Year: 2010

maybe I’ve been the problem

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If you know me, you know I love Switchfoot – their lyrics, their music, and their heart for a relationship with their Creator. Well this song, Stars, punched me in the gut this morning while I was listening to it.

My perception shapes everything. If I live a meaningless life, it’s my choice. I (and you) was created for a purpose. Look to the heaven’s and the expanse of the oceans, beyond the easy-to-see negatives in this existence. The world and my reason for being born is so much bigger than me. The heavens and God’s handiwork remind me of that.

single so & so

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The sun shone on her for so long
That her absence is drawn on my walls.
A silhouette of where she once stood
Is painted there while her scent still lingers.

I’m left to resume dinner reservations for one
And attend the parties of my single-serving friends
While listening to them talk of the glories of
Being single or married or dulled by alcohol to not care.

Coleman Hawkins and his saxophone blow “Don’t Love Me”
And the echo of the loving monikers I was once called
Are hatefully marked out with red crayon or her blood, I’m not sure.
For now I’m just another single so and so.

grow

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I think it’s awesome that one of my favorite mugs (though it’s been dropped and shattered to pieces and glued back together) through a scarred face can remind me of a simple edict – grow.

Thanks, mug-that-I-blogged-about-that-one-time. I do believe I will.

grow

covenant

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No edits and no regrets
No foundations on which to forget.
No third parties or loose backdoors
No hidden compartments under floor boards
No skeletons unburied baring the stench
If so, we’ll inhume for recompense
No tears without purchase
No fears with proof
No empty containers
Nor dignity aloof
No fatherless daughter
No motherless son
No sunset forgotten
Nor moonlit sun
No touch is contingent
Mere embrace unreserved
Every thought bring you honor
Every action to serve
No vain repetitions
Nor bulletproof vests
To null this intimate promise,
This constant caress.

Gomer’s Theme

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I’ve begun delving into the guts of my second novel and this song keeps echoing in the back of my memory so I played it. And I played it again. And Again.

The song is called Gomer’s Theme by Third Day from their album, “Conspiracy No. 5.” Listen here. The song is a retelling from the book of Hosea (chapter’s 1-3) of Hosea’s marriage to Gomer, an unfaithful wife that he ceaselessly forgave of adultery while loving her unconditionally. This was to be a parallel to God’s undying faithfulness to Israel (or us). You can read a summary here or delve into the scriptures for yourself here.

Not to make this into some awkward and impromptu Bible study, but my point for posting this is to demonstrate that true love involves forgiveness. Again and again. And while we may feel like fools when we are the ones doing the forgiving, we’ll (with maturity and God’s leading) find that we a more receptive to receive love when we aren’t hindered by bitterness or the past.

PIOUS, which will be released on October1, is thematically about forgiveness on many levels and illustrates how even forgiving ourselves is necessary to move forward and truly live the life that we are meant to live.

elements of distraction

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Fire fire, burning bright
Windy windy, lost my light
Sequins sequins, she tucks it in
Sprays her scent and does a spin
Water water, quench my thirst
Love me back, make me first
Comet vomit into space
I want to kiss you on your face
Loving loving, why’s it hard?
I rehearsed my lines and know my parts
These shoes behoove though second-hand
Not good enough, more reprimand
Steady steady, start again
I’m sure I’ll get this in the end
Ponder wander, her face I see
And my mind goes again, just up and leaves…

Ahh… to be her pillow.

freedom and that OTHER celebration

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So today is Independence Day where we as Americans commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Or we more commonly refer to this 4th of July as a day to reflect on our freedom as a country and eat a lot of barbecue. But what of freedom for everyone? History tells us that slaves (mostly blacks but a few other minorities) were far from free for decades to come. You may be thinking, “What about the Emancipation Proclamation?”

There is a common misconception among Americans that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves with a stroke of his pen. Yet the Emancipation Proclamation, which went into effect on January 1, 1863, did no such thing — or, at least, it didn’t do a very good job of it. Two and a half years later, on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers sailed into Galveston, Texas, announced the end of the Civil War, and read aloud a general order freeing the quarter-million slaves residing in the state. It’s likely that none of them had any idea that they had actually been freed more than two years before. It was truly a day of mass emancipation. It has become known as Juneteenth.1

Can or should non-Blacks celebrate Juneteenth? Juneteenth is for ALL people, anyone who celebrates the basic tenets of freedom, human dignity, and equality. There were a great many white people who were ecstatic that slaves were emancipated. Standing together publicly to denounce today’s racism doesn’t hurt either.2

1 Gilbert Cruz, A Brief History of Juneteenth (2008 article from TIME)
2Abel Pharmboy of scienceblogs.com

PIOUS sneak peek

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Chapter 4 of PIOUS is available for your pretty (or handsome) little eyes to peruse. Join in on the excitement and see why critics are already proclaiming PIOUS, a “breakout, page-turner of a hit.”