CHRIST, rhymes, & Life

This past Sunday my friend Tim, who is our worship director at Harbor, preached on how we can look back at the faithfulness of God and be sure of His faithfulness to continue in the future. Ultimately, God's faithfulness is displayed at the cross but He also displays in our lives. As I reflect on how He worked in my life in these past year, here is a list of my top 5 moments. 1. Tell Me Yours Project This project filled my heart. As I spent time reflecting on the people in my life who played a role in shaping who I am, I was so thankful for having those people and how God used them. And I was encouraged by the responses as well. Thank you all for being a part of my life! For more on this, check out my post about it here . 2. Young Life Camp This is a highlight every year. I got spend a week at Lost Canyon this year with some of the craziest/funnest/coolest guys I know (even if they are from Scripps), doing ridiculous things and building deeper relationships with them. Ev...

Here's the list of my top 6 albums from this past year. Just 'cause. Top 6 because I have a 6 CD changer in my car so it seemed fitting. And yeah, I'm probably one of the few people you know who still buys CDs. Just know that these are based on my personal preferences so of course there is a lot of bias. And I'm no expert. No exhaustive reviews either. I chose these mainly based on artistry and impact. I understand that I am very selective with the music I choose to listen to and there are some genres that I just don't touch (sorry country people). Plus there are plenty of great albums that I still haven't listened to or sat down with so I can't include those on my list. But go ahead and give me suggestions and I'll check them out. Enjoy. 1. Black Messiah - D'Angelo and The Vanguard Favorite tracks: Betray My Heart, Another Life, Really Love D'Angelo is a prime example of quality over quantity. After a 14 year hiatus, he returns with this t...

I recently had the opportunity to share my heart at my church and I believe out of the three sermons I've preached so far, this was the most important one. Based on Isaiah 9:2-7. Check it out. December 14 at Harbor

Three weeks ago I started working on a little project. Propaganda, one of my favorite artists, has a track on his most recent album called "Tell Me Yours" where he tells people not to thank him, but instead thank the people, places, and events that were strung together to make him who he is. This track is a spoken word piece and he describes it as "almost like a family portrait book." Our lives are filled with people, places, and events which might seem like coincidences or random occurrences at first, but looking back we can see that God sovereignly ties them all together as a part of His plan to make us who we are. Propaganda refers to this as his Crimson Cord (the title of his album). And so my project started when he put out a challenge for us to do our own piece and record a video of us performing it as part of a contest. I actually wanted to write a poem similar to his for a while, but this challenge was the thing that finally got me to pull out my pen an...

My sermon from Father's Day based on Galatians 3:26-4:7

This one is long overdue. But 7 months later, my feelings are the same. Maybe this will rub off the wrong way for some people. I just want to express some of my thoughts concerning school based on my experience. I know my experience is fairly limited, only going through undergraduate at a public university, but I think my opinions are valid. Don't consider what I say here to be truth; I'm just a voice who may even represent many others. I pray this will either challenge or encourage some of you. I ask that you would read this with an open mind. This is a very complicated subject and I understand that some of the things I say might not be as clear here as they are in my head, so if you have issues, talk to me before finalizing your judgment. I think more discussion on this topic would be good. Warning: this will be a fairly long read. A little about my experience: I graduated from UCSD in December 2013 with a degree in Psychology. My favorite classes and the ones that had the...

I am alive. I know you can’t see me but I hope you realize This burden you’re bearing inside Might one day be your greatest joy Girl or boy, I don’t know but I definitely have a soul This seed slowly blossoming into a crimson rose Daily watered by your blood flow as I lay here in this chamber Pitch black is all I see but I can feel, smell, taste, hear A faint thumping from above similar to this beat inside me We haven’t met yet but I feel like we know each other More fondly than the sun knows dawn A bond so strong not even the grip of death can tear us apart Like divine hands are knitting me together To form a fearfully, wonderfully made tapestry And our very beings are interwoven by invisible threads I await a new day, ready to behold as I’m beheld by you I hope you like art. Can you feel me? Dancing in excitement to the music outside Sweet sounds muffled by these walls But as those waves hit the shores of my ears Washing away the voices...

A world of color Filled with complex complexions But viewed through tainted glasses Classes of masses miseducated Passes given as if the issue was past tense The marriage of ignorance and denial Bound together by pride Left us with a monster But despite this nightmare A dream still lives Echoes of Emmett, Oscar, and Trayvon Ring in the bells of liberty Trapped in walls of denial Painted white with lies To mask layers of blood hidden behind Traces of oppression linger The stench of corpses permeate the room While window curtains are being dusted