Aug 29, 2019 | Be you, Becoming, Community, Grow |
If you look at my calendar
you would think it is a mess.
The same could be said for my car,
the basement, my desktop, and the laundry room.
My hope is that upon closer inspection,
you might be able to look past
the insanity, the yogurt splashes,
the boxes, the piles of shoes –
and see who I am.
The messes are messes, yes,
but there’s likely a reason they are there
and they don’t define who I am.
This is also true for my personality flaws –
and yours –
they are there for a reason,
but they don’t define
who we are.
I invite you to look past my flaws –
just as you would want me to
look past yours.
I also wish for you to help
me with my messes –
just because stubbornness
and a yogurt-splashed car
are a part of my life
doesn’t mean
I can’t make changes.
We are not forced to
stay in a mold
we can change,
morph,
grow
into people who pursue their best –
not just for their own sakes
but for the world around us.
Let’s give each other permission –
to be who we are,
right where we are…
but let’s also give permission
for others to speak
into the spaces where we
need to grow.
#PermissionGranted
Aug 7, 2019 | Community, Do The Hard Thing, Lead, Speak up |
The trees, the dolphins, and
the mountains call to me
and demand to be seen.
I can’t look away.
The bird’s song,
the breeze, tickling the trees,
the way a flower grows
from a teeny seed.
I can’t look away.
I see their creator in them.
His design, his joy,
his creativity is in the magenta flower,
the succulents, the manatee,
the neon tree frog, and the terrapins.
They sing a song over me and
I am compelled to sing with them.
I want to join the chorus.
What are the notes?
I don’t know their song.
What are the words?
How do I join them?
Humanity has a song, too.
I can hear it
when I listen.
The song is constant –
everyone taking a breath
at a different time.
Some scream to be heard.
Some sing into a void
where no one listens.
Some are making their
own stages.
It’s hard to listen to the song because there’s
so much to grieve,
so much hurt
and righteous anger
in the song.
So much so that sometimes I try to silence it.
Headphones on.
Head down.
Just make sure
all is well in my house –
that everyone under my roof
can sing.
But.
My song is the song of humanity.
My voice is meant to be
heard and it is meant to
amplify the song that
others are singing.
I can’t not listen to their song
and there’s no other song
for me to join in on.
I can’t look away.
They demand to be seen.
I can’t look away.
I see their creator in them.
His design, his joy,
his creativity is all
over us all.
My voice must add to
their song of long-awaited,
the-time-is-now
justice.
Otherwise,
I
am
just
noise .
#PermissionGranted
Jul 24, 2019 | Community, Encouragement |
I was recently the recipient
of community in action.
I had questions about
trying something new
and after a few phone calls,
too many not-quite-right
Youtube videos and
articles I found
the right person.
She patiently listened to my questions,
filled in my gaps,
and then went the extra mile
to help me get over the
obstacle that was before me.
I had never met this person
before but that didn’t matter
to her because she is
committed to community.
How do I know this?
Well, it turns out she was
the owner of the establishment
and their website says
they are ‘committed to
community before anything else’.
She helped me before
she knew I had a different
skin color than she did,
she didn’t ask my
religious affiliation,
and she didn’t ask my
stances on political issues –
she just knew she had
the answer –
she knew she was the
right person to help me.
This was not a life-changing
moment for me –
meaning her assistance
was not helping me get access
to safety or food,
but it did help me
make progress on
a goal that I was thinking
I was going to have to
let go of.
Pursuing community –
just for the sake of community
can have a huge impact
in someone’s life.
It’s likely happened for
you in either big or small ways…
the right person
stepped up for you.
Being the right person
and showing up
can save lives
and it allows us to be
agents of God’s kingdom.
Being the right person
doesn’t necessarily mean
you possess all the right answers,
have the most money,
or are the most eloquent.
It simply means you see a need
and you meet it.
#PermissionGranted
Jul 17, 2019 | Community, Lead, Speak up |
A friend shared that
there are voices in her life
that are discouraging.
She told me that my voice is
an encouragement to her.
I kind of jokingly said,
“I will keep being loud!”
And she replied,
“Yes. Be loud.”
Who needs you to
Be
Loud?
Someone does.
Or a group of people do.
And you know what?
They may not be able to
say to you –
“Yes. Be loud.”
They may not know your name
or where you live.
Your significant other may
not be able to be vulnerable
enough to say what they need
and yet the truth remains –
your voice is needed.
We shouldn’t need a request
in order to speak
into spaces that
need our voice.
We need to be loud
in order to be heard
over the deafening
noise of
discouragement
dysfunction,
racism,
sexism.
The world needs your voice
and my voice.
We’re gonna have to shout.
There are those who routinely
try to silence other voices –
even elected ones –
and say that they have no place
and should have no voice.
We must be louder.
There are voices telling your
friends that they are
insignificant and dispensable.
You must be loud.
Our kids are blasted
with noise –
we must be louder
than the chaos.
Use your voice.
speak up.
Be loud.
Someone needs to
hear from you.
#PermissionGranted
May 2, 2019 | Becoming, Community, Do The Hard Thing |
Here’s what we forget –
what I forget –
sometimes Permission Granted
is a turning from
versus a turning towards.
Sometimes it means
we have to own something,
and dig in and grow.
Sometimes Permission Granted is
turning away from
what you’ve always
believed
and turning towards
what’s always actually been true.
Sometimes it’s admitting
you
are
wrong.
Often, Permission Granted
isn’t a warm fuzzy feeling.
I know.
It is my favorite thing, too.
Permission Granted can
take us to hard places,
challenging moments and
often requires an honest
evaluation of who we are
in comparison to
who we are made to be.
This is the genesis of growth.
And it’s not always fun.
However, it is always necessary
if we want to be all
that we are made to be.
Why does this matter?
Our world depends on it.
The world you and I
live in is created
by who we are –
by what we do.
Don’t run from
Permission Granted.
Don’t avoid hard, challenging
issues or conversations
because they aren’t
warm and fuzzy.
How do you tell your kids,
the child down the street
who is hungry every day,
or the sweet baby at church with
mocha-colored skin
that you are
unable to effect change
because there aren’t warm fuzzies
each step of the way?
We can do hard things.
#PermissionGranted
What do you need to turn from, friend?
What do you need to learn more about so that you can know what is actually true?
Apr 3, 2019 | Be you, Community, confidently |
I overheard your comments to your friend
about the woman across the room.
She, the woman you are
judging,
critiquing,
debasing,
wasn’t doing anything wrong.
She said nothing wrong.
She is just living her life,
taking up her space
and your insecurity got in the way.
Oh, pardon me,
I don’t mean to offend.
Well, actually, I’m okay if I do.
Everyone has permission
to take up their space
and just because you
aren’t thrilled with her choices,
her outfit,
her boisterous personality
doesn’t mean that you can
take space from her.
Please refrain from expressing
your insecurity this way.
PermissionGranted is for everyone.
Please recognize that if
someone rubs you the wrong way,
has a personality that you
struggle to appreciate,
wears clothing that you would
not or has the
audacity to choose
to pursue her
passion,
possibilities,
and purpose…
she is simply giving herself
permission to do so,
just as you are,
in your own way,
pursing PermissionGranted.
There’s space for all of us.
All of our creativity,
ambitions,
styles,
shapes,
languages,
personalities,
cultures.
There’s enough room for us all.
So each of us have
a choice to make:
take up our space –
without apology, or
spend energy making
ourselves small by
attempting to infringe
on another’s space.
It is kind of a
easy choice,
don’t you think?