my highway to zion

what a novel idea! now that i live in a country where kids take trains and public taxis to school, or their own two feet, i can see what a profound invention the school bus is. i vividly remember my daily routine of walking out to the edge of my driveway, with a tiny bit of anxiety pulsing through my veins keeping me warm amidst the cool morning air. I lived near the t-junction, and i could always hear the bus before i could see it. eventually it would come cruising to a stop and ease into the right turn towards my house. I dont know why I thought the bus would drive right past me, but sometimes I would feel a bit of fear that this would happen. It was amazing to leave the quiet, familiar world of family and home, and ascend the steps of the bus into a mobile world of chaos and chatter. My bus driver was Mr Nash. I got his autograph once. He was quite a hero in my little world. He knew how to drive this big bus, he knew where all us children lived, and he never failed to get me to scho...

i'm lying here in bed, sick and tired of being sick and tired. i thought i'd upload some photos since i haven't shared with you all in a while. and old tom petty record in a used vinyl shop in muizenberg. i love this place! penny and i at newlands train station, waiting for our ride to a birthday party. my morning walk to beth rapha: observatory, cape town. a morning shot of my other job location, living grace in muizenberg. no, i'm not giving surfing lessons...but the bathroom overlooks this lovely view :) after talking about the god of the land, sea, and sky, we decided to celebrate him! the quote that came to mind as i took this shot is by chris abani: "African people are art." sunset from my balcony. my favorite coffee shop in muizenberg: empire cafe!

i've spent countless hours over the last few years seeking a better understanding of God’s idea of marriage. Through my own experiences in this area, I’ve realized that so few of us actually enter marriage with any real concept of what is in store for us. I don’t know where we get the following ideas, but we all have them: picture perfect families who have a certain number of kids with the correct proportion of sons to daughters; a mom and dad who don’t fight, have great sex, and no need to worry about their bank accounts; family vacations where no one fights; family dinners where everyone smiles; teenagers who stay off drugs and don’t even think about the opposite sex until marriage; and at the end of it all, the successful parents of this perfect family celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary and die of old age. We can all probably count on one hand how many families we actually know who have followed that pattern. I know the world I live in here in Cape Town—places like Caprico...

poem's sisters, all grown up and living in ocean view. L to R: mckayla, melissa, spune. capricorn boys overlooking the burial of one of their own. RIP Mabuti. christmas 2010. the boys played soccer while the girls played shy. crazy people on a crazy elevator. penny and i went to prom as dates. they had a foam machine. this was the state of her feet after five minutes. see next photo for details. the child is bonkers. visiting keaton in prison (the one getting his nose pseudo-picked :) he recently was hit by a car and really struggling. pray for my little man) on my way to simonstown via train. try to blame me for living in south africa :) the old man who lives at beth rapha. me and my little men: leshwin and ryan. penny shot. the child loves her dried meat. (it beats gas station beef jerky any day of the week, american readers). penny's breakfast at the old biscuit mill. no wonder she l...

I wanted to write about an amazing experience I had on the train the other day. However, certain things are standing in the way of my being able to articulate thy story as I think God intends it to be written. I am frustrated when I can't write. So, I thought I'd write about those things standing in the way. In one word, "Me" is standing in the way. Me is a weak and wounded sinner who can't get a grip on age old struggles: disappointment, fear, rage, resentment, denial, loneliness. Me is wondering what God would say if he could call Me right now for a chat. Me wants to ask God when I would rather take the easy road than the narrow road. Me is tired of talking to the white walls of this bedroom. Me is too easily distracted by fleshly desires and earthly wants. Me spends most of her time convinced that if Me just had THIS area sorted out, or THAT relationship at a different stage of development, or THE OTHER empty places filled with seemingly innocent desires of my ...

hebrews 12.9 we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. how much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!! i like that this verse shows me that submission to God = LIFE! because i can relate to the opposite of that statement: rebellion from God = DEATH. most of my life has been a slippery slope down to death's doorstep...there is so much power in rebellion. hebrews 12.10 our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but god disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. a few weeks ago, i thought about this--about how discipline is often very intensive in the first decade of life for practical, developmental reasons. Then it is very intensive in the second decade of life for social and moral reasons (somethingi'm learning trying to parent a 15-year-old!). but the point is, the first 18+ years of our life are spent under the natural authority instituted by God of a child under a parent...

in true non-conformist fashion, i'm creating a new tradition called "mid-year resolutions" for my life. here's my list so far: -memorize more scripture, poetry, and literature...especially shakespeare. -continue running daily, and hopefully build up to a long race in 2012. -read the newspaper at least once a week. -learn to play the guitar so i can worship god in a new way. -refresh my piano skills. -write songs more often, and sing them. -be better at staying in touch with america. -watch more movies. i currently watch maybe two a year. -pursue active recovery. this last one sparked my making this list in the first place. ten years ago this coming december 31st, i said goodbye to a life of active drug use and began pursuing physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health for myself. i attended 90 meetings in 90 days, i worked the 12 steps, i had a sponsor, i joined the choir at church, i learned to play guitar, i ran a half-marathon, i wrote various articles and ch...