iRecommend [Young Love By Mat Kearney]

If You Like : BoB, Tinie Tempah, Eminem, Iyaz and One Republic

Okay guys! I just got a copy of Mat Kearney's 'Young Love' and I can't  stop listening to it. Mat Kearney who is known for recording songs that have appeared on popular TV shows like Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill and many others is back with his fourth studio project.


Now this ain't a review but in my search for cool stuff I really don't mind sharing one or two treasures I stumble on once in a while. Mat's music is a mixture of Hip Hop, Rap, Soft rock, and Acoustic, though his last effort (City of Black and White) was strictly acoustic rock but this is on a whole new level. Watch out for the second track  'Ship In The Night' on this new album. It just absolutely outta the box! And Before I leave something I tweeted last night on twitter. It just keeps resounding in my head and here is it:

"Some people come into your life as blessings, Others come in as lessons. Identifying rightly leaves no room for bitterness"

So what do you reccomend? What's been bumping on your playlist recently?



The Story You Are Choosing

 [Image by James Sagi ]

There are two sides to every story. In fact that includes our story. There’s a story we know. The one we are familiar with, our history, the platforms we are used to performing our everyday life.  “I am. . .”. “I am  . . .”

But wait a second ‘who are you?’ Don’t bother you don’t have to answer that. You answered already. Yes, we answer every day as we journey through life. And we are always very careful about answering. We look at what has gone before us. We look at the past. We look down history and pick finely with glee from our past like a child offered several options for a birthday dress ‘I am . . .’

Answering the ‘who are you?’ question by looking behind might have hindered destiny for a man called Moses in the bible. Down history’s story Moses was a murderer and he wasn’t a fine speaker too. But my question is; how do murderers become deliverers? Or how stutterers do become persons who command kings with the hardest of hearts?

How?

They choose. . .

They choose to hear another side of their story.

We say we are guilty. He says we are forgiven

We say we are lonely. He says he is with us

We say we have a marred history.

He says all has been wiped away by his blood

The world is telling us a story about us. God is telling us a story about us through Jesus Christ his son.

Which are you listening too?

Or rather which are you choosing to be your story?

On Plumb's New Single [Drifting] and Some Free Music Download Too. . . . Serious!

I am and was so excited when I read via my friend's blog ( Jay's Musik Blog ) that my best and favourite alternative music artist Plumb was releasing a brand new single. And the shocker is she isn't alone on this. She's got company and guess who? It's Dan Haseltine from the rock/pop band Jars of Clay ( remember 'Headphones'? Oh how I love that song). So the day is August 30. Get your iTunes Card ready. And really if you can't wait you can pre-order at Amazon.com. Here is a 30 second snippet of the song titled 'Drifting' .

Some Free Music
Plumb is also giving away two free tracks from her last album release. Click here to download.
Plumb's new full lenght album follows shortly after the release of the single. The album is titled 'Faster Than A Bullet'. Seriously I can't wait!.

P.S.- Finally It's now a easier process commenting on my blog. Now you comment using your Facebook and Twitter accounts (Thanks to Disqus). If This has been helpful, please do drop a comment and I would like to know, What have you been listening to recently? :D 

I Remember a Time In June

Image by globalrain

I remember a time in June

The prophet always came telling us about His comeback

He danced to the music of the spirit he heard

We never heard the music

“He is a mad man” I looked up at Mama as we stopped at his spot to hear what he had to say

“Why?” She looked at me with amazement in her eyes

“He dances to no tune. He shakes like an epileptic”

‘Ssshhhhh!” she said as she dragged me away from his place by the street corner

With our heavy load of our market goods we journeyed home, I with a bigger burden than I carried

I remember a time in June

When the prophetess woke us up with a loud shriek in the middle of a coming morning

I remember my little brother waking up agitated.

“It’s the prophetess again” I cooed him back to sleep

“But why does she scream like that?” he asked in a sleepy voice

“Maybe she’s inhabited by demons unseen”

We laughed as he rested his head back on the old pillow to get some more sleep

But now our cities are safe

Mad men don’t do dances anymore at street corners

But now our brothers sleep in peace

Inhabited women don’t scream the message at early waking hours anymore

But this doesn’t change the message

No it doesn’t

If He comes back to a people rejecting to hear His message because of the ‘frantics’ of His prophets; who is to be blamed?

In times like this I will play the wise man

I will keep my head under my June umbrella

Remembering the dance of the prophet and the shrieks of the prophetess

Whether they are mad or possessed is not for me to say

Their message is my concern

Their message: “Jesus is coming very soon”

My Question: “So what have I been doing about that?”

P.S. – For a culture that lures us to forget the message of the Lover (even within the four walls of the cathedral). We might choose to or not to listen, But the truth in the message never changes. Very soon Jesus the Lover comes for His Beloved. And what are we doing with that message? Or are we carried away by the ‘frantics’ of the prophets? Maybe it’s the gravity of the things they see that makes them dance like the ‘epileptics’ we call them.



