The Knowledge Chronicles

“…I Come that you might have LIFE and LIFE more abundantly…” - John 10:10

Man, the many roads I have traveled in my life in these 20-something years I have been alive. Life ain’t been no crystal stair, but God has been good to me and the downs? Well, they have been few…but I’ve been going throughout my life, searching at each intersection for my destiny…my life.

Truthfully, many of the roads I have traveled have led to nothing but disappointments; dead ends, most of which I traveled at my own will. There have been many decisions up to this point that have been made in my life without the Source of Life…I know, pretty stupid to say no to what I’m spending time supposedly seeking after, huh? Yeeeah.

Such is life…

I cannot begin to lay out all of the wrongdoing and stinking thinking that’s been going on while on this search for Life, for if I do, I’m pretty sure that I won’t be viewed the same as I am now FROM now on…so, I’ll just leave that between my Maker and I. But, what I will divulge is that I’ve known the road I needed to travel down long before I went through the trials and setbacks that I have; and to be quite honest, I really don’t have an excuse for not traveling it besides the fact that I (or my FLESH) really didn’t want to.

And, because of that, my life is a slowly descending spiral, cluttered, and unorganized…and unnecessarily complicated. Real stupid of me not to just give in and over to God and indulge in the simplicity of life through investing my faith, hope, and trust in Him…what is with men and this dependency thing? I never really understood the reason why I felt as though I needed to work toward making things happen in my life instead of giving the problems over to God…pride, you say? Eh. Maybe so…matter of fact, I know that’s what it is….

There’s this phrase that has been ringing in my spirit for the LONGEST: “Going against the grain”…deep down inside, I know that God gave me the key for unlocking my destiny and the life inside it that He has for me in that very phrase.

Going against the urges of this filthy body, the thoughts of lust and desire…the WANT to do things my way, instead of His way…Man, have I had life skewed! Once I release or relinquish my way of thinking and doing things and convert over to the will of God for my life, the WANTS and desires that I was busy seeking after will be released…(in case you’re wondering, YES, I do feel stupid - such is life).

So I believe that I’m positioned correctly now, and I’ll be HAMMED if I allow myself and/or the enemy to sway my attention…I’m tapped into what God has in store for me…

Honesty, Integrity, Faithfulness, Humbleness…the whole 9..I’m in…real talk. I know this race won’t be easy (for ME anyway) but once I give it over to God, it will…my past is in the past…I just left the gas station of revelation…got in my vehicle of faith…don’t have a clue where I’m going…or HOW I’m gonna operate this vehicle to reach my journey, but God does; it’s His job anyway…I’m just gonna relax in Him and enjoy the scenery…

I’m on the ROAD to LIFE….Lord, reveal and make alive my destiny, YOUR perfect will in me!

So, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything on this here old blog of mine…as I scroll back thru the 21 posts that I have on here, I can’t help but think to myself, “man, I had a lot to say…” Believe it or not, with all that has been going on in my life here lately, it has been a difficult thing to get back to this point; my time was consumed by so many nouns and pronouns - priorities tore up from the floor up! 

Needless to say, I’m back though, with minimal self-pushing (LOL). I’ve actually missed blogging as it served as a way to keep myself busy so I stay out of trouble! But ANYWAY, I’ve been working for the Dept. of Homeland Security now for about two months, thanking God for a JOB - FINALLY…looking forward to a rewarding career with the US Government. At this time, I’m currently sitting in the middle of my bed with a lot on my mind; so much to think about, so much to do…it will be a miracle when I can just sit down with God and just schedule and map all this stuff out.

I got a whole five months to myself! Whatever shall I do? I got a gym membership, so I need to get on that…I have a job now so I can work on my metrosexuality…(LOL). I figured I’d just take this time to work on me, my relationship with God, and my financial, spiritual, emotional stability…shoot, I plan to be married one day soon - how and I going to support another life and eventually multiple other ones if I’m not grounded and prepared myself? Oh what a disaster that will be…so, I’m spilling my head because my thoughts have to come out in some way, shape, form, and/or fashion…I need to get my house in order…I was listening to Jonathan McReynolds’ “No Gray” and I heard this one line clear as day: “be weak and do wrong or be strong and do right”…and it made me think: doing the right thing and living a clean life is REALLY a matter of life and death and it is of utmost importance…I GOTTA GET IT TOGETHER! And I plan to…I am strong, I am invincible. I am a Child of God…with my Philippians 4:13 swag…

I think it’s about time that I re-establish some things in my life…re-erect some altars in my life…prayer life, integrity, good-will, obedience, even in the tightest places…Lord be with me…because I know that then and only then will my affairs come into divine order according to the plan of God.

Prayer, worship, work, exercise, healthy living….In Jesus’ Name, It is So! 

Done spilling my brain for the time being! Until next time,

Peace. Love. & #HairGrease!

Further up the road Far at a distance I can see the Light Shining in the night….

