Don't let the fact....

Poverty isn't something we can just ignore. It's not something that we can just say "well, I don't know what to do…" and then not do anything. It's a pressing matter. Both physical and emotional poverty have damaging physical and emotional effects. In one person, one poverty may even incite the other. They are disastrously related. Therefore, we can't just ignore poverty, or poverty as a whole will find new avenues and will grow.

If you don't know what to do, don't just sit and do nothing. Pray about it. Then go look at what Jesus did. Then at what other people in the church who have been truly listening to God are doing. If you haven't found your "niche" yet, or haven't found what area of involvement in eradicating poverty you are most passionate about, pray about it and ask God to lead you then start doing different things while asking God to show you the way. The worst that would happen is that you would help someone without being passionate about it (which is perfectly fine because it's not about us anyway). God will show you your niche. He'll show you where he will plant you and where you will be the most fruitful. We can't use the excuse that we "don't know what to do" then not go look for something to do.

I've learned personally that it is pride that causes me to say "I am not able" or "I don't know how, so I can't". That type of thinking is not dependent on God, but dependent on self. It is forgetting that God has all the resources in the world, and that, if he wants you to do something, he won't ask you to do it without equipping you for it. Why would God send a soldier into battle unarmed? Right. He never does. Because He's always there as our armor and will give us everything we need. We are called to battle and fight with poverty. God says that there will always be the poor on earth, but that doesn't mean we give up and stop fighting. Every person matters. Just because the poor will always be there doesn't mean that we can ignore the poverty. To ignore it would be like telling a homeless man or a person who is depressed "well, there will always be poverty, so my helping you wouldn't make a difference". There will always be poverty, but that does not mean that they will always be poor. By helping each individual we make a dent in helping the cause as a whole. Jesus brings life and glorious riches (whether riches of knowledge or of having physically enough). When we show Jesus to each individual, we show them how to let Him begin eradicating the poverties in their life so they don't feel like they're doing it all alone. And when we offer them physical means of help (like money, lunch, a home, etc.), we are making a difference in their life, even if we may not be eradicating the worlds' poverties through that action. Every person matters and will make a difference in the long run. Every person, once they become spiritually rich, has the ability to step alongside Jesus and  eradicate poverty. We need all the people on our team we can get. The physically and emotionally poor are not to be pitied, ignored, or forgotten. They are to be loved and helped, then considered as a brother and Christ and as a fellow soldier in the fight against emotional and physical poverty.

And for the over-achieving perfectionists out there: 

Don't let the fact that you can't do everything stop you from doing something.

I've been in that position. The 8 hours of homework never gets done if you don't go one assignment at a time.

 You'll find that, when we begin living by Jesus' call to serve the poor and eradicating physical and emotional poverty, our hearts slowly start to open up more than we ever imagined, and Jesus begins eradicating the poverties in there as well. Some that we didn't even know were there.

Lend Free (Part 2/4)!

Walk with me.

Talk with me.

This might hit    just a bit  

Hard for me

But lets open our stone cold eyes and see

This type of "remember me".

He.

Has five children and the heart of a father.

Wanting to be anything but a failure

He works not only nine to five

But five to ten and third job at the end

Because HE

…. wants to feed his children.

So while they may

Live in a big

House

Or wear nice looking

Clothes.

Those luxuries were from a long time ago.

And They  

     are barely  making it.

House in foreclosure

And    dad   just   lost   his ...

Not keys

Not mind, no.

Dad just lost his...

 jobs.

Did you catch it?

That's plural.

Not one

But two

Then three

The process of elimination began ever so slowly.

NOT because he didn't work
HARD enough.

NOT because he was not

EDUCATED enough.

NOT because he didn't

WANT IT enough.

But because Somehow

 in the three

There just wasn't enough

 Job security

To get them through next week.

And this father's heart

Sinks to the bottom of his stomach.

Cause his kids stomachs

         Say Hungry.

They've got no signs...

but he thinks that's what they'd read...

"Hungry"

Thinking they'll say "he's failed me".

And there's nothing he can do.

Poverty.

Lend Free (Part 1/4)

New poem called Lend Free! This is only part one, the rest are to come! be on the lookout :)

Sit with me.

No. wait.

 don't sit with me.  Please.

Stand with me.

Walk with me.

Talk with me.

I've got something for you to see... with me.

If you think

You've seen poverty

Open your lens...with me

Cause when the talk of poverty begins

It unravels in the preconceived spools of thought in our minds.

And the stereotypes that we allow to have this hype….

Drift

 straight to the Trash.

walk with me

Talk with me.

Breathe in with me

This fresh air of honesty.

No turning your head cause its too hard to see

Or repainting the picture the way you wish it'd be

He

He

Is a man on tenth street

Sleeping where no man should be forced to sleep

Eating only what man will give him the funds to eat.

He.

His sign says "hungry"

 and his eyes say "help me"

 and his heart-

His heart is the hardest to see

But it says... "if only

The men passing by would SEE  me….

Instead of pretending they don't."

If you want a check        in your reality

Know

Yeah I may be describing the stereotypical Ho    Bo

But know

He

is the same…… species. As you. And me.

Humanity.

Poverty.

Break the Dark

Hey everyone! so here's a beautiful organization that i happened upon recently that's working to fight against emotional poverty and bring Christ's freedom to people that have been enslaved for too long by doubts of who they were created for and who they were created to be. It's called Break the Dark. I would tell you what they're about, but it's better if you read it for yourself.

From www.breakthedark.blogspot.com :
"My story begins here.

I have always been the "quiet girl," the girl in the back of the classroom that everyone thinks doesn't talk. In fact, when I was in kindergarten I had one best friend who I would whisper to and she would basically talk for me. Sounds funny now if you know the person I have become. All throughout grade school and high school, I had a few close friends. I envied the popular and pretty girls, wishing I were outgoing like them, and therefore disliking them and myself more and more as the years went on. I won't go into full detail but over the years (namely high school), but the reality is that I found myself not liking who I was and who God had created me to be. Each day was a struggle, as I would wake up thinking about what I would or would not eat that day, looking at others and asking myself, "Why don't I look like her?" "I wish I had her hair or her body."

This grew to become my sole focus each day. I didn't realize that the outside appearance was only part of who I am. I had horrible perceptions of myself. I felt the need to live up to expectations. I also felt that since I had been labeled as "the quiet girl" my whole life, that that was WHO I was and therefore I had to look a certain way to fulfill the lack of personality that day to day people saw in me.

