A different kind of normal

Where to start? I guess I’ll be different just start with the end. Right now I\’m writing this at my computer, and my iTunes shuffle is playing ‘A Different Kind of Normal’ by Cam. How appropriate. The world up to this point is so dilapidated in its secular humanistic philosophies, that being an individual who seeks to improve the lives of others by showing them the Light that brings them out of darkness truly makes meâ€”A Different Kind of Normal.

This March 2010, marks the release of a second project that God has made possible for me. The thing that seems that it should be impossible to forget, but somehow I always find myself failing to remember, is that God is extremely deliberate in His ways, and is always in control.

I performed at about a year ago at a church and met another artist by the name of PK Slimz. At that time, I was working on my first mixtape with few artists willing to collaborate with me. God spoke, and I followed. Omitting the details, in PK Slimz the Father gave me a friend, confidant, and co-laborer in the Kingdom making the Lord’s music. His freshman project, entitled Le Nascence, releases March 5. Another mixtape of mine, and also albums from both PK Slimz and me are on the way. The opportunities to promote Christ’s salvation were not always as readily available to me as now. That can be directly attributed to the fact that I wasn’t always this readily available to be used by God. We all have testimonies of where we’ve come from and what God rescued us out of. My downfall was ultimately myself.

Even though I was immersed in the gospel from a young age, I didn’t fully understand the magnitude of how it applied to my life. I think this is a commonplace issue with a lot of youth today that have been ‘inoculated’ with ‘church.’ Phrases like ‘Jesus loves me’ and ‘I am saved’ lose their intrinsic weight because they’re exhausted in youth’s minds. So, they end up just like I did living lifestyles in worship of satisfying cravings of the flesh; finding their identity in what they can appear to be instead of who they were made to be; and thinking that faith in God is a belief that can be hidden, instead of an ostentatious lifestyle of holiness that cannot be denied. My turning point was simply the voice of God compelling me to examine my life and its direction, and daring me to compare it to the life He had promised me.

At that point, I knew that I had to make a change. Of course, I had tried many times before in my own strength, but this time I knew that solely making a decision was not enough. I needed to invoke the power of Jesus and the knowledge of His saving grace into my life. Daily. That was my only hope at honoring the responsibility of life on earth God granted me. Most people can thank God for their life passively, or out of tradition, but I thank Him out of necessity. When I was thirteen, my life was a lot more fragile. I was diagnosed with t-cell leukemia and hospitalized for immediate chemotherapy. Throughout the two and a half years of treatment, God kept me alive and unshaken.

It was extremely difficult, emotionally taxing, and at times very discouraging. The only thing that gave me hope was Jesus. When I fixed my eyes on Him, all my other troubles seemed light and momentary. Through me, He gave others hope motivation to persevere through the toughest of situations. It has been said that all growth requires pain. I can attest to that. From the young child, born September 29, 1986 at 5:30pm, to the person I am today, there has been pain. Christ promised and assured us there would be pain. But, He also gave us the guarantee that He would be with us, doing battle on our behalf every step of the way. So whether it was self indulgence, disease, or spiritual laziness, throughout each stage in my life, God showed me that he defeated everything that stood in the way of His plan. Today, I am walking running with Him until He calls me home. Via music, speech, lifestyle, and deed, I live to proclaim His unfailing love and matchless mercy. For me, to live is Christ. Regardless of the world’s opinion, I vow to be “A Different Kind of Normal.”