Even the sparrow has found a home...

A corner of our deck is daily bombarded with, what Aaron calls, "Grackles". They are noisy, unfancy birds who descend on our dog's food stash and peck away at the food we place there specifically for him. These unattractive birds swarm to Ruger's Purina Dog Chow and we are constantly calling out, "Shut up, birds!" from the living room, banging on the screen door or kitchen window to startle them away, or gagging a bit at the "mess" they have made (and left for us) on our deck railing.

After some quiet time this morning, I got up to rinse out my coffee cup and surprised some perched Grackles as they fluttered away. And I thought to myself... What's really the big deal if they eat a couple pieces of dog food? Ruger has plenty to eat; he's 70+ pounds, so he's obviously not starving. The deck, while prettier when not speckled with the evidence of fowl, is ours but is only ours because God provided the job, which provided the paycheck which paid for the house that God wanted us to call our first home. So, what's the big deal?

One of my favorite Biblical passages is from the book of Colossians (chapter 3, verses 12 through 14) and it reads:

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy
and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with:
~ compassion
~ kindness
~ humility
~ gentleness
~ patience
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances
you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord
forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love which
binds them together in perfect unity..."

I understand the Grackles are "just birds"... but they also happen to be part of God's creation here on Earth. As am I... as are you. Anything we have is because God has blessed us and seen fit to care for us. The leftover pizza in the fridge, the peanut butter and toast I enjoyed for breakfast, the fact that we never run out of toilet paper... these are provisions, gifts, from God. Who am I to say that the Grackles aren't welcome? Who am I to say that placing Ruger's food where we do, outside on the deck, is not the way God has prepared to care for these birds that He knows?

This is not a PETA-endorsed post. I fully believe that man has dominion over the animals and that it's completely alright to have a hamburger. My husband loves hunting and we have been blessed by the benefits of his enjoyment for the outdoors and his mad skills. But my point is, we have to get away from the robes of self-entitlement that we wrap ourselves in every day. Such as.... I have a right to a bird-poo free deck because it's my deck. Or that I have a right to tailgate the elderly gentleman in front of me because I'm in such a hurry. Or that I have the right to eat whatever I want (or do whatever I want) because it's my body.

The Bible talks about how we are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and that we are to live with "actions and truth", not just empty words (1 John 3:18). So... if I say I love others, but I cut someone off, ignore the needs of those around or am simply not available... what is that really saying? If I'm so busy "making a living" but not ever truly loving, then what am I really accomplishing? If we have so much food that we are frequently throwing out waste, but we don't take the time to cook a meal for someone or give food to those that are hungry, what is that saying?

I once heard a pastor say that, "If it's all about Him, then it's all about them." And I can't think of a better way to sum up the commandment to, "Love God and love others". If I truly love God, then I won't trample over and ignore someone else in need. I'll give where I can give and do what I can do.... not because in "doing" I am able to check off a task from my "Good Little Christian" to-do list... but because in doing I am loving my God. I think so often we feel that being a Christian means that you are busy, you have no time and you always have to say "yes!". I don't agree with that. I think being busy distracts us from the good we could do and makes us feel that we are actually accomplishing something, when in reality, we're doing very little. I think always saying "Yes, I can!" creates a martyr syndrome and a "look what I do for God" mentality.

What does loving God and loving others look like for you? I don't think there is a one-size-fits-all here. My gifts are not your gifts. My calling is not your calling. Which is why it's ludicrous to volunteer for everything under the sun. Honey, you can't do everything. You can't be everything to everyone. All you can be is what God has created you to be... and if you're not sure what that is, yet, then break it down. Love God and love others. It is not a crime to stay at home and serve your family. It is not wrong to volunteer your time and give financially. It is not a crime to say "not this time" and open your hands to another opportunity instead.

But we have to get away from the attitude of what a "Good Christian would do" and get into what Jesus Christ would do (WWJD was catchy for a reason). Would He be resentful? Would He whine about how He "always" takes out the trash? Would He quietly serve? Would He see a need a fulfill it? Would He feed you when you're hungry and clean you up when you're a mess? Would He play mind games? Wouldn't He just love? Wouldn't (and didn't) His actions and words just illuminate His great love for us in all of our grappling humaneness?

Anyway, for me?... I think it means you let the Grackles eat their fill.


