radical normality - and what not

Found :: journal excerpt c. 2009

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 21:15:19 -0400

… I pray my story will be a testimony of your glory … may your Holy Spirit guide the pen in my hand and the thoughts in my mind … As I write, help me unlock and reveal the pain, demons, sins, and even joys of my past in order to bring me to a place of healing and understanding. May my encounters draw others closer to you and inspire them to travel their own healing journeys. Father God, take me deeper into the darkness, and allow me to share your light through my life.

moderndayparables: Here’s the first video :: vlogging...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 05:14:20 -0500

moderndayparables:

Here’s the first video :: vlogging experiments, the benefits of parables, and thoughts on Ash Wednesday [ a day late thanks to technical difficulties]

Embracing imperfection, and making videos now woot.

moderndayparables: #comingsoon Hmm, wonder what this...

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 06:25:19 -0500

moderndayparables:

#comingsoon

Hmm, wonder what this is…

Look furry monkey thing! Fun little dude from the National Zoo....

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 23:34:00 -0500

Look furry monkey thing! Fun little dude from the National Zoo. Actually called a Golden Lion Tamarin.

[One of the photos I posted on my blog today: http://kerapackage.com/goodbye-23-in-photos/ ]

Boredom + Insomnia = Satirical Infographic. [You’ll have...

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 08:47:00 -0500

Boredom + Insomnia = Satirical Infographic.

[You’ll have to view it on my page, and click through to zoom.]

p.s. quickly made, sorry for any typos and lack of creativity on the font. haha.

Things I'm learning:

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 19:27:35 -0500

Life rarely, if ever, will give you a break. There will always be another illness, another financial crisis, another excuse to stand still. The truth is that if you want something, you have to chase after it. You have to start taking steps toward actually being the person you want to become.

Sure there is wisdom in waiting. Often times there’s healing and character building in the waiting. But, contrary to popular belief in Christian culture, doors don’t fly open in front of you. There isn’t a magic “season” of opportunity that you have to wait and wait and wait for. Yes, there will be times of influence and favor of supernatural proportions, but you can’t spent your days pining for a divine moment that may never happen. Because in the meanwhile, you miss a million little moments to make a difference, to create something beautiful, to enjoy the minutes before they pass away.

And, contrary to the American dream, working yourself to death won’t magically pick you up by your boot straps and nestle you into a cozy life with a white picket fence (or urban loft if that’s more your thing). You could do, do, do - and make it to the top, and still be miserable and living a life way beneath your potential. Opportunity won’t change your character, it will simply reveal who you’ve been from the very beginning: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

So, friends, what I’m saying is this: if you’re not happy with where you are in life: stop waiting, stop hiding under your busyness… and start being the person you dream of being. And since it’s unlikely you can do that alone, let’s start being the community we dream of together. Okay?

when someone says we should not critique public pastors because they are anointed by God

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 11:33:37 -0500

whenincomments:

I hate Christianese.

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 14:03:09 -0500

5) Avoid Christianese and clichés at all cost. // I could write a book on this. There are times when Christian words are appropriate- i.e. grace is simply grace. Most of the time though, phrases like ” I got saved”, “guard your heart”, “sin issue”, and “God told me” are poor word choices. Why?

a) We often don’t understand what they mean.

b) If we do, we aren’t mindful of the implied meaning and connotation others associate with the phrase.

c) There’s likely a better, clearer, more beautiful way to share what we’re thinking.

d) Those outside the Christian bubble have no idea what we’re talking about or why they should care.

e) God is creative, infinite, and all powerful. We can’t imprison Him within our little religious terms.

Whenever possible, try your best to express your thought without falling back on Christianese as a crutch.

—-

from today’s new post, “Use your words- Communication tips for the Interwebs”

Trailer for Peter Rollins new book; I need to read this.

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 06:31:30 -0500

Trailer for Peter Rollins new book; I need to read this.

literaryjukebox: I discovered these common, self imposed...

