my son, do not walk in fear...

I have had this post in my heart for weeks now, and I can't sleep anymore until it is written. I am so sick of the injustice and ignorance that is all around us. And I am sick of hearing myself say that I am sick of it. Tonight, instead, I have written a letter to my Jack; a prayer for him that his generation will be better...and in writing these words, maybe I can find the strength to be better too.

My Son,

Do not walk in fear. For this not the spirit that He has given you. You are filled with a spirit of power, and of love and of a sound mind. Within your soul is the power of the one who created the heavens and the earth, the love of the Savior who died for every man, and the sound mind to reject the ignorance of this world. Don't be fooled by those who proclaim to follow Him, yet ignore His suffering children. And don't let that ignorance creep into your spirit. Seek Him with all of your heart and your heart will begin to break for those things that His heart breaks for. Your eyes will no longer see black, white, male, female, gentile, jew, gay, straight, punk, gangster, rich, poor. But your eyes will see people; people made in the image of God, people whom God dearly loves and wants you to love as well. Love them, my son. Love them unswervingly, unconventionally, unconditionally. Love them when they don't want to be loved, and when everyone else gives up on them. Walk alongside your fellow man with the knowledge that you share one maker, one hope and one destiny; with the knowledge that our God is making all things new...that there is going to be a great big party in the sky and that we are all invited.

This walk will not be easy, but do not be discouraged, for He is with you always. Some say that the children are the future. And, in that future, you may very well hear generations past crying out for you to save them from what they have done to one another. We are guilty of hate, guilty of injustice, guilty of violence, guilty of self-indulgence, guilty of ignorance. And yet, in the midst of all of this guilt is a perfect sea that bathes it all in mercy. Do not carry our guilt. For the Lord does not delight in sacrifice. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart. So let your heart be broken, my precious son. As it is broken, let it be filled with the redemptive love of our Savior, and then live in response to that redemption you have received. My son, do not carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. This world is not yours to judge, or even to fix. Find rest in Him, for his yoke is easy and his burden is light. The very one who created you, who spoke the earth into existence, longs to give you rest for your soul. He who sees the depths of that soul, and all of the darkness that creeps in, sees only light. So do not be afraid, or worry about tomorrow. Live today in the grace and mercy of Christ, and with the knowledge that only in death will you truly gain. For today my son, act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. Walk with the God who says that yes, life is hard, and yes we will fail, but that he is Lord and there is no mistake that you can make that will keep him from being glorified when you make that your priority. Love and live, not as one checking off a list...or measuring faith by what you are against; what you can't or won't do. And keep your eyes open so you don't miss those sacred moments of Heaven breaking through.

Love your family, love your friends, love your enemies, love those you cannot see who are on the other side of the world. Know that to live is Christ. And Christ did not live safely. My son, I pray that you will live so boldly that you will drive fear into the heart of the evil that lurks outside your door. I pray that your eyes will see the hurting, the forgotten; those who think that they have no one. Bear their burdens, and instead of trying to have wise words about the plans of God, leave those plans to him. He will be the ultimate haven of rest...but in this life, my son, be a shoulder that is okay to cry on, an ear that doesn't mind the screaming, and a heart that shares the pain of your brothers and sisters. For the same Lord who gave us his unfailing love watched His son die on a tree for your fallen soul. And I know He must have hurt deeply for His child. Learn from this my child. It is okay to hurt, it is okay to be angry. Know that you have a God who is big enough for both your praise and your fear. It is important to remember Friday as we anxiously await Sunday. But Sunday will come. Sunday will come, and then we shall know fully; even as we are fully known. The injustice and sin and pain will all fall away, leaving only that which he created us to be. Sunday will come...all things will be made new...and LOVE WILL WIN.

I love you more than I could ever explain...and my precious son, I pray that you will always know how much you are loved. I pray that even more than the love of a parent, you will know the indescribable love of God that will never fail you. You are mine for awhile, but you are His for all time. I pray that your life will be a reflection of his grace and peace. And I pray that you will love with His heart. Let your loyalty not lie in the busyness of religion, but in the business of his kingdom. For He has called you to be his disciple and He has called you to a love that will lay its life down for another. Lay your life down, my son. Take His love into the dark corners, for He is already there waiting for you. Let His perfect love drive out all fear. Let your generation be the one to see justice rolling down like rivers and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

My son, do not walk in fear, for this is not the spirit He has given you. His words are written on your heart, and your name is engraved on the palm of his hand. He will not forget you. Do not forget Him or His children. Walk with a sound mind, in love and in power. Walk forward towards the cross, run to the hurting, rest in his grace, and meet me at the party.

