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“…instead, let us be vessels of justice without judgment, love without leaving, and grace all-seeing. Let those who see us and would call us hypocrites because we carry the label of ‘Christian’ be humbled by our righteous living. Songs are good for praising God, but if your heart is unchanged, you’re simply babbling noise like an incoherent child.”
The audience is a quiet mix of respect, sleepiness, and note-taking. Carpious listens intently without blinking as does Sydney who is sitting beside him. Solomon has fallen asleep in his mother’s lap as she strokes his hair.
“Who are you? Brother? Father? Mother…sister… son…daughter? When you look in the mirror, when no one is around, who are you? Who does God see? Are your actions driven by what others see or by who you really are?”
Carpious looks down and away as if absorbing and processing what Pastor Russell is saying. He then glances at Sydney to see if she is likewise convicted in any way. She continues to look ahead, listening intently but stopping on occasion to jot down notes in a notebook that is on top of a bible that sits open in her lap.
“My family, I challenge you to do two things this week, starting now. One: Look in the mirror of your soul and ask God to show you who you really are. Do away with the noise and the obligations of the day and listen. You can’t love others without loving yourself. Two: Tell someone you love that you love them without using the word love.“
Laughter fills the auditorium and fades back to silence almost as quickly. Sydney looks at Carpious this time, but he’s looking straight ahead.
“Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with using the word love, but we often times simply use the word as a crutch and we never demonstrate love as a result. So tell someone you love them through action. Now go in peace. Amen.”
(excerpt from PIOUS, a novel by Kenn Bivins)
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Reserve your copy of PIOUS, now available for pre-order at amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.
My soon-to-be-released novel, PIOUS, is about Carpious Mightson, a man who has his share of secrets. Carpious chooses to cling to people and/or their perspectives of him that paint a prettier picture of how he’d rather see himself. We all have a tendency to do that if we’re not careful. It can sometimes be easier to surround ourselves with the noise of busyness and others than to stare into the silent reflection of self. That is, if we’re honest. read more
(excerpt from PIOUS, a novel by Kenn Bivins)
Today is August 10th and the original, proposed release date of PIOUS, my first novel. In the past few months, I’ve learned so much about the publishing industry and how intricate its workings are. To think that all I wanted to do was write stories and assume it was that simple. Silly me. read more
Some people have perfect lives. I’m not one of those anomalies or people.
There are those rare days where discouragement sneaks up on me and the hope that has been coursing through my veins has mysteriously bled out. It’s hard during that time to be positive or feel thankful without some clouded film of negativity blocking my view. As I said, I’m imperfect.
Somewhere in there, just as mysterious, a reflection, a stray word from a stranger or a friend, a prayer, or a conversation can yank me from my dismal spiral. When brought back into consciousness, I am inclined to listen to a song to mark my new found direction and lease on life. That song has often been “For Once in my Life” by Stevie Wonder.
“For once, unafraid, I can go where life leads me and somehow I know I’ll be strong.”
And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
…to be in a place
where there is no noise, trouble
or hard work. it means to be in
the midst of those things and still
*author unknown
If you know me, you know I love Switchfoot – their lyrics, their music, and their heart for a relationship with their Creator. Well this song, Stars, punched me in the gut this morning while I was listening to it.
My perception shapes everything. If I live a meaningless life, it’s my choice. I (and you) was created for a purpose. Look to the heaven’s and the expanse of the oceans, beyond the easy-to-see negatives in this existence. The world and my reason for being born is so much bigger than me. The heavens and God’s handiwork remind me of that. read more
The sun shone on her for so long
That her absence is drawn on my walls.
A silhouette of where she once stood
Is painted there while her scent still lingers.
I’m left to resume dinner reservations for one
And attend the parties of my single-serving friends
While listening to them talk of the glories of
Being single or married or dulled by alcohol to not care.
Coleman Hawkins and his saxophone blow “Don’t Love Me”
And the echo of the loving monikers I was once called
Are hatefully marked out with red crayon or her blood, I’m not sure.
For now I’m just another single so and so.
I think it’s awesome that one of my favorite mugs (though it’s been dropped and shattered to pieces and glued back together) through a scarred face can remind me of a simple edict – grow.
Thanks, mug-that-I-blogged-about-that-one-time. I do believe I will.
I’ve begun delving into the guts of my second novel and this song keeps echoing in the back of my memory so I played it. And I played it again. And Again.
The song is called Gomer’s Theme by Third Day from their album, “Conspiracy No. 5.” Listen here. The song is a retelling from the book of Hosea (chapter’s 1-3) of Hosea’s marriage to Gomer, an unfaithful wife that he ceaselessly forgave of adultery while loving her unconditionally. This was to be a parallel to God’s undying faithfulness to Israel (or us). You can read a summary here or delve into the scriptures for yourself here.
Not to make this into some awkward and impromptu Bible study, but my point for posting this is to demonstrate that true love involves forgiveness. Again and again. And while we may feel like fools when we are the ones doing the forgiving, we’ll (with maturity and God’s leading) find that we a more receptive to receive love when we aren’t hindered by bitterness or the past.
PIOUS, which will be released on October1, is thematically about forgiveness on many levels and illustrates how even forgiving ourselves is necessary to move forward and truly live the life that we are meant to live. read more
Fire fire, burning bright
Windy windy, lost my light
Sequins sequins, she tucks it in
Sprays her scent and does a spin
Water water, quench my thirst
Love me back, make me first
Comet vomit into space
I want to kiss you on your face
Loving loving, why’s it hard?
I rehearsed my lines and know my parts
These shoes behoove though second-hand
Not good enough, more reprimand
Steady steady, start again
I’m sure I’ll get this in the end
Ponder wander, her face I see
And my mind goes again, just up and leaves…
Ahh… to be her pillow.
So today is Independence Day where we as Americans commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Or we more commonly refer to this 4th of July as a day to reflect on our freedom as a country and eat a lot of barbecue. But what of freedom for everyone? History tells us that slaves (mostly blacks but a few other minorities) were far from free for decades to come. You may be thinking, “What about the Emancipation Proclamation?”
There is a common misconception among Americans that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves with a stroke of his pen. Yet the Emancipation Proclamation, which went into effect on January 1, 1863, did no such thing — or, at least, it didn’t do a very good job of it. Two and a half years later, on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers sailed into Galveston, Texas, announced the end of the Civil War, and read aloud a general order freeing the quarter-million slaves residing in the state. It’s likely that none of them had any idea that they had actually been freed more than two years before. It was truly a day of mass emancipation. It has become known as Juneteenth.1
Can or should non-Blacks celebrate Juneteenth? Juneteenth is for ALL people, anyone who celebrates the basic tenets of freedom, human dignity, and equality. There were a great many white people who were ecstatic that slaves were emancipated. Standing together publicly to denounce today’s racism doesn’t hurt either.2
1 Gilbert Cruz, A Brief History of Juneteenth (2008 article from TIME)
2Abel Pharmboy of scienceblogs.com