I bid you adieu.

King - Heavy is the head that wears the crown

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. An ancient proverb that tells us peons that it ain't no picnic being the head honcho. It invokes images of difficult decisions that will cost much, and the benefit of said decision must outweigh the cost to the kingdom. I usually envision a person agonizing over decisions like going to war, or taxation (with or without representation), laws that will affect the daily life of denizens and citizens, or which royal family to betroth a child. Things that are weighty, things that matter. But, over the course of history, many of these "hard" decisions barely lasted to the end of a reign. Sometimes, they lasted a while, but anyone remember (other than history PhD's) some of King Alfrech's decisions? How about King Henry I? How about James K. Polk? How about William Taft? Anybody? I didn't think so. Do these decisions really matter then? Did they last? Did all that agonizing merit the durability or lasting of that decision? I wonder if there was a ruler who made a decision that lasted........

Imagine for a moment this King. His crown will be one of thorns. He is in a garden, agonizing over a decision that will affect the life of every single person in history. He knows that it will be a costly one, that cost being His own life. He will also ask those who He chooses to follow Him to give of themselves, many their own lives as well, which they will perceive as a cost, but it is really a gain. He knows that there will be first lashes (with a cruel instrument, just google cat 'o nine tails), and then later backlashes and more backlashes (read schisms, Arianism, Calvinism, atheism, Islam, Judaism, Darwinism, spiritualism, communism, socialism, modernism and postmodernism, and a slew of other -isms). He knows there will be agony, because the device used to crucify is so painful a word had to be invented to explain the pain, excruciate (Latin for from or out of the cross). He also knows the agony won't end there, because time after time, He will be rejected, even by those who are closest to him, and claim to be His followers. He knows that most frightening of all, for a span of time, He will be separated from part of His essence, His Father God, and will experience the full anger, rage, and castigation that every human deserves, yet He did not. The event facing Him is terrible, the decision so difficult that His sweat becomes as blood (a real condition, just ask an MD). He is there in this garden, and says quietly, "Father, if it be Your will, let this cup pass from me, but not my will, but YOUR WILL be done."

Later, he hangs from a cross. Beaten, broken, spat upon, denied, and dying. He looks up, and with more compassion and love than we can understand, says, "It Is Finished!" and dies. Three days later, he emerges victorious. An empty grave His evidence, and His followers take His testimony to Jerusalem, Judea, and towards the ends of the earth. Centuries later, we still worship Him, praise Him, and are taking His Word to the ends of the block, the city, the nation, and the earth.

I say beautiful, not heavy, is the head that wears that crown.

http://www.blogger.com/www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzqTFNfeDnE

Now, that's my King.

King: An uncomfortable state

In the popular children's book, Where the Wild Things Are, Max is sent to his room without supper as he is behaving mischievously. There, he imagines a world where he stares the wild things down and becomes King of all wild things. This is only a fleeting moment, as he begins to yearn for a warm meal and the comfort of home. 

I identify with this story, as sometimes I can feel like I am a King at work, or playing sports, or hanging out with friends, but it only lasts so long. Home is comfortable, inviting, and offers unconditional love. As a King you are constantly judged and you are only as good as your last action, speech, work, etc...At home you are free to show your imperfections around the ones you love. So, is it good to be King? Or do all of us yearn to be home for a warm supper?

Where the Wild Things Are soon to be adapted into a movie by Spike Jonze. 

King:a few Kings you should know

Martin Luther King Jr.-check earlier post
Rodney King-Black man beaten by LAPD and one of the sparks of the Race Riots in Los Angeles in 1992
Stephen King-Author of suspense and thriller books that end up as movies
Sacramento Kings-a group of kings that play basketball in California
King James-NBA phenom or commissioner of an English translation of the Bible
Kaki King-crazy good guitar player lady
B.B. King-crazy good guitar player dude with diabetes
Larry King-Check CNN any time you want an look for suspenders
King College-not were you learn to be Kingly, but a 4 year college in Bristol TN or London England or any of the other schools fighting over the name
King Cake-a desert associated with Marti Gras in which a figurine of a baby is placed
"The" King-Creepy masked man who promotes Burger King products
"The King"-Elvis Presley
King-a town in Ontario
Carol King-musician and member of Songwriting and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
King Tut-Egyptian Pharaoh who's tomb was discovered in the Vally of the Kings in 1922
King Crimson-English progressive rock band from the 1970's
Peter King-Republican Rep. from New York
King Koopa-arch nemesis of the Mario Brothers
Smoothie King-pervayer of yogurt based/over priced sweet mush in a cup
LA Kings-Hockey players from other country's that play professionally in Southern California
Kottonmouth Kings-Hip-Hop act, into Cannabis but would probably spell it with a K
Latin Kings-Street gang or Swedish hip-hop group or comedy tour
King Edward-a line of Kings of England or a tobacconist
King Cobra-venomous snake from India
King Arthur-fictional King of England with a round table and sweet sword
King Cab-the 4 door cab of a Nissan Truck
California King-a bed for people who don't fit on a regular King size bed
Joe King-guitarist of the Fray and man with an unfortunate name
King Ranch-located near Kingsville Texas and used for hunting, ranching, and farming
Storm King-an Imperial Stout from Victory Brewing

