One of my favorite songs "What are you waiting for?" by Natalie Grant has been running through my head lately...
Sometimes I get that
overwhelming feeling
so sad the faces on TV
If I tried to make a difference
would it help anyway
But then I stop and to
myself I say.........
CHORUS:
So you wanna change the world
What are you waiting for
You say you're gonna start right now
What are you waiting for
It only takes one voice
So come on now and shout it out
Give a little more
[ Find more Lyrics on http://mp3lyrics.org/AZ4C ]
What are you waiting for
Sometimes I feel a little helpless
Seems like I can't do a thing
But anything Is possible
just you wait and see
Good things happen if you
just believe.........
CHORUS
Someday somehow
You're gonna take that step
Cause time is ticking away
Right here right now
Before it's too late
Gonna face tomorrow today
Going along with that, the sermon at the church I played at on Sunday, was also titled "What are we waiting for?". Needless to say it got my attention and sent me running home to write again (yea... this has been done since Sunday, just haven't had time to post).
So, keeping with my last two posts, what ARE we waiting for? We have so much going on around us, both good and bad, and we are taking many different approaches. Some are going out, torches in hand, doing everything they can to make changes. Others are sitting home, thinking things through and making a plan before they pull out their torch. Others may not be doing anything. This goes hand in hand with prayer. Those that are out already, torches in hand, are praying for guidance but they are not waiting for an answer, rather praying that God will change their direction if needed and continue to show them the way. Others, the ones still planning, may be praying for guidance on where to start and how to do it. Neither way is right or wrong, but God can only do so much without us actually acting.
The story that the minister told on Sunday is about a man and the lottery. Every night before the man went to bed, he would pray to God, "God, if you would only let me win the lottery, I will give all of the money to the church's building fund." This went on for months until one night, God came to the man in a dream. "Son, I believe you and know your heart is true, but help me out some and go buy a lottery ticket!"
This is the key point- we need to act so that God has something to work with! The hungry won't be fed until someone takes some food to them. Racism won't end until we ourselves put it to an end in our own lives. Religious persecution will continue until we make ourselves aware of it in all aspects and do something to stop it! We can create a domino effect if we will just get up and act. Once we do, others will see us and do something as well and it will keep spreading (like the State Farm Insurance commercial from a few years ago- one person smiled and it got spread around until it came full circle).
God can't act and speak through us until we begin acting and speaking! It isn't easy, but it needs to be done if we are ever going to get the world to come together. We can do it by breaking our chains and rewriting history (the figurative way- not through a new textbook!).
There is so much out there to do, but we continue to sit and wait. What are we waiting for?
One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed
a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.
Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”
The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean.
The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”
“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?
You can’t make a difference!”
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish,
and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…”
I made a difference for that one.”
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Rewriting History?
I am all for "rewriting history" in the sense that we open our minds and change the direction of what we are doing and therefor "rewriting history". But this is ridiculous.
If you have not been following the news, you may not be familiar with the textbook controversy in Texas. So here is the rundown- Texas conservatives got together and decided that our history textbooks are very liberal and biased. The solution? Rewrite them, "balancing" the liberal and conservative views. This includes changing the view of slavery, civil war, civil rights, native Americans... it basically seems like if it isn't involving white protestants in a positive way, it will be changed. Well, it all passed yesterday. (http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/texas-textbook-controversy-10714896)and http://blogs.abcnews.com/nightlinedailyline/2010/05/texas-christian-textbooks-coming-to-class-.html
I understand the whole "This is God's country" view. I am not against that in any way. I say GOD BLESS AMERICA and ONE NATION UNDER GOD with pride, but I personally don't think that when our country was founded, it was under the pretense that everyone would be Christians. And really, as terrible as it may sound since I am going to seminary, I am glad that we aren't all Christians- it provides variety and learning opportunities. Like I said in my last blog, we all have our differences and God made it that way for a reason. Do you think that he wasn't thinking things through when other religions were created? But this whole forcing our views on everyone and REWRITING HISTORY to fit them is absolutely ridiculous.
