Problem with school history class: We never really learn anything. We learn dates and facts but history continues repeating itself because we never learn the lesson. Just the facts. And facts are worthless unless there’s a moral.

And the funny thing is- the world will tell us otherwise. Our teachers will tell us otherwise. They’ll tell us that all these facts are virtuous and are going to give us a better life out of high school. Lies. Unless we learn the lesson from the facts, the future will be a repetition of past mistakes and failed morals.

I think that’s why we like our Founding Fathers so much. Because they stood for something.

But now, no one in politics can stand for anything. They must be neutral ‘so as not to offend anyone’. Seriously? What’s up with that? The people who are supposed to be the greatest leaders are forced by the American public to have no backbone or stand for anything because, well, God forbid they might ‘offend’ someone. Or make things a bit ‘uncomfortable’.

So you see. Because we’ve forced our public schools and politicians to be neutral…unoffensive…comfortable…almost none of our politicians have a backbone of basic truth. They have been forces by some invisible, moral, worldly code to not offend anyone and therefore just stick to the facts instead of the lesson behind the facts.

It’s adult peer pressure at its finest. “Well, we can’t carry a Bible in school cause then everyone would have to be allowed to carry a Quaran in school. Or the Torah. And who knows what would happen if people were forced to cooperate.” “And no, we can’t have a Bible study cause then we’d have to allow other studies.” “And no, we can’t have a class where we look at morals because that’d we way too controversial.” “No it’d just be easier to call it ‘The Bible as Literature’. Cause if you look at it as literature- mere facts- then it can’t offend anyone. No parents will call in mad and force me to be uncomfortable. Or to question my own morals. No. It’s just easier this way.”

You see. We’re stuck on the facts. But facts don’t help unless they’re applied. Have you noticed how the greatest teachers are the ones who allow you to explore not only facts but also morals. And you remember those teachers for the rest of your life. So God forbid we make someone a bit ‘uncomfortable’. I’m not here to offend, but in my struggle, in Christ’s struggle for your soul, we might tangle. Cause the devil’s real. And he wants people to be comfortable. And factual. Rather than having a bold and nicely opinionated backbone.

So lets dare to pray for politicians and teachers who have a backbone of morality rather than fact. Who are free to learn from history rather than just memorize it. And we will do the same.

Grace and Peace and Truth from the Word.

And let’s dare to learn from our history classes more than just facts.

I don’t exactly know where it’s gonna go but I guess we’ll see

What ever happened to forgiveness

Not small scale

Not the type like I’ll forgive you cause you stole my pen without asking

Or I’ll still be your friend even though you did steal my joy

And I let you.

Side Note: Are we supposed to show love to the devil? I mean. I don’t love the devil. Or even like the devil. But since we aren’t supposed to hate, and satan loves hating (and no I WILL NOT capitalize that name), wouldn’t it be even more of a slap in the face to show him love?

But he’s not human I guess.

So we’ll show the humans who are under his control

The beautiful love of God.

Okay side note officially over.

Forgiveness.

We’re talking about the big type.

The type that goes through the heart and gets rid of all prejudice

Or pride.

And I know thanks to Jane Austen those words are now cliché but that’s okay because they’re way too true to not be used.

Pride

And Prejudice.

Don’t they get in the way of so much?

So the other day I was talking to my friend.

And he was like “so are your parents thinking of buying you a car soon?”

And I was thinking.

Well.

No.

My dad just lost his job so things are tight.

So it probably might maybe just be a while before they think about buying me a car.

And either way

I’d pay for it

And I like it that way.

I want to pay for it.

I don’t know- just the idea of earning something.

Earning my car instead of having it handed to me.

And when I do.

I don’t care if it’s a junker.

I earned that junkerJ

(Oh and another side note: typing is like playing the piano. It still can be really emotional. You know how people sometimes rock back and forth with the music while they’re playing the piano. And they think it helps the music go. And it does. Well. Typing can be the same. I don’t rock back and forth. That’d be weird and awkward all at the same time. But anyways. Just listen to the keys go. It’s a type of music in itself.)

Ok. Back to my junker that I earned.

Instead of telling my friend that my dad got laid off

(Which I don’t mind

I like having him home)

I think a bit of pride got in there

The type of pride where you make the truth look a little more pretty so they don’t see what you don’t want them to see.

And I know my friend would have been perfectly fine with the truth

And maybe the not-truth too

But the fact of the matter was

There was a bit of pride in there.

And I’m sort of excited.

Not for the pride.

Sorry for that Lord.

But for the fact that we might have to see the welfare side of things

And obey God with all we’ve got.