King: power to move and inspire

We don't have Kings anymore. It's good to be king, they say - but what does that mean? Being on top? Untouchable? In many ways I think our unfamiliarity with a King and cultural conditioning to find the idea of unequivocal power repulsive creates a hindrance for our ability to conceive of an all-powerful, almighty, sovereign God. We insert democratic ideals into our God-Man relationship. But that's a whole series of ideas...




MLK impresses me as a leader. He's an archetype of a unique class of leaders. They led well. Many have led well. MLK led against the odds. Many have. MLK led a mass of people over which he had no actual authority/power. Again, not unique. MLK led with conviction. Less common, but not unique. MLK pushed a proverbial flywheel towards a quantum idea without compromising values or beliefs. Means never justified themselves by the end goal. That is rare.



If physical death is the price that I must pay to free my white brothers and sisters from a permanent death of the spirit, then nothing can be more redemptive.

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

A man can't ride your back unless it's bent.

A man who won't die for something is not fit to live.

A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan. (what's the church version of this statement?)

We will speed the day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing... Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, I'm free at last.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.

Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

The ultimate test of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and moments of convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenge and moments of controversy.

King: Man In The Mirror

the following video was found while doing a spontaneous youtube search after seeing this song performed (rather poorly in my very untalented opinion) on american idol. i think it takes a lot to carry such a powerful song, by the KING of pop.

"if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change"...



some of us are still looking for our niche, our way to make the permanent change in this world. so often we see something (such as a youtube video) and get inspired...but is that real, lasting inspiration, is it holy discontent, or is it just a temporary awe of images? "no message could have been any clearer"... i pray that clarity will show it's face soon.

King: "Aish Tamid"

The place lays phased like a warrior slayed
Engraved into the space with his sword still raised
Layers of charcoal sprayed through hallways
Praise relays off the walls echoing all ways

Dirt covered earth lays beneath my rib cage
Giving birth to overgrowth invading on to path ways
Burnt out trees cover streets where children once played
Sown seeds decay through sacred stepping stones in disarray
Where the alter used to be placed inter-changed for bloodstains
Sunrays illuminate the smoke filled haze
Trace of incense the scents of sacrifice stayed

Aish tamid eternally
Fire burns continuously
Wondering where you been
Won't you come to me?

Flash back patches of grass growing wild in fact
Cracked walls burnt black like a kingdom sacked
Memories like artifacts attacked yet still intact
Melodies wrapped in glass and shattering with the impact

Air intermingling ringing with the singing
of songs once sung, flung into the rafters
Catastrophe struck the sound stuck
Disaster plastered
The aftermath a blasted building once standing, like a starved man fasting
the skies expanding clouds passing, dust particles dancing,
in broken bars of light, streaming from a shaft, slashed into the ceiling,
Sshhhh, you could feel the ground breathing.

Aish tamid eternally
Fire burns continuously
Wondering where you been
Won't you come to me?

Daughter of Zion is lying crying in the mist
Morning light slips in, shifting through the darkness
Like a morning wife reminisce having visions of her long gone prince
Memories drip rain drops tip towing emptiness
Intermixed with tears like fears left unfixed
Walls worn thin frozen fortress like dawn waiting for the sunrise of a day that got skipped
Like a life gone wrong wandering wilderness
Lovesick stripped abyss missing once luscious

Aish tamid eternally
Fire burns continuously
Wondering where you been
Won't you come to me?

Ill Paint the scene so you could see, the city's picking up speed
I’m on a bench 14th street, taxi's streaming yellow streaks
Spears piercing through my ears, you could hear the traffic speak
Jack hammers drill smackling through the crackling concrete
Buildings filled with windowsills spilled tangled telephone wires
Signs sparking neon lights flash like wild fire
My insides rise I start to feel paralyzed
Let out a sigh-a melody blew by- like an ancient war cry
the way the sunlight hit the leaves it really caught my eye,
glistening' listening' to the breeze dancing' through the leaves on the trees,
freeze, the city move's in slow motion like a dream

I'm left empty like the temple turned into a fox den
Bus fumes dripping spitting into city summer sun
Sifting through the ash dimly lit vision listening
To the hiss lifting off a nighttime ocean
Shim, shim, shimmering singeing hair on my skin
whispering where ya been

From amidst the darkness set sail with the softness
Breeze traveling across the seas arisen from within Mt. Zion
Wind coming in picking up momentum
Cutting crisply through the thickness riding on a rhythm
A rollercoaster sizzling, twisting down the mountain
ripping rocket ship exploding like a fountain
overflowing spilling through the courtyard of Jerusalem It all begun
I see busting through the rubble bubbling drying up the puddles precision
Uncovering debris lifting up the fallen arisen within
to reach the yiddin even in Manhattan
exposed menorah glowing in the shadows of destruction
trailblazing through affliction
brushing off the branches golden
standing strong flames
dancing like a lion roaring rising out of nothing

"Aish Tamid" by Matisyahu

Energy: Of the five hour variety

I like energy drinks. At a time in my life when sleep is in short supply, energy drinks have filled much of the void. I realize that I might perish due to guarana or l-tuarine poisoning when I'm 65, but I'll roll the dice for now.

