On Phil Robertson.

   I'm sure by now, most of you have heard of Phil Robertson's suspension from Duck Dynasty due to him expressing his Christian views on homosexuality. In an interview with GQ, Phil was asked what his views on the subject are, and he answered with a passage from scripture (1 Cor. 6:9-10), which gives a list of people who will not enter the kingdom of God.

   Once A&E, the network that airs Duck Dynasty, heard what Phil said in his interview, they took him off the series "indefinitely." They also released a statement saying they were disappointed in how Phil answered the question and that his views did not reflect the views of A&E, because, as it turns out, A&E is a big supporter of the LGBT community.

   Initially when I heard what happened to Phil, I was angry. "What about freedom of speech?" "What is happening to our country?" "Wait, just because he's a CHRISTIAN, he can't voice his opinions??" My thoughts were echoed by my family as we talked about how outrageous it was that Phil was being punished for taking a stand for what he believes in. It seemed so unfair that Phil was suspended from Duck Dynasty simply for honestly answering a question in his interview.

   Then came the facebook posts. Everyone from everywhere with different views on what happened. "His freedom of speech wasn't taken away, he still got to talk about what he believed." I guess this is true in a sense; Phil does still have freedom of speech, BUT he was punished for using that right. Simply because his views disagreed with the network's views, he was suspended. I don't agree with how A&E handled the situation. I think it was unjust, especially because the Robertson family is so openly a God fearing family. A&E should have known that something like this would happen one day. Why were they so surprised?

   But should we really be so shocked?
   Should we be appalled that someone of our faith is being persecuted?
   Should we be so outraged at what happened to Phil?

   No, no, and no.

   "Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you." (1 John 3:13)
   "If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you." (John 15:18-19)
    "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (2 Timothy 3:12)

   Honestly, we've been warned. I'm not saying that A&E was correct in suspending Phil by any means. I still believe that Phil has his rights as an American to voice his opinions. What I'm saying is, we should expect this. We should expect it in Phil's life and we should expect it in our own. The New Testament is full of warnings of persecution and warnings of what it will take to follow Jesus. So why are we surprised when someone actually does face persecution, from the media or from other people or from anything else?

   Despite how unfair the situation with Phil may seem to us, if Phil is living out his beliefs, these things are bound to happen. The world does not know us, nor is it very fond of us! The world HATES Christians. It hates those who follow after Christ, because it hated Christ first. There is going to be more where this came from, I can guarantee it. It won't just be Phil being persecuted. It will be anyone who truly desires to live a godly life. We will be persecuted. The Bible tells us it will happen. It will happen because we are hated by the world, and we need to understand that.

   "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing."  (1 Cor. 13:1-3)

   We should not be shocked. We should not be angry. Rather, we should respond in a Christ-like manner. We should support the Robertsons and our brothers and sisters facing persecution. We should, indeed, stand up for what we believe in. But we should do it all in love. Without love we are nothing, have nothing. We should do everything in love. We should speak in love. We should watch what we're saying on social media in response to this situation and how we are saying it. We should do this because, I promise, those who don't know Jesus are watching. They're watching for the responses of those who claim to love Jesus. They're watching and waiting to see how we react, if we throw a fit or start spewing angry language all over the place. They're watching, and we need to be good representations of Christ. Be careful.


 

Rain.

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

-The Rainy Day, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


   I love this. I love that Henry Longfellow had such insight, that he could turn rain into such a beautiful metaphor.
   I don't know about y'all, but I'm pretty sick of rain. My back yard is flooded, my front yard is flooded, and it's just about impossible to feel dry. But this poem has been on my mind a lot lately (because, you know, of all of the rain). I think it's wonderful when the rain finally stops and the sun bursts forth from the clouds. It makes you so much more grateful for the sun once you've had a lot of rain. Longfellow obviously understood that, which is what makes the metaphor in "The Rainy Day" so beautiful. As it says, some days must be dark and dreary and rain falls into every life. But the fact is, the sun is still shining as radiantly as ever behind the clouds. Once the rain stops, the sun will come out from the clouds again. It will be glorious. It will be beautiful. It makes you so much more thankful for the sun. It's like when people say you can never know true happiness if you have never experienced sadness. You can never be truly thankful for the sun if you have never had times of rain.


