes

It kind of made me hate, myself

That was the breaking point

That’s when I fell

That’s when my teardrop pieces revealed themselves

That dark hour was when my faith kicked in

When my God reached down

Picked up my broken pieces

And made me whole again

 

 

 

 

 

Nakesha Graves

 

 

Life

Life throws you curve balls more often than not. So much goes on that it's hard to stay focused and keep on track.  A lot of times you can feel incomplete like something is missing, but you just can't put your finger on it. Everybody is trying to make their own strides so they don't have time to push you to do better. Life is a funny thing, and living in it is no fun. Just a thought.

Life

 

Life

It’s a funny thing

To go from rags to riches

Dealing with hoes and snitches

Trying to figure out what’s missing

But won’t nobody listen

To nothing you gotta say

Your dreams just fade away

Like a cloud that disappears

Because the sun don’t like to share

People living in fear

Baby mama’s shedding tears

Incarceration happens

Before they even get the facts in

Only one person complains

So it all just goes away

Poverty starts to increase

Crack heads fill up the streets

Still fighting for my speech

Constantly on my knees

Tears begin to stream

My soul begins to bleed

Because life

It’s a funny thing

Trying to figure out what’s missing

But won’t nobody listen

 

 

 

Break Free

It's amazing how much we don't believe in ourselves. And how scared we are to fail. Always looking for approval. What other people think plays such a big part in so many of our lives. But should their opinions really matter? I say no. As long as you are doing what you love to do then seek only God's approval.

Break Free

 

It’s been so many years

For me to work up my nerves

To spit out my words

For the people to hear

Because I was too scared

To let my thoughts run free

Thinking everybody

Was going to judge me

For being me

But now my confidence flows strong

Because it’s been locked up so long

Trying to figure out what’s been wrong

Why was my brain so gone

Into a false perception

Of the wrong direction

Not allowing me to manifest and

Lose out on my blessings

But now I hope the world is ready

Because my hand is now steady

My heart is no longer heavy

And my voice is just begging me

To stand in front of the crowd

So it can blare out loud

A new distinct sound

No longer to be bound

Let everyone see

Then manifestations of God and me

No longer a mystery

We’ll go ahead and put this in history