Ode to the Forgotten

WE ARE MOVING

2011-10-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

Hello, everyone! We are moving to odetotheforgotten.org! This site will still be available until October 23rd. But after that date, we will be fully transitioned to odetotheforgotten.org.

Grace and peace,

the Ode team

Submissions

2011-09-03T17:39:00.000-07:00

We want to see what you have to say, sing, draw, compose, film,... about Poverty. How has God put it on your heart to help in your community? How has God inspired you to get involved? When you hear the word poverty, what comes to mind? What do you see? What do you hear? What hope can you help give to others? We want to hear it! Send your submissions in to odetotheforgotten@yahoo.com

Submission- Fear

2011-08-26T11:55:00.001-07:00

submission-

2011-08-26T11:49:00.001-07:00

"Exchange me, Lord, exchange my life.

I hand You my heart as I kneel to the floor,

Knowing that my God makes all things new.

An unsightly snake He remolds, and He blesses

His new and blooming creation, His butterfly.

That is my I Am."

- K.G.

Submission-

2011-08-26T11:48:00.000-07:00

Submission- Bold Like my Coffee

2011-08-26T11:42:00.000-07:00

Submission- South Africa 2005

2011-08-26T11:41:00.000-07:00

Submission- A New Thing

2011-08-26T08:40:00.000-07:00

So this past summer, God began doing a new thing in me. And it began with a challenging situation that I had gotten myself into. I had not sought His direction, and I had rushed into something that was purely my desire. Not my desire being fulfilled by the Lord in His timing. He is so gracious. For the first time in my life (in the short 18 years I had accumulated) I was truly depressed. And I had no clue how to get out of it. Praise God for my family, and most of all just for HIM. For his mercy and goodness. In that pit was where I discovered painting. Particularly oil paints. (I love oil paints!) So on the Friday night that I had nothing to do and was wishing to be somewhere else, my mom took me to get some oil paints. And I sat in the basement of our friends’ house and painted this above painting. A NEW THING. This year, He wants to do something new in all of us. He has a vibrant plan for ALL OF US. One that is life-filling and not draining. And one that truly reflects who you are created to be IN HIM. He is bringing us back to the beginning, and it will begin with showing us a new thing. I don’t know what that is for you. I am still discovering what that looks like for me. But I know it is happening. Right before our eyes. Even though we can’t always see it. He is so gracious. All he asks is that we let him use us. Use our everything. Even the moments where we just want to go sit and sob in the basement. Even those moments. Are good enough. For our God. He will do something with anything. If we let Him. And listen to Him. So. I am praying for you this year. I am praying that God will do a new thing in you and make it boldly apparent to yourself and all who are around you in whatever way He wants, in order to bring glory and honor to His Name and to restore the peoples who watch and so desire to have that new thing as a part of their own life. He is working. He is moving. He is painting. Our Lord is so good. He takes everything we do and turns it into something beautifully, miraculously GOOD. A NEW THING.

Side note: What are you going to do with this? Pray about where to go next. About where your talents are (whether discovered or undiscovered), and just leave yourself open to whatever He has for you. Go with His flow, and don’t be afraid to jump when he asks you to. Remember- if God asks you to jump, He will always raise you up and set you in the fold of his wings and he will always be there to catch you when you fall. Always. So don’t let this new thing get you nervous or freak you out. It’s going to be beautiful. And it’s going to be great. Because it is in HIS hands, not ours.

If you need some extra inspiration, take a listen to the whole Beautiful Things album by Gungor (particularly the song called “Beautiful Things”) or check out our link to the I AM… Art Series (http://odetotheforgotten.blogspot.com/p/i-am-art-series.html).

God bless and move,

Sarah Hensley

Tim Euken (photographing the world's poverties)- update

2011-05-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, so below is an excerpt from Tim Euken, a guy who is traveling around the world documenting poverty and sharing stories and photos with Ode and many others as he goes...

by Tim Euken
Throughout this first few months God has been revealing
some unbelievable truths to me that I will walk with for the rest of
my life. With one hand God has shown me my flaws and with the
other extends grace. I believe comforting the hardest issues before
they become giants, is the only way not to burn out.
In Brazil I saw boys under twelve years old smoking some
crack and police officers just turning the back to it. I met people
that have lost there entire families to floods, I found that in those
floods the government said 900 people died but the local census
was around 12,000. In South Africa during a feeding I saw a
woman beat her three year old baby across the street as an older
man laughed. I met children from child headed homes and
helped feed children that quite possibly eat only once a week. I
have lived with a family that has no electricity and has running
water only once or twice a week, with that water they feed all 15
family members, 7 of which are adopted from dead relatives, as
well as water there crops. All this I have seen through a lens of a
camera, standing in the midst of beauty and pain I realize in
these moments I discover Jesus in a deeper way, I discover his
heart and the way he sees the broken and poor.
During my time in Brazil, in the flood zones with the farmers
I worked the fields. Many times I would just run up to farmers
that are already in there crops and say “Posso ajuda?” which
means “Can I help you?” in portuguese. While I was there one
night I went out to the fields that I had worked and it was pitch
black, no street lights and just watched the stars. It was an
amazing time with God. Here, I began to realize how I can relate
God to pretty much everything in nature. Also this is around the
time I realized how many times God spoke in the wilderness: he
spoke to Jesus, Moses, and Jacob - just a few off the top of my
head.
During my time in South Africa and Swaziland I felt like
God really talked to me on humbleness and the ability to have a
joyful spirit in the most dire situations. I learned so much from
the people I lived with that I am not sure if I’ll ever be able
express to how much it meant to me that they spent time with
me. While in South Africa and Swaziland I was very much
needing the Lord because of all the depressing stories and things
I had witnessed. It’s here when I came across the verse where
Jesus says, “Pick up your cross and follow me”. This was shocking
to me that he had said this before he was told he would be hung
on the cross. Than I thought to myself what does that look like?
Jesus picking up his cross; it wasn’t glorious, it wasn’t gracious, it
was painful and wasn’t for himself. When Jesus picked up his
cross he knew that when he got Calvary where he was going he
would be nailed too it - is this what Jesus meant by pick up your
crosses? And I asked myself “is that how far I am truly willing to
go?” Is this dream God put in my heart something that I’m
willing to pick up and walk with even if I know I will be nailed to
the issues in my heart for the rest of my life? That night I told
God that this is truly something I want to give my whole heart to,
something that seems only right after I was saved from a life of
underprivileged and given parents willing to see me go where
ever I’m called and walk like I am asked to walk and love the way
we are demanded to love.
I honestly want to thank all of you for investing in my life as
well as the lives of the people I encounter. All this couldn’t be
possible without you and I truly want to get to know all of you on
a one-on-one basis, please e-mail me whenever you just want to
chat with me. Its honestly an honor to talk to all of you guys. Plus
after traveling so much, being able to communicate with people
that speak my language well is always a plus! Also I have lost 27
lbs sense the start of this track.

What of Lazarus? (Under the Cover of Light)

2011-05-06T08:33:00.000-07:00

A song about holding onto your faith when times get hard.

by Bill Boutin

Don't you know, your life is but a moment in flight

Don't let go, for joy is worth the pain of the night

Don't you know, the fog hides the ocean from the rain

Let them go, the tears only come to ease the pain

It's all right, the Son remembers well

Hope burns bright, as time will never tell

And someone finally fell for you, just be true

The Son brings His delight, hidden under cover of light

Without a word, you languish through the lonely years on end

And times get hard, when emptiness becomes your constant friend

It's all right, cherish all the sorrows

Don't lose sight, there may be no tomorrow,

yet someone soon may follow after you, just be true

The Son brings His delight, hidden under cover of light

Maybe when you find your body resting in the ground

Maybe then the peace you never knew will be found

It's all right, the Son remembers well

Say goodnight, your story's ended well, the one who finally fell

Was you, and you've been true

The Son brings His delight, hidden under cover of light

It's all right, the Son remembers well

Hope burns bright, as time will never tell

And someone finally fell for you, just be true

The Son brings His delight, hidden under cover of light

And It's all right

Something for the Underprivileged

2011-04-27T06:35:00.000-07:00

by Maddie P.

I look at them, and my heart breaks. I hear their stories and am hit by overwhelming pain. Although I shouldn't be the one breaking. I shouldn't be the one with a tear filled face, because I am not the one suffering here. Yet, I break all the same. I see the beaten, battered, abused, broken, distraught, and orphaned children, and my heart collapses at the sight of their despair. It hurts to know, to see, to come to realization with how much they suffer. It hurts to find that there is nothing they can do about it. After all they're just kids, mothers, fathers, forgotten people, fearful and alone. What they don't know is that they will never truly be alone. There is one greater than all who will rescue them, who has saved them, who cares for them. This is the one who will never abandon them. He will never forsake them. He's the one who made us this promise, a promise saying that he'll come back for us. Even them, those who are forgotten. In his eyes, and in mine, they are beautiful. They are treasured, sacred, and most importantly as I say again and again they are LOVED. And by him, they are remembered. He remembers them and their pain, he remembers the plans he has made for them, plans to prosper and grow. So let us remember, too. Let us love as he loves, move as he moves, and through him save those who some would say are not worth the time, the effort, or the money. Now we remember, it's time to move. To take action. To bring attention to the underprivileged and not forget through the distractions and time wasters in this world that they are still there. Broken. They still need help, and they still need to know about the overwhelming joy and salvation that their savior brings. They need to be loved, and they need to be remembered. They are our neighbors, our friends. So let us join together and pray. And serve. And run to them with arms wide open. Letting them know they are loved, and that they are remembered. Words aren't enough to capture their sorrow, their grief, and their hurt. They aren't enough to explain the help they need. But they're at least something to start a movement that had been ignored, forgotten. To start an inspiration. Enough to pull people off there couches, away from there TV's, and to get them thinking, moving. There are the so called least of these right next door, and they need to hear something. They need to hear that they are not forgotten any longer. My heart yearns to tell them this, to show them this love that surpasses knowledge. To tell them they are His beautiful creation. He needs everyone to step up, to tell them, to show them, they are loved, and now, they are remembered. I long to do this, so won't you join with me. Join with me on a journey to share with His people that he loves them. It breaks me to know that they long for this undying love, salvation, help, and they don't find out because no one remembers to pass on this radical news. He hears there sorrow filled cries for help, even when no one else cares to listen. He yearns for them to know of him, of his everlasting love. So, once again, let's remember. Let's run to them, let's move, get up out of our lives and step into one much more important, one that we were called to. So that they may know the joy that is to come. So that they know they aren't waiting for nothing. He's still coming. So let's tell them, let's show them, remember them, and now, it's time to love them. Join with me as we venture out, let's love the forgotten.

Ode's Get-Rid-of-Stuff-a-Thon!

2011-04-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

Ode's Get-Rid-of-Stuff-a-Thon!

May 1st, 2011 - May 31st, 2011

Ode is kicking off our summer of fundraising with our Get-Rid-of-Stuff-a-thon! What is that you might ask? It's a cool way for you to get rid of stuff while, at the same time, helping Ode raise money to kick poverty to the curb more effectively!

How can you help?

Pledge a garage sale to the cause. Have a garage sale and let everyone who shops know where the profits are going- to a cool organization that is trying to use their talents to make a difference in peoples' lives and hearts.

We all know that we have excess stuff that we have been waiting to get rid of and that someone else could use! Now is the time to put that spring cleaning to a good cause!

Email us (odetotheforgotten@yahoo.com) and let us know you're having a garage sale. We'll email you flyers about Ode's mission, and you let us know if you want us to advertise the sale on the Ode blog!

Then, when the sale is over, mail your donation to us at

Ode to the Forgotten

P.O. Box 539

Fishers, IN 46037

Let's get rid of some stuff!

Your monetary donations will go to:

50% of every donation goes to our partner organizations.Without them, we are just talking the talk.
Funding Ode events, where people experience poverty in a new way, and where we equip them to act on their passion for poverty and start making a difference!
Administrative needs that keep Ode running and growing!
Helping Ode become a 501c3 organization, so that next time you donate to us, you can write it off! :)
Ultimately, making a difference in our local and global community by inspiring a passion for the impoverished and getting people to do something about it!

(Feel free to invite your friends to have a garage sale as well!)

Reflections from Indy Homeless Connect

2011-04-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

super super praise God from the Indy Homeless Connect today put on by CHIP Indy! wow! what a response! so many people stopped by the I AM... display and picked up a mirror with a word on it that challenged them. just to share some highlights....
so many of the guys picked up the one that said "i am handsome" and were like so confident in it. especially the older men were like "yeah! i AM handsome! so true". i love that. alot of people took "I am bold" and "I am loved" and "I am worth it". those are the major ones. as well as "I am joyful" and "I am strong". They are truly strong. Everyone in that room was strong for being there and continuing to keep on keeping on. So encouraging. But the "loved" ones were definitely big. People really loved those. One lady we got to talk to picked the "I AM loved" one and, when she started walking away, she started crying, and the best part is that, because of that, we got to give her a big group hug and remind her that she IS loved. She is. she just cried more and it was beautiful :) she is so loved.
     People were so glad that they got to take one. we actually ran out of mirrors by noon and had to get some more (5 dozen more) and had all but 5 left by the time we were done at four. Praise God- he provides so well! The smaller mirrors were what really resonated with people. the big ones on display are cool, but when talking to homeless friends, its important to have something to GIVE them that they can take with them. (We gave them the mirrors as a reminder that they ARE all of those things... loved, beautiful, handsome, worth it, joyful, hopeful, strong, etc.) So when we hand out the CHIP handbooks when walking around, we should also give people one of the mirrors to go with it. It reminds me of the verse in Acts where it's like "silver and gold i do not have but what i have i give you." Paul says that to a crippled man outside the temple gates, and then he heals the man, and the man goes out praising God. we saw that so much today. spiritual, emotional healing. True, amazing, stories of life change and courage and glory to God.
And something that resonated with me was that there were so many different faces of homelessness and different faces between the homeless neighbors and volunteers who were there. From people in suits to people who needed new clothes, everyone just looked so diverse and beautiful. Homelessness doesn't just have one face. To be cliche, we can never judge a book by its cover. Never assume that someone is or isn't homeless or does or doesn't need help. You never know until you ask.