   That's not all the rain makes me think about, though. It also makes me think about Jesus coming back. It makes me think about Jesus coming back because in Revelation, it talks about towards the end, there will be lots of thunder and lightning, earthquakes, and things that the world has never experienced before. I've been thinking about Revelation a lot because of the storms. Every time there's a thunder storm or my back yard floods, it reminds me that we're getting closer to Jesus returning. And I cannot wait to see Him!!
   Today in church, we had a guest speaker, Morgan Jackson. As he was speaking, he mentioned that he believes some of us will not die, that Jesus will come back before that happens. How many of us are ready for that? I know people say "I want Jesus to come back" a lot, but how many of us are actually seeking after Him and the things above, where He is, constantly fixing our eyes on heaven? I don't always have my eyes on heaven, but I have had such a desire lately to become heaven-minded. I want to be so focused on heaven and on Him that I don't have time to worry about anything else. I so look forward to the day I will see my God face to face and be able to fall on my knees to worship the Holy, Almighty One who saved me from myself. Everything seems to be reminding me of Him and of heaven lately, and that's how it should be. I am so blessed. I can't wait to be with Him forever.

"For after all, the best thing one can do when it's raining is let it rain." -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created." -Revelation 4:11

I am little.

   So often we see ourselves as something big and important, like we should have so much attention on ourselves because we matter so much. But you see, God has a way of changing people's mindsets, making them realize that they are so little compared to Him and His creation.

   

   God created the entire universe. He created earth and the sun and moon and stars.. He created our galaxy and all our neighboring galaxies and everything else in the universe. He created the caterpillar, which has 228 separate muscles in its head alone. He put 3,000 different tree species in one square mile in the Amazon jungle. And out of everything He created, we humans are the only things He created in His image. Is that crazy or what?!

   There are an estimated 350,000,000 galaxies just in the known universe. In the midst of those galaxies is our galaxy, the Milky Way. In our galaxy, there are countless stars. Somewhere among all those stars, our solar system is located. Here there are planets and the moon and the sun. Then there's earth, where we are. Here, the deepest place in the ocean is 35,840 feet deep. The tallest mountain is 29,029 feet high. The longest road in America is I-90, which is 16,426,080 feet, or 3,111 miles, long. Then located in small little Chattanooga, TN, is me, all 5 feet, 5 inches of me. Just by that I feel pretty dang small.. It'd take almost 3,000,000 of me to stretch the entire distance of I-90. If I was standing in 5 and a half feet of water, my head would be completely covered. Thinking about being 35,840 feet under water is totally mind blowing to me.

   But you know what's cooler than all of that? God is bigger than the 35,840 feet of water or all 29,029 feet of Mt. Everest. He's bigger than I-90. He's bigger earth and our galaxy. He's even bigger than the entire universe. He CREATED the entire universe. I bet even our huge universe is pretty small compared to God.

   I recently told someone that I wanted to go to space, because I thought it would be beautiful, but also because I thought it would make me feel little. I was asked why I liked feeling little.. and honestly, it's hard to explain. I like feeling little because it puts things in perspective. When I look at the ocean, or stars, or mountains, I see how big they are. Then I see how little I am. It reminds me that there's so much more out there than little me. It reminds me that I'm not so important. It reminds me of God, because He created the ocean, mountains, and all those stars that make me feel little, and He is so much bigger in comparison.

   When I think about all of this, it's crazy that God cares about me at all. It's crazy that He chooses to use someone as little as I am. It's crazy that He loves me with a relentless love. His love is fierce, furious, wild, and strong. He is jealous for me; He desires for me to love Him. God, in all His bigness, loves ME. The Creator of everything loves me for who I am, but wants to make me into something so much more beautiful. I get goosebumps when I think about that. It is, for lack of a better word, crazy. But I am convinced that there is no better feeling in the entire world, to know that I am so little, yet God loves me anyways. I am so little, but God is using me. I am so little, but God is changing me. How can I not be filled with love for God when I know all of these things?