Yea, we have a dark history in some cases- I hate that we had slavery, and wars about everything. I hate that life wasn't always peaceful and people died for crazy reasons. But that is part of what makes this such a great country- WE OVERCAME IT. When our ancestors came to America, no matter who you are, they had a great influence in some way. Maybe they were with the Native Americans that fought to protect the land when the Europeans came. Maybe they were those Europeans that came to create a civilized land. Maybe they were the ones that befriended the enemy and helped to find a compromise at some point. Maybe they came on a slave trade ship and plowed the earth, creating some of the most gorgeous land there is. Everyone had bad moments, but everyone had good moments.
Yea, history may not look on the white protestant favorably at times, but rather than rewriting the textbooks to make us look better, why can't we all change our attitudes and actions now? Isn't that a much better way of rewriting history?
Even further, people think this only effects Texas. WRONG. Texas is such a huge center for education, this will all eventually come to us. This is what our children will be learning. How sad.
If you have not been following the news, you may not be familiar with the textbook controversy in Texas. So here is the rundown- Texas conservatives got together and decided that our history textbooks are very liberal and biased. The solution? Rewrite them, "balancing" the liberal and conservative views. This includes changing the view of slavery, civil war, civil rights, native Americans... it basically seems like if it isn't involving white protestants in a positive way, it will be changed. Well, it all passed yesterday. (http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/texas-textbook-controversy-10714896)and http://blogs.abcnews.com/nightlinedailyline/2010/05/texas-christian-textbooks-coming-to-class-.html
I understand the whole "This is God's country" view. I am not against that in any way. I say GOD BLESS AMERICA and ONE NATION UNDER GOD with pride, but I personally don't think that when our country was founded, it was under the pretense that everyone would be Christians. And really, as terrible as it may sound since I am going to seminary, I am glad that we aren't all Christians- it provides variety and learning opportunities. Like I said in my last blog, we all have our differences and God made it that way for a reason. Do you think that he wasn't thinking things through when other religions were created? But this whole forcing our views on everyone and REWRITING HISTORY to fit them is absolutely ridiculous.
Yea, we have a dark history in some cases- I hate that we had slavery, and wars about everything. I hate that life wasn't always peaceful and people died for crazy reasons. But that is part of what makes this such a great country- WE OVERCAME IT. When our ancestors came to America, no matter who you are, they had a great influence in some way. Maybe they were with the Native Americans that fought to protect the land when the Europeans came. Maybe they were those Europeans that came to create a civilized land. Maybe they were the ones that befriended the enemy and helped to find a compromise at some point. Maybe they came on a slave trade ship and plowed the earth, creating some of the most gorgeous land there is. Everyone had bad moments, but everyone had good moments.
Yea, history may not look on the white protestant favorably at times, but rather than rewriting the textbooks to make us look better, why can't we all change our attitudes and actions now? Isn't that a much better way of rewriting history?
Even further, people think this only effects Texas. WRONG. Texas is such a huge center for education, this will all eventually come to us. This is what our children will be learning. How sad.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Chains
This is a topic that has been eating at me for a few months now, but I didn't quite know how to go about voicing it. I am taking a class this summer that goes about questioning the status quo and rediscovering what it is you really think- probably one of my favorite classes so far (yes... we are allowed to think for ourselves for once!). So this is kinda based on class discussion, but really based on what has been going through my head a whole lot this past year.
Opening our hearts and minds to differences is a hard thing to do. We have been rooted in many of our ideals for as long as we can remember, most of them coming from our parents/ guardians and society. It is a lot like Plato's Allegory of the Cave (http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/allegory.html).
We are all prisoners of of the ideals we are told are truth (the shadows on the wall of the cave), but then someone breaks out of the chains that are keeping our necks from turning and our arms from reaching but so far, and they begin to move toward the opening of the cave. This prisoner leaves the cave that holds the truth they have known for so long, and they are introduced to a new truth. So now comes the time to choose- do they choose the truth that these shadows are their own and come from nothing? Or do they choose that these people outside are creating the shadows? Once the truth (the light) is accepted, the prisoner returns to the cave to help the others.
