It's Alright...

I feel the sense that we have all been disappointed in one way or another and we all need a little clarity in times of brokenness.

With time comes repair, with distance comes vision. But healing must be intentional, it must be pursued. It is vital to put the past behind us and move forward with our lives: otherwise we give our power to the one who hurt us.

I recently read that there's 121 million people struggling with depression worldwide. Refuse to suffer silently, I urge you to talk about it. Sometimes we can't get over it until we've been heard; so be heard.

Losing someone you love is a process to go through; not a destination in which to wallow. We have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and hold our heads high. Dwelling on the negative isn't progression, it's only slowing us down. We're either getting closer to our destination or further away. We must let go of anything that separates us from the goal.

Learn to trust again, realize that they were only one fish in the entire ocean. Be cautious? Sure. But don't let a bad experience keep you from living life to the fullest. We can either go through life happy or disappointed - but the ball's in our court. We have the choice, the power, the ability to decide how we want to come out from under the ashes.

So the question is very simple: How have you come out of the ashes? Do you need to let go of being bitter? Do you need to let the captive free, all the while realizing the entire time that the captive was you?

KL

...Like A Cranberry/Vodka That Looks Much More Clear Than Red...

The only way to dream again is to wake up,
The only way to be you is to be sincere,
The only way to feel again is to let love in.

Much love to you all. KL.

To Write Love On Her Arms...

If you're not familiar with the title of this post, check out this link. The story is beautiful...

This is when grace and truth collide. KL.

A Morning of Nostalgia

"Four more exits to my apartment

But I'm tempted to keep my car in drive

And leave this all behind..."

KL.

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

Lessons From Christopher McCandless

I recently watched "Into the Wild" and it left me with more questions than answers. Theres nuggets of truth scattered throughout this film that I'd like to share. It's infused with an expansive, somewhat optimistic sense of potential and possibility:

"I know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong."

-It's important to realize that emotional strength is so much more valuble than other forms of "strength." The question is, what is it that makes us "feel strong?"

"Society man, society! Cause you know what I don't understand? I don't understand why people, why every damn person is so bad to each other so often. It doesnt make sense to me. judgement, control, the whole spectrum."

-Why are we so selfish? Why are we so impatient? When are we going to come to realize that the way of Jesus is the original way we were made to live? When are we going to see that humility is better than arrogance, that sympathy is better than judgement, that love is better than apathy? Ya know chris, I don't understand it either.

"When you forgive, you love, and when you love God shines His light on you."

-How many of us walk around holding grudges against people? Why can't we just let go? If we only knew the potential of life, happiness, and freedom when we forgive. Did you know that the original meaning of the word "forgive" involves liberation of slaves? But think about this: perhaps forgiveness is more about liberating the master than liberating the slave? Ironically, when we don't forgive, we become the one carrying the extra luggage, the one captured with resentment, we become the slave.

"Happiness only real when shared."

-To me, this is the essence of this movie and more importantly, life. sharing experiences, progression, victories, and even disappointments with fellow travelers.

"Rather than love, than money, than fame, than fairness, give me truth."

-Word.

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."

-There are far too many of us walking around this world with no intention, no purpose, no passion. We settle into our lives of security and we miss the exhilaration of the unknown, the adventure. Stop ordering the grilled chicken sandwich and the caesar salad. Try the obscure. taste it, live it, be it. Find something new to be passionate about. Live for more than a salary, a new house, or a new car. Joy comes from our encounter with new experiences.

The movie is more effective, try it. KL.

When You Feel It, You Know...

Ya know, life is so beautiful. It's such a wonderful mixture and it's the mixture that makes it what it is. With this realization on the forefront, I'm gonna wake up every morning and celebrate life.

Sometimes I wish I grew up in the 60's so I could be a hippie because hippies really understand truth at its core: love for all people, places, and things - regardless. They make life so simple - I think we make it too complicated. Enough working for "the man" and just paying bills with our lives. Sometimes I think about leaving everything behind and spending my savings on a flight to a beautiful island and living with the natives...and just breathing it all in, realizing theres more to life than accumulating more stuff.

We need to come together and rise above the hatred. I wonder, will we? Will we become peaceful, forgiving, hopeful, loving? We all need a little healing and a lot of love. I've learned that if you give it, it will all be returned. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it's on the horizon. So dont worry, let's come together and rise above.

There's something incredible that happens when you forgive, perhaps its more about releasing the innocent than about freeing the guilty. When you forgive, you love (both others and yourself) - you let go of the bitterness, the anger, the pain. Don't go through life carrying the bags of other travelers -don't carry more luggage than you have to, there's too much positivity to waste it. Make the most of this life - let go of the regret, the shame, the mask. Let's make the most because...

There's people on the streets, children with no fathers, daughters with no mothers. There's just so much potential, possibility, opportunity to give back.

I believe love can set us free, the question is will we let it?

KL.

Imagine A Man...

