Provocative Speech

Glee, Don't Be Gay

2011-10-14T18:05:00.000-07:00

Oh Glee! I've faithfully watched this show for the last couple years & this past weeks episode sent me over the edge. The show claims to be soooo progressive, but I'll argue that the show's creators are using some very tired stereotypes that are holding down the people that they aspire to lift up. Before I destroy this show, I'll state the reason I've enjoyed the show:
I love music. Bar none. For the 95% of the music they play is the latest pop songs, the 5% of creative mash-ups and show tunes, it has made it worth it.

Lets start by breaking down the characters that are sooooooooo progressive:

Kurt
His character makes no logical sense. I understand that they have an aggressive agenda of born this way but you can't deny that your environment plays a part in who you are; and that is exactly what they do. His mom died when he was 8, leaving him to be raised by his dad, who owns a small car repair shop. Yet in the show, Kurt has no knowledge of cars or handy ability at all. That makes no sense. In middle America, a small business encompasses the whole family to at least a tiny degree. For argument sake, lets say Kurt was born this way; he'd still would've been in the shop with his dad for most of his childhood. But no, the show portrays him as the flaming-for-no-reason gay guy. They even miss the boat on that.
The show gets much progressive street cred for Kurt & Blaine's relationship, which to this I say, poppycock! If I was gay, I'd be so pissed about how they treat their relationship. Case in point, this past weeks episode: Blaine & Kurt are auditioning for the same part in the school musical. They largely support each other but it is pretty clear that Blaine should get it. So, Kurt meets Blaine on campus somewhere & basically resigns that Blaine deserves the role & does the whole I support you all the way, even-though you are taking my dream role. A really romantic gesture from a significant other yet there's no kiss. If this were a heterosexual couple, they definitely would have kissed. I don't want to see them kiss but I'm just saying, you can't have it both ways. You can't claim to champion the gay cause yet treat them like second class citizens.

Mercedes
An overweight, sassy, black woman; never seen that before! That's enough of a stereotype to irritate me, then this past weeks episode sent me reeling. They turned Mercedes into a selfish, cocky, look-at-me diva who demanded the star role seemingly out of nowhere. This does not help & it's a lazy story move. This stereotype is taken from the sports world where most talented black athletes are portrayed this way, especially in tv shows. The message the show is sending is that black people cannot be team players, they're lazy & cause all sorts of derision. This is not helping the negative black stereotype that continues to be played out in the media.

Chang
This one is slight, but I believe just as potent. Chang is a very minor character in the show who's just known for his dancing ability. This past weeks episode he was spotlighted and they pulled out the stereotypeometer for his story arc. He gets an A- (which they call an Asian F, not offensive at all) and his parents basically banish him from the glee club so he can pull up his grades but he rebels & stays in the club anyway. The ole overbearing Asian parents card, the oldest trick in the book. This stereotype conflicts me a bit because I think parents should be actively involved in their children's education. Though you should not smother a child with your own desires, in the end, the very thing that makes Chang such a good dancer is that he is driven & works hard, virtues he learned from his parents. Is that such a bad thing? Again, extremism is almost always unhelpful, but in the end, I'd rather have 2 parents that push you hard & teach you discipline over the other end of the spectrum which is so pervasive in our culture, complete passivity on the part of the parents. As an adolescent, I had no gauge on what my priorities should be and where to put my time. I could have used a little more Chang's parents in my life. With all that being said, It still bothers me that Chang's first shining moment of the show is showered in stereotype.

Glee, lets not sprain your hand, patting yourself on the back for being so forward thinking & progressive. Your story is unimaginative, cliched & telegraphed. Your music selection is lazy at best. I guarantee that within the next 4 episodes they'll have a version of Pumped Up Kicks, lets hope without the school shooting. Have an original thought for your story & your characters and then we can talk.

Help Racism

2011-08-28T04:08:00.000-07:00

***********SPOILER ALERT***********
I will be ruining The Help for you if you have yet to see it, so please continue at your own risk.

I kept seeing this poster everywhere & got really weird vibes from it. I also kept hearing rave reviews from critics & friends alike about how good it is, but I still couldn't shake my initial uneasiness. Then a Huffington Post contributor Rebecca Wanzo jumped inside my brain, wrote this article & completely nailed the vibe that I was getting from the movie. Sitting validated in my initial position, I resolved to hate this movie and the message it's promoting: that (a) minorities have no inherent voice of their own and they need a white person to be heard and (b) that white people can see the civil rights movement as a level of their evolution & something that they helped bring along & now, "I can stop feeling guilty because I saw this movie and I'm so glad race is such a non-issue in our society. Go us!"

A few days later of seething & scoffing at the simpletons that were actually hoodwinked into enjoying The Help, a jolt hit me... I hadn't read the book or seen the movie yet.
I was building this whole case of damnation without any firsthand knowledge. Ignorance is the only word that could describe my current state. Wanting to protect my pride, I resigned to view the movie so that I could dispel my ignorance in hopes of keeping the same viewpoint.

So now that I have seen the movie, I'm very emotionally conflicted.

Con:
I still am very opposed to any notion that minorities have no inherent voice and to be heard they need a white person to speak their cause. And I do still hate the pat-on-the-back white people are giving themselves, in light of this movie. I also resonate with one of Wanzo's main assertions, that she wants to see more of the black story outside of being a service person (and today, I would add, gangster, rapper or athlete). So much of the real story of the pre to post Jim Crow South has not been told so movies like The Help lose a bit of contextual credibility. The ABWH protest letter says it best, "In the end, The Help is not a story about the millions of hardworking and dignified black women who labored in white homes to support their families and communities. Rather, it is the coming-of-age story of a white protagonist, who uses myths about the lives of black women to make sense of her own." (more on this quote later). You also get a feeling from the movie that 'there were a few meanies who cajoled the rest of the white people into treating black people horribly and if left alone, they wouldn't be so mean to black people' (i.e. the scene where Hilly fires Aibileen while Elizabeth, her employer, sheepishly looks on & the scene where Constantine gets fired by Charlotte because, Charlotte's important dinner guest says that 'she doesn't stand for that kind of behavior'). Bigotry and oppression were the norm, where, civility and decency, were the exceptions. All that being said...

Pro:
The movie was well executed. Great pacing, story-telling and the acting was superb. I don't think this movie set out to describe the entire Jim Crow South. I just think it was trying to tell one story. The movie assumes you know the context of the narrative, which is dangerous ground to walk on, especially, with 'history' being passed down by the ones with the power. This is one of my conflictions; the contextual problem. Is it okay to tell just one story? How much context is needed? How beholden to the audience, is an artist in telling their story/message? At some point, it could get overwhelming to expect an artist to canvas that much context into their work. But I love context! Nothing is in a vacuum & any story is shaped by all of the pertinent circumstances, locations and world events that belay it. Hence the rub. Unlike this confliction, advocacy is a gigantic weight that evens the scales in my judgement & is an undeniable theme of the movie. Though, every peoples' voice is inherently worthwhile & deserving of audience, it's just true that there are times/places where demographics of society have not been heard, even today. If your voice is not being heard, regardless of demographic, and someone speaks on your behalf, that is life-giving. That hits right at the essence of the gospel that Jesus brings & is. With the curse of the fall, we have lost the right to be heard by God. But He doesn't let us stay in silence forever, like we deserve. He sends Jesus, whose life, death & resurrection earn us our place at the table. God's spirit even intercedes on our behalf. Jesus didn't just face the threat of social outcast, but actually died so that we can have a voice & silences our accuser in his resurrection!!!!!

With any amount of con the movie presents, this is where I land: We must advocate!

Letting My Freak Flag Fly

2011-06-18T04:36:00.000-07:00

I decided to celebrate National LGBT Pride month by watching The Last Song, a fair to slightly above average coming-of-age film starring Miley Cyrus, Greg Kinnear & Liam Hemsworth. Consider this your alert of spoils.

A couple of things took me out of the movie experience

The movie is based on a Nicholas Sparks book. So as I'm watching it, all I can think about is, when's cancer coming. I know someone's gotta have it. I swear, Sparks writes his books like a mad lib & just enters in setting & characters, as opposed to nouns, adverbs & similes.
No female is playing hard to get with Liam Hemsworth. I'm sorry, Hemsworth has drawls droppin' everywhere he goes, just a fact.
Every time someone said Miley's characters name, Ronnie, instantly I heard Rihanna busting out a, 'shy Ronnie...' and I lost focus.

A couple of revelations

Greg Kinnear is a crazy good actor! I can't think of one bad performance he's ever had.
Miley Cyrus, not so much. Anything slightly serious or emotionally stretching reveal her glaring growth areas.
I need the beach soon. Even just watching the beach scenes had a soothing effect on my soul.
Hemsworth is going to kill as Gale. I really need to start tempering my expectations for the Hunger Games movie.
Girls like interacting with animals. Why? I really am curious. I fear that I may need to relent on my aggressive stance of animals needing to be in the wild in order to interact with girls.
Tangentially related, I Love You, Phillip Morris is not about tobacco.
Also just as timely, I've recently watched the SNL that Elton John hosted. If I was gay, I'd be extremely offended by that episode. It was basically an hour and a half of 'hey, I'm gay' followed by overly aggressive sexual innuendos & overt stereotypes. It would be comparable to Ken Jeong hosting & the whole show being about math, chopsticks & bad driving. You couldn't have one sketch were Elton wasn't just 'the gay guy'. C'mon man! Its not creative & you're better than that.
The need for human connection is immense.
To my knowledge, I've never had someone tell me a big lie. I don't know how I'd react upon discovering the truth. What's the ratio of built-up trust versus size of the deception. In my closest experiences, I lean towards understanding & wanting to move forward. Maybe a defense mechanism, I don't know. I'll hop on the couch another day for that one.

If you haven't yet, watch the movie & let me know what you think.

Apathy Is Assent

2011-06-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

Apathy is assent! If you don't care and keep silent then you are agreeing with any outcome. The current injustice that I aim to speak out on is the renewing of the patriot act, which was signed via Presidents Obama's robot last Thursday. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas has cried out against this way better than I could, so please enjoy this video. Do not be deterred by his creepiness in appearance or his place of origin but just close your eyes & hear his words.

Thinking about the patriot act sends me into a whirlwind of emotions. First I am just angry. Angry that we let people lord over us with fear. Angry that we let people shove a false sense of national security down our throats. Angry that we come out in droves to vote for American Idol, but can't really find time in our busy schedules to protest in any form. Then I adjust the periscope a little wider and start to think about Palestine. Or Libya. Or Yemen. Or Pakistan. Or Bahrain. Or Somalia. Or Uganda. Our problems seem to pale in comparison. I didn't grow up with bombs going off. No one in my family has been raped by someone in a uniform. No one has set up concrete barriers between me & Fry's. Then I just feel sad. Sad for us, sad for the world. It all just feels hopeless... But it is not hopeless! After some delay, I finally come to my base emotion of serene trust. I remember that God is sovereign. No entity can outsmart or out-evil God's plan to bring maximum glory to himself & complete good to his children. God's been running the world for a long, long time; He's got this! Unlike the faux-picture of the cross above, God did not tell us to f off or to figure out the problems of the world ourselves. He did go on that cross & carry the weight of the world's evil. He did rise on the third day, defeating satan, sin, suffering & death. And He is coming back, where He will finally and completely restore all things & drive away all injustice. In light of these great truths, I do not think we are called to sit back on our laurels. These truths do not give us license to laziness & apathy. I do not know necessarily what to do, but I do know this; WE MUST CARE!!

PS For a snarky take on the pledge of allegiance, click here.

Prolly The Most Important Thing You Can Hear

2011-05-30T03:05:00.000-07:00

True & Better from Peter Artemenko on Vimeo.

I posted this same exact thing a couple years ago. I just transcribed it by listening to the sermon & typing it out. I had to pause it like 400 times to get it just right. This is definitely a better presentation of this message. If you can get this, than all the scriptures will open to you.

Swiss Army Knife Award

2011-05-23T18:23:00.000-07:00

That's right!!!! Mumford & Sons nabs the Swiss Army Knife Award, the highest Audible Heisman there is. This is one of those 'sign post' albums, where you know exactly where you were when you first heard it. I was on the Mogollon Rim driving to Phoenix with my buddy Robert. They come in with the 'serve God, love me & mend' and I was like, 'oh, ish!!!! This is something like I've never quite heard before.' It simultaneously is a breath of fresh air that takes your breath away. I haven't had that confused respiratory sensation sense ridin' with my boy Jerry listening to his bootleg copy of College Dropout.

