This is something I have been writing for a while, and one that I considered turning into a spoken word.  But for now it is just written, I hope that you can read it with the same passion and feel as inspired as I do when I read it aloud.  Here goes...

Awareness is a word in which we tend to agree, something that inspires us to set the lost people free.  We listen to the presentations, see the kids suffering from malnutrition, the hunger in their eyes, the bloated bellies.  All of this is duly noted, as we see their eyes of sadness, we start to be overcome by all of the lies. that change is impossible. that nothing can be done, we might as well keep running this race by the beat of the normal kick drum.  Poverty is global, human trafficking is astronomical, the numbers are on the rise, going up each second as another person dies...  Hope is no where to be found, all you can hear is the ringing sound of nothingness, nothing is being done, or said or shared, because the people who fought for freedom are actually really scared...

But we come from the land of the free and the home of the brave, and we should be fighting for peoples rights until our heads hit the grave.  Injustice is not something that comes and then it's gone, it is a poison that will contaminate humanity until were done. We must stand up, rip the duct tape from our mouths, be a voice for the voiceless, raise your voice, let's hear you shout. Not one more person will be exposed, not one more child abducted. No more slave trade, only fair trade, Let's see an end to this corruption... Because we can do it, if we try It is possible to take a stand, and demand that each person be treated fairly, be treated equal.

You see we are all in this together, we are fighting the same fight, don't think it doesn't matter who lives and who dies.  Take off the blind fold society has tied too tightly around your eyes, then you will see we are all people, we're more than statistics, more than names, we come from one creator, we are the same, that's just it, we are all the same.  So rise up you generation take a stand, stop sitting still, take a hold of what is yours. Don't live only for the thrill.  Together we can change the world, imagine if you will... where you live shall no longer determine if, and at night you can lay your head, safely on your pillow and know the breath before you fall asleep won't be your last. If we all leave a footprint, what footprint will be yours?  It is only you who make the choice, the choice to choose is only yours.

What would the world be if we not only spoke the truth in word but in deed. The spirit of the Lord is upon us to bring the good news to the afflicted, to bind up the broken hearted, and to set the captives free. You see, if we all did our part? Took up our shields and shattered through this darkness. Don't you want to be a witness?  To say I used the gifts God placed in my hands.  Don't you want to tell your grandchildren when they are sitting on your knee, that you gave it all you had to set the lost people free.  You gave your whole life, you did everything you could, you were just doing all the things that a normal person should... And with everything you did one more would do the same, until that tiny drop of difference turned into a down pour of change.  You can smile at the sky and say my generation did it, the time was now and we made sure not to miss it...

So close this link, turn off your screen.  Get up from your desk and bow your knees. Ask The Lord what is your part to fight for the issues laid firmly on His heart.  You don't have to be a super hero to change someones life, you just have to be obedient and fight the good fight.

"The greatest of these is love".  A continual prayer in my life is "God show me how to love others like you love, show me what it means to love this person."  God is all about love, He IS love.   Time and time again God calls us back to this four letter word.  Yet time and time again we judge instead of love, we yell instead of speak the truth in love, we hold on to a grudge, we lack forgiveness, the list goes on and on.  And it is not to condemn us but it is to be aware, that we as Christians, we as human beings need to understand what God means when He calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and not only understand but we need to apply it in our every day lives, in each and every one of our relationships.  

Beyond these things put on love... The greatest of these is love... If you have not love you have nothing... 

Love is the root, from it comes humility, forgiveness, patience, kindness, everything we need to live as Christ calls us comes from love. 

It sounds so simple but it is something I must come back to time and time again, because as a broken human, often times loving others when they hurt me, or offend me is difficult.  But I want to learn! I want to learn to walk in love, I want to learn to love like Jesus loves, to love the broken, because I am no different.

We are all on a journey, God is leading us different places, showing us different things.  We all have our own struggles, our own pasts that play into who we are now, we are all overcoming, and enduring.  God has made us all as unique individuals, we all have unique stories and we are all at different places in our journeys. And sometimes that is hard to remember, it is hard to have grace on someone who struggles differently then you.  It is hard to forgive those who sin differently than you.  But we are all there, we are all in that place where we need love.  

As we grow up in a world with so so much darkness, so much hate, we need to show love! We need to love our enemies, our neighbors, We need to love people to Jesus!  When we love, we can forgive, we can think the best, assume the best, and leave the judging up to God.  When we have love as our foundation we can be patient, we can show grace, we can meet people where they are at with compassion and understanding. Everything we do that is honoring to God and honoring to others stems from love, everything that God calls us too is out of love.  

I believe if we really take time to seek The Lord and ask Him what it means to love the people in our lives, our best friends, spouses, families, co-workers, leaders, staff, strangers, enemies,  we will start to see more fruitful, uplifting, lasting relationships!  

As the Beatles say "All you need is love, love, love is all you need."

"Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another" 1st Peter 4:8