This years partnership announcement, future posts, and odds/ends

I want to start this post with this verse, mainly because we should never do anything out of guilt, but out of love. Feeling guilty about what you were born into, or feeling down about the oppression/injustice doesn't change the facts. 

Romans 8:1-2

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

We should not be ashamed of our position in life, Christ has freed us from that guilt. 

Now, Christ is also calling us to live in that freedom. We have a chance to bless and care for others. This brings me to my partnership. Last year, we raised close to $3000. ($2200 for International Justice Mission, $740 for Compassion International) I was blessed to see how you all gave.

This year, I am partnering with an organization called The Dwelling Place http://thedwellingplaceshelter.org/home.aspx (you can also find them on FB). They are an organization who protects families and heal lives affected by domestic abuse by providing safe housing, Christ-centered programs, training in life skills and community education.It has been an honor volunteering with them.

They let me use some of my skills to paint, some construction, and do some minor maintenance. I am lucky and blessed they let me do so. (If you ever want to volunteer, let me know, we can get you plugged in, helping out, I will explain more later).

NOW, onto my the part of my partnership involving you all:

BY MARCH 4th, we want to fill my car. The middle schoolers will be having their spring party, and have been challenged; now I am challenging all of my friends to partner with the middle schoolers, leaders and I. If my car gets filled, we will start on another leaders car. If that gets filled, we will start on another car. We want to be a blessing to others.

Here is an exact list of materials needed:

-Paper Towels

-Toilet Paper

-Hand Soap

-Dish Soap

-Cleaning Supplies (Clorox wipes, shower cleaners, ETC)

Other Needed Items to add:

-Bus Cards

-Gas Cards

-Gift Cards to Cub/Target/Walmart/ETC

-Gift Cards to Home Depot/Menards

Not for my car but can donate:

-DON'T DONATE YOUR GARBAGE

-Furniture new or gently used

-Dressers/Bookshelves

SO, we have less than two weeks for the first mission of filling my car. But I am confident, you all will take a step up with the middle schoolers and me!

3 ways we are collecting:

1) Drop them off at church and fill my office, just say it is for Casey Hayden.

2) Bring them off on wednesdays for the next 2 Rush Hour  meetings (Middle School Youth Group)

3) I will come and get them from you (contact information below, and probably come with a middle schooler)

I am confident we can do this! Repost this, share with folks, do whatever you need. Add this to your list when you shop next! I want you to be involved! Feel free to also write a note of encouragement

NOW FAQ time:

Can I donate even if I don't have anything to do with Middle School Ministry?

YES!!! For sure! Would love that, and want you involved!

What are some other needs?

Babysitters, mentors, finances, and other things. IF you want, contact me, and I will shoot you the form they have you fill out, list some of your skills and how you can help. 

Can I volunteer some time to help using my skills?

If you have some skills in woodwork, plumbing, construction, painting, appliance repair, all of that. Keep in mind the sensitivity of this organization, and be willing to work with them and their needs. It is a beautiful thing using your skills for Kingdom Work.

Contact Information:

Cell: 651-470-4967 (Call/Text)

Email: chayden@fiveoakschurch.org

NOW, Let's FILL MY CAR!!!

_________________________________________

I want to also share about some posts I plan to write this year (in no order):

1) 3 Things I want to tell parents of youth (a few observations from a youth leader)

2) What we spent this year talking about with Middle Schoolers

3) Casey's Future

4) My prayer for the future church

5) Missional Living: Ending our inner Impala

6) Partnership Update

7) God isn't done yet

How can I pray for you:

PLEASE send me any prayer requests you may have. Would love to spend time in prayer with and for you!

Christ, Christians, and those Illegal Immigrants

I know this will anger some folks, but my goal is not to create any ill-will or frustration. Christians seem to mix politics and patriotism with God's Kingdom. That mixture can be dangerous. I want to preface these next statements by stating that I am pro-America, Pro-Jesus, and I constantly have our troops (family and friends especially) in my prayers. I am grateful for a nation that allows me to freely worship God, freely write about God, and freely critique, without judicial consequence, higher powers. I am grateful.

We have a massive problem in our country. We have an estimated 11.2 million undocumented and unauthorized persons in this nation. That means a lot of things. It means they are as stereotypes state: taking our jobs, distorting our culture, increasing crime, getting government hand-outs.

