THE WORST THING YOU COULD DO TO ME...

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 23:26:20 -0700

I was having a lovely afternoon with my daughter and brother watching a slapstick comedy on cable when the phone rang. I was hesitant to pick up the phone as I usually screen my calls when I am not working but I made the decision to go ahead and oblige the person on the other end.
Boy was did that decision have a ill effect on my afternoon. Immediately the individual on the other end began into their rant about an issue they had with some circumstances.
As soon as I heard their nature of their call my heart began to race, my hands began to shake with adrenaline, and my vision became very acute.
I stepped outside as I knew I was reaching rage levels here.
It is one thing to have a conflict with a person and it is another to have that conflict meet you with a lack of care and respect that the person had today with the issues they brought forth.
Not that there weren’t valid points on their end or that there needed to be communication between us, the way the conflict was approached made it much difficult to make and sense out of the ordeal.
I couldn’t believe how amped up I was after. I had a very difficult time shaking the assumptions made by a web of individuals because of the way this conflict was handled. I realize now what it was so hard for me, it was because people sometimes just make assumptions about you.
I think the point that i want to make is that it takes a lot of character to deal with conflict. Many people avoid the issue all together and follow the path of least resistance. I seem to have lost this trait some time ago as conflict has been big in this season of life. It feels that there is a routine of putting out fires in my life now and i can either but out the blaze with a strategy to leave the structure of the relationship intact or I can bulldoze it all down to the ground.
I grew up with a learned behavior to swell with anger when I am approached with a loud voice. To me it shows a lack of sensitivity or care for the relationship and I admit to have little tolerance for this type of approach.
Today I learned that there may be times when people are stacked against you and all you can do is move forward with peace in your speech, and humility in your actions. The rest you have to let go because people can be cruel and never give a lick about your feelings. The greater mark of character you can do is then show compassion and understanding when you need to approach these difficult people. Then you will know that you act on principles and not circumstances! To me that is far more important.
MM

Knock with Fury

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:39:40 -0700

It was late Friday night and I had resorted to the reality of my mind and hearts position. I was standing in front of a closed door that all paths had led me to. Whether it was because of the emotional cycling of the day or the circumstances I saw no end to. I had one choice to make and that was to either sit in the dark denying the idea and notion of the possibilities that were kept behind that door. Or i could knock.
As a man that attends Church, I had recently heard a sermon from a pastor who I know to be human like the rest of us, about the nature of this verse in Matthew. His view of the knocking of this door was as though a friend comes to your door early in the morning and is fervently pounding with urgency at your front stoop. The idea that there was a concern and a desperation in the knocking that had to be attended to was conveyed in this sermon has stuck with me ever since.
This image of emotionally, physically, and spiritually calling out to God the needs and desperation of your heart was all too real to me Friday evening.
Though I knew I could move in directions that were “my best” plans, I knew they would satisfy for only the moment.
No I needed the opportunities and new realities that stood beyond that door. I couldn’t open the door, or knock it down. I had to submit to the loving authority in my life.
I recall literally falling asleep as I prayed knocking my hand on my bed sheets.
The next morning was held with new revelations about my life that I could not deny the presence of a new open doorway in my life. It was remarkable and it is continuing to fuel my vision and passion for the future. The moments that have taken place since that evening has only allowed God to grow bigger in my life and that is my hope that everyday He becomes bigger rather than smaller.
So be encouraged to knock, knock my friends and be direct with God in what you are seeking. In His way and timing He will respond and lead you through the doorways He opens and closes behind you. Keep this process simple as I have acknowledged my best made plans get me only so far and to me those plans are not enough!
I want to live in the plans and future that are ahead of me if I choose to walk though His doorways and not my own!
MMM

The Routine

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:23:33 -0700

Finishing my day that had little normalcy to it as usual when I saw this image on my wall. 3 hangers of consecutive times (plus one for my daughter) of me rushing out the door and off to who knows what.
My days of late of been filled with little margin in my time. Even now i can hear the tasks and requests of tomorrow knocking on my door. if I were to ask myself the simple question “Is there a routine in my life?” I would answer “no” before I saw this image.
It makes me think about the hidden self we all carry with us. It is the part of our personality, behavior, or actions that imply something others see but you don’t readily recognize.
I just got a great glimpse into the routine chaos in my life that i contribute to and it makes me question what I could do to stop it and re-direct my energy? Sleep earlier, do laundry more often, shop for healthier foods, meet more often with a mutually encouraging friend?
All these ideas flood my mind as I again am reminded how much control I do have in the chaos. That there is a choice to be thrown about in the tasks of the day ahead or to retain values and motives that these small items break apart against.
It is up to me to yield to a more proactive routine than a reactive one and I am glad that no matter what the circumstances are, I have a choice.
Do you believe you are more reactive or proactive?
mm’s

Designing....

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 23:18:16 -0700

I am learning that putting ideas down for our designs comes from a very raw state. I don’t know how else to do it? I have tried other methods and seem to have come up short.
This last batch was all straight from my heart.
Glad there are some good things in there!
MM’s

Just finished

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 22:55:44 -0700

Nice! Just updated some last touches to the new Restored Website. My team has been working hard to get this out and all i feel is joy. It feels so good to watch the efforts of amazing people come together to make something beautiful come together.
I feel like a shop owner who just finished re-modeling their showroom and I am about to open the doors for the first customer to come in. I am so hopeful that this is the season that Restored Clothing takes some large healthy steps.
Just as I am growing through pain, so has this company. Grounded in a great truth that Restoration is something we all need, has been the principal that has kept the roof over our heads. It is now time to see what new adventures await us!
But first, time to rest and make ready for ____________ (life will fill in the blank).
Have a look see and please leave us a note! http:www.restoredclothing.com