I also felt the need to be loved, as we all do. I began to become a person that I didn't know and didn't like. Once I entered college and the boyfriend I had and loved broke up with me, I felt nothing more. I began to question why I was even here. What my point in being alive was. I wanted the void in my heart to be filled with this boy again, causing me to be a person that I didn’t recognize. The person I had become was scary and lonely. I knew that what I was doing was wrong, for I was raised in a Christian home where right and wrong are clearly evident. I felt as if I was tied to a track, watching as the train came closer and closer...and the ropes, they were becoming tighter and tighter around me, pulling me in so I couldn’t escape. I began doubting God and asked him why he had put his breath in my lungs because, in my opinion, I was completely worthless. I began to be borderline on and off anorexic...and depressed, thinking, “If I was just skinnier or prettier, maybe the boy I love will come back to me.”

It was one awful night after yet another argument with him that I felt like I needed to make the decision that wasn't supposed to be in my hands. After I took the pills, laying on my bedroom floor crying, my mom said we needed to go to the ER. It wasn't as dramatic as it sounds, and it could have been worse, but this is where my story began to change.

I met a nurse in the hospital that was amazing. I don't remember her name, but she talked to me like I wasn't a crazy person, as the other people had, and she gave me hope...the kind that sprinkles water on the soul, the kind that, even if for an instant, clears the darkness and brings the light, if even just for a moment.

I could breathe. And breathing was good enough for the moment.

She told me I was beautiful and that I have so much to live for, and she told me how much God loves me.

After that night, things were up and down. It was during the summer though that I truly felt hope again. My friend took me to a bible study she had been going to all summer, and I have never met such amazing people in my life. The atmosphere was incredible, and the people there became my true, real friends. They genuinely cared for me and most of them don’t even realize how much their love has changed my entire life. I looked forward to Thursday nights every week. I began to feel the real love and hope that I hadn't felt before. The kind of love only God can give, a filling love that no person on the earth can satisfy. Real people, who loved me for who I am and not just my outer appearance. I began to feel happy again, like I hadn't in a long time. I began to embrace who I am and therefore found the love within to embrace others and love them.

I finally let go of the things that were holding me back. It is amazing how much love, true love, the kind that comes from the Father, can change us.

Even though I still struggle with my self-image some days, I know in my heart that this is who I am. This is who I was created to be. I was created to love others deeply and show the love that only Jesus can give to them. Today I feel more alive and free than I ever have. In our weakness, we are strong. The struggles we encounter shape us and allow us to be real and share real love.

And this is why I am creating this organization. I want to share the joy that I feel with others. I want all people, girls and boys alike, to know that they are not alone. I want to touch other peoples' lives and therefore I have a vision. My vision is in the form of fashion. I have designed shirts and various items in my head and on paper. This is just the beginning of it all and I have not yet gotten the products, but I am working towards that.

The title is "Break The Dark."

So many girls (and boys too, but not as often times) struggle with self-esteem and eating disorders and all that goes along with the two. I want these people to see that they can make a difference, that they (perhaps YOU) are important and loved and cared for. I want you to feel beautiful in your skin. I want for the people who will wear these shirts to say that they're wearing it because they are loved. I want you to feel the joy that is captured when you come to the realization and happiness in yourself and who God has created you to be.

I want you to break the cycle, I want you to end the battle that is causing you hurt, whatever it may be. I want for you to begin breaking the darkness with the hope of God, the hope that an amazing life lies ahead of you. For the only way to get rid of darkness is with even the slightest illumination of light. I want real love to invade you and take over the pain, allowing you to be free and able to run into freedom and not away from fear. I want this hope to be a long lasting hope, not one that lasts for a little while, bringing you back down after time is up. I want God's love to be shown through you and in you as it is in me, because He has the only long- lasting hope that can be found.

This is only a piece of how I have gotten to where I am today but I hope that my passion and desire is clear. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Let's break the dark.

Together.

In light and love and freedom and all that is beyond.



Isaiah 41:13"


such a beautiful organization. i hope you check it out further at breakthedark.blogspot.com

Ode to the Forgotten CD!

 

Hey everyone! If you don't know, Ode to the Forgotten has awesome CD's in with original poems and songs about both physical and emotional poverty. The first half of the CD  is a poetic explanation of how to get involved with Ode and with what God's doing with the poor, and the second half is action-paced with poetry and songs that God wrote on our heart that we want to share with you!

CDs are $5 and all the proceeds go to the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention Indy. Great organization that's making a difference! To get a CD, contact us at odetotheforgotten@yahoo.com

and as you listen to it, remember, the words on the CD mean nothing if we don't live them out with our lives.

A Powerful Prayer

(Just a snippett of a new poem called "A Powerful Prayer"... you'll have to come to our next event to see the whole thing... we'll let you know when that is:)

If you've seen

The poverty of the poor

Or the petitions of the powerless

Don’t. hold. Back. Your.

Prayers.

Just because you don't seem to have the

Time.

Cause maybe

Just possibly

Maybe the poor are

Just one prayer away

And maybe the past is just

One prayer away

And maybe the imprisoned are just one prayer away

One prayer away

From freedom.

So look at your clock

a'tickin'

Look at the time

a'going

Look at the world around you

a'moving

But when you look- is it moving enough?

Does this clock represent

Something more than spent time and spent cents?

Does it wreak of something particularly prayerful?

can't wait to see you all at the next event! let us know what you think! and if you want us to come to your church, email us at odetotheforgotten@yahoo.com

love!

Looking for a picture!

So we are looking for a picture to put on the front of a postcard we are making... and we need your help! This postcard will be a general information postcard about what Ode to the Forgotten is and how people can get involved.

Likewise, the picture could be of anything that relates to an emotional or physical poverty, or just a nice background picture (brick, dilapidated wood, whatever catches your eye really... :) Send it in and we'll see what we get and put one on the post card! We'd love to have all the pictures in to choose from by October 20th so we can get these cards out into the world to tell people about Ode!

Thanks for your help and if you have any questions or need further explanation, feel free to email us at odetotheforgotten@yahoo.com

Grace and Peace,
Sarah and Amyra

ODE is on the Northview blog!!! PTL!

So an awesome woman named Robyn Rickel attended the Ode event and wrote a blog about Ode and it's founding for the Northview Church blog! Here's a snippet:
"The Ode to the Forgotten team is writing a completely comprised of submissions from people like you. They want everyone to participate; you don’t have to be a C.S. Lewis to submit. They believe all writings are amazing and have a purpose....It can be about how you thought of poverty before and after you started serving, how serving has changed your life or anything else you want to express. 
 beautiful wording:)

to read the rest, go to:
http://thenorthviewblog.us/2010/09/13/serving-brings-darkness-to-light/

praise the Lord for spreading the news!