This is like our own world today. We have so many "shadows" we are still sitting and staring at, convinced that we can't do anything else but because of the chains that are keeping us there. These chains could be anything- rules, tests, parents, media, money, gender, race, religion, job... the list goes on and on. We are scared to break these chains because we have known these shadows for so long and may not like what we see behind us because it might CHANGE US. What a concept! We are so set on having absolute control of our lives, that we won't let go of something we have been told by someone since we were learning to walk, even though it is a new world. But what happens if we do break out of chains and look behind us to see what is really there?
Racism is still a huge problem, no matter what we choose to believe. While things are getting better, so many people are still set in the truth that people are not equal or should be completely separate, while others have broken the chains and moved into the world where race is not an issue. These old truths may be held onto because our generation doesn't want to make their parents or grandparents uncomfortable, and our parents and grandparents grew up with that truth so they do not want to be uncomfortable in the new truth.
Stereotypes are all around us. Let's look at jobs. If you flip burgers at McDonalds or collect trash every day, you probably dropped out of school, made bad grades, got involved with drugs... take your pick! But lets look at it this way... maybe that guy flipping your burger has a PhD, but realized he would rather help feed someone and be able to have lots of contact with the community than work in a lab alone all day. Or the person that collects your trash every week has a gorgeous house, 3 kids, and used to be a partner in some big company but realized that they wanted to help keep the community clean so they would collect trash. What if that lawyer we make fun of all of the time, isn't in the office because they just want money, but what if they truly want to help someone who is in trouble and they don't care about the money?
Religious persecution is everywhere, whether is to the point you see it in the news or not. What if rather than saying that our God is the only one that is acceptable, we take on the thought process that our God is right for us, but maybe someone else has a god that is right for them? What if we took time to listen to why someone has a belief different from ours, and we shared our story? Oh the things we could learn!
Maybe this is how we can reach that "world peace" that has become more of a joke than anything else. But we can't just talk about it, we have to go out and DO IT!
In January, I went to a college conference at Montreat and the theme was "God Without Borders". When God created us, he made us different, but he didn't put walls between us. He made us different so we can all have our own stories, so we can relate to each other on different levels, so we can learn to work TOGETHER (think Tower of Babel). We are the ones that have put these walls and boundaries up.
When you went on the last mission trip, wherever it was, where there boundaries? Probably. When I went to Mexico, we had a language boundary, culture boundary, gender boundary... but at the end of the week they were all gone. Yes, we still spoke different languages, came from different places, and were different genders but none of that mattered. We mixed and poured concrete together, we ate at the same table, and we worshiped together. We all came together as brothers and sisters in Christ and that is what our family was based on.
Whether or not you are in support of him, look at our president. For the first time ever, there is a black man in office. You cannot say that we are still in the world of segregation when you look at him. Our country, the same one that so many of us grew up in during segregation and then desgregation of schools, and the Woolworth's sit in, and Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr., elected President Obama to office. And guess what? It wasn't just black Americans that elected him... white, asian, mexican... Americans from all cultures elected him.
So what happens if we do start to work together?
Racism can finally be wiped out.
Stereotypes can be erased.
Religious persecution can finally come to an end.
It isn't easy, but it needs to be done. This is a new world! There is something behind us making those shadows... they aren't just there. So what is the real truth? I think this is about time that ALL OF US break those chains off of our wrists and necks, and turn around to see what is really happening. Once we do break those chains, why not help those around us that might not be able to do it as easily?
I am tired of wearing my chains... what about you?
Opening our hearts and minds to differences is a hard thing to do. We have been rooted in many of our ideals for as long as we can remember, most of them coming from our parents/ guardians and society. It is a lot like Plato's Allegory of the Cave (http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/allegory.html).
