theComfyMisfit

Back when I was in middle school, my sisters and I would stay at my cousin Willie Meta's house during the day while the parents were at work. I miss those summers. Playing out in the yard with my cousins and the rest of the neighborhood crew. We would walk to the store, get a few hot dog's, then turn right around and venture back down the massive hill when had to climb to get there, literally. But it was the summer time. We were just kids being kids. Not stirring up any trouble though, except the occasional dirt spot we may have caused due to a game of kickball or hide and seek, but that's it. Willie didn't too much care about us being in the yard playing, she was from the old school. They basically ate, slept, and worked outside lol. But she would always say something that I would never forget after telling us to do something that we saw her do differently: "Do as I say, not as I do." I think that statement perfectly describes the disconnect between the old

photo cred: Business Insider What is it that brings someone to the point of hating another human being, simply based on the color of their skin? After seeing the videos and photos of what happened in Charlottesville, I began to question everything that I had been saying, every biblical point of reference I had made thus far. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how: 1. The “Unite The Right” rally would be approved and allowed to happen, and, 2. When is Black America going to finally come together and make a united stance on something? So, I prayed about it. Slept on it. Thought about it a little more, and it was back to Black Jesus and John. Float with me on this. Jesus, speaking about the hatred of the world, says in John 15:18-19 , “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, therefore the world hates you.” That verse led to a flurry

The book of Philemon was actually the book that started "The Biblical Nerd" . It was after hearing one a Bishop T.D. Jakes sermon a few years ago, that sent me on my "Quest for Biblical Knowledge" . It's also one of the shortest books in the bible in fact, with just one chapter and 25 verses. (shorter than this post). Written by the Apostle Paul, this short but powerful letter of love and forgiveness, was sent to Philemon in regards to one of his slaves, Onesimus. This happens to be one of my favorite stories in the bible and one I read and think about often. That being said, let's get into it shall we? I'll start off with a little background of the characters, then bring it all together. Mind clear? Body relaxed? Good. Here we go!!: Philemon Leader of the Church of Colossae church met at his house royalty; owned slaves; Onesimus follower of Christ; converted by Paul Onesimus slave of Philemon ran away after committing a crime against P

A little transparency here. As a gift from my father on Christmas last year, he gave me his jar full of coins that he's accumulated throughout the year. A very generous gift, however, it wasn't as easy to get as it may sound. When I went to go pick up the jar, there was a brief discussion between him and I before the interchange, which got a little unruly (Which I take full responsibility for).  Essentially, he didn't believe that I was going to use the money to buy a camera. I couldn't really fault him though, because given all of my past failed adventures and flat out bad decisions, how could he trust me now? Why was this time any different than any of the other ideas I thought was going to work? In middle school, I joined the band, which ended up meaning I needed an instrument. He bought me a trumpet. That only lasted a couple of years, but the thought of learning how to play again comes up every time I hear one in a song. Looking back on it now, between the tr

Yesterday evening as I was strolling down my Instagram timeline, I ran across a video of 100 Black men, greeting students as they arrived on their first day of school. Dressed in suit and ties, the video was of them clapping and applauding the kids as they exited off of the school bus. After watching it, the idea about doing something similar in my hometown would be a pretty cool idea. So I made a status and posted in on Facebook. Within 20 minutes, I found myself on the organizing end of getting 50 Black Men together to provide the same welcome and encouragement to the students of Person County, as our brothers did in Atlanta. Often, I find myself passing on opportunities due to fear. I struggle with self-doubt; I'm harder on myself than anyone else could ever be. The only thing that I could think about after getting back such a strong, positive response from the community, was how am I going to get 50 men together for this? I prayed on it and went to sleep. When I woke up t

Lately, I’ve found myself to be under a lot of pressure. To the majority of the people that know me, I’m one pretty talented guy. But with that honor, comes a tremendous amount pressure. Meeting the expectations of others can get difficult at times, not even beginning to factor in those that you have for yourself. No. It’s a struggle being talented with potential in a self-centered society. However, Pressure when applied correctly, can be a beautiful thing. So, I had a talk with the big man up top, because I had questions about all this pressure I was under, and diamonds is where he took me. Yep, Diamonds. I know, I know…”Where are you going with this Tone?” lol. Well… A diamond, as defined by Webster’s, is a native crystalline carbon that is the hardest known mineral, that is usually nearly colorless, that when transparent and free from flaws is highly valued as a precious stone, and that is used industrially especially as an abrasive. It is so hard, that it is used as an industr