   When I think about all of this, the word "beautiful" keeps coming to mind. I honestly think that all of this is beautiful. It's the most beautiful thing that I could ever be a part in. God's love is beautiful. His bigness is beautiful. My littleness is beautiful. It's beautiful that He desires so much for me.

   If you've never experienced a feeling like this, I encourage you to go look at the stars tonight. Watch the sunset or sunrise. Go on a hike. Be in God's creation and just be quiet. He will meet you there. He will show you that He is so big. He'll make you realize that you are so very little, but He loves every part of you anyways. God is big, and God is good.

"Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and marked off the heavens by the span, and calculated the dust of the earth by measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in a pair of scales?" "Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name, because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing." -Isaiah 40:12,26

Beautifully different

   I've never had a more beautiful January. I've never had so much to write about and so much to talk about in the first month of the year. And it all started because I said okay. I said okay to 2013 being different.
   A few days before the new year, I felt God telling me that 2013 would be different. When I said okay, I honestly didn't expect it to be much different, but I wanted it to be. I didn't want 2013 to follow in 2012's footsteps, because 2012 honestly kind of sucked. On New Year's Eve, all I could think about was "I want 2013 to be different. 2013 has to be different." Actually, my first words once the ball dropped and everyone finished cheering were, "I want 2013 to be different." I really didn't expect a lot, but then it started happening.
   On New Year's Day, God gave me more peace and joy than I have experienced in a really long time. Why? Because I said okay. Because I decided to let go of something that had been weighing me down for way too long. Because I was ready for something different. That peace and joy is unlike anything I have ever felt before. It is still with me just as much as it was that first day. I finally understand when people say that they have a joy in Jesus that no one can take away. I understand because I have that joy.
  Three days after that, I was at Corrie Oates's house. I wasn't supposed to be there, actually. It was a last minute decision to come over and spend the night with her and Savannah Walker. But I said okay. I'm not going to go into the whole story, because I think I could write an entire BOOK on what happened that night. But I will say that it was very obviously God-orchestrated. In short, Savannah, Corrie, her brother Ben, and I ended up talking for four hours about Jesus and how we see Him moving. Ben told us about how God had told him that 2013 is going to be an adventure, and I shared how God told me that 2013 is going to be different. God spoke to us through His Word, The Hobbit, and so many other things that night. It was wonderful, and it was definitely shaping up to be a different adventure for all of us!
   The next day, the four of us went to Starbucks and invited Abbie Price and Samuel Hinchman to come along as well. Again, I won't get into how incredible that day was, because if I start, I'll never stop. It was just really obvious that God brought us all together and that God was present and moving. I have literally never felt so close so fast to a group of believers. Especially a group that never would have come together if it weren't for God.
   We met the next day, too. We were just six brothers and sisters getting together, worshiping Jesus and reading the Word. We sang songs and shared what God had been doing, and just fellowshipped with each other. We all had the same vision and same mind. We decided to call ourselves Rekindle, because the word rekindle means to restart, or revive. We want to revive what the church looked like in Acts, to restore a fellowship once lost. We decided we wanted this to be something different and something totally centered on Christ. We pray for each other often, share Scripture with each other, and just love on each other. We meet together as often as our schedules allow, constantly inviting more people. We want to share what God has done. It's unlike anything I have ever experienced.
   That's pretty much how everything got started, and I promise that was the short version (even though it may not have seemed like it). Not a day has gone by when I haven't thought about Rekindle and what God has done, how He brought us together. So many more things have happened since the beginning of January, but I'll stop here, because I really could go on forever about it and about how incredible God is. I think about the joy He gave me every day, and I am so thankful that 2013 has been so different. I can't describe how thankful I am for Rekindle and for my brothers and sisters in Christ. I'm so thankful that I've had such a beautiful January, and I am so crazy excited to see how the rest of 2013 will be a different adventure for all of us.

