“Art reflects reality from a different perspective, so we better our understanding of it.”
– Paul Luckett
Category Archives: Life
52 Weeks Of Gratefulness #2 – A Walk With Mom
In Week 2 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God for a walk with Mom.
We took a long, nice walk in the pasture.
Mom recounted where the family garden was, how much fun she and her brothers and sisters had in the loft of the barn, where she hopes to build one day.
We capped it off by visiting with my aunts and uncles who all shared their own stories. It was a stroll back to a beautiful time with the most beautiful soul I know.
The best things in life are free.
I’m grateful.
#52wog
In Week 1 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God for my…
Originally posted on Facebook on Thursday, January 2, 2025.
In Week 1 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God for my new friend from the gym.
Me: "Hey, Nina!" (pronounced nigh-nuh) "Happy New Year!"
Nina: "Oh, hey. Guess what I've got? I finally brought you that fruit cake! I was thinking it would be too late in the day to see you, but here you are."
We walked to where she had it neatly sealed in a bag.
Me: "Wow. You brought this for me?!" I teased, "Am I going to get as drunk as I did last time?"
Nina: "You betcha!"
We laughed and hugged.
Nina makes the most delicious Rum Fruit Cake. They come carefully wrapped in soaked cheesecloth to keep it moist (and will put hair on your chest!).
Nina and I met at the gym by exchanging casual greetings. First smiles, then hellos, then conversations, then food, and now hugs.
I'm so thankful for the kindness that can be found all around us.
To not only be thought of, but to be planned for. It truly made my day.
I've been ministered to.
I'm grateful.
#52wog
Batman was my favorite “comic book” character growing up.
Originally posted on Facebook on Saturday, December 7, 2024.
Batman was my favorite "comic book" character growing up.
I say "comic book" character because I mainly read the novels.
I was drawn by a truthfulness in this fiction that, up unto that point in my 10 year old experience, seemingly wasn't being said out loud.
Darkness created Batman—not just crime but the inequalities and injustices surrounding wealth that give rise to it. In a way, he was a victim of his own wrongdoing. As a crime-fighter, he was literally fighting his own demons.
It was surprising to find how his conflict resonated so deeply. There's things we do, not for the thing itself but because of the pain that something's caused that we're not sure how to live without (and how culpable we are for it). This is why, I suppose, Batman never killed criminals.
Lots of people dismiss them, but comics are much deeper than super-powers and fighting. They are art in every way.
On week 46 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God for…
Originally posted on Facebook on Tuesday, November 12, 2024.
On week 46 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God for @[100006034025062:2048:Charles Lala Evans].
It is the 90s on the campus of @[100064455593599:2048:Mississippi State University]. As we would board the transit bus headed to a class, the driver, Mr. Evans would occasionally stop students and ask, "Would you mind if I took your picture?"
Amazingly, it was never creepy. His smile and spirit were genuine and disarming.
His approach suggested you were worthy of remembering.
As a black kid away from home on a predominately white campus, he'll never know how much that meant.
And to think, it was simply an extension of a tradition born out a beautiful love that he shared with his wife. There's something eternal about that.
I'm grateful.
#52WoG
I’m hesitant to poo poo on the current generation’s music.
Originally posted on Facebook on Sunday, October 13, 2024.
I'm hesitant to poo poo on the current generation's music.
I've always thought what makes music popular is that it successfully captures the zeitgeist of the times.
Things seem to move much faster today than when I was growing up. For us, a zeitgeist spanned decades (eg. 80s vs 90s music), but today, it spans weeks, maybe a year.
I think there's a parallel between the fairly recent widespread use of memes and the recent music. Despite how unserious they seem, memes are highly condensed, super concise commentary on current issues that change in the blink of an eye. It's a highly intelligent artform that I think informs their music.
These kids are quick and clever. In my opinion, because of the unstable and fluid state of their reality, their art is more about vibe than content. I think they're powerfully communicating feelings more so than ideas. You don't need polysyllabic words to connect on that level.
For me art is something to be decoded rather than judged. Then again, I try to look for the genius in people. Maybe I'm looking too hard. What say you?
Typically, I’d buy my shoes online by doing some research, reading…
Originally posted on Facebook on Thursday, October 3, 2024.
Typically, I'd buy my shoes online by doing some research, reading some reviews and try to make the best informed decision I can.
The results are generally decent, but I've recently been dealing with this niggling pain in my ankle that I can't seem to resolve even after buying orthotics.
I saw the ribbon cutting for Starkville's newest shoe store SCW Run and decided to give them a try. I'm delighted that I did.
John and Taylor were super friendly, knowledgeable and attentive. They evaluated everything from the condition of my foot arch to how different shoes affected my gait.
