I’m sorry that I want to be fed honey but spew out venom.

I seriously have soo much to talk about and simply don't want to sit down to write it all out. But today I happened upon a really awesome youtube video and wanted to share it, plus mention the book that I finished months ago!



My friend Lauren from the Pink House got me interested in slam poetry so now I LOVE it! And this youtube video I found is spoken word by Chris Tse. He apologizes for being a christian. I think a lot of Christians (more conservative ones) may be offended by this video, but I've realized how important it is to say 'i'm sorry,' whether it's warranted or not.

I was so affected by reading Don Miller's Blue like Jazz when he set up a confessional booth at his college and when ever folks came in to sit down, instead of them confessing their sins, Don confessed the sins of the church. And then in another book I read, Lord, Save us from your followers Dan Merchant talks about setting up a confessional booth similar to Don's at a Gay and Lesbian parade in which he apologizes as a Christian for not sharing Jesus' love to that community. I think folks like these are revolutionaries. If only we'd, as Christians, be so quick to seek forgiveness, to humble ourselves instead of boasting about our righteousness.

On to my book.
Under the overpass; A journey of faith on the streets of America by Mike Yankoski 224 pages.
This book just continued my desperate desire to serve and be with the poor in our country (and maybe someday in another part of the world). By the 2nd page Mike has said something that I've thought many, many times before, "But we were created to be and to do, not merely to discuss. The hypocrisy in my life troubled me. No, I wasn't in the grip of rampant sin, but at the same time, for the life of me I couldn't find a connecting thread of radical, living obedience between what I siad about my world and how I lived in it. Sure, I claimed that Christ was my stronghold, m peace, my sustenance, my joy. But I did all that from the safety of my comfortable upper-middle-class life. I never really had to put my claims to the test." So, this guy and his friend leave for 5 months. Thestart at the rescue mission in Denver, CO then off to the streets of Washingto, DC.; Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; Phoenix, AR; and fnally San Diego, CA. It's fascinating getting to read from his Christian perspective, dealing with the church while being homeless. It's sad that rarely did the church step up in their interactions with church-folk.

Although now that I'm on the topic of homelessness, I can share my new friend. My church fixes sandwiches every Tues. morning and we head over to the park and pass them out to the folks there. I noticed this one guy probably in October, maybe even September. He was always there to get a sandwich. He'd eat there and then normally head off in the direction of downtown. I started specifically saying hello to him and that moved to a hug every time I saw him and usually a short conversation about the weather and how he was doing. I wish I could remember the time line of all this but somewhere in there I decided I'd make him a crocheted scarf. By the time Christmas came he hadn't been to the park. The first few weeks of January he wasn't there when I was and then I missed a couple Tuesdays and I heard he was there! Finally we were both there on a Tues. It was raining so he just took the package and had to leave. I had attached a short note saying Merry Christmas so the next Tues. it was raining again and he slipped me a letter and then had to leave again. That began our friendship and our letters back and forth. Now we normally see each other 2 or 3 times a week and I'm super excited because his birthday is a day before mine so I'm treating him to fried chicken (a fundraiser at my church this Sunday) to celebrate our birthdays together. Hopefully I'll take pictures and post them for y'all...or for you, Candy :)

Okay, that's all for now. Let's hope for another update soon!

Peace y'all.