As I stand at the seashore gazing at the mass of calmed water before me, I take a slight gaze back at the darkness and tumultuous past from which I came. And I remembered….I remembered all of the tears I croed, all of the pain I felt, the desperation to do right, to advance toward my goal. I look back at that journey and say that I will trade nothing for it. For across the body of water shines a distant light, oh God bless it’s shimmer! I’ve waited so long to see it, my beacon of hope has come to rescue me from my restless soul. The road is halfway trodden, I’ve taken each step with my hand in God’s with the constant belief and knowing that one day, deliverance will come…as I stand at the shore of my breakthrough, staring at the light ahead, I must continue to persevere, continue to press forward toward that prize until I can behold its beauty face to face, and come into the fullness of who I am to be….I’m almost there…

Reinvention.

Now, this is a word that 99.999999% of all people use in reference to themselves at the close of every year, and at the beginning of a new one. It’s almost like people search for a “defining theme” to frame their life after for the next 365 days, only to switch things up again. Some add to this reinvention, enhancing it, and some subtract from it, most of the time, making dramatic decisions, and causing drastic changes. Sounds pretty unstable, doesn’t it? Yeah. I know.

Here’s my ideology…

Reinvention, to me, is only successful, when you allow God to reveal yourself to you (if that makes any sense). How do you know what to re-invent if you don’t even know what could stand reinvention? Believe me: I know what I’m talking about. Case in point: I’ve tried to grow my hair several times in my teenage lifetime; when I was younger, I was not afforded the freedom of grooming myself, I got a bald fade every two weeks until I was about 15 years old. From then on, I started to get even fades, then at age 16, I grew my first afro. I wore that for a few months until I got tired of picking it out and cut it down again. At age 17, I grew my hair again and wore it in braids - I thought I was doin’ it and doin’ it well! From there, I decided again to cut it down to a fro and twisted it (my first attempt at dreadlocs). This went well, as I grew my hair and it began to lock…I wore that style for several months before I cut my hair once again because I couldn’t afford the maintenance.

To make a long story short, I went on to try the locs thing another time, and ended up cutting it. It was during this period in my life that God was pointing out to me the inconsistency in my life. Not only did I notice this with my hair situation, but I began to become privy to the other areas in my life where there was inconsistency; in my academics, my social life, my physical health, and most importantly, my relationship with God. There seriously needed to be a change. With this in mind, I sat down and had a long talk with God and we sorted out every inconsistent fiber of my being and the measures that were needed to be taken to improve life for me.

So, right now today, I’m just shy of my 21st birthday, and I finally got it. Update: I’ve grown my hair out again, twisted it, and am looking forward to the transformation to natural loc’ing. This decision was not made out of boredom, but this time, it was made with God’s agenda for my life in mind. God planned for me a unique and specific destiny, therefore, I must dress, talk, and act the part. One of the lessons in consistency that God is teaching me is with my hair: I started growing it, therefore, it is my responsibility to see the locs on to completion. This builds my character, and integrity levels, making me true to God, which makes me true to myself, and then, finally, true to others.

Secondly, I am learning to lay aside the stronghold of procrastination and move forward on assignments, obligations, etc. that I may have. This will make my life a lot easier and efficient. Doing homework when I said I would do it and COMPLETING it, reading as requested, along with some other points that I will not discuss in this blog, but you get the point, right?

This is my process of reinvention, and it is rejuvenating, it’s motivating, and it’s REALLY exciting. We all need a plan of reinvention, but it takes communication with God, allowing Him to mirror to you your faults and imperfections and allowing Him to draft out step by step instructions and goals to get you moving on the road to your reinvention and destiny…

So, with that said, reinvention is eliminating YOUR personal plan for your life, and shifting you over to the plan of God for your life - a Kingdom Mindset (blog coming soon!)

Webster defines discipline as training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character; control gained by enforcing obedience or order. Being disciplined or living a life of discipline is an imperative aspect of an individual’s life, especially within the life of a Christian man or woman. Living life from second to second, minute to minute, hour to hour, and day to day - the moral, correct way - requires a great deal of discipline. It takes discipline to make wise choices, to forsake self-centeredness and selfishness, and to operate for the “greater good”. Proverbs 12:1 says that whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. It is, therefore, wise to chase after a disciplined nature because it develops strong character.

The word according to Hebrews 12:8 says that the one that rejects discipline is an illegitimate child [of God] and is not a true son. This illustrates the fact that discipline sets the stage for the influence and move of God in one’s life. A disciplined life is one surrendered to God.

Structure is defined as something arranged in a definite pattern of organization. Structure feeds from discipline. Structure comes as a result of discipline. Structure is the “decently and in order” that the word according to 1 Corinthians 14:40 speaks about. Structure’s child is “order”. To be successful in this walk, we must adopt the ways of God. Structure is equally important for an individual’s daily walk of life because it allows for smooth transitions in and throughout life. Structure trumps discord, it cancels out procrastination, and it prevents scandal. A life of discipline and structure is the best way to live.