Since Sigh No More's arrival to my cd player, it has not left. I have never once skipped a track. There are literally no dead spots in the whole album! Another mark of a great album, my favorite song has changed numerous times; currently it is "After The Storm". The prime reason I love this album so much is it's exultability. You see, I don't like to demarcate the world into secular and sacred. I feel that makes God way to small. To say that you could only praise/worship/honor/revere God in these three specific ways that 50 yr old, white republican guys approve of, limits God. I believe that God is so sovereign that anything that is created, ultimately, will serve to glorify Him. I call it running it up the flag pole. If I were just stop at Mumford & Sons and say, 'wow, these guys are talented. This music makes me feel good, etc.' I would've have stopped short of the music's ultimate intended end. But if I were to say, 'wow, these guys are talented, praise the God that invented music & instruments that can make that sound. Praise the God that heals me while I listen to this music. Praise the God that has accomplished the actual victory I feel when I listen to this album, etc.' I believe we should do this with all things.

Here are exulting highlights from the album:

"Sigh No More"- 'Love it will not betray you/ Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free/ Be more like the man you were made to be'
"Roll Away Your Stone"- 'It seems that all my bridges have been burnt/ But you say that's exactly how this grace thing works/ It's not the long walk home that will change this heart/ But the welcome I receive with the the restart'
"White Blank Page"- 'Lead me to the truth and I/ Will follow you with my whole life'
"I Gave You All"- 'If only I had an enemy bigger than my apathy I could have won'
"After The Storm"- 'But there will come a time you'll see/ With no more tears/ And love will not break your heart/ But dismiss your fears/ Get over your hill and see, what you find there/ With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair'

Here is my current favorite song on the album, "After The Storm". Hope you enjoy it. Def check out this whole album if you haven't already.

Swiss Army Knife Award Preamble

2011-05-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

At long last, the Audible Heisman for the best album of the year. This one was quite the photo finish! 2010 was a solid year for music. The runner-up department is multi-tiered.

Farthest from the front, you have the Lady Antebellum/Sufjan Stevens for the show. Need You Now was a very impressive sophomore showing. I really didn't think it would be all that great. But four singles to date, including the crossover that is the album's namesake; I was mistaken. Age of Adz was a raving indie success. A lot of people's favorite album of the year! To be great, an artist must continue to adapt & grow and Age of Adz certainly accomplishes this. Its sound is takes a complete 180 and goes crazy electro-funk hippie and it really lands. The hardcore Sufjan purists might hate the change, but I like it. The main reason the album slipped to third runner-up is that I think the concert that I attended was much better than the album actually was. The visual experience of the concert really brought the music alive but the best album of the year should be able to stand on its own. Plus, if I was ever to grab coffee with Sufi, I think I'd throw up in my mouth bout 3 times & cold cock him 5 times.

Placing is Taylor Swift/Arcade Fire. Speak Now is fantastic. The album will probably have 4-5 hits when its all said and done. Unlike Sufjan, my beloved Tay Tay has not really adapted or changed all that much, which is kinda okay by me. I know it sounds contradictory, based on the previous paragraph, but let me explain. Some artists just need to find they're lane and stay in it, she may be in that category. She's still really young and time will tell which way her career goes, but I still submit that if she wants to be great, I mean, short list great, she'll evolve. Suburbs really hits hard. A slightly different sound, but still retains the Arcade Fire intensity & depth. The whole album just flows really well. I don't have anything really negative to say about it, it just didn't do enough to eek out the victory.

With the win, the first runner-up is Kanye West. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, in a way, encapsulates Kanye West. He's gonna piss you off with his arrogance; then bring you back with his talent (small jag: he doesn't piss me off with his arrogance. I am really attracted to arrogance. Especially when it is backed up). Lets do the timeline:
09.13.2009: Kanye Crashes Tay Tay's acceptance speech.
09.14.2009: Start of a whirlwind of Kanye shunning. Butt of everyone's jokes, national tour with Lady Gaga cancelled, bit of depression, etc.
02.2010: Goes to Hawaii, fly's out Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Bon Iver, Charlie Wilson to record upcoming album.
07.28.2010: Ye joins Twitter, accumulates over 220,000 followers on first day.
08.2010: Starts G.O.O.D. Fridays where he leaks a free song every friday (started a chain reaction of other hip hop artists doing the same), assures public next album is gonna be fire and will come out in November.
11.22.2010: drops My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy as the years most anticipated album, debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 with almost 500,000 sold in first week, 4 hit singles, etc.
04.17.11: Closes Coachella, the biggest music festival of a year (prolly the best musical festival in my lifetime) with a 2 hour set that left crowd stunned & awed. Game, blouses!

And MBDTF is the runner-up!!!!!!!! So, the Swiss Army Knife Award goes to...

Chuck Norris Award

2011-04-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

This Audible Heisman is given to the baddest, illest, most dominate song of the year. I'm sure, like me, that you can't deny the awesomeness that is Chuck Norris. I'm sure you've heard them all, but here are a few highlights:

Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.
Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.
When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris knows where Carmen Sandiego is.
Chuck Norris is what Willis was talking 'bout.
When Chuck Norris had surgery, anesthesia was applied to the doctor.
Via http://www.thechucknorrisfacts.com/

Thats the intensity that this song brings to your ear drums. It has four of the coldest mc's in the game, including a top three all time lyricist. One of the best male vocals from a different genre. The verse of the year that steals the whole song. The song is on one of the most anticipated albums of the whole year. It was given away for free. What else do you want from a song? So now, the Chuck Norris Award goes to...

Where to start? To say my mind was blown would be the understatement of the year. I was playing volleyball and I got a text from my fellow hip hop aficionado Isaac and it just said 'Monster'. I was intrigued and was excited to get home and check online to see if I could crack the code. I found out very quickly & I heard this song, I was goin all kenny smith on it, its over, its over!!!!!! It starts out Bon Iver (yeah, I know!) then comes a lion roar. I was hooked right then and there! Nicki Minaj utterly destroys her verse (apparently it was co-wrote by ye, which isn't surprising) and takes over the song, a song with Jay-Z on it. That right there puts her in very select company. I mean seriously:

Pull up in the monster automobile gangster with a bad b-tch that came from Sri Lanka yeah I'm in that Tawnka, colour of Willy Wonka
yeah my money's so tall that my barbie's gotta climb it
but really really I don't give a F-U-C-K forget barbie f-ck nicki she's fake she's on a diet but my pockets eating cheese cake
and I'll say bride of Chucky is Child's play just killed another career it's a mild day besides 'Ye they can't stand besides me

I know it must seem quite convenient that a Kanye song is song of the year. First of all, touche. Second of all, let me assure you that the awarding process is very strenuous, not to be rivaled by any other award show in its integrity and confidentiality. I can't help that my favorite just happens to be the best sometimes, ya know?

Its been a long, bumpy ride but the final award is upon us. The Swiss Army Knife Award, after the jump.

Louis Vuitton Don Award

2011-04-06T23:20:00.000-07:00

The Louis Vuitton Don Award is awarded to the best & worst award show moment. This Audible Heisman gets its namesake from Kanye West aka the best & worst thing to happen to award shows (i.e. this, this & this). The latter part of this award was easy. The moment I experienced it, I knew right then & there, this is awful & needs to be publicly ridiculed.

That is all I have to say about that.

Now to greener pastures... The positive half of the award more than makes up for it's counterpart.

So, just before Digital Underground came out, Cali Swag District was out there teaching folks how to dougie. It was a sick transition & the whole room just became electric! To top it off, a sweet homage to Tupac to wrap it up. For those that don't know, Tupac got his start as an early rapper with Digital Underground. He was basically part roadie, part entourage member for the group. He got his big lyrical break where he smashed the last lyric on Digital Underground's hit 'Same Song' in 1991. In 1993, Tupac returned the favor and put Digital Undergound on his hit, 'I Get Around', which basically feels like a 'Same Song' part 2. Stay tuned for the Chuck Norris Award!

Tangentry

2011-03-21T22:35:00.000-07:00

I get outta my car from a long day of couriering & I'm loading up my ish to bring inside. This Black Caddy, slowly creeps by & the driver says:

Hey, you know where I can get some weed?

(Two things, I love how this type of question is just normal to me. Like, you know where the nearest Burger King is or the nearest Post Office. I imagine he's new in town & just wanting to find out where to ascertain some staples, i.e. contraband. Secondly, I love that it was just normal to ask it, for the same reason) I say:

Naw, man, sorry. He wryly smiles & keeps driving.

So, either I'm so hood, that it seemed like I could be a reliable source of the sticky. Or, I'm so not hood, that it was hilarious to ask me. Of course I hope for the former, but the latter would be rather entertaining. Either way, I like where his head is at and hopes he finds his green relaxant.

Man, I wish the supposed liberal CA wouldn't have dropped the ball on legalizing marijuana. They need to puff, puff, pass that legislation already. In 80 years from now, they are going to look back at us in the same way we look at the prohibitionists in the '20s. Whats the big deal? What took you so long?

This of course is one morsel of a huge ding dong of a problem, namely, restriction under the fallacy of safety/security. Lets take seat belts. For the sake of argument, we will submit to the given that wearing a seat belt improves your chances of safety upon impact. Fine. But if there are people who are stupid enough to drive without them, they will have their consequences. There's no reason to fine them. Its just another bullcrap way for our govt. to extract our money from us. I would say the same is true with narcotics. Can it be extremely hazardous to your health, physically, emotionally & psychologically to use them? YES. If you use them in excess, will there be some rather severe consequences? YES (just like the legal alcohol, fast food, etc). Should we make it illegal to use them? NO. Should there be prison, upon prison, full of people who are mainly non-violent weed smokers? NO. How are these prisons funded? Your tax dollars. Instead of any type of proactive crime prevention, or stopping the sex trade or building schools, this money goes to businesses that are in bed with the govt. God Bless America, indeed!

The only caveat I would throw in there is that certain things do need to be restricted based on age. I certainly wouldn't want to see a 12 yr old, driving around with a blunt in hand. If your over 21 then I think you should also be able to smoke weed, just like you can gamble, drink & buy tobacco.

To end on a slightly lighter note, here is my favorite weed song of all time:

Thank you for bearing with this extended commercial break. In two shakes of a lamb's tail, we'll be back with the Louis Vuitton Don Award.

Epilepsy Award

2011-02-02T18:26:00.000-08:00

This Audible Heisman goes to the song that just makes you lose your mind and go insane when upon hearing it aka the club banger of the year. This is the song that, when it comes on, raises the temperature bout 15 degrees. As with most years, there was very stiff competition for the crown. Honorable mentions include 'BMF' and 'MC Hammer' by Rick Ross, 'Bottoms Up' by Trey Songz and 'Everybody Drunk' by Ludacris. This year's winner has all the hottest mc's on the track. That is something that is uniquely hip hop. In no other genre, do you have a song come out & then a week later everybody and they momma spit's over it. There's a sorta open sourceness/gamesmanship that exists where if there's a hot beat, the next person wants to flow over it. Its an homage, but at the same time, they wanna top the previous person. It used to sort of exist in the outlaw country days, (i.e. 'Good Hearted Woman', 'Highwayman', 'Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys') but never like it is now in hip hop. There's that same feel to the Epilepsy Award winner, which is...

DJ Khaled- 'All I Do Is Win Remix' ft. T-Pain, Rick Ross, Busta Rhymes, Diddy, Nicki Minaj, Fabolous, Jadakiss & Fat Joe

And here's a bonus for ya, the original with Rick Ross, Ludacris and Snoop

When this song comes on, everybody's hands go up... and they stay there! 'Nuff said. After the jump, the Louis Vuitton Don Award.

J-B Weld Award

2011-01-27T21:52:00.000-08:00

This Audible Heisman goes to the best mash-up of the year. A quality mash-up is hard to accomplish. You have to take the best qualities of each song and somehow flow them together. The first mash-up I heard that really made me take notice of this style of mixing music was the album 'From Blue Eyes To Bedstuy'. It was a combo of Frank Sinatra and Notorious B.I.G. This was before the massive explosion of free music on the internet, so sadly, I do not own this album and haven't been able to find it. The mash-up that really put the art of mashing in the national spectrum was 'The Grey Album'. It mixed The Beatles 'White Album' with Jay-Z's 'Black Album'. DJ Danger Mouse was the masher in this case and then went on to co-found Gnarls Barkley with Cee-Lo. Speaking of, the J-B Weld Award goes to...

DJ O-Face- 'Jay Bells'

I couldn't find a video of any song off the album, so I'm just going to post the two songs of my favorite track separately. Also, you can go here to grab the whole album.

