MetroMonk

It's all one can do, Love today.  Love those around you,  Love them, Because they, like you, Will pass away.  So embrace it,  Embrace them.  Be love,  Love, Embrace, Hug, Draw close, Work, Eat, Live, Breathe, Rest,  Grow, Pray, Sit, Inhale, Exhale, Die. 

Here's a contribution I recently wrote for another blog (@YNPN of the Triangle NC) that I felt like I should include on my own blog page. Enjoy. I see it ALL THE TIME. Burnout. It happens to the best of ‘em. Burnout creeps up like a silent ninja in the night. You don’t even know it hits you until it’s too late. Let’s pretend there is a recipe for Burnout. Take the following 10 ingredients, mix them together in any order you’d like, and just let it bake. For some, it takes days, others months, and still others, years.  Whatever the case, without change, you’ll find you have a classic case of Burnout on your hands. Say “yes” to everything. Just say “no” to boundaries. #Overrated Don’t have a hobby. Spread yourself thin, Try to do many things at once. Do everything yourself. Why delegate? No one can do your job as well as you. Eat, Sleep, Drink your job. Stay at it all day, even on the weekends and on vacations. Find your self-worth only in your jo...

I know that you really don't know the other person. You gotta watch out for you, because you can't trust anyone. That's what conventional wisdom says. I hate that. I want to trust others. I often do. I will always error on the side of over trusting people. I always get burned though. Yeah...people suck. People can be friendly to your face, then say other things when you're not there. Say what you want, but I won't apologize.  I'm loud. I'm sarcastic to the point of being offensive.  I'm friendly to the point that you might think I'm flirting (I'm not).  I'm honest. Very honest.  I say what I think.  I rarely care what others think.  I'm energetic.  I'm a little bit weird.  I don't take life too seriously.   I love most days like it'll be my last.  I drink.  I smoke cigars.  I like loud music. Everywhere all the time.  I like to dance.  I joke around.  I laugh lots.  I am involved in lots and lots of things....

My morning coffee time is more than just the coffee.  It's about talking with The Lord. Listening. Being still. It's about a conversation. It's a conversation that we've been having for years. It's where The Lord reveals stuff to me. Not always, but quite a lot though.  The seasons in my life have changed, they always change. The pages in my life's story have turned. I'm in a different chapter. The adventure is different. My struggles have changed, but so have my joys. My life is in a different place than it was 2 years ago. But... I still wake up each morning, coffee is always warm and The Lord is still with me. He's there, he's always there. He never changes. He is always there, and that is why I continue to come.  I come to coffee to talk with God. The brews change (some I like more than others), but God is always there. He never changes.  I think about why sharing this is important to me. I guess because I want to share that the most valuable dis...

Sitting,             Settling,                          Stirring,                                       Wading, Watching, Seeing, Wading, Sifting. Breathing, Settling, Eyes tearing, Hearting beating, Nostrils flaring, Body shifting,                        Then stilling. Calming,                Honing,                              Eyes lifting,                                                 I'm listening. Distracting. The world is moving (around me). I'm breathing, My ch...

I come in for coffee,  and like usual, the morning was going smooth. I got a great seat with not a lot of people nearby at a local Starbucks in downtown Raleigh. It just so happened I sat down next to the "wrong" guy.  He was a nice and unalarming fellow. The moment I sat down he asks what I ordered. I told him, "The same thing I get every morning- just a cup of their bold drip coffee." He asks what a drip coffee is. I'm like "What!?!" So I tell him and he then asks what the difference is between that and Folgers. I almost slapped him in the face, but I withheld. So I responded to the gentleman's inquiry and told him that all coffees taste different because of different brewing methods, different roasters and different regions. He asks what the difference is between that and a latte. Alongside of that he asked me what a latte was.  For real dude!!! Like, you're sitting in a Starbucks asking me what a latte is. Are you alive? At tha...

Can't Skyline of downtown Raleigh, NC Can't believe it really has been over two months since my last post. Ugh, not good. It's certainly not due to a lack of thought or inspiration. To be honest, this "transition chapter" of my life has been wrought with sloppiness and difficult times. I will share more about that in the next post or two...hopefully. But I need to write. I find this compulsion inside of me to blog all the time. I like to develop rhythms in my life, but whenever that compulsion to write that is within me comes, it's never at a good time. I know then that is exactly the time to write, but I have 2 kids and other life responsibilities that have to be seated in a higher priority. So that's that. Hello again. So let's talk about "The City." I'll tell you why I love the city, but I really can't do it in one sentence. I love the city (be it Chicago, Portland, Miami, Baltimore, Raleigh or wherever), because of the peop...

In this place and in your presence I have experienced many things. Joy, peace, love, tears, sadness, frustration, fright, dread, terror, burden, anger, intense fury, confusion, boredom, enlightenment, wonder, inspiration, dissapointment, anticipation, solace, anxiety, heartbreak, total loss, peace, comfort, counsel, confrontation, your voice, correction, your hand, your spirit, loneliness, your holiness, your grandeur, the voices of the angels in chorus singing, depression.  There are good days and there are bad ones.  Through plenty and want, Sick and good health, Summer and winter, Rain or shine, All things change.  This life is cruel And it can do quite a number on you.  Through it all My coffee is warm  And you are with me. 

I give myself to the Lord. I give myself to the Lord,  Not because he needs it, But because I do. I need the Lord. I need him, I need to see like him, He restores my sight, vision and perception. I need to feel like him, He gives me peace, patience and mercy. I need to love like him. I need to hear the things he only he can open my ears to. I need him to feel right. Life seems out of rhythm without my Lord. He is the most important part of my day, He is always the most important part of my day. All time passes by too fast when I am with my Lord. I must get back to the conversations we have day after day after day.  There is something new everyday.  It may not be exciting, but it is new.  It may be harsh or too revealing, It may be fresh, but never stale. The Lord is living and his word is always relevant.  Oh, the newness people could have if they made the Lord a commitment in their lives, daily. What would happen? What could happe...

God is with us. I have a lot of things going on right now. It's exciting, but I need help with all of them.  As I was sitting, drinking my coffee and praying I asked the Lord to be with me. I stopped, listened, and heard him say, "I am."  He told me that he already was with me and that he always has been. He had never left. He told me to remember the name "Immanuel," which means "God with us." I was like, "oh yeah." It was a powerful moment. So I wrote it on a napkin and am sharing with y'all to remind you with the very thing that God reminded me with- God is with you. It's not a maybe if he is or maybe he (or she- I know how some of you are about that :)) is not. The Lord is here. The Lord is here. The Lord is here. The Lord is with you. Know it. Feel it. Embrace it. Awake to that reality and may you come more and alive with the weight of that reality.  May the peace of the Lord be with you.