The Long Way Up

Halloween strikes again! There are those in the Christian community that have been roused to an uproar about how some believers should not participate in the festivities. After all -- they'd say -- these celebratory gatherings, gestures and gaieties are dedicated to the prince of darkness himself, and Christians should have nothing to do with that! Rightly so! I am on board with what they are saying, being a fellow believer and all that. The powers and influence of darkness are certainly things we should never trifle with. In fact, the Bible says we have all been called out of darkness into His marvelous light. No reason we should go back in there if we've already left it. However, I want to present an idea that's been rumbling about in my mind for quite some time now. Paul, the Apostle, got the wheels in my head turning when he said: "To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (tho...

Arctic fever Blizzard sky Cryo eyes out Drizzled dry Ether grasping Frigid cold Grizzled feelings Haggard, old Icy pick ups Just as well Kill me softly Livid spells Mouth is fogging Nothing's heard Oscillating Putrid words Quickly freezing Running scared Somehow standing Thawing there Underwhelming Vapid mode Winter mongers Xenophobes Yeah... we're done here! Zzzzzz...

There are many days in my line of work when I get to do little to no work at all. These kinds of days allow me to write (more) and relax. However, the opposite of that are days that are way too hectic: schedules that are too close in proximity to one another; ministry that needs to be done in the same week; trips that happen in succession. This week, I'm looking at only three work days but it actually feels so hectic and loaded. I had just come from a three-day vacation in the southern part of the country, which really got me refreshed and excited about life again; but as I hit the ground running on the first of my three-day-work-week, I was met with a lot of pastoral concerns and membership issues that had me scratching my head, yet still feeling grateful that I had those three vacation days to get recharged. Then, on the same day, Tuesday, I had to bring a new set of believers to the rehabilitation facility where we usually have a Monday a month to serve; I had to ...

Sometimes it may only take a few encounters with another person to get a working knowledge about them: casual initial get-togethers, frequent run-ins in intersecting social circles, and occasional (literal) face time in front of (or beside) each other. In the last few months, our local church has had the privilege of personally getting acquainted with one of the country's more formidable and recognizable thespians. He has been in show business since his teens, has had a steady stream of acting gigs, and, by some twist of fate, has ended up on the shores of our island... and the doorstep of our congregation. Although in the past we have had people from all walks of life with varying degrees of notoriety and controversy come into the four walls of our building and (somehow, over time) into the corners of our hearts, this man's entry into our spiritual family was a bit more dramatic, metaphorically speaking: his big reputation has obviously preceded him (being a famous pers...

A young woman stands on the shoreline of her island home and stares out into the horizon. Every day she repeats this ritual of looking far beyond the reach and beaches of her shores, wondering what the distance hid from her eyes. Her body language displays a deep set longing in her heart to wander off her isolated residence and explore the wider dimensions of a world she's barely begun to know. "See the line where the sky meets the sea... it calls me!" She sings. And she sighs. And she longs for so much more. In the film, Moana, the title character voices out what perhaps many of us are silently crying out: what's next? What's beyond the line that I so want to cross? When will I get to cross it, if at all? The human heart seems to be inclined to thrive on the unquenchable, insatiable, unending longing for things that are yet out of reach and beyond our grasp. The irony of it all is that once the line has been crossed and the longing quelled, another...

You were told to love others And teach them to obey You were told to be gracious And merciful each day You were told to show humility And impartiality But I am just a bit dumbfounded; Please enlighten me Why do you play accuser? Why won't you just sit still? When you don't see the big whole Just the holes you wish to fill You spew forth deadly daggers Without a second thought That role is someone else's It'll just bring you to rot Why are you playing judge now? Your sense of justice skewed You seem to be lopsided Decided but confused Perhaps you should be judging Your life instead of mine Because, all things considered, We fall short all the time Why do you play condemner? It's such a deadly game. Unless you're full-time partner In league with devil's fame You really want to do right, Do good, see justice done? Then, leave it to the Perfect, The Righteous, Holy One! Why are you doing his job? The devil's good at th...

There is a need for me to say "thank you" For things I've learned when I used to flank you I'll say them proudly, loudly and curtly I'm grateful for good times and those times you've hurt me Ms. Chief, we had some playful days together You stood by me for a season, in all sorts of weather The worst in me was game to you; the beast in me unchained We had to part ways or my life would in rudeness remain Ms. Take, I am grateful for every bit of correction Be it in word, in deed, or in secret affection I used to hate you sharply until you informed me Errors and failures -- they break me to form me Ms. Deed, we were thick as thieves when I was clueless I was naive; your immorality was newness You never told me my actions would bring aftermaths But I learned my lessons; had to leave you after that Ms. Nomer, enticed me to call things as they were not And urged me to label people without a second thought My love for words usurped and then...

The writing prompts I've discovered at thinkwritten.com are really doing wonders for my blog and my love for concocting word cocktails on a regular basis. Today's challenge was to go to my mp3 player and randomly find a song to write about. I ended up with The Used 's 'Blue and Yellow' , a song I've never heard before from a band I know nothing about. So, I googled the lyrics and played the song while sitting in the bus on the commute home. Now I have been a music lover for the past 35 years and have developed a welcoming ear for every genre from every era in this industry. I always seem to readily appreciate rhythm and rhyme, vocals and style, lyrics and delivery even from the most obscure song. But I must say I was quite unimpressed by Blue and Yellow on the melodic, technical and lyrical levels. Perhaps the years of poring over carefully crafted music and words from Jars of Clay, Switchfoot, and, most recently, OneRepublic contributed greatly to this ...