(Props to Savannah for the picture) "Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if you were told." -Habakkuk 1:5

Newness

     I love this kind of weather.. It's so warm and wonderful. It's sunny and flowers are blooming andd everything is so alive. Things are being made new and it's glorious. I see new life everywhere I look. This kind of weather puts everyone in a better mood.
    This weather is made for sundresses, messy hair, and bare feet. This weather walks hand in hand with being carefree, starting over, and not looking back. This weather inspires new beginnings, reminding the soul that things can indeed be new. It reminds the heart that what has died can be alive once again. But even more than that, it reminds your whole being of God's faithfulness. The newness alludes to a bigger story.
    It alludes to a time when you, too, were trapped in a cold, lonely world. A world where darkness prevails and you have no hope of becoming anything greater than what you are. Just like the flowers and trees, you are withered and dry. What little light you recieve is temporary, warming you for a little, but fleeing too fast to make a difference. The pleasure from that warmth is gone before you even have time to savor it, and yet again, you find yourself trapped in a dismal world; what little hope you have is fading.
    But then, God's love shines down on you, promising not to leave you. It's like you are actually being wrapped up in His warmth; it overtakes you and pours a joy into your very being, a joy you have never felt before. Out of the filthy dirt rise green things - little blades of new grass andd beautiful yellow flowers. The blue skies and sunlight conquer the darkness. And out of the ashes you rise, becoming something beautiful.
    You look at yourself, and you realize you are only new and beautiful because of one thing: God is not only shining on you, He is shining in you, permeating every part of you. He is transforming you from the dirty, cold, hopeless being you were into a warm, clean, hopeful, new creature. And He loves you. He loves YOU, the thing you thought was so unloveable. And in that moment as you fall to your knees in adoration before Him, you realize you love Him, too. You love Him more than you ever thought you could love. He redeemed you, transformed you, made you new, gave you hope, and loves you. And He promises He will continue to do so. And you love Him. He stole your heart and became your everything. And you love it. You press onward, into the sunlight and into His love, knowing it will never end.

    He will not leave you as you are. Things can still be new. And He alone is the one who can make them be new. He can make something beautiful out of you. As you look around at the newness sprouting up everywhere, let them remind you of the newness in yourself caused by Him alone. He loves you.

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come." -2 Corinthians 5:17

My God is faithful.

   To start off, for those of you who don't know, life hasn't been all joy and smiles this year. This year has been hard for a lot of people, me included. There have been trials, sickness, heartache, hurt, worries, and more. Friendships have been ruined. People have been betrayed and lied to. A lot of bad things have happened this year.
   But.. This year has not been all bad. There have been good things. Hope, friendships, faith, love, growth, and more. People have gotten a lot closer to people. Some friendships have been built that, outside of the circumstances that they were built in, probably never would have happened. God has shown Himself to so many people throughout the bad things. I am going to share with you a few good things that have happened because of bad things.

   Something happened, that I am not going to go into, that caused a friendship I had to end. I thought I had a very good friendship with this person, but it ended in an ugly way. It happened over three weeks ago, but the pain is still here. Even so, God has comforted me throughout it. He has shown me that He let this happen for a reason, even though it hurts. It's brought me closer to God and taught me to trust Him more. Also, because of this, I have become closer to a couple of my friends. They have been there for me and helped me get through it. Even through bad circumstances and hurt, God is faithful.