Jay-Z- 'Izzo'

Sleigh Bells- 'Riot Rhythm'

Solid songs individually, dynamite together. Also, 'Izzo' was Kanye's first hit as a producer, so there's always a soft spot there. For those of you that know hip hop/rap, especially mash-ups, you probably have some beef with me right now. How can there be a mash-up award and it not go to Girl Talk. Simmer down, there is a valid reason. Girl Talk is not eligible for the Audible Heismans for two reasons:
1. He got caught with performance enhancing drugs. It turns out he was injecting himself with more than the legal limit of awesome. The playing field is not even.
2. He's already in the Audible Heisman Hall of Fame.
The fact of the matter is that Girl Talk is on another level when it comes to mash-ups. Most people will take two songs and put them together. Girl Talk is not content with two. His mash-up mixtapes usually contain a mix of 100-200 songs spanning several genres. My favorite album of his is 'Night Ripper'. You can also grab his most recent album 'All Day'. Keep your eyes peeled for the Epilepsy Award.

Blue Light Special Award

2011-01-25T22:19:00.000-08:00

This Audible Heisman is awarded to the song that you put on layaway. With listening to the radio, anyone with a semblance of a discerning palate, faces the same dilemma. How many times have you turned on the radio to hear 'wake up in the morning, feelin' like P Diddy...' and just let out an 'arrrrrrgggghhh' and plugged the Aux cord in your iPod? Thousands of times by now, to be sure. Like most media, the whole radio system panders to the lowest common denominator. It is not wired for the people that listen to their radio all day long, they're counting on only getting you for about 10mins, every 2hrs. So, just to be safe, they play numbers 1-5 song on a constant loop all day, so that the masses will hit it & be like thats my jam, even though its entirely played out. Its all part of my love/hate relationship with the radio. It would take a firestorm of ridiculousness the likes foretold in Revelation for me to turn my back on the radio. It is still, to this day, reigning champion as best gift I ever received; for my ninth birthday, my own radio I could put in my room! I want to be able to read the pulse of our culture, but I want a little variety in what I hear all day as well. I have 5 general reactions to the radio:
1. 'arrrrrrgggh, seriously, apparently, i'm still a firework.'
2. 'hmmm, interesting, I'm kinda diggin' this... yeah, uh huh, you know what it is...'
3. 'man, I'm into this song, but I'd be down if they wouldn't play it for a long, long while... can we pretend that airplanes...'
4. 'thats my jammmmmmm!!!!!! no matter whats happening or how many times I've heard it, its hot and I'm into it... I know its been a while, sweetheart, we hardly talk...'
and
5. 'I dig it, but every time it comes on its getting skipped.'
This winner received the 5th reaction. More people should do this. If somehow you can have the forethought to have a small taste of a song and realize you like it but it has potential to be a 3rd reaction song, put it on layaway and pick it up from customer service in bout 6 months; surely, Ke$ha will have taken Jesus off her neck-a-lus, us, us by that time (one can hope, right). With that introduction, the Blue Light Special Award goes to...

Bruno Mars- The Way You Are

I was curious how it was gonna go for Bruno. Was he going to be just a hook guy and stay in AAA with his .430 avg. or would he have the goods to adjust to big league pitching and make the transition. So far, it seems as if he can hit more than a fastball. This song is objectively good. Catchy, touching, good voice, strong lyrics. Grenade may be even better (2nd reaction currently and will probably jump to 4th reaction in a couple years). Somehow, the stars aligned and I just knew to hold off on this song. I'm actually still holding off on it, I'll more than likely embrace it fully in a couple months. And it will be so worth the wait. Never underestimate the power of delayed gratification. Keep your eyes peeled for the J-B Weld Award after the break.

Jordan Knight Award

2011-01-24T19:31:00.000-08:00

This award goes to the best new artist aka the best new kid on the block. Many people don't know this bout me, but I have very serious opinions about NKOTB. Ask any real fan & they'll tell you that Jordan Knight is the prize at the bottom of the Cracker Jack box. I got mad love for Joey, for obvious reasons. Danny was just dumb; Danny, you're not tough, you're in a boy band. Donnie was kind of the leader of the group who went on to be a E list character actor. He also had a very short stint as a horrible rapper. Jonathan & Jordan Knight were the brains behind the 'music' & choreography. Jordan made a 6 day comeback in '99 with 'Give It To You' (sad to say, I actually had this single) which I believe made it even possible to have the renaissance of NKOTB. Jordan had the leading man looks that Jonathan never had, hence best new kid (send all hate mail to my 2 sisters who indoctrinated me, against my will, to the stylings of NKOTB). With all that in mind, the Jordan Knight Award goes to...

Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj had a monster year!!! She dropped one of the most anticipated albums in music this past year. She's brings it harder than most dudes a la Foxy Brown. She's cute & weird. She stole pretty much every track she collab'd on (i.e. Bedrock, My Chick Bad etc). For some reason I really dig her vibe & her flow. She's got some great mentors in Drake & Lil' Wayne to push her to keep getting better so she'll be a name for a while to come. Up next is the Blue Light Special Award.

The Ecclesiastes Award

2011-01-20T19:35:00.000-08:00

The Ecclesiastes Award goes to the best 'seasonal' song (past winners include Summertime, Please Come To Boston, Winter Song, Autumn In New York, etc). Seasonal songs are generally awesome! They take you straight to that backyard bbq or warm, crackling fire, definitely some nostalgic goodness. Its certainly a topic that transcends cultures; everyone has seasons (even if the 602 only gets two of them). This award winning song has secured a spot in my iPod for many years to come. It has collaboration from 2.5 genres, one of my favorite rappers being one of them, the fusion of male/female vocals, real catchy hook and just plain ole fun! The winner of the Ecclesiastes Award is...

Kid Cudi- All Summer ft. Best Coast & Rostam Batmangli (of Vampire Weekend)

Its also a good enough jam that you can bump it all year long without feeling weird. Solid song top to bottom by some huge break-out stars on the rise. Stay tuned for the Jordan Knight Award.

El Cucuy Award

2011-01-18T21:30:00.000-08:00

This Audible Heisman is awarded to the song that is soooo good, that it's scary you haven't heard it yet. !El Cucuy! is basically the Mexican boogeyman. The artist is for all extensive purposes, one of 2 or 3 hottest things around. I've been following him since his bball/wheelchair teeny bopper days in the Canadian version of Saved By The Bell/One Tree Hill. What I didn't know then, but is clearly evident now, this guy can flow. Everything he's on right now, just sounds better. I really can't think of one rhyme of his that I don't like. This song has a sweet soft melody & a great hook with a nice voice. Its certainly a softer side of the artist. Without further ado, El Cucuy Award goes to...

Drake- July ft Jhene

I also have an affinity for this song cause its about summer flings, which definitely hit me in a special place. Speaking of which, the Ecclesiastes Award will be coming right up.

Brussel Sprouts Award

2011-01-12T07:04:00.000-08:00

This Audible Heisman is awarded to the song that is stuffed down your throat yet you fight it and fight it, but it actually is good for you. That is how I feel about this award winner. There were times, where three, separate genre, radio stations would be playing this song. It was in the malls, department stores, government buildings, etc. Not even Jack Bauer could escape it. Usually, when this happens, and it happens way, way, way more than should be legal, the disdain starts to build around the 328th time you've heard it. As this occurs with a truly, objectively good song, you forget that its a good song. Very similar to the way a really good truth, can become trite and platitudinal. For an example, telling someone God bless. If you are anything like me, that can ring hollow. But think about what you are saying; you are telling that person that the infinite, all powerful, mighty, loving, sovereign God could/would put his favor on that person to the extent, that they would find themselves so wrapped up in His presence and goodness (which is the deepest way a person is blessed). I also, really enjoy this song because I've been with this band since their first album and am excited to see them get the national pub that they've warranted. Without further ado, the Brussel Sprouts Award goes to...

Lady Antebellum- 'Need You Now'

Solid love song. Pain, regret, departure; gotta love it. Random trivia fact, this song is also the only non-50's/60's/kenny rogers/neil diamond song that my dad has gone out of his way to mention that he likes. I just about did a spit take when he told me but I was proud of him for embracing something from this century. After this commercial break, El Cucuy Award will be presented.

Ike Turner Award

2011-01-10T22:56:00.000-08:00

This Audible Heisman is awarded to the song with the sickest, nastiest, heavy-hitting beat. This song, just made it in the '10 deadline, but I'm so glad it did. I love this song for many, many reasons, here are just a few:
01. After a large quantity of aight leaks/releases, its quite refreshing to get a reminder of why I love this artist.
02. Its wordplay and flow match the intensity of the beat.
03. Great, great sample (but you most likely remember it from this awesome late '80s delight).
04. The first time I heard this song was very shortly followed by the 7th and 13th time I heard this song.

The Ike Turner Award goes to...

Lil Wayne- 6' 7'

Best of his, by far, since 'A Milli' & 'Lollipop'. Songs like this remind me why I feel in love with music in the first place. Like I said, ridiculous flow! 'life is a b!tc#, and death is her sister/ sleep is the cousin, what a f-ckin' family picture/ you know father time, we all know mother nature/ it's all in the family, but I am of no relation/ no matter who's buying, I'm a celebration/ black and white diamonds, f-ck segregation' & 'talking to myself because I am my own consultant/ married to the money, f-ck the world, that's adultery/ you full of sh-t, you close your mouth and let yo a$$ talk/ young Money eating, all you haters do is add salt/ stop playing, b!tc#, I got this game on deadbolt/ mind so sharp, I f-ck around and cut my head off'. Are you serious!!!!! The Brussels Sprouts Award is forthcoming.

Beverly Hills 90210 Award

2011-01-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

This Audible Heisman goes to the song that you know is objectively horrible, indulgent, you make fun of it, but you listen to it and hate yourself for it, but in the end you love it and can't stop yourself from belting it out. Just so we are clear, this award is dubbed in honor (is that the right word...?) of the original show, not the travesty that is on CW right now. I have a love/hate relationship with the winner of this award. I can respect the talent and the good business sense but I generally dislike the overall persona and the vibe the artist puts out there. It just seems really gimmicky and is churning a generation of people who, I fear, will not really think for themselves and try sooooo hard to be different and unique that they'll be carbon copies of the artist, hence not different or unique. If you desire so much to be different and unique, then I'd suggest really diggin' in to how God has wired you and express that. Since God is so multifaceted, He makes all His image bearers different, unique and special. With that said, the Beverly Hills 90210 Award goes to...

Lady Gaga- 'Bad Romance'

I can't stop myself from loving this song! Believe me, I've tried really, really hard but I can't deny it. I think it translates so well to so many people, cause we all know what its like when we just desire really stupid things. We know its not good for us, we know its gonna end bad, but we just want it. Stay tuned, the Ike Turner Award is next.

Jimmy McMillan Award

2011-01-05T21:18:00.000-08:00

The Jimmy McMillan Award is given to the artist that grabs instant notoriety because of the ridiculousness of his name or cause. Though, Jimmy McMillan's name may not strike you right away, you surely remember when he burst onto the national scene during the NY Gubernatorial debate lamenting the upward price of his living quarters. This year's winner is an average to slightly above average rapper whom I claim, only has his billing, based on his ridiculous name. This category always offers stiff competition, especially from the rap community. Some honorable mentions this year are OJ Da Juiceman, Royce Da 5' 9", Yelawolf, Pooh Tha Wooh Kid, etc. Without further ado, the winner of the Jimmy McMillan Award is...

Waka Flocka Flame

'Hard In The Paint' was one of the hottest songs in the club this summer, the beat is dope, but the rhyme is aight, at best. But this song did spur on of my favorite video's of the year and for that, Waka's cool with me.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's Audible Heisman, The Beverly Hills 90210 Award.

Kournikova Award

2011-01-04T22:36:00.000-08:00

The next Audible Heisman is the Kournikova award. This goes to the artist who is completely mediocre in their field, yet gets over-hyped simply because of their hotness, thus translating to dollars for them and sustained spotlight. This award is an absolute no brainer this year. It's difficult to imagine anybody else embodying this award quite like her for a while. She may even be on the makings of a dynasty if she stays on the course she's on. For those that know me, there is no suspense on the winner of this award, so I'll just get right to it. The Kournikova Award goes to...

Katy Perry

I'm not going to support her in any way by posting a pic of her or one of her songs. Her music is uninspired and the epitome of all that is horrible in our current internet age. In a lot of ways its hard to even fault her. She's just using the resources that she has available to her. I just wish that we were a more discerning consumer base in which music like hers would get weeded out. Stay tuned for the Jimmy McMillan Award is next.