"WHATEVER HAPPENS, CONDUCT YOURSELF IN A MANNER WORTHY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST."
~ Philippians 1:27

Stop. Just stop.

When we visited California in May and took an impromptu drive-by of Hollywood and sauntered our way down Rodeo Drive, the husband and I were both struck by how easy it would be to get caught up in the striving and the buying and the burden to impress (and I do mean burden.) In my $11 jeans from Kohl's, a polk-a-dot top and Aaron in an equally unimpressive (but he still looked hot) polo, we stuck out like the country bumpkins we are. It was extremely unnerving. I felt nearly humiliated and hadn't done a thing. Our rental car, a stripped down Dodge Caliber that had manual windows and a driver's side seat that squeaked nearly constantly, made us feel even more out of place in the sea of cars I can't even spell without Google assist.

It's so easy to get caught up in striving. And it's exhausting (and debt inducing) when it occurs. We try so hard to blend. To make the cut. We don't realize, but it's a monster that can quickly devour our assets and more importantly, our hearts. I remember seeing a beautiful girl, dining on Rodeo Drive, dark sun glasses covering what were surely pretty eyes, wine glass in hand, and by her facial expression, she looked empty. I felt like Cinderella (still in rags) to her star-worthy get-up, and yet it caught me how desirous it would be to fit in... and how hard I would try, were I in her stiletto shoes with the manicured toes.

We try pretty hard, don't we? When it comes to "being a Christian" we tend to have an idea of what that title means. What requirements dangle on the fringes. What we fail to see, though, is that so often our promises to "try harder tomorrow" or our stress over not doing enough today, wraps us up in the unforgiving ties of bondage. We trade freedom in Christ for a to-do list that would send Mother Teresa to bed with a migraine. What do we think about doing more? Do we think it'll make us more worthy of God? Do we flatter ourselves into thinking that if we just do x, y and z then we'll somehow make it? Do we really not understand what "all have sinned" really means? Or what the true definitions of grace and mercy are? Or do we really, really think that God "needs" us?

Honestly? I think we need a tall, cold glass of reality:


"The God who made the world and everything in it
is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not
live in temples built by hands. And he is
not served by human hands, as if He needed
anything, because he himself gives all
men life and breath and everything else."
~ Acts 17:24-25

So, tell me again what we think we're actually accomplishing?

We really, really, really need to remember some beautiful truths about the love of God for us. This past weekend we celebrated the freedom that we enjoy in this country... I think we need to go sit outside and think about the freedom we have in Christ. We think more about our rights within the confines and boundaries of the United States of America and less about the beautiful expanse that our souls have in terms of the freedom that is found in Christ Jesus.

If you read Romans chapter 7 (particularly verses 7 through 24) we will see the truth that we all struggle with sin. That Paul was just like us... that he knew what he wanted to do, what he should do, and still couldn't make it happen. That the things he knew he should run from, he ran to. That the things he wanted to put to death, kept coming back to life. But then Romans 8:1 states that, "Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Do you not feel the relief? Knowing that you don't have to be perfect or maintain whatever standard of "being a Christian" you have conjured up in your sinful mind... do you not feel that it is bondage that ties you to be perfect and not God's desire for His people? Continuing in Romans 8, verse 15 hits the nail on the prison-wall head: "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship."

Do you see it? We have not received a spirit of slavery... "again". That's how we were before Christ. That was then, not now. There is freedom, now. There is no finger pointing. You should be able to breathe easier when in Christ. Naturally, this doesn't mean we sit at home and do nothing or that we forsake meeting with other believers, studying or growing closer to Christ. But what it means is that we get rid of that dark cloud of oppression and step into the light.

In the book of Galatians (verses 13 through 15) we find it summed up: "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." The Bible also says that we will be known by our love. Not by our acts, which are all filthy rags compared to the greatness of what God has done in and for us... but by our love for one another and our God.

If our lives were marked by love and not striving, what would our days look like? What would our walks with the Lord look like? What would our churches look like? If we were less about doing and more about being... what would that change? If I sought God early in the morning because I couldn't wait to spend time with Him, versus the guilt I'd feel if I didn't put in my devotion time for the day like a "Good Christian" would do - how would that affect me? If I really understood that nothing I can do can earn God's approval, wouldn't that free me to seek and serve as God impresses on my heart and not on what I think my "Christian Do" list demands? If I truly came to grips with my own unworthiness and the benefits and gifts God has draped around my sinful shoulders, would it not change my day? How I love my husband? How I treat others or volunteer for service opportunities?