There is not one single person in the world that was born without at least a sliver of creativity. It may have been deposited during their conception as a small seed -- obscured and untapped -- but it is there nonetheless. Some of us are born with a knack for the performing arts : there are those of us who are gifted at singing, dancing, or acting and take to it with mastery even without formal education. The performing arts are some of the ways we express creativity with our bodies. This is certainly one of the (if not the most) flamboyant forms of creative expression. Some of us are born with a penchant for the visual arts : there are those of us who are endowed with the creativity of translating the images we see with our physical eyes into works of visible art through paintings and sculptures. Others take what they see in their mind's eye and put it on different types of canvas, including digital ones. So many forms of visual arts have manifested in the last few dec...

Family relationships are tricky: you are bound to them by blood and are expected to love them even when they are unlovable and when you would much rather shed their blood (kidding, of course). So it would come as a pleasant bonus when you have relatives that you not only love because they are kin, but also actually like because of the bonds of friendship formed among you. I could tell you stories of family drama (from both my paternal and maternal sides of the equation) collected through the years that have left me wishing I wasn't related to  some of 'these people': stories of conflict over money matters, broken trust over inheritance issues, severed communication because of unresolved misunderstandings. The list could go on. On the other hand, there have also been many encouraging memories of relatives going above and beyond the call of familial duty that reinforced the maxim, "blood is thicker than water": cousins, uncles, aunts, brothers, sister...

I have no idea how other preachers do it,  but I most of the time find composing my 'sermons' very challenging. Perhaps my assumption that a more didactic method might not be as captivating as an impassioned discourse is the main hurdle when I draft my pulpit 'lessons': people do seem to gravitate towards spontaneous, charismatic and fiery preachers. Another reason for this difficulty in getting a message prepared is the desire to hear what God wants His people to hear for a particular service. I have always tried my best to speak on topics that I sense God is telling me to speak on, so using my spiritual ears becomes a necessary exercise. What slows me down, though, is second-guessing: is this really the topic God wants? Or is this just me wanting to teach on this issue? Still another challenge is the organization of the ideas and themes of the intended lesson. As the saying goes, there is more than one way to skin a cat; and with preaching (or in my case, t...

Twenty-first day of the month of September Twenty-one words to describe what was tendered Twenty-first try at compositing surrender Twenty-one ways to explain what's engendered Twenty-first verse was a curse I remembered Twenty-one omens of upcoming murders Twenty-first step was the last of my blunders Twenty-one footprints from me now asunder Twenty-first plea for some tea wasn't uttered Twenty-one times under my breath muttered Twenty-first date with the miss is unhindered Twenty-one ploys for the joy now encumbered Twenty-first flight to the sights and the splendor Twenty-one pilots to that sweet, sweet surrender Twenty-first journey away from the pretenders Twenty-one incursions to be a good spender Twenty-first amendment to life from the commander Twenty-one editions and additions from the lender Twenty-first confession was so totally slender Twenty-one conditions in cahoots with the sender Twenty-first day of the month of September Words to...

Leave some room for all to be quelled Let time in, immersing the pain Permit love and lenitive spells Punctured heart will breathe once again Find your space to ease into hurt Face the music, adage would state Meditate on what you are worth Much more soothing, healing than hate Grieve! It is good; let it all out Gather your soul into one cup Alleviate all of your doubts Answers will come; just don't give up Oil for joy, pour it on down Overwhelming offenses soaked Balm for the scar and for the frown Strength inside brokenness, cloaked

I wonder what causes grumpiness in people. Is it their genetic makeup? Is it their circumstances? A combination of both? As of this writing, I have been given the opportunity of performing night nurse duties to one of the young men in one of my Bible study groups who has been in the hospital now for five days. The guy in question (let's call him Sunny) is already in his 20s and on a regular basis -- when we're together -- I always see him carry a calm, mostly reserved demeanor... akin to my own. Although Sunny sometimes throws around typical teenage banter with some of the guys in my small group, he is nevertheless a person whose character leans more towards the docile side of things. So as I report for my hospital duty, I got greeted by a scenario that I would usually find awkward: a little family spat. Sunny was displaying signs of grumpiness: irritation with his mother who was just assisting him get around, and annoyance with his sister who came by to see him....

Labels are fables that do not define Swagger and daggers, not fancies of mine Bludgeoned in dungeons, mistook for a swine All just because I was born as a guy "Swinger!" A ringer for my gender's sake Players and haters rub off their mistakes "Single, go mingle!" "Your smile must be fake." "It's 'cause you're a man!" Please give me a break! Tempests, the tempted go out on the prowl Hunting the hunted -- the damsels -- like fowl Using, abusing their strength with a scowl And I, a guy... should I throw in the towel? Handsome and then some: he must be a cad Silent and private: intentions are bad Friendly: he's deadly in deception clad This man wasn't raised that way by his dad! Yet truly and duly brothers have erred Eons of peons, and casual words Painted and tainted the masculine herd I am just a guy enlightened and stirred Paltry,...