Costco Award

2011-01-03T23:05:00.000-08:00

Welcome back. This next award is the Costco Award. It is earned by having the best use of another song in your song or 'sample', as we in the biz call it. A well planned sample can instantly take the listener to a familiar place and they remember how much they like the old song as it ushers the new song into their world. This award could have just as easily been dubbed the P-Diddy Award as he used sample after sample to propel himself into the career he now has (think 'I'll Be Missing You' ripped from The Police's 'Every Breath You Take', 'Mo' Money, Mo' Problems' ripped from Diana Ross' 'I'm Coming Out' & the most dastardly of all 'Come With Me' rippin' one of the hottest riffs to ever flow from a guitar, Led Zeppelin's 'Kashmir', etc, etc ). Like a skillful cover, the sample, requires the right artists touch. This brings us to this years winner. He is one of the most underrated lyricist's in the game. His wordplay is right up there with the best of 'em & his cadence warms your heart to him instantly. He spit over one of the hottest songs of the past year & brought a whole different feel to it. I especially love it when an artist crosses genre's for their sample & that's exactly what he does on this one. Without further ado, the Costco Award goes to...

Lupe Fiasco- Show Goes On

The song being sampled here is Modest Mouse's '04 hit 'Float On' which brought this underground band to the mainstream. I think Lupe does this song great justice & kills it lyrically. I definitely am very excited to see what his upcoming album Lasers will bring.

Be on the lookout for tomorrows award, The Kournikova Award.

Microwave Award

2011-01-02T23:19:00.000-08:00

The next award is the Microwave Award. It goes out to the best cover song of the year. Cover songs are a very specific type of genius. I'm not talking bout the rock band that does 'Use Somebody' by Kings of Leon or the ole standbys like Journey or The Beatles. Those have been done, done & overdone. You could say that they were left in the microwave a bit too long. Though there were many good covers this year, one outshone the rest. It takes a '70s disco love song and really re-imagines it. It was a part of this excellent Levi's promo where a dozen or so artists covered some of their favorite songs. Without further ado, the Microwave Award winner is...

Young Hearts Run Free- Swell Season

Marketa Irglova & Glen Hansard make up Swell Season. They obtained national attention from starring in the '06 movie Once & their song 'Falling Slowly' captured the Oscar for Best Original Song. They have a great sound & you should check out their entire catalog.

Stay tuned, for the Costco Award

Paxson/Holmes Award

2011-01-01T23:53:00.000-08:00

The first Audible Heisman is the Paxson/Holmes Award. This award is given out to the song that most embodies the feeling of pain or loss. I especially enjoy 'pain' songs because of the raw emotion that is usually involved in the experience of the song (past winners include 'Hurt' by Johnny Cash & 'Blowers Daughter' by Damien Rice). While putting the links on the 2 names of the award, I still could not even watch them because of the stress they cause. Somehow seeing them makes it worse, even though, I could never erase the memories from my mind. This year's winner scratches me right where I itch, not only is it a painful subject, but its sung so sweetly. Easily, one of my favorite nominations. Without further ado, this years winner of the Paxson/Holmes Award is...

If I Die Young- The Band Perry

Stay tuned, coming up next is the Microwave Award

Audible Heismans

2010-12-31T07:04:00.000-08:00

Anguish To Anger

2010-10-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

Damn, I wish you'd stop being the girl of my dreams!

Long distance, eyes lock, but stiff-armed away.

Hipsta in your walk, gangsta in your talk

Street swag, but your no idiot, you got papers to vouch

Beat stops, peeps talk, don't trip on their jaws

Break necks, hearts broke, son, pick up your drawz

Envious of this dime-piece beauty queen

Damn, I wish you'd stop being the girl of my dreams!

Both, And

2010-10-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

pic has nothing to do with post, just awesome

Just happened upon a money quote from this book I'm reading & wanted to share with the masses:

"Western governments, as carriers of modernity, separate religion from development because they accept modernity's dictate that church and state be separate because they deal with separate realms. Because the church understands evangelism as an activity appropriate to the spiritual world, while social action-- if it is an appropriate activity for the church at all-- is the appropriate response in the physical world, the church goes along with this imposed separation of what the gospel suggests is inseparable." -- Bryant L. Myers, Walking With The Poor.

Sacred/secular divide will kill your life with Jesus, reading of the bible & worldview.

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Run-off

2010-09-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

I had some things that I'd usually tweet, but couldn't cut down to 140, hence post.

Vignette 01: I walk into Target & the first thing I see is a sign that reads 'FLU HQ'. Is that really the message you wanna send potential customers? That your store is the headquarters for the flu? Surely, McDonald's ball pit will file a lawsuit disputing copyright infringement. I went to a Wal*Mart next to see if they had a 'HEP A HQ' sign, but they didn't. I guess they're keeping their headquarters a secret...

Vignette 02: At Target, while looking for a clipboard, a mom & daughter (about 10yrs old) are looking at the cd's by the impulse buys, my guess is they are looking for a gift for someone else. Mom, trying to sound hip suggests, "how bout lady gaga?". The daughter, feeling the gall of the suggestion, "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I can't stand her." A little tear trickled down my face & I walked by the mom, patted her on the back & said "you're doin a fine job with that girl of yours, keep it up."

Vignette 03: I acquired the clipboard and was filling up my coke & there was this woman dressed up as Princess Jasmine. It took everything in me to not go up & ask her if I could show her the world. I did ask her todays date & her answer wasn't oct. 31, so I'm still a little confused bout the outfit choice. Queer eye, would not have been pleased. Granted, i was rockin some weird brown, orange & white plaid shorts & a beater, so glass houses, ya know. My sister would have politely went up to her & suggested that she dress for the job she wants, not the job she has. But then I thought, if she has a job at the magic kingdom where she gets to dress up as Jasmine, then why would you aspire to any other job? But then I thought, what if the magic kingdom were a strip joint? I guess the name wouldn't have to change....

Target was full of inspiration today, which has been severely lacking in my life. I've been in this place recently where, I know the only place I can find lasting & true inspiration is Jesus, but I don't really know how to get there? I will leave it there. Please comment your thoughts on this topic as I'm sure it is common to the human existence.

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Good A$$ Blog Post

2010-08-27T02:37:00.000-07:00

Once again, my boy Yeezy has made me love & want to become like Jesus! I shouldn't be so surprised by now...

I received 2 texts today that made me think of a metaphor bout my love for Kanye (which is only exceeded by his love for Kanye) & God's love for his own glory.

As with all metaphors, do not dissect past authorial intent.

The first text was a mass text asking for help moving. It'll probably be a diversion from my very busy day, but I'm big & could do it. This is the equivalent of the self interest prayers I can often throw up. They don't really serve the one I'm asking, but I've tried all other options & the one I'm asking is capable of help, so I toss it out there.

The second text, is from my almost ex-roomie (insert tear here) asking if he can snag Graduation from me. No brainer! I stopped what I was doing & burned him a copy of the CD. Not only did I burn him the CD, but I put all three bonus tracks on there as well, from the separate releases of the CD & double checked that I had the track order correct. It gives me the greatest delight to share what I love most (music, especially my favorite artist). This is the equivalent of the Gospel soaked, God centric prayers that I should pray (more often). This type of prayer seeks to know the essence of God & tap into his biggest interest, namely Himself & His renown.

When you approach prayer to God the first way, you can often find yourself knockin out the list. This sucks, that sucks, I want this, I need that, etc. The second approach is so much more enjoyable. Its almost rhetorical prayer, in a sense. God, please glorify yourself today. God, please make yourself the center of every thought/action/emotion I have today. God, please make your incarnate life, death, & resurrection & your promise of restoration so real to me today. Whats God gonna say, ummm, I don't know if I can do that...(imagine God, with a sheepish, contemplative look, shrugging his shoulders, holding his hands out like a scale, weighing the options). Thats God's thing. That's His deal. He is so ecstatic to do those very things & WILL do those very things ultimately & finally to all of his children when He chooses to usher in the restoration. Where the metaphor breaks down, is when we do throw up those weak sauce first text prayers to God, He's patient with us & is the ultimate good father who loves to give His children good things. He provides everything we need (and in this country, soooo much more) & actually derives joy in doing so. So, I can learn from my Father & go help my friends move with a heart filled with love & freedom, not begrudgingly or to fulfill some vain self-righteousness.

I'm still so awed at the way He is. I'm so glad that he allows me to get to know Him at all & be a part of His ultimate, glory seeking task of redeeming Himself a people, made up of every people to dwell with Him in His restored, perfect creation. Freakin sick!

SeaTac & Back

2010-08-03T23:52:00.000-07:00

I was in the Pacific Northwest this weekend to be a part of my great & dear friend’s wedding. It was a great weekend!!! My buddy has a house in Seabeck, WA on the Hood Canal, which is a part of the Puget Sound. From his back balcony you can see the Hood Canal & the Olympic Mount Range. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Picturesque. All of these do not begin to describe how majestic the scenery is from the back of his house. His backyard is literally the Sound!!! God spoke so much to me in this time of enjoying His creation.

With all the technology we had there. Wi Fi, iPhone’s, video camera’s, a professional photographer, the beauty could not be reproduced better than what the human eye can just naturally see. God’s creation is so inexplicably beautiful, that it takes His own creation (the eye) to really see it. And all this is post Fall creation I’m seeing!!! I can’t even fathom what pre-Fall or post-Restoration creation will unfold. These thoughts blew my mind all weekend.

I would fantasize with Strivs what it would be like to live in Jon’s basement. Never needing to do anything but just be surrounded by the riches of God’s goodness displayed by nature. Driving down roads that are shaded by huge trees on both sides, though the sun was shining. It really was the anti-Phoenix. I was seriously letting my mind get to a place where I could say, my lease is up in October, I could move up here then.

So I went through my work day. Opening up my phone periodically to look at my pix from Seattle. Planning to go on Monster & start the job search. Thinking of how to convince Nangle to let me live in his basement. Our missional community was meeting tonight & I couldn’t wait to tell them all about the Pac. NW & the beauty of God’s creation. All of a sudden, it seemed like 42 revelations all came to me at once while being with my MC. I can’t move to Seattle. Seattle would suck because my MC isn’t there. I was so energized cutting mangoes & overhearing conversations, laughing, seeing 2 visitors slip right in & help with food prep & talk to people & talk about God’s redeeming plan of the world, hearing testimony of a broken girl feel so loved & blessed by our MC.

(Sidebar, there was this beautiful vignette tonight. Ryah was talking bout the tragicness of the fall. She was very articulately, beautifully, describing the massive offense to God that happened at the fall. Bringing up specific ways we see the fall playing out in our world. Everybody was tearing up & we were feeling the heaviness of God’s goodness & our sin juxtaposed, then Jenna interrupted, “But Jesus died for sin!”. I absolutely love that she couldn’t even put herself in that place mentally, where Jesus is not ruling, reigning & triumphant over death for even a few moments. She had to blurt out the gospel!)

You see, what God has done in JC’s life, death & resurrection is redeem a people. Not persons that happen to be next to each other but a people. His bride. The church. I can’t live without my people, nay, God has prescribed from the jump, that it is not good for a man to be alone. His church is in Seattle. It would not be wrong for me to move there & be a part of His church there. But thats not my people! As much as I know anything, I know that God has me in Phoenix, for now, to be a part of my community. Lord willing, there will be a day that I do move on from this community & it will hurt & suck, but it will not be just my selfish desire to be on a 24/7 vacation, looking at pretty mountains, it’ll be to be a part of a people, showing a people who don’t yet know Jesus, what it’s like to be a part of His people.

How God Taught Me To Love via Keller & The Holy Spirit

2010-06-30T00:23:00.000-07:00

I'm pullin into my parking spot in my apartment. I have roughly 35 mins to do bout 40 mins worth of stuff before my doctors appointment & then I see 'em. Two white, late teens, sportin a white shirt, black pants, tie & a name badge. I was hopin that they were far enough away to not get to me in time, but I hear, "How are you doin today?"

(aside) Mormons make my blood boil. Its that feeling you get when you see a rat run across your floor. How dare you come on my turf! I just really, really hate how they claim the Jesus I claim, yet that Jesus looks really different than the one you find in the scriptures. All that to say, I basically come just short of hating Mormons in my worst & in my best, barely loving them. (Definitely not an attitude that "the Jesus I claim" would have)

I say "Fine", very curtly. Head down, plowin ahead, ready to get stuff done. But then, I remembered a sermon i was literally just listening to in the car. It was a sermon bout social justice from Tim Keller. He brought up the story of the good Samaritan that Jesus tells the lawyer. Then the Holy Spirit piped in & was like who the hell are you? What did you do to become a child of God? How long did you hang on the Cross? Exactly how did you accomplish salvation for yourself? Oh, thats right, you didn't do that, Jesus did! Did Jesus do that because you're so great? Don't be stupid! Actually, Jesus did that for you when you were an enemy to Him, practicing & advocating the things that make His blood boil. I was like, my bad. I'll just let you stay in charge of salvation & judging the world & I'll obey you, through the power of your Spirit by loving my neighbor. It was pretty cool to see God do all that in me, it was like he took me through a 40 min sermon in 2 seconds.