   For a little bit over a year, I've been having unexplainable health problems. They got a lot worse around summertime. Every time I eat, I am in pain. Sometimes the pain is not bad, sometimes the pain is excruciating. We haven't found any food triggers, which means no certain food makes the pain worse or not as bad. We've done tests, I've been scoped, they've run blood work, I've been put on so many different prescriptions, and none of it has helped or brought results. The tests have shown that there is nothing seriously wrong with me, but we still don't know what is causing the pain. Because of the pain, I can't eat as much or as often as I used to. I like food, so this hasn't been fun for me. But even so, God has taught me to trust Him through it. When we were waiting for the test results to get back a little over a month ago, I was stressed out about it. I surrendered it to God. And God is faithful. He gave me such a peace about it. Even though I could have had very serious problems, God reassured me that it was going to be okay, no matter what the test results showed. And praise be to God, the tests results showed that nothing was seriously wrong. He showed me that He is here with me carrying me through it. We are still searching and trying to figure out what is wrong with me, but through all the pain, tests, and prescriptions, God is faithful.

   Along with the pain, I have also been having trouble sleeping. The doctors don't know if this is related to the pain with eating. It could be, it could not be. I can't sleep at night a lot of times, and even when I can, I am often fatigued throughout the day. For a while, I took maximum strength melatonin, which would usually knock a person out, and I still couldn't sleep. Most people would think of this as horrible and annoying.. And honestly, for a while, it was. But.. God is faithful. One night when I couldn't sleep, I started praying. I started praying at night more often, and I can honestly say that even though the fatigue gets old, I am blessed to have the extra time to spend with God. Through all of the sleepless nights, God is faithful.

   Last night was another one of those sleepless nights. I usually have music playing in my iHome, but my sister is home right now and she can't sleep with music on. However, I can't sleep without music. So I put my headphones in and decided to sleep like that. I usually listen to Switchfoot, NeedToBreathe, Relient K, or something else along those lines at night. For some reason, last night, I changed my iPod from Switchfoot to a playlist called 'Worship music'. I was laying in bed, and to no surprise, I couldn't sleep. Thoughts were flooding my head, particularly about the friendship that I had lost. I was feeling hurt and lonely, but God is faithful. Last night was one of those nights where sleeplessness was a blessing. I was lying there listening to the worship music, and unexplainable peace flowed over me. It was wonderful. I began to worship silently (my sister was asleep). God comforted me. I felt so less lonely. I was lying there and it was like God wrapped His arms around me and took away the hurt and loneliness. I felt so free. And it was such a unique opportunity to worship my Saviour. Through the feeling of loneliness, God is faithful.

   I just started an Ebenezer list. You're probably asking, "What's an Ebenezer list..?" Well, I actually got the idea at New Camp in 2010. Erik Bledsoe led worship, and we sang Come Thou Fount quite a bit throughout the week. There's a line in the song that says, "Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I've come." and up until that week, I didn't really understand what it meant. Erik explained it before we sang the song one day. It goes back to the story in 1 Samuel 7, where Samuel set up an Ebenezer to thank God for His help in the battle against the Philistines. Ebenezer literally means 'Stone of help'. So basically, my Ebenezer list is a list of how God has helped me. How God has brought me this far. It consists of things as little as God providing money for something, or as big as God doing something that changed my life. It's a small list right now, considering I just started it, but it shows God's faithfulness. I already know that it was a good idea that I started the list. It will be something I can look back on in a few years, or when life is hard, and remember God's faithfulness and how He has brought me to where I am. Throughout life, God is faithful.

   I hope that this blog shows something to whoever reads it. I hope it reminds everyone who reads this about God's faithfulness. About how wonderful, loving, and caring He is, through the good things and the bad things. I hope that you never forget that God is faithful and loves you. I hope that you remember the Ebenezer's in your life, that it is by God's help that you have come to the place you are. I hope you remember that throughout hurt and heartache, God is faithful. That throughout medical issues, tests, and countless prescriptions, God is faithful. That throughout sleepless nights, God is faithful. That throughout feelings of loneliness, God is faithful. That throughout life, God is faithful. Throughout everything, GOD IS FAITHFUL.


"The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I have hope in Him.'" -Lamentations 3:22-24

                                                   Ebenezer.

Write love. Anywhere, everywhere.

