#NaPoWrimo Poem #4/30 - Handwritten poem

Good luck understanding my chicken scratchings :D

This poem was fueled by me listening to Pearl Jam's Porch and a desire to inspire joy in others

#NaPoWrimo Poem #3/30 - Left Hand poem

Wrote this one with the left hand so will also transcribe :)

We need less prophets of profit

I fully expect to get backlash from this, but since free speech is something that is still a right we can enjoy, I want to give my two cents on some things that happened last year.

Before getting into it, I’d like to also point to the people of Bangladesh who suffered devastating floods and lord knows what else since getting real news sources from that situation and that part of the world is dicey at best. It seems random, but it's just goes to show how much of a silo mentality and silo Christianity we're living in. If you want something closer about situations where we could have helped, see my home of Puerto Rico, the Caribbean in general, and Mexico.

That said, let's get straight into it.

We need less prophets of profit and make no mistake, Joel Osteen along with several other pastors of mega churches are exactly that. If you are a man of God, your net worth should be your impact on the world, not the properties you own, the jets you fly in, or what’s in the bank.

By the way, this is an opinion. 

My opinion at that. 

You’re allowed to disagree. 

But I still have the right to my opinion... and to me, Joel Osteen along with any other person of wealth needs to take a good look in the mirror to ask themselves if they still believe in God because responding to public backlash to open your doors to people in need is not the right move. Could it have been the work of news media outlets wanting to cover a story in a manner that would get ratings? Maybe. Actually, it probably is. But is the way the story being brought forth responding to a private agenda? Who knows? Or better yet, who cares?

That churches make a ridiculous amount of money by appealing to people in need, people of faith, and people swayed by a public figure is not up for debate. It’s how they do business… and that’s a pretty shitty word to use when talking about faith.

I’ve read people coming out to defend Osteen… and it begs the question, why defend them? They’ll be fine. They have enough money to respond to ANY need that arises in their life in addition to several wants, whims, and desires.

I write this blog post because I have a big problem when people take advantage of other people and are somehow lauded. This is not a messiah. He is a pastor. And like many pastors, he has sided with the side of money… It’s not that you can’t be successful and have faith, by the way. It’s that preying on people and making money off of faith, off of God, feels wrong and to me is wrong.

We do not need a Mega Church or a multimillion dollar earning preacher/pastor. People say we shouldn’t rush to judge… I haven’t rushed. I’ve seen the behavior of bling wearing pastors for years and it’s always left a bad taste in my mouth.

So why write about it now? Because the initial response of this church last year during the aftermath of the rains brought forth by Hurricane Harvey was to turn people away. To think like a business and not a house of the people. Not of God. But of people. And that’s the point. A church isn’t supposed to just be the house of God. It’s supposed to be the home of people who congregate as a community of equals, brought together by values and beliefs. It’s not a competition of who’s dressed better. It’s not about who knows the prayers better or out of memory. And it sure as hell isn’t about money and opulence regardless of what some churches actually do with the money they receive.

It’s about people being there for one another regardless of color, race, and dare I say, even religion. If you’re a Christian, you do not deny someone help because they are of another religion or atheist. Why? Because that’s how a Christian is supposed to behave even if during these warped times where people have forgotten that God is neither a racist, a micromanager, or much less an asshole.

In times of need. You help. You don’t see what’s feasible in the fiscal plan, you don’t see what’s in the budget, you don’t see what you can spare... you help. NO questions asked. To pander, let’s say Houston faced floods of biblical proportions… How anyone responded will tell us as much about their faith as it will about their character, and to me Mister Osteen proved to be lacking in both departments because he held back. Justify it all you want. Spin it any way you want. He held back and then he did damage control and since some time has passed, a lot of people have forgotten. But a lot of others have not.

These are not times of profit.

These are not times of damage control or public relations.

These are not even times of faith.

These are times of humanity. And we cannot afford to be lacking in this department.

Peace, love, and maki rolls

#NaPoWrimo Poem #2/30

Here's another #NaPoWrimo entry but this time, hand written :D

For Writing Out Loud... in Book Form!

It's not every day you accidentally publish a book, but since this book is based on this blog, I think it goes with the personality of the blog.

For Writing Out Loud has been a place where I can definitely make a lot of sense of what I feel and experience in life but I didn't want those posts to just live on the Internet. I wanted to give them new life, new structure, new purpose and meaning, so I collected the best posts from the first 4 years of my blog 2013-2016 (reads like three but counts like 4) and I began thinking of those posts as parts of a book. I've seen other books based on blogs and some work, while many don't. My main issue with the ones that "don't work" (for me anyways) is that they're a pure copy paste when they could have been so much more. 

My book didn't include all my posts and for several good reasons. First off, I wasn't going to include reviews or interviews because like I said above, I wanted to repurpose those posts and I did so by formatting everything with one focus, to have a positive impact. That's something you'll read from me and hear me say often, because that was a life decision many years ago. For the longest time I was cynical and a highly entertaining pessimist... but in the end, beyond the chuckles and laughs you can inspire, that doesn't do much. I got called out on it and it hurt because I knew I could be doing something much better with my time than being the bitter asshole. 

