Gettysburg: A Poem

Their cries still linger here, that once were made out of their fear.
The bullets were flying all around, the bodies were strewn across the ground.
The blood flowing out freely from the wounds, this field of grass their dying tomb.
The glimmer of steel and the smell of death, the sound of men heaving their final breath.
Their screams and shouts are but whispers now, barely heard above the crowds.
Their deeds still echo through all the years, through all the families long shed tears.
Now here they lay, naught but bone,
Their immortal deeds etched in stone.

Love and Pain

"I need your hurt, I need your pain, it's not love any other way"- Any Other Way by Tenth Avenue North

Think about it. The only way that we are loved, is if our hurts and our pains go along with it. Now think about this, Jesus loves us. I know that I hear that and think "Oh, that's nice. I'm glad he does." But I really don't think about what he is really doing for us. He is taking all of our hurts, our pain that we have felt from so many life experiences, and all of our crap. That's true love. That's the way he loves His bride, and it's the way all of us as humans want to be loved.

As I've blogged about before, God has really changed my perspective on dating and love. I mentioned in that blog, that God had been teaching me to not think logically about love, but rather with my heart and feelings. Because if I had kept thinking logically about love, I would have seen all of the pain and hurt that goes with the happiness and joy, then I would have turned away from love. But God got a hold of my heart and changed my perspective.

So I normally like to end my blogs with a challenge. For this post, I really want to encourage you all to go out and find out Christ's love for yourself. Dig into the word, all of it, and really look for Jesus' and God's love for us. It's pretty amazing where you find it because it is all throughout the bible. I'll leave you with this awesome video journal from Tenth Avenue North's lead singer from the song Beloved.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOaWb7AIVVc

And also a video journal to the song Any Other Way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v99khOnLeQ

Jesus

I'm really tired of people thinking of Jesus as a chill, relaxed dude. In America, Jesus has become "our homie" or a person that only loves and who works for us. Unfortunately many churches would like to think, and do think, that Jesus is a calm, reserved man who lived in suburbia and lived a comfortable life who was involved in church, but not willing to risk too much. Since when did THIS become ok and admirable? We serve THE Christ, our Sovereign LORD. The conservative, religious leaders of the day thought that this man was crazed, a drunkard and had a demon. We serve the man who drove out the shopkeepers in the temple with a whip, the man who hung with the IRS agents of the day, and the druggies. In many and most cases, he condemned those who were most like the modern American Christians. I may be completely wrong about this, but we all have to agree that there is something significantly wrong about America's view of the Savior of the world. I challenge you all to read the gospels and really look at who Jesus was, and go and try to live a life worthy of his calling.

Nostalgia: What Was and What Lies Ahead

"There is no real going back. Though I may come back to the Shire, it will not be seen the same; for I shall not be the same." - Frodo Baggins

I just saw this  quote today, and describes well what I am feeling and thinking right now. I am a very nostalgic person. I love to think back to the days gone by and I remember well what befell in those times, borderline regret on some things. But as Frodo so eloquently states, there is no real going back. The reason why, as he explains, is that we will not be the same. What we have done, what we remember, what we regret, has influenced us and changed us so that we will not make that mistake again. As much as we'd like to be able to hear and listen to advice, we normally don't, well, I normally don't because I am stubborn and need to learn things the hard way. Whether it be using all your time with a person, because you truly never know when it will be your last with them, or wishing you hadn't told a person you had feelings for them because it somewhat altered the friendship, we will always wish we had done something differently. But dwelling on that is like throwing a lit match into an already burning fire. It's pointless, because we cannot change what we did.

So often I imagine what things would be like if my dad were still living. But as I begin to think, I realize that his death is a lot of the reason for me being who I am today. God has really used it for good, and as much as I miss my dad, I wouldn't change a thing. We cannot, as humans and especially as Christians, try to live our lives as if our past could be changed. Because if we do, we will miss the beauty of the current situations by focusing on the masterpiece of the last one. If you look at it that way then you will only have one beautiful portrait of your life rather than hundreds. I really hope that makes sense.

I'm tired so this is going to be a short application. I really want all of you who read this to really think through the decisions you are making and in your head think "will this be something I regret later?" One last thing, try to make decisions that will not make you lose friends or make the relationship different. Friends are some of the most important people in your life and you should think of them when making decisions.