So. That is the beautiful rundown of my perspective on the Indy Homeless Connect today. It was beautifully blessed event with beautiful people who have amazing hearts. Everyone truly did.

If you were there and have any stories to share, please, please, please comment and post them... there are an unending amount of beautiful stories of restoration and love that I know need to be shared. Today was beautiful.

If you want more info on the I AM... art series that Ode brought to the Indy Homeless Connect event today, feel free to check out this link:     http://odetotheforgotten.blogspot.com/p/i-am-art-series.html

To learn more about the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention (CHIP) Indianapolis, check out chipindy.org

Don't be hesitant to pray about it and then get involved where you're called. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Get plugged in!

And never forget...
YOU ARE
loved
beautiful
hopeful
handsome
strong
unique
bold
named
worth it
filled
joyful
valuable
and confident.

Whether you feel like it some days or not. You are... :)

b y Sarah Hensley

How Long, Not Long by Martin Luther King

2011-04-11T08:06:00.000-07:00

"I know you are asking today, "How long will it take?" (Speak, sir) Somebody's asking, "How long will prejudice blind the visions of men, darken their understanding, and drive bright-eyed wisdom from her sacred throne?" Somebody's asking, "When will wounded justice, lying prostrate on the streets of Selma and Birmingham and communities all over the South, be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men?" Somebody's asking, "When will the radiant star of hope be plunged against the nocturnal bosom of this lonely night, (Speak, speak, speak) plucked from weary souls with chains of fear and the manacles of death? How long will justice be crucified, (Speak) and truth bear it?" (Yes, sir) I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, (Yes, sir) however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, (No sir) because "truth crushed to earth will rise again." (Yes, sir) How long? Not long, (Yes, sir) because "no lie can live forever." (Yes, sir) How long? Not long, (All right. How long) because "you shall reap what you sow." (Yes, sir)...How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
- Martin Luther King Jr. "How Long, Not Long"

We have all experienced this waiting, yearning period that King describes. Shouting "HOW LONG IS THIS GOING TO TAKE, LORD?! How much more can I bear?! How can justice be so good but seem so far away?" This is the question that plagues human life. How can God allow suffering and justice to be held off for what seems like so long? Many people would look at this question and say, I don't know. I don't know. And, in many cases, there is no explanation. There is not always a specific "why" to answer why this happened. But we know there is ALWAYS a bigger purpose. Always. My sister once said that out of soot and ash come beautiful rose bushes. there's always something beautiful growing underneath destruction. If you're suffering, remember that. God promises that he will work everything out for your good because you love him (Romans 8:28). Hold onto that. Don't forget it. It might seem like your deliverance is taking forever. "JESUS WHY IS THIS TAKING SO LONG? WHEN WILL IT END?! HOW LONG?!" Not long. Just hang in there. He is pruning you, tearing down all your unstable walls so that, out of your ashes, he can create something even more beautiful and strong. How long? Not Long. Hang in there.

Interview with Tim Euken- photographing the world's poverties

2011-01-25T13:55:00.000-08:00

Interview with Tim Euken:
Joseph Spaulding – Creative Technologies Director
January 25, 2011

Tim Euken is 19 years old and currently lives in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. He is currently traveling the world with an organization to photograph and document poverty. I recently had the chance to speak with Tim about his travels. As of today, Tim is in Brazil and will soon be heading to the flood zones in Rio.

1) Can you give us a quick run-down of what it is that you are doing and why you are doing it? How long will you be out of the country?

Tim: We are a group of photographers with a variety of passions. My personal passion, along with many others, is the pursuit of wondering why I see so many prostitutes around the world. How they became prostitutes is how we solve the problem. Meeting street children where they are is another passion of mine that will be shown in my photography.

We will be out of the country for 12 months. Countries run-down: Brazil (Rio and Sao Paulo), South Africa, Egypt, Israel (going to bible locations), Greece, Driving North to Thesselnki (Thessalonians), Italy, Ireland, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, The Czech Republic, Budapest or Croatia, Mumbai Road trip through India, Australia to the flood zones in Nov, then back to Hawaii. (The plan will probably change every once in a while).

2) What's your personal background like? - where did you come from and how did you get to where you are today?

Tim: I was adopted by Missionaries from the Philippines. Yes, my parents are white. I was raised in Hawaii. My personal skills set is geared more towards videography. However, photography has its similarities that I’m planning on mastering. Every year in high school I interned at a professional business. I took the initiative to become the best I could. After all, that’s what the Bible calls us to do. I worked for Airspace Workshop, Montaj9, Digital Edge Hawaii… you can Google them if you would like.

3) What got you into photography?

Tim: I have always been into [photography] however, while I was with a group of photographers to the Philippines (crazy story), and watched as they made a book on prostitution, it really showed me how photography can grab you so quickly. As with video, you have to actually sit and want to pay attention. You can choose to look away after a while but with a picture you can look for a second and it will always be ingrained in your mind if it is good.

4) What is it that God has placed on your heart to do with your gifts and talents?

Tim: I think the one thing that my gifts can do for the world is to make people stop and think. I have to believe in my heart that if people got a glimpse of what I saw - just once - something will move in there heart.

5) What keeps you going? - How does God inspire you or how has God inspired you?

Tim: Haha I’m trying to figure that out. On a team of three guys and six girls, God is really bringing me through. But mostly, I should never let an argument last through the night and realize every day is a new day.

6) Has there been a specific time in your life where God placed on your heart your purpose? -either immediate purpose or long-term? When did you know that you needed to get out of the country to do this?

Tim: My whole life my parents told me my purpose was to follow God in any shape or form. I just happened to find my passion to be the arts and I plan to use it to further His kingdom and improve the lives of the poor. Considering who Jesus hung out with, I figure I can’t be on the wrong track.
I can’t think of a time in my life where I didn’t want to travel. I just want my life to be an example that the world is so much bigger than any one country no matter how much you seclude yourself in it.

7) Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

Tim: Haha! Bro, I don’t know where I see myself in 2 weeks. Sorry – it’s a super lame answer but I have no idea and I really don’t want to know or it wouldn’t be an adventure.

8) When can I buy the book that you want to publish?!

Tim: The book will be started January 2012 and finished by June. From there we will be doing a distribution tour.

9) How can we help get the word out about what you are doing?

Tim: Anything is appreciated. I honestly love it when people e-mail me because I can just chat with them about what I’m doing and hopefully influence them to follow in their own paths. If I can do it, anyone can. Also, forwarding people to my blog would be sweet.

10) Can we see some photos?! - if we could use a few photos at our events, that would phenomenal!

Tim: Of course but I’ll have to send them through e-mail.

11) How can we pray for you? - what challenges have you faced so far?

Tim: Please pray for our health. Honestly, we live on rice and beans every day. That’s it – and a piece of bread in the morning. And, if we are lucky, some butter haha. As well as safety. We are all pretty trigger-happy people and sometimes we may be in dangerous situations. We are leaving to go to the flood zones in Rio soon.

12) Is there anything you would like to say that I haven't already asked of you?

Tim: I would just like to say that everyone can use his or her skills to further the kingdom and change the quality of life for the less fortunate. You just have to want to. A Cosmetologist I know of is teaching prostitutes the art of make-up in order for the girls to work in salons instead of the street corners. I know of a Biologist that goes to Africa and fixes eco systems in order to feed hundreds of people with healthy fish. Everything can be used in one way or another. You just have to want to.

Pure Imagination

2011-01-17T14:14:00.001-08:00

by Joe S.

PURE IMAGINATION. - God has called each of us to use our gifts and talents. Whether that be creative talents, cooking talents, writing talents, marketing talents, construction talents, singing talents... whatever! - God has called us to use those talents for His glory and ultimately to help those in need. "...If you help the least of these you are serving me..." If you think about it, God is a creative God. Look at the colors He has given us - the world around us. GORGEOUS. And I think that is overlooked. I think it would be cool if we relate how creative and powerful He is with what He is capable of doing through us.

I was watching Charlie and the Chocolate factory the other day and the song that is sung when the kids and their parents first walk into the chocolate factory (where the water fall is and such..) just really hit home for me somehow. "Hold your breath. Make a wish. Count to three. Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination. Take a look and you'll see into your imagination..." Ode is very much about melding creativity and God's work to serve the poor, the lame, and the blind. Let's emphasize that. Let's give others that same inspiration that we have. And not just by showing it through our event but let's shout it! - Let's shout that God has power to work through our imagination - through our creativity and work.

Part of the song goes like this:

"If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Wanna change the world?
There's nothing to it."

Those last two lines I want to really emphasize. Because changing the world isn't as hard as people make it out to be. They just need a spark of inspiration and a little imagination.

Haven't seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? Her's a vid of the part we're talking about!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ-uV72pQKI

Don't let the fact....

2010-12-16T06:36:00.000-08:00

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)!

2010-12-04T06:48:00.000-08:00

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)

2010-10-31T13:44:00.000-07:00

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

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

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

Humanity.

Poverty.

Break the Dark

2010-10-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-10-01T10:05:00.001-07:00

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

2010-09-28T06:18:00.000-07:00

(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!

2010-09-25T18:47:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-09-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-15T06:32:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-23T05:17:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-08-15T19:28:00.001-07:00

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)

2010-08-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-08-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-07-07T17:28:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-06-22T12:07:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-12T18:12:00.001-07:00

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.

2010-06-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

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)

Trust Fall

2010-06-02T00:07:00.000-07:00

Trust Fall by Amyra Asamoah

I am poorer than the poorest man.
Than the can-collecting carefree man who no one seems to understand.
I am poorer than the poorest man.
Than the struggling man whose life and whose future are out of his hands.
I am poor.
Poor in faith.
Poor in more,
But mostly faith.
And poor in faith means poor in Lord.
So POUR in Lord.
Pour into me.
I hear You in my heart.
In my heart,
In my head.
In my waking,
In my sleeping.
In the stages in-between.
In my dreams.
Oh those dreams.
I am poor. I am poor. I am poorer than it seems.
There’s a voice in my head.
And it whispers.
And it screams.
Yet it’s always a call.
Calling me to give.
Giving me a push.
Pushing me to fall.
Pushing me to fall.
There’s a voice in my head.
That somehow knows it all.
I asked to be useful.
It gave me a purpose.
I wanted to serve.
It gave me a service.
I asked to do things so great, so great.
I find myself unready for what Jesus had in wait.
I am poor.
Called to greatness by a gracious Lord.
But I am scared and I am afraid.
Fear because this path is not that path that I had laid.
Who am I to become bigger than myself?
No.
Who am I not to?
I am poor in faith,
But willing to grow.
Let impossible be a word that I learn to never know.
I may fall.
But I will not fail.
My every breath deemed victorious
By a cross and by a nail.
And I will not run,
And I will not bail.
I am poor. I am poor. I am poorer than the poorest man.
I am poor in my faith and when faith cannot stand,
It will not sit.
No it will not flee.
But it will fall.
It will fall.
It will fall.
Fall into the one who’s got a journey for us all.
Lord,
Take my fears and poverties.
And greet them to my praying knees.
And kiss them to my praying hands.
And to the poor and that poorest man,
To Him,
May we fall.
And WITH Him,
May we stand.

Treadmills...

2010-04-28T06:50:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-27T13:53:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-04-13T05:46:00.001-07:00

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!

2010-04-03T08:43:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-03-08T07:41:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-23T11:17:00.000-08:00

"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

2010-02-23T06:35:00.001-08:00

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.

Drops Like Stars thoughts

2010-02-12T08:31:00.001-08:00

Rob Bell, in his book Drops Like Stars (which is so unexplainably beautiful despite the explanation of Christ) says:

"Do you know that feeling in class when somebody raises his hand and says, 'I don't get it,' and you feel so relived that you aren't the only one who isn't getting it?

That's what great artists do.

This is what great people do.

They ask it.

They say it.

They express it.

They put in words what so many others are thinking and feeling

And wondering. They affirm that…

You aren't the only one having this experience.

…

We're drawn to it [music about suffering such as much rap music today] because so much of the time

WE'RE SURROUNDED

BY BUZZ

AND GLOSS
AND HYPE-

We slide down the surface of things.

And then we hear something born of suffering and advesity and we're moved because it's honest. It's real. It means something.

IT'S THE ART OF THE ACHE.

THE ACHE IS UNIVERSAL.

