Dear Justin Bieber -

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"Mr. Bieber, you are charged with the following: DUI - alcohol or drugs, resisting without violence, and driving with an expired driver's licence." 

- Florida Judge Joseph P. Farina

Dear Justin,

After I finished watching the judge read you your charges, I clicked replay, tuned him out for this second time through, and just watched you.

And you just broke my heart.

Because we failed you.

I'm not at all a Belieber, sorry man. I don't claim to be even half as supportive of you as all those who have trended #WeWillAlwaysSupportYouJustin on Twitter for more than 24 hours now. I follow you and your sweet mom on Twitter and have a grand total of two JB songs in my iTunes, and that's about it.

But although I might not be a Belieber, somehow I always wanted to believe in you. 

And I still do.

I want to believe that this is the real you:

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I think you saw it. What I saw. And I think you fell just as deeply in love with the Philippines last fall as I did two summers ago.

I think that moment you handed that boy that pencil or cradled that baby you felt it. That joy of being fully in sync with who you were created to be - a vulnerable human who simply loves other vulnerable humans.

That joy of reaching out - no million-dollar cars, no drugs, no drag races needed. All the fullness of life - any drug or fix or thrill you ever needed - was cradled in your arms, reaching for your gift of a pencil, or cradling your neck as you pulled her off that wooden porch and into your arms.

Justin - they're saying some nasty things about you out there. And yeah, let me tell you, you're an idiot. Your actions definitely need to be dealt with because DUI and street racing and weed is not cool or healthy or safe for anyone. Please try to be better.

But oh man, this is our fault too.

Congrats on being next on the long, long, long list of names that society ran in to rehab, jail, insanity, mental breakdown and loss of self-identity. Just in our lifetime, Justin, that list starts with a couple of girls named Lindsay and Britney and more recently continues with a girl named Miley and apparently, you.

We're so desperate to see you guys fall. So excited to see what crazy thing you're going to pull off next. Because we're just messed up like that. 

We live in a society where people who have extraordinary talent are destroyed in an average of 5 years flat.

You're pushed and pulled and expected to do superhuman things on a superhuman schedule and still stay perfectly put-together.

Why couldn't we just let you sing?

Why did we also have to read truth and lies about you in magazines? Why did we also have to chase you on the streets, take your picture, threaten your girlfriend and cover our bedroom walls with your face?

Why wasn't just listening to your music enough?

Why do you have to sacrifice yourself on the altar of Hollywood in order to share your God-given talents?

So I can't stand silent while people say that supporting you is terrible because you're a terrible person.

We're all terrible people. 

And I mean, I don't know about them, but I'd sure like to be supported even though I'm a terrible person. 

Justin - I believe in an amazing-grace Jesus who associates with terrible people. And I know you do too.

And not only does He associate with terrible people, He loves them. Believes in them.

Justin, I still want to believe in you. 

And I think if we all tried together, we could start to believe in the world, too - terrible as it is.

So let's try, shall we? In your very own words -

"Let's make the world better."

Freedom {Guest Blogging + Another Freedom Creations Giveaway!}

I'm so excited to be guest blogging over at Compassion Family today. Hope you'll join me.

And yes - it's true. Jill, the amazing woman who blogs over at Compassion Family, is hosting a Freedom Creations giveaway along with my guest post. Don't miss it!

This green ear warmer headband is up for grabs! :)

- 

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” – Nelson Mandela

The recent death of Nelson Mandela struck a deeper chord with me than it probably would have if he had died a few months earlier.

You see, in October, I started something called Freedom Creations – a social enterprise that sells handmade knitted accessories and donates 100% of the profit to International Justice Mission.

Freedom hits home for me more than ever, now, and Nelson Mandela’s death got me thinking of this quote of his: “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

This man fought for freedom with his whole being – and therein lies his freedom.

His freedom didn’t come in being released from jail, but in enhancing the freedom of others.

The result? He freed a nation.

Yet there’s still so much work to be done. 

Read on? :)

Less is More {#oneword2014}

I know I promised to share on my One Word for 2014 ages ago - but goodness is that first week of school pedal-to-the-metal right away!

Match that with a bunch of custom orders coming into Freedom Creations... you get the picture. January (and February) are just like September and October - and unexpected New Year's rush of everything happening all at once.

And so here I am forcing myself to tap this out on the keys, even with things still on the to-do list, because with exams coming up, I'm not gonna have a spare moment unless I force myself to.

And it's just so ironic because my One Word for 2014?

Less.

There are many ways I'm interpreting this word this year, but it comes down to this:

Less stuff in my life for more room for Jesus. 

Simple enough, right?

Not a less that ends in less - but a radical less that leaves room for more of what's really important. 

Less, so I can give more to the fewer things in my life.

I think I'll break it down into three lesses - 

Less stuff.

I'm realizing that if I really do want to spend my life serving and living amongst the least of these, the materialistic culture that I've grown up in is going to be very far away. And I need to get used to living with less - even if I have more. We'll see how this comes into serious practice, but I'm seeing a closet clean-out in my near future, for starters. Perhaps trying to buy lunch only twice a month instead of once a week. De-cluttering [my mom just cheered through weeping thankfulness. ;)]. Seriously asking myself this before I spend/keep/take/get: Is it a need (like a basic human-right need, not a I-need-a-treat need)? Does it build something eternal (a relationship, a soul, joy, etc.)? I already try do this "less" already - but I'm excited to get more intentional about it.

Less distraction.

How many things distract me from the eternal? Like a lot. Like getting to band practice on-time, getting 100% (as opposed to 98% - because the extra two percent is totally gonna make or break my life, right?) on my math test, like worrying about things that don't quite matter. And as it is with stuff, I also need to ask questions about how I spend my time: Is is a need? Does it build something eternal?

Less me.

And this is basically what it comes down to. I'm not really that big of a deal. In fact, I'm more messed up than I'd ever be willing to admit, and there's my first flaw right there - perfectionism. And the Creator of the universe offers to take over my flawed life and all I have to do is step aside and this is what it comes down to: Less me. More Jesus. I considered humble as my One Word for 2014. I ended up deciding that less captured more of my thoughts - but humble is definitely a huge part of less. Less trying to make myself look perfect. Less worrying about myself. More working for His Kingdom. Because that is really what I want need this life to be about - building something eternal.

So here goes nothing. 

I so get how this word could get misinterpreted - less = sitting around doing nothing/resting, right?

No way - less = more room for Jesus to do those absolutely crazy, radical things he does.

Live simply so others can simply live? Yes - but live is still a huge part of that saying. Live. Live. Live.

And so I am looking forward to living a radically less-is-more year.


He must become greater; I must become less. - John 3:30