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i still love you blogspot

i am not abandoning the blog, but i have just been sucked into the MySpace phenomenon, and it is really addicting. i have talked to people that i literally haven't seen since elementary school...it's crazy how many people are on there, and fun to see what people are up to...even matt got sucked in!

i still love reading and writing blogs, but for some reason i have had some writers block lately...myspace requires a little less intelligent writing! anyway, just wanted to update my readers...all 3 of you...that i am not gone...i just took a little break!

looking for the perfect valentine? how about a teddy bear holding a heart

Matt and I were a little disappointed this last weekend as we had really looked forward to Steve Martin hosting SNL. It wasn't really all that special...but this commercial was definitely hilarious!

thoughts to click on

This is a great movie.















This is an amazing ministry with a very cool website.
One quote from the video that really struck a chord with me: "They don't act like christians or religion people...they act like friends; people you can count on"






My baby boy is getting so big! My heart aches to think about how fast this goes by and yet every moment with him, watching him discover the world, is an absolute joy.
















SOME OF MY FAVORITE TUNES RIGHT NOW:















































This precious boy deserves his miracle. Get a bracelet like ours and continue to pray that the Lord will bring peace and healing to the Hays family.

hurricane poster project

My sweet and talented husband directed me to this very cool website.

heartache

This week has been full of much heartache and sadness over one who has lost her life. I did not even know this woman personally, but knew of her because she was also a theatre major at ACU, and because my uncle is an elder at the church where her husband ministers. I can remember hearing about her in the theatre department when I was there, and she was only 4 years older than I am right now. She lost her devastating battle with depression this week tragically and so many are grieving. I have not been able to get it out of my mind or heart this week. It is my prayer that people will begin to realize how real this disease of mental illness and depression is and how devastating it can be to more people's lives than we could probably imagine. I pray that, of all places, the church will be one that is safe for those who wage war with this attack of the devil on their minds and souls.

It is my prayer that Jehovah Shammah will be ever present in the lives of this precious woman's family, especially that of her husband and her two precious girls. I have been thinking of many verses this week, but one that stuck out in my mind was Psalm 130. I pray that those who are sinking into the depths will have the strength that they need to cry out to Jehovah Raphae for healing, and that as their brothers and sisters that we will be a constant source of encouragement and reminder of Jehovah Nissi; the Lord who is our banner and our hope.

Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness;
therefore you are feared.
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.

My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.

He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.

some of my favorite words from MLK, Jr

Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial.

Modern psychology has a word that is probably used more than any other word. It is the word "maladjusted." Now we should all seek to live a well adjusted life...but there are some things within our social order to which I am proud to be maladjusted and to which I call upon you to be maladjusted. I never intend to adjust myself to segregation and discrimination...to religious bigotry...to economic conditions that will take neccesities from the many and give luxuries to the few. I never intend to adjust myself to mob rule. I never intend to adjust myself to the tragic effects of the methods of physical violence and to tragic militarism. I call upon you to be maladjusted to such things...because it may well be that the salvation of our world lies in the hands of the maladjusted.
I call upon you to be as maladjusted as Amos who in the midst of the injustices of his day cried out in words that echo across the generation, "Let judgment run down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." As maladjusted as Abraham Lincoln who had the vision to see that this nation could not exist half slave and half free. As maladjusted as Jefferson, who in the midst of an age amazingly adjusted to slavery could cry out, " All men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights and that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." As maladjusted as Jesus of Nazareth who dreamed a dream of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, who could look into the eyes of the men and women of his generation and cry out, "Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Pray for them that despitefully use you."
God grant that we will be so maladjusted that we will be able to go out and change our world and our civilization. And then we will be able to move from the bleak and desolate midnight of man's inhumanity to man to the bright and glittering daybreak of freedom and justice.

Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become reality. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.

If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.