Sunday, March 19, 2006

Woahhhh

What's crackin, Homies.

A rainy day in Alabamer.. I love it.

Man, I sure do love the Lord. I keep getting hooked up with some crazy cool blessings. Over the past few weeks, I've suddenly found a ton of new friends that live right in my little corner of town. The cool thing is that they all seem to accept me with no strings attached. That's rad. I'm praying that God will use me to lead them to salvation. I want all of em saved - every last one of em. I wonder if they have any clue that there is this crazy dude praying for their very souls. Stay tuned, Myspace Dudebros, because I really believe that I'm soon going to write posts about these pals of mine meeting Jesus. I want my new little baby church packed with bums, druggies, and messed up people (like me) that have discovered a new life walkin with my incredible God. Wait and see. God has his eye on Five Points and I'm ready and available to be a part of what He has planned. He offers living water that fills and satisfies. Woahhhh.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

I GOT MY GUITAIR!!!!

Dearest Blog Reader and other MySpace Zombies,

I just got in my new guitar and you should know about it.

Martin D-15 Custom! (Just be excited if you don't know what the heck that means)

Solid East Indian rosewood back and sides. Solid Sitka Spruce top.
Woooot
It purrs like a Mustang. Well, like a Martin.

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Another rad Friday in Five Points

3am Friday night. I take a deep breath and reflect on one rad night.

It was any other Friday night. I ate my Chinese food outside Starbucks and watched the sun twist the sky into a parade of colors. The warm breeze passed me by and swept away the heaviness of my crappy week. I made my way home and almost crashed for the night. For some reason, however, I decided to head back out for a quick walk.

The night was just picking up all around me. The usual business of the Friday night crowd hurried back and forth. My Jamaican friend was on the corner playing his djembe. I sat next to him on the bench and slipped into his jam in my mind. After a few minutes, I had to grab my djembe to join. It wasn't 5 minutes later that a small group of Christians showed up with a guitar. Soon enough, we dominated the corner with praise music. Then, another group of Christians out witnessing stopped by and started singing with us. I jumped on the guitar and jammed "Those Who Trust In The Lord" with a reggae beat. A crowd of girls stopped by and started taking pictures. I was sure they were drunk at first until they requested a praise song. Wow. They had just finished a singing gig on their tour. These 6 (cute cute cute) girls started harmonizing to my guitar playing. I took my group of new friends to midnight sushi and talked about the Lord. It ended with an hour hanging out at the local 24 hour Mediterranean cafe. A gay flight attendant, a wannabe Rastafarian, and a Mexican fresh out of jail joined us for some interesting conversation over gyros.

I used to say that being a Christian was boring. Well, I changed my mind. The Lord continues to blow me away with crazy "ironies" each day I decide to allow him to direct my steps and open my heart to people. Seeds are planted, lives are touched, and memories made. This is real Christianity: loving God and loving people. It's natural, it's fulfilling, it's me. Going to sleep knowing that I walked with the Father today beats sleeping off a buzz or waking up wondering where I am.

Sunday, March 5, 2006

Cultural Diversity

I have been whining for years. Deep inside of me is a strong desire to explore the world. I don't really care to see the sights as much as meet new people.

With that, my time here in Birmingham has been somewhat difficult. At least Atlanta has all sorts of crazy people. I now feel like I'm truly in the heart of the deep south though and my itching to take off for some distant land has been quite - itchy.

Tonight was different though.

I take a break from my studies at Starbucks and walk outside for a minute. I notice a table with hippie-ish trinkents. The dresses hanging from hangers on the tree have wild patterns that make me think of soy milk and ginseng chewing gum for some reason. I'm soon engrossed in deep conversation with a man from Kenya and another man from India. Three hours later, I walk back to my apartment with a huge smile on my face. See, I have been invited to hang out with the Indian at his place a couple blocks away for some good Indian food. The Kenyan has just shared with me all about his life and his ministry to the homeless people of Five Points. He spoke such truth and wisdom that I asked him to pray for me at the end of our long conversation.

Americans will travel to Mexico and totally love the culture, food, and people. Then, they will return home and curse the same Mexicans that are doing road construction. Others will travel to India and spend thousands of dollars to see Indian culture. Then, they return home and make jokes at the guy working at the gas station. Why do I often feel so discontented living in "boring-old America" when there are plenty of people from other cultures all around me? I want to start thinking differently. I want to start seeing minorities the same way I would see them if in their homelands. Tonight was quite a catch. A Kenyan, an Indian, and a freaky hippie dude that played my djembe outside Starbucks for an hour. Yes, it now appears to me that I can have a blast even in Alabama. Finding true contentment is the Lord's will. As I aim to love people unconditionally by the power of God's Spirit, He will hook me up with these rad opportunies to experience what I'm longing for - and without the $2,000 plane ticket.