The ache reminds us that things aren't how they're supposed to be. The ache cuts through all the static,

All of the ways we avoid having to actually feel things.

The ache reassures us that we're not the only ones who feel this way.

…SUFFERING UNITES…

It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor or black or white or right or left or young or old-

If you have the same disease as someone else

Or if you both have a daughter with an eating disorder

Or had a brother in jail or had a spouse die

Or recently were fired…

You have a bond that transcends

Whatever differences you have.

That's what suffering does.

THIS IS THE ART OF SOLIDARITY.

…when Jesus died on the cross, this wasn't just another execution by the Roman Empire.

They believed this was the diving, in the flesh and blood, hanging there on the cross, bloogy, thirsty, suffering.

A god who is not somewhere else- remote,

Detached,

Distant- but among us, feeling what we feel, aching how we ache.

SUFFERING LIKE US."

From pages 46-67

So we're feeling it. We're daring to ask it.

Maybe the question is 'Why?' but 'what now?' might be more productive.

Why?

Because without suffering, we probably wouldn't run back to God.

That's how we are.

Most of the time, it takes suffering

To get us to be willing to let Him change our lives.

It takes us realizing we can't do it on our own-

WE NEED OTHER PEOPLE AND WE NEED GOD.

And the rest of this book includes the answers to 'What now?' questions.

Suffering isn't easy

But it creates something beautiful in us.

Honesty.

Let's dare to be honest.

You're not the only one thinking 'I don't get it. What do I do?'

We are too.

The Box Reference.

2010-02-09T07:27:00.000-08:00

To be brutally honest. I have had those days. Where i get up and say: "i don't really want to do anything today." i think we're all afraid to say that. we are afraid and too ashamed to admit that we have those days. Where our heart says "I don't want to do what i know i am supposed to do today." Days where we just don't feel like doing anything. And we're not honest enough to tell anyone. Well. that's my selfish self. and the devil got me to do that for a year and a half. And i will warn you now. You will feel as empty as ever if you let that feeling keep on going. If you do the things that just YOU want to do, you will end up feeling horrible and empty and self-centered and alone. Like i did. For nearly a year. I LET MYSELF slide into it. It was slow. It was selfish. And now i realize what i have to do. That's why it's so important to wake up every day and sit and talk to God until you feel like you have died to yourself. Tell yourself that whoever you are going to serve today is more important than anything you could ever want. Whether you FEEL like you want to serve that person or not. Pray until God gives you the feeling of invigorating love.
In Drops Like Stars, Rob Bell explains how some people aren't just "out of the box" thinkers. There are some thinkers who don't have a box at all. He says that sometimes those people we call "out of the box" really are just a different version of the people who are in the box. But the people who are really really passionate
are those who have been forced
or have decided themselves
to have no box at all.
In Rob's words
all their boxes have all been smashed.
Or they have asked God to smash them.
I think that's when we get bold.
When we ask God to smash all of our unsmashed boxes.
That's dangerous.
When we wake up in the morning and say
God i don't really want to do this
and i am being selfish.
i realize that.
please humble me
please smash all of my boxes and give me a passion to think without a reference to the box at all.
Make me brave enough to follow what you have boldly asked me to do.
Take fear away from me. Give me the strength to stand when all of my frames of reference have been smashed and confused.
And make me joyful when all my frames of reference were smashed.
When you just don't feel like feeling anything
that is a sign to go do something.
Go serve.
I need to find a place to go serve.
People.
Because when we seclude ourselves from people.
We get selfish.
It probably is possible to live alone all of your life.
But have you also observed that the people who live alone
end up being quite self-centered.
It hurts us when we decide to not go take care of other people.
someone other than ourselves.
SO yes.
I am human.
I wake up and sometimes think i don't want to do this today, God. I am scared. I am tired. I am whatever excuse i want to make up to not do this today.
Our sinful nature and our selfishness will make up all kinds of excuses to get us to not do what God wanted us to do. SATAN ONLY COMES TO STEAL KILL AND DESTROY.
DO YOU REALIZE THAT?
BY BEING ALONE, BY NOT SERVING, BY NOT FORCING OURSELVES TO DIE TO OURSELVES.
WE ARE FORFEITING OUR INHERITANCE AND GIVING IT TO SOMEONE ELSE.
ESAU SOLD HIS INHERITANCE- HIS BLESSING FROM HIS FATHER
TO HIS YOUNGER BROTHER
FOR A MEAL.
FOR a meal.
He had come in from the fields and he was tired.
extremely extremely hungry.
goodness he was tired.
and hungry.
So he told Esau that he wanted some of the soup Esau was making in the kitchen.
And for a bowl of soup, he sold his inheritance.
Because he was tired.
So that's why endurance is so important.
Endure. Get past that feeling of "I don't want to. i don't feel like it."
God's son died for you.
So that God would forgive our past sins.
And we would not keep on sinning.
And we would care for those who really
really
have something to whine about and be tired about.
So we can tell others who are stuck in the box
who are tired of trying on their own to be those "out of the box thinkers"
that they don't have to have a box at all.
That is freeing.
When you realize that you don't even have to keep on fighting the status quo.
God loves me.
Because God still loves you no matter what.
And therefore no status quo is necessary.
So We wake up.
Sit and read and pray and do whatever you need to do.
Have patience to wait and pray until all of that selfishness and unholy discontent is gone.
Die to yourself and serve someone else.
I don't think we realize that our inheritance is at stake.
God has a purpose for you.
If you don't know what it is. Sit and listen and read UNTIL HE HAS TOLD YOU EXACTLY WHAT IT IS.
The seen is temporary but the unseen is eternal.
We forget that.
We look to what we CAN see in our future,
saying "goodness i am not sure if i like that very much." or "okay tomorrow i have soccer practice and that one dinner with those people that i talk to all the time, then i'll do some work around the house then read a bit and go to bed and the day after that i'll start all over with a bit of variation just to make myself feel better."
and we don't realize that what we are missing
IS SOMETHING WE CAN'T EVEN SEE or HAVEN'T EVEN IMAGINED YET.
God has something planned for you that you haven't even imagined.
So sit down and talk to him. And listen. until He has told you what that is.
Or serve people and pray while you do so that he tells you what that is.
And that He gives you the strength to carry it out.
Sometimes it takes all of our boxes getting smashed to imagine that life could be any different than we have already planned it to be.

Look at how God planned the concept of time.
Time keeps us in our box a bit.
But God has a design and a plan for you that reaches beyond the stretches of time.
It is bigger than you could imagine.
Things are happening around you that you can't even see.

Don't try to fit GOD into YOUR logic.
Cause it's not going to work.
If you try and fit god into your mind
into your way of thinking.
i'll let you know now.
you'll fail.
i've done it before.
I've tried to over think things.
I'm actually quite good at it (and that's a bad thing).
I've thought about tomorrow way too often, and, likewise, i forfeit my inheritance, not realizing that any minute God could completely make everything do a 180 and put the cards into my hand.
What you can't see
is way more important than what you can see. Cause God is alot bigger than anything we could ever imagine.
He doesn't fit into our boxes.
He created us to live right next to him.
That's why we so easily get tired of referring to being "inside of the box" or "outside of the box"
It's tiring isn't it?
Because we were made to live beside god.
with no reference to a box at all.

Be who God created you to be.
If you don't know who that is,
ask God to show you and tell you.
Do what He purely created you to enjoy doing.
Do the things he tells you to.
Once we submit, we realize that we actually enjoy obeying more than we thought we would
cause God has our best interests in mind.
We can't out-think him and we can't fit Him into our frame of reference.
Cause He IS our frame of reference.
Love and be loved and die to yourself.

God, This is a bold statement.
Please give me the strength and will to live it.
Amen.

The Rich and the Poor and Love.

2010-01-28T06:55:00.000-08:00

I am guilty of this as well. I am not perfect. Nor do i use my posessions as wisely as i could. I still have clothes sitting in my closet ready to go to the Wheeler Mission drop box and i have not taken them yet. They are corroding from unuse in my closet and i need to and will get rid of them soon. Have a read. Don't be afraid to let the Spirit or your heart convict you. We are all rich in love and many of us are rich in money and don't even realize it, because we are surrounded by people who look 'richer' than ourselves. This is false. We are rich. With that, we have responsibility. To be humble and to use our money well and in a way that honors God. Everything in life ties together. Your finances affect your heart. Don't listen to the lie that how you spend your money has no relevance to how much you love and submit to God. If God doesn't have a hold of your checkbook, you're holding out on Him, and He's waiting for you to submit it all to Him (not just what you're comfortable with). Money is a man made thing, but God controls the universe, and God has power to do whatever he likes with your money (whether you 'give' it to him or not). So let's just make it easier and let our hearts heal by giving up the financial fight with God and letting Him control our accounts. He has all the abundance in the world and He knows it. But He still wants us to acknowledge in our hearts that he is in control. Have a read.

James 5

"Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion [a sign that the wealth was not put to good use and just sat their] will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self0indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you."

The rich don't need money. The rich need love. The rich should give their money to the poor, and the poor should share their love with the rich. The thing is, though: the poor do not have money but they also have in most cases found that they don't absolutely need it either. Love is found to be sufficient and life-sustaining.God is sustaining despite how much money we do or don't have. But we are all commanded to give to the poor.

You see, i think we've got this all wrong. Money that sits and corrodes is corrupted and it will corrupt your life. Money is not the root of all evil. The love of money is. It's when we start replacing love with money that things get stick. So. Don't love your money. Love people. And God will tell you what to do with your money.

The Self Image Epidemic and Loving Your Neighbor

2010-01-27T05:45:00.000-08:00

This thought was inspired by God through the book Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. If you ever need a book to read, i highly suggest it!

God says to love your neighbor as yourself. So the problem with having a bad self image and the reason why self image problems cause selfishness is this: if you don't love yourself, then how can you know what it is to love others? If you don't value how God made you, how can you learn to value others and teach them how to value themselves enough to love others as well? Do you love yourself in a healthy way? Then if yes. Good. Now go love others. If no: God loves you. Just because. You don't have to earn it. He loves you. Remind yourself that daily. Pray that you would love yourself as well as loving others daily. In the way that God loves you.
Satan is a liar. Your are created in the image of God. God gives faith, love, and the holy spirit without limit.

Fearless Missions

2010-01-21T07:18:00.000-08:00

2 Corinthians 4:7-18

" ⁷But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. ¹²So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
¹³It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."^a]">[a]With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, ¹⁴because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. ¹⁵All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

These Verses gold the key to how missionaries can go the dangerous, nearly-death places to serve and tell about Jesus. They realize that their power is worthless and that God's is the mightiest. Greater than any danger. They rest assured that they will be hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed, Because God is with them. They may become perplexed, but their God has all the answers and will restore their joy and peace and assurance. They may be physically and spiritually persecuted, but their God will never abandon them. Never will he leave them or forsake them. I can go anywhere and rest assured that my God will be with me. they may be struck down, but they will never be completely destroyed. Because God has already secured their life in heaven. They realize that their costly investment in the present will save them from a bankrupt eternity. Therefore if death knocks at their door (or they knock at his), they will not be afraid. Because Jesus died and rose again and will raise them up one day as well. They fight to the death for the lives of others because they know that if they themselves die physically, they'll have an eternity secured in heaven. They realize that if they do not die to themselves daily, they risk someone else's eternity with Christ. Therefor they go to crazy dangerous places, fearless, for the name of the Lord. They are the messengers. Clay bearing treasure.

Why Does God Allow Suffering?... 2

2010-01-21T07:01:00.000-08:00

God sometimes allows suffering because we wouldn't submit. And he loves us too much to let us harden the wrong way.

Jeremiah 18:1-17
The Potter and the Clay
1 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” 3 So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.

5 Then the Lord gave me this message: 6 “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. 7 If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, 8 but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. 9 And if I announce that I will plant and build up a certain nation or kingdom, 10 but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless it as I said I would.

11 “Therefore, Jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am planning disaster for you instead of good. So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right.’”

12 But the people replied, “Don’t waste your breath. We will continue to live as we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires.”

13 So this is what the Lord says:

“Has anyone ever heard of such a thing,
even among the pagan nations?
My virgin daughter Israel
has done something terrible!
14 Does the snow ever disappear from the mountaintops of Lebanon?
Do the cold streams flowing from those distant mountains ever run dry?
15 But my people are not so reliable, for they have deserted me;
they burn incense to worthless idols.
They have stumbled off the ancient highways
and walk in muddy paths.
16 Therefore, their land will become desolate,
a monument to their stupidity.
All who pass by will be astonished
and will shake their heads in amazement.
17 I will scatter my people before their enemies
as the east wind scatters dust.
And in all their trouble I will turn my back on them
and refuse to notice their distress.”

God reminded Jeremiah and the people that he could and would shape them as he liked. The note in my mom's life application bible says this:

"As the potter molded or shaped a clay pot on the potter's wheel, defects often appeared. The potter had power over the clay, to permit the defects to remain or reshape the pot. Likewise, God had power to reshape the nation to conform to his purposes. Our strategy should not be to become mindless and passive- one aspect of clay- but to be willing and receptive to God's impact on us. As we yield to God, he begins reshaping us into valuable vessels."

