Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Lessons from Lent 2011

(Now Playing: "Hope" -- Amp Movement)

If I hadn't decided to give up secular music for Lent this year, I never would have discovered (good) Christian rap.  I'm really being blessed by Amp Movement's music right now, and I'll probably start listening to LeCrae and others soon...

That being said, if you have any music suggestions, let me know!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

the God i serve...

(Now Playing: "Serve You Only" -- Joann Rosario)

the God i serve...

He keeps revealing Himself to me at the most random times, in the most spectacular ways.

His presence is tangible, like an embrace.  i know i've said that before, but that's really the only way i can describe this feeling.  His hands, all powerful, nail-scarred...holding me close. and in the simple things that make me smile--a song on my iPod, a beautiful blue sky, a Facebook message from a dear friend--in those things, i hear Him whispering, "I love you."  over and over again, like a record gloriously and eternally broken.

and i've started to realize...just when i start to think that i'm close to Him, just when i think my love for Him is its fullest, richest, deepest, and that i'll burst if i try to love Him more...He shows me that i've barely scratched the surface.  one night last week, when i had just gotten to bed and was praying, talking to God about the day...i got the sudden urge to just...get out of bed and think about Him, praise Him, anything, everything.  i didn't act on it, and i eventually went to sleep, but the moment at which the thought entered my mind is one that i don't want to forget.

maybe i'm not coherent right now (it is 2:15, and i do have work i'm neglecting), but i just had to say something, and this just felt right.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

日本 et al.

wherever you are, and whatever you're doing, just stop and say a prayer for Japan today.  and if you have the means to aid the relief effort more directly, don't be too stingy or too afraid to do so.

but also...don't forget about Haiti, and about other nations that are suffering even now.  they may not show up in the news anymore, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be in our thoughts.  <3 <3

Friday, March 11, 2011

A Little Taste of Freedom (B-Side)

(original post)

i've been rocking semi-natural curls by accident for almost a week now, and i think i could fall in love with them.  i've gotten more compliments about my hair in this one week than i feel like i ever do when my hair is bone-straight.  more than that, i just feel happy about this unplanned change in texture.

but i wish people would stop deterring me from trying this style out on purpose.  if you're so scared of something going wrong, then why don't you help me transition into it instead of trying to talk me out of it?  i'm scared too, but you don't see me running away...

Thursday, March 10, 2011

the fun don't stop...Housing Day 2011

Dear Winthrop House,

I still hear the vuvuzelas and the chanting from this morning in my mind, like a pleasurable echo down a quiet street.

Thanks for making Housing Day awesome, just like you did last year and the year before.

 I love you,
3Ni

Sunday, March 6, 2011

and this is for black boys

maybe
they were just
words to you
a script rehearsed for
countless hours
made to feel real but
lacking life application

maybe you didn't hear
the emotion in your
own deep voice
projected from
larynx to
surrounding air
almost
musically

but i witnessed your
vulnerability
hearts tattooed on
brown skin
you took his number and
became his pain

his story colored you
profoundly dark and
secretly conflicted
he was more than just
a character
he was

every anger
every hidden fear
every silence ever shared

in that moment
i realized that
i love you
so much more
than i have ever admitted
to my self

death of writer's block

why do i--do we--confine poetry to stanzas, alliteration, and inventive profundity?  our very breath and existence is creativity.  we are all poet laureates, even if we've never picked up a writing utensil.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

embracing my inner nerd

i've recently realized that i love stuff like this.