Tag Archives: BEDA2012

Freedom Whispers on the Wind

Posted in Bookish by

I’m on vacation!!! So, while I’m away, I’m going to be posting some things that I wrote in the past. Below is a post that I wrote on my writing blog. I’ve re-worked it just a little for this post.  

She stood at the edge, wings tucked in, looking skyward. The feel of the air through her feathers and the sweet caress of the gentle wind under her wings stirred a distant memory, calling to her, pulling her to the edge, whispering for her to take the leap that would send her soaring.

She stood at the edge, frozen. She still remembered the last time the wind called her. She flew to answer it’s called but crashed into an invisible barrier and found herself falling onto the hard floor, her back grazing against the fine grain. Defeated she lay there until her master gently lifted her up and placed her back in her cage, securing the latch.

He cared for her, fixed her wing and nursed her back to life. Yet, it was her master who captured her and caged her. It was her master who laid the initial trap that shackled her and broke her spirit, leaving behind a small bird in a beautiful cage, singing a song for freedom.

As she stood on the edge the soft call of freedom surged through her, “If I try again, I’ll just fail. The pain was unbearable, but it’s not so bad in here, at least I am fed and cared for.”

She turned her back on outside world, hopping over to her water bowl. “It’s not so bad in here.”

The tightness she felt in her chest loosen and she took a deep breath, he smell of the cool evening air filled her tiny lungs. Memories of another time rushed through her, the call was louder this time. “There must be a way, you can find a way.” they seem to whisper, “Come to me and I will sweep you away!”

Unable to deny it any longer she turned towards the opened cage door. The master thought that fear would be enough to hold her, but the wild undulating song of freedom sweep out from deep within; lost but not forgotten. The wind was calling and the distant memory was answering. With a hop and a leap she spread her wings and flew.

Following the whispers of the wind she found a way of escape – an open window behind her dependable prison. Doubts buffeted her as she approached, “Is it really opened? Will I really make it through?” But her wings kept flapping, the call of the inner overwhelming and with a loud trill she pushed onward, through the open window and into the vast expanse of freedom.

Let Justice Roll Down by John Perkins

Posted in Bookish by

I’m on vacation!!! So, while I’m away, I’m going to be posting some things that I wrote in the past. Below is a review of the John Perkins book, Let Justice Roll Down, originally posted on my book blog. A great book about justice and what true justice in Christ looks like. If you have a chance, you should read it! 

“They were like savages – like some horror out of the night. And I can’t forget their faces, so twisted with hate. It was like looking at white-faced demons. Hate did that to them.
But you know, I couldn’t hate back. When I saw what hate had done to them, I couldn’t hate back. I could only pity them. I didn’t ever want hate to do to me what it has already done to those men.”

If anyone had a reason to hold on to hate, it’s John Perkins. In this biographical book, he outlines some of the major incidences where he witnessed and was faced with injustice. The way he handled these situations were surprising and thought provoking.

The beginning opens with the story of how his brother was killed. He continues by explaining the state of the church and his life (as well as his spirtual views), he shares his beliefs and how his experiences shaped his faith and ultimately his reaction to those around him. While standing up for the blacks in his community, he was wrongfully jailed and beaten, almost to death, yet he kept on living a faith-filled life.

This book was quite the emotional journey. It sheds light on the injustices of the not so distant past, a very important reminder for me and a way for me to better deal with the present. Let Justice Roll Down is a stark reminder of how we can hurt one another, even under the disguse of religion and truth. The quote above resonated deeply within me, and seemed to me to be a large theme running through the entire book. Hate turns a person into a savage. It’s easy to hate, to lash out and try to destroy those who hurt you, but how do you love them? And how does justice – the idea of fairness – fit into this?

His story leaves the reader with a lot to reflect on. I can’t stress how much I recommend that everyone read this book. It places you in an uncomfortable place, but I think that’s its worth.

Guest Post: Late Lament

Posted in Thoughts by

I’m on vacation!!! So, while I’m away, I’m going to be posting some things that I wrote in the past, I’m also going to be posting some things from friends. Today, my friend Ben, guest posts. You can read more from Ben on his blog. (And you can remind him to post more). 