So out of his love for us, he destroys our pride by destroying what we cling to. The suffering sometimes is because we (either literally or with our actions) told God not to waste His breath- that we were going to do whatever we wanted despite what He said. I love the word it uses in the NLT. It says "stupid". I don't normally use that word, but it makes perfect bold sense here. We look at the people of Judah and can easily say "Look how stupid they are. God told them to repent, but they told him to not waste his breath. They declared themselves a lost cause towards God so that they could do what they wanted." We say that, then we realize all the times we have forgotten God, or not wanted to pray to him, or not felt up to reading today. And we realize how much we have forgotten his power and worth. He is our potter and He loves us. So if he has to destroy us before our hearts harden, he will do so. Judah must soon repent, or the clay will harden the wrong way. Suffering brings us back to Him.

A Divine Turn-Around Amidst our "Crisis"

2010-01-19T14:08:00.000-08:00

photo from Time Magazine (http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1954087_2025842,00.html)

James 3:13-18
Two Kinds of Wisdom
"13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness."

I think we've got it all wrong.
Why is there suffering?
Because without it we'd never be humble enough
to get ourselves to come to God.
You don't understand the poverty of the poor
'til you've had a bit of poverty of your own.
it might take you losing a house
for you to realize that a house
wasn't what you really needed.
I think we are blind.
To just how selfish we really are.
We don't think ourselves as very selfish
until we see disaster on the television
and don't stop to do anything about it.
But for those people on the TV...
the disaster is not just the morning news.
It's in their backyard and fronyard and both side yards and,
because of the earthquake (whether emotional or physical),
they no longer even have a living room to put a TV in.
You see, until we get a taste of what it's really like, how could we understand?
I'm not saying we shouldn't try to though:)
So. You see, I think we've got this all wrong.
This economic crisis we're in
might just be a divine opportunity.
We're being forced to decide:
If i have only two pennies, will
I share one
or both?
Will i give him one, when he really needs both?
If i only have ten dollars in my bank account for the rest of the month,
will i still give God my 10% to remind myself
that it's already his and show him that i am still faithful in the good and the bad?
So I think we've got this all wrong.
We've irresponsible gorged ourselves on luxuries and now we complain that dad took away our toys or our cell phone.
That's what happens when we're consciously irresponsible.
You get a time-out.
So let's rethink this thing.
Let's not throw a tantrum and let our pride get in the way.
Selfish ambition has wreaked havoc for too long.
If you have two pennies and you're asked to share.
Give both.
If he needs a coat, give him your coat
hat
and mittens.
But if he needs both, and you have both, give him both.
I think we're going to see a beautiful turn-around.
It's amazing what love and a taste of poverty can do.

He Chose Me. Not the Other way Around.

2010-01-04T16:00:00.000-08:00

There’s a love I’ve fallen in love with
A love that I can come back to
Whether I’ve loved it or not.
Whether I’ve thought about it that day or not.
This love is forgiving.
Ever-open.
I could run to it after years of running away and it’d smile every time.
I am thankful for that love.
Unlike it,
Sometimes I forget that I love it.
I forget what it feels like to love it back.
I get stubborn.
Easily angered.
I pull the life-didn’t-go-my-way card.
And still, it loves me.
I could say that it loves me back.
But that wouldn’t be accurate.
Because I don’t always love it.
Therefore it can’t exactly “love me back” when I don’t love it first.
Because it first loved me.
It chose me. Not the other way around.
I don’t fully understand this love.
I’m just thankful for it.
I don’t fully grasp its purpose in loving me.
It just loves.
I think we as humans are so quick to resist love. Especially True Love.
We see it’s purity and lack of condition.
And in our pride we turn away
Because we know we will never be capable of loving it back as it loves us.
Or we don’t want our wounds to heal. Which doesn’t make sense at all cause we go to doctors on nearly every occasion begging them to heal our physical wounds, while at the same time we leave our emotional wounds gaping and unnursed.
We turn to other unwhole people to see if they can heal them. Boyfriends. Girlfriends. Parents. Siblings. Friends.
Trying to fill the damage caused by the past, hiding from ourselves the fact that
If we just went to the one true love,
Our wounds would heal forever.
Our trial would be joy
Our pain just a fraction of the reward we have to come.
Have you noticed that when we’re in love,
We can go through nearly anything if it means we preserve or save or remain with the thing or person we love?
I at one time thought I’d be able to endure pain like that of Paul when he was persecuted and thrown in jail,
But as I come ever closer to being at odds with the government, my knees get feeble and my faith gets weak.
Because my love is small. My love for True Love is quite too small.
You see. The confusing part is
You can’t make yourself love true love.
It doesn’t work that way. It chose you. Not the other way around.
It wanted to know you first. Not the other way around.
You have to ask it to help you love it. You see why we resist it: sometimes we are too proud to ask for help.
But the further you run the more you realize you’re going the wrong direction I guess. And it draws you to it.
So people ask: why is there pain in the world? Why is the world fallen?
Well solution number one: bad choices. Sin. Desire for more than we can handle. For more than we ought. Desire for things that taste good while denying what we know to be the only true and good thing. That’s reason number one.

But reason number two:
Because as for myself, if I didn’t have pain, I’d forget why I needed Him. I’d fake myself into thinking that I was whole. We become pretty good at it, don’t we?
You see. I think we’ve gotten so good at lying to ourselves and letting others lie to us. I don’t understand this.
We go on day by day, trying to do life on our own, and we fake ourselves into thinking that we’ve got it all under control.
Things go well.
And we begin to forget that we’re not the ones in control. Yes we have the power to make minute choices.
But in the grand scheme of things
Pain is the reality check.
Pain gets us back on track.
Pain
Reminds me that I’m not the one in control.
And that I can’t do it on my own.
The pattern of calm, storm, longer calm, storm is to get our attention.
See I think this is a problem in society: that we all say we’re “good”.
“How are you?” “Oh I’m good thanks… doing well”
Maybe you are good. maybe you are doing well.
But what if we’re not? Well. We lie.
Because no one wants to hear that you’re not good. and you want them to hear what they want to hear.
I’m not saying to go around showing off your gashes to the masses. Not everyone is going to have the band-aid of grace. But just that we shouldn’t be afraid or slow to tell the truth.
Have you ever had the moment where someone asks you how you are doing, and when you truly think about it, you don’t have an answer.
I don’t know how I am doing.
Well for myself. It mainly happens when I’m too busy. I’ve lied to myself for so long or forced myself to not think about it for so long that I am rotting away spiritually. And I don’t even realize it.
I hate lying to myself. Especially when I don’t even notice I’m doing it.
Get a load of this: This love. It never lies.
It doesn’t cheat on you. Or ‘forget’ to tell you something. It’s true. One hundred percent money-back guarantee.
(If you notice, we can’t even love ourselves correctly- seeing as we lie to ourselves all the time about how we really are feeling.)
But this love never lies. And it considers others above itself.
I was reading a book where a man pointed out that when he was in love, he didn’t think about his own desires or needs for days. All he could think about was the one he loved.
Well True Love is like that all the time. It thinks about me all the time. It thinks about you all the time. Therefore I should be quick to fall back in love with it.
This man also said that he felt that selfless love was the one thing God didn’t curse. The fact that he could consider another person above himself fully was a gift.
I want to fall in that type of love.
That’s the type of love God deserves. I’m just so bad at giving it to Him.
Yet I’ll continue to ask that He puts that desire in my heart- the desire to love Him.
Because, for some unexplainable reason, He chose me. Not the other way around.
And He chose humanity.
I don’t understand it yet and I’m not sure I ever will.
But I guess that’s what faith is for. I am sure that no matter what I do, True Love will keep on loving me and I will continue loving it. It’ll keep leaving me messages even when I don’t answer on purpose. I’ll run home to it and it will welcome me home. And when I am unfaithful and return home it will still be there. That’s something we barely ever find in another person. When you do though, keep it. And then thank the One who first showed us how to love unconditionally. That’s a love I can fall in love with. And stay happily married with forever. Cause divorce is not an option. He chose me. Not the other way around.

The iHeart Revolution.

2009-11-05T09:07:00.000-08:00

it's been a whole month since i've written. i don't know why. laziness. busy-ness. forgetfulness. lack of direction or caring. i don't know. maybe a combination of the two. i care. i do. i just sometimes get selfish and busy and there is no excuse for it. so i right now humbly apologize.

i went to The I Heart Revolution: We're All in This Together world debut last night and it got me thinking and excited. i've got to get on it. people. people matter. god. then people. then me. i live so much of my life thinking about MY decisions. when, the truth of the matter is that i have no say. yes. some of a say. but i deserve no say in eternity. when i make all of these decisions, it's just going to come down to the point that some day i am going to die. and the only thing that is going to matter is Eternity. in heaven. i know i'm going to heaven. i know it. i've doubted it. examined it. thought about it. and now it's just time to stop testing God and believe. "If i find in myself desires nothing in this world can satisfy, then i can only conclude that i, i was not made for here." (Brooke fraser quoting c.s. lewis.) i am not meant for this world. i can choose to see the other dimension or i can comfortably accept the one i am in. but the problem with accepting the dimension i'm in is that there are too many things that are not yet figure-out-able... leaving me longing for that other dimension that i so strategically try to ignore and doubt in my head.
you know. humans in general are funny creatures. we spend our whole lives fighting for success. fame. looking for ourselves... whoever that is. and i admit- i do wish to find myself. but i'll never find myself if I am looking in myself. you see... i am not of myself. i was Created. that means that at one point i wasn't and now i was. if you go back, you'll see that i. i was created by my parents. and some days i find my identity in them. so if i was looking from the world's point of view- that's where i'd start looking for myself- in my parents. and they looked for themselves in their parents and their parents looked for themselves in their parents. generational sin in a nutshell. but something happens when a child decides to be different from their parents. they look for it in their friends who got their identity from their parents or from other friends. and everyone slowly starts looking and acting quite similar. quite in the box. and that wouldn't be "myself" at all. so i find my identity in christ. the perfect example. yes. the Perfect example. so many people fight the bible. don't give it a chance. i do it myself somedays when i most definitely shouldn't cause it's the only foundation i have. i choose to find my confidence in the One who never changes. who i can constantly ask for communication. who will show me himself consistently instead of me having to try and figure everything out. I'll probably have a boyfriend one day if God wills it. and he's probably going to be amazing seeing as it would be only by God's will that i have one. So one day if i have that boyfriend, i am going to want to spend alot of time getting to know him. alot of time. hopefully my whole life. and i hope to do that with God too. but the difference between God and a boyfriend is that God never changes. Now one might say- "That's no fun to figure out at all... wouldn't it be more fun to be around someone who changes who you can be surprised by often and who is dynamic?!" well.
point 1: the point isn't to be fun although in some instances that would be quite preferable. if the whole world were meant for fun, then we're doing a pretty bad job at it ourselves. i'd rather joy than this fun that tries to mimick joy and fails horribly.... so it's not about fun.
point 2: frankly... one day when my boyfriend and i are old and gray... or even just in our forties.... i'd probably get sick of him trying to change all the time. imagine it- if your friend was constantly changing and becoming something new... it'd be hard to have consistency in your relationship. yes. i want my boyfriend to change himself for the better- in order that he become more consistent. we continually learn, mold, shape, and change ourselves to those things that we one day hope will be a constant. for example. i am changing all the time in my prayer life. some days are good. some days stink. some days i am stubborn then repent at the end of the day. and some days i just rejoice and talk to god all day. i haven't gotten to the point where i feel like yelling at him all day but i'm sure it might come someday for growth purposes. my prayer changes day by day (even though it shouldn't)... but the reason why it changes so much is because an inner battle is going on and one day i hope that i will consistenly talk to my Lord every waking moment. i am changing right now so that one day i might be consistent. likewise consistency is good i believe. that is what i desire in a boyfriend (and eventually a husband) and i am thankful that my Lord is always cosistent. a consistent foundation. not rocky but a rock. not build on shifting, changing sand but on the Rock. and unless my marriage/relationships are also based on that rock, they will never last. they will constantly keep on changing.
Likewise. i need that Rock to have consistency (seeing as i am always changing). If i am continually changing to find myself WITHOUT first having that rock in place, then i will never find just ONE, TRUE "ME", cause that one true me will always be changing. if i have that rock that never changes, then model myself after Him, then i can find the parts of Him that remain in me all the time. We all have traits of His. Bits of his mercy and faith and all his other traits. each person has different traits of God's in different porportions. We all have access to all traits, but some just are more strongly reflected in certain people. likewise, when you attach yourself to that Rock and learn it's traits, THEN AND ONLY THEN can you start comparing yourself to it. you can have a consistent analysis. if the components of an experiment are always changing, you will never have a consistent conclusion to your hypothesis. if my hypothesis is that i am patient, sometimes rude, loving generally, and creative with the arts, then i'll never know if i truly am unless i have something solid and unchanging to test it against. Rather, SOMEONE, to test it against. if i want to find the exact perfect amound of apple cider to put in my tea, in a normal experiment, i would keep the rest of the tea the same, then just test different amounts of apple cider in it. If i changed the amount of tea at any time, then my experiment would be inconsistent and i would not have a solid conslusion. there would be too many variables. God is the tea. He is unchanging. He is consistent. His amount of everything stays the same. Consistency. I am the cider. i am looking for myself. who i am. well, unless i have the solid Rock of God (keep the same amount of tea) i will never be able to tell if i am the one changing or if the tea amount is changing.
We must have a solid rock to stand upon or we'll never find who we truly are. Life is not an experiment. It is a divine plan. But if it were, God would be the constant and we'd be the cider. We cannot find ourselves in all the other people who are changing as well or we'll never be able to tell which trait is ours as opposed to which trait is theirs.