So I changed my tune, and said "hey guys, why don't we go into the a/c & get ya cold drink & chat." We chatted for bout an hour, talked bout Jesus & life & they were on their way.

Not really all that grand of a gesture, but my heart sure had changed. After they left I thanked God for working that change in me. I thanked God for redeeming me & saving me & for the fact that He is so crazy sovereign & powerful that I cannot add or take away from his work.

Life can be really fun when the Gospel sinks in at real time speed!

Blog Is Back In Town!!!

2010-06-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

Blogging again. Feels good. Hope to be a little more consistent, I think I need the outlet right now. So, here goes nothing...

Pull

I feel like a crackhead sometimes
Creativity pierces skin & explodes
Inspiration rides me into the night

Beauty distracting, tweeking & refocusing me on
WHAT
Itching, scratching, longing, finding
WHAT

I hear this music and it, it ignites me
I can't really describe it...

A first embrace without insecurities
Juicy, ripe pears, no mess
Four Peaks with the fellas, carb less
Number 11 streaking up the field, AS the clock runs out

See, the only way to describe it is to withdraw the substance from life that supplies it

There's gotta be a part of Alanis that's thankful to Uncle Joey
TLC would have sticked to the rivers & lakes they were used to
Thom Yorke couldn't have validated millions of awkward adolescent creeps

But it's not just the lows... it the awesome & awe inspiring too

Earth, Wind & Fire in September & Summer Lovin, happenin so fast for Danny & Sandy
It's Bono's YEEEEEAAAAHH & Idol's Rebel Yell
Its a cold & its a broken hallelujah... and all the other hidden mysteries that life gives us to feel something... anything... everything.

Door busted in
Cold shower overtaking
Grip, slow released
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPP

Moxie Of The Cocky

2009-12-03T23:44:00.000-08:00

Frustrated, prostrated
Head on the ground

Dare to be bigger
Still sittin around

Defeated, depleted
Wind abandoned the sail

Tomorrow never comes
Can't even post bail

Rejected, defected
Exile me now

Viva la revolution
No asylum to be found

Good, not good enough
Wasting my time

Its a wrap, son
Why work for whats mine

Got Ya Back

2009-01-10T21:26:00.000-08:00

Hebrews Chpt. 2

02:01- really, really hear what you hear (from god)--> do not ignore/revolt it;

02:2-3- words angels speak--> unalterable, don't transgress or disobey them; how much more so if that word comes from god; the word that we have heard are from god; think on that since the beginning god has been speaking to us; how can i neglect so great a salvation! that word is jesus! if the word is from god thats an amazing thing, how much more amazing if that word becomes flesh! if it becomes real and tangible and living and saving!!!

02:04- with all that in mind, god also does schnazz to confirm that word (signs, wonders, works); why couldn't he affirm his word now?

02:05-08- angels don't have rule of the land; man is so minuscule its so astonishing that we get all that we do; jesus was a little while lower than the angels but god crowned him with glory & honor; you have appointed him to be king; we are currently in this weird limbo state where jesus is fully king but we do not see that yet;

02:09- but what do we see--> jesus, god almighty, yhwh, king of kings, lord of lords, god's word that he has been speaking since all of creation made flesh (let this just wash over you for a second; let the worship explode from you; jesus has everything subjected under his feet, yet we don't see, it seems like we see a whole lot of not jesus subjection in this world, but what do we see, jesus; this gives us unexplainable hope because we know the character of jesus; we know that he is perfectly righteous, good, holy, just and that this isn't the end of the story) taking on our skin, being a little lower than the angels; he took death and bi!c# slapped it (gloriously & honorably). so that by the grace of god (father) he (jc) might swallow/taste/throw up the awful/horrible/bitter death on our behalf.

02:10-13- for it was right for god (whom made all things and all things contiune existing because of him) to bring many sons to glory and perfect the author of our salvation through suffering. basically the most powerful ever who made all things and sustains all things choses to accomplish salvation of his people through suffering not power or might. what does that say about the methods that we should employ? if the one who most certainly is justified to pull rank doesn't but chooses to serve and suffer, what does that communicate to us who have no rank to pull and our only reason we are even saved is because of god's good pleasure and everything that "we" have is from god and given to us directly by god; the sustainer (jc) and the sustained (us) are all from god (and thats the crux of it all, jesus had to become human so that his saving death and resurrection could be attributed to his brethren);

02:14-15- the children share in flesh and blood. jesus took on flesh and blood. jesus used death to render the devil powerless (he used to have the "power" of death and certainly the power of the fear of death). jesus flips the script. this thing (our sin earned damnable death) that used to lord over us as satan's only accussation is now defeated. the one and only thing that satan could use to accuse us, thats true, is our sin and now thats not an issue any more. jesus represented the 'flesh & blood' team and beat the 'death' team. we (the blood bought purchased brethren) are now free from the slavery of the fear of death. this is huge, because if death is now not in control of our lives we can be free to live as christ would have us to live. how do you intimidate someone who's not afraid of death?

02:16-18- jesus doesn't help angels, he helps the seed of abraham; the way that god set it up, jesus had to become a merciful and faithful high priest, able to make propitiation for the sins of his people--> jesus had to, in all ways, be like us; he faced our temptations and defeated our worst enemies he is quite a resource of help and guidance.

chpt. 2 quick wrap-up:

jesus still better than angels; if the word is from god and god's word actually becomes flesh, how can we reject so great a salvation; jesus becomes like us (man) in all things to beat death and the fear of death;

Rebrews

2008-12-14T01:49:00.000-08:00

i'm reposting this because i'm going to pick up the posting of the hebrews commentary. it should be fun. please comment to correct, rebuke and admonish as you'd see fit.

Hebrews chpt. 01

01:01- God spoke through prophets (God spoke through man).

01:02- God spoke through his Son (God now speaks through God).; through his son in the fact that JC speaks/spoke audible words that we can now read/hear --> also, through his Son in the sense of by means of (the whole JC being our mediator thing); the same words that God spoke through JC to create everything we now see (and don't see), God speaks through JC to us (pretty frickin' cool!!); the only reason that we now hear God is because of what JC has done for us by being ransomed for us.

01:03- That Son we see is in fact God! He's the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of God's nature. JC beat death, took his rightful place of Honor and popped His collar;

01:04- "having become much better than the angels..." why is that said --> because angels are also in Heaven. If you don't say that, then one could wrongly assume that just like the angels are in heaven, so now is JC. The author wants to make no mistake that Jesus isn't just in heaven as the angels are, he's in a higher place of honor then they are. This now starts a chain of things/people that JC is better than; JC inherited a better name than the angels do --> we get to be co-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8) --> we inherit this name as well, the only reason that we get access into heaven is the fact that we inherit JC's name!!

01:05- The author then proceeds to lay out from the scriptures why JC is better than the angels; the first cross reference in this verse is from Psa 2:7, the context of this Psalm is the nations are taunting God, but God ain't stressin' because he has set for himself the King that will lead to their ruin, namely JC (king of the universe is more lofty a title than an angel, chalk one up for Jesus); the second cross reference of this verse is from 2 Samuel 7:14, the context is that David wants to build a temple for God, then Nathan hears from God and God says that David is not the one to build the temple but that He will establish David's house forever, also that He will be a father to David's son (Solomon) and will not leave him. The author is seeing this promise as a promise for Jesus (the son of David, who's kingdom will be established forever) as the one in which this promise is fulfilled.; both verse's speak to JC's sonship and kingship; JC is better than the angels.

01:06- Basically, the first day JC is on the scene, he's the man; "firstborn"--> preeminence, over everything, so angels as well (see Col. 1 as well); JC is so much more higher than the angels that the angels all worship him; we see that first off when JC was born all the angels were singing Glory to God in the highest (Luke 2:9 and following);

01:07- The cross reference in this verse is Psa. 104:4. This Psalm is pretty much just ascribing God crazy worship. This cross ref. is thrown in their to contrast how much more better JC is than the angels; the contrast is that the angels are basically God's messenger boy but JC is the heir to the king of the universe (which gets laid out even further in the following verses), and we also know that JC is actually God himself, so again we see how much higher JC is than the angels;

01:08-09- The cross reference in this verse is Psa. 45:6-7; this is taken as more promises that are fulfilled in JC. this also speaks to God's sovereignty in all this ("...throne forever and ever..."; "...God has anointed you..."); remember the author is putting this against what the angels are, hammering in the theme of this chapter--> JC is better than the angels;

01:10-12- The cross reference in these verses are Psa. 102:25-26. This Psalm is talking about how they were destitute and God is going to show off his Glory through them and that God hasn't changed or diverted from the plan of showing himself off; this cross ref. reaffirms JC's deity, and reaffirms JC's preeminence and JC's steadfastness/durability;

01:13- The cross reference is Psa. 110:1. The Psalm is basically more glory ascribing to JC!; The Psalmist is talking about God, but the author of Hebrews references it about JC-->, again reaffirming JC's deity; It pits this verse against the truth that this promise isn't for the angels, its for the Son;

01:14- The angels are "ministering spirits"; it says that they minister to the those who will inherit salvation; what does that mean? it seems as if thats speaking to the co-heirs with Christ, God's church; i don't think that it is saying that we lord over them and they are at our beck and call. I think it means that they will minister to us as a part of serving God. Angels serve God, not us. They are at His beck and call, not ours;

Chapter 1 Quick Wrap-Up:

Jesus is better than the angels; JC is better because of His preeminence, Kingship and the fact that JC is God. The author hammers those theme's in as well.

Psalm Salad

2008-12-12T23:51:00.000-08:00

*IMPORTANT, NOT HOLY SCRIPTURE; MY PARAPHRASE

Psalm 01

01: happy is the man who doesn't roll with the wicked and give them his ear or stand up against the wall with sin all around him yet doin nothin or even worse sittin up in the peanut gallery, too afraid to be good or evil that he just sits up there doin nothin but takin podshots at everybody else;

02: but this guy is mad into everything that god has to say; he feens for it like a mug.

03: this guy is like a tree thats right in between two flowing rivers; it never dries up and always has succulent fruit sprouting off of it; just like its supposed to.

04: the wicked aint got it like that, they are like a tumbleweed scorched by the desert sun, the slightest wind blows it effortlessly along

05: the wicked will not bear the intensity of judgement or hang with the godly

06: god knows how the righteous roll but aint got ish to do with the wicked!

Theology Of Jeezy

2008-11-25T22:43:00.000-08:00

i was prayin with my peeps the other night, and i was just askin god to speak. i really just wanted a word from him. i really didn't wanna go through the motions, ya know, i just wanted to hear god and say what he put on my heart to say to him. i wanted it to be real, natural, organic, conversational, all that. well, he kept refreshing in my mind this song 'put on'- young jeezy ft. kanye west. and it was just the chorus, '... i put on for my city, on, on for my city...'. i was just vibin with it and then i'd be all oh yeah, i'm praying, hey, god, i wanna hear ya and then it would be all '... i put on for my city...'; it went like that for 20 mins. it was almost as if i was feeling guilty about having a song in my head during 'prayer time' and i was kinda asking god to speak out of obligation, not really a desire to hear from him, but i did desire to hear from him, its weird like that sometimes. well, the song wouldn't leave and thats when god made it click. thats what he was telling me; he wanted me to put on for my city, on, on for my city.

so, the song itself is talking mainly about 2 things: reppin' for where you're from and flossin what you got. in other words, jeezy was saying, 'hey world, i'm from the dirrty, dirrty; the dirrty is great and hey, world (including the dirrty, although, i would claim that the 602 is the real dirrty south, but i digress) look at how amazing i am and how much money i got.' but god was tellin me rep for your city --> pray for your city, intercede for your city, bless your city, pour time into your city, gospel your city, claim your city, put on for your city and floss what you got --> show off jesus, really wear your 'jesus piece', proclaim jesus boldly and accurately, put on for your city. the verses that came to mind were matt. 5:13-16 and as i was reading them, i was totally thinkin, 'put on for your city, on, on for your city'.

see, even in my desire to hear from god i was making a costly mistake. i was presupposing that if god were to speak, it would be in some crazy 'spiritual' way. even though i really did want to hear god, i think part of my motivation was wanting some prescribed spiritual experience as a type of pick-me-up. how ghastly and evil that i would approach his throne that way and totally trample on the priviledge it is that the all-powerful god would even hear us let alone give us himself! i was forgetting a truth that i so fervently believe that god uses all things to glorify himself. i was forgetting that god ultimately pursues us, we don't ultimately pursue him. i was forgetting that all throughout history god has spoken in ways that his children can hear. i was forgetting that i am a sheep of the great shepherd and the great shepherd speaks to me in a way that i hear, namely, through music. in my experience, god usually talks to me in loud ways; not while i'm kumbaya-ing out in the forest, with the dandelions. if you're a kumbaya-er, praise god, it just aint me. i'm a club banger hearer of god. i hear god best in the noise, in the flow of life. god usually tickle my ear with sweet whispers, he drops it like its hot. more and more that i actually hear god, the more and more i'm convinced that i gotta do me, i can't expect to do what i would think it should be because it works for other people. praise god for the diversity of his people and the gajillion ways that he speaks, may we have ears to hear!

pursue hearing god. check your motivations. be open to finding out 'how' you hear god (granted, it prolly won't look the same everytime, but over a broad history, there will prolly be some trends). grind what you hear through the word of god; if it contradicts scripture, then you heard wrong. if there's some one you know who hears god often/well, ask 'em to teach you some schnazz. we have a great resource in jesus, why do we so often try to reinvent the wheel! jesus' got this, simmer down!