Based on their evaluation, they brought out several shoes that were specific to my needs, ultimately outfitting me with shoes that make my feet (and back and knees) happy.
They helped me with questions I didn't know to ask. I could not have arrived at the same solution on my own and I will never by shoes or orthotics the same way again.
If you suffer from back pain, knee pain or flat feet like I do, I recommend paying these guys a visit. They're worth the investment.
Realignment
Am I experiencing anything less than love, joy and peace?
The ultimate realignment question is:
WHERE ARE YOU?
“Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?'”
— Genesis 3:9
WHAT IS THE LIE BLOCKING GOD’S LOVE?
“So he said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.'”
— Genesis 3:10
WHO AM I BELIEVING?
“And He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?'”
— Genesis 3:11
HAVE I BELIEVED ANOTHER VOICE? GOD IS THE ONLY SOURCE OF GOODNESS AND TRUTH. EVERYTHING ELSE IS HARMFUL LIES AND BELIEVING IT RESULTS IN CORRUPTION WHICH CAUSES ME TO RELATE TO EVERYTHING IN A HARMFUL WAY (EVIL), INCLUDING LIGHT—THE RESPONSE BEING TO HIDE.
“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
— John 3:19-21
GOD LOVES US. BELIEVING GOD IS THE WAY TO LIFE.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
— John 3:16
BELIEVING GOD IS THE WAY TO ENJOY GOD’S LOVE.
“for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.”
— John 16:27
BE AMAZED: GOD LOVES US AS HE LOVES HIS SON JESUS! ENTER INTO THE COMMUNION AND WONDER OF GOD’S LOVE.
“I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”
— John 17:23
HOW WE LOVE—THE DEFINITION: OBEY GOD.
“This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.”
— 2 John 1:6
WHAT IS GOD’S COMMANDMENT? LOVE GOD. LOVE FOR EACH OTHER IS IN THAT LOVE.
“‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’
Jesus said to him, ‘”You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.'”
— Matthew 22:36-40
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
— John 13:34-35
“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”
— 1 John 4:20
WHERE AM I? AM I IN CHRIST—GOD’S LOVE?
“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”
— John 15:6-14
REST IN THE PLACE OF PERFECTED LOVE THAT COMES WITH BELIEVING GOD.
“And we have known and believed the love that God has for us.
God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”
— 1 John 4:16-18
So, am I experiencing anything less than love, joy and peace?
Where am I?
I’m believing You, God.
I am resting in Your love through obedience.
#perfectourlove
Sick Day
I’ve been sick and off work recently and one of the most frustrating parts about it is seeing all I could be getting done, having time to do it, but not having the ability. I simply do not have the strength.
It fosters an anxiety that I’m falling further and further behind to a point where I will be eventually left.
You know what this is also true for?
Poverty.
Because poverty is a disease. It’s a disease that’s commonly accompanied with other co-morbidities such as depression, anxiety, hypertension and substance abuse.
The very definition of co-morbidities indicate that these accompanying conditions worsen and make it harder to manage the primary condition: poverty.
So, I try to keep that in mind before assuming people are in a particular situation because they lack initiative or because “they’re not doing anything”.
Like me, I’m sure they’d be happy to do the things that they readily see and already know to do to improve their situation, but struggle to do because of the disease.
And before someone compares the poverty in some random place like Slovenia to the poverty here in America, and how their poor people behave, don’t perpetrate the same level of crime, blah, blah, blah, let me add that hunger in a place stricken by indiscriminate famine is vastly different from hunger in a place where food is abundant but not equally accessible. Hunger hits differently when someone’s eating in your face.
I believe a critical step in the right direction is to stop judging and demonizing people in poverty. That only makes the condition more debilitating.
I believe the extra mile toward healing is helping the sick with what they’re trying to do but just lack the strength to do.
I can speak to its effectiveness because it’s what someone did for me to help me heal.
This summer, we had an internship program through the Information…
Originally posted on Facebook on Monday, July 15, 2024.
This summer, we had an internship program through the Information Technology Department where students gained valuable skills and experience by helping to prepare thousands of devices for the new school year.
We would not have made such progress without our interns, and the program would not have been possible without the partnership of community organizations.
Having students work throughout the day involves arranging meals. @[535603839:2048:Tammy Matthews Clark] recommended that we reach out to @[343308065184386:69:Boys & Girls Club of West Point]. With one phone call to Director @[700414000:2048:Joi Prince] we were able to establish a partnership that made this internship possible.
This is what community supporting our children looks like and demonstrates why it is important that we support our community's organizations.
Please join me in donating here:
@[343308065184386:69:Boys & Girls Club of West Point]
264 East Westbrook,
West Point, MS 39773