You know

When you take away the things that embellish life you might finally be able to see clearly into the perfect Truth in creation.

Well. I don’t know how that has to do with forgiveness but

Oh yes.

Forgiveness that surpasses pride and prejudice

And hatred

Pure hatred

I mean

Yes love is hard

But the devil is stupid

What takes a person from being born

To living to hate others

The devil’s working right there.

Well. Lord we pray right now

That you release hatred from whoever you like lord.

Our leaders

Our followers

Our friends

Our Strangers

Any one stuck in welfare

Any one who thinks they’re too good for welfare

Even from me Lord

I don’t think I’ve got a lot of hatred but that’d be pride

You see I’ll never be perfect and I love that

Thank you for your grace

And the ability to write.

Amen.

Back to forgiveness.

So just think about this for a sec.

Sec.

Sec.

What if everyone just took up an attitude of forgiveness.

Not the one where you’ve still got a stick up your but and you say I forgive you cause you have to…

What about the forgiveness that comes deep from the heart.

Where we not only forgive others but ask for forgiveness for even for a second thinking that we were worthy to be served and pleased.

Cause we’re not.

That’s the truth.

Every person who serves me on a daily basis

Wherever I go

A restaurant

My neighbors

My parents

I’m not worthy of being served

Brings us back to paul’s words

Whatever is to my gain is a loss for Christ.

Which is totally backwards from what the world thinks

Gain

Gain

gain

I forgive you for making my coffee wrong and lord forgive me for having had the mindset that it was a big deal in the first place.

I forgive you for bombing my country and forgive me for the prejudice there that causes nationality to sacrifice love.

I forgive you for having your nationality or religion separate an alliance or friendship and lord please somehow if you could ever ever ever forgive me, please forgive me for bombing people I don’t even know.

That type of forgiveness would be big.

And it might seem backwards.

Especially the first bombing one.

But you see

In both circumstances

There’s the pride factor

That which allows us to not forgive another person is always pride.

Pride gets in the way.

And prejudice.

Prejudice that started the bombing in the first place.

I mean not even just bombing with real bombs

Assaults with words

And the daughter that rolls her eyes at her mom or sister or brother

Or the dispute between boss and employee

Or employee and employee

Just imagine that-

Forgiveness everywhere you look

I think another name for it would be love

Cause if we’d just love in the first place then we wouldn’t have anything to forgive or be forgiven for.

Except for the fact that we’re still human.

And love only comes from God.

Through us.

But from God.

You know.
Another side note

Number three in think.

The other day I was listening to something

I forget what it was

But it pointed out that truth only came from God

So when asked

“What is true?”

God is true.

Not chemistry.

Not what they teach me in school.

Not US History or anatomy or physics or facts that I learn in health class that I may never use again let alone remember them if I need to ever use them

But God is true.

His Word is true.

He is true.

He’s what we know.

So I’m wondering.

In all the school work.

In all the reading

And writing

And learning

What in that cram packed jam packed schedule is feeding me truth

Nothing.

Only that which I read out of his word and witness in creation.

He’s true.

His word is true.

His son is true.

Not school.

Not MTV (we all knew that)

Not oprah

What does she know

Not myself

Not myself

Not myself

So when I look for answers in myself

I am a liar

Cause I do not know truth fully

And when I say this, this is in an ever-continuing effort to not be hypocritical

Cause I haven’t memorized the bible

Nor do I read it as much as I should.

But it is truth at it’s finest

To it I will turn.

So the idea of forgiveness.

It’s not from me.

Only He is good.

Only He can create peace.

Only He can form bonds between something so broken and distraught and messed up as this world.

So god.

I don’t know where this came from.

But it’s going on a blog.

And I don’t know who will read it

But I pray that it makes them think.

And turn to you

Jesus Christ.

Who died to give us the grace that looks past our human ugliness

And made us so so so so so beautiful.

Holy.

That’s a big word.

Thank you lord.

Amen.

Thought officially overJ

of lyrical poetry.

A CD of ‘How To’

and it’s going to be beautiful.

well actually it might be a bit interesting.

and not exactly super high quality

but god uses everything

and he loves us.

so it’s going to be poetry describing what Ode is, what we want people to participate in, how they can participate, and a bit of inspiration.

That’s what’s in the works. We’d love it if you’d be praying for this whole process.

Thanks for sticking with us. 

God’s going to do some cool things with this cd and eventually this book.

ptl

So continue searching for the poverty. Let’s get to the root- to the poverty that causes it all- the poverty of truth. When people believe lies and are deprived of truth. Look for the lies. Blot them out. Replace them with truth. And although we may become poor in money, we will be rich in all things true.