The conclusion- we are all looking for ourselves. i will choose to have my rock in Christ and God. They are the only ones who will never change. I. I change all the time. But it is all in hopes that i might become consistent in something.
We're All in This Together talked about how everyone is so consumed by looking for themselves. But when we look to God and ask for His heart and His purposes rather than our own, we find what we truly are- sinful yet forgiven. wierd yet accepted. divinely created different yet very the same in so many ways. And we realize that we're all in this together. It's amazing that one man died for me and it took care of the rest of my sins for the rest of my life. i don't quite understand it fully. the transaction is foreign. yet the reaction it creates in me is quite close to my heart.

i have found, i believe, that God has granted me with the gift of thought. Trust me, it's a gift. i've been without it many days of my life (although it's quite short in comparison). But he's regiven it to me. i chose to lose it. But now i choose to see and and use it and reuse it. i pray, lord, that we never allow ourselves to stop thinking for your Glory. always for your glory.

you see. once we get out of ourselves, we truly find ourselves. iHeart talked about this i-centered culture. ipods. iPhone. iTunes. I love this. i love that. i am going to the store this afternoon. i love hotdogs. They asked people what they loved. swimming, hotdogs, money... and it made me think of how much i really do think of the big 'I' during my day. where am I going to go to college? when will i get a boyfriend? will i own my own buisness or coffee shop one day? what should i major in? so many thoughts. all about I. and i've wasted so much time. the truth is. if i didn't go to college, i'd still get into heaven, but if i don't stip thinking about myself, THEY might not. If i go to a movie today and invite only church people all the time, i'd still get into heaven, but THEY might not have seen love today. "Charity begins today. Today somebody is suffering, today somebody is in the street, today somebody is hungry. Our work is for today, yesterday has gone, tomorrow has not yet come- today, we have only today to make Jesus known, loved, served, fed, clothed, sheltered, etc. Today- do not wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow might not come. Tomorrow we will not have them if we do not feed them today." (Mother Teresa 1991)
We've got today to start not caring about only ourselves, but, more than, that is that we've got only today to start caring for someone else. Yes, i still have to go do my math homework. but i all too often forget that i can do just as much sitting in my room, praying while doing my math homework, as i can do in a homeless shelter or at school. becuase i'm not the one doing it. God is. all the time. he's doing it through us. so whether we are praying or working God is still working toward His same purposes. there is only one will of God. and if we allow Him to work in us, then there is no way He'd work any other will but His own. cause it's not about us. it's about him. when it comes down to eternity, nothing I said or did will matter. But only what i allowed God to do through me. He'll ask me what i did with what He gave me. Did i multiply His gift or did i selfishly and fearfully bury it in a hole. My funeral won't even matter. People might try to make it something big. they might try and make it about me. But their efforts will be pointless. No matter how hard or long i try to make things all about me, i will never succeed. It's about God. And other people. The sooner i realize that and start living in constant regards to that, the sooner i will find consistency. There are people out there who need us. People who if we don't get our act together by the grace of God and start serving them, might die before we get to show them the love of Jesus. I know the job is big. i know it. but what has He given you? Deal with that today? has He showed you a need today? work to fulfill that need until He gives you a new one. If you cannot physically provide for that need, then pray. He expects you to use what He's given you. Has he equipped you to help the poor in third world countries? Yes? then go do it. No? then pray for them and start filling another need He's given you the supplies to fill. Has He eqpuipped you to help the people in Hollywood? Where has he put you? Start there. Then move outward. From Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, then to the ends of the earth. From the inside out. From where you are------> outward. If you don't know where to start, pray. Then start somewhere. What has he equipped you with? Look at your talents. Use them. I've always wondered how my everyday life can be used for the glory of God. We as humans glorify certain gifts He's given people. "She's so good at writing music. That brings glory to God." "He's so good at preaching. THAT must bring more glory to God." no. what has he talented you with? Gifted you with? Are you good at juggling. PRAY ABOUT IT AND FIND A WAY TO USE IT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD. Remember though- your gift He's given you is a gift. It never for one second is ours in the first place. Using your talents is like sending God a Thank-You card. So thank him. I forget that all too often.

In Jesus' name i pray and praise and thank the Lord who has allowed me to write.
Amen

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross! 9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12 Therefor, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed- not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence- continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who workds in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. 14Do everything without complainging or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life- in order that i may boast on the day of Christ that i did not run or labor for nothing. 17But even if i am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, i am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18So you too should be glad and rejoice with me."
-Philippians 2:1-18

The self image epidemic

2009-10-09T10:07:00.000-07:00

I found this in my draft box from quite a while ago... it had already been posted, but i edited it a bit. i have found more information on the self image problem in our world today, which brings hope and is in the January blog posts... god bless.

Friday, October 09, 2009
8:34 AM
If you haven't noticed, we've got a problem. It's an epidemic. But it's hidden. It's spreading. But the lie so craftily hidden by Satan is in nearly every person's mind who suffers from this epidemic. What is it? Lack of confidence in regard to self image. Who does it effect? Nearly every woman. Especially young girls. Why is it occurring? Well. Because it hasn't been fully exposed. We ourselves are guilty of it. And allow it to happen. We don't claim victory in our own minds- allowing for our thought patterns about ourselves to continue. These stats are not to get you down, but to just bring some light to the issue. The stats:

One in 200 american women suffers from anorexia

Two to three in 100 American women suffers from bulimia

An estimated 10 – 15% of people with anorexia or bulimia are males

Anorexia is the 3rd most common chronic illness among adolescents

50% of girls between the ages of 11 and 13 see themselves as overweight

80% of 13-year-olds have attempted to lose weight

Rates of minorities with eating disorders are similar to those of white women
(It is of ALL races- not just one)

Eating disorders are one of the most common psychological problems facing young women in Japan

Pasted from <http://www.state.sc.us/dmh/anorexia/statistics.htm>

Anorexia nervosa is considered a mental illness… it goes straight to the heart (that's why it's so hard to deconstruct the old patterns)
"

So yes. This is an epidemic. And it goes against the will of God. It has to- Everything God has made is good. And this is clearly not good. One of the reasons: Many girls look around and see other skinny girls. They tend to think that these girls are naturally skinny. Likewise, the girl who thinks she isn't skinny begins to regulate her eating patterns, look in the mirror too many times each day, care too much about what she looks like, focus on herself too much (rather than focusing on God), and because of her preoccupation with her weight and her constant resistance towards God's better plan in her life, she grows ever further away from how God designed her to think about herself. And the sin creates the feeling of a wedge between herself and God.
He will never let go. He will never let go. But she has. The sin so prevalent (which we convince ourselves isn't a sin at the time) is a trick. The thing she doesn't realize is that the reason why many of the other girls are so skinny is because they are thinking and doing the same thing- the same unhealthy pattern. So because of this trick, our minds no longer desire to obey God. This is unfortunate and saddening. We become futile in our thinking towards God. Watch- prayer slowly slips out. Reading the Bible wholeheartedly slowly slips out. And the mirror slips in. Thoughts about food slip in. Food is all you can think of. When I focused on the food I was eating all the time, I didn't have anything else to talk about. I would talk about high-calorie foods I loved, and I loved baking. Which was true. But I let talking about that food be my supplement so I didn't have to eat them. The Spirit of God no longer seemed to be dwelling in me. I didn't let it. I seemingly became more selfish. In my heart. I don't know if you could tell it on the outside. I bet so. But I knew it. As I was preoccupied with my weight and what I ate, the less I cared about sharing a meal with someone- because it meantthat I would have to eat where they wanted and not stick to what I preferred eating. The more I ate healthy, the more I seemed stuck-up and disconnected. As if I was better because I was eating better foods. i didn't believe this and i gladly knew it to be false, but my heart felt mean towards others many times.
And another lie snuck in there while all this is going on: "But I am supposed to be eating better foods. God says to take care of my temple." You see. It's the half-lies that get us in trouble. Yes. Take care of your temple. Take care of the body christ has given you. But there are multiple meanings to this idea of taking care of his temple. His temple also means taking care of the Body of Christ- other people around you. When you care only about how you look and what you're eating, you aren't thinking about others! It's a horrible trap! The other thing "temple" means is take care of the Holy Spirit- the body of Christ living in you. While being semi-orthorexic, I sure didn't care as much about how I maintained the Holy Spirit living in me. I didn't let him live in me. So yes. Take care of your temple. But if you're starving yourself. Or caring too much about your diet or food at all or if you're preoccupied with how much fat or not-fat you have on your body, you are not taking care of your temple he's given you! IF YOUR TEMPLE IS WEARY BECAUSE YOU HAVE DEPRIVED IT OF CARBS, THEN HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO SUFFER AND LABOR FOR HIM! If you can't hold yourself up because you feel too tired and sick and you look pale, how in the world are you going to resist the temptation of the devil? The sad thing is, when I was preoccupied by my body, I didn't mind giving in to the devil. I just let things slip. It took a very loving mom to get me to stop. To tell me that she was done worrying about me and letting me try and deal with it on my own. And you know what. Everytime someone offered me food I wouldn't let myself eat, the devil came out in me. My spirit grew mean. Cause there was confrontation. I had to lie to find some way to not eat it. Adding another conscious sin to the pile. And when mom made me eat. I in my heart was horrible. There was such ugliness building up in my heart because of my resistance to the confrontation God put in my life. It was the day before our mission trip to chicago. And she told me I had to start eating real foods or I couldn't go. The thing is- it got to the point where I didn't even have a preference to what I ate- I didn't know what I wanted to eat. I just knew what I was allowed by myself to eat. And that became what I wanted. Healing didn't come over the chicago trip. I still watched what I ate. I still censored everything that went in my mouth. I had the healthiest thing at Jamba Juice and the healthiest thing at Oberweis. Not even ice cream when I was in the best ice cream place in the world. I had deep dish pizza. One piece I think. It was good. The thing is. I could have served so much better on that trip. My mind, as much as I tried, still had a long way to go to get back into serving mode. I am ashamed to say that I was trying to talk to God about getting over myself so much that I probably missed many God-ordained moments with the homeless. I know we can't always feel God, because we must live by faith, not by feeling, but we still must see Him working in all things. When we are so consumed with ourselves, it's hard to see Him working. It's horrible. Your mind just lacks praises. And joy. You lose yourself. You don't know what to eat, let alone pray about. What is in the darkness must be brought to light. If you don’t tell someone who will kick your butt and force-feed you, I'll let you know, you might not ever get over it. Tell the person who cares enough about you to sacrifice your comfort for your life. Because if you consider yourself a child of God, and let your eating disorder/preoccupation continue, you'll lose yourself. And you'll quickly lose sight of the plan for your life God's given you. You might feel great in the new clothes you fit into. In the clothes you see on TV and you might have room left in the shorts you never thought you'd wear, but I'll let you know. Those shorts can't go to Heaven with you. Those outfits can't go to heaven with you. They could clothe the homeless though. They could clothe the orphans. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep onesself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:26) I was so consumed with not eating food that I forgot that there are people in our own backyard who don't have the choice of getting to eat today. I was worried about whether my bread was whole wheat or not while the starving would just like a piece of bread. Let me tell ya- jesus doesn't care if the communion bread is wheat or white. The communion juice- it has sugar in it. Don't let it come to the point where you consider not taking communion because it's white bread. Eat. Eat anything. Not gluttony, but if that's what it takes for a bit to get you out of this current pattern, then go for it. Go for balance. Consider every "unhealthy" thing you eat as communion he's provided for you- because you've been blessed with daily bread, no matter whether it's wheat or white. So be thankful for it. Claim every "unhealthy" food your put into your mouth as a stab at the devil who's trying to convince you that your legs are too fat. Look in the mirror! Take a good look! You are fearfully and wonderfully made! REPEAT THAT TRUTH TO YOURSELF UNTIL YOU BELIEVE IT! I STILL HAVE TO REPEAT IT EVERY DAY!
YOU
ARE
FEARFULLY
AND
WONDERFULLY
MADE.
Turning your way of thinking around is hard. I know. Pray through it. And if you feel like you don't think He's listening, just keep praying. Get some truth into your bones and repeat it in your mind. If going into the bathroom to look in the mirror makes you think about food- then don't go in!!!! Put verses on your mirror! Wear sweatpants with a friend for the whole week! Get comfortable and allow yourself to get comfortable! Have someone with you at all times if going into the bathroom makes you want to throw up! (Trust me, they probably care about you enough to not worry about whether they are in the bathroom with you. They'd probably mind you being unhealthy more than they'd mind hearing you pee.) It's hard. Your mind is probably fighting healing right now. Does this make you cringe- the idea of eating ice cream, or not going on a run today, or claiming freedom from this and calling out to God, or praying? Good. I'm glad you realize you've got a problem- that's a start. If you are cringing at the idea of healing, then it's time to heal. It'll be hard but it'll be worth it. Is your soul getting mad at me for saying this? Let it. Then come over and let's have coffee and talk. I know. It's hard. But God is faithful. And I want you to know- HE LOVES YOU. HE MADE YOU. HE SEES YOU AS HIS PERFECT BEAUTIFUL CHILD. AND WHEN YOU SEE HIM IN HEAVEN, HE'S PROBABLY NOT GOING TO CARE IF YOU ATE VEGETABLES AS OPPOSED TO POTATO CHIPS, BUT HE MAY ASK YOU IF YOU USED WHAT HE GAVE YOU TO BRING HIM GLORY. THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO CARE ABOUT. That's my prayer. That I love God enough and have a level enough head to realize that one day, all this around me isn't going to matter. The only thing that will matter is what I did with what He gave me. So please. If you need to talk, shout out to God. He's right there. He loves you. And He made all of the foods in the grocery store just for you- he brought the new covenant of Jesus, and with that comes the fact that we are denied no food in moderation. We can eat whatever we want in moderation! So give God a call. And find that friend who is going to make you eat. You're probably going to feel like resisting that. Wake up, o sleeper, and let Christ shine on you.
Romans 2:5-11

1 Corinthians 4:5
He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

Ephesians 5:11-17
11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
"Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."
15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

Whatever you are doing that is in the darkness, let it be exposed. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth [God's Truth] buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith [claim faith that He will get you through. Remember- faith not sight] with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation [you have been saved] and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." (ephesians 5)
God is with you. There is hope. God loves you and He'll never stop loving you no matter what the reflection in the mirror looks like. No matter what. Claim Truth.
Amen.

