Friday, April 29, 2011

Well don't say goodbye,

don't say hello.
We're just standing on the surface.
Don't say alright, don't say I know.
I promise it's not worth it.
I wanna know who you are,
Even if you're falling apart
Reach in and touch your scars,
And all the shame you've kept in your heart.

It's not enough, it's not enough
Just to say that you're okay
I need your hurt, I need your pain
It's not love any other way

So let's not pretend,
Stop your parade
Trying to convince me
That you're alright,
And everything's okay
Yeah, do you even know me?
'Cause I already know you are,
And all the things that kept us apart
So reach in and touch My scars,
And know the price I paid for your heart

That it's not enough, it's not enough
Just to say that you're okay
I need your hurt, I need your pain
It's not love any other way

A broken and contrite heart
I will not despise
Come as you are
I won't close my eyes
I won't close my eyes
I won't close my eyes
I won't close my eyes....

'Cause it's not enough, it's not enough
Just to say that you're okay
I need your hurt, I need your pain
It's not love any other way.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Respect is a LOST Art.

I think respect is...broken beyond repair. What it actually used to mean and what it means now are two different things. Our parents came from the previous generation. And our grandparents came from before then. They had respect.

To me, respect is taking someone else's opinion, agreed or not, and accepting it.
...respect is talking nicely to someone, even if they don't deserve it.
...respect is opening the door for an elder.
...respect is listening quietly.
...respect is talking only to people's faces and not behind their backs.
...respect is doing what you're told without complaining.
...respect is doing what you're asked, and something additional.
...respect is answering with respect.
...respect is reaching out and taking the time make a difference in someone's day.

Respect has changed the world. When our parents were kids, and their parents were kids, things were different.
As respect changes, and the definition is degraded, it changes the world. The less respect there is, the less of a world we have.

"We don't respect people because they deserve respect. We respect them, because we're respectful people." *

Jesus demonstrated to us how to live:
"You have heard that the law of Moses says, "Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For He gives His Sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and on the unjust, too. If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect."*
I imagine how different this world would be if we obeyed that continuously....


*Youth pastor's wife.
*Matthew 5:43-48

Sunday, April 3, 2011

I wonder...

...how different this world would be..
if every single person knew that they were loved with a love so unconditional,
you can't wrap your mind around it.
If they knew...
that someone died for them.
"Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." *

If every single person knew that and understood it in the way that
God intended,
this world would be a different space....


*John 15:13 NIV