What I'm Reading This Summer [Seriously, You Want To Know]

Okay a confession first, at my corner of the world we don’t have the typical 'summer' at this time of the year. What we have is the rain pouring down in droves. This really means two things; ‘playing in the rain’ or chilling at home. I have chosen the latter and I have a pile, I’m serious, a pile on my to-read list. So I thought it a good Idea to share with you 'the worlds' I would be stepping into on days I’m trapped at home and on days that reruns of my favourite TV series ‘Lost’ isn’t just doing it for me. So Let’s go!

1. Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven but Nobody Wants To Die by David Crowder & Mike Hogan

I actually got this last year and I was fascinated by the title. Asides from the title, I know David Crowder ( Lead Singer of The David Crowder Band) has something in this to say and I can't waitn to read.

2. Just Leave God Out Of It by Tim Riter & David Timms

Let's be real the urban culture is just so facinating. The music, the movies, the fashion, you can name it all, It's the 21st century. But I've been wondering for a while, doesn't God have a place in all this things? That's why I've added Tim Ritter's book about how to be relevant and still keep God first in a culture that seems void of Him.

3.  Purple Hibiscus by Chinamanda Adiche

Someone once advised as a writer to read a hard book this summer. The options that instantly came to my mind were Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart ( Which I read when I was eight and I think is a very beautiful book) and Ernest Hemmingway's Farewell to The Arms. It was latter I remembered someone telling me how Chinamanda's style is so much like Chinua Achebe's so I opted for hers.

4. Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

I'm screaming already cause i'm so excited. For those who know me, Jerry Spinelli's prequel (Stargirl) to this book is one of my favourite books ever. I read it in high school (thanks to a friend who handed me a copy of it) and since then I have always relished the story over and over again. So when i got a copy of the sequel ( on the iPad), I couldn't wait to read it. So I decided to add it.

5. Wired by God by Joe White

I do a lot of youth and teenage work for church and others. so I thought this might just be a perfect read

6. What the heck am I going to do with my life by Margaret Feinberg

The title says it already and I wanna read it. And Hello! I'm Twenty something :)

7. Be the Change by Zach Hunter

I first heard Zach Hunter's story some few years back. A 15 year old who was into helping those still chained by the slave trade find their liberty. Wow! I just needed to know what inspires a 15 year old to do that.

8. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Something makes me giggle right now, and it's the fact that Malcolm Gladwell has Igbo (Nigerian Tribe) blood in his origins. I read that once somewhere. I hope that is accountable for the fascinating intelligence. Lol!

9. The Believer's Authority by Kenneth E. Hagin

Papa Hagin is a legacy to this generation and I Just love his heart. Though not here, he still speaks like he's here.

10. Outlive Your Life By Max Lucado

Obviously This list would be incomplete without a book by one of my writing mentors. And I chose his latest.

11. Chosen by Ted Dekker

 For all the comic lovers, I am reading a comic this summer and it's Ted Dekker's Chosen. *tsk*

12. Moonwalk by Michael Jackson

Okay, sincerely I'm tired of saying when asked if am a fan of Michael Jackson that I'm indifferent. I need to hear his story and I'm glad he left behid an autobiography.

13. Right people right place right plan by Jentezen Franklin

For those who don't know, Pastor Jentezen Franklin of Free Chapel (Orange County) is one of my best Pastors. I Love his words, I Love his style and he inspires me.

14. Fighting for Dear Life by David Gibbs

The first time I read about Terry Schiavo's story was just so disturbing for me. The trauma and the controversy over keeping her life was just shocking. I knew i had to get this book when I heard the lawyer who represented her through out the entire case had penned his journey through it.

15. Fearless by Robin Parrish

For those who have been waiting for the fiction, this is it. I didn't choose a Ted Dekker this time but I heard Robin Parrish is as good as Mr. Dekker.

16. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

So I chose to read a popular book of cultural relevance too. At last this summer, I would know why the buzz about this world acclaimed book.

17. I Dare You [To Embrace Life With Passion] by Joyce Meyer 

And The list wouldn't have been complete without a Joyce Meyer book too. Lol!

So we come to the end. Sincerely, it has been so much fun sharing with you what i'm reading this summer. So before you leave, I woul love to hear from you.
What are you reading this summer? Is there any book you would like me to add to my list? or are there any book in my list that you've read before and you think it isn't worth the time? Let me know by dropping a comment.
Happy summer and if you are at my corner of the world, happy rainy days. :)

On Motivation And Waiting For The Big Moment

[ Image by erinrena ]

12:48 am

Saturday

Tonight I curl up lazily with cold hands in front of my computer wondering my motivation and the driving force of my conscious steps towards the successful life I want to lead. It’s been cold and rainy at my corner of the world, and I call it night though it’s morning because this is my night. My eyes have known the light of day for the past long hours. Far from my home with a couple of church friends on a retreat, it’s been a tedious day of giving and receiving. Oh yes tedious. At a point during the ordeal, I wanted to hold my eyes and cry hard while sharing with the group at a point, but a thought that swam in my mind for some hours some days back just seemed to surface instantly, showing up it head: we can’t give what we don’t have but sometimes it’s a hard process giving what you already have.