I 100% agree with my conservative friends; the government should not be taking care of these immigrants. The government should not be in the business of watching after our orphans. The government should not be running food shelves and giving out food stamps.

I agree with you. That is not fair.

The government should not be doing this, because we should; The Church should. My tax dollars should not be going towards this, but my personal money and assets, however, should. We as the church have a huge responsibility. We are to care for a lot of people. We are to care for prisoners, strangers, sick, thirsty, hungry, naked (Psalms 146:7-9, Matthew 25), enemies (proverbs 25:21), orphans and widows (James 1:27, Zechariah 7:10), foreigners (Deuteronomy 10:18), voiceless and oppressed (Proverbs 31:8-9), the list could go on.

So it beckons the response, why are many (obviously a broad stroke) christians so anti-anything to do with immigration. How do they balance America and God's Kingdom? Whose calling comes first? Again, I feel it is necessary to state that I am pro-America, and 100% grateful to be a part of this great nation. I just sometimes question where my true allegiance lies.

Three points that seem bizarre to me:

1) I often hear people say that the immigrants are taking our jobs. What jobs are they taking? Either way they are paying taxes, with no refund. It was estimated that the government makes roughly 11.2 BILLION dollars off illegal immigrants (Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy) in 2011. That estimate jumps up to $13 Billion in 2013 (Estimated by Social Security Administration) to payroll taxes and $3 billion to medicare (Harvard University study). Amos 5:10-15 is rather convicting at this moment. But it is bizarre to me that we are up in arms about immigrants taking our jobs here in America, yet we aren't fully up in arms that american companies are leaving to go to countries were labor is much cheaper.... Aren't those corporations who are persons taking our jobs too? So should the stereotype read "immigrants and corporations are taking our jobs" from now on? Obviously I am jesting, but someone challenged me with that thought, and I see their point.

2) We are seeing numbers surge of over 57,000, and climbing, undocumented (illegal) child immigrants. all of whom are unaccompanied. No parents. Orphaned. 30,000+ have been released to sponsors. President Obama is seeking $3.7 billion (Office of Refugee Resettlement) which will go to the entity responsible for them, the Department of Health and Human Services, who care for them after they are released from the custody of Customs and Border Protection. These individuals often enter our country, illegally, and are surprisingly under educated if educated at all.

3) Sex trafficking of minors and adults is ridiculous. It is estimated 14,500-17,500 (US State Department) are trafficked into the United States, which includes the recruitment, expliotation, smuggling, coercion and rape of children. These illegal immigrants are promised a better life and then transported into the US to be raped by americans. Even worse, many of these trafficked victims were held for ransom while they extorted their families in their native countries. The sickening part, this is just a drop in the bucket. This exploitation of trafficked persons (sex, slave, servitude, etc...) is increasing all around our world with an estimated 29.8 MILLION PERSONS being enslaved, trafficked and exploited. How did we let the wicked get such a tight grip?

Can you imagine if we all let go of the trivial fights like trying to reinstate a nickname and logo at a college or background checks on guns or defending Phil Robertson? Can you imagine if we used the $84 million dollars the Evangelical and Mormon churched raised together in 2008 to defeat proposition 8 in California for aftercare facilities for trafficked minors in the sex trade? Or creating a program to educate, cloth, house, and feed the children who are unaccompanied illegal minors? What if we all refocused our finances and energy towards building a future for our youth to be the generation that cares more about the ministry of reconciliation that we are called to in Corinthians?

So if I take verses like Psalm 82:3-4 "Vindicate the weak and the fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked" as truth, then I must live differently if I am to believe what it says in revelations 21:1-8 will one day happen.

The writers of Psalms and Proverbs seem to be good at reminding me the truth about how God responds to the oppressors (including me as I so often stay neutral):

Psalms 72:4: May he vindicate the afflicted people, save the children of the needy and crush the oppressor.

Proverbs 22:22-23: Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, for the Lord will plead their cause, and rob of life those who rob them.

Proverbs 17:5: He who mocks the poor taunts the Maker; He who rejoices in calamity will not go unpunished.

All of this means nothing if I don't have a faith in Christ. This isn't a moral calling, this is Christ calling the rescued to be rescuers. This is Christ calling Americans to use our influence, freedom, personal finances, and faith to rescue the destitute. This is what a relationship with Christ looks like. It is out of the pews, out of the small groups, out of the youth and children programs. My faith in God requires of me more than a moral aptitude test, it calls me into the darkness, it calls me into a deeper understanding. It calls me.

