Why Wait?

Why wait till the end?

Why wait till the end of class to be real with your teacher? Why wait till the end of the school year your crush you like them? Why wait till the death of a relative to be thankful for their life? Why wait till a funeral to uncover secrets? Why wait till until the end of something to fully experience it only for one moment. The end teaches what’s really important; since you know it’s coming, then why wait?

Be REAL now. LOVE hard. Tell the TRUTH. Take a RISK. Have no FEAR. ENJOY life. WORK while you have the STRENGTH. PLAY with PASSION.

But DON’T WAIT.

Do it NOW.

This message was inspired by my last class meeting of the semester with one of my professors at California Baptist University. I got the opportunity to connect with her in an open, truthful, and revealing way, that was at the same time SAFE. I got to know my her past the role of a just Teacher, but also as a Mother, a Provider, a Caretaker, a Woman, and as a human being. And in that I shared with her the pains, joys, victories and uncertain moments of life found behind the roles we all play.

Don’t wait. Live now.

Life Worth Living

I just got off the phone telling an old friend the story of how my life has changed forever.
This is what was said:

I’ll be honest, life has been a little rough. But never has it been so rewarding. I work at my church full time as the Outreach Coordinator. Do you want to know something else? I don’t get paid a dime. Yes, I’m a full time volunteer. For me it started helping out in small areas, but I believe God has called me to build not only His kingdom, but the people on this earth. I finally see what the church is all about, our function, and the help we give to the community (the world). But just because I’ve decided to follow God, and answer His call, things have NOT gotten easier.

I’ve basically said “This is it.” No going back to mom’s. No getting a gig or a job that will take me away from this church. Why? Because when I look at the homeless man who gets treated like crap by the very people we call “neighbors” in our city, I see who I used to be and the value that that person truly has. I see a church body who needs someone present in the house, and not at a job, so they can overcome depression, hopelessness, suicide and past experiences too gruesome to tell. I’m not going back to living a life for myself. I’m living selflessly.

And it’s dang hard trying to do it.

So I need your help. I don’t live an extravagant life. My jeans may have holes in them. My car is rough around the edges and simply gets me from point A to point B. And I don’t always have the luxury of filing up at the gas station. I just want to do what God has called me to do and there are so many people who are dying to have me answer that call. So I won’t go back. I do it so other people can have hope: food on the table, clothes for their children and counseling through everyday life. Rejection, loneliness and poverty are real issues. So I give my life to solve them.

You can help by donating. You make a living by what you get and a life by what you give. Your donation is what helps me actually be here to help others get what they really need to live.
To give, click this link here.

Or send your check to the address below. Let me know when you do so I can make sure it gets to the right place.

P.O. Box 30612
San Bernardino, CA 92413

You’re not just helping me, you’re helping an entire generation receive the life they need.

Thank you

Journey: January 30, 2012

On this side of the computer screen, there’s been a whole lot growth, change and reaching people.

First off, I’m officially a mentor at Kingdom Culture, working one-on-one with a high school student. Throughout the week, I pour my life into his, helping him make the best choices of his life. It’s exciting, expedient and entertaining for us as we both learn to adopt different virtues through this relationship. I enjoy the privilege of teaching him things like the importance of vision, education, how to treat a woman, the value of family, and of course music.

But I’m not here just to teach. Showing love opens the door for genuine, nurturing bonds to be established. And we all benefit. It’s a giant step in ensuing the next generation is going to be established by the good foundation set by their predecessors–us.

Secondly, I began my Master’s program and am on my way to becoming a teacher. The fun part is being in an intentional learning environment. It teaches me to recognize the school of life we experience everyday, whether it be the “Hard Knocks” or “Easy Street” curriculum. Overall, I’m ready for this new phase in my journey.

Musically, I’ve been officially challenged. Writing, learning songs, and reading notations are all new areas I explore. On this musical journey I’ve learned more about how to speak as a musician. I’m still at church every Sunday playing my heart out, but I’m learning to let my worship speak during the week as well. It pays off big time when we meet and get to know God—the healing, miracles and salvation.

Change. All this time at Kingdom Culture has brought change to people’s lives. I’ve given my life so others can have theirs. Like He said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Be a part of building a community of people that overcome poverty (not just financial), prostitution, and death. They get vision and have something positive for themselves to look forward to when they wake up everyday.

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. ~ Winston Churchill

Give here.

I Laugh In The Face of Danger

If this year was over, what would you say about it? 2012 was the year of establishment. This past year I nearly died looking for my calling. Walk with me and understand the severity of this. I nearly died trying to find the reason why I was alive. And though it seems drastic or extreme, everyone is supposed to. Why? Because everything you want in life is determined by who you really are., what you really want.