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p.s. heres the song, if you want some context.

p.p.s. what are some ways that god speaks to you? i'm always interested in seeing peep's process for hearing/discerning god, so whats yours? do you wanna hear god? please comment with your answer.

Life, Liberty & The Pursuit Of Happiness

2008-11-05T11:32:00.000-08:00

*i've since learned that my last post wasn't as clear as i thought it was, so be sure to read the comments under them and they'll really help you understand what i meant.

abortion and gay marriage, lets go...

these issues are not as cut and dry for me, as they seem to be, for so many other people that share my allegiance to christ. for most in my camp, it is very clear. every single person should have afforded to them the gift of life. heres my question, is that same insistence given to convicted felons (and maybe even muslim extremists or radical dictatorships)? you may say, 'they are guilty, they deserve death!' oh, be so very careful, how we swing the condemnation stick! apart from christ every single person has the same exact chance of escaping just condemnation, namely, zero! if you find yourself in christ, it is not because you are innocent and deserving life. no, it is the grace of god extended to you by jesus through the cross. 'innocence' and 'deserve' aren't even in the equation because we are evil and our just dessert is the full, unbridled wrath of god. so, i never, ever wanna be the one to pull the trigger on another persons life, be that in the womb or on death row.
i don't know how so many people can be pro-life yet pro capital punishment. i never can believe that someone is outside of the grace of god. i look at all the evil that is in me and was mine to claim apart from christ and i exclaim 'god, i know you can save them, you did it to me; god please, if you can rescue me, then i know your grace is big enough for them!'
legislation is not our salvation! abortion is a symptom of the real illness that goes down to the pit of our soul. lets say abortions are completely illegal to perform. if those women aren't redeemed by christ, their sin is still on them. don't you dare vilify these women. if you are apart from christ, then your sin is just as evil and its still on you too. instead of heaping unending scorn on these women, why don't we labor to see how we can show love to them and live out the gospel in front of them. we can pass all the legislation in the world and it will not convict sinners of their sins and bring them to repentance; this will only happen when the light of the glory of god in the face of christ is revealed to them and the veil is there no longer. it seems that all we have done is made our voices so ugly that these people don't hear it. they have been hoodwinked by an inaccurate perception of what the gospel is; lets show them the gospel and its effect of life, culture, creation, etc instead of constantly picking the same ole fight. if these women die in their sin, then they will receive the punishment for their actions, but i don't think that we have to take that as our battle, let god handle that.
for gay marriage, i think a lot of what i already said applies here. legislation is not the solution. for those who say 'marriage is sacred.' i believe that the purpose of marriage is to glorify god by showing off the relationship between christ and his church. so, if its a man and a man not serving that purpose, it appals me; if its a man and a woman, not serving that purpose, it appals me. it is very hard for me to go to weddings where both people are not actively seeking the glory of god and his purpose for marriage, it feels like the sacred covenant god created is being prostituted out. so why when its a gay couple it bothers you more (again, check your scorn and reread the aforementioned in christ/out of christ part). shouldn't we be asking these same questions as before? how do we show love to a group of people that 'we' have alienated and vilified? their sin also is still not outside of the grace of god.
so, i think a lot of people are trying to win a very small victory that really isn't a victory, through legislation. like leslie, a woman in my missional community, reminded me that we cannot impose our convictions and beliefs on those that aren't god's children. the bible says that and experience has proved that its not an effective way to show off the glory of god.
to summarize:
i think the killing of any human is wrong. i think that marriage is a covenant with a man and a woman both living for the glory of god and both seeking to show a lost, dying world the relationship between christ and his church. should we as followers of christ be looking to our secular government to impose these beliefs on a people who do not live for god; no, it is not effective nor does it deal with the real issue of human depravity. should we as followers of christ be begging god for the safe the passage of every human life through the birth canal and the salvation of every human living apart from christ and freedom from the sin that finds so many people enslaved, yes. may we not get so distracted by our politics that we forget our evil apart from christ. may we not follow the flinch to heap scorn or hate but let us follow jesus' example (rom. 5) and pauls instruction (2 cor. 10). legislation does not equal salvation or even righteousness! may we not get so concerned with politics that we forget that these people are made in the image of god and that they are not outside of gods grace. may we beg god to reveal himself to these people.

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p.s. a great snippet from alistair begg that is relevant.

Life As A Pro-Choice Follower Of Christ

2008-10-27T14:37:00.000-07:00

most of my life i haven't really fit in the demographic that i find myself in. i'm a card carrying democrat who happens to be madly in love with jesus. as an observer, you'd probably categorize me as a 18-34, white male, evangelical, democrat. being white is weird for me. its weird because its a demographic that should be natural yet its really not. i guess i say this because i don't really understand the ethos of white people generally. the things that tend to concern white people don't really concern me; and the things that they assume, i don't really assume (generalities, obviously, calm down). evangelical is weird for me too. for instance, what does evangelical even mean. i think its supposed to mean something like not just the common church goer but the real christians. i guess, but it really just seems like todays versions of the wasp's. when i hear evangelical i think the same people who handed the current president 2 elections in a row or anti gay or anti abortion or joel osteen and rick warren or using faith as a crutch or 'put god back in our schools', etc. with the people that i'm currently doin life with they are by and large, republican (almost as a birthright). for people who don't know me politically, its probably assumed on me that i'm a republican as well (which bothers me a little more than it should, i need to let go of it and get over it to some extent, so hold me to that if i lash out on someone that assumes me right, when i'm left). so again, i find myself out of place.

in these highly charged political times i find it appropriate to let you know where i stand. i'm a pro-choice democrat follower of christ. i know, james dobson must be somewhere spitting out his ovaltine all over the place. i don't care. i'm unashamedly pro-choice. i feel completely free from condemnation in stating it. my shoulders even feel a little lighter as i speak. it feels good to just, say it, ya know. i am absolutely, 100% percent, postively convinced that god is completely sovereign, just and loving in his choice of his children. it is not god gets one vote, satan gets one vote and we get the third vote, no! its completely up to the pleasure of god as to whom are his children. he rescues us from absolute torture and anguish and adopts us as his own completely apart from all of our evil and provoking him through the life, death and resurrection of jesus christ. see, the choice that i'm pro of is god's. we cannot have choice! if we had choice, we would choose evil at every opportunity. but as it is, god chooses; and i'm so thanful that he does. with god having the choice, it frees us from a legalistic view of salvation where we feel we have to hold on to it so tightly because we may lose it at the next bar, porn site, water cooler gossip session, etc. with god having the choice, we get to worship him freely and rest in all that he has done. its the best thing ever: god gets all the glory (because he did everything), adoration, exaltation, and honor and we get complete joy, fullfilment, purpose, passion, love, excitement, inheritance. we get to live with jesus! we get to be known by the all-magnificent/powerful/wonderful/creator of the universe! we get to share this wonderfulness with everybody, not because we have to but because we are so overwhelmed with the truth of the gospel that it just come out. see, under god's choice, duty flys right out the window. in the kingdom of god, you don't hear things like, "well, i gotta go out and share the gospel" or "i ought to get up early tomorrow so i can do my quiet time" or "i should go give that raggedy lookin fellow by the freeway ramp some food". those words go right out the window. instead we say things like "get to" or "want to" or "honored to". life in the kingdom is kinda like a fire hydrant, when the top is popped off, it has no other choice than to flow freely with water. in the same way, when the chains of slavery to sin pop off there is no other choice but to live freely for the one who has set us free, we are compelled to. praise god that he has made me to be a pro-choice follower of himself!!!

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Metronome

2008-10-16T23:44:00.000-07:00

i was feeling the urge to blog it out, so i started to bust some stuff out about america and the craziness that is happening right now and it wasn't really flowin right. in the midst of this i felt the need to email my friend (for security reasons, lets call him favid frivings). he's had some drama going down where he is at and i was just prayin for him and asking god what to email him. i was thinking something like, hey favid, thinking of ya and prayin for ya. god had something quite different to say. so i implored god for what to say and god was like heb. 12. i was like cool, lets check it out. god completely opened his word to me!!! ridiculous! and just so happened to use this passage to minister to where i was needing some lovin'. i just really needed to be reminded of what god's doing and his faithfulness to his name and his renown. and also understand that my yearns are ok and will be fulfilled teleioo (complete) when jesus comes back. so from heb. 12, i went to heb 11 (you gotta have context, baby) and settled on heb. 11:32-12:6; heres what i felt god was saying in and through that passage...

its set in the backdrop of the "hall of faith" where the writer of hebrews mentions these great testimonies of faith. its so cool. in spite of all these great things, they (pre jesus) weren't complete (the nas and esv translate teleioo as perfect but in english the word is better understood as complete.) they didn't even get the ultimate reward in their time, namely the sent messiah that has come and made his bride, past and present, teleioo! and he does that through us! the expression that is given to prove their uncompleteness is that we were not there yet (not inherently because of us, the point is that jesus isn't done setting his dinner table yet, there are more sheep who aren't yet a part of his fold that will be a part of his fold. so it makes sense that in chapt. 12 he says hey, look at this great cloud of witnesses (aka god being faithful to his task and his name by using his people) and just run. don't be bothered with nudging your fellow runners for position, just keep your eyes on the finish line (jesus; note that the finish line isn't necessarily the task being accomplished, but it is jesus; its always jesus, remember that). and this jesus, faith par execellence, has ran this race and he kept his eye on his finish line (upcoming joy and glory), which if you think about it we get the utmost joy and glory (jesus). when reading this romans 8:18 pops in my head in tandem. so, in summary let us not focus on the struggle of the race but let us focus on the joy of the finish line. let us be encouraged by jesus' example of running, overcoming every obstacle, which in turn wins our race for us.

this whole exercise has been very enlightening. while setting out to minister to my own hurts via bloggin' it out, god sidetracked me with the burden of my bro and in the midst of battlin for my bro, god absolutely knocks my socks off and ministers to me. kinda sounds like the church being being the church, huh!
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September

2008-09-05T15:06:00.000-07:00

words of christ have never seemed more alive in my life. Matt. 5:23-24- "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering." This whole week something has been holding me back from going to the mosque and after talking with my bro and god, i realized why. going to the mosque was my act of worship but i had to be reconciled to my brother. i was so nervous/anxious about talking to my bro that i was really distracted and couldn't hone in. what this verse is showing me is that we need each other. to worship god fully, i need my bro. the context of our worship to god isn't individuals living their life and doing their religious acts next to other individuals doing the same but that its the whole body together offering worship as one. god deserves this of us. he is worth a united, unified body praising his name forever. thats what was happening before the creation of the world, god being fully worshiped in the trinitarian community and it will happen as it fully should when jesus comes back; jesus come back quickly! for whatever reason the whole is more than the sum of its parts and god deserves and is worth the whole adoration not just added up adoration. praise be to the god of reconciliation! i can't wait till god is getting all of the glory of every knee bowing and every tongue confessing and a redeemed creation. i can't wait to with one voice give god all that he is due. so the point of that verse isn't a good way to handle conflict but its yet another way of living your life that gives god the utmost glory and us the utmost joy! and even more proof that this life with christ isn't about a do's and don't list or even a force-feeding of principles but that its a complete removal of our dead flesh by means of the complete impartation of the gospel. as the gospel drano's our pipes and removes the gunk and filth, the living water of christ can flow freely through the body.

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p.s the reason for the title is that one of my favorite "i'm excited songs" is September by earth, wind and fire. since its also september, then it makes sense on that level as well.

