Da Word... 142!

Morning All!

A new week! It's spring break for kats at MIT. They get some rest finally, heh heh. But that also means this week will proabably be a more chill week for me as well since many of the students will be gone. This weekend was da bomb. I got to train with an amazing amazing martial arts instructor named Kiyama Sensei, a very highly regarded individual and superbly accomplished martial artist stemming from a warrior class family. It was DOOOOOOOPE! Body is feeling it today though, heh heh. Brutha sore yo! Aight, on to... da Word!

checkit:

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'"

- Paul (Hebrews 13:5)

That's awesome right there, mmhmmmmm. That's a good word. Paul starts out sayin' to keep our lives free from da love of cash money, bones, okane, deniro, what have you. That kinda love brings so much destruction and, to begin with, is itself a perversion of love. MAAAAAAAAAAAD peeps, communities, and relationships are layed waste due to a love of money. It generates greed, jealousy, anger.... da whole nine! And those emotions... wow, they drive humanity to such UGLY actions... it is beyond scary. SO, my man Paul says kick that to the curb son! We don't NEED that garbage!

Then homeboy follows it up with, "be content with what ya gots potnas." So not only should we kick the love of money out to the curb, but we should substitute it with a contentment of what we already have. If we're content with what we have, ain't no way we'll be swayed. Greed, jealousy, and the like won't have any power cuz we are content! It is when we are not content that we can be easily entangled. But that's not all Paul says. Homeboy then caps it off with the ULTIMATE reason to kick the love of money out and to be content... and that is because POPS above has said, "Yo, never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!!! If da author and creator of da universe and beyound, God himself, Pops da MAAAAAAAAAAAN, says he will never leave or forsake a brutha or a sista, what in the WORLD do we have to worry about? God himself has our back, of course I'll be content yo! Matter of fact, I'll be more than content, I'll be straight bouncin' of walls in joy! Money can't hold an inch to that. The love of money won't bring me any closer to that. Pops done gave it to me... for FREE! So potnas, forget about lovin' money or constantly chasin' after more and more material items. Instead, let's be content with what we gots; we'll be more at peace and more happy as a result. And to cap it all off, Pops will never leave or forskae us... what more could we want or need?

Aight, PeACE!

G-bless,

- patrick

Da Word... 141!

YOOOOO!

What up peeps? How ya livin'? Well I hope, tru! I hope that it's warm in some of your climates... cuz it is COOOOOLD here in da Northeast, specifically Boston/Cambridge. Actually, it was really da winds that made it QUITE nasty. I couldn't feel ma face yo! Last time I forget my skull cap, buhlee you me! heh heh, on to... da Word!

checkit:

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

- Paul (Hebrews 11:1)

Uhhhh huh! Faith is TOUGH kid! Being sure of a mere hope and certain of sumtim a brutha can't even see!? How does that work? Who would be so crazy as to do such a thing? PLENTY of peeps yo.... PLENTY! Just start thinkin' about all the peeps you admire for doing big and great things that have had great impact on multitudes of people. Think of them kats who changed the course of life for the better -- for people, cultures, or nations the world over. These peeps had a dream (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), and grasped on to it. They held on to a hope and they were certain of what they could not physically see. YET... YET... these people were able to rally many behind them, able to get them to grasp on to the same hope with the same intensity, and able to see that which could not be SEEN! And as a result? YOOO.... GREAT THINGS HAPPENED!

Think about the force of magentism for a second. Yeah magnets are the bomb diggity!!! Can you see the interactive forces between those two black plates? Do you doubt they exist? No way. It is almost by faith that we believe those interactive forces exist, not because we can see the forces themselves, but because we can see and/or feel the effects of such forces. We can "see" the fields generated by placing metallic powder in its midst. And yoooo, the effects are awesome to behold! Furthermore, these forces exist whether or not we believe they do. I can hear da Rock saying, "IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU BELIEVE!" Heh heh, those interactions exist regardless of our opinions. Our not believing would not cause them to cease to exist.

Now checkit, we could have chosen to remain ignorant and believe those interactions and fields do not exist, or grasp on to it and try to harness and unleash its potential.... BAAMMM! Look at all the technology that has emerged from our belief in these forces and harnessing their properties! Society has advanced in LEAPS son!!!! Now that's just a weeee little thing called magnetism.... imagine if we applied that drive into harnessing the unlimited potential inherent within our interactions with Pops above...... I can't even ~begin~ to type a "BAM" big enough to represent the possibilities. If you read on in the chapter, Paul begins to give us a lil taste of all the AMAZING things that happended as a result of peeps harnessing that potential. One word..... FAITH ...... Get yourself some and start unlocking some serious potential potnas. It's time to rise up!