Why does God allow suffering?

2009-09-29T08:09:00.001-07:00

so i prayed for God to answer one of the questions because i didn't know which one to do and he answered it yesterday when i went to visit Taylor U. in chapel, reverend Dwight Knight partly answered why suffering happens:
-pain is God's indicator that something is wrong. without pain, a toothe ache could eventually kill you. Likewise, when there's pain, God is telling the world that something is wrong! It's not always Satan. Yes Satan tries to distort the purpose of the pain and tries to steal our joy while we are in pain. If he's stolen your joy in any circumstance, he's gotten you to lost your trust in God. That's why Paul suffered so much yet was such a godly, joyful, persevering man. He realized that his joy was not in this world but in heaven and that he no longer feared death- pain is god's megaphone to a deaf world.- in pain there is refinement. he came baptizing with the Spirit and with fire. The fire part, i believe (and correct me if i'm wrong), is the pain. Pain is for refinement. Something's wrong. Figure it out and fix it. Let God.C.S. Lewis said that God whispers to us in our pleasure and screams to us in our pain.
looking up that quote, i read this article. it's quite purposeful:
God Whispers in Our Pleasures and Sings Over UsC.S. Lewis said, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." (The Problem of Pain, 1940). inside me, I did not yet understand how painful life could be. I understood a child's pain, but had yet to discover a woman's pain, or a mother's pain. All of those pains laid before me as I totally trusted Jesus without question.
Many of us would never have recognized our need for God had it not been for the pain we were experiencing. It was that way for me. Even though I had accepted Jesus as my Savior as a child, and asked Him to come and liveThen, as inevitably happens, the noise of the world began to drown out the voice of God's Spirit. It grew harder and harder to hear The Spirit's voice. At first I recognized the difficulty, but without coming back to Him, each succeeding time His voice grew dimmer and dimmer.
Then, because God is a God of unlimited grace, He allowed painful circumstances to enter my life. In essence, He said, "OK, have it your way." But He did not leave me! I picture Him standing back, arms folded, brow furrowed, eyes fixed on His precious daughter to see what a mess she could make.Each time I ran to the Arms of God, He sat me on His Lap, hugged me with His Arms, and rejoiced over me with songs (Zephaniah 3:17).
The Lord your God is with you,He is might to save.He will take great delight in you,He will quiet you with His love,He will rejoice over you with singing.
There is nothing like hearing - with your spiritual ear - God rejoicing over you with singing! No emotion known to man can compare with it. I'm so thankful for the megaphone of God, followed by His singing over me. I know exactly how the prodigal son felt, and it feels good!"

Out of their poverty overflowed a rich generosity. let us excel in the gift of giving.

2009-09-29T06:57:00.000-07:00

Hey so this is an article i read in yahoo news and was surprised at the facts in here. please feel free to give it a quick read and read what's after it.... there's hope:)"RELIGIOUS LIFE WON'T BE THE SAME AFTER DOWNTURN by RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer Rachel Zoll, Ap Religion Writer – MonSep28, 7:11pmETNEW YORK – Organized religion was already in trouble before the fall of 2008. Denominations were stagnating or shrinking, and congregations across faith groups were fretting about their finances.The Great Recession made things worse.It's further drained the financial resources of many congregations, seminaries and religious day schools. Some congregations have disappeared and schools have been closed. In areas hit hardest by the recession, worshippers have moved away to find jobs, leaving those who remain to minister to communities struggling with rising home foreclosures, unemployment and uncertainty.Religion has a long history of drawing hope out of suffering, but there's little good news emerging from the recession. Long after the economy improves, the changes made today will have a profound effect on how people practice their faith, where they turn for help in times of stress and how they pass their beliefs to their children."In 2010, I think we're going to see 10 or 15 percent of congregations saying they're in serious financial trouble," says David Roozen, a lead researcher for the Faith Communities Today multi-faith survey, which measures congregational health annually. "With around 320,000 or 350,000 congregations, that's a hell of a lot of them."The sense of community that holds together religious groups is broken when large numbers of people move to find work or if a ministry is forced to close."I'm really still in the mourning process," says Eve Fein, former head of the now-shuttered Morasha Jewish Day School in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.The school, a center of religious life for students and their parents, had been relying on a sale of some of its property to stay afloat but land values dropped, forcing Morasha to shut down in June."I don't think any of us who were in it have really recovered," Fein says. "The school was 23 years old. I raised my kids there."The news isn't uniformly bad. Communities in some areas are still moving ahead with plans for new congregations, schools and ministries, religious leaders say.And many congregations say they found a renewed sense of purpose helping their suffering neighbors. Houses of worship became centers of support for the unemployed. Some congregants increased donations. At RockHarbor church in Costa Mesa, Calif., members responded so generously to word of a budget deficit that the church ended the fiscal year with a surplus."We're all a little dumbfounded," says Bryan Wilkins, the church business director. "We were hearing lots of stories about people being laid off, struggling financially and losing homes. It's truly amazing."In the Great Depression, one of the bigger impacts was the loss of Jewish religious schools, which are key to continuing the faith from one generation to the next. Jonathan Sarna, a Brandeis University historian and author of "American Judaism," says enrollment in Jewish schools plummeted in some cities and many young Jews of that period didn't have a chance to study their religion.Today, some parents, regardless of faith, can no longer afford the thousands of dollars in tuition it costs to send a child to a religious day school. Church officials fear these parents won't re-endroll their kids if family finances improve because it might be disruptive once they've settled into a new school.Enrollment in one group of 120 Jewish community day schools is down by about 7 percent this academic year, according to Marc Kramer, executive director of RAVSAK, a network of the schools. A few schools lost as many as 30 percent of their students. Many of the hundreds of other Jewish day schools, which are affiliated with Reform, Conservative and Orthodox movements, are also in a financial crunch.Kramer says 2009-10 will be a "make or break" year for Jewish education, partly because of the additional damage to endowments and donors from Bernard Madoff's colossal fraud.Overall, U.S. Jewish groups are estimated to have lost about one-quarter of their wealth."It's going to be painful," Kramer says. "There will be some losses." The Association for Christian Schools International, which represents about 3,800 private schools, says enrollment is down nationally by nearly 5 percent. About 200 Christian schools closed or merged in the last academic year, 50 more than the year before. At least 80 members of the Association of Theological Schools, which represents graduate schools in North America, have seen their endowments drop by 20 percent or more. The National Catholic Education Association is still measuring the toll on its schools, but expects grim news from the hardest hit states, after years of declining enrollment. "Some schools that were on the brink — this whole recession has just intensified that," says Karen Ristau, president of the association. Clergy in different communities say worship attendance has increased with people seeking comfort through difficult times, although no one is predicting a nationwide religious revival. Americans for years have been moving away from belonging to a denomination and toward a general spirituality that may or may not involve regular churchgoing. The 2008 American Religious Identification Survey found more people who call themselves "nondenominational Christians" and rising numbers who say they have no religion at all. Before the stock market tanked last fall, only 19 percent of U.S. congregations described their finances as excellent, down from 31 percent in 2000, according to the 2008 Faith Communities Today poll. Because of these trends, mainline Protestants were among the most vulnerable to the downturn. Their denominations had been losing members for decades and had been dividing over how they should interpret what the Bible says on gay relationships and other issues. National churches had been relying on endowments to help with operating costs, along with the generosity of an aging membership that had been giving in amounts large enough to mostly make up for departed brethren. The meltdown destroyed that financial buffer. The Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church and other mainline denominations were forced to cut jobs and their national budgets. The damage was felt across Methodist life. As of the summer, more than half of the church's 62 U.S. regional districts, or annual conferences, reported they had budget deficits. Some sold property and buildings to continue their ministries. Two national Methodist boards cut more than 90 jobs. Fifty bishops took a voluntary pay cut. Annual conferences in hard-hit regions, such as Florida and Ohio, lost thousands of members as people moved to find work elsewhere. "Many of these groups have such large endowments that they're not going away," Roozen says. "But I think there's no question that they're going to be smaller both as organizations and in membership." Roman Catholic dioceses for years had been struggling with maintaining their aging churches, paying salaries and health insurance and funding settlements over clergy sex abuse. With the hit to investment income and a drop in donations, they are now freezing salaries, cutting ministries and staff. The Archdiocese of Detroit, at the heart of the meltdown, had a $14 million shortfall in a $42 million budget in the fiscal year that ended in June 2008. Conservative Protestant groups, known for their entrepreneurial spirit and evangelizing, were not immune. The 16.2 million-member Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant group in the country, has had budget cuts in its North American Mission Board, at least three of its six seminaries and in its publishing and research arm. Religious leaders say the next year or so will be key in determining which organizations survive the downturn intact. Even if the recession ends soon, religious fundraisers say the angst donors feel will not lift immediately, prolonging the difficulties for congregations, schools and ministries."Pasted from <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090928/ap_on_bi_ge/us_rel_meltdown_religion> 1 Timothy 6:17-19"17Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."2 Corinthians 8:1-4"1And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints."Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. Their poverty welled up to generosity. The more impverished they became the more they gave. Where our treasure is there our heart will be also. In the time of recession, let out churches not get scared. We will take this as a reminder that our joy is not in this earth. Nothing on earth can satisfy our desires so our joy remains in heaven. Solomon already tried it: he had everything he could ever want yet, he found that "Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income." "The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep." John D. Rockefeller said, "I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness." W.H. Vanderbilt: "the care of $200 million is enough to kill anyone. There is no pleasure in it." So why are we at a loss of funds in the church? Why are child support organizations losing sponsors? Out of our poverty, let it overflow in rich generosity towards others. We've got nothing on earth to lose- its all already God's and we've already got our treasure. Let us give.I pray to continually find joy in trading my earthly treasure for heavenly treasure. In our poverty, let us give recklessly as we are commanded to, trusting it will be repaid to un one day tenfold. Our hope is not in a church building but in the death and resurrection and kingdom to come. So if our building campaign funds run out or pastors start volunteering, let us rejoice in the hope that the hungry are being fed and the poor are becoming richer and that we are growing ever closer to the goal of equality. Our abundance or poverty will overflow to provide their needs. Let our giving beyond our ability be a testimony that God can provide in any circumstance. Daily bread.

Psalm 49
"5 There is no need to fear when times of trouble come, when enemies are surrounding me.
6 They trust in their wealth and boast of great riches.
7 Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paing a ransom to God.
8 Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough
9 to live forever and never see the grave.
10 Those who are wise must finally die, just like the foolish and senseless, leaving all their wealth behind.
11 The grave is their eternal home, where they will stay forever. They may name their estates after themselves, but they leave their wealth to others.
12 They will not last long despite their riches- they will die like the animals.
13 This is the fate of fools, though they will be remembered as being so wise.
14 Like sheep, they are lead to the grave, where death will be their shepherd. In the morning the godly will rule over them. Their bodies will rot in the grave, far from their grand estates.
15 But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of death.
16 So don't be dismayed when the wicked grow rich, and their homes become ever more splendid.
17 For when they die, they carry nothing with them. Their wealth will not follow them to the grave.
18 In this life they consider themselves fortunate, and the world loudly applauds their success.
19 But they will die like all others before them and never again see the light of day.
20 People who boast in their wealth don't understand that they will die like the animals."