Come Jesus, Come

2008-03-30T01:33:00.001-07:00

I had quite the troubling experience this past weekend. I was at a house party and I was in this conversation with A and B. A said something to the effect of we’re all called to live like missionaries. B said what about all the places in the world where people haven’t even heard about Jesus. Then A said well, I can’t really carry that burden. Me and B were like ok, where is A going with this… Then B said the Bible clearly states that people are going to hell, I’m not going to lose sleep over it. There’s nothing that I can do about it, so I’m not going to carry that burden.

I didn’t know how to respond to that. Should I punch him, should I pray for him, should I rebuke him in front of this growing crowd, should I weep… I went with “That is the absolutely most unbiblical thing I’ve ever heard!” (Quick caveat, this is the first time I’ve met A and I really can’t speak to his character or lack thereof. A might be an amazing person who loves dogs and little kids and walks old people across the street. I don’t know. I don’t write this to slam A, but to share an experience and the frustration that came with it)

How could someone claim to know Jesus and think that way! There are facts in A’s statement. People are going to Hell. That is nothing to be blasé about. That’s nothing to take for light fodder at a party. Real, living, breathing people are going to Hell! Moms, dads, best friends, mentors, grandpas are going to Hell! They will be in the kingdom of darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth, lake of fire, apart from Jesus, Hell! Because of the evilness that is still on people because of the curse of sin people are going to Hell! This is a big f’n deal! If you have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness, adopted as a child of God, eternally enjoying Christ forever, living only to the glory of God, how can you talk like that. If you know how evil you were and that apart from any work you’ve done and in fact in spite of every work you done, God redeemed your life, put his righteousness on you and effectually saved you by dying on the cross in your place for the just punishment of your evil, you must want that for everybody else. You must want God to get the glory from every knee bowing and every tongue confessing. I do not see how you could know those great truths about your now redeemed life and talk like A talked. I do not see how they are compatible. Yes, there is nothing that A can physically do to save anybody, A cannot speak life into dead hearts and he cannot give faith to anybody, it’s completely up to God’s good pleasure. Yes, Jesus has carried that burden. Yet for some crazy reason, God commands us to pray. Jesus himself, told us to ask for laborers for the harvest (Luke 10). In some crazy way, when we call out to God for salvation, he hears. Somehow, God puts it in his children to beg him for the souls of others. Somehow, in all God’s sovereignty, it is not a waste of time to pray for those who don’t know Jesus but it is spiritual warfare.

If I never see A again, I hope someone shows A how the Bible talks about people who don’t know Jesus, I hope someone shows A how God in the scheme for his glory tabnernacled amongst us as the word in the form of flesh and how that flesh was bruised and eventually terminated and how that word ultimately won by the resurrection of King Jesus, I hope someone shows A how to lose sleep over those who don’t know Jesus.

Keller Throwin' It Down

2008-01-11T10:37:00.000-08:00

The following is an excerpt from a sermon that Tim Keller taught at the gospel coalition this past April.

To watch, click here.

Sinclair Ferguson said most preachers not do not preach Christ from the old testament, they don't even preach it from the new testament. The preacher has looked into the text (even in the new testament) principally to find himself and his congregation not to find Christ and he says that you can even do that in the new testament, even in the gospels; the sermon therefore is consequently about the people in the gospels, instead of about the Christ who is that gospel. The more fundamental issue is this question, what is the bible really about; is the bible basically about me and what i must do or is it basically about Jesus and what he has done. Is the bible basically about the objective and the indicative...

there needs to be a way in which you are following the trajectory of the text no matter what that text is to Jesus. You have to show how Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of that particular trajectory of that text, you gotta be responsible...

its more like an instinct its not so much right hermeneutic principals, its an instinct; do you believe that the bible is basically about you or basically about him. Is David and Goliath basically about you and how you can be like David and Goliath or basically about him, the one who really took on the only giants who can really kill us and so his victory is imputed to us...

Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden, his garden, a much tougher garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.

Jesus is the true and better Abel, who though innocently slain has blood that cries out, not for our condemnation but for our acquittal.

Jesus is the true and better Abraham, who answered the call of God, to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go into the void, not knowing wither he went.

Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us all; while God said to Abraham now i know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you loved from me, now we at the foot of the cross can say to God now we know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you loved from me.

Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice that we deserved so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace, that wake us up and discipline us.

Jesus is the true and better Joseph, who is at the right hand of the king and forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his power to save them.

Jesus is the true and better Moses, who stands in the gap between the people and the lord and mediates the new covenant.

Jesus is the true and better rock of Moses who struck with the rod of God's justice now gives us water in the desert.

Jesus is the true and better Job, he's the truly innocent sufferer who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends. Is that a type, thats not typology, thats an instinct.

Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his peoples victory though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.

Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn't just risk losing an earthly palace but lost the ultimate heavenly one; who didn't just risk his live, but gave his life; who didn't just say if i perish, i perish, says when i perish, i'll perish for them, to save my people.

Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so we could be brought in, he's the real passover lamb, he's the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true life, the true bread. The bible is not about you!

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Psalmsicle

2007-11-05T22:05:00.000-08:00

Psalm 23 Rephrase

*Important to understand that this is not God’s holy scripture. This is my paraphrase.

01. The Lord is my foster parent, he takes care of everything

02. He maximizes what I’m made to do and provides the avenues for it; there are hot tubs and jacuzzi’s in my playground

03. yet, YOU refresh me and show me the good life, not so that I’d have the good life but that my good life would rep your greatness

04. even though, this good life takes me through the toughest hood, I ain’t never scared, I got my dad there; your pimp hand and glock embolden me

05. amidst the battle we live in, I’m so protected by you that you set up a bountiful picnic in the park with all the fixin’s, this is frickinridiculous!!

06. while chillin’ with you forever, goodness and lovingkindness hunt me down like a rabid pit bull.

Hebrews: Wake Up & Smell The Jesus

2007-08-14T21:34:00.000-07:00

This will start my Hebrews commentary. Please feel free to comment as that helps to refine me. This book is wicked heavy and I'm praying that the Holy Spirit will lead me into all truth concerning this book. The format should be easy enough to follow. I use semi-colons to break-up thoughts within a verse, besides that is should be simple.

Hebrews

01:01- God spoke through prophets (God spoke through man).

01:03- That Son we see is in fact God! He's the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of God's nature. JC beat death, took his rightful place of Honor and popped His collar;

Chapter 1 Quick Wrap-Up:

Jesus is better than the angels; JC is better because of His preeminence, Kingship and the fact that JC is God. The author hammers those theme's in as well.

The Passion Of Kanye...

2007-08-14T00:19:00.000-07:00

In response to Jesus Walks:

Obviously, I don't know the Louis Vuitton Don himself, so all I can go off of is his music (which I know quite intimately). I think that Kanye is trying to justify himself under the umbrella of Jesus. In the same way, that 50 Cent will thank God for his In Da Club. I think the message that he is sending is "Hey, live your life however you want, Jesus will go with you." Jesus didn't really put up with all the bullschnazz. He got to the point of things. Where Kanye continually points to himself and all his glory, Jesus would bring it all back to the Father.

It is slightly encouraging that he confesses his need for Jesus, I hope that God shakes this man up and show him that He is the only way of life that is significant.

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Halleleezy, Praise Jeezy!!!

2007-07-11T22:11:00.000-07:00

So i wanted to get ya'lls take on something.

What is Kanye West's "Jesus Walks" really saying?
Does Jesus really walk with him?
Is this a praise song that Dave could lead us in?

Here are the lyrics:

"Jesus Walks"

Yo, We at war
We at war with terrorism, racism, and most of all we at war with ourselves
(Jesus Walks)
God show me the way because the Devil trying to break me down
(Jesus Walks with me) with me, with me, with me [fades]

You know what the Midwest is?
Young & Restless
Where restless (N!g&as) might snatch your necklace
And next these (N!g&as) might jack your Lexus
Somebody tell these (N!g&as) who Kanye West is
I walk through the valley of the Chi where death is
Top floor the view alone will leave you breathless Uhhhh!
Try to catch it Uhhhh! It's kinda hard hard
Getting choked by the detectives yeah yeah now check the method
They be asking us questions, harass and arrest us
Saying "we eat pieces of s#!t like you for breakfast"
Huh? Yall eat pieces of s#!t? What's the basis?
We ain't going nowhere but got suits and cases
A trunk full of coke rental car from Avis
My momma used to say only Jesus can save us
Well momma I know I act a fool
But I'll be gone 'til November I got packs to move I Hope

[Hook x2]
(Jesus Walks)
God show me the way because the Devil trying to break me down
(Jesus Walks with me)
The only thing that that I pray is that my feet don't fail me now
(Jesus Walks)
And I don't think there is nothing I can do now to right my wrongs
(Jesus Walks with me)
I want to talk to God but I'm afraid because we ain't spoke in so long

To the hustlers, killers, murderers, drug dealers even the strippers
(Jesus walks with them)
To the victims of Welfare for we living in hell here hell yeah
(Jesus walks with them)
Now hear ye hear ye want to see Thee more clearly
I know he hear me when my feet get weary
Cause we're the almost nearly extinct
We rappers are role models we rap we don't think
I ain't here to argue about his facial features
Or here to convert atheists into believers
I'm just trying to say the way school need teachers
The way Kathie Lee needed Regis that's the way I need Jesus
So here go my single dog radio needs this
They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus
That means guns, sex, lies, video tapes
But if I talk about God my record won't get played Huh?
Well let this take away from my spins
Which will probably take away from my ends
Then I hope this take away from my sins
And bring the day that I'm dreaming about
Next time I'm in the club everybody screaming out

(Jesus Walks)
God show me the way because the devil trying to break me down
(Jesus Walks)
The only thing that that I pray is that my feet don't fail me now
(Jesus Walks)
And I don't thing there's nothing I can do now to right my wrongs
(Jesus walks with me... fades)
I want to talk to God but I'm afraid because we ain't spoke in so long

Please let me know what you think this song is saying and I'll give you my take (aka the right answer) for my next post.

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iGrace

2007-07-07T01:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry Chris, I hope you didn't patent the i thing on the blogs.

So let me tell you what grace is. I'm sittin' in a very comfortable plane seat on my way back from Minnesota. I got the iPod rockin', this particular time, it happened to be The Wreckers "Leave The Pieces" when all of a sudden, it just stops. I do the reset thing, and the black apple comes up and i'm like yeah. Then, it goes to a white screen with a picture of an iPod with a frown and it had a support url under it. The next day, i go to the Apple store, and they communicate to me that their product works just long enough to exceed the warranty then it breaks and their is nothing i can do. For someone to take away my music, is like someone take away my life. I felt my world crumbling apart. God checked me, told me to get over it and praised God for the fact that I'm his child and that in the bigger of the schemes, it really doesn't matter. Two weeks later, one of my homies comes over (after i just had bailed on him to help him move a friend) and he gives me a brand new 30 GB iPod. That my friends is grace. Four of my very best friends all pitched in and got me a new iPod. I don't have to have an iPod. It is very much a luxury item (although, i would pick music over food, drink, or shelter every day of the week). Most of the world lives on maybe 3 of my songs from itunes for their whole days wage. My boys showed me just how extravagant grace is. We don't deserve it. We aren't owed it. We just get it. Kinda like my iPod (which I dubbed Optimus Ipod). I don't deserve it. I am not owed it. What I'm trippin' on is, that in this horrible, fallen world, where Jesus is not yet glorified as he should be, and i'm showed this kind of grace... how f-in' amazing is Heaven gonna be. Praise the King who is coming back for his bride very soon.

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Psalm Sunday

2007-06-17T23:38:00.000-07:00

Psalm 25

Important Notice. MY REPHRASE. NOT HOLY SCRIPTURE!!!

01. Man, God you're all I got

02. You're the only one who gots my back

03. Fo sho, those who count on you, you always come through; those who act like a punk get dealt with.

04. School me to the game God, show waz up

05. Make me know your truth God, school me man; You, God saved me!! I wait for you like a kid waits for the ice cream man.

06. 'Member God how you've been compassionate and merciful for a hot minute.

07. Clear my record God; check me out through the Loc's of your love, for it is dope for your love to cover me.

08. God since you are only good and just you teach sinners the real way to live;

09. He brings the afflicted justice and even teaches the afflicted his victorious ways.

10. Every God does to those who roll with him is lovingkindness and truth.

11. To the spread of your rep., show me mercy in spite of my great sin.

12. What will the guy look like that fears your properly; you will mentor him in the best way,

13. That mans soul will be ballin and his kids will inherit the turf.

14. God will reveal the mystery to those that fear him and show him the promise.

15. I always make sure I can see God cause he keeps me protected.

16. I'm lonely and afflicted please God chill with me.

17. I'm stressin like a mug and my heart is scurred.

18. God you know all my ish, please redeem me.

19. You see all those haters who game-face me.

20. Have my back; when I'm rollin with you, I know I can't get punked.

21. Keep me straight as i chill;

22. Take care of all of us God; all our drama

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Oh Amazing Calamity, How Sweet The Sound...