So the question still remains, what are we as Christians to do? First decide where you stand, and then get involved.

Three ways to get involved:
1) Immigration reform. I do know this. I stand for Immigration Reform. God's Kingdom does not know earthly borders. I am in the process of educating myself, learning what this means, learning how it could work. A healthy and efficient path to citizenship is what is best for our nation and our nations immigrants.

2) Organizations like World Relief, KIVA (small micro-finance business), World Vision, International Justice Mission, As Our Own, Tubmen, Merrick community services, Global Fingerprints, are just a small sample of organizations fighting to care for our immigrants, our trafficked, our widows, our orphans, our unemployed, our oppressed, and our future generations. Support and promote them as much as you support and promote Gluten Free Diets, Nike Apparel, Apple Products, Samsung Galaxys, TV shows, and any of your favorite restaurants.

3) I ask myself this all the time. Am I willing to open up my home? Am I willing to sell everything I have and give to the poor as the Lord asks of the rich young ruler in Matthew? Am I willing to allow Jesus to interrupt my life?

Again, this was not to say that anyone who has a differing opinion is right or wrong. This is where I am at, I am still learning, I am still growing. I value differing opinions stated in a healthy way. I also enjoy conversation. If you are looking for ways to get involved, I will surely help. Lets grab coffee.

Much Love,
Casey

Anger is exhausting

It is the most simple phrase, but yet one that seems to have drastic implications. "Anger is exhausting" serves both as a warning and reminder.

It is amazing how dangerous anger can be. Anger makes us all irrational. It makes us ignore the ones we love, it hides our beauty, it removes our focus, and it challenges our passions. Anger, which is truly the greatest hinderance to life, takes us off course. It is the perfect excuse to blame others for our life's direction. It is the perfect excuse to stop doing what you are good at. It is the perfect excuse to hate and divide. The problem is, this excuse gets you nowhere.

Anger splits us up. Why is that? Because anger leads us to hate. What is tragic is how hate robs us of loving someone. Anger makes us not even understand the other side or the totality of the circumstances.

I can't tell you how many times in my life I wish I followed this warning. I have been so angry at so many people, that I have often lost focus and constantly have no energy. Angry at friends, at family, at co-workers, at people who I don't even know. The weight of that anger is exhausting.

The problem is, life is far better without this weight. Anger is a burden. Anger is useless. Worst of all, anger is exhausting. Anger just exposes our deepest insecurities. It makes us fight for the notion that we are "right" and they are "wrong," and everyone should know. That facade eats at us. It breaks us down.

Anger beats you down.

I don't have much to say besides Anger just is not worth it. Sadly I find myself in that camp, and then I need to remind myself, it is not worth it. It is not worth it to get angry over politics. It is not worth it to get angry over theology. It is not worth it to get angry over the words someone said about me. It is not worth it to get angry over

I don't often tell people to be selfish, but be selfish when it comes to your anger. What I mean is, anger is not taking care of yourself, it is making you exhausted by expelling energy that you could use for other desires. Can you imagine how much energy and focus you could have if you just let things go.

This is a philosophy that I find in Philomena. Remarkable movie by the way. To just simplify it, there are two characters on a journey to find one of the other characters sons. The is also looking for the character. What happens is it is discovered that the nuns at the orphanage took and adopted the son out, and burning the trails so that no connection could be made. When it was discovered that a connection could have been made, but they hide all options, and the nuns gave the child up for adoption without the permission of the mother of the son, instead of being spiteful, like the other character was, she forgave, and I quote "I forgive you because I don't want to remain angry." The character on the journey with the mother was upset and could not believe how she could "simply" just forgive, and the mother replies "it is not easy." But she realized that she would NEVER heal if she did not discover a path without anger.

It reminds me of something I have heard my mother say, a very wise woman, "You must be so tired being angry all the time."

Being angry is a natural reaction, but what good does it do? It weighs you down, it makes you exhausted. I understand it is not ideal, but I am just sick of being exhausted. It is not worth it.

It just is not worth it. I am demanding my energy be spent elsewhere.



