be steady, baby.

...and when we get down to it, we realize that the only way to break off from these societal pressures placed on us is to step out. take that leap. do what you believe you should do - what you were made to do, not what others think is best.

branch. break. fork. sever yourself.

you get it.

i'm not saying this is easy.

the most frigid winter the soul will ever feel will blow in on the wings of fear. the fear of failure. the fear of rejection. chances need to be taken and hearts need to be broken to grow. to move. to learn. the trees ahead have to become larger and the ones behind have to become smaller.

it's important to realize that i'm not being a rebellious twenty-something. even the married ones, the trapped ones, the paralyzed ones. we all have to grow. whether that be learning how to knit a scarf or visiting a gravestone of a dead, once abusive father.

we have to do things we don't

want to do sometime or another.

this is how we grow.

we take chances.

we learn to love people

through strange circumstances.

go with it.

trees.

trees with roots, they grow;
into the starry night.
battered by the wind, by the rain, by the snow;
left bald by the fight.
trees with roots, they grow.

trees with roots, they grow;
not uncertain of the soil fromwhich they sprout.
a stately stance, of their past they know;
boisterous but lowly, high above the clout.
trees with roots, they grow.

the blues.

I'm not having an easy time. Life is hard.
I'm tired, and weary, and bruised up.
Things pile up and become to-do list after to-do list. Why?
I'm trying my hardest not to let wordly things own me.
But it's so hard to do that when wordly things are all you know,
and all you associate yourself with. I think Satan always
has his hand on the strings. He's whispering that I won't
amount to much. He's whispering that the things I care about
most are going to turn on me. He's telling me I need money -
lots of money - to find joy. And half the time, I'm believing it.

I know God is here. And I'm
faithful that He is teaching me things
through this garbage. But it's not easy to hear His voice.
It takes time, and discipline, and the will to shut off things.

God, just be here. Help me to find joy in trouble.
Help me to be a man about my mistakes.
Help me to know that it takes asking questions
to learn how to do something.

a collective.

it's not about the stains on your hands.
everyone's been through their share of trouble.
i leave perfection to my Creator.
forgive yourself. let Jesus' blood forever be a
reminder that you aren't, never were,
and never will be perfect. just accept it.

it's not about the strut.
the fact is, you're one of 6.7 billion people.
think about that. no. really. think about that.
we're equal. equal. no brand or talent or
salary or (what you think is the) ability to
verbally dismantle someone's barriers
will ever change you being just another
one of 6,700,000,000 faces.

we're humans.
we were delicately made by a selfless God.
a God who is above trend and politics.
a God who is above religion and money.

proverbs 22:2