Routine

by Rachel Hoffman

It's Friday
And the clock strikes noon
What can he expect?
Lunch should be soon
Or maybe not
Maybe he should expect
a rip
or a tear
or a scratch
or a glare
or a shout down the hall
maybe he should expect them all
because whether its
Monday
or Tuesday
everyday is a
Newday
for someone to tell him
He's not enough
And its tough
Because Monday through Thursday
Its a daily routine
To be called a name
to be hit
or to scream
And come Friday
There's no life in his eyes
Because the life he had left
was murdered inside
his chest
behind the ribs
and through the mess
the people he loved
took all the rest
of the life
the love
the joy
the peace
none of it they
let him keep
So maybe its only
Friday
But then it's
Saturday
and before they know it, it's
Sunday
And Sunday is the day
That they iron their shirts
And put on their masks
because
Sunday
is the day that
all sins are washed away
Right?
Wrong.
Because it maybe
Sunday
and that's the day
that we worship
laugh and
sing
but once Sunday's over
once the sun is lower
and the hands of the clock
strike 12
He's back to
Monday
and every other day
of the week
the month
the year
when worthless
pitiful
disgrace
and fagot
are common words to hear.
So we can go to church
and sing our songs
and laugh with all our friends
but the way we talk
and the way we walk
and the way that we degrade
is affecting hearts
Monday through Sunday
Each
And
Every
Day

Remember- You Were Once a Slave In Egypt

Remember. You were once a slave in Egypt.

We all come from somewhere. We all come with baggage- some type of oppression. My family is currently in the midst of something a bit Egypt-like. Not to the extreme, but more or less. (I think our country is amidst something a bit Egypt-like as well, but we'll get to that in a bit.) My dad has been unemployed for over a year. We have had the blessing of not seeing this as a burden, but as a blessing to refocus. We've gotten to spend time together that we never would have seen if he were still working in an office downtown. Hardship brings hard choices. You can be short of money, then you can be out of money. And when you only have so much money, you have choices to make. Healthy ones. You want to make $4,000 stretch into $20,000, but you can't. Where you spend your money or how you spend your money shows what's important to you.

Our "Egpyt" wasn't that we had new, harder decisions to make. Our "Egypt" wasn't the

fact that my dad was unemployed. That was actually our red sea and God saved us through it. Our "egypt" was the worship of money and material things themselves. We never realized how much we spent on things with wrong motives. Coffee is such an idol some days. Having a job that sounds nice and pays a lot of money every year is an idol. Just being able to actually have enough money to have things can become an idol. You find out what your idols are when you get frustrated because your idols were taken away. God gives in seasons and takes in seasons. Remember you were once a slave in Egypt- where you did not actually own anything- you were the property. You were owned by someone else. When you came out of the Egypt God saved you from, the gifts He gave you were a gift. A blessing. Remember- they did not come from you. I think the key here is that, in Egypt, all you had was God. He was it. You had no dominion, no power, no possessions, nothing that you could call yours. God freed you, and gave you a promise- blessing. Therefore, when God calls you to give some blessings away to bless someone else or to bring more glory to Him, don't hesitate to give. For you were once a slave in Egypt whose whole being relied on the courtesy and kindness of others. Freely you have received from God, now freely give.

Now, know that I am not discounting the hardship while in Egypt. It was hard. But

realize- God had every day of the suffering held in His hands, preparing your hearts for the day He would free you.

Think about Moses. Moses suffered in Egypt. He had seen the oppression of his forefathers, struggling under the mighty hand of an over-powerful oppressor, robbing them of all the dignity they ever had, and he acted out on it. He killed an Egyptian and ran away- fled from the  system. He was blessed with a new group of people who would take care of him. He oversaw flocks of sheep- a rather peaceful, humble life compared to the way he grew up (remember- he grew up as a son of Pharaoh). He was free from seeing the suffering of his fellow Jews.

Yet God called him back.

And God freed his people- His prized posession.

Remember- if you feel like you are being oppressed under the hand of a relentless burden, DON'T FORGET THAT OUR GOD IS IN THE BUSINESS OF FREEDOM.

And he will free you.

Now. Once he frees you- realize- you have to allow yourself to be free. (And now you're probably saying: "What?! Why wouldn't I allow myself to be free?!") People who are used to oppression sometimes don't know how to live any other way and are too stubborn or scared to figure out how to change their circumstances. (Think about it- have you ever tried to let an animal out of a cage, to give it some freedom, then find that it just wants to sit in its cage and won't come out?) YOU HAVE TO BE WILLING TO LEARN FROM GOD HOW TO CHANGE YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES, THEN OBEY HIM WHEN HE TELLS YOU TO GO AHEAD AND DO IT.

God is in the business of freeing us from our Egypts… will we let Him?

You were once a slave in Egypt, do not fearfully or stubbornly or pridefully or comfortably go back to your old ways. The fearful say "I'm scared that God won't bless this new life." The stubborn say "Well, God. Thanks for showing up. It's only been 40 years. Thanks." The prideful say "I've got a better way to live." The comfortable say "Changing my lifestyle is too hard. I've been a slave for years, another couple years won't hurt. Then I'll change."

Well brothers and sisters, if God is clearly freeing you from something, then the time of change is now. Not in a couple years. Not whenever we feel like giving up our stupid prideful crap and submitting to God. Not when we feel like we're ready or brave enough. THE TIME IS NOW. If He's calling us to change today (and we know He is), we can't wait another day because we want to think about it! GOD IS BRAVE ENOUGH! GOD'S PLAN IS GOOD ENOUGH! GOD'S STRENGTH IS STRONG ENOUGH! GOD'S TIMING IS PERFECT! The terms of freedom are determined by the freer, not the helpless who don't have any money for bail. Praise God we have a gracious freer!

Likewise, we are free! And God has in addition told us that he is going to give us OUR VERY OWN LAND! Woah! So we used to be slaves. We used to be under the burden of our old "Egypt" (some type of oppressive, physical/emotional poverty). We used to be owned, but now He is giving us a chance to own something else. To have our own possession. We used to be Egypt's posession, but now God has freed us and we are His possession, and He is giving us our very own land to possess. Wow. What a blessing. We just wanted freedom, but God gave us freedom and land. Praise God. That's amazing.

WE NEED TO TAKE CARE OF IT. TO CONSTANTLY BE THANKFUL FOR IT. TO CONSTANTLY SHARE IT WITH FOREIGNERS AND THE POOR AND WIDOWS AMONG US. REMEMBER. YOU WERE ONCE A SLAVE IN EGYPT.

