It was Very Good: Day 25

Today I feel like I ate for the first time. I had me a nice bowl of leftover pinto beans that cooked for like a whole day. The beans weren't just done but they were soaked and serenaded by the tantalizing texture and taste of smoked turkey necks. These beans went through a process to reach me. They took time. As the spoon ascended and bent into my mouth this meal became a moment all of its own, slowed and stirred with care. It took time. I had no care for the awaiting tasks in the moment, my priority was solely to savor.

In order to savor one must swish and swing the food between the very walls of their jaws and extract the juices and flavors found only upon a mouthful of meditation. Eating can truly be a nourishing practice. I'm so used to just shoveling food down my mouth that I haven't realized the opportunity in what I'm doing.

That's probably why we wonder how we don't feel full after we eat. The body gets fed but the mind and Spirit remain to be satiated. Fast food is so dangerous. We can not allow ourselves to be so sped up in this life, especially when it comes to essential life processes such as consuming.

So please enjoy your food, know that creation takes time and is worth it.

In Position: Day 18

I'm thinking about Songs for the People by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper where she says

"Let me make the songs for the weary,

Amid life’s fever and fret,"

There are days when it's hard to get going, days when tomorrow seems more alluring then the moment we find ourselves amidst. This morning as I was worshiping in the car, I was brought into reflection of all that I've experience, all the pain and joy. The days and moments of sacrifice in secret, all for the striving of exercising excellence the hopeful reaping of rewards in heaven. There are fruition moments where it all makes sense. I think about 1 Corinthians 13:11-12, one of my top 2 favorite scriptures, which talks about how while now we know only in part, but then we will know fully. That's the promise I'm holding onto today.

This past Sunday I was installed at my church a co-chair for our Young Adult Ministry, and the song "I Give my Self Away" started to play as I descended from the balcony to the alter. Filled with steps of anticipation, I arrived ready to be prayed over and prepared. But then Pastor Moss said I want you to keep you eyes open for this one. As he began to pray and posture us for the coming call, I cried. My body began to flood because of it all made sense. the Bible studies God called me to lead, the way he's allowed me to minster to the people around me with my testimony, the path of servant leadership that my parents and grandparents have paved, it all made sense. I wanted to fall to my knees but I couldn't because I felt God telling me to stand, I will strengthen you. My mother, standing right next to me, while being endowed with the same message, consoled me by bracing my back with her hand. I was held up by the one who went before me.

The book I'm reading Veneer elevated this quote by Theologian Alistar McFadden which said "Christ is beyond us".From this position he comes to us, calls us to Him and so calls us o become what we truly are". There's so much mercy mixed inside this notion, that because He has gone before us, He is the one who can guide us and gift us the sight and sensitivity needed to serve where we are called.

There are times when the daunt of the day can be so draining but this is a valuable truth to center on. The reason God brought me back home, the reason he has me in this profession, the reason I am where I am is because He's getting me in position. I can not advance if I am not in position and He's saying that the reason you are dwelling in what can feel like this dark place right now is because I am showing you my light. May God continue to use our circumstances to bring about clarity and usher us into a greater truth.

Pregnant with Purpose: Day 14

I'm not sure where I first heard this phrase, but this time is surely one of great imminence. I've had to take some time away from writing my blog reflections and appropriate that energy to other creative outlets, which is a great deal of growth on my part. I used to be so fixed on the idea of taking on new things but never easing my grasp on the old practices. There's only so much space and capacity which which we can create. I do believe that capacity can be expanded and stretched but, the focus needed to creative quality and fulfilling work I believe requires a bit of emptying. Emptying our minds of expectation, emptying our hearts into our art, and emptying our hands of tools and things on our plate that won't serve us in the endeavor we're approaching.

I'm very proud of my most recent project. I made a video which feels like a creative breakthrough because of the way it bridges my storytelling interests, and symbolizes the fruition of a vision I've been stewarding over the past few months. It's good to feel like you did something. I'm proud of it for what it means to me and I am pleased in that I feel like it gives God glory.

What has been really difficult for me is waiting to share it at the right time. I want to have my immediate family all together in one space to share it then I will put it out to a broader audience potentially. But these past 2 days since it's been done, in addition to the process in which I was creating it, I've really had to keep my composure. But when you know you've got something special to offer this world you can't help but hold it in. I think about that song Mary Did You Know ? It posses a very essential question for us. God has planted glory inside of us. Just as a baby can grow, so shall our thought and our visions. Our imagination is one of our greatest gifts, and my hope and prayer is that you are brought into revelation about what it is God has inside of you thats stirring and kicking. That the thrust of those thoughts became so prominent and poignant that you move on it. May the world welcome what's inside of you with care, love, and joy. I'm excited for what will come from you.