Re-Member.

I finished Velvet Elvis today. I took away one of the most important lessons of my life. I actually took away many but the one it ended with… It made me realize that as a child of God and a follower of Christ I don’t incur less troubles, in fact, I may have more, but I have something different. I have hope. I have hope for the future, I can find beauty in the once burned. I can see the beauty in a place a death, in the tomb. It gives me hope that this world, as broken as it is, is still a good thing, it’s still beautiful. Even in Genesis it didn’t say that the world was perfect, just that it was good. The world is still good. Life is still beautiful, even with the pitfalls we all have, even in our brokenness we find inspiration. We have hope. I have hope. This hope shouldn’t be kept to ourselves, instead it should be shared with the world. I feel like throwing a party for all peoples. Where everyone is invited, regardless of what you call your God. Good news is still Good news. Let’s throw a party, a real, loving, dancing, singing, exuberant party. Join me (:

Love, Samuel J. Frens

In all honesty, typing these posts can be tiresome. The inspiration is sometimes harder to find, but I (somehow) find it. Somewhere, through someone. Through something. It isn’t always obvious though, just like most of life it’s implicit. The inspiration that we get can come at anytime. It can come in the shower, while walking to class, talking with a friend or reading a book. The Spirit is always speaking we just need to take the time to listen to it, to find the voice that is calling out to us. It’s interesting how we read a quote or a passage and we find inspiration from the words. It’s crazy to think that the words they speak are so universal no matter what decade they lived in or what they believed in. A truth is a truth no matter where it comes from. If a Muslim says that kindness is the way to live, just because it comes from their mouth doesn’t mean it can’t be right. I think that it’s something that I need to become more tuned to. I need to remember that no matter where I hear wisdom from it is still wisdom. It can come from anyone. When you least expect it. Sometimes, my inspiration comes from the movement of the world, it can just come from the fact that the earth is still spinning and I’m still on it. That time is moving forward whether I want it to or not. The most common things in this world can sometimes be the most inspirational. The smallest blade of grass or the treeline outside of my Health 101 class can be inspiring, I just have to look at it. Sometimes though inspiration is staring you right in the face, just like the mountains. Is it possible that God is inspiration? “I am who I am” or “I will be who I will be” were the words God spoke to Moses. This truly shows that God IS inspiration, not just that he has a part in it. If you are inspired it is God moving inside of you or it your spirit moving to the sound of the violin that God is playing. The answer isn’t clear. But whatever it is that makes your feet dance and your heart move is where he (or she or it; whatever you prefer) is. A constant presence in one’s life. Acknowledging it is a different story..

I once heard a native american say that they worshiped the great spirit. He also said that the missionaries that came to his village and cut their hair and burnt their totem poles worshiped the same God as him. How could he tell? He saw his God in the mountains just as we see our God in them. There is but one God. And he resides in the earth he created, with us, in constant view of everyone regardless of what they believe in.

Without affirmation that we are on the right path we look around waiting for some kind of response from the world. It’s in the human condition that we look for affirmation from others in one way or another. Make it your duty to tell others when they are doing a great thing. Tell them when you think it’s fantastic they are going to wait until marriage. When they say that partying isn’t their scene. When they get up to speak at church. When they profess their faith in a way that matters. No matter what faith it is. If they are making this world a better place, let them know, encourage them to keep it up. To continue the beautiful journey that they have traveled and encourage them to talk about it. Because I’ve found my church. It’s in a garage or on a deck with a couple friends talking. God is there. Love is there. I know that I stray from the path but I know the general direction I’m traveling. It’s up. We are all moving forward. Some faster than others but those taking it slow, tell them how beautiful it is to see them travel. If one gets encouragement on their spiritual journey when they are weary, it’s all one needs. Again, I beg you to create a community. Even the Buddhist monks live in a monastery with other monks. We need companionship. Create community. Don’t travel alone, wherever you are (: create with me a beautiful community of those who yearn to better themselves and we will create something that was spoken of once… Let’s make a new book. Let’s create a new chapter of humanity.

Together.

Today, I began my college classes. I found something out. I found out that THIS is where I can create who I want to be. The environment is so conducive to finding out and creating that person I has always wanted to be. I have two options, I can do okay passing all of my classes, I can do or I can be the best possible student  I could ever become. It will be a challenge but if life was too easy it wouldn’t be worth it. A challenge is something that is meant to be beat. That’s why it’s there. We all have the option to become the best or be mediocre at whatever it is we choose to do. And for those who say that they cannot become great, you my friend are wrong. We have the capacity to be great we have the potential to be loving, intelligent, diligent students and just people in general. We have the ability to paint a beautiful picture, we have the potential to be our generations Picasso, our generations Ghandi. All we have to do is awaken that sense of love in life and the love of people. And most importantly, the love of life which encompasses all things. We can awaken this or we can let it lie dormant and I for one am not going to let my potential for compassion, for nursing, for track and for friendship go to waste. I won’t die without leaving my painting in the Louvre. 

I come to you a broken man.. Not just God, but to you my tumblr readers. I won’t pretend to have it all together and I won’t pretend to have all of the answers. But I can say that I’m looking for them. But I need your help; I always have and always will, I cannot look for these answers by myself I need others, I need you. I want to know where I stand, I want to know more just beyond my own lessons. I believe in realizing my brokenness I can be content with it. I have to realize the pieces I am before I can put them all together and realize my whole. It is only in realization that I can find my shalom. I start classes tomorrow and I’m nervous for it. Wish me luck and hopefully I can still keep posting every day (: and I hope you want me to. 