When God has freed you from whatever was oppressing you, realize that He freed you for something, not from something. You have been blessed so that you can bless. Whatever resources and materials he gives you from now on are for a purpose, for His glory. Don't be deceived by thinking that they are yours to keep forever.

This freedom we have in Christ is beautiful and a blessing and we have bright futures. But never forget- you were once a slave in Egypt. God has blessed you.

12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. 13 And you must always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.

 14 “Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the Lord your God. 15 Yet the Lord chose your ancestors as the objects of his love. And he chose you, their descendants, above all other nations, as is evident today. 16 Therefore, change your hearts[c] and stop being stubborn.

 17 “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed. 18 He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing. 19 So you, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. 20 You must fear the Lord your God and worship him and cling to him. Your oaths must be in his name alone. 21 He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise, the one who has done these mighty miracles that you have seen with your own eyes. 22 When your ancestors went down into Egypt, there were only seventy of them. But now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky!

_____________________________________________________________________________

 “You must love the Lord your God and obey all his requirements, decrees, regulations, and commands. 2 Keep in mind that I am not talking now to your children, who have never experienced the discipline of the Lord your God or seen his greatness and his strong hand and powerful arm. 3 They didn’t see the miraculous signs and wonders he performed in Egypt against Pharaoh and all his land. 4 They didn’t see what the Lord did to the armies of Egypt and to their horses and chariots—how he drowned them in the Red Sea[a] as they were chasing you. He destroyed them, and they have not recovered to this very day!

 5 “Your children didn’t see how the Lord cared for you in the wilderness until you arrived here. 6 They didn’t see what he did to Dathan and Abiram (the sons of Eliab, a descendant of Reuben) when the earth opened its mouth in the Israelite camp and swallowed them, along with their households and tents and every living thing that belonged to them. 7 But you have seen the Lord perform all these mighty deeds with your own eyes!

The Blessings of Obedience

 8 “Therefore, be careful to obey every command I am giving you today, so you may have strength to go in and take over the land you are about to enter. 9 If you obey, you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors and to you, their descendants—a land flowing with milk and honey! 10 For the land you are about to enter and take over is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you planted your seed and made irrigation ditches with your foot as in a vegetable garden. 11 Rather, the land you will soon take over is a land of hills and valleys with plenty of rain—12 a land that the Lord your God cares for. He watches over it through each season of the year!

 13 “If you carefully obey all the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and soul, 14 then he will send the rains in their proper seasons—the early and late rains—so you can bring in your harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil. 15 He will give you lush pastureland for your livestock, and you yourselves will have all you want to eat.

 16 “But be careful. Don’t let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the Lord and serve and worship other gods. 17 If you do, the Lord’s anger will burn against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the rain, and the ground will fail to produce its harvests. Then you will quickly die in that good land the Lord is giving you.

 18 “So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 19 Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 20 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors.

 22 “Be careful to obey all these commands I am giving you. Show love to the Lord your God by walking in his ways and holding tightly to him. 23 Then the Lord will drive out all the nations ahead of you, though they are much greater and stronger than you, and you will take over their land. 24 Wherever you set foot, that land will be yours. Your frontiers will stretch from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north, and from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.[b] 25 No one will be able to stand against you, for the Lord your God will cause the people to fear and dread you, as he promised, wherever you go in the whole land.

 26 “Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse! 27 You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. 28 But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from him and worship gods you have not known before.

 29 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land and helps you take possession of it, you must pronounce the blessing at Mount Gerizim and the curse at Mount Ebal. 30 (These two mountains are west of the Jordan River in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Jordan Valley,[c] near the town of Gilgal, not far from the oaks of Moreh.) 31 For you are about to cross the Jordan River to take over the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you take that land and are living in it, 32 you must be careful to obey all the decrees and regulations I am giving you today."

• DEUTERONOMY 10+11

This is the beginning of a poem (not the whole thing because we'll probably record it later... but just a hint:)...

Remember, Remember, Remember

There's a captivity

Breathing inside me

 a heart beat that I can't keep

Still.

It's this slavery

This "remember me"

This stone-chiseled reminder

On a heart

stamped with both Egypt and the promised land.

When

You

Go...

Remember.

You were once a slave in Egypt.

You were once a slave.

This personal, inner freedom we have is a blessing.

Ripple Effect

As you all know, God moved BIG TIME recently at the Hearts and Pockets event at the Earth House. Poverty - both physical and emotional - were discussed and made more aware by the grace of God. Well, God has been moving big time with this event... further than I had expected it could!

I am a part of a scholarship program at IUPUI called the Sam H. Jones Community Service Scholars. Just this passed Friday we had our orientation. We did a lot of fun activities and discussed a lot of topics like Social Justice. During the Social Justice part of the day, we were asked to write down two things that are social injustices that we feel are very important to us...

I wrote down the Water Crisis and Emotional Poverty. Then, our mentors picked a social injustice out of a hat that we had all written down. (mind you, there were around 25 people in the room) - and so mine was picked out first: Emotional Poverty.

Then we were asked to stand in one of four groups. The first group was designated as the group that didn't have a clue what the social injustice we were talking about even meant, and the fourth group was for people who were actively involved in eradicating that particular social injustice. The two others were meant for people that were in between the first and fourth.

I moved down to the fourth group while the ENTIRE rest of the room was down with group number 1. Great... "Here we go, God," I remember saying. "Do your work."

And He did.

The group asked, what emotional poverty is. I explained to them that emotional poverty is just like physical poverty - being without, lacking... but with an emotional twist to it. People who are physically hungry are most likely emotionally hungry too. And no material possessions are going to fill that void. Including food! - that gap in your heart and soul. Faith and relationships and hope are the only things that can help restore what has been lost.

Immediately after I explained what emotional poverty is, the entire room shifted towards me. Everyone has dealt with emotional poverty at some point in time. You don't have to live on the streets and live off of food stamps to suffer from something like this.

Everyone can relate.

After the exercise was over, my mentor asked me, "So, how did you become so familiar with something like emotional poverty and how are you helping to eradicate it?"

So, I shared Ode to him - how we are putting together works of art of all shapes and sizes to publish a book and donate the money. I gave him more detail than that, but you get the picture...

But after I was done telling him, he looked intrigued and excited! He encouraged me to keep going with the project, and to keep working. To quote him directly he exclaimed, "That $%@! [selling a book and donating the money] works!"

