Hear Mee See

As we close our eyes and whisper our prayers into the dark, do we hear a voice speaking back to us in the cold air of the night?

Uh...I don't hear one. Is God listening? Where are you, Lord?

As I look at my photos scotch-taped to my dorm wall, I see one. The most dominant voice of God, heard through the people I love. See a Voice--ironic, huh? But feel me. God's voice in the form of a mother who taught me patience, generosity and unselfishness in its purest. God's voice in a father who taught me the ethics of hard work and mental strength in its finest. God's voice in a sister, forever encouraging me and challenging me to be the best person I can be. God's voice in best friends and best cousins, seeing eternity in the souls we've become completely comfortable with; to just be who we are. It is in these relationships I hear God the loudest. Tangible is His voice  in the form of people we love and who loves us. And then I hear Him in the music, the God-inspired love songs and life-songs of Matisyahu, Lauryn Hill and

 Lupe Fiasco. Sense are intertwined when hearing becomes seeing. Because I hear His voice as I see Him in the photography of art & people in the blogs that I read late at night when my thoughts run restless. And in the day when I meditate on His Word, I truly do hear-see God in the details of the trees, with the branches and leaves that blow in the wind. I wave back to God and say Good Morning. I am saved again from my "god-less" moments I do get, realizing that I'm never far from God than I thought.

My teddy bear, Charlie Cesar

CHOICE

Question: Are feelings choices?

Don't we choose what makes us happy? Decide what makes us smile, or what makes us more than content?

Doesn't that also mean we choose when we are sad? Decide the disappointments that make our heart ache? 

do not conform to the ways of this world, but be transformed into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will understand and know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. romans 12:2

To conform to the ways of this worldly thinking is ever so easy. Simple. It's not hard to feel heated after a bad day at work. It's effortless to feel depressed after a break-up. We can't deny our initial feelings right? However we can think differently and feel better. From much heartache, I assure you that i've learned what's like to be the EXACT OPPOSITE: incredibly loved. The passage to me is ambiguous but to aid my theory, i believe that we need to fight the easy way of feeling and thinking. (FIGHT THE POWER, MAN!) Thinking higher may show what i mean, that without knowing sorrow there'd be no happiness, without being angry we couldn't be pleased. For instance, when someone pisses you off at work, you could be mad and curse the moron under your breath OR you can choose to not let him/her ruin YOUR day, be cheery regardless of some grouch. When someone breaks your heart or disappoints you, you can naturally choose to be sad, depressed and lonely...OR you can choose to be grateful, thankful that God gave you a wonderful experience with that special person even for a short time. It's the transforming of the mind that makes this possible; it's knowing God's love that gives us strength to believe so. I know it's hard, but this is what makes it good, makes you feel good, pleasing and that's what makes God perfect.

photo taken by simon turner

gerbera diasies-my favorite :)

Tired Much? (An old journal entry I found...)

in all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for people. collossians 3:23

people who work hard sleep well... ecclesiastes 5:12

there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. ecclesiastes 3:22

whatever you do, do well. ecclesiastes 3:22

pay close attention to what you hear. the closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given--the measure you give will be the measure you get back. mark 4:24

TIRED MUCH? Yes, I am. Weak. Inadequate. I do get discouraged...a lot. And so I return to the Word to find strength that i never knew i had. And this I do often because I have to.

So these are words that rejuvenate me when I lose sight of all my hard work, especially at school. I no longer work hard to please anyone (parents, teachers, managers). No. I work hard to please God. Because who are we to live and give life half of what we're capable of? Give your mind to everything you do-God instructs us, so that our 

rewards/blessings we receive from these work would be twice as deserving.

Even if it's as small as silly homework, this brings good practice t

o exercise our will-power and build our character. Perhaps if we take every small ta

sk to heart, the big ones will never be as overwhelming as we think they are. Knowing we can take on eensy ones can give us confidence to take on anything else. Nothing good or honorable comes without the price of hard work. 

Although I wrote this long ago, I decided to post it to keep me focus. It's only the second week of school and I'm not tired...YET. But I know this feeling will visit me again, Discouragement. But i take it as a season only so that encouragement and inspiration may reap in abundance in due time.

Forrest Gump is MY FAVORITE so I have a picture of it. 

"And that's all i have to say about that."

Synonymous

Art to me is everything, and I do mean everything. Now I know we're all too familiar with the VISUAL arts: the drawing, painting, photography, graphic design and such; and the PERFORMING arts: the dancing, singing, composing and rapping much...but what about the LIVING, the BREATHING, the THINKING and the BELIEVING arts? 'Artistic' people are Passionate people, are they not? So what if we were passionate about...everything?

The world would be a different place my dear, but let us take up our own, innate medium and change the world and how we see it.

I'm starting this blog in hopes that my mind ceases the restlessness when I think about how great art is to me (seriously, i can't sleep at night from these crazy epiphanies!). In all honesty, the more I learn about art, the more I believe in a greater power. God is who I see when passion reigns from any kind of art. It is the heart and soul poured into life itself. Wasn't it called the 'Passion' of Christ when Jesus gave his everything on the cross so that one day we may be with God for eternity? If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23) My cross is Art. To deny myself, I must be selfless. 

This art is not my own. 

Therefore, Not Mee.

P.S. My apologies if the thinking is a little stretch, but on the for real, all this nonsense- is just MY common sense. And I'm not trying to go evangelical on anyone, this is just mee contemplating bout it.

New Doo

Hello!! Just trying this out, wanted to put my mind on something else this summa other than the working thing. So I'll just play around at first, put on a trim here, and some style there and see where this will go...