On a side note, I am not talking about righteous anger, that is different. An anger that causes us to fix something. That is a good type of anger. For example, being angry about the fact that innocent children are being sold for sex, and having that anger cause you to do something about it, that is powerful. But being angry because Barack Obama is president and your friend voted for him, that is not healthy. Or being angry that someone in your church has a different view on Homosexuality then you, is not healthy. Or being angry that someone has consistently wronged you, is not healthy. Or being angry that someone differs from your views on a lot of topics with viable arguments, is not healthy.

You.

I have chosen not to write for a long time. Many reasons, one was learning to tame my tongue. I am often a sharp and harsh critic. Many close to me can attest to that.

I have chosen today to not write a piece on the current events in the modern evangelical world, which will soon be out of the news and away from the public spotlight. I instead am going to write one item. One item that is one my heart, especially recently. Here is the quick backstory (as vague as I possibly can put it for their sake):

I have a close friend who was talking with me about a decision they were about to make. This friend, had talked to me about this issue in great depth, many times before. The conversation was interesting, partially because we were talking about a variety of items before this issue we were exploring. The issue came up, was carefully crafted in a way to display the presenter in a positive light.

Now, many of us have been in this situation. Someone is talking to us, admits what they are experiencing or doing or thinking about, and we immediately present to them our stance.

In this case, that is exactly what happened. I presented to them my stance, but before I got to the great heights of my infinite knowledge, wisdom and clearly years of experience, I was stopped, or interrupted (no worries, not rudely). My friend kindly said, "I know your stance on my choices, but what is your view of me? How do you view me now?"

I couldn't tell you how fast it clicked inside of me. My "infinite" knowledge, wisdom and years of "experience" which gave me obvious authority to speak on any subject, was immediately thrown away (it is odd how quickly you can be humbled, even if I wasn't humble). I knew, right then, I had a choice.

I could share my stance on the topic, or I could share my stance on them. I realized, this friend did not need a lecture, a tweet or post, on where I essentially fall. My friend needed to know where I stood with them.

I wish it had clicked years early when a good friend at the time told me something about his life, and instead of being supportive and loving, I instantly told him, I don't agree with your choice, and that I hope they get over this soon because they are wrong. Instead of choosing to process through what it means, reminding him that God loves him far greater than I could, or even just being their for him, I lectured him. Sadly this was before the world of social media, so my only connection was phone or AIM. It did not click to me then, that he just wanted someone to just be present and a processor, or more importantly, just someone who loved him, because years later, he gave up contacting any of us, and has nearly no support.

I am reminded of Jesus with the prostitute in Luke 7. I was not acting like Jesus, keep that in mind (nor rarely have), but in this story, one piece I remember clearly. Jesus could have chewed out the prostitute for crying at His feet. Jesus could have given her a lecture on why what she was doing was wrong. Jesus could have written a decree that stated that all prostitutes aren't allowed to live as long as they are prostitutes. Instead, Jesus (who actually lectures the Pharisee) calmly reminder her that she is already forgiven.

I wish this was just one time Jesus did this. Not the case. Jesus did this countless times; lepers, beggers, hemorrhaging woman, blind man, woman at the well.

Or take the parable of the lost sheep. One sheep out of one hundred strays, the shepherd goes after that sheep. Finds the sheep, brings the sheep back. In this parable, the shepherd didn't lecture the sheep on why straying is wrong, the sheep knew how lonely it was out there and why straying was not wise. The shepherd cares more about the sheep than the stance on why the sheep left.

A powerful set of verses are in Romans 8, that contends that NOTHING can separate us from God's LOVE. NOTHING (Done, Doing, or Will Do).

I am challenging myself everyday to show my stance on people. To show them my love.

I am applying this today, with the current events. I am not concerned about the stance on World Vision or Phil Robertson or Barack Obama or Climate Change. I am concerned about the person. I am concerned about the children in World Vision who are no longer sponsored because of a stance, children are the ones who lose. I am concerned about the people who aren't sponsoring them anymore because of their stance. I will attest to the fact that I do not care about the stance on the issue. I care about the fact that our world is in dire need of love, hope, justice and not a lecture from me. This starts by changing our philosophy to start with our stance on humans. We see this by caring about them; feeding them, clothing them, visiting them, educating them, fighting their oppressors, providing them with clean water, housing them.

So the question I ask myself is "What is my stance on people?" because I guarantee they know my stance on issues.

DON'T end up like me, declaring my stance on issues all the while ignoring people in those situations. Don't rob them of love, like I have on so many occasions. Healing those relationships are very difficult. I can only pray that to have that trust with them.