January 1, 2013. (Morning)

“I’m a Christian and I did a horrible thing. I made a mistake. I sinned. I slipped into some mess I had no business doing. I’m a sinner.”

January 1, 2013 (Evening)

“My mistake, which is bad, actually worked out quite well. I got to experience how to turn something that was bad into something…good.

January 1, 2013. (Morning)

I’m a musician and I made a mistake. On the last measure of my perfectly composed piece of music, my finger slipped and I played the wrong note. My dreams of perfection were shattered.

January 1, 2013. (Evening) I had no idea how a mistake would work for my good, but it did, because that finger slipping turned out to be what would be the end for some, a new dimension and extension of the music I was creating, and it was beautiful.
That mistake, could have caused me to quit playing. But, my mind grabbed something that it saw as pleasing, delightful, desirable.

Get it. Get what I’m saying. Your bar of music, your song, your life is determined by what you do with your mistakes. Do you understand that you can keep going and make a good life using that very mistake you made? Do you understand that the decisions you make are no doubt in your life, but are designed to make you unique? Your story, your purpose, your achievements, your accolades. It’s all by you COMPLETING that piece of music you may call “a mistake.”

It turns out, life is full of these little incidents, these notes and tones. Like life, music doesn’t stop because I played a so called “wrong note,” else we’d NEVER enjoy R&B, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Funk, Classical or even Pop music. You’d never embrace things like  slang, basketball, dance, culture, literature, relationships, or comedy. You’ wouldn’t know to enjoy the roots of Reggae and how it’s related to Ska, or the evolution of Ballet into Modern dance. You’d never know of the light bulb and you definitely would not appreciate the many different recipes on the menu when you go out to eat.

Outlook: Your life is worth living. Your mistakes make good music.

Don’t be afraid of the song you write.

Make mistakes. Make new music. Make a song. Make your life. And make it good!

Hope Wanted: Now Hiring

“You’re young, you got plenty of time.”

I had a job interview with the city of San Bernardino to become a substitute teacher. Success! I got the job but one thing I love doing is interviewing. Yes, interviewing. If I could get paid to go on interviews all day, I’d probably do it as a side hustle. What’s so interesting about it? You get to talk to people! And its funny because some automatically have a filter: who you are, what you are going to do or say, etc.

As for the interview, my strategy is simple: go in there and connect. The guy who was seeing me probably had enough people who came in to his office trying to put on a front and say what they think he wanted to her, not have a real conversation with him. But of course, in the real world that does not mean saying everything that comes to your mind. #wisdom You better get this job.
During the interview he asked me about my goals. What do I have planned for my future? And I told him, “I want to teach. Eventually, I’ll get my master’s and follow my passion for music…” and I further continued explaining how I even came to music. I did Communications for my undergrad; I only took Music Appreciation as an elective. Yet, I fell in love and learned to play without a teacher physically present.

Then, the statement that opened the can of worms. “At first I wanted a Master’s in English, but now I want to do music.” Being “undecided” happens, but I was graced to have only one major in college. To my options, the interviewer replied with the famous line “You’re young. you have plenty of time.” I thought about it and I realized that i did not want to be one who wasted time in life bouncing around from major to major. I wanted to have a goal. Badly. For too long, I’ve been waking up without a vision, without a goal, going nowhere in life. This book I’m reading, Chazown, by Craig Groeschel, is amazing in helping you to discern what’s in you, where your life is going, where you were destined to go and what you were made to do (which, by the way, brings fulfillment). In it, he said “people just stumble halfheartedly through life hoping tomorrow will be better than today. No plan. No dream. Mostly just existing,” (pg. 5). He reiterated the truth in Proverbs 29:18 by stating “Where there is no Chazown—no dream, no revelation, no vision, no sense of our created purpose—we perish,” (pg. 9).

Rather than bounce around in indecision, quick fixes and temporary pleasures, make a decision to live.

Go somewhere. Do something, but have a plan. Have a goal. Have a direction. I know what it’s like not to and it does happen to the best of us. Stop comparing yourself to others. You have a plan and a vision for your life too, and no matter what you think of yourself, the most important opinion, God Himself, the Creator & Judge, says it’s great. You have a destiny that is necessary for this Earth and I wake you up everyday for you to realize it, figure it out, and live it. There is joy in being who you are, in what I’ve created you to be.”

Lastly, I strongly encourage you: if you wake up without a plan or a goal, make it your goal to seek God. Pray, read your bible, start being confident, but whatever you do, don’t believe the lie that the day will lead to nothing. Why?

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'” – Jeremiah 29:11