Oh, hi there!

      Sunday’s lesson was about perspective. Perspective can be defined as one’s “point of view”, the choice of a context for opinions, beliefs and experiences. I was able to look through the eyes of my 5 year old to 13-year-old self as I relived my childhood that day. Moved from Monroe, Louisiana where I was born, I mostly grew up and spent my childhood years in Austin, Texas at 8101 Darwin Cove. On Sunday my mother and I decided to take a stroll down memory lane and revisit some places we both hadn’t been in 12 long years. As we neared the subdivision we use to live in, we approached a gas station on the corner of McNeil and Parmer where I recall as a child, gas was only $0.79. Those were the days, weren’t they? Not soon after the gas station was the sign for Williamson County, Texas, a place I called home for 7 years. Formerly Milboro Homes, Rattan Creek looked all too familiar. Having never actually driven in the neighborhood I once called home, strangely enough, I knew my way around as we were heading straight for the home I grew up in. Pointing out homes I recognized, like the home where the best haunted house was in the Halloweens of old, that shared the same brick pattern as our old home on Darwin Cove, my mom and I relived many wonderful memories. Then came “that” turn… onto Darwin Lane. I stopped the car in front of my old best friends house to talk about the time we got caught hiding behind the dumpster shooting water guns at passing cars. Although, what was remembered most was the getting caught part that got me grounded for a week… all in good fun though. There it was, to my left, a home where many Christmases and Thanksgivings were spent – birthday parties that consisted of me smashing my face in the cake. The gutter that my friend and I caught on fire: a fire so huge the fire department had to come. The street where many snow angels were made - the basketball goal where my stepfather taught me how to play and where many games were played between him, my mother, and me - the street corner where David was surprised with his first vehicle, a Ford Explorer, among many other memories. As we sat parked in the street, staring at our old home, 8101, the word “perspective” really came to mind. A street that as a 6 to 13 year old once looked so long and big now seemed so short, and so small. It was as if the street along with what rested on it had been shrunk. Was this because I’m now 25 and not that 4 foot 9 inch kid I once was? More than likely so. What really got me thinking though, was that as children our view of the earth and the world around us is that it’s so large, so vast, but yet, as we grow up, we soon realize the world is so small and so insignificant in comparison to the universe and all that God created. The irony of that situation is that as children our problems are so small, so tiny, but as we grow up our problems become bigger and bigger and we’re faced with more than we’d ever have imagined as that little child playing with an old classic hot wheels car, or the Super NES, N64, or even the classic old Nintendo. Yet at the same time, even as children we go through struggles that can make or break us. What happens to us negatively, what is done wrong to us, the struggles we are faced with, all the evil we see in the corrupted world – all those things do not define the person we grow up to be. What defines us, what shapes us, what molds us, what determines who we are, is how we handle those situations, how we face life, how we overcome. You can either let what you are faced with break you or you can take what life throws at you, and decide who you want to be – the better man, or the defeated man. Life is about taking risks and living without regret – moving on to what lies ahead and not looking behind at what once was.

       When I was 13 years old, in 1999, a situation happened that caused my mom to decide it was best for she and I to pick up and move back to Monroe, Louisiana with our family. Little did I know, this situation would alter the next 6 years of my life causing me to be an angry person making many mistakes in life along the way. My best friend lived right next door to us across the street and I considered them family, as did they. The church we were attending at the time was also like family to us. I was very close to my stepfather. My relationship with my stepbrother was very good at first, but something happened after the first year, that neither of us can explain, that caused us to hate each other. I was angry. I’m not sure what at but I was an angry child that covered it with humor. The relationship with my stepfather’s daughter was never there. So, in November of 1999, within a 2 weeks notice, we packed our bags and headed east, leaving all I had known behind. My world was crushed and my life was changed. David’s life was also changed. He was involved in an accident around this same time and when trying to reach my mother but not being able to get through, later that day, his father explained to him the situation and what life had just thrown at him. Let’s skip forward 12 years now to 2011. My mother and former stepbrother make contact last week, October 2011, for the first time in years. He and I had written a little here and there via the internet but during those 12 years our communication was little to nothing without seeing each other in that 12 year time span. A little program called Discovery would forever change that. Sunday was the first day I had seen David, my stepbrother, in 12 long years. Forgiveness, healing, love, compassion, friendship, brotherhood, etc were just some of the adjectives and words one could use to describe emotions felt that day … mix in a little tears and you’ve got a great recipe for restoration. That’s what Sunday was about. Restoring what was lost and broken, forgiving the past, and moving forward to what lies ahead. What better birthday present could one ask for? My wish for my birthday - that everyone could experience the restoration, healing, forgiveness, and love I felt and shared Sunday with those I care dearly about.