We are all prisoners of of the ideals we are told are truth (the shadows on the wall of the cave), but then someone breaks out of the chains that are keeping our necks from turning and our arms from reaching but so far, and they begin to move toward the opening of the cave. This prisoner leaves the cave that holds the truth they have known for so long, and they are introduced to a new truth. So now comes the time to choose- do they choose the truth that these shadows are their own and come from nothing? Or do they choose that these people outside are creating the shadows? Once the truth (the light) is accepted, the prisoner returns to the cave to help the others.
This is like our own world today. We have so many "shadows" we are still sitting and staring at, convinced that we can't do anything else but because of the chains that are keeping us there. These chains could be anything- rules, tests, parents, media, money, gender, race, religion, job... the list goes on and on. We are scared to break these chains because we have known these shadows for so long and may not like what we see behind us because it might CHANGE US. What a concept! We are so set on having absolute control of our lives, that we won't let go of something we have been told by someone since we were learning to walk, even though it is a new world. But what happens if we do break out of chains and look behind us to see what is really there?
Racism is still a huge problem, no matter what we choose to believe. While things are getting better, so many people are still set in the truth that people are not equal or should be completely separate, while others have broken the chains and moved into the world where race is not an issue. These old truths may be held onto because our generation doesn't want to make their parents or grandparents uncomfortable, and our parents and grandparents grew up with that truth so they do not want to be uncomfortable in the new truth.
Stereotypes are all around us. Let's look at jobs. If you flip burgers at McDonalds or collect trash every day, you probably dropped out of school, made bad grades, got involved with drugs... take your pick! But lets look at it this way... maybe that guy flipping your burger has a PhD, but realized he would rather help feed someone and be able to have lots of contact with the community than work in a lab alone all day. Or the person that collects your trash every week has a gorgeous house, 3 kids, and used to be a partner in some big company but realized that they wanted to help keep the community clean so they would collect trash. What if that lawyer we make fun of all of the time, isn't in the office because they just want money, but what if they truly want to help someone who is in trouble and they don't care about the money?
Religious persecution is everywhere, whether is to the point you see it in the news or not. What if rather than saying that our God is the only one that is acceptable, we take on the thought process that our God is right for us, but maybe someone else has a god that is right for them? What if we took time to listen to why someone has a belief different from ours, and we shared our story? Oh the things we could learn!
Maybe this is how we can reach that "world peace" that has become more of a joke than anything else. But we can't just talk about it, we have to go out and DO IT!
In January, I went to a college conference at Montreat and the theme was "God Without Borders". When God created us, he made us different, but he didn't put walls between us. He made us different so we can all have our own stories, so we can relate to each other on different levels, so we can learn to work TOGETHER (think Tower of Babel). We are the ones that have put these walls and boundaries up.
When you went on the last mission trip, wherever it was, where there boundaries? Probably. When I went to Mexico, we had a language boundary, culture boundary, gender boundary... but at the end of the week they were all gone. Yes, we still spoke different languages, came from different places, and were different genders but none of that mattered. We mixed and poured concrete together, we ate at the same table, and we worshiped together. We all came together as brothers and sisters in Christ and that is what our family was based on.
Whether or not you are in support of him, look at our president. For the first time ever, there is a black man in office. You cannot say that we are still in the world of segregation when you look at him. Our country, the same one that so many of us grew up in during segregation and then desgregation of schools, and the Woolworth's sit in, and Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr., elected President Obama to office. And guess what? It wasn't just black Americans that elected him... white, asian, mexican... Americans from all cultures elected him.
So what happens if we do start to work together?
Racism can finally be wiped out.
Stereotypes can be erased.
Religious persecution can finally come to an end.
It isn't easy, but it needs to be done. This is a new world! There is something behind us making those shadows... they aren't just there. So what is the real truth? I think this is about time that ALL OF US break those chains off of our wrists and necks, and turn around to see what is really happening. Once we do break those chains, why not help those around us that might not be able to do it as easily?
I am tired of wearing my chains... what about you?