If I was free to love God and others, minus the restraints of what an "American Christian" is supposed to do, what would I look like? Could my heart be free from the squeeze of guilt? Could I escape the pangs of busyness and trade activity for authenticity? If I held tight to the truth that I'll never make it and that I don't need to... can't you feel it? It's like a cool breeze hissing through a stifling heat wave.

There are no more chains. Stop fiddling with them. Stop letting them trail you...

Just stop it.


"Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." ~ John 8:35-36

Ready to go...

Being unemployed does funny things to your brain. It fosters all of these ideas of grandeur. All of these possibilities. Maybe I could do this. Maybe I could do that. Maybe I could finally write that novel, burst into the greeting card industry (as my Dad fully supports and encourages me to do) or, and most importantly, make a lasting difference. Somewhere. To someone.

A few nights ago, I flipped open a small devotional that I keep next to my bed. It was a very brief entry, only about a paragraph, but the sentence that grabbed and held my attention was: "So many lives lack poise." The statement attached itself to my brain like a parasite and by morning I was still being eaten alive by it. (I know, sick.)

Right away, I went to my MacBook and fired up Merriam Webster. Again, I was drawn in and enticed in some way by the definition that caught and held: "to become drawn up into readiness". I've had a lot of time in the past couple of months to really think about who I am, who I want to be and what I'd love, if given the opportunity, to accomplish in this brief life.

I haven't come up with anything concrete, but there are a few things that I knew before and that I know even more securely, now. I've always and still want to be authentic and genuine. I still maintain the desire to encourage, bolster and touch another life. And I have so many creative juices going in my head and my heart that I'm practically a smoothie.

Anyway, the point is that the possibilities really are endless in terms of what I can do and how I can be used. Plus, I know that I daily want to be "drawn up into readiness", whatever that means for me. And for now, that feels like an answer, somehow. Something to strive towards. Something to settle into. Somewhere to go. So now? Now, I commit and wait. And prepare to be ready.

It's kind of a cool place to be, honestly.


"Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."
~ Psalm 16:3

When you're in love your eyelashes go up and down and stars come out of you....

This past Saturday marked the 6th month of marriage for us. At the same time we feel both married forever and that our wedding was only yesterday. Part of the reason we may feel we're just newly married is becuase of the massive quantities of wedding pictures that are, um, everywhere. We look at them and of course the memories are still really fresh. And then in the next moment, we'll feel like we've never not been married. It's honestly a wonderful feeling.

We've been together almost two years. It's crazy to think that in that time we've met, dated, gotten engaged, married and are now settling into our little house with our monster of a dog, Ruger. Aaron first proposed to me barely two months after we had met, actually. We had gone to Lafayette to watch Purdue play, so maybe that's what got him feeling all romantic. (Haha!) Either way, we both knew from the start that this was something different. Something real. Something we hadn't expected to come across... ever.

I've tried before to write and express all that Aaron does for me - all the awesome ways he shows me how much he loves me - but I continually come up short. I don't know how to describe how amazing being loved by him is. So, despite changing a few things (such as names and locations) the following would have been written by me if this author hadn't done it so well first...


"Coming home from L.A., I’d become so hardened by it all, so guarded. The traffic and smog and hoards of people. And James. He’d been so laid back about love, so emotionally detached when it came to outward expressions of passion, over time I’d trained myself not to want it. James rarely told me he loved me, had certainly never told me he needed me—not ’til the bloody end when he realized I was out the door. He’d never shared feelings much, never talked about the future, never cared to reflect upon the state or well-being of our relationship. James was always content, when it came to us, just…to be.

This was all fine and dandy, except that over time, his phlegmatic approach to love began to burn tiny cigarette holes in my soul, holes I never knew existed until I finally left California and James in an impulsive fit of independence and feminism and stood—for the first time in years—on my own. Once back home, I finally had the time to breathe deeply, in and out, all day long, without the 110 freeway and the smog and the burden of keeping my feelings, frustrations, and fears bottled up whenever James was around. I never realized—not until I was home—how much daily energy that task had required.