AS a side note, if you are no longer sponsoring World Vision, please let me know, especially if you are sponsoring a child. I will take over your sponsorship, or find someone who will. No ill will.

The Adventures to come in 2014

I am very excited to announce several things I will be doing in the next year.

If you must know, I believe in dreaming big and planning little... Joke. But a lot of this has been on my mind and heart for the past few months. SO, here it goes. I will give you a general overview of what I Plan to do in the next upcoming year.

Social
1) The top number 1 plan of 2014, I am going to smile more. This sounds so corny but I have met with so many people the past two years who have NO CLUE that they are worth smiling about. It is as a professor once told me and later a Pastor "A smile indicates to that person, they are worth smiling about!"

It is my simple plan of showing people they matter.

2) I will get married this year. JOKE, but I have made a point to at least go on dates. I have not really made time for this in my life. I use to not really care, but recently, I guess you could say, I have started to care? So, needless to say, I have created a simple application for women to fill out.... Obviously that was a joke, probably came from my insecurity of talking about this subject publicly.

3) I am going to dance more!!  Seriously, I love dancing. NOW, I am not talking about the grinding their booty into my body dance. I want to look the person in the face that I am dancing with. Nothing is better!

4) I will try my hardest to see my parents, brothers and sister-in-laws, and all my nieces and nephews at least once every 6 weeks. I want to see them play soccer, go to school events. I want to see them grow up! Those kids really do mean the world to me!

4.5) I will try to see my extended family at a minimum three times in the next year! Even if it is for a day! (It does help that most live in Florida)

5) I will try to eat at one new restaurant and try some new food, once a month. Even if I find it to be repulsive, I will try it. Unless it is tofu. OK, maybe tofu.

6) I am going to cook a HUGE meal for as many people who can show up. It will be southern style. It will have sweet tea. And you will be invited!

7) I need to visit friends who live in different parts of the country!

Adventure
1) I plan to visit four countries I have never visited before. Here is the best part.... I am going to let my subscribers/facebookers/twitterers decide two of them. I am going to let my jr highers decide the other two. SO... Start thinking of places to send me. While I am there, I will have to do one crazy thing.... That you all will vote on as well.

2) I am going to hike a mountain. One in 'Merica, one not in 'Merica. Yes, I will conquer this fear of heights by hiking some pretty tall mountains. And, I will do so by bravely crying ever shaken step of the way. Unless my hands are cold, then I will just want to punch something out of anger, and no fear will be involved.

2.5) I will jump off a cliff into water.

3) I am going to Kayak for several days. I want to plan a several day kayaking trip where we Kayak pretty far (or by myself). I haven't kayaked since college, and I am craving it!!

4) I am going to fish. Deep sea fishing, shallow sea fishing, lake fishing. I will also learn to fly fish. I am excited!!

5) Jack Caron will be teaching me to golf.... I hope I do not swear during the process.

6) I am going to play soccer with some kids in the slums in one of the countries I visit. Naturally I will destroy them, but if they win, I will admit to a tie.

7) I plan to finish my reading list (about 16 books behind, currently in the middle of 5 books)

Missional
I plan to create two partnerships this year internationally, two partnerships domestically and two partnerships locally.

1) Internationally: International Justice Mission will be an organization that I partner with. I will also be partnering with an Orphanage. The ONLY problem is, I will probably want to adopt 90% of the children.

2) Domestically: I want to help a few friends who will be starting their Social Enterprise/Non-profit within the next few months. I will also be looking into

3) Locally: I know some areas that I really want to help in. But I am looking into groups like Tubmen, who help families who are displaced from their homes due to domestic violence. I also want to do more with Food Banks. SO if you know of areas needing help, let me know!

I want to also point out one thing, if none of these happen or all of these happen, I will be grateful to the fact that I went into this year having a family that loves me, friends that support me, a job, a car, shelter, and free flights....

Now... The question is... Who wants to join me? Who wants to add to this adventure? I am willing to change parts of this, invite you in on this and thoroughly enjoy every part!!

So, join me in the adventure of 2014!!

When we hate who we are Part 1

First and Foremost, Merry Eve of Christmas to you all. If you are reading this today, I hope this acts as an encouragement, not as a depressor. This is a powerful season that can often be misguided....