God shows up in the most random, wonderful places - not for your glory, but for His. To share, to encourage, to inform, to listen, and help. Be available to Him. I know I'm not all the time... but it's times like these that make me say, "Thank you, Lord. Thank you for letting me do your work. I should probably take you up on your leading more often."

God is moving. Move with Him.

Yours in service,
Joe Spaulding

Hearts & Pockets Update

So the Lord blesses! He is so good! Oh there was warfare, but He beat it! Up until the event, Satan had been working his hardest, but there is victory in the storm:)

Saturday night was beautiful. Thank you thank you to all who came! We are turning cold hearts to the Lord. About 65-80 people showed up for the performance and experience, and even though i didn't get to see the performance seeing as everyone was getting ready for their part, even just talking with people afterward was such a blessing. There were so many instances where God brought amazing people to meet and share with and learn from- an artist from Lafayette, two Taylor University graduates who heard about it on KLove, a representative from the Andy Project who happened to be at the Earth House hanging out.... God has so many fruitful appointments for us daily, if only we are open to them. Whoever was there was who God wanted to be there! He is good! He has such good connections! If you think about it, he made everyone, and he has given everyone different resources, so if you ever need anything, just pray for God to bring you the right person who can help provide it or show you how to get what you need. He's so connected! Praise him for the people and hearts we encountered that night!

We are praying about where to go next, definitely! My personal desire is that Hearts & Pockets isn't just a one-time thing and that it's not just in Indy, but we'll see where God takes us! It's his plan, not ours! Keep sending in things you write, read, draw, photograph! You guys are amazing!

Please be praying for us and for yourself- that we may speak as boldly as we know we should and be as in-tune with God as possible. Praise God and Love you!!! can't wait for what he has for us!!!
Join in, Join hands! Lets go!


Sarah

Paul.

I think we sometimes look at the greats of the Bible, the amazing people in it, and we only see the big picture- the idea that they went from place to place with the gospel, but we forget what details go with that. We forget that they too, like us, have daily lives. It takes traveling time. And gathering resources that God gives you to get there. And it takes prayer all amidst it. I think we just see the fact that it happened and not how it happened. It is important that we see the how. The "how" is what will get us from being a stagnant follower of Christ to an obedient, moving follower of Christ. I'm not saying everyone has to travel around the country. God calls each person or group to their own purpose. But I mean moving as in the way your heart is- are you ready to actively GO wherever Christ calls you. Both physically and in your heart. Do you have that obedient submission to actually go there when he calls, or let him lead you if you don't know the way. That's the how. Letting him lead. I'm sure there were apostles who were the busy bee, type-A type. Always planning where they were going, what time they should arrive, when they were going to eat. (Luke 10) "But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made… 'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed."  Himself. His guidance. His "how-to" and your submission. Martha, focus on the goal. Christ is in your house. Christ is the homeless man on the street. Christ is your kid who needs you to be home to help you with his homework. Christ is the teenager who doesn't know what to think so he chooses to slide quietly in submission to his peers. Satan doesn't have to get us to worship another God, he just has to get us to somehow defy the one True God. Satan is key at distraction. Martha, Christ is coming to your house today and will you stop cleaning and just let him in? or invite him in for that matter. He's got a beautiful victory ahead of you… just ask him about it, whether the house is clean or not:)

Haha- wikepedia says that Type B people tend to call Type A people "stress junkies". So true. But funny wording. And it also says that Type A people generally call type B people "apathetic or disengaged". True. Martha complained to Jesus: "'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!'" Hmm. God has made sucha  beautiful contrast in his Creations.  Man and woman struggle with each other, yet man and women compliment each other. Type A and Type B struggle with each other, yet Type A people and Type B people compliment each other. God has made something beautiful. A beautiful puzzle where you know all the pieces have a place, they are just there to be found. And there's a key to the puzzle in the box. His name is God. We just have to ask him where each piece belongs. And he's more than willing to tell us.

Side note: I think that one thing evil brought into the world was miscommunication. He messed up everyone's communication to make us not as effective. Let's get our armor on and slaughter this enemy. Despite differences in personality, gender, race, whatever… we compliment each other. Everyone has a place. And then they went from town to town telling the Word. Boldly. And fearlessly. God has brought about all types of people- Marys and Marthas alike.

And each of them was human. Paul was human. He needed prayer to speak as boldly as he spoke. Ephesians 6:18-20 "19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." He needed prayer. He knew it. He knew the "as I should" segment all too well. I am not exactly sure about this but we normally don't ask for help with things that we don't struggle with. If I am great at Algebra and could finish my homework in 10 minutes, I don't normally ask someone to help me and make it take 30 minutes. (haha there's my Type A coming out.) So we can see that Paul struggled with this. "Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." Paul was human.

And he and all the other apostles traveled. From church to church. Town to town. When I was sitting in church this morning thinking about this, it reminded me of a tour… like a concert tour. It sort of seems like bands make more of an effort to travel and share their lives and influence with people than many Christians do. I'm not saying there aren't followers of Christ out there going all at it with all they've got… I'm saying that there are quite a few followers of Christ who follow their favorite band on twitter more than they follow Christ in their heart. (and I understand, following Christ is much harder than hitting the "follow" button in Twitter, but we should- like Paul knew he "should"- be more excited about listening to Christ than we are about listening to our favorite band.) (I am preaching to the choir a bit but the choir is definitely hearing with an active ear and responding:) I think a modern-day Paul is what Ode might become- traveling from town to town. Speaking truth about poverty and love- boldly and fearlessly. We'll see I guess. I'll be praying about it. And we ask that you pray about it for us as well…"Pray also for [us[ that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." Satan doesn't realize that he can put us in chains but that God gave us a mouth that can't be shackled. Let's speak the things God tells us to say fearlessly and see where He takes us (geographically as well as spiritually). Here we go!!!

Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention (CHIP)

Posted from the CHIP website. chipindy.org

0n a single night in January 2010, nearly 1,500 men, women and children were counted experiencing homelessness in Indianapolis.
The number does not represent the extent of the problem. Not counted were people who could not be located or who found temporary unconventional shelter and individuals who were staying in hotels or who were "doubled up" with friends or extended family.
Indianapolis has adopted a ten-year plan to end homelessness. Many people and organizations are already engaged in the city's Blueprint to End Homelessness.
The Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention of Greater Indianapolis (CHIP) serves as the lead entity for mobilizing the community to work together to end homelessness. As you explore this site, listen to the stories of our neighbors. Let their voices be your call to action.

Horizon International.

