Not Afraid, Not Alone

I have a heart for inner city kids, when I was in college doing my education degree (I had to leave during the recession), my first practicum was at an inner city school. A lot of the kids come from broken homes, a number don't know their moms/dads, or barely know them. They don't have any positive influence in their lives, and some make bad choice, either for attention, or the impression they've been left with. It breaks my heart on a daily basis seeing kids go through this. My eyes are not dry, my heart is definitely broken, my emotions run wild, my passion flares up, and I get raw and down to the point with this. These kids need someone, they need hope, and a light in their life. They don't need punishment, or this reform school garbage. They need love, because they ain't gettin it any where else. They end up going to the wrong places looking for acceptance, for love, for some fake level of 'you did alright'. There is an attack on our Youth today, turning them into lifeless zombies drifting through life, numb and cold. Things need to change. Please help me; help me spread hope. Help me bring life to young men and women who feel their life deep down, means nothing. Help me, make a difference. 

**I wrote the words previous, and following this in raw aggression and desire for a change. Everything I say is real, pass it on.

When I slip into ignorance, complacancy surrounding me
I go numb, don't know what's goin on.
Ignorance is bliss, can I keep living like this?

When I see the hurt, when I see the pain
I know there's a God, he couldn't be more real to me
Cuz I know that when there's pain in the night, Joy comes in the morning
There is a hope, I'm not afraid, I'm not alone, I'm not afraid, not alone.

In the pain and the suffering, I know what hope will bring
I'm not alone, I'm not afraid.
I got the Lord Almighty by my side.
I'm not alone, not afraid.

Though the world is dark, cold, falling apart,
Here in His presence, He comforts me.
No mourning in Heaven, He'll wipe away my tears
I will rejoice, I will rejoice
I'm not afraid, I'm not alone.

Musical Tastes

Music is very much about taste.  To declare one genre greater than another is foolish.  Genres vary, and some genres are a result of preceding genres.  We would not have Metal today, if it were not for the Rock and Roll movement before, and the Blues/Jazz movement.  And those genres wouldn't exist if it wasn't for classical composers such as Beethoven and Bach the "rock stars" of their day.

This is something that always gets me going when I hear a comment like "(INSERT GENRE)sucks" or, I hate "(INSERT ARTIST)".  They don't enjoy the style of the artist, or the genre, and thus deem it to be musically unworthy of consideration.  I'm not a fan of Ke$ha, or Lady Gaga, or any of those artists, it's not a genre I'm in to, or artists I'm a fan of.  I won't discredit them, they obviously know what they're doing with sold out shows and high Record Sales.

One artist in particular has been up for discussion in my circle of friends lately, (please keep in mind we're all twenty something musicians), Justin Beiber.  Ever since JBeibs entered the music scene he's been the brunt of jokes and criticism as well as critical acclaim.  His music? Not really my taste.  He was discovered because of his voice, I personally as a musician can not discredit him for that.  It was talent that got him where he is, regardless of what pop culture has done with his abilities (unfortunate really).

This brings me to what I think is my final point; Different Strokes, for Different Folks.  You may not like Country (a lot of my friends don't), You may love Hip Hop (I don't).  I have a lot of Metal Head friends (I'm not one), You may not like Hard Rock (It's my favourite).  We all like different music, and as a musician I see it a lot.

Body Of One

If you see someone is having a hard time, go to them, help them. If they're in a low point in their life, go to them, lift them up. Do not wait until it is fixed and rejoice with them. But mourn with them as they are in the former, do not simply go with the latter. 1 Corinthians 12


We are one body unified in Christ, yet we live so much in opposition to this.  We hold grudges against each other in church for almost anything, jealousy runs rampant when someone receives something we don't, we hope others put forth a hand to those in need.  A body works as one, the church is a body, we should be one.


I was going through a difficult time for a while, I suffer from random stints of depression, that was coupled with being unemployed for 8 months.  Everything started going uphill when a young lