An Equation for Truth

Life - Love = Zero.



The best use of life is love. The best use of love is time. The best time to love is now.

My senior year of college me and my buddies went down to Little Rock (Arkansas' pitiful version of a "city") and we were going to see a band play a show at a local venue. It was a cold, dark night in the middle of January - so cold in fact that we were all layered up. We parked our car a few blocks down from the place and on our way inside, we saw a woman.

With tears streaming down her face, in a Coldplay's "Fix You" sort of way, she approached us begging for money. She had dark circles around her eyes as if she had just been in a bar fight. Her clothes smelled of alcohol, probably vodka, and I could see the tobacco stains underneath her finger nails. She did not smile, she did not introduce. She just cried.

I immediately thought about the woman in Luke 7. A well-known prostitute comes to Jesus begging for His love and after the Pharisees judge her, Jesus looks at Peter and says, "Do you see this woman?" I felt like Jesus was asking me the same question on that cold winter night.

How could we (with any sense of integrity) walk by her and go enjoy our little concert? Think about this. Cover charge: $10. A couple beers: $15. An appetizer: $8. $33 that could go so much further than live music and beer.

What would it look like if we all started making financial decisions that reflected our faith more than our selfishness? Brett Dennen, a reggae musician, says:

"And there's enough wealth for everyone, but some have the most and the most have some. And there's enough food for us all to flourish, tell me why are so many malnourished? You say there's weakness in an empty pocket, no. I'll tell you there's weakness in an empty heart."

So with those lyrics in mind, we walked with her, hand in hand, to buy her a meal and to listen to her story. By the end of the night we served 5 other people who were searching for much more than a burger - we prayed with them and put them in a hotel for a night. This isn't told to boast, this is told to inspire, to evoke, to change. It's about time we stop living for materialism and we start living to give. When you give, you begin to live. When you serve, you begin to see.

"Whoever finds his life will lose it, whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Matthew 10:39

Keep following Him, He is the equation for truth. KL.

I Wear A New Cologne

Merely talking about change is inadequate, insufficient, and even at times worthless. That's why I have a hard time getting into politics. When's the last time a politician followed through on a promise? I need you to tell me the truth. I'd rather you tell me the truth and hurt me, than lie to me and let me find out another way.

Don't tell me you'll change if you plan on settling for the way things are. If you say you're changing your smell, start wearing a new cologne. Walk down the path of what you don't know. And now I walk...

Don't be afraid of change, embrace it. Don't walk away from the uncomfortable, access it. There's a big world out there with endless possibility and potential. The core of our spirit is fueled by the things we've never tried. What greater joy than to experience a new passion, a new sunset, a new horizon?

All the blogging has been leading up to this: the biggest change of all. It's time I wear a new cologne.

"I'm a new man

I wear a new cologne

And you wouldn't know me if your eyes were closed

I know what you'll say

This won't last longer than the rest of the day

Baby you're wrong this time

You're wrong."

KL

Just Keep Us Where the Light Is...

A quick note on my agenda these days:

Love the ones that treat you right and walk away from the ones that don't. Hold the ones that embrace you and forget the ones that leave you empty-handed. Cherish the ones that tell you the truth and forget the ones that say your hair looks tight after busting you behind your back. 

No more walking around with a flashlight in the darkness, searching for some kind of remedy. Just keep us where the light is...

When your hurt, remove the plastic smile. When someone serves you, show them you appreciate them. Let the woman at Target go ahead of you. When someone blows a kiss your way, let them know they put the color inside your world.

Be who you are, regardless.

Sometimes people will hurt you, they'll desert you, they'll take your soul if you let them...But don't you let them.

Always remember to give grace because we all need a little love.

Just keep us where the light is. KL.   

Ohhh That's Why I Do That...

Here's a link for the Myers-Briggs personality test. If you haven't tried it, it only takes 5 minutes. It will also shed some light on why we are the way we are and its funny to guess what other people are.

God bless and bless God. KL.

In Repair

"And now I'm walking in the park
And all of the birds they dance below me

Maybe when things turn green again

It will be good to say you know me."

-jm

I'm not together but I'm getting there. KL.

Seriously?

Much love to you all. KL.

Closing the Map

I wonder how many times I've been asked, "So what's your plan for your life?"

This question implies the idea that we have to have a plan, a focus, an idea of where we're going. however, making plans for the future isn't the problem - it's when the plan becomes the focus and the destination is lost. we get so hung up on forcing "our way" of arrival and we forget that perhaps there's more than one way to cross the country, more than one way to find happiness, more than one way to become who we are.

How about we lean less on the plan and more on this plan: plan to be surprised.

There is a structure to no structure, a plan to no plan, a direction to no direction. But there's also flexibility, independence, free-will, spontaneity, and liberation.

How beautiful is the feeling of freedom? How wonderful the sight of closing the map? How exhilarating to rely on instinct?

Sometimes our plans fall apart and we need to be prepared. People break promises, they walk away when we least expect it. But maybe we just need to learn to broaden our horizons. We make plans that we think are so right but in reality, are so wrong. They slowly begin to collapse and we need to have the sensibility to change our direction to something with more stability.

Plan B has become far more significant, beneficial, and exciting. But here's the point: Don't rely on plan B either. Just plan to be surprised.

Using the compass instead of the itinerary. KL.

Before Bed

Before I continue reading "Into the Wild," and eventually go to bed, I need to share this:

At first glance we all try to come across as having our shit together - our dreams, our goals, our careers, our relationships, our lives. But the more we are willing to be authentic, the more we see that we have all gone through seasons (plural for a reason) of disappointment, self-doubt, confusion, insecurity, self-consciousness and maybe even depression. And that's okay, just keep me where the light is...

KL