"180", "5 Hour Energy", and the Starbucks fallback "Quad Grande Dry Cappuccino" are personal favorites. What about you? Got a secret energy concoction to share? I'm always looking for a good fix...

Energy: A Paradox

(I am posting this on behalf of Kevin...)

Having kids is tiresome. As a young dad, I miss sleeping in on saturdays, I miss watching football, golf, basketball in a half comatose state for hours on the couch, I don't enjoy having my body tense up with every baby's cry, I miss going to the gym on the weekend to renew my energy.

Having kids is energizing . I love seeing my son's eyes brighten when I pick him up, I love seeing him learn and notice new things everyday, I feed off his enthusiasm when he is playing, and I dare anyone to come up with a better noise than a baby's laugh.

Going to church can be a beating. Waking up early on your day off, dressing up on your day off, having to be engaging and social. Going to church also gets me focused and provides me with a new perspective on life. In that sense it is energizing.

Helping others who cannot help themselves is hard, draining, and often an inconvenience.

Helping others is rewarding, refreshing, and it is our calling - to bring energy to this world by expending a little bit of ours.

Energy: Information Society, Memories, Remixes, and Pure Energy

I suppose that most people remember some of the songs they grew up listening to as kids. Most people remember sitting in Mom’s station wagon listening to Hall & Oates or hearing Dad blast Steppenwolf in the garage. And I suppose I remember some of that.

My best memories, however, tend to live in my brother’s room. He was way ahead of his time in a lot of ways. He was way too smart for the 80s – that much is for sure.

I can remember sitting in awe as he would break out the newest record he had gotten. I would just watch him in amazement as he would then take that record and a couple of others and make homemade mixes. He would spend hours playing around and I would spend hours just admiring the guy. And he wouldn’t make “mix tapes” like most dorks made – I am talking about original remixes of existing songs, using an archaic mixer, a keyboard with drum pads, and two turntables.

I am still beyond impressed.

His greatest remix was of the Information Society hit “What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy)”. He took the song, complete with the Mr. Spock sample (“Pure-pure-pure-pure…pure energy”), and created a 20 minute remix that lives on today. It was actually something of an underground hit (well, under-underground as the people who kept asking for it were mainly friends and neighbors). Still, I would guess that there are dozens of cassette tapes of the remix floating around out there.

I love you Jacob. Pure-pure-pure-pure…Pure Energy.

Energy: In Photos

Energy: life lessons of entropy

I have long been fascinated by the concept of entropy - this rule spanning physics, sociology, chemistry and all spheres of life that nature is winding down, the batteries are draining, disorder is a default direction. Endless research has confirmed the bizarre reality of this universal deterioration at play...it baffles many world-class scientists. It's as if the entire cosmos was established in interdependent perfection and then was cracked, and it's been leaking its mojo ever since.

Eventually, this intrigue with entropy progressed from an external fascination to a more significant function of everything. You can't save time - it evaporates like the morning fog before a raging sun. You can't preserve relationships at the ideal zenith point - the illusion of stationary suspension of desirable states is consistently left in shambles. Mountain top experiences meet their descent into the next valley.

So often I have tried to approach life, marriage, finances, personal health and ultimately my interaction with God in a way that denies entropy. I attempt to "save," "get ahead," "invest," and stockpile units for either longer term or independent use. It doesn't work. Yesterday rarely comes to my defense in the Today or Tomorrow.

There's a vibe of independent resistance deep within me that finds full abandon in the dependent relationship with the Father as a perpetual mode intolerable. As a result, I am caught in this cycle of engaging God in truly invigorating ways, and then proceeding to act as though I have charged up my temporary rechargeable batteries sufficiently to run awhile apart from the Source. I am inclined to practice a life model that resembles GM's hopeful Volt - celebrating the ability to go just "a little farther" before needing to be recharged. As I trudge down the road delighting in my ability to keep moving despite an energy gauge reading "100%....90%....80%....70%..."


Entropy. It's like the whole game is rigged to fail. Sure, we can buy another round, but the house always wins. Whenever I see energy slipping away, it makes me wonder...what source is disconnected? What delusion am I operating under?

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words...

God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong...so that no man may boast before God...Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord!

My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness...Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me...