Everyday in life there is a lesson to be learned, something about yourself, something about someone else or the world in general. I try and look for this lesson everyday, today I learned… I learned that if I leave my heart open, people will come in. Maybe not the people I’m always expecting but people will come in. If I put up a wall people will be either too scared or I won’t be receptive. Think about all the opportunities I would miss this way. I know that it isn’t for everyone, I know that it can make things hard when someone hurts you. But always know that for the one person that hurts you there are two to help. I want people give me a grand opportunity to show all of the love I have to give. This is impossible if they have a wall. This is impossible because society has taught them that you must protect your heart if you want to live a happy life. The people who say that are liars. Why would God give us his spirit if we are to just bottle it up and never let people see it? If we just let it sit there and never show the world the beauty we contain? I am letting everyone here see into my heart. Because believe it or not, everyone has the same thing, I’m not afraid of what people will see because they see it too, they just don’t want to admit it. Or they don’t let it out enough. Speaking of that, I don’t really care what people think about my past. It’s made who I am. I have learned from everything I’ve gone through and I wouldn’t take any of it back. My only desire is for someone to want the same thing that I do, the only thing I crave in this world is to see the true holiness inside every human being on this earth. Someone, please show it to me. Send me a message, text me, look me up on facebook. I would love to hear your story, I would love to help if you ask me for it. Just know that I live an open life, and if you’re up for it. Live it with me. 

Everywhere is God’s country. It’s a lot closer than you think. Look in the mirror. 

God created our world with the intention of it being able to be progressive, a world that can move on without direct interference. I seem to forget this often and I start believing that the world is controlled by God, but he has given us the power to control it. He has given us the knowledge and the ability to love. Those are the two things that a new world requires. I read somewhere that in Genesis the garden of Eden was created as a sort of primitive paradise, but by the end of the bible in Revelation it’s no longer a garden but a city bursting at the seems with beauty. This happened because our world has the ability to be progressive. This change is because are moving it forward with truths from God through love. But it is through us this change is made. I know that I frequently forget the potential that we have. God has given us his power, his spirit. Flowing inside of us and all around us. We are not marionettes, we are humans with the possibility to do things that we never imagined possible. A wise man once said to me, “When we use the analogy that we are just kids on the beach playing in the sand and God is the parent just watching us, why is the ocean never spoken of? Why is the possibility of the ocean seldom brought up?” Well friend, that is left up to us. This question just shows the epitome of what God desires. He wants us to bring upon the new world, he wants us to ask the questions no one else does. That’s how we create the city and in turn realize the garden was beautiful but it is not where the kingdom of God belongs anymore. It has been advanced through you, through me, through those who truly decide to ask the hard questions and yearn for the answer.  

Today is a new day, my life has taken a great leap I have been able to show others my true self. I know that this is always possible but today I have been given a great opportunity to do so. I have meet some new people who can really show me the true human potential. I guess it’s always there I just need to take the time to see it. At least look for it. I just want anyone who reads this to know that there is someone who is always here for you, besides God. And I mean it when I say that I am. Just send me a message and I would love to help, give you advice, or just a word of encouragement. Is that not what we are all here for. We are not here to preach. We are here to show. I know that I may not always be right, but that’s exactly why I have this, I have it so that you, my dear tumblr readers can try and show me your thinking, because I don’t care what you believe in as long as it leads you to change the world with a smile. Not a half smile, not a half hug. A full, beaming smile. A full “it is going to be okay” hug. People need those. They don’t need bible bashing. They need you, and me, and everyone else to come together in human compassion. We need each other. We need each other to show others their true selves, the potential that we all can obtain. Because without others who show us how holy we can be, we won’t reach out and grab it. Take today to look into someone’s eyes and without words, show them they are holy.

Today, dear people who actually read my tumblr. I moved into my dorm today at Davenport. It’s exciting to be truly able to recreate myself with no previous conceptions of who I am. However, I’m going to be entirely honest with you. I feel lonely. I have all of these people around me but I feel like I am missing something. Or someone. Maybe I need to meditate on it. All I know is that if you would ever like to talk just send me a message (: I would appreciate it.

Society tells us frequently that we are just supposed to give up and feed the “Machine”. The tell us how we are supposed to dress and what we are supposed to believe in. They tell us how to treat everyone around us, there is a “typical” way to act and if we don’t follow it we are usually ostracized. We are branded as not normal. The mark on us has been made. In the human need for acceptance we tend to just go right along and feed their machine. We just give up. And for those of you who try so hard to go away from the norm you are just conforming to that norm of being different. The joke always goes, “I wanna be different (just like all of my friends).” The unfortunate truth is that this conforming is not a matter of trying, it’s a matter of truly experiencing and finding out who you are and what you believe in. The only machine you should feed is your own. The only person you should conform to is yourself. This, however is impossible if one doesn’t even know who they are. I meet people everyday who have chosen to not give up and feed the machine of societies standards. And these people always make me proud to be living the life I am and it gives me so much hope as the future of the beautiful place we call our home. This goes out to all of those who truly defeat the norms of society and do different things for the right reason. This goes out to those who people think differently than their predecessors and who think this way because they found out their own answer. You inspire me to again reawaken the search for who I am and what I truly feel compelled to believe in. Oh and one last thing, God is love, find your God.