MM’s

After I Reap

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:39:35 -0700

I have been thinking the last two days heavily about the idea of “you reap what you sow”. The notion of getting what is deserved or now experiencing the circumstances one has contributed to in creating.
It is this season of life that I see more readily the affects of how my broken nature and heart have left a sense of poverty in my emotional bank account.
Some may be glad that there is a coming of this season because of those that are negatively affected by the actions of others. Some are able to push past these carnal thoughts and see that there is a great call to forgive and help rebuild.
The thoughts that fuel anxiety are “what do I do now, after I reap? How long must I get thrown down before I can get up?”. To be honest, in my circumstances my thoughts have been more about how to even feed myself than recalling and correcting emotional habits and patterns. The walls of my heart are only being kept from caving in by the support of the Holy Spirit. I feel I have no other false structure to keep it together and an even greater hope that I am not incorrect and must endure a lot more breaking down before I am right about this.
Though this is being described as a terrible circumstance that I am currently in I feel that it is the appropriate timing for God. It took 40 years in the desert for Moses to be made ready to be called out of the wilderness. Years of learning dependance and a keen ear to hear the Will of God. May I not be satisfied with a temporary oasis but thirst for the comfort and security of the promises God has in store for me.
So I must settle my grumbling questions and fears that abound in my heart and settle in my gut. If I claim that God is enough to be completely satisfied with, then I must practice more blind faith to start standing on those values. Otherwise, God is just a theory in my life and not part of the experience that I grow through.
M.M.

We are a Tragedy

Fri, 4 Jun 2010 10:40:44 -0700

tragedy |ˈtrajidē|
noun ( pl. -dies)
An event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe

I have been thinking a lot about this word lately. Observing the behavior of people in my life in context to the changes in my own has revealed a lot about others character and even more of my own.
I am convinced more and more that our nature has set us in a state of constant tragedy. We are short fallen people when compared to the hope the creator made us in. Our finite perception of the world and even God is a tragedy.
Facing my own short comings as a man, son of God, and every other role in my life reveals one thing.
Desperately I need a God that is bigger than.

There is a hope worth clinging to that growth can take place in the heart when it that heart presses in to a power bigger than.
Many people seek to pick and choose a theology, or a ideology that “feels” right. I see much folly in this as I don’t trust “feelings”. We are flawed and need a Father that is not flawed. Only then learning from this bigger than source can we be moved in a direction toward reclaiming a piece of Eden.
Happy Friday,
MM’s

Time spent alone

Sat, 15 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Fear Not

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:42:12 -0800

I learned today of the passing of a remarkable person who was admired by many and who has left a tremendous legacy behind them. This person was always warm and endearing to me, and it was an honor to have seen in life the impact they had on others.
Tonight as I listen to the rain beating against my weathered roof, I think of the inevitable end we all face. So many thoughts come to pass as I look over the landscape of my life thus far. Many shadows of the valleys I dredged through lie beneath the brief mountaintops of victories past.
I fear the past at times and I often worry it may afford an opportunity to entangle the present and enslave the future. It is a too familiar fight to keep the fear of not meeting up to my own expectations or proclaiming absolute freedom from past failures out of my mind. Most of all I fear not stewarding this life I was given to the full extend of what God desires me to do with it.
I recall an idea about fear that my grandmother once told me. She said that fear appears as an enormous and all intimidating wall. This wall is blocking you from the desired result that lies just beyond the other side. This wall of fear is impossible to go around and cannot be avoided for too long. The only way to surpass it is to enter through it.
Once you march into it, you will find that this all-intimidating wall of fear to be quite penetrable. You will be surprised at your ability to move through it is directly related to your perseverance to reach the other side.
This idea about working through my fears has never left me and I feel it was Divine provision as my mind is bent to fear. I am thankful that the words of Christ uttered the most in the Bible are “Fear not”. Jesus knew our natural affinity to fear and thus spoke so much against it out of His love for us.
I have a hope that no matter how many valleys, peaks, or deserts lie ahead that I will press on until it is time to go home. In the meantime, when ideas of failure and emotional bankruptcy dangle in front of me, I will penetrate those thin walls of fear and continue to live a life that will leave a legacy for others to benefit.
That is my hope for all of you who may read this note.
-Mica

4 tips for the fellas

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 22:23:18 -0800

1. You are not as disrespected as you think!
Many guys worry that they are not established as a man in their own universe, and it drives some of us to do some extreme measures in hopes we will be respected by other men and loved by women. Truth is, you earn respect as soon as you give it. No matter who it is, give to them and people will start to take notice a man has entered the room.
2. You’re not as cool as the mirror shows you!
I’ll admit I have spent a good deal of time in the mirror dialing in the looks, the smiles, the laughs, the poses. I am a guy, and I want to feel cool and act it. However, I have been reminded many times that I am perceived better and more approachable when I am the first to admit that I am not the best at everything! Also, please save the one-upper stories.
3. Be a man that loves!
Now I am talking legitimate emotions and having the emotional intelligence to love in many ways. Be honorable, be sweet, be intentional, and be consistent with those in your life who are difficult and not so difficult to love. Also develop depth in your relationships by being willing to trust and be vulnerable! More men need to lead with love!!! I cannot say that last line enough.
4. Integrity spreads Integrity
The opposite only erodes and rots the core of who you would like to be as a man. Duplicity, lying and superficial relationships with others only makes you what you put into them. Find other men who you can share the deep places of your life with. Chances are they are dealing with the same things and the biggest lie a guy could believe is they are alone in what they are dealing with!

I wrote this post as a means to get all these tips on the forefront of my mind as I feel these are ideas that all guys should develop on their own and the women in their lives who love them should encourage them to be such men and nothing less!
-MMM