October 31, 2010

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.


October 6, 2010

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

October 1, 2010

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.