A Christmas, yet non-Christmas Song

Holy, holy, holy!
Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee
There is a sign at the sight of thee
Merciful and mighty
God in three Persons, God in three Persons
Blessed Trinity

Holy, holy, holy!
Though the darkness hide thee
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see
Only Thou art holy
There is none beside thee
Perfect in power, perfect in power
In love, and purity

Holy, holy, holy!
Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy Name, in Earth, and sky, and sea
There is a sign at the sight of thee
There is none beside thee
God in three Persons
Blessed Trinity




May my heart and my lips sing as one.

A Political Blog?

I shy away from politics, a lot. I don't like dealing with unclear answers, biased opinions, and unrealistic ideals. And that goes for both major parties (even my own). However, since the beginning of this past election I've been making a careful effort to try to develop my own genuine opinions on today's politics. I don't want my beliefs to be based on my friends', school's, church's, or even my parent's beliefs. I want to own them myself. I still have a long way to go, but I feel like I'm starting to form some opinions that are genuinely mine. So, here it is: political blog #1. It's not epic, and it's not intense. But it's an opinion that I can feel confident in holding.

I was reading an article on the BBC about Western aid in Africa. What caught my attention was that it challenged Western aid and looked at it from a different perspective. You can read the article here. Sometimes I feel that people believe that hopping on these government aid programs for social justice is the best decision. I'm not saying at all that giving aid to people in need is wrong, but I don't believe that demanding the government to do something is always the best answer.

There's still a lot of reform that needs to happen in Africa, and I honestly believe that's going to happen with the help of people transforming it from the inside out. Corruption can't be fixed by government aid, but it can be changed by people. I do think government aid can help, but individual people need to be at the forefront.

I'll be the first to say that I'm still trying to figure out how I can do my part. Christ called us to be there for those who are in need. It's a calling that shouldn't be taken lightly, and it's the most genuine form of social justice this world will ever see.

A Song of Redemption

One of the most beautiful things about the Internet is to be able to connect with people you would have otherwise never met. In the past year I've stumbled upon a few movements that have really moved me. Some have been big and others have been very small and personal. One movement I've been wanting to share has been very close to my heart. It goes by the name To Write Love On Her Arms. TWLOHA was born out of a response to a call for help, which turned into a short story, which turned into a myspace, which turned into a community of people from all walks of life; and the most beautiful part of this story is that it all goes back to one very real idea: hope.

The heart of TWLOHA has always been offering hope to people who've abused themselves by connecting them with help. Since it began two years ago, this movement has reached far beyond the subject of self abuse and has turned into conversations about pain, how everyone can relate to it, the questions people have while going through it, and the hope of getting past it.

To me, I see redemption in motion. Salvation in action. The whole reason why Jesus came to show us how to live. So people could do things like this, offering hope and changing lives. It's truly a beautiful things to see happening in the midst of hopelessness. Every person knows at one time or another what it feels like to lose hope and to feel pain. And I've seen through people's compassion the hopeful and healing power of Christ whether it is by conventional means or not. I can personally say that God has used TWLOHA to give me hope at times when I felt pretty hopeless. It is our calling as God's children to bring hope to those who hopeless and healing to those who are hurting. TWLOHA is just one of the many beautiful expressions of the kind of hope we have in Christ. May the song of this great Redemption be forever sung...

3 Things

That have been said about me in the past week*:

1. My curly head of hair was automatically referred to as a fro.

2. My singing voice is not dissimilar to that of Chris Tomlin's.

3. I look more black than mexican.


what do you say about me?



*I approve each observation as positive/amusing. :)

On Your Mark, Get Set...

GO!!! It seems like JoJo's getting off to a great start this year as he embarks down the 180 day track known as the middle year of college. If you look at that instant replay, you can see that his footing seemed to be in a good place right as he left the starting line. He's now a few hundred yards down the track and still seems to be keeping a steady pace. I really think he has a chance at winning this thing if he can just keep his eyes on the finish. We've seen in previous races how some great athletes slipped up by getting too caught up in the crowd's excitement and missed qualifying for the next round by a fraction of a second. That's right, and if you recall from last year, JoJo almost missed qualifying for the next round due to fatigue and some blurry vision. But as you can see, it seems that he's getting off to a much better start this time around. If he can push through to the finish for the the next two races, I really think he has a chance at winning the gold. The only thing he needs to remember is to pace himself and save the sprint for those last few yards. We'll have live coverage as this race progresses. And be sure to check in later for boxing as we watch JoJo and some of our other top athletes fight the good fight.

Stay tuned.

Dear Blog

I'm sorry I've been neglecting you. School's begun and is selfishly taking up my time. And my lap top is failing me with its unwelcoming illnesses. But I will make this right. And for the time being, I will try to make a better effort to visit you more often; for surely there will be many tales to tell as this year progresses.


Sincerely,
JoJo

One Reason Why the Internet Is Sometimes Awesome

It's simple. Find a cause. Pick a sponsor. Create a spiffy-looking widget. Put this spiffy-looking widget amongst your many social networking circles. Earn some money to help your cause. Make a difference. Give it a try!*

*(This is a far cry from those e-mails you used to get about AOL donating three cents to an untracable dying baby.)