So I changed and if you see my writing throughout the last 10 years, you can see that shift. It was very marked for me and I have felt my life go to a much better place since I did. Am I filthy rich? No. Am I a best seller? No. Am I an award winning author? Nope. But my words have helped people on certain occasions and that means more to me than the rest. 

Sure I want to be successful and live off my writing, but it hasn't happened and I'm well aware of several reasons for that. I could be all salty, or I could accept it as part of my Writer Journey and life journey and just roll with it. For Writing Out Loud embodies that sentiment a lot because it's not meant to be the next chicken soup for the soul, it's me talking about things that are in my head and heart, things I need to read as much as I need to write in order to process what I feel. It's deeply personal and one of the most honest barebones slices of me you'll ever read, which will be the case every single time I decide to write non-fiction (spoiler alert, another book will be published soon, so stay tuned). 

I was editing, proofreading, getting ready to schedule this book and oops, I pressed publish. And I swear it was that silly and that stupid that I had to laugh. It was a happy accident that I released a book before I even had any time to promote it, but that's so me that who am I to judge divine intervention and silly clicks?

If you'd like to purchase my books, as per usual I'm recommending you to visit online clicking here and for the physical version to go to Libros 787. Sure you can buy it off Amazon, but if you go to Libros 787, you'll get a free eBook of your choosing and a free MP3 track from yours truly. If you're curious as to what I sound like, by all means check my song playlist on my BookTube channel by clicking here.

Anyways, just wanted to talk a but more about my new book, but if you have extra questions or want to leave comments, by all means, visit that lovely comments section down below and indulge. 

Peace, love, and maki rolls

#NaPoWriMo poem #1/30

Doing #NaPoWrimo Because I'm Crazy like that

NaPoWrimo is short for National Poetry Writing Month which will have me writing a poem a day for the month... or something like that. The intention is for 30 poems within the confines of a month but I think I'll take it a step further and push to write significantly in 3 poetry collections. I had a real slow start to my year.... but for me, that's not good enough and I've revamped my efforts to the point that I accidentally published a book (more on this later). 

As for this post, it's my way of saying expect MUCH more things this month and PLENTY of poetry, because why not?

Peace, love, and maki rolls

A toast to good health

As time passes, I come to appreciate the power of positivity more and more. That's because I've seen the effect of a kind word or gesture, have seen how a little motivation goes a long way, and have experienced first hand what changing my outlook on life can do for how I live. 

Four years ago, my mom went up against cancer and beat it. She offered an incredible example of fortitude and light and continually surprised me with how she handled the situation. When I went with her to one or two chemo sessions, she always put makeup on, put on her best clothes, smelled magnificently, and baked something for fellow patients as well as medical staff. That's just the way she's wired. She would arrive and people would perk up, they'd forget they were cancer patients and chat a while as friends. This isn't me idolizing my mom, this is me telling you what I saw firsthand. She brings a light about her that you can't deny and her smile is one of the best gifts I can experience in this life. 

Unfortunately, things don't come easy for Mom and she's lived a life with quite a few challenges, but she always keeps a positive attitude. 2018 is no different and right now she's lacing up her gloves to fight again, because that's how life is. As per usual, she's tackling things with a mindset I would wish upon everyone and that leaves me in awe. She has no illusions in regards to the task at hand, she knows it won't be easy or pleasant, but she's also well aware that attitude and mindset are the key not to merely survive but to live, to give her best, to follow instructions, to look for better options, and even under unpleasant circumstances, have a good time. 

She has never played the victim and her only request is to be treated with the same respect and positivity that she treats herself. She doesn't want people to feel sorry or get sad. She doesn't need pity or suggestions on what she has to or doesn't have to do. She's done the research, she is an active member in her healthcare team, she's considered what needs to be done, and she will do what she understands what is best. She doesn't need to know statistics or what could happen. She needs smiles and positivity. She needs a joke. She needs plans down the road. She needs consideration and support. She welcomes thoughts and prayers but wouldn't mind the promise of a good cup of coffee, lunch, a good wine recommendation, or more things to look forwards to when she's done with this battle. She also knows nothing is guaranteed in this life and that there are plenty of things out of our control... but she also knows that there ARE things under our control. 

How we face every single life situation is up to us. How we deal with things is up to us. How we fight and what we focus on is up to us as well. And she chooses smiles, and laughter, and light. The picture taken above was taken last week March 22nd. Exactly one week before her operation which is this Thursday, March 29th. If you want to send thoughts and prayers, by all means, do so. But if you really want to make her smile and help us out, leave her a toast to her health and what she has to look forwards to, because we already saw the next bottle of wine we'll be sharing and we wouldn't mind drinking to your health as well. 

Peace, love, and maki rolls.