Isaiah 59-60

2009-09-22T06:27:00.001-07:00

Isaiah 58
True Fasting 1 "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD ?
6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness [a] will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Isaiah 59
Sin, Confession and Redemption 1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments and speak lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider's web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are evil thoughts; ruin and destruction mark their ways.
8 The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks in them will know peace.
9 So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
10 Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like men without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead.
11 We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away.
12 For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities:
13 rebellion and treachery against the LORD, turning our backs on our God, fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
14 So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
18 According to what they have done, so will he repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes; he will repay the islands their due.
19 From the west, men will fear the name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory. For he will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the LORD drives along. [b]
20 "The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the LORD.
21 "As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever," says the LORD.
Isaiah 60
The Glory of Zion 1 "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
4 "Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm.
5 Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come.
6 Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD.
7 All Kedar's flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I will adorn my glorious temple.
8 "Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests?
9 Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, [c] bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.
10 "Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion.
11 Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations— their kings led in triumphal procession.
12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined.
13 "The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the pine, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn the place of my sanctuary; and I will glorify the place of my feet.
14 The sons of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15 "Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations.
16 You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts. Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler.
18 No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
19 The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.
21 Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.
22 The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly."
Isaiah 61
The Year of the LORD's Favor 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, [d]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
5 Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.
8 "For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed."
10 I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

Absolute Truth

2009-09-17T12:55:00.001-07:00

You know, praise God so much for absolute Truth!
For being stable when I'm not.
For being faithful and always there.
For being so vast that I'll never get a breather and stop needing to learn more about him.
For designing it so perfectly.
For absolute truth.
Cause in a world where people are so subjective, I need a foundation.
I feel sorry for anyone who can't unashamedly say that they need an unsubjective foundation.
Something not based on opinion.
Cause my opinion isn't your opinion.
So praise God for having the opinion that isn't opinion- it's fact.
It's not a suggestion.
It's truth.
Lord thank you for daily making me face up to the fact that I'm not good enough.
But that you are.
A friend of mine told me that it all depends on how you want to see it.
True.
Good point.
She went on to say
"The message is up to the person to interpret.
It is not a concrete answer."
False and true at the same time.
Yes.
I might interpret it one way and another person could interpret it another way according to their circumstance.
And in a world where people believe everything is based on opinion,
My friend might say that we have to choose one interpretation.
But what if…
What if
God was big enough
Is big enough
To let both be true.
To let both interpretations be living.
The word of God is LIVING and ACTIVE
Sharper than any DOUBLE edged sword.
So praise God
For being a God
Who maintains ultimate truth
That applies to our lives in our sorrow
And rejoicing
And darkness
And light
In anger
And fear
And confidence
And hope.
Praise God for the foundation of ultimate Truth.
By Him I am justified.
Let all else be a lie
And God be true.
Friendship with the world is hatred towards God.

The Building is the MEANS, not the goal.

2009-09-12T17:40:00.000-07:00

So I was sitting outside. Our church has a beautiful campus. I’m not boasting in our church. I am boasting in the God who allowed us to be here and made the beautiful land the building sits on and made the materials that made the building. So I was sitting there reading, looking at the beauty of God’s creation. I’ll let you know that our church sits on a hill. The highest point in Hamilton County, Indiana. We can stand on our church grounds and see (I think) four surrounding towns/cities and all the surrounding houses and neighborhoods and fields. And we’ve got grass. A lot of it. God gave it to us and makes it grow for us. It truly is such a sight to see. And the sun is beautiful from that hill definitely.
This morning I came to church early with my mom to spend some time reading and staring at God’s creation. There was a cross country race and a woman and her husband walked by going to a spot where they could better view the race, and as I was reading I heard her say “It just goes on forever.” And I thought to myself, “Goodness yes it does.” The land is so beautiful. Then I looked up and realized that she was talking about the building. The building behind me. It is quite long. And my heart broke a bit for the words that woman said. That they were about the building. The creation of the living God, which does stretch on forever, was right behind her, and I just prayed that she turn around, look at God’s creation, and say “It just goes on forever.” God your land goes on forever. Your territory goes further than the heavens. Please let people know that the building is merely a means to the goal. It is not our goal to build false temples for ourselves. We know You do not dwell in just buildings made by human hands. Please help them to know that too. It’s not about the building, but the people in it, and the God who gave us the ability to dream it up. I pray we can direct back all that glory to you. yes. buildings are beautiful. but they don't last forever. they don't dwell in people's hearts. You do. Thank you Lord.

Enjoy Your Money... Give None Away... by kayla schaaf

2009-09-10T09:14:00.001-07:00

"I am concerned for the poor but more for you. I know not what Christ will say to you in the great day... I fear there are many hearing me who may know well that they are not Christians, because they do not love to give. To give largely and liberally, not grudging at all, requires a new heart; an old heart would rather part with its life-blood than its money. Oh my friends! Enjoy your money; make the most of it; give none away; enjoy it quickly for I can tell you, you will be beggars throughout eternity."Robert Murray M'Cheyne--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------May we look to Christ's sacrifice as our perfect example. He lived a selfless life - gave His own life - so that we may live selflessly in our giving. May we be inconvenienced for His sake, to give to the poor, to sell all we have and provide for the needy. We have everything we need: He is Christ. The Lord will take care of us.2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (and read on)Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.Give us the strength to be humble, Lord!

A Car

2009-09-10T08:34:00.000-07:00

If you're going to buy yourself
a nice new car
please reconsider
please.
cause i like beautiful things.
i've got nothing against 'em.
God's made good things and for that i praise him.
but if it's new. and nice.
all at the same time.
please reconsider.
if it's more than you NEED.
please reconsider.
If it's prettier than it NEED be.
please reconsider.
If it's more expensive than it should be
or expensive because of it's brand
please reconsider.
get it on sale.
find a new one.
please, if you are buying it to fill a hole...
a hole in your heart or your life.
please.
first question the motive.
ask the right question to find out what REALLY should fill that hole.
find why the hole got there.
cure the disease.
not the symptoms.
then it might be ok.
to buy a car.
but still not a new one. maybe not.
cause look around you.
how many cars do you see in a day?
we.
are.
rich.
if you have
ONE car.
you are more fortunate than the majority of the rest of the world.
and that doesn't even matter if it works or not.
i need to reconsider- what is my NEED.
not my want
not my desire
my NEED.
cause there are so many others
who NEED something they have no ability to get.
not a chance.
there isn't the choice of whether to buy a used car or a new car.
that choice isn't even there.
take the car factor out and add in the food factor.
where will their food come from that day?
so i'm not saying this to offend.
or finger point.
or say that i'm better.
cause i'mnot.
i live in a house with extra rooms.
i drink starbucks sometimes.
i turn on the lights when i wake up in the morning and take a fifteen minute shower and flush my toilet.
whenever i want.
multiple times in a row if i like.
so i am not saying this to say that i'm better.
just to make the point.
that New or used? isn't the first question to be asked.
Nor Volvo or Mercedes.
But
NEED or want?
then maybe move on to new or used?
and if you do move on to question two,
then i'd say and beg you
please pick used.
cause we've got enough steel
in our buildings and cars.
we've got enough metal
roaming our roads.
if you see one that drives.
that's a keeper.
just something to consider.
please reconsider.
and i'll be considering it too.

Hebrews 13:5
"5Keep your lives free from the love of money
and be content with what you have,
because God has said,
'Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.'"

Leadership is Humility

2009-09-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

idea that leadership is humility. true leaders are humble servants. those who will allow others to lead when they need to. i need to explore this concept more. also. nothing is truly worth anything unless you are willing to sacrifice it to god.

Yokes and Shackles

2009-09-08T13:52:00.000-07:00

"Now i will break their yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away."
-nahum 1:13.
nahum means comfort.
in nahum 1:13 god is telling his people that he would break the yoke of nineveh from his peoples' necks. Judah will once again be able to celebrate festivals and they will fulfill their vows to the lord. the wicked will no longer invade, but will be completely destroyed.
we must also claim victory and praise him for the victory we are sure will come.
lord please develop this idea of shackles and yokes. teach me about them.
what is yoke in hebrew and where else is it in the bible? in greek? what else is seen as a shackle? show me.

God is so big.

2009-09-08T13:23:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how big our God is. How many prayers he listens to all at the same day.
today he told us all in one day
that we weren't moving and he told us to mark our calendars for the twenty ninth- that something would happen. well something happened but we didn't think that's what he meant. so mom read today and he said that ten days later god told them that he would answer their requests (ours is whether or not we should move...) and he told them to stay in the land he has given them but to continue rebuildign the temple and be set apart. so that is what we will do.
to give all of my money to someone. i don't know who yet
rebekah was accepted into liberty. praise God!
dad got something for me in his bible for me to not arouse love too soon and it was a needed reminder.
he got a verse to tell someone that they are beautiful no matter what color.
he fulfilled my desire at least temporarily for Acts 2 and i am sure he will continue to build it because that is his design for fellowship in our lives.
he gave me his holy spirit.
he is talking to us all as a family.
we have milk. praise god. and daily bread. praise god.
and i am praying dad gets a job if it's god's will and if he doesn't, then praise God because god will be our only provision.
i can't even remember all of what he's done today. i just know he is immeasurably good and i praise him.
i will exalt you.
oh yes. last night i was fidgety cause i just got back from a busy beautiful weekend praising him and working for him and seeing him work adn i didn't know what to do with myself so i read my devotional and god taught me about the benefits and necessity of rest- that rest is absolutely necessary and better than business.
praise god for family and amazing brothers and sisters in christ
i didn't know what to do for our tuesday morning bible study and sean called and had a message on leadership- we will continue to learn about leadership i think for the rest of the semester.
lord, should we learn about humility next week?
praise him he is with me always.
help me to not forget that.
keep me humble and keep pride away from me.
he was with me speaking through me this weekend. it was Him not i.
we have food to eat.
his promises remain.
he changed people's lives this weeked.
he made my pen work. (that's another story for another day)
i am going to a bible study tonight- is this an answer to my prayer for fellowship?

god has packed so much goodness into one day. i love you god. i have faith in you. move mountains. he is so big. if he can hear every prayer at every time of day and still answer so many of my family's in just ONE DAY, imagine what he could do for africa right now. what he could do for the brothels. for the abused. for the depressed. the anorexic. every single person who is human and has struggles. it's all all all all in prayer and service and He is all. if we would just pray more more would happen. the man who sows sparingly reaps sparingly and the man who sows generously reaps generously. you get what you pay for. praise god. lord help my heart to be transparent.
it is now our prayer that you set every singly captive free. every burden lifted in your time. every heart softened. every starving child fed. every homeless man given a home. every orphan adopted. in your time. thank you for redemption lord and love and hope and beautiful things. help us to not forget. help me to be always sincere and thankful. thank you for giving us opportunities to grow. thank you in advance for answering this prayer. amen.

An Observation of Space

2009-09-02T05:37:00.000-07:00

Fact of the World: The more money you have, the more space you are allowed to take up.
It seems that when one has more money, it gives them some sort of right to have more space around them. The richer you are, the bigger your house, the more square footage you have per person. The less money you have, the less the square footage of your house, the closer you are to other people. I guess that makes sense because if you don't have money, you don't have anything to buy stuff to fill extra space with... there's no need for the extra space if you can't fill it i guess (says the world).
There's an idea of distance. The more money you have, the more distant you are allowed to become from people if you like. Now this does not mean that you are distant. Or that you are purposefully distancing yourself. But somehow in the course of time society has made the idea of having more room a statement. Things are different when you have room. If you would like to be alone, you can. If you would like time to yourself and no one else, you can. If you would like to drive alone, you can. And you can even go get lunch alone and watch other people. Who may or may not be alone. But somehow humanity has created a... i don't know the word for it exactly but.. created a privelege in being alone if you like. The fact that you can still have many many friends yet still go home and have more than enough space for yourself. I do not say this cruelly at all, but maybe that's why some of us get a big head... in a room that size, you've got to fill it with something. So maybe if you can't absolutely fill the room with stuff, maybe we begin to fill all of our extra space with ego. There's something dangerous about having too much space... about having too much room to be comfortable.
Likewise, there can be something observed in poverty as well. Nearly every time someone comes back from a mission trip, especially from poor countries, they say (and I've said it myself) "Despite the poverty- the lack of any materials- they are so joyful and loving and always praising God." Well, what if this statement has something to do with the lack of enclosed extra square footage per person? And has everything to do with God.
The result of not having alot of space brings you closer to people. No longer do you have the luxury of distance. If you wanted to distance yourself, you might not be able to. Yes you could run away, but then you'd take a nice run out into God's creation (not enclosed in the walls of architecture) and you'd once again realize his Glory and probably turn back. People are His delight. So the less space you have, the closer you are to other people, the more you have to learn to share and love others because one: there might not be any other way to survive, and two: there is no other way to survive. So naturally, it brings you closer to the heart of God. And you praise Him, because He's all you've got. No extra space to fill with your thinking. No extra money to worry about how to spend it tomorrow. No extra food, but that's okay because your neighbor's got some and he's just a door or a room away. And if he doesn't have some, then you get the beautiful opportunity of finding some or creating some together. And if you create some together by farming you get the beautiful opportunity of watching God grow things and provide- a system He put in place since the beginning of time. Before the fruit was bitten.
So this beautiful idea of space. It makes a difference. How much space are you giving yourself?