   Anyone who knows me and has been around me for even a short period of time knows that I'm a big fan of To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA). For those of you who don't know, TWLOHA is "a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery."
   Jamie Tworkowski started TWLOHA in 2006 to help a friend, Renee Yohe, get the treatment she needed. He and his friends prayed for her and did everything they could to help her. They are friends with Switchfoot, and even made them some t-shirts to wear during their concerts. What did those shirts say? To Write Love on Her Arms. That's how it got started. Jamie and his friends began making shirts and selling them to pay for Renee's treatment. Now, because of Jamie deciding to make a difference, over 150,000 people in 40 different countries have gotten help through TWLOHA since it started.

   A lot of times, I feel like depression, self-injury, and suicide is overlooked. Because, 'not that many people struggle with it'. Maybe it's because we don't know how to handle it. And maybe the people that struggle with these things, feel like no one cares, so they don't speak up about it.
   Maybe these statistics will help open your eyes, and make you realize these things are a lot more widespead than you think.

   -121 million people worldwide suffer from depression. 18 million of those are in the United States.
   -Two thirds of the people who struggle with depression, never seek treatment.
   -Every 16 minutes, someone dies from suicide.
   -One in eight teens say that they have self-injured.
   -Untreated depression is the number one cause of suicide, and suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers. (NIMH)
   -The World Health Organization estimates that each year, approximately one million people die from suicide.
   -Suicide is among the three leading causes of death in ages 15-44.
   -Suicide attempts are up to 20 times more frequent than completed suicides.

   I don't know about you, but the first time I read those, I found some of them shocking. A lot more facts have come out about these things lately, but a lot of us are still uninformed. And even if we are informed, some of us tend to push these issues into the corner, because talking about them would be 'awkward' or 'uncomfortable' for you. But talking about them really could save a person's life or give them hope.




   Hope. That's a word that's thrown around often, isn't it? "I hope we're having pizza for lunch!" or "Man, I REALLY hope that boy likes me!" or "I hope I get that iPod for my birthday." But, hope is bigger than that. Dictionary.com defines hope as "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or events will turn out for the best; to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence". That is the hope people are looking for. They want to be able to feel that events will turn out for the best. They want to be able to look forward to things with confidence. A lot of times, in someone's situations, their hope is lost. Things look so dismal that they have no hope left. They don't expect hope. Chad Moses, part of the TWLOHA team, said, "Hope is not always expected, but that's what makes it so much more beautiful in the end." And Renee Yohe, so desperate for hope when she started this journey, made it a point to remind everyone that you ALWAYS have hope. She said, "The stars are always there but we miss them in the dirt and clouds. We miss them in the storms. Tell them to remember the stars. To remember hope. We have hope." No matter what, there IS hope for you. No matter what your circumstances. Renee Yohe had a horrible life, yet she had enough strength to say that no matter what, we all have hope. And you know what? She was right. Hope is always there.

   TWLOHA's catchphrase, or whatever you want to call it, is "Hope is real. Rescue is possible. Love is the movement." I couldn't have said it better. I've already covered hope. Rescue is possible. you may have to take the initiative, but it's possible. There's always a way out. And love is DEFINITELY the movement. Love changes everything. Love can make the difference between life and death. Love. It sounds so simple, doesn't it? But how many of us actually go out and try to love people around us? I know I don't always. But I know that knowing all of these things, I have to try my best. because I want to make a difference. There's someone out there who is in desperate need of love, and you could be the one to show them that love.

   If you're reading this, and you've struggled with any or all of these issues, PLEASE don't hesitate to get help. http://www.twloha.com/find-help/ This link has some good places to find help. Please, take the initiative.

   Honestly, I don't really know why I wrote this post. Maybe it's because I feel like people really aren't as informed as they should be and writing this will help inform people. Maybe it's because I want someone reading this to find hope. I don't know, but I know this is all important to me and I hope it changes something for someone.

   If you want to find out more about TWLOHA, read the full story, buy merchandise, or find help, it's all at http://www.twloha.com/ .

"We were made to be lovers bold in broken places, pouring ourselves out again and again until we're called home." -Jamie Tworkowski