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
"Because music and love bring you joy"
Tonight I went to see "The Last Song" with Chelsea. Not only was it a great night with one of my best friends, but it was a great movie (even if it was Miley Cyrus). There was a quote that really stuck with me...
One day, you will open your heart again. It won't be for your mother, and it won't be for me. It will be for you, and will make you happier than you have ever been. Because music and love bring you joy.
Could there be a more perfect quote for me right now?? I have fallen head over heels again for my trumpet. I now look forward to practicing and have much more metticulous (sp?) practice sessions than I have had in 4 years. I actually love running a few measures for 1 + hours. WHAT A GREAT FEELING!!!
Then there is the other part of life that I have promised myself I would keep out of here as much as possible, for now at least, but if you see me around or talk to me regularly I am sure you know how absolutely 100% incredibly undeniably happy I am.
Life has finally gotten back on the right path and it feels amazing.
That quote hit me because I have opened my heart again in many different respects, but tonight I will focus on the music one. I went back to it, not for my parents or professors or friends... I went back for me. And I think I might love it more now than I did when I started here 4 years ago. Because MUSIC and LOVE bring me JOY.
*Sigh* I love this.
One day, you will open your heart again. It won't be for your mother, and it won't be for me. It will be for you, and will make you happier than you have ever been. Because music and love bring you joy.
Could there be a more perfect quote for me right now?? I have fallen head over heels again for my trumpet. I now look forward to practicing and have much more metticulous (sp?) practice sessions than I have had in 4 years. I actually love running a few measures for 1 + hours. WHAT A GREAT FEELING!!!
Then there is the other part of life that I have promised myself I would keep out of here as much as possible, for now at least, but if you see me around or talk to me regularly I am sure you know how absolutely 100% incredibly undeniably happy I am.
Life has finally gotten back on the right path and it feels amazing.
That quote hit me because I have opened my heart again in many different respects, but tonight I will focus on the music one. I went back to it, not for my parents or professors or friends... I went back for me. And I think I might love it more now than I did when I started here 4 years ago. Because MUSIC and LOVE bring me JOY.
*Sigh* I love this.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Saturday, May 1, 2010
A morning of dreamin...
So I am on movie # 2 for the day (obviously not making much progress on work). The first was FAME, and now Flicka.
FAME always makes me think. If you live under a rock and are not sure what it is, FAME is the story of 4 years in a performing arts school in NYC. It shows the trials and tribulations of being in a program like that and is just a little to close to being right. Every time I watch that movie, I always end up thinking about my four years at UNCG. It is too funny that at the begining of the year when it came out, I was in tears because I hated that life and wanted something else, now it is because I can see that just like the kids in the movie, I have overcome most of it and I am going to learn how to fly.
Flicka is a horse movie and one of those that I typically don't let people know I own and am just a bit obsessed with. I originally got it for the horse aspect (I have always LOVED horses but have only been able to ride once in my life) but the whole breaking in a wild horse and following your dreams aspect is pretty good too :)
So here is what I am going to do from the cinema inspiration... I am going to keep pushing through December (and beyond of course) and try to keep the freedom and peace that I found on that horse 7 years ago. Maybe this time we might even run rather than just trot...
FAME always makes me think. If you live under a rock and are not sure what it is, FAME is the story of 4 years in a performing arts school in NYC. It shows the trials and tribulations of being in a program like that and is just a little to close to being right. Every time I watch that movie, I always end up thinking about my four years at UNCG. It is too funny that at the begining of the year when it came out, I was in tears because I hated that life and wanted something else, now it is because I can see that just like the kids in the movie, I have overcome most of it and I am going to learn how to fly.
Flicka is a horse movie and one of those that I typically don't let people know I own and am just a bit obsessed with. I originally got it for the horse aspect (I have always LOVED horses but have only been able to ride once in my life) but the whole breaking in a wild horse and following your dreams aspect is pretty good too :)
So here is what I am going to do from the cinema inspiration... I am going to keep pushing through December (and beyond of course) and try to keep the freedom and peace that I found on that horse 7 years ago. Maybe this time we might even run rather than just trot...
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