Right now that the day is over and I’m at a reading desk deep into my night, a friend which I’m sharing the room with is playing off Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit on the iPad and seriously I want to scream from my desk to the only Friend I know that would understand such a question of the heart. I want to scream ‘Why do I feel that way at times? Why is it sometimes hard to process the treasures of knowledge gleaned from the house whose foundation is built in wisdom? Why? But two things stop me. One, I would be screaming at the wall and that is a situation in itself. My friend would just simply freak out. It not so good screaming at walls when it’s not only you in a room, ask those who have tried it, honestly you wouldn’t find them. In fact if you do, you might just not get an answer to your question. You might just get a scream. And two, why scream at the wall? My Friend who understands the deep questions of my heart no one might understand is not the wall. He is Jesus. Though I might not see him with my eyes, he is not the walls. He is beyond the walls and He will be even when these walls have fallen.

I will wait for another day to see why sometimes it’s a hard process giving what we have. But why do I do the things I do. What’s my motivation? Why have I chosen to take the hard walk on the road to success? Why have I and am I choosing to do the hard things very few people are doing? Why am I still awake, reading blogs and typing away when my contemporaries are fast asleep? Why? Sometimes I feel foolish and I just stop. 'Nobody is doing it'. 'Life is not that hard'. I whisper to myself. But it’s in moment like that I receive grace to remember that I haven’t been to the end. But the ones who have been to the end I have consulted.

I remember inviting Barack Obama into my bedroom one cold evening. The monsoon rains were lifting and I was caught in a cold that was not my own. It just didn’t fit me. I am always rendered useless when I have a cold. I crawled under my carton colored blanket and I picked up a copy of Dreams from my father (President Obama’s Memoir which he wrote and published when ‘no one’ knew him). I was in a strange land serving my country which is required once one graduates from college or university or else I would have preferred by chocolate brown duvet a gift from my paternal grandmother (who is now late). It is thick and fluffy and would have absorbed more of the cold the rain brought but the idea of always considering it smart to travel light made me switch for the carton coloured blanket which was less bulky and also a gift from her. So on that very day I cherished it. I folded my legs in and cherished it as Barack Obama came in to my room to tell me how he gave voluntary service without end in the neglected suburbs of Chicago. How he heard the voices of those whose cries had been neglected by the government. How he encouraged when no one knew. How he gave hope to mothers with troubled sons when no one cared.

Please tell me friends, who doesn’t start small? Please remind me, which farmer reaps in a farmland he hasn’t sown. I remember that day, as I closed the book, night was setting in. I stepped to my window and looked out at the forming moon. Shaken by Barack’s story, I whispered in to the night “whatever it takes. I want to be’.

Several months have passed by now and I’m still contemplating an old question. The old question that made me curled up nights upon nights with Rick Warren’s purpose driven life. The old question that made me pledged that I would read it at least once a year. And somehow, just somehow, this writing brings the answer to the surface again. I find out here in a room far from my room ( my friend’s still playing Hot Pursuit on the iPad) that the best way to answer this very question is to tackle first head-on the ready answers I’m given by the world. So here we go.

Is it because some don’t believe that I can and I want to prove that I can?

That’s a no no for me. Sometimes back it used to be why. I wanted to show the people that didn’t believe in me that they were liars. But I can’t. That’s a cheap dream to waste a life on. I have learnt from a wise sage somewhere somehow; haters are to be pitied and sincerely prayed for and seriously I have started doing that and honestly, I’m on it.

I could go on, listing the answer choices the world gives me but tonight I’m thankful that the truth surfaces. Simple reason to the question is because ‘I want to’ and that friends changes everything; the desire that keeps burning in me to be all that I can be. On evenings after some stormy days after I have struggled on my life’s significance and the chaos is resolved, my eyes sometimes suddenly open to the truth that I am significant, my life matters, in the words of C.S. Lewis, I have an unique answer to a unique problem that would remain unsolved if I don’t step in and save the day. It’s in moments like this I know with a certainty that this desire wasn’t placed there by me. There’s a greater power fueling this burning desire. God has set me in motion to settle a part of the commotion.

It’s this drive that drives me to make every moment big in preparing for the BIG moment. Friends, our big moment would come but I must say ; if we haven’t learnt the art of transforming our most mundane and ordinary moment to big moments in the place of preparation, our BIG moment might just pass us by. Reason: We could not realize it for what it was.

"The ability to see the dream we have been given is refined in the hidden place. The man who wants the dream to become a reality keeps seeing even when others can't see a thing. And preparation helps us see better"

Question Of the day:

What seeds in your hands are in need of sowing or are you a farmer expecting to reap in a land you haven't sown?