And now, Marlboro Man had appeared. And daily, he poured pitchers and pitchers of affection and love into all the divots and dings and craters that California and James had created. Filled them up with a rich, thick syrup…with a sweet, soothing salve. A month in the arms of Marlboro Man and every void in my gut was filled, and then some. My cup ran over. Oh, how my cup ran over. It ran over and out the door and down the street and doused everyone who ever had the misfortune of being around me during that time. I was madly, helplessly, impossibly in love.

But somehow, magically, miraculously, thankfully, I’d found the one man on earth who would actually love that about me. I’d found the one man on earth who would appreciate my spots of imperfection…and who wouldn’t try to polish them all away." ~ from www.thepioneerwoman.com


Ruth Bell Graham is quoted as saying that a good marriage is made of a union between two good forgivers. The longer we are married (and yes I know we're newbies), the more I see that to be true. If you want, there are a ton of daily things to be rubbed raw about or prideful about or simply unforgiving about. One of my favorite artists, Nichole Nordeman sings, "Love a little more, love a little more, cause everybody's broken..." It's true. I am. He is. You are. Sometimes I'm not at my best - I can be a very ugly person. He's not Prince Charming - at least not all the time. And that's ok.

Because no matter what we are together, no matter if the days are bright and sunny or cloudy and dark - the God we know will not fail us. And that makes being in love with each other so tremendous. We try to both give 100%, 100% of the time - but the truth is, there is only One who can do that. And He loves me. And He loves Aaron. And it's because of Him that we love each other at all in the first place.

Aren't stories about love the best ones?!


"God shows His love for us in that while
we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
~ Romans 5:8

"Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is from God, and whoever
loves has been born of God and knows God.
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because
God is love. In this the love of
God was made manifest among us, that God sent
His only Son into the world, so that we might
live through Him. In this is love, not that we have
loved God but that He loved us
and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
~ 1 John 4:7-10

I'm ok, you're ok...

Hi.

So, I’ve been thinking this afternoon about how much there is learn. Not just about ourselves, others, and God (oops, wrong order!) but about how we learn. And better yet, when did we get to the point where we felt that all we could learn could only come from others just like us? What do we really expect that to teach us?

Roll with me, here.

When you’re a certain age, you want friends the same age. If you’re at the tying your shoes stage and learning your home phone number, you want others right there with you. Classes are organized by age and you are taught certain things that are academically appropriate for that level. And then you progress. And your friends progress with you. You feel validated and, for the most part, on the same level.

When you’re a teenager, you want teenage friends. When you’re in college, you want the activities and fun that your fellow students want and are looking for. When you’re single, you want single friends (because married friends don’t get it). When you’re married, you want married friends (because single friends don’t get it). See where I’m going?

When you surround yourself with similarly minded, geared and goaled individuals, there’s a sense of harmony. Everyone “gets” one another. I know where you’re coming from, you know where I’m coming from, and we both know where we’re going ‘cause it’s exactly the same place. Not to say there aren’t challenges to be had – there most certainly are. True relationship offers that buffer – that iron – to sharpen you, to make you more into the man and woman you were intended to be.

For illustration's sake, I can’t help but remember a beautiful day, about two years ago, chatting away with my friend, Jamie, with my hands curled around a cup of Starbucks. We were having a wonderful time catching up and swapping battle scars and mostly running over married people in our mental single girl bus. I remember Jamie twirling her hand in the air and sarcastically saying, "Oh yes, they’re married. Which makes them holier than me. Yes, I forgot!" We laughed and noted the amused smirk on a lady near us. (Who was probably married. Obviously.) We were both single and passionate about it. And mostly passionate about proving that married people were on the wrong side and we were on the right. Cause don’t you know that once you get married your brain goes to mush?

And now we’re both married. God must have a sense of humor.

A typical like minded group will produce like minded intellectual and emotional “babies”. This is not bad… I’m merely rolling into the destination that it’s not the only way. It’s okay to be single and have multiple married friends. It’s okay to be young parents and have friends who have empty nests. It’s okay to be learning the primary colors and have friends who are already past the paint-by-number kits.

I love my friends who are at the same place that I am. I love knowing that I have newly married friends to go to when I have newly married matters to discuss. I love my single friends and the freedom and vibrancy they stir into my life. I love the friends who are younger than me, the ones that are older and the ones who have experienced way more than I have yet to even think about accomplishing. I love the ones who have babies so that when I start freaking out they can tell me it’ll all be ok.