“In the Dark I See” - Tattoo

Well, today I 90% finished (still needs color) my second Lights Poxleitner inspired tattoo (full sleeve coming soon). This one is inspired by her song “In the Dark I See”. This song means to me that in our darkest times God is still there for us and that He continues to watch over us and take care of us even when we don’t see it.

On my wrist it reads, “You’re the only one in the dark I see”. When I finish my sleeve, my inner arm (bicep) will say “It’s You who brings the morning, You who takes the sun when I sleep..” Then at the top part of my arm, there will be a guardian (good) angel coming out of heaven defeating the fallen (evil) angel that’s around my lower arm. It depicts a daily battle of good vs. evil with the house representing us with our boarded up windows, faults (mistakes), etc stuck in the middle of that battle.

Enjoy!

- Vince

The violin is such an amazing instrument. I recently started to take violin lessons, some 2 months ago. It’s been very rewarding and yet very challenging. I absolutely love it and think it’s one of the most beautiful sounding instruments ever created. I hope to one day use this instrument to produce feelings in others, just as music does to our soul and to inspire others through use of music.

Drive My Soul - Part 2

So, the response I received from the original post, titled “Drive My Soul” (based off Lights’ lyrics) was more than I expected. Lights retweeted it, Jeremythebug reblogged it, as did many other people. I thank you all for that. I seriously love my tattoo & know I always will. It got me thinking, I believe I want another great verse from that song tattooed either on the opposite side of my right leg (from the original tattoo) or on my left leg in the same position as the tattoo on my right leg. The lyrics are:

“you make the street lights reappear, i feel found when you stand near, i know what i am when you are here, my place becomes so clear”

To me, those lyrics mean that God appears to us in our darkest times. We feel close to Him when we seek Him and He meets us where we are. We know who we are in Him when we rely solely on Him to take care of us and meet our needs. Which all leads to knowing our place in this world, hence, “my place becomes so clear”.

But for this tattoo, I have more I want to add. I’m picturing a light post behind the lyrics with a bench next to it. The light from the post is emitting light over a dark figure sitting on the bench, creating a shadow on the ground. See the symbolism?

I’ll probably be getting that soon.

Drive My Soul

There is an artist who I’m very fond of. Her lyrics are simply amazing. So much meaning in each song. Lyrics that relate to a lot of different situations, people, and relationships. Her name is Lights Poxleitner, also known as Lights. I feel that her song “Drive My Soul” is speaking about a relationship with God. I just looked on my Tumblr for the first time in quite some time & saw that my last post was about music. So here I am again, talking about music. It drives our soul, pun intended. It makes us recall moments in life, where we were, what we were doing, who we were with, etc. 

I feel strongly about these lyrics right here:

“you make the darkness disappear, i feel found when you stay near, i know where i am when you are here, my way becomes so clear”

Then it goes on to say, “when you’re gone, will i lose control, you’re the only road i know, you show me where to go, who will drive my soul”. Amazing.

Take some time to think about those. I liked the first quoted lyrics so much, I decided to tattoo them on my leg, since my left arm is taken up, my 2 sides are taken up, and my right arm will be taken up with another sleeve here soon.

This year so far has been very interesting to say the least. There are those moments in time that you truly find out who someone is or who they will be by the little things they do… or don’t do. It’s the little things in life that matter the most, in my opinion. What I want is true friends. I have many friends, but a true friend.. those are hard to come by. I’m thankful for where I am in life - what I’ve learned - where I’ve been - where I’ve come from. Here lately music has really been driving me..

“Seems somebody put out the moon, now the road is a minefield. I can’t follow the way she moves, I can’t see past the shadows, you make the darkness disappear, I feel found when you stay near, I know where I am when you are here, my way becomes so clear..”

Those lyrics to me refer to God, but at the same time can relate to a relationship, or someone who you’re with or whatever way you’d like to see it. Man, I’ve got a lot of thoughts. That’s it for tonight..