Freedom Time, Anyone?

Freedom Time
by Lauryn Hill

Everybody knows that they're guilty,
Everybody knows that they've lied
Everybody knows that they're guilty,
yes resting on their conscience, eating their insides.

It's freedom, said it's freedom time now,
It's freedom, said it's freedom time now.
Time to get free, oh give yourselves up now,
it's freedom, said it's freedom time

There's a war in the mind over territory for the dominion
Who will dominate the opinion, schisms and -isms
Keeping us in forms of religion,
conforming our vision to the world church's decision
Trapped in a section, submitted to committee election
Moral infection, epidemic lies and deception
Insurrection of the highest possible order
Distorting our tape recorders from hearing like under water
Beyond the borders fond of sin and disorder,
bound by the strategy of systemic depravity
Heavy as gravity, head-first in the cavity without a bottom
A fate worse than Sodom
What's got 'em drunk off the spirits,
truth comes we can't hear it
'when you've been programmed to fear it
I had a vision I was falling in indecision,
appalling, calling religion some program on television
How could dominant wisdom be recognized
in a system of antichrists and majority rules
Intelligent fools, PhDs in illusion,
masters of mass confusion, bachelors of past delusion
Now who you choosin, the head or the tail
The bloodshed of the male, or confidence in the veil
Conferences at Yale discussing doctrines of Baal,
causing people to fail, keeping the third in jail
His word has nailed everything to the tree,
severing all of me from all that I used to be
Formless and void, totally paranoid,
enjoyed darkness as Lord, keeping me from the sword,
I was blocked from mercy, bitter than cerasee
hungry and thirsty for good meat
we would eat and still dine at the table of deceit
How incomplete
From confrontation to retreat,
we prolonged the true enemies' defeat
Destitute of necessity
Causing desperation to get the best of me
Punishment till there was nothing left of me,
realizing the unescapable death of me
No options in the valley of decision
The only doctrine supernatural circumcision
Inwardly only water can purge the heart from words
The fiery darts thrown by the workers of the arts
Iniquity, shapen in, there's no escaping
when your whole philosophy is paper thin
In vanity, the wide road is insanity
Could it be all of humanity?
Picture that. Scripture that!
The origin of man's heart is black
How can we show up for an invisible war
Preoccupied with a shadow, making love with a whore,
aching in sores, Babylon the great mystery,
mother of human history, system of social sorcery
Our present condition needs serious recognition
Where there's no repentence there can be no remission,
and that sentence more serious than Vietnam,
the atom bomb, and Saddam, and Minister Farrakhan
What's going on? What's a priority to you?
By what authority do we do
The majority hasn't a clue
We've majored in curses,
search the chapters, check the verses,
recapture the land, remove the mark from off our hands,
so we can stand in agreement with His command
Everything else is damned, let them with ears understand.
Everything else is damned, let them with ears understand…

It's freedom, said it's freedom time now,
It's freedom, said it's freedom time now.
It's freedom, I'm a be who I am,
it's freedom time, said it's freedom time

Everybody knows that they've lied,
Everybody knows they've perpetrated inside
Everybody knows that they're guilty
yes, resting on their conscience, eating their insides.

Get free, be who your supposed to be, freedom, said it's freedom time now, freedom, said it's freedom time, freedom, freedom time.

Lauryn Hill is one of my favorites & well known from her history with the Fugees.... but this song is awesome. It is so cutting and directly aimed at "the system" - you know the one - "the system" that controls people and keeps them enslaved to its purposes. The same system that always has agendas - usually the self-serving, "using" type of agendas and motives. And to top it off, add a healthy portion of pride, false humility and indignation at any questioning or skepticism aimed at it or its use and misuse of the resources (money, people, etc.) to build serve itself. Perhaps freedom is really just laying down all of the religion (the man-made stuff, not true religion - true religion is, after all, taking care of the widows, orphans and poor, right?), deception, selfishness, hostility, criticism, jugement... and the list goes on... and instead, choose to simply BE and simply LOVE. Hmmm.... It's one I think I need to ponder for a bit... How bout you? Jeff

Nothing in Return....

"You Owe Me Nothing In Return"


- Alanis Morissette



I'll give you countless amounts of outright acceptance if you want it
I will give you encouragement to choose the path that you want if you need it
You can speak of anger and doubts your fears and freak outs and I'll hold it
You can share your so-called shame filled accounts of times in your life and I won't judge it
(and there are no strings attached to it)

You owe me nothing for giving the love that I give
You owe me nothing for caring the way that I have
I give you thanks for receiving it's my privilege
And you owe me nothing in return

You can ask for space for yourself and only yourself and I'll grant it
You can ask for freedom as well or time to travel and you'll have it
You can ask to live by yourself or love someone else and I'll support it
You can ask for anything you want anything at all and I'll understand it
(and there are no strings attached to it)

You owe me nothing for giving the love that I give
You owe me nothing for caring the way that I have
I give you thanks for receiving it's my privilege
And you owe me nothing in return

I bet you're wondering when the next payback shoe will eventually drop
I bet you're wondering when my conditional police will force you to cough up
I bet wonder how far you have now danced you way back into debt
This is the only kind of love as I understand it that there really is

You can express your deepest of truths even if it means I'll lose you and I'll hear it
You can fall into the abyss on your way to your bliss I'll empathize with
You can say that you have to skip town to chase your passion I'll hear it
You can even hit rock bottom have a mid-life crisis and I'll hold it
(and there are no strings attached)

You owe me nothing for giving the love that I give
You owe me nothing for caring the way that I have
I give you thanks for receiving it's my privilege
And you owe me nothing in return

Isn't that what real love and friendship at the truest level is like? We have been very fortunate, as we go through these very difficult times, to be surrounded by a special few who we are able to completely be this way with. It goes both ways. Anything is ok between all of us. We truly accept each other, and put no expectations on how the other will act or react, handle or mishandle situations, make good or bad choices or decisions, or anything else. We simply love each other unconditionally.

That unconditional love has utterly changed our lives. Irreversable change has occurred in my heart. I am no longer content with superficial relationships that are prone to offense, disappointment, disillusionment, unrealistic expectations, masks, and so much more. It is so comfortable and safe to be with friends who truly love you, and to be able to still be safe and secure, even when I am at my very worst.

To Greg & Jodie, I will forever be grateful. Their love for us, and friendship with us, has been truly one of a kind. They have seen my best and worst, and yet, they have loved me unconditionally. I am thankful they were able to hang in there with us when most others disappeared. Our love for them has grown as well. There has never been a place for judgement or correction or "fixing" - we just hang out, enjoying each other, sharing in each others' lives. They are our family in the truest sense of the word. We are blessed and our lives are richer for knowing them.

Jeff

Represent = RE-PRESENT?

What do we represent?



















I've been thinking alot lately about the word "represent". What in the world do we really represent?


I broke the word down into two parts -
"re" - to do again.
"present" - to show or demonstrate.



So what do we really "re-present" to the world?


Do we present Christ again? Do we look like Him to the world?


Do we "re-present" anything? or possibly even "mis-re-present" something or someone?

Perhaps what we "re-present" is the core of what we really love and believe, about what is important, about the world, our God, ourselves and others.