"Now i will break their yoke from your nexk and tear your shackles away."
-Nahum1:13
Nahum means "comfort"

Back to Creation

2009-08-12T07:04:00.000-07:00

We spend all this time trying to get back to Creation

to who we were at the beginning of the earth

so God

today

refine me

continue showing me who i was when you created me

and who you want me to be in you.

make that my one and only identity

and my one and only desire

to love you above all else with every moment of my day.

i know i'll fail.

i know it.

but yet again your relentless forgiveness and mercy comes in and amazes me again.

my broken promises to you.

i am a perjurer.

i am unfaithful.

i am a sinner.

create in me a clean heart

o god

and renew a right spirit within me.

restore unto me the joy of my salvation

and renew a right spirit within me.

a right

joyful

focused spirit.

only you please.

make that my desire.

the biggest desire please.

let me not forget.

bring me daily back to your creation around me and in me.

amen.

"...Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting."
Psalm 139: 23,24

The Problem With School History Class

2009-08-05T08:37:00.001-07:00

THE PROBLEM WITH SCHOOL HISTORY CLASS

Problem with school history class: We never really learn anything. We learn dates and facts but history continues repeating itself because we never learn the lesson.Just the facts. And facts are worthless unless there’s a moral.

And the funny thing is- the world will tell us otherwise. Our teachers will tell us otherwise. They’ll tell us that all these facts are virtuous and are going to give us a better life out of high school. Lies. Unless we learn the lesson from the facts, the future will be a repetition of past mistakes and failed morals.

I think that’s why we like our Founding Fathers so much. Because they stood for something.

But now, no one in politics can stand for anything. They must be neutral ‘so as not to offend anyone’. Seriously? What’s up with that? The people who are supposed to be the greatest leaders are forced by the American public to have no backbone or stand for anything because, well, God forbid they might ‘offend’ someone. Or make things a bit ‘uncomfortable’.

So you see. Because we’ve forced our public schools and politicians to be neutral…unoffensive…comfortable…almost none of our politicians have a backbone of basic truth. They have been forces by some invisible, moral, worldly code to not offend anyone and therefore just stick to the facts instead of the lesson behind the facts.

It’s adult peer pressure at its finest. “Well, we can’t carry a Bible in school cause then everyone would have to be allowed to carry a Quaran in school. Or the Torah. And who knows what would happen if people were forced to cooperate.” “And no, we can’t have a Bible study cause then we’d have to allow other studies.” “And no, we can’t have a class where we look at morals because that’d we way too controversial.” “No it’d just be easier to call it ‘The Bible as Literature’. Cause if you look at it as literature- mere facts- then it can’t offend anyone. No parents will call in mad and force me to be uncomfortable. Or to question my own morals. No. It’s just easier this way.”

You see. We’re stuck on the facts. But facts don’t help unless they’re applied. Have you noticed how the greatest teachers are the ones who allow you to explore not only facts but also morals. And you remember those teachers for the rest of your life. So God forbid we make someone a bit ‘uncomfortable’. I’m not here to offend, but in my struggle, in Christ’s struggle for your soul, we might tangle. Cause the devil’s real. And he wants people to be comfortable. And factual. Rather than having a bold and nicely opinionated backbone.

So lets dare to pray for politicians and teachers who have a backbone of morality rather than fact. Who are free to learn from history rather than just memorize it. And we will do the same.

Grace and Peace and Truth from the Word.

And let’s dare to learn from our history classes more than just facts.

Forgiveness

2009-08-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

Hmm this is stuck in my head

I don’t exactly know where it’s gonna go but I guess we’ll see

What ever happened to forgiveness

Not small scale

Not the type like I’ll forgive you cause you stole my pen without asking

Or I’ll still be your friend even though you did steal my joy

And I let you.

Side Note: Are we supposed to show love to the devil? I mean. I don’t love the devil. Or even like the devil. But since we aren’t supposed to hate, and satan loves hating (and no I WILL NOT capitalize that name), wouldn’t it be even more of a slap in the face to show him love?

But he’s not human I guess.

So we’ll show the humans who are under his control

The beautiful love of God.

Okay side note officially over.

Forgiveness.

We’re talking about the big type.

The type that goes through the heart and gets rid of all prejudice

Or pride.

And I know thanks to Jane Austen those words are now cliché but that’s okay because they’re way too true to not be used.

Pride

And Prejudice.

Don’t they get in the way of so much?

So the other day I was talking to my friend.

And he was like “so are your parents thinking of buying you a car soon?”

And I was thinking.

Well.

No.

My dad just lost his job so things are tight.

So it probably might maybe just be a while before they think about buying me a car.

And either way

I’d pay for it

And I like it that way.

I want to pay for it.

I don’t know- just the idea of earning something.

Earning my car instead of having it handed to me.

And when I do.

I don’t care if it’s a junker.

I earned that junkerJ

(Oh and another side note: typing is like playing the piano. It still can be really emotional. You know how people sometimes rock back and forth with the music while they’re playing the piano. And they think it helps the music go. And it does. Well. Typing can be the same. I don’t rock back and forth. That’d be weird and awkward all at the same time. But anyways. Just listen to the keys go. It’s a type of music in itself.)

Ok. Back to my junker that I earned.

Instead of telling my friend that my dad got laid off

(Which I don’t mind

I like having him home)

I think a bit of pride got in there

The type of pride where you make the truth look a little more pretty so they don’t see what you don’t want them to see.

And I know my friend would have been perfectly fine with the truth

And maybe the not-truth too

But the fact of the matter was

There was a bit of pride in there.

And I’m sort of excited.

Not for the pride.

Sorry for that Lord.

But for the fact that we might have to see the welfare side of things

And obey God with all we’ve got.

You know

When you take away the things that embellish life you might finally be able to see clearly into the perfect Truth in creation.

Well. I don’t know how that has to do with forgiveness but

Oh yes.

Forgiveness that surpasses pride and prejudice

And hatred

Pure hatred

I mean

Yes love is hard

But the devil is stupid

What takes a person from being born

To living to hate others

The devil’s working right there.

Well. Lord we pray right now

That you release hatred from whoever you like lord.

Our leaders

Our followers

Our friends

Our Strangers

Any one stuck in welfare

Any one who thinks they’re too good for welfare

Even from me Lord

I don’t think I’ve got a lot of hatred but that’d be pride

You see I’ll never be perfect and I love that

Thank you for your grace

And the ability to write.

Amen.

Back to forgiveness.

So just think about this for a sec.

Sec.

What if everyone just took up an attitude of forgiveness.

Not the one where you’ve still got a stick up your but and you say I forgive you cause you have to…

What about the forgiveness that comes deep from the heart.

Where we not only forgive others but ask for forgiveness for even for a second thinking that we were worthy to be served and pleased.

Cause we’re not.

That’s the truth.

Every person who serves me on a daily basis

Wherever I go

A restaurant

My neighbors

My parents

I’m not worthy of being served

Brings us back to paul’s words

Whatever is to my gain is a loss for Christ.

Which is totally backwards from what the world thinks

Gain

gain

I forgive you for making my coffee wrong and lord forgive me for having had the mindset that it was a big deal in the first place.

I forgive you for bombing my country and forgive me for the prejudice there that causes nationality to sacrifice love.

I forgive you for having your nationality or religion separate an alliance or friendship and lord please somehow if you could ever ever ever forgive me, please forgive me for bombing people I don’t even know.

That type of forgiveness would be big.

And it might seem backwards.

Especially the first bombing one.

But you see

In both circumstances

There’s the pride factor

That which allows us to not forgive another person is always pride.

Pride gets in the way.

And prejudice.

Prejudice that started the bombing in the first place.

I mean not even just bombing with real bombs

Assaults with words

And the daughter that rolls her eyes at her mom or sister or brother

Or the dispute between boss and employee

Or employee and employee

Just imagine that-

Forgiveness everywhere you look

I think another name for it would be love

Cause if we’d just love in the first place then we wouldn’t have anything to forgive or be forgiven for.

Except for the fact that we’re still human.

And love only comes from God.

Through us.

But from God.

You know.
Another side note

Number three in think.

The other day I was listening to something

I forget what it was

But it pointed out that truth only came from God

So when asked

“What is true?”

God is true.

Not chemistry.

Not what they teach me in school.

Not US History or anatomy or physics or facts that I learn in health class that I may never use again let alone remember them if I need to ever use them

But God is true.

His Word is true.

He is true.

He’s what we know.

So I’m wondering.

In all the school work.

In all the reading

And writing

And learning

What in that cram packed jam packed schedule is feeding me truth

Nothing.

Only that which I read out of his word and witness in creation.

He’s true.

His word is true.

His son is true.

Not school.

Not MTV (we all knew that)

Not oprah

What does she know

Not myself

So when I look for answers in myself

I am a liar

Cause I do not know truth fully

And when I say this, this is in an ever-continuing effort to not be hypocritical

Cause I haven’t memorized the bible

Nor do I read it as much as I should.

But it is truth at it’s finest

To it I will turn.

So the idea of forgiveness.

It’s not from me.

Only He is good.

Only He can create peace.

Only He can form bonds between something so broken and distraught and messed up as this world.

So god.

I don’t know where this came from.

But it’s going on a blog.

And I don’t know who will read it

But I pray that it makes them think.

And turn to you

Jesus Christ.

Who died to give us the grace that looks past our human ugliness

And made us so so so so so beautiful.

Holy.

That’s a big word.

Thank you lord.

Amen.

Thought officially overJ

NEWS- A CD of How To

2009-08-05T08:32:00.001-07:00

so just to keep you filled in, we’re making a cd.

of lyrical poetry.

A CD of ‘How To’

and it’s going to be beautiful.

well actually it might be a bit interesting.

and not exactly super high quality

but god uses everything

and he loves us.

so it’s going to be poetry describing what Ode is, what we want people to participate in, how they can participate, and a bit of inspiration.

That’s what’s in the works. We’d love it if you’d be praying for this whole process.

Thanks for sticking with us.

God’s going to do some cool things with this cd and eventually this book.

ptl

Poverty

2009-08-05T08:05:00.000-07:00

so i just returned from a mission trip to chicago. and after every trip and every life experience, it becomes all the more evident to me that the faces of poverty are so vast. I met this beautiful lady at lunch named teresa. And she and her husband liked camping. And this man named Philip liked Michael Jackson. Good music. But thinking about it, as i looked around the soup kitchen, all those beautiful faces were so very different. Each has a beautiful story that can be and is being transformed by God. And each person has their reason for being there. And poverty, as you see more of it and experience it, is not always just of money. Poor in faith. Poor in self-confidence. Poor in hope. Poor in life. Poor in family. Poor in kindness. And sadly i think all these less apparent poverties are what lead up to the evident type- poor in money. Because of so many peoples’ poor spirit of compassion or giving, the more evident poverty exists. Because of your and my poverty of self-sacrifice and richness of selfish ambition does the monetary poverty exist. So I guess this week i’ll be searching for the many faces of poverty. one that has especially stuck out to me is the poverty in teen girls of self confidence and self-worth and beauty. As i see it in other girls, i don’t exactly know what has caused it for each one (all happen for different reasons), but i recognize it as a type of cause. A cause just as large as the need for food. Beautiful girls who somehow get lied to and convinced that they need to be a certain way. That is a poverty i have noticed lately. I’ll be praying.

So continue searching for the poverty. Let’s get to the root- to the poverty that causes it all- the poverty of truth. When people believe lies and are deprived of truth. Look for the lies. Blot them out. Replace them with truth. And although we may become poor in money, we will be rich in all things true.

The Unseen Poverty

2009-08-05T07:53:00.000-07:00

Mother Teresa:”We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.”

we’re always finding out more about this.

all the different types of poverties.

i’m going to be praying about them. that my eyes are open to them

What ODE is...

2009-08-05T07:47:00.000-07:00

“He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners.” We are his hands and feet to the forgotten.

Welcome. Welcome to something that’s currently an idea. But it’s a big one. The idea in general has been a part of the world and Christianity for around two thousand years, and longer. But the idea itself, taking the specific form of Ode to the Poor the Lame and the Blind is just arising. Just formulating. Still shaping. And we invite you to be a part of it. Define it. Feel it. Verbalize it. It’s got to be bigger than you. And bigger than me. Its poverty and its all around us.

But what are you and I going to do about it? You tell me. Write it down. Take a picture of it. You’ll see.  There are millions of brothers and sisters all over the world. Hurting. Needing care. Needing the overflow of the love that He’s given us. And it’s our job to give it. Yes- I’m guilty of it too. Of sitting at the kitchen table wondering what I can do. I just did that this afternoon. But here we are. I realize now as millions of others have in the past- that the poor, the lame, and the blind of this world are crying out from the ground. Their blood is in our hands. The poor, the lame, and the blind. They may be across the world from you, in your backyard, or even in the room next to the one you’re in right now. What are we going to do about it? How will we respond to this magnificent command from Matthew 26 that’s been given to us for thousands of years, yet is daily being redefined and lived out? Well. In the broad scheme of things- for the rest of our lives- we can be living sacrifices. Humbly washing the feet of our brothers and sisters in humanity.

At the same time, you can help us write a book. An ode of sorts. But it’s more than a book. It’s an upheaval of all that tells us that the poor will stay poor, that the blind deserve their blindness, or that the lame will never again be able to walk.  Lord. We pray that you give us the strength to be weak. Help me and help us to give ourselves up for your cause. Help me to come to you, so that I may go to them with a truly pure heart and be your hands and feet. At all costs. Lord help us to give freedom to the captives, hope to the prisoners, good news to the poor. A light in the darkness of this world. Ode to the forgotten.