Tue, 25 Dec 2012 22:48:53 -0500

literaryjukebox:

I discovered these common, self imposed restrictions are rather insidious, though they start out simple enough. We begin by worrying we aren’t good enough, smart enough or talented enough to get what we want, then we voluntarily live in this paralyzing mental framework, rather than confront our own role in this paralysis. Just the possibility of failing turns into a dutiful self-fulfilling prophecy. We begin to believe that these personal restrictions are, in fact, the fixed limitations of the world. We go on to live our lives, all the while wondering what we can change and how we can change it, and we calculate and re-calculate when we will be ready to do the thing s we want to do. And we dream. If only. If only. One day. Some day.

Every once in a while — often when we least expect it — we encounter someone more courageous, someone who choose to strive for that which (to us) seemed unrealistically unattainable, even elusive. And we marvel. We swoon. We gape. Often , we are in awe. I think we look at these people as lucky, when in fact, luck has nothing to do with it. It is really about the strength of their imagination; it is about how they constructed the possibilities for their Life. In short, unlike me, they didn’t determine what was impossible before it was even possible.

[…]

If you imagine less, less will be what you undoubtedly deserve. Do what you love, and don’t stop until you get what you love. Work as hard as you can, imagine immensities, don’t compromise, and don’t waste time. Start now. Not 20 years from now, not two weeks from now. Now.

Debbie Millman in Look Both Ways: Illustrated Essays on the Intersection of Life and Design

Song: “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)” by Talking Heads

iTunes :: Amazon

THIS QUOTE!

"…. this in NO way selling out, Selling out is making music that you don’t particularly like..."

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 09:01:07 -0500

““…. this in NO way selling out, Selling out is making music that you don’t particularly like purely for money, We just make songs we love (this will never change) and it seems that a lot of people like them, So for us to then turn around and say you cant like my music your not cool enough is ridiculous…” - Jamie Jones”

- Take that hipsters and music snobs. [from his FB, also several blogs]

Art, community, simplicity. This is a beautiful life.

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 04:35:18 -0500

Art, community, simplicity. This is a beautiful life.

"“I think you should just be honest with yourself, making music should NOT be a career move …..."

Sat, 01 Dec 2012 08:09:52 -0500

“

“I think you should just be honest with yourself, making music should NOT be a career move … it should be a passion, you should follow your gut instinct, not try to fall into place or align yourself with a person just because they are successful…

I really, truly and honestly wanted to try and strip things back so far, and just reflect who I was or am… Just be myself, in the hope that somebody else out there will relate to it and get something back from it. The ultimate aim for me is to inspire other people to do the right thing — musically, morally, creatively — just to have a better way of life in some way. And also to resonate with my inner being, and try to describe it with melody and words — is that not what music should be?”

-Phil Kieran

”

- “Rotational Motion” by DJ Mag

Something new. A wee bit of spoken word, inspired by a rough...

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 03:09:00 -0500

Something new. A wee bit of spoken word, inspired by a rough night’s insomnia. If you guys enjoy it, maybe I’ll upload more.

Note: It’s an unedited, continuous recording. It’s imperfect, especially near the end; but if I wait for perfection, I’ll never upload anything.

p.s. yes i swore. my bad.

City lights.

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 10:49:54 -0500

City lights.

Oh, hey LA.

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 10:39:00 -0500

Oh, hey LA.

“You enjoy my company, but hate being by yourself. You’re always looking for adventure...

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 01:24:35 -0500

“You enjoy my company, but hate being by yourself. You’re always looking for adventure in order to forget more important things. You always want to feel the adrenaline flowing in your veins and you forget that the only thing that should be flowing through them is blood.”

“I’m not running away from important things. Give me an example of something important.”

“Writing a book.”

“I can do that any time.”

“Go on then, do it.”

- The Zahir

(via Lauren Frail)

I have found you child. Though you run and stumble, I will steady your pace. I will strengthen your...

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 01:46:00 -0400

I have found you child.

Though you run and stumble,

I will steady your pace.

I will strengthen your body.

I will enrich your mind.

I will ignite your soul.

You will have no wisdom,

no creativity, no favor, a p a r t from Me.

You, my child, are dearly blessed,

but only in my presence.

You BELONG amongst my flock.

Open your arms to receive.

I have called you HOME.

"People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” - Simon Sinek"

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 21:10:39 -0400

““People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” - Simon Sinek”

- via TED

Photo

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 03:45:40 -0400