Tonight I am having Starbucks with a new friend (always make friends, kids!) and I am ecstatic. Not only is she vibrant, transparent and real, she is farther down the road of life than I am. She’s been married longer than my nearly 6 months. She’s got kids and I have none. She’s also thinner than me, but we won’t go there. (HA!) But I am charmed and encouraged by her and I admire where she’s at. And I am humbled and jumping up and down on the inside that she wants to spend time with me. Because I’m different. I’m not where she’s at. We’re not the same. Or are we?

We of course share similarities. But we are at different spots on the map of life. She’s already passed up the first year of marriage, for instance, while I am still navigating my way through it. But the main thing is that we both love God. Period. There is so much I can learn from her and maybe God will use me to be a blessing in her life, too. You don’t have to be matchy matchy to get along. To matter. To be used. To improve.

You just need to be part of the same Body.


"I want you to think about how all this makes
you more significant, not less.
A body isn't just a single part blown up into something huge.
It's all the different-but-similar parts arranged and
functioning together. If Foot said, "I'm not elegant like Hand,
embellished with rings; I guess I don't belong
to this body," would that make it so? If Ear said,
"I'm not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive;
I don't deserve a place on the head," would you want to
remove it from the body? If the body was all eye,
how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we
see that God has carefully placed each part of the body
right where he wanted it."
~ I Corinthians 12:14-18, The Message

We'll never make it and we don't need to...

Do you ever find yourself just driving along and suddenly, God speaks?

That happened to me this morning. I was praying and working through some things in my head while listening to some (I hoped) uplifting music. I don’t know if you would call it a spiritual battle or just an old habit of believing the wrong thing – but whatever it was had my head in knots. I found myself speaking aloud and said, “God, I have just been trying to be quiet!” And in an instant, I sensed His response before I had barely gotten the words past my lips,

“When did I tell you that’s what I wanted?”

If I could have stopped my car in the middle of the highway, I would have. I was that stunned. I kind of gaped open mouthed out the window and punched my radio off. What? Seriously? All this time I felt like that’s what He wanted – for me to just keep quiet, keep it in and just deal with it already. But as it turns out – I was wrong. I wasn’t helping anyone, least of all myself, by keeping it stuffed inside.

Not asking for help or for a shoulder to lean on when I really needed it was not only hindering me (because sometimes we really do need crutches) and it was placing a cubicle around me and those in my life. I wasn’t telling my husband something was wrong. I wasn’t telling my best friends that something was wrong. I was barely telling God something was wrong. For whatever reason, I felt like I should just, “Handle it.” Mainly because I had felt like I had been enough trouble already. Hmm, doesn’t really sound like God, does it?

Our sermon yesterday had me alternately wanting to shout, “Amen!”, raise my hand and squeal, “Me, too!”, and of course, burst into tears. We’re going through a series on forgiveness and yesterday’s lesson was on forgiving ourselves. Yesterday I spent time in sprawled out on my bed with my Bible, journal, Bible Study workbook (we’re going through Esther) and my iPod and tried to hash out all that needed hashing out. One of the things that stood out to me via the sermon was the lies of Satan’s that we believe – particularly the one that says we believe our identity comes from what others say about us or how they treat us.

I will admit to getting hung up on that lie every – single – time.

I have had the life-long habit of assuming if I’m enough of this or less of that, then all will be well. I’m a people-pleaser. I like it when people are happy. I like taking care of the people I love. And I try really, really hard to 1) be perfect and 2) be everything to everyone. Anyone else have a clue that this type of mentality just doesn’t work? Ever?

Since becoming more and more aware of this bump in the road that continually trips me up, I’ve been becoming more and more quiet and secluding myself away and only allowing God in. I have to say it’s made all the difference. I’m the type that will often go to someone for answers – instead of just holing up in my room and waiting on God. Waiting on God is amazing. Because when He answers – like this morning – it causes you to catch your breath and think, “Man, He must really love me.” But being quiet for a time doesn't mean being quiet forever.

So, suffice to say, I’m not only learning a lot, but I’m being freed from a lot. I’m so thankful. This morning I was just crying out to God and He didn’t miss it. He was right there. Right on time. Right there to shoot an arrow of truth through my shield of self-preservation when I needed it the most. Before I marched into battle on my own with the idea that I was going to get somewhere.