Imagine a man who is confident yet humble, honest yet sensitive, authentic yet encouraging. A man who listens more than He actually speaks. A man who is direct in speech, caring in nature, and loving in heart. He realizes there's a time for light humor, but also a time for deep talks into the night. A man who always puts relationships above work, and a man who thinks with his heart and feels with his mind - and He isn't afraid to follow a perfect mixture of both.

A man who loves everyone - regardless of race, gender, or appearance. A man who walks two miles when you ask him to walk one. A man who thinks about others before himself. He always tells the truth, always sticks to His commitments, and always forgives - no matter what.

That's what I'm goin for.

KL

Bittersweet Song of Life - Equilibrium

Songs have a final note, vacations have a flight home, flowers wither, ice cream has calories, monopoly has "go to jail", sunsets become darkness, love has a final kiss.

I used to be such an optimist (and even though to some extent, I still am) I'm searching for the balance between positivism and realism, idealism and rationalism - and the beauty of the bittersweet.

I've recently been thinking about balance and I've decided to stop drinking alcohol for 3 months. March 18-June 18. But not because it's wrong but because it can be. Not because it's in control but because you have to know and feel you're in control - know with your mind and feel with your heart. I want to be able to say "no" with the same certainty with which I say "yes."

This is my attempt at equilibrium: It's been quite a beautiful journey since June but He's just getting started...

Thanks for listening. KL.

Put That In Your Pipe And Smoke It

I spent the last week traveling the west coast with some real cool kids and I'd like to share some things I realized, some things that need to be on the forefront:

I realized that laughter truly is the best medicine, so be able to laugh at yourself. I realized that traveling opens up windows you've never seen before. People start being real when you live with them, so take a trip. I realized that happiness is only real when shared, that connection is better than anything else.

I realized that there's a time and a place for schedules and itineraries but sometimes we need to put the map back in the glove box and just drive. Planning every step of the way becomes more of a hassle than a vacation and before we know it, we're missing the forest from the trees. Let's keep our options open, you never know who you'll meet, connect with, laugh with, etc. I realized the importance of progressing to new things, new places, and especially new people. Talk to the sweet old woman in the store, the middle aged man selling t-shirts, and the kid playing at the beach.

I realized that walking away can be the best decision you've ever made, so stick to it. Don't look back, keep pushing forward to the potential, the future, the unknown. Believe me when I tell you that sometimes the best feels the worst but the better will be so much better.

I realized that drawing on someone while they're sleeping results in getting tossed off a boat into freezing cold water. I realized that it's important to remember your towel when getting a shower. I realized that laying on the beach for an entire day can actually be very productive. I realized that nothing worth anything is ever easy: you can't sit at a blackjack table and make millions, life just doesn't work that way.

I realized that the heart of life is good. It's certainly not a silver platter but life is beautiful.

KL

Always Know If the Juice Is Worth the Squeeze

Ever been in the grocery store, squeeze a fruit, and think you got the steal of the year? The most succulent fruit of the bunch. You anticipate rushing to the kitchen, cutting it open, and enjoying the freshness on your palate. And in that moment, something potentially dangerous happens: expectation.

Then you get home and take the first bite, only to find out it tastes worse than britney's comeback performance at the 2007 VMA's. You feel disappointed as you walk away, somewhat curious as to why we set such unrealistic expectations for ourselves. I'm learning a few things about life that I need to share. It's very simple, but it's essential for us to get through this:

1) Fruit isn't always as good as it appears, things aren't always as they seem, people aren't always who they claim to be. A major part of life involves deciding who to trust and who to hold at a distance, who to be exposed to and who to block off, who to believe and who to doubt - it's all about discernment.

2) Don't just take her word for it, wait till she earns it. Please believe.

3) Stop squeezing the fruit that's lost its flavor, try another. Always know if the juice is worth the squeeze and if it's not, move on to another fruit. Don't fear the fruit you've never squeezed, the unknown, the brand new. Squeeze it, see what it tastes like. You'll never know if you don't try.

May we all realize that expectations arent necessarily wrong but they have the potential to set us up for disappointment, frustration, and even failure. So be careful what you assume, what you promise, and what you believe. Put your faith in the One who might let you sink, but who will never let you drown.

Moving to the next fruit. KL.

Hit on 19, Trust Me

As I travel along my Continuum, there's a new man being developed. One who no longer settles for mediocrity, colorless, uninspired, etc. One who doesn't stick with something just because it's familiar. One who hits on 19 because he knows blackjack is on its way, even if it's not tonight, it's coming. One who sees the potential, the drive, the light at the end of the tunnel and joy of being an adventurer. One who listens more often than he speaks and one who isn't afraid to admit when he's wrong. One who always puts relationships above everything. One who is more concerned about diamonds on the inside than on the outside. And one who chooses to use the oven rather than the microwave, if it takes longer it will taste much, much better.

I just hit on 19 and got the deuce. KL.

Intellect - Imagination

"It is the marriage of the soul with nature that makes the intellect fruitful, and gives birth to imagination."
-Henry David Thoreau