2007-05-25T02:06:00.000-07:00

An oft quoted verse of the bible reads as such, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." You don't have to look at your bumper sticker or your knitted wall plaque to tell you that's Romans 8:28.

Is that really true? Do we experience that? Is this the truth that you walk in?

Your sister gets killed by a stray bullet at a convenience store robbery, is God working for your good then? When you have just undergone your 3rd miscarriage in-a-row, is God working for your good then? Etc, etc., etc. We all have those stories to throw in there. I would submit that Romans 8:28, biblically understood is inexpressibly true and you should stand on that promise.

Misconception number one about that verse is that God is your own personal genie now that you are tight with him. That couldn't be any falser from what scripture teaches! One of God's most normative attributes is, God is free and sovereign. When Moses asks God for his name in Exodus 3, God calls himself, I am who I am; in Ex. 33 when Moses asks God to show him his glory (translation- i want to know all of you, i would argue your best qualities (?)) he responds by saying i will cause all my goodness to pass before you, i will show mercy to whom i show mercy and compassion to whom i'll show compassion. All that to say, God is free and does what he wants.

Misconception number two is that the way you interpret goodness does not trump how God doles out goodness. The fact that you call something not good does not necessarily mean it really isn't good. Take wealth for example. You may see someone is very affluent. You might say, "Wow look how God has blessed him/her!" God making that person rich may be all of his wrath poured out on them. Why are we so quick to proclaim wealth=blessing. This is the same trap that Job's three comforters fell into. They saw what had happened to Job and pressed the fact that Job had some great sin and that was the reason that the calamity had fallen. Job knew that in this instance there was no sin that had caused this to happen. God actually backs that thought up in the beginning of the book. By the end of the book we see that God says i do what i want, and berates them with all of the 'where were you...' questions. Job repents (not for the sin that caused the calamity, because there wasn't one, but because of God's amazing holiness and Job's righteousness is as filthy rags to God) and its all good. The moral of Job is not that if you are good guy God will hook you up monetarily and circumstantially in the end. The moral is that God does what he wants and will spare no 'expense' for his children to see his amazingness. Sorry, long Job rant. This misconception is sooo important to right.

Truth: Everything (rape, murder, child pornography, natural disasters, etc.) that happens to you as a child of God is God doing what is absolutely best for you. God can only do what is good. God is only just all the time. Only righteous. Only holy. There is no other option for God. Just like we can't not sin, he can't not be holy. So what we experience on our vaporous life here is, God doing whatever it takes to make sure that HE is getting all our praise, adoration and attention, you then even say it was good for me to be afflicted so i could learn all your decrees (Psalm 119:71 paraphrased). Along those same lines, when God is in that place in your life (getting all praise, adoration and attention; completely Lord of your life; you are in deep communion with him; etc.) that is actually the very best thing God could do to/for you. Because God is the 'good' that Rom. 8:28 is talking about. Its not stuff. Its not golf, sports, sex, music, self esteem. God is the good. The truths that come along with God (like forgiveness of sin, no hell) are not the blessing, fully; it is God himself, that is the blessing. In his presence is fullness of joy and praises forevermore (Psalm 16). Rewarding you with him self is the absolutely, most postively best thing that God can/does do for his children. AMEN! When you take joy in the God that created the Grand Canyon and not in the Grand Canyon, you will get it. When you take joy in the God that ultimately invented every single thing ever, instead of those physical things, you are getting it. We haven't even touched on the fact that apart from Christ you are absolutely evil and ANY thing that you receive from God besides the most severe fullness of his wrath, is blessing to you. You aren't owed a dang thing. Your life as a child of God is you constantly falling on your face and crying out to God why me. Why show your mercy to me? It doesn't seem right to me but i will take your grace and everyday cover my life with it.

How does this all work? I HAVE NO FLIPPIN' IDEA. I just see this to be biblically true.

What does this mean for non-children of God? In the most ultimate sense, everything that happens to them is good. Not in the same way as it is for the children of God. It is good in the sense that God is doing what is right (remember, he can only do good) by showing off the glory of his wrath on these people. The largest act of sedition and evil done to the non-child of God is the smallest fraction of what their sin deserves compared to the perfect holy God. That same act of great sedition to the child of God could (and usually is) actually an act of sanctification and in fact blessing because of the same magnitude of sin that they have before the same holy and perfect God.

I have just said some very large claims. Please challenge me on these. Am i going too far? I am still in process as well, so please add your input. This may and probably does come off as harsh, for that i kinda apologize, but this is the only way i know how to express myself. There are, I'm sure, better ways to communicate these truths, but i don't know them as of yet.

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Psalm Pspeech

2007-05-15T00:33:00.000-07:00

Again. Really important. NOT HOLY SCRIPTURE. MY PARAPHRASE!!!

Psalm 42

01. God, I'm thirsty for you like a mofo.

02. Everything in me wants, nay needs you, the living God, the God that IS. When can we hook up again?

03. My sadness has fed me all day. They mock me and scoff, "Where is your God now?".

04. I get caught up daydreamin, reminiscing about the good ole days; man, i used to lead the party to your house God, now those were the days.

05. Why is my most innerward parts sad? Why have i become so down in the dumps? Count on God, for i will be glad in Him again, when i'm near to him.

06. On the real though, I'm wicked depressed. I yearn for you in the land of the Jordan and the peaks of Hermon, from Mt. Mizar.

07. The mighty ocean that you are have sent your swails and have crushed everything that i am.

08. God will shower me with love in the day and sing me lullabye's in the night; i hope and pray.

09. God i wanna holla at ya. Why have you left me hanging. Why am i being overtaken by the enemy. You are God, my rock, right?

10. They destroy me, God, mocking me about you, taunting me, "Where is your God, now?"

11. Why is my most innerward parts sad? Why have i become so down in the dumps? Count on God, for i will be glad in Him again, the sustainer of my everything and my very, real present God.

Consumer Church Love-ectomy

2007-05-05T12:14:00.000-07:00

I need the word LOVE to be redeemed by God. I'm very jaded by the cheesy American consumer church with the use of that word. You'll hear all the time preachers/speakers say God loves you so much and is usually followed up by and has a wonderful plan for your life. I just cringe when i hear that. It lacks all power and any kind of gusto. This is definitely my issue i think not theirs, i don't think they are necessarily in the wrong, i think that i'm (and possibly they are) thinking inaccurately about the Biblical love of God. But when they say it, it seems like this is what they are really saying, “Because you are so lovable and such a good person, God loves you. He wants to make sure that your life is good now because you said a prayer once and you would make Gods day if you would please be on his team; you have so much to offer.” God's day is already made and you have nothing to offer. The nothing to offer actually really attracts God to you, not your strengths. What also fuels this is the fact that most of the church doesn't see God's wrath as glorious. God is very glorious in his wrath. It is not a second class attribute. I get very excited about God showing off his amazingness in his wrath (maybe too excited). Part of my excitement is my love for justice, part of it is my acknowledgement of the evil that drenches humans apart from Christ, and part of it is that most people, even in the church, think that we are essentially pretty good. The reason why thinking we are essentially good is so dangerous is because it takes away from God's holinesss. If we close the gap between God and man, apart from Christ, then he is stripped of his other than qualities. The whole point of it all is that He is other than us. Any of our attempts of love or good will, apart from Christ are in vain. Any of our heroic efforts, apart from Christ are selfish and self-promoting. Any money we give to charity, apart from Christ, is an attempt to buy righteousness. I don't care what a person might say or tell you, apart from Christ their thoughts, their inclinations, their heart is completely and by definition evil, fighting against God and reeks of the only, evil all the time feel that is is Gen. 6. He is infinitely more holy, perfect, righteous, etc. He is the definition of Holy and we are the anti-definition. Thats the whole freakin' point. When i say “God loves you/me” i want that to mean this “God is so unquantifiably glorious. His depth is deeper than an analogy. His Godness is unparalleled. Because he cares for and guards his glory sooooo much, he agapes us, the very thorn in his heel, the very damnable damned, by snatching us, literally stealing us against our will from Hell, where we already feel at home and have repainted the cupboards, placing his righteousness on us, making us righteous, which permits us and also overwhelmingly compels us to worship him, providing provision for us, as it lines up with him getting glorified most, all this before the foundations of the world, and right now and forever, all at the same time. God loves us!!!!!!!!!” Thats what i want to think/feel when i hear someone say God loves you.

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Worship Run-ons

2007-04-29T04:56:00.000-07:00

I was rereading the Old Testament of my life aka my journal, and i ran across something that i'd like to share. Its called a glory rant. Just think of the most glorious things you can and attribute them to the goodness of God and voila (someone better give me props on the correct spelling of that)!

Glory

Glory or Kabod in the original

Heavy is the glory of the Creator and King

Massively engulfing the universe with this Kabod

Delicacies where the cake and the icing are equally enjoyable

Peaches with the core as edible and succulent as the outer

Midday skies lavender, midnight skies baby blue

Inside jokes never ending, intimacy unadulterated

Explaining the who, whats and why they are there

When? Always! How? Who cares!

Dancing, spinning, laughing, falling, crying, loving

Frittering days away in the Glory

GLORY!!!!!!!!!!!! GGGLLLLLOOOOORRRRRYYY!!!!!!!

Acclamation, proclamation, propitiation, sanctification--

Glory!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Throne gathering, table sitting, bearing the cross-ing, everything-ing

Glory!!!!!!!!!

First day, last day; all the same day glory, glory, glory.

The reason the earth spins and the caterpillar becomes a butterfly.

Better than raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens.

Satisfyingest everlasting happiness enduringest unequivocable.

Glory!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Glory!!!!!!!!!!!!! Glory!!!!!!!!!!!!

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The Beautiful Art of Translation

2007-04-29T00:43:00.000-07:00

Every week i try to re-write a psalm in language that i understand.

Important notice: THIS IS NOT HOLY WRIT. IT IS MY PARAPHRASE.

Psalm 73

01. Mos def, God hooks up his peeps aka his pure to the core ones.

02. This is what went down for me, i almost really f'd up.

03. I was jockin the arrogant while they were rollin hard.

04. Even their death was easy and they had plenty of grub.

05. They don't seem to tarry as most do, their life is peaches and cream.

06. Pride is their bling and their gear, violence.

07. Nothing they see is off limits and their carnal desires are havocing.

08. They look down on the the low and judge from their ivory towers.

09. They run smack all over the earth.

10. From their fountains run wealth.

11. God has slept on us, they say. He can't see me.

12. Behold, they have slept on God. They are evil, free as a bird and ballin' outta control.

13. I must be trippin to have stayed clean.

14. I struggle all day just to go to bed and get up to more troubles.

15. Everything i have said, the opposite has happened 2 fold.

16. All this ish didn't seem right. All i saw was injustice.

17. God took me into his presence and schooled me to the game. Then i saw what was up.

18. You have intentionally clothed them in f'd upness. They will most certainly lose in the end.

19. You punk them rather quickly by their most terrible of anxieties.

20. Upon waking them up from their dream, their reality is a most horrible nightmare.

21. I wasn't trusting you, leadin to my wicked bitter heart.

22. I was like a unconsolable beast wrapped in my ignorance like a whining, hungry lion while my trainer is taking me to my dinner.

23. Even still you take me and make my strong hand as if it where yours.

24. You will teach me how to live and then after, your glory!!!!!!!

25. Out of all the riches in all the worlds, i get you, the prize gem. I could want nothing else that i can grab.

26. All of my efforts may fail to the very core, but God is my replenshing/ever-filling of my soul and my always harvesting crop for eternity.

27. Those who don't roll with you will be obliterated. You will not have obstination.

28. This is how its goin down now, it is in my best interest to be close to God, in fact, i will be so close to God that He will be my address so that i will all encompassingly to the full, tell of His Glory.

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Obligatory Blog Mission Statement

2007-04-15T19:25:00.000-07:00

Very simple. To provoke. To challenge. To offer the opinion that people are too scarred to tell you. To lead an internet audience that will go outside the box. To make the liberals more conservative and the conservatives more liberal. To b-slap political correctness. My hope is that you will be able to chew through much of my ungrammatically correctness and my run-on sentences longer than the preamble and find yourself provoked toward Jesus. A view of Jesus that doesn't see yourself damned by Him but rescued from God's wrath. A view that puts Jesus on the throne and you on your face.

The second, far less important purpose of this blog is to free my mind of clutter. I tend to process, through speaking, writing and very rarely through 'thinking'. Its pretty sweet, because God really tends to use the least qualified for doing amazing things (like a blog) so i'm excited to start this ish.

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