It’s amazing how love grabs us and rights us. Not only do I experience God’s love in taking me by the hand and leading me back to what is true, but He provides other formats to get His point across. He’s not limited. He’ll use an unexpected talk with a best friend. Or a long email from someone who I consider family. Or my husband simply saying, “You can do this.” Just that little push. That two ounces of support. That thumbs up.

It’s all God, every time. Just because He can.

“God proves to be good to the man
who passionately waits,
to the woman who diligently seeks.
It's a good thing to quietly hope,
quietly hope for help from God.
It's a good thing when you're young
to stick it out through the hard times.
When life is heavy and hard to take,
go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions:
Wait for hope to appear.
Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face.
The "worst" is never the worst.
Why? Because the Master won't ever
walk out and fail to return.”
~ Lamentations 3:25-31



SONG IN MY HEAD: Even Then, Nichole Nordeman

She's Too Big, Now She's Too Thin...

I've had some thoughts rolling around in my brain like marbles for awhile now. And all the noise up there is making me crazy over here, so I figured it was time to just take a few and get it all out. For starters, I woke up at 5 a.m. this morning with a Britney Spears song making rounds through my head. Unfortunately I only know a little of the chorus from memory, which means I heard the same few snatches over and over and over...

Please tell me I'm not the only one who is somehow entranced by the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Sometimes I intentionally choose the longest line at Walmart I can find to wait in, so that I will have plenty of time to flip through People and see how many kids Brad and Angelina have now or which celeb-mom just dropped all her baby weight faster than anyone in the history of man. I'm a sucker. I'll admit it.

My thoughts concerning our obsessive and oftentimes cruel treatment of celebrities came to a head a few weeks ago when Jessica Simpson was ousted because she had gained some weight. Raise your hand if you've ever gained weight. Now raise your hand if you would have loved for the entire world to post the most unflattering pictures of you everywhere. I'm pretty sure that the majority of us do everything possible to 1) take a good picture and 2) burn a bad one if it ever even thinks of materializing.

I believe we have good reason to be ashamed of ourselves. Who do we think we are? Who do we think they are? Because they are in the public eye, does that mean it's fair treatment? Don't we tend to think that since they are famous, they are somehow bringing this upon themselves? Just because you can justify everything from here to eternity, doesn't mean you're right. Justification doesn't equal truth.

I've found myself more and more disgusted while reading stories that involve beautiful, talented people getting called out because of a weight-gain or a break-up or even a zit. Oh, come on! We are a nation filled to the brim with luxuries and freedoms and what do we do? Point fingers. Tack on labels. Slander. Maybe if we knocked ourselves down a few pegs we'd stop thinking we have the right to determine who is too fat or too skinny. Should it really ever be any of our business? Our concern? I'm pretty sure we have a higher calling than being so stinking shallow.

I heard this song a month+ ago on the radio and it made me check myself:


Britney, I'm sorry for the lies we told
We took you into our arms and then left you cold
Britney, I'm sorry for this cruel cruel world
We sell the beauty but destroy the girl
Britney, I'm sorry for your broken heart
We stood aside and watched you fall apart
I'm sorry we told you fame would fill you up
and money moves the man, so drink the cup

Britney, I'm sorry for the stones we throw
We tear you down just so we can watch the show
Britney, I'm sorry for the words we say
We point the finger as you fall from grace

Britney, I do believe that love has come
here for the broken,
here for the ones like us

I know love goes around the world we know
and you never see it coming back
you never see it coming back
and I know love goes around the world we know
and you never see it coming back
but I can see it coming back for you

It's coming back for you...
~ Bebo Norman, "Britney"


Sobering, isn't it? The Britney Spears song I have had in my head the past few days is called, "Piece of Me". Every time I hear it, I feel like writing her an apology, sort of like Bebo did in his song I just listed. What are we doing to each other? And it's not limited to the glitz and glamour far, far away. It's here. It's in our homes, it's in our churches, in our offices, in our dorms. We're so insecure and we are so incredibly unfair and quick to judge. We should be ashamed - and that should press us forward to a higher standard and a deeper calling. It should push us towards acting, speaking and treating others differently.

Choose a different way. If not, in the end you are really only detroying yourself.


"Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had."
~ Philippians 2:3-4