I got a message recently that says "Casey, I don't want to be me anymore...." Intrigued, I sent just a simple question back "Why is this?" His response, simple, profound and sadly, common. "Because if I can't accept who I am, how will others? I mean, I hate me. I hate how I look, I hate how I act, I hate so much."

I remember when I partnered with the Crisis Intervention Team years ago through one of my professors at college. We worked on a few projects together, and I helped when I could. I received a call, my first call ever, of a student attempting to take their life. I had read some of the messages she had sent to her friend. The first thing she says "No one would even notice I was gone, I am not like the other people...." There were an array of other messages, all pointing to this idea that they find no value, worth or beauty in herself.

The problem our society faces as a whole is often more of an inner battle. You see, in both of these situations, there was a

So then, we need to ask:

Do I accept myself? Better yet, what stops me?

If we fully address these questions, we discover a profound sense of freedom.

We often hold ourselves back more often then we should. We are afraid to confront who we are because we are looking for affirmation in any way we can. I think a lot of this stems from what we tie our value and worth to. For example, how many times have you heard a father tell his daughter "you are beautiful!" That is a remarkable thing, and more fathers should say that. However, it begins to tie the worth of the daughter to her beauty. It feels good to be praised, and when the opportunity comes to be affirmed, they will seek it out. A lot of times we go to great lengths to sense just a piece of that affirmation.

Same goes for guys. We tie our identity and worth to what we were told is manly: Strength. Being weak is frowned about. So we immediately created this complex and competition with in us that makes us strive to be the best in others standards.

Our belief about who we are matters. That the greatest commandment that we find in Matthew: "The two greatest commandments are this, Love the Lord your God with all you have and love your neighbor as yourself."

This can be taken in two ways, don't love yourself more than your neighbor or (as I take it) love yourself so that you may love your neighbor.

God knows that if we don't accept ourself, we will never accept others. We will envy them. We will compete against them in a negative way. We will constantly compare. We will not fully accept them as they are because we haven't accepted who we can be.

You see, you are beautiful, physically and spiritually. However, your beauty is not all you are. You are smart. But you are more than that. You are a joy. You are still more than that. You are needed. You are still more. I contend, if you believe in what scripture has to say about who you are, your worth will be infinite. You will recognize the freedom that comes from accepting who you are.

We fall into groups and stereotypes because it is easy. They tell us who we are. We know that if I fit in the nerdy group, there is a certain way to act. We know if we hang out with the jocks, we act like the stereotypical jock. We begin to mold our character to be accepted by that which attempts to define us. We become reserved and with holding of ourselves because of the fear that others will see something in us that could tarnish our acceptance.

This Christmas, I find great hope. I find this season to truly be a season of hope. We can find that hope in what is to come. We celebrate the Birth of Christ around this time of year. We point to this infant, born of a virgin, born into a world, broken, just like ours is today, and we discover that through the life, death and resurrection of this child, we have this amazing sense of freedom. You see, the life of Christ shows you, living passionately generates a faster rate of acceptance for yourself.

BUT you have to risk. You have to ask yourself, "Am I worth accepting myself? Am I worth it as a human?" I contend when you move past this, your ability to challenge and change the world becomes unstoppable. It is like a mustard seed, very small, but what comes from that is a massive tree. If you risk just enough, you create a tree. When you risk in relationships, it often hurts, mainly because the person you risk for, is typically in the same boat.

The problem is, we don't see it this way. We don't recognize that the life of Christ points to a life of freedom. Sadly, most of us stay rooted in the safety of our own routine. We fear what we can't see. We fear that we will be stretched in a way that hurts or worse, exposes us.

Take the story of Peter when walking on the water. Peter sees Jesus and decides to risk and walk on the water. It is going well, then Peter takes his eyes of Jesus, looks down and begins to sink. It would be easy to say the Peter lost faith in Jesus, but the reality is, Peter had no reason to lose faith in Jesus. Jesus was physically present. He did not have to believe there was a man named Jesus, for Jesus was right there. What happened to Peter is what happens to all of us. We lose faith in in how Christ can work in us. We sink because we forget who we are. We sink because the risk seems too heavy. We get caught up in the bizarre notion that no one will notice our absence. We get caught up in the idea that we are ugly, or stupid, or not good enough for people. We sink into a stream of invisibility because there we hope no one will notice the things we hate about ourselves. It doesn't have to be like that.

