Hey Readers…
I’ve decided to start a new series of posts in addition to my regular (almost) weekly essay that I submit for you guys called “The Etcetera”. As often as I post it, “The Etcetera” is meant to be a collection of entries that I find interesting during the particular season that I’m posting. It will often include videos, songs/albums, books, or shorthand thoughts that have impacted how I view this wonderful world that we have the pleasure of inhabiting. I hope that you will find them interesting and helpful as well, but honestly, that is not a guarantee. Take it however you will, it’s the etcetera… for when there is more to see, say, and learn.
More to See…
Most of you wouldn’t know this, but I played Trombone as a part of the classical band at my High School and I promise you that I never made my trombone sing like this. I am not sure what it is, but watching/listening to this clip gets me a little emotional every time. There is something about the beauty of music and what it can say without speaking a word. How good is God that we can enjoy the wonder of music like this on this side of eternity… at halftime of a football game no less?
Juan Vidal (@itsjuanlove on IG & Twitter) is the author of one of my favorite books ever “Rap Dad”. He is a profound writer and journalist who has contributed to magazines such as Esquire, GQ, and Rolling Stone over the years. I got to know him personally as an emcee in one of my favorite rap groups ever, Rhema Soul. Incredible man with an incredible soul, he returns with his second book, “A Second Chance on Earth”, in September of this year although you can go ahead and pre-order it now on Amazon like I have. He is already on “if he writes it, read it” status for me so I promise you this will be worth it. Check it out!
More to Say…
My sleep has been horrible for the past few nights, which is likely due to several reasons that I need to address. The NBA playoffs that started this past week in full force are chief among them. Recently, I have been up past 1am looking at games and reading commentary of games played. Look here, I don’t have a Twitter or Instagram anymore so I have all of these burning thoughts about the playoffs with nowhere to share them so my Substack crew will have to bear the burden of being the primary outlet for these extra thoughts. Here goes…
The Denver Nuggets, at this moment (which could change in the future), look absolutely inevitable. I mean, my goodness, they are incredible to watch and have made me enjoy watching professional basketball once again.
The more I watch Joel Embiid play basketball, the more I dislike watching Joel Embiid play basketball. From the constant baiting & begging for foul calls so he can shoot free throws to intentionally doing things to hurt his competition (what he did to Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein in game 3 was completely flagrant), he is just not my kind of guy. I’ll pass on rooting for him to win anytime soon.
I want to dislike the Miami Heat, but I have to respect them. Erik Spoelstra is that guy.
I want to like the Boston Celtics, but I don’t really respect them. Joe Mazulla is not that guy.
Did you also forget that the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers were still playing basketball as well?
Kevin Durant and Lebron James are about to go out sad, aren’t they? Much respect to them, it has been a long run… but it’s about over - for good.
More to Learn…
One of my favorite books this year has been this one above, written by Trey Ferguson (authors the substack “The Son Do Move”). Theologizin’ Bigger: Homilies on Living Freely and Loving Wholly is one of the first and few books about faith, theology, and practice that I’ve read and sincerely thought “Wow, that’s me… I can see myself in this”. While that can be a discouraging sentence to write, it is also an encouragement to write as it is a marker of hope. I pray for all the success that God has for Trey to be realized while he is fully able to enjoy it. Check this one out if you have the opportunity, no matter your demographic I know you will find it helpful and valuable in understanding God, faith, and one another.
Love The Bible Project, and always appreciate having my understanding of God and His ways stretched. Take a moment to check out this quick but insightful video on one way that God relates to us that is often overlooked. This video is about how we are meant to live in partnership and in covenant with God, and now it has me thinking of some language that you will only find prevalent in the book of Hebrews where we are described as “partakers”. I’ve just started to explore the depth of meaning in this phrasing, but I am learning the journey so far - excited to see what is at the end of it.
If you would like to check out other examples of my work, try these…
The Beginning and the End...
Today marks 3 years since my sweet mother passed away, the beautiful Annice Legons. I have never been sure how grief works, but I have learned that it is very good at its job even 3 years in. I have learned that although the form of grief does evolve and adjust according to the season of life you find yourself in, your particular circumstances, or the n…
He Really Just Spat On Me...
Taken from Wikipedia: “Spitting in public is considered rude and a social taboo in most parts of the world. Spitting upon another person, especially onto the face, is a global sign of anger, hatred, disrespect or contempt.” I cross-referenced the social acceptance of spitting on people via an article in “The Jerusalem Post”, “The Jewish Virtual Library”,…