Love me like a river does...

If there is a basic underlying theme or pulse to humanity, it would be love, or the lack thereof depending. Nothing inspires humanity more than this. From poetry to literature to film to music to intimacy to passion to compassion, nothing grasps hold of the human heart, soul and mind more than love. It ignites and stirs feelings that words are not adequate to describe, and causes us to respond to its calling in ways we never would otherwise. To reach beyond our mortal selves and touch the soul of another, a lasting legacy of who we are and who we strive to be. Love carries risks. No, love makes it possible for us to take risks.

Love can be awesome and devastating at the same time. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and so with this also comes the negatives of rejections, loss, frustration, guilt, anger, resentment, which plays out through the same venues listed above. But at its core, it is Love that defines us. Love of others, ourselves, our neighbors. The absence of this love can also define us.

Thanks to endlessly restless at endlesslyrestless.blogspot.com for introducing Melody Gardot, a beautiful young lady who has a very sultry voice which stirred me when I watched the video link. It is very passionate. My favorite video with her singing "Love me Like a River Does" is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFjoEl1sk1Q. Very stirring. Very beautiful. Very passionate. So pull up a chair, have a glass of merlot and enjoy!

I think I could actually live a major part of my life off of the philsophy of the words of this song and the words of the video.

~npp

F the Police

F the Police. I saw this line in someone else's blog, and I have to admit it made me a little uncomfortable. It was in context with a musical festival which featured rap music. I like to think of Rap as missing one crucial letter - C, at the beginning. But I have to admit that I like some of it. Tobi Mac for instance. The "C"Rap I dislike is that which spews the message of hate. F the Police. Or hoes and bitches, a total disrespect for the femine influences in the world. What's ironic is that a majority of these "C"rappers were more than likely raised by a woman, either an aunt or grandmother. Not their dad. I work with these troubled youth and I understand their anger. A lack of a secure and affirming family structure of epidemic proportions in this culture is breeding anger. It is creating a self sustaining pattern of fatherless homes. It is bad. I do not, however, condone their message of violence.

And I was thinking about F the Police. What does that mean? The Police are nothing more than a reflection of the culture at any given time in history. The institutional enforcement of the norms of society. They are not an autonomous group out there on their own. They are legislated, regulated, and given the stamp of approval by whatever governing body who are voted in by the populace. So do we totally label (and you know how I hate labels) Police by one individuals dealings with a bad officer? Do we label all Christians by the actions of One Christian (you can fill in the name)? Do you wished to be viewed by the actions of Rev. Wright, or Jerry Falwell, or Benny Hinn, as representative of what YOU are? (Plug in your profession, and now think of someone who isn't representative of your ethics in that profession, and you see the point.)

I know many police officers. They have families. They attend church. Many are bi-vocational pastors, big brothers & big sisters, deacons, food bank volunteers, givers. A positive influence in their world. Most got into that line of work because they are servant hearted. Like Christians SHOULD be. They are geared toward helping people. Yes, there are some that are in it for the power trip. Met them too. I have also met pastors who share these same traits - both servant hearted and egotistical. I do not hear of many of these young rappers with the aforementioned attribute of servant heartedness. It appears that most come from their own ego's and extremely worldly motivated by perceived power through violence, substance abuse, bling, and the degredation of women. This does not give legitimacy to their anger.

So F the Police? I think not. Maybe its F the Individual who will not take responsiblity for thier own actions. Maybe its F the People who enable others to use excuses as crutches for where they are. Maybe its F the Haters who build walls instead of bridges.

Word from the Prophet: If the message isn't love - then the message is wrong.