What I take away from this season is this: We celebrate the birth of a Savior that points us to a life of freedom. Freedom to love. Freedom to risk. Freedom to fail. Freedom to recover. Freedom to experience joy. We celebrate a Savior that shows us how to live, and to live well. We celebrate the birth of a Savior that believes in us as an individual and collective. Believes you can walk on water. Believes you can challenge the evils of this world. Believes that you can love well and be loved back.

We celebrate the Birth of a Savior that wants you, because this Savior knows all you can be and will push you to be that person. You are going to be missed, you are needed in our world, you do matter. This season is a reminder. There would be no way the birth of Christ would matter if God did not find worth in all of mankind.

My prayer is that we all know our worth, and that we show others just how worth it they are.

Merry Christmas Eve! I am grateful for a Savior that is leading us this year to challenge the evil that exists simply by being who we are.

In my next post, I am going to express a lot of my weaknesses. I get this feeling of frustration with who you are.

My thoughts on Phil Robertson, Sex Trafficking and Free Market Capitalism

Phil Robertson was recently suspended for sharing his beliefs in an upcoming issue of GQ. The comments were interesting and can be found here:  http://www.gq.com/entertainment/television/201401/duck-dynasty-phil-robertson

I will be honest. The interview is meant to highlight his system of belief. I think it could have been done better, but heck, I sometimes don't say things well.

I am shocked not by what happened to Phil, but the response. Countless numbers of christians are posting support Phil MeMes, creating blogs and articles to sync their beliefs to his, engaging in shouting matches about this topic.

The uproar of support however is unnecessary from people who support Free Market Capitalism. This is how the market works. A company does not care about your version of integrity UNLESS it brings them money. People who hate those who mock Free Market Capitalism, in the end hating Free Market Capitalism. Money speaks, and this hurts their business. A & E is a business. They don't care about any of those beliefs. If those beliefs were profitable, guess what, just like nearly all companies, they would practice them. However, Free Market Capitalism doesn't have a set of beliefs besides money decides. Not to mention, integrity doesn't bring in the money we think it does. All of those feel good movies that we see are a great example. Those movies fail every time in the box office. They are never huge successes. Listen to any interview about them, they don't last. So why bother if people don't care.

Which leads me back to Phil. Phil is a reality TV star who works in the free market. He made comments, and now he has to pay for it.

What is ironic to me, how can we support an upper class, super wealthy, reality TV star, need I also add white man, cause a MASSIVE uproar about what he says, get thousands of people to dress in camo, create countless numbers of groups on facebook, spout endless amounts of hate towards people while on every single day domestic violence against women in america is on the climb; While sex trafficking of minors is running a lot deeper than we thought (higher than 5,000,000 minors [unicef]).

Where are their photos? Where are the support groups for the 9 and 10 year old girls being raped by some slob in Kolkata? Where are the hashtags in support of the mother who is trying to protect her children from some abusive man holding them at gunpoint? Where is their support? We waste our time and energy defending who? Where is the hashtag for the innocent black man on death row?

If you can honestly tell me to my face that some white, wealthy, christian, reality tv man needs me to support him, I pray you have a vomit bag ready. That is so lopsided. That is counter biblical. You are showing favoritism, you are showing defense for a public figure who literally can pay for lawyers to defend him.

Phil doesn't need my support. If you think for one minute that he is having his rights trampled by A & E you are dead wrong. A & E is going solely after money. Money talks in Free Market Capitalism. What Phil did sadly hurts their business, so they tried to reconcile that by suspending JUST Phil. Phil can freely speak to any forum. His speech will be heard. However, just like when I was a child, I could say whatever I wanted to my parents, however, there are consequences to what I said. I never feared saying things, I just began to say things that were wise or accurate. I believe logically, Phil is the in the same boat.

Please, I am begging you. The orphans and widows of our world need your defense. They need you posting pictures of their faces. They need the masses to have their back. They need you to drive Free Market Capitalism away from them, because being enslaved to make us happy is not healthy.

I refuse to hashtag my support for Phil Roberstson in this cause unless he is truly being oppressed. I will however support the cause of International Justice Mission, or Sisters of charity, or Tubmen, or Community Violence Intervention Centers....

Please, I am begging you, if you place your faith in Christ, defend the cause of orphans, widows and the oppressed with the same energy as you do Phil Robertson.