Overflowing

Wake up.
Overflowing.
Early mornings without coffee challenge you to be present.

Open fields wrapped up in graffiti covered walls.

Long car rides bring song, uncontrollable laughter, uncomfortable napping positions, and new sights.

Church steps littered with colors, accents, stories, and really cool shoes.

Street lights are almost more beautiful in the A.

City smells.

A memorized script followed by a sigh and lots of eyeballs searching for a homeless mans identity beyond the $4 he asked for.

Hotel beds that are too empty in a building that screams the same.

"Shopping or Business?" asked the fancy man.

Sidewalks that were taken care of - sidewalks that look like a war took place there.

No wifi. Just sky and concrete. 

4 books later - I met a lot of good people in that line. Shout out to my dude from St.Louis.

"For such a time as this"
Overflowing.

Breaking the normal by not being black, or married but I care just as much.

Worship that wasn't defined by the screen or time or voices - but your heart.

Disciples in the city. Opened homes.

Social Justice. Church planting.

Bible theology in the form of a cardigan.

Contextualization. Application.

Resources. Connections.

 Failures. Accomplishments.

Being transparent enough to say the struggle is still real.

A concert that revived my soul. Shook the floor.

And proved Sho is cooler than Crae. Oops.

I'm finna dress like the cats in atl for real.

Patterns. Colors. Layers.

 Simple is better.
Overflowing.

From NYC. to Miami. Those pastors have started a movement.

Public School is crap? Lets start our own school.

Internship in Mobile? Why not.

I shook hands this weekend with people that are out their living life among their seeds.

 Prayed with and for trailblazers. Cried for the broken.

Little boys played football in their small patch of green the project had.

All I wanted to do was join them. Adults get boring sometimes.

A thrift store that sold me triangle earrings and silk pants.

Mary Macs soul food thanks to a handsome local.

Home is found on a couch shared with my favorite boys and sister where we can pretend we didn't get old.
Overflowing.

A church body that raised me - continues to pray and challenge me.
Hugs SO many hugs on a Monday. From so many kids who used to be little.
New faces. And faces I have etched into my soul.
I saw some boys be great leaders and serve their peers food.
I saw kids helping each other with home work.
And J told us to take heart.
 I threw a football for 15 minutes and you would think I was a famous QB after the amazing work I did out there... not. Basketball will always be my sport... but I tried to keep up with my boys today.
I left with paint on my hands. Braids in my hair. And a heart that was.

 Overflowing.



Choose Joy



Listen. I' m no expert in this whole life thing - I don't get paid off of a "here is the key to life" book - I will never be good at giving advice - and I most certainly fail at a lot of things often.

 

What I do know is how to find the little things that bring joy to my heart in the worst of times. Anna used to tell me about the list that made a hard day better. Smile mediation, whipping your hair back and forth, cookies, they all made the list. I've since added things to the list. In the last two years the weather has been a huge resident on the list.

 

Rain. Sunshine. Wind. 

 

Along with movies that demand tears. Small victories like getting everything on the to do list finished on time, or when one of my kids becomes a leader on his street in the midst of turmoil. A facetime with best friends. A text message that made an impact. You get the idea.

 

Now let me be honest. Some days just suck. Some days are grey, melancholy, lonely, exhausting, and I have easily wanted them to be done before they even start - yet I refuse to live this way if I can help it. Negative vibes make me sick. Instead of focusing on the parts that make the day harder, crazier, quieter, messy, etc. I dare myself to find all the piece of glitter people miss. Like that blue triangle on the corner of our parking lot. Or claiming the hot mess and laughing about it with the people in my food line... cause they look like their day was crap too.

                                                                              -





I was in bed this afternoon - curtains drawn - quiet blues playing in the background - hard decisions and the fact I needed to study for midterms was hovering in the room - when all of a sudden my roommate and friend walk into the room ready to throw me a dose of my own theology.

 

WE PLAYED IN THE RAIN.

 

There is no better therapy session than one creation has to offer. We embraced the weather and said - today was a pretty terrible day - but it doesn't have to stay terrible! Jumping in puddles. Running through the parking lot. Laying down on the ground letting the downpour to consume me. Breathing in the air not many get to experience with their umbrellas, rushing bodies, and bad attitudes. I even did a freaking cartwheel. The weird looks from people running from class to the dorms were priceless. They wished they were having fun like us.

 

I don't stay sad very well - and I can tell you it's because this life has more joy to offer than we think. We as a people tend to choose over and over to ignore, and refuse that little things make a difference. I beg to differ.

 

Scream good morning to the people in your 7:35. Hug everyone you can. Praise God for all the good and yes, even the hard stuff, because He is there with you too. Leave your roommate a note about something only you two would understand - we can do better than basic. Call mom. Look up from your phone (unless you're near a puddle then you should be careful...) Clean your friends house because you know their busy and don't have time. You won't regret it - I never do.



 

I am not always going to be perfect at this - and it's not always acceptable to kick off your shoes and run around in the pouring rain - although I wish it was - but it is acceptable to...

 

 

Choose Joy. Always.