Peace Starts With You.

  I get tired of being bombarded by news of killings and other violent crimes daily. My heart aches for this country divided by it's own inability to love one another. We have bigots, paranoid nut jobs, and a government that creates fear. What has happened to this once great country?  Why have we gone so far off the deep end?
  All I know is that we enjoy freedoms most other people in this world will never see. Most people are content to gripe and groan about the way things are without a willingness to see where change starts. Change comes from us not our political leaders. We must stand up and fight for our freedoms against the powers that truly ruin our freedom...the greedy and the evil.
  I could talk all day long about the two powers and give you biblical examples of why we must fight, however most of you that will read this don't own a bible or believe in God. Most of you would rather try to govern yourselves in a self serving fashion.I know this to be true. I've witnessed the Godlessness of this country first hand. Non-believers try and crush the believers at every turn. I'm sick of hearing how it's the believers fault we are in this mess. Evil knows no God, it only knows it's own selfish desires. Greed knows only it's selfishness.                                                                                                                                        We are not fighting a war of the flesh, we are fighting an enemy that is unseen. We are fighting dark forces that control those who wish only to serve themselves. God commands us to be servants of our brothers and sisters in His name. We are told to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We are not told to fear or disparage each other, we are told to love and care for our fellow man. We shouldn't judge a flock of real believers by the actions of a few people serving themselves in the name of God, we need to know believers by their good works. Anyone call call themselves a Christian, it's those who prove it by good works that should be our example. Christianity is not about lip service, it's about action in Christ. It's about what we do to continue the ministry started by Christ. Our ministry isn't about showing up to church on Sunday sitting in a pew and waiting for the service to end so we can get on with our day. Our ministry starts at home by living in the Word everyday, even when no one is watching.
 Christian or not a moral code starts with you. If you depend on your own righteousness to tell you right from wrong then all you are teaching is selfishness. Good works can be done without faith, however those good things can easily be undone by selfishness. A selfish work glorifies yourself and nothing else. What good is a grand house if it's built on mud? You must have a strong foundation from which to build. A moral code without God is worthless. Personal morals can change like the wind. Godly morals are set in stone by the words of the Almighty. Man distorts the words of God for his own profit, Gods word is without change. Gods words are in black and white, it's called scripture and scripture is found in the Bible.
  I want this world to change, I want this country to change but without a Godly world I'm afraid my prayers fall upon deaf ears. I will not give up on educating a non-believer why I believe, I too at one time ignored God. I know hearts can be changed by being a living example of a morally upright man, it happened to me. A morally upright man ( also my best friend) led me to Christ and my life has been better for it. I now speak with a voice that is based on a strong foundation and will do so even when no one is watching.
  We live in a violent world without peace (Gods peace), and yet I hear the Godless express their desire for a peaceful world. Well my friends I tell you this, Gods peace starts with you. God Bless.

....Of Poets and Madmen Pt.1

  When you are young, people never tell you that being a failure is a reality. We are filled with hopes and dreams that one day success will find us. We are never prepared to fail. The streets are filled with people who never realized the potential of their youth. Why?

  People lose sight of themselves and fall into the trappings of a society obsessed with beauty and wealth, never taking the time to discover the true meaning of who they are. They get caught up in the falsehood of the so-called American Dream. That dream becomes a nightmare with the realization that not everybody can be a success. People fail all the time never arriving at the top of any mountian, the mountian ends up on top of them. They fall into a state of dispair and spend the rest of their lives trying to unbury themselves from the tons of shit piled upon them, never finding help from family or friends or getting very little help from anyone. They become lost in a system of self lothing and depression, never able to step up to the challange of recovering the warm fuzzy feeling they had before they became failures. they wallow in the muck and mire of an unfulfilled potential that crushes them like bugs on a windshield, hopes and dreams are dashed by the wieght of  a cruel reality and a heartless world. Their pain becomes the only thing that they live for, living in a mass darkness which consumes every moment of their lives. The pain is the only thing that they can relate to, happiness is just a lie told to them by other people. Why does everyone insist on comforting others by saying "things will get better?"  How does anyone know things will improve?  Where is your proof?

   In a life filled with failure and pain the hope of a better tomorrow is just rubish. When all you know is heartache and disappointment, that is all you expect...nothing more. The darkness becomes sunshine to the ones who have done nothing but failed. Loss and grief becomes your daily sustinance. A world of a loving God becomes a fairytale to those who can no longer pick themselves up off the floor one last time. Why get back up when you're only going to fail again and again?
Despite what you are told by everyone else FAILURE IS AN OPTION. Failure happens everyday. There just comes a point in your life when getting back on your feet seems like a fruitless endevor. Sometimes it's just better to stay down and accept that you are a failure. Self lothing almost feels as good as a hug, darkness shines as bright as the sun and words of hope become useless background noise.

Ode To Lucy

Sometimes life throws you curveballs. On August 17th 2011 life threw me one. I lost my lover, my friend, and my soulmate Lucy Friend. She died leaving behind many people who loved her including her young son Reed. I miss her more with every breath I take. She was more than a partner in my journey called life, she was a teacher, a poet, and the kindest soul I have ever met. She inspired me to become a better father, friend, and in general a better person. She made me feel whole for the first time in a long time. She took a broken man and helped put the pieces back together. She was loving, kind and patiant to a man who had become bitter and angry over many years. She gave me purpose, hope, and helped me to find peace in a turbulent mind. She breathed new life into me. For everything she gave to me I am thankful. In a thousand lifetimes I could never repay her for the loving grace and kindness she gave to me. Lucy was a special person whos kindness echoes in the memories everyone who knew her will carry the rest of their lives.

She was a wonderful mother whom gave her son Reed everything she had. She taught Reed kindness and strength and in return Reed gave Lucy his heart. Reed loved his mother so much. Reed gave his mother a feeling of joy and happiness. They shared a special bond that can only happen between a mother and her son. Reed is a special kid with a heart that overflows with love and compassion. He is an obediant child who cares more about helping others than he does himself. He has grown up in the arms of loving parents and a mother who invloved herself in every aspect of his life. Reed was Lucy's life.

She lived not the life of kings and queens yet lived each day to serve others above herself. We lived a simple life together spending each day as if we were millionares. We did have the luxuries of the wealthy instead we fill our lives with the treasures of love. We were, in the truest definition, soulmates. Where one left off the other began, when one of us stumbled, we picked each other up. The world could not harm any of us as long as we were together. She anchored our family, giving us all the love we needed and more. She was our strength.

Now my journey has begun anew without my soulmate by my side. The waters have been rough yet I continue to push forward into the great unknown. Each day presents new challenges for me to overcome as I move forward witout her. I no longer have her physically here to help guide me through the tough times, so I can only pray that from Heaven she will continue to help me take on lifes unending tests. For now her voice is the wind in my ears, her hope the smell of spring blooms. Her strength will be the little voice in my head driving me on and her love is a warm blanket on a chilly night. Lucy will never leave us as long as we remember her boundless love and selflessness. I miss my one true love and will try and carry her flame with me to find my way in the darkness the is the forever unknown. Rest well my queen as for one day we will be reunited in the house of God and spend all eturnity together as it should be.