G-bless,

- patrick

Da Word... 140!

Good MORNING potnas!!

What's the word? What's going ooooon? How ya livin'!!! Heh heh, things here are going pretty well. Got moved into my new office yesterday. It's pretty sweet yo. I've got a window now! TRU! The view is wack, but HELLO natural light!! GOODBYE artificial light! YEAH! heh heh, aight, on to... da Word!

checkit:

"But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."

- Hebrews 10:39

Oh snap! That verse is off da hook! That's like a battle cry right there. That line will get you amped up, full throttle baby. It's like BOOM!!!! Let me give you a little context around da verse. In the verses previous, new testament badmamajamma Paul (my dawwwwg!) spits a little about perseverance and confidence. For real, why quiver when you have da God of creation, Pops himself, behind you? Ain't no reason to doubt Pops will come through (see Da Word... 139!). Paul reminds us that if we do the will of Pops, he will bless us, tru! Then he quotes a verse from da olda scriptures that Pops had spoke, "But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him."

Think about it, who is pleased with someone who shrinks back? Peeps are downright disappointed when someone shrinks back from a task or an endeavor he or she is either definitely capable of doing or capable of pushing himself or herself to accomplish. It's cowardice son!!!! Keep in mind that there is a BIG difference between cowardice and the wisdom to strategically back off. We are talking about the former, peeps who shrink back cuz of WACK reasons. Pops is like, "Yo, my righteous one will live by faith potna!" It's true! Pops is saying, "my peeps will believe that I got their backs kid! So, if they shrink back... man that will be cold son! I will not be pleased."

What happens if we shrink back? Well, we fail to believe Pops. And if we fail to believe or have faith in Pops, we start to rely on our own faculties (which, compared to Pops' abilities...... maaaaaaaaaaaaan.... why would ya do sumtim like that!?!?). By shrinking back we risk falling away. Risking falling away is risking our very lives and soul, that whole our eyes being opened to the mysteries and wonders of the universe and what life is all about. So my homeboy Paul spits it like this, "But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved." THAT'S RIIIIGHT!!!!!!! BAAAAAAAAAAAM!! We are NOT of those who shrink back, who cower away, and who fall and are destroyed as a result. Naw lo... we are of those who BELIEVE!!! And are SAVED!!! Straight livin' la vida blessed and rollin' with da creator himself. We ain't got NUTHIN' to lose baby ;-D Keep reppin' Christ! And if you haven't yet, now's the time to start!

G-bless,

- patrick

Da Word... 139!

Good Morning!

What up peeps? How are things going? I missed Monday, it was CRAZY. N e who, had a white peach sometime last week. It didn't taste like anything. Matter of fact, it was quite bland and unsatisfying. Got NO enjoyment out of that thing. So much for the peach experiment. See, I thought I'd give them a try after some 15-20 years of avoidance, alas.... it was WACK! heh heh. Any peach lovers out there? Holla at a brutha, edumacate me about peaches cuz right now.... straight cardboard I tell ya, heh heh. Aight, on to... da Word!

checkit:

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."

- Paul (Hebrews 10:23,24)

That's RIGHT! Paul just got done droppin' da 411 about how we have gained straight up personal access to Pops above via da Christ. HUGE news! Regular peeps can enter da Most Holy Place? A spot where back in the day only high priests were allowed to enter... and only once or twice a year? THAT IS ILL POTNAS!!!! With a new way and life opened up to us and havin' da Christ straight representin' us in da presence of Pops, we've got it MADE! So Paul is saying to hold unswervingly to that hope, that we can have tightness with Pops above and be with Pops after passing from this phase of life. And he says, "Let us".... not by yourself, but together, build one another up.

So why can we hold unswervingly to this awesome hope? Cuz da kat who gave us this hope is faithful! What, you think God is gonna lie to us? HAH! Pops has given us this hope, he will def come thru, no question. So why swerve potnas? Why be blown around by every shift in the wind? Why doubt when tough times come? God is a ROCK potnas, straight SOLID. He will not let us down, no way. That hope will never vanish into thin air, cuz Pops himself is the fulfillment of that hope. NICE!

So we can RISE up... I said RISE UP YO! RISE up in the face of anything and stand firm. We can remind each other of this hope, bolstering one another, providing each other strength. That is da hotness potnas. In that exchange, we get tighter with Pops, we gain strength individually, and we develop a deeper sense of community by strengthening one another relationally. Ain't that da bomb?

Aight potnas, PeACE!

G_bless,

- patrick