I was given the privilege of guest blogging by my friend Shanella. I had previously written a long blog post about my love/hate relationship music and how that relates to the artistic impulse, so I decided to write something that builds on that, bringing together music, words, information and technology. I am writing as a musician and dedicated music listener.

It might seem strange to many youngsters living in this Internet age that people used to buy music in the format of compact discs, vinyl phonograph records (LPs) and cassette tapes. I am dating myself by mentioning that I used to have a fairly large collection of vinyl and still have a large collection of CDs. Similar to how the popularity of the compact disc caused the death of vinyl and cassette tapes back in the late 80s, the mp3, the Ipod, digital downloads and online retailers have caused the near death of CDs in our time, and with that, the death of brick and mortar music retail stores.

I really grieve over the death of brick and mortar stores like the Tower Records that used to be on West 4th Street in the Village. During my high school and college years it was a place of comfort and refuge, my ‘go to’ place when I had some free time. It was where I could see thousands of music albums in one place, with selections ranging from the most obscure albums to the most popular hits for sale and displayed beautifully. I could touch the actual physical items, not just see them as images on a website. The employees there were usually knowledgeable music fans that were helpful with recommendations and suggestions. The albums there were generally a little more expensive than those at competing stores, but the excellent selection and great service more than made up for it. Continue reading →

Why I Am A Christian

Posted in Religious Musings, Thoughts by

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. … Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God. – C.S. Lewis; Mere Christianity

I grew up in a Christian environment, my parents were active in church, my dad a preacher, my aunts and uncles all leaders and teachers in the church. We went to church many times a week, I’ve been involved one way or the other, a part of the Sunday School, youth groups, singing, I was involved in the Christian culture. However, that phrase, “in not of” didn’t apply to me, I didn’t really live IN the world, I lived in a Christian bubble.

As a child, when I decided to give my life to Christ it was an easy decision because that was all I knew. I was young, I thought about it, it felt like the right thing to do and I did it. Then, I moved to New York.

Moving to NY was a culture shock. For the first time I was exposed to a different culture. Life in NY is faster and harder than life where I grew up. The lifestyle we had there could not fit into the lifestyle of a NYer and in the process of adapting I met people who had no religion, many because they never grew up in any religion, and many more because they grew up in a church and decided it wasn’t for them.

With the latter group, I have asked questions, why did you leave the church? There were many answers, too strict, burnt out, but a big one was never really believing what was going on because their parents send them or took them to church. Some believed that Jesus was real, but they don’t believe that he is the Son of God, be it historical reasons – many leaders were called Sons of god during that time – scientific beliefs or personal reasons. One other thing that I found amazing was that they thought he was a good guy, or just another prophet. However, I can’t really think of anyone who told me flat out that Jesus was a madman or a liar and I wonder about that. Was it that they were being polite? Or did they just not think it through?

Continue reading →

Dear Sister, Happy Birthday!

Posted in Thoughts by

Whenever I talk about my family, I always say that my sister is “the sweet one” because, compared to my brother and myself, my sister is the sweet one. She’s the baby of the family, the one who always hangs out with my parents (and thinks that it’s cool hehe); and now she’s 18 years old!

When I turned 18 I had been living in the US for almost a year and I was on my way to being a freshman in college. It was the first time where being a “grown up” felt like a reality. The thing is, that feeling kept overwhelming me (and sometimes it still does) until I decided that, adults are really just like children, we just have different toys and less time in the day to be carefree, due to more responsibility. However, the biggest thing was, being an adult doesn’t mean I have to suddenly change the way I think and view life. For that matter, sometimes the way we think and view life as a child is more beneficial to us than any “adult” view.

There is a certain maturity now that you’re older, there were mistakes that you learn from, life lessons that you experienced and that is what maturity is, learning from the past – not changing how you think. So, happy birthday, keep being your sweet self and have a great year. Being “grown-up” is overrated, but maturity is valuable. 😉