Horizon International Inc. is a beautiful organization that is creating a world of hope for HIV/AIDS orphans in Sub-saharan africa. Their goal is to "raise up a new generation of leaders who follow Jesus Christ "one child at a time". Through a child sponsorship program, Horizon provides food, clothing, educational funding, after-school homework and training assistance, basic health care, and camps for thousands of orphans in Zimbabwe, Uganda, South Africa, and Zambia. In each country, Horizon partners with local churches and communities to best serve the people in that area, and are represented by Horizon leaders indigenous to the area they're working in. For sponsorship information or more info on Horizon International, visit horizoninternationalinc.com
In addition, Horizon will be at Hearts and Pockets on the 14th and will provide a chance for you to sponsor a child.. It takes only $35 a month to have an impact on someone's life. One more great aspect of Horizon's ministry- they allow you to get to know your sponsor child by writing them letters, hearing back from them, and sending them gifts multiple times a year! it's such a blessing to see what God is doing in their lives and to get to pray for their specific needs. Amen!

Ekisa Ministries

Ekisa is such a beautiful organization helping special needs children in Uganda. They'll be at "Hearts and Pockets"... so glad to support them! Check out their site at www.ekisa.org!

Here's what they're all about:

Ekisa Ministries International is a non-profit organization based in Fishers, IN. Ekisa Ministries' mission is to improve the quality of life for people living with disabilities in Uganda. By providing a home of love, hope, and understanding in Jinja, Uganda we will enable each person to develop necessary life skills and help them find purpose. The environment will be focused on the mental, spiritual, and physical growth of each individual according to their specific needs. We will spread seeds of hope for the future and faith in God’s love to the people of Uganda living with disabilities.

Event August 14th! Come!

Poverty isn't just lack of money. It's a lack of anything necessary for true life. Lack of self-confidence. Lack of food. Lack of companionship. Lack of water. Lack of housing. Lack of hope. A certain poverty may lie in each of us. Seen or unseen. There's a need that needs to be filled.
Because we are human and because we are lovers of God, we are called to fill those needs. Not just one of us. You can't try to fill the needs of the world all by yourself.
It's going to take all of us.
So. boldly. Let's take a look at our world. Take a look at the needs- seen and unseen- that are across the earth and right in our backyards.

And let's do something about it.

Ode to the Forgotten is hosting Hearts and Pockets, a night of information and inspiration, an experience that will open eyes to all types of poverty around us and explain how to get involved in the Ode movement. Throughout the night, there will be poetry, music, videos, and stories, and an awesome fair-trade coffee shop. Hearts and Pockets isn't just a performance- it's an experience. Everything has a purpose.
We hope that, through this night, people will see how to use their talents to help eradicate all types of poverty.

Poverty isn't just monetary. It resides in both hearts and pockets.
Ode to the Forgotten.
We'd love for you to come!!!

Admission: just pick ONE of the following
- at least 1 non-perishable (non-expired:) food item for donation to local food pantries. (mainly Fishers United Methodist Church's pantry http://www.fishersumc.org/templates/System/details.asp?id=41317&PID=524694)
- at least 1 new/gently used clothing item for donation to Wheeler Mission
(http://www.wmm.org/)
- at least $1 for Horizon International Inc.
(horizoninternationalinc.com)

When in doubt, just come:)

and check out our blog!!! odetotheforgotten.blogspot.com
it's got all the info

and invite your friends and acquaintances! Anyone is invited:)

The Year of the Lord's Favor. Now.

And He stood up in the synagogue and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.


this is just the blurb. We can't put the whole essay otherwise you wouldn't read the book that will come after it:)

A Praise the Lord: The Earth House

praise the Lord! he orchestrates everything! so today i had a meeting with Brad at the Earth House. i prayed real quick before i left me house that God would just orchestrate the whole meeting and show me if the Earth House was the space we were supposed to use for the event. So get a load of this:
Originally, the date ...we were shooting for was the 14th of August was booked, so we were going to go with the 13th instead. But! while talking to Brad, he told us that actually the fourteenth IS available. He literally said that seconds after we agreed that the 13th would be a good alternate date, he got an email from the people who had the 14th booked, saying that they weren't going to have the event at the Earth House.... oh my god's goodness! i had been praying about the date so much! god is so amazing!!! confirmation much? yes. praise God for his constant direction and boldness and clearness. praise the Lord!

we might need people to help us sponsor the evening financial-wise, so! if you're interested, let me know and we'd be so so so so grateful! thank you guys for following what God's doing with this and just having an ear!

Writing Matters.

So lately satan's been trying to feed me this lie that says that writers and photographers and poets aren't really doing anything with what they do- that because they're not directly, tangibly serving the poor, their writings are not accomplishing anything.
Well. That's a lie.
It's another treadmill Satan's got us stuck on. Round and round of "You should be accomplishing more." No satan.
The writing of Paul has inspired me to do life differently. The writing of C.S. Lewis has taught me how to follow Jesus better. The solitude of prayer will teach me patience and guide me to not run around the world trying to do everything like I'm a chicken with my head cut off.
Writing creates a reminder. So no, satan. I can accomplish something by writing words in a journal.
And that's just what we'll do. And then we'll publish it. And then whole world will see it and write too. And our light will rise in the darkness, and our night will become like the noon day sun. The Lord will guide us always. He will satisfy our needs, strengthen our frame, water where we've planted, and raise up age-old foundations. We will be called Repairer of Broken Walls. Restorer of Streets with dwellings. We will not speak idle words, but our words will spring up with joy from the mouth of the Lord.
What we write matters.
Ode to the forgotten.



(by Sarah Hensley)

Treadmills...

Pride is our treadmill.

Pride is the root of everything- selfishness, greed, individuality without God, impure ambition… everything. It keeps us running in circles. When satan gets us on the treadmill of pride, he can get us to go round and round, thinking about ourselves all the time. It messes up our desires and our hopes, which messes up our actions. Our hopes and desires influence our every action. What we hope for, we realize. If we hope and desire pridefully, that which happens will be a result of those desires within us.  But if we hope in the Lord, if we hope unselfishly, if we desire that which He desires, then what he desires will be realized. And we will be able to step off of the treadmill of pride. We can hit the stop button. And go run in God's creation, discovering new things with out eyes open in the world he wants to reveal to us.  Treadmills are safe. We know where we're going, because we're not really going anywhere at all. They don't take dependence on anything at all, not on a map, a plan, nothing. We control them. We go as fast as we want to. We make our incline. We control them. They give us power. That's what happens when we try to be self-reliant and plan our lives out. We run in circles on our own, boring, uninspired , selfish path. It might seem inspired, it might seem creative, it might seem exhilarating. We might be getting a great work out. But without the up and down natural hills of life and the unsteady terrains to run through that God gives us when He leads us, our lives are boring and running in circles.

I am at Greyhouse and I met a guy named Collin. He was talking about how pride is the root of everything and that's what he's learning. He's learning to go where God wants him and not plan out his own life. Satan is real and he's trying to get us running with pride and obsessions and selfishness. He's trying to get us to run in our own tracks of our past. We've seen this track too many times. We've run too long on the same stupid conveyor belt. It's time for new terrain. It's time to get off of the treadmill.

Collin said whether anyone is a writer, an actor, a drawer… whatever. Our purpose in life is to be a better servant. Not a servant of ourselves. Not to bring glory to ourselves. But to bring glory to God and strive towards perfection in Christ. Not perfection in ourselves. God I only write well when I write with you. I only dance well when I dance with you. I only speak well when my words are yours. I only live well when I give up myself. I only think well when I'm thinking of you. I only love well when I'm loving for you. You are my only. You are my well. You are my adventure. I will get off this prideful treadmill. Your life you've planned for me is perfect. Your life for me is beautiful. I will live in today. Not plan tomorrow. Godwilling I live. Godwilling I run. I will get off this selfish treadmill.

Collin was a blessing from God. A reminder that without him I am nothing. That Satan is real and he's trying to get me to believe in myself, when myself is a lie- and without God I'm just my selfish self. Thank you God for Collin.

My relationship with God can't be about writing about him. My relationship with God can't be about reading good books about him. It can't be about having good friendships where we talk about him to hang out more. My relationship with God is about loving God. God is good. I love him. He deserves glory just because He is. His existence is our relationship. I love him because He is. The "I am" of our forefathers. He is. God help me love you regardless of whether I am writing or not.

(4-12-10)

Pay Attention

by Amyra

pay attention.
perhaps He's everywhere.
in everything you could possibly think to see.
perhaps the world has been forgotten.
perhaps Christ has been forgotten.
what does it say about us?
if our lives
can be measured and defined
by how many God signs
have eluded our mind.
and how well we have mastered,
becoming humanly blind.
perhaps the trees feel ignored.
and the breeze feels ignored.
and every insect on the trees
those that dance melodically to the heartbeat of the breeze
feels ignored.
perhaps they know the truth
and they'd like for us to see it.
...what if everything were a sign?
how then could you avoid
an everywhere God you try hard not to find.
pay attention.
because maybe the trees and the breeze
and the land and the seas,
perhaps they know better than you and than me.
for they hold God within themselves.
and they know God.
and they see God.
and they show God all the time.
so maybe they know better.
i mean,
what would we discover?
what could we uncover?
if the earth went unignored.
perhaps we'd marvel at what were blind to before:
all creation holding signs that say that God is Lord.

Illogical?

I think we get all this so-called "wisdom" on earth. We try to attain all this knowledge of God and knowledge of the world (in the realms of science and development), and we end up calling the truth of God "illogical" or not making sense with what we have discovered, when, really, it's just illogical to us currently in this frame of mind, in this current era. 600 years ago, it would sound crzy if someone said there were extremely small particles you can't see individually that make up big things we can see. Wouldn't that sound crazy? Well, now, in a different era, we call them atoms.

God has showed us truths from the beginning, but our minds just aren't in the same manner of thinking and we declare them as "illogical" or a religious opinion. That is why it is called the mystery of God. And he promises to reveal it to us. Maybe not all at one time, because our brain wouldn't be able to take it all in, and we might declare the whole thing as over our heads. Instead, like a good Algebra teacher, He teaches us the basics.

If x=1 and y=x, then y must equal 1. Then he moves on to the more complex once he has built a good foundation. The more complex. Graphing that x=y. 2-D and 3-D. He slowly reveals to us new dimensions that we never would have understood without the basics. God would not createa world with patterns and seeming logic, without letting that logic lead to himself. If his goal is for all of humankind to know his truth, he would not lead us to a dead end. That is faith- knowing in your heart that all of this does, indeed, add up to something. Meanwhile, God places in front of us people like C.S. Lewis and scientists whose work led to God and agnostics like Lee Strobel whose search for answsers led to the God he never believed in. God would not leave us groping for sight in the wilderness. "For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever." (Lamentations 3:31)

God uses tragedy and the world around us to get us to walk on our own, just like our parents. If we want our children to walk, we can't carry them in our arms 100% of the time. We have to let them develop, and that, indeed, might mean that they fall down a couple of times. Or maybe a lot of times. But all the times, when our legs fail, God has us by the hand to pull us back up again. And then we walk. And it is glorious. All that falling and work, then it pays off and we walk alongside our parents. When we recover from suffering, and even in suffering, we walk alongside God.

I think Jesus says that the way to life is narrow because if it was wider, the light at the end of the tunnel would be coming from too many directions and we would spend too much time zig-zagging through the tunnel instead of getting straight to the point. We don't know all of the mustery of God and his ways yet because, if we did, there would be no goal. Our hearts would never search for that narrow ray of light. We'd be quite too content where we are, on the wide road where we can wander about as we please. I'm so glad some things don't make sense! Wouldn't life be dreary if there was nothing more to learn than what we already know?

Event Soon!

We, Ode to the Forgotten, are praying and, in faith, are beginning to plan an event, God-willing! More details will come later, but we hope that this event will be inspiring and, at the same time, boost involvement with what God's doing through Ode. It will be a debut of sorts of our CD and an experience to not miss for sure! Here are our hopes for this event:

This event is meant to inspire people to go out and write, but most of all to take a look at their community and the world around them and see how they can serve it and show God’s love in all situations. It is not just a performance but an experience. Even before the poetry/songs/stories are presented, we want people to be drawn to examine themselves and the world by the quotes on the walls, the atmosphere, the pictures hanging up, and the information creatively presented all around them. There will be multiple chances for them to get involved in service during the night.
The performance portion will include poetry from our CD of How To (tentative name) that is coming out, which describes how to get involved in ODE, original songs inspired by mission trips and God, and possibly stories from people who have been earnestly convicted by God to turn from their comfortable living and live to serve other people in the name of God. We hope that people leave the event feeling inspired to help with Ode (to write, take pictures, draw, sing and send it to us), but most of all inspired to see the world and to see their lives differently. We pray that we can help open peoples’ eyes to the glory of God and to their purpose, and that they would never be tempted to shut them ever again and return to their previous comfort.
Ode to the poor, the lame, and the blind. Ode to the forgotten. We hope to inspire the poor in spirit, open the eyes of those whose hearts are blind toward God’s calling to love, and to invigorate those who have made themselves numb to the needs of others. We have the poor, lame, blind, and forgotten sitting with us in our schools, in our work buildings, in our homes, as well as in other countries. We are, at times, blind ourselves. Let us refresh ourselves and be open to God’s calling. That is the purpose of this event.

Let us know what you think! Praise God and thank you for your involvement! It's growing now! Love you all!

Possible Page background!

so this is a collage created with pictures (or picture) taken by Horizon International, an organization committed to providing support for HIV/AIDS orphans. let me know what you think! i think it will turn out to be a page background in the book or something of that sort:) if you are inspired to write something that might go on this page please do!

Why We Write

"A critic a few years back...wrote...wondering how i could have been born and raise in Waukegan...and not noticed how ugly the harbor was and how depressing the coal docks and railyards...i had noticed them and...was fascinated by their beauty. Trains and boxcars and the smell of coal and fire are not ugly to children. Ugliness is a concept that we happen on later and become self-conscious about."
- Ray Bradbury Dandelion Wine (page ix)

"In other words, if your boy is a poet, horse manure can only mean flowers to him; which is, of course, what horse manure has always been about."
- page x

"The people there were gods and midgets and knew themselves mortal and so the midgets walked tall so as not to embarrass the gods, and the gods crouched so as to make the small ones feel at home. And, after all, isn't that what life is all about, the ability to go around back and come up inside peoples' heads to look out at the [darned] fool miracle (i think he means yourself), and say: oh, so that's how you see it!? Well, now, i must remember that.
Here is my celebration, then, of death as well as life, dark as well as light, old as well as young, smart and dumb combined, sheer joy as well as complete terror written by a boy who once hung upside down in trees dressed in his bat costume with candy fangs in his mouth, who finally fell out of the trees when he was twelve and went and found a toy-dial type writer and wrote his first 'novel'."
- page xii

Why write? Why write when it makes an unrealistic, way-too-beautiful picture of the world around us? when we think up for ourselves such high expectations? when we beautify the things that are simple and expand upon matters that don't seem to matter all that much? Becuase when you write. When you write like that. It reflects something in the very depths of your heart. That we were programmed and created with a desire and a knowledge in our hearts that there truly is a place that beautiful. Even the most secluded of slaves can write about freedom. In our hearts we can picture just a glimpse of the beautiful land that awaits us. And so we write. Not to be unrealistic. Oh how that word limits so many good things... and bad alike. But no. We write for hope. We write because of assurance. We write from the depths of what we know to be true. The simple is beautified because anything more complex would be confusing. The simple is beautified because wisdom lies much of the time in silence. The simple is beautified because beauty doesn't have to be a complex production. So many of us spend our lives trying to make the lives we're spending so much more beautiful. We add and add and add and add til we think we've created a masterpiece. Yet in the end we end up finding out- that it would have been just as beautiful if we just thought the things we started with were beautiful in the first place. Make-up sometimes removes the raw truth and honesty. That true beauty is natural things covered up and bejeweled. True beauty is authenticity- taking the simple and changing your state of thinking to seeing it as 'beautiful'. Which is more of a miraculous, breath-taking change: to take something you deem physically 'not beautiful' and make it more beautiful yourself? or to let the thing itself sit around in your mind for a while and show you what it really is and then end up creating a beautiful change in your inner thoughts about what you think about it- taking your thoughts from degrading and judgemental to joyful and appreciative, not of things that COULD BE, but of the things that ALREADY ARE? Which is better? I say the second. If we fail to realize the true beauty of the things already before us, how will we every be able to judge whether or not the thing we've created is, in fact, truly beautiful? So we take the simple, the good and the bad about it, and we deem them both beautiful. Because we know that one day the bad will be changed to good and the good will remain and that physical beauty is fleeting, but a changed mind and a changed heart will last forever and impact generations to come. That is why we write.

Too. Much. Noise

For the people who hurt us

And the people who have been hurt

For the loved

And those who judge themselves to the point they don't believe they can be

For the hopeful

And those who think they're no longer able

to climb the gym rope and make it to the top.

You don't have to.

"he has sent me… to set the oppressed free."

For those who have no job

And don't believe they'll ever get one.

"whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it
 and it will be yours"

An elderly woman once said

"You just have to believe that He's done it and it's done."

So for those who have failed to believe.

Who have lost nearly all their sight to see

"He has sent me

To proclaim recovery of sight for the blind."

So are you having trouble seeing

Having trouble being

The man

The woman

The daughter, father, wife, husband, mother, listener, sister, or friend...

That you're called to be?

Well. you can't do it alone.

That's for sure.

Cause I've tried and tried and tried

 and tried

And I've seen the mix of pride and overconfident invincibility

And have found

That I can't do this thing.

This thing called life.

Cause I've tried

And tried and tried

And always getting in the way

Of my day to day glories to God

Of the "I'll praise you not myself" attitude

Is something overwhelmingly, ridiculously rude.

Myself.

I've decided that I'm rude.

I'm selfish a lot of the time.

I have things much better to think about than what I normally do.

If I did this alone, I would not be fit to praise

"Charm is deceptive

And beauty is fleeting

But a woman who fears the lord is to be praised."

Not independent but dependent

Not everlasting beauty but everlasting life.

Fear of the lord not fear of rejection

Will we do this alone

Or will we ask him for help.

Choice one: go solo

Go solo and fail

Which brings us to choice two because failing one leads to two

Just see God from the beginning

"and all these things will be given to you as well"

Cause without him, we're making our own hell

End up

Asking for

Help

Answers Help

When he would have just given them to us in the first place.

So. For those feeling trapped. In a hamster's wheel.

A never ending system

Going round

And round and up and down and across and wide and to the gas station five times cause you need a refill and you're tank's not big enough for all the load you've put on your plate and the overflow from other people telling you to eat their portions too. Are you beginning to feel perpetually-

               tired?

"He has sent me to proclaim… freedom for the prizoners."

So go home and kick off your shoes

No- slip them off cause it's time to relax.

There is renewal in silence

And patience

And bare feet.

So he can wash them.

It's hard to wash feet when your socks are on.

Dust off your listening ears.

And shake off the bitterness and tension from a past of years

And all the people who formed all your fears

Their voices in your head yelling expectations of you.

Just shake

Them

Off.

And pray in your talking voice

in a room shut away

Until you have nothing

 left in your

head.

Empty it out to the last drip drop. Nothing left but

 God's voice

Whispering sweet everythings.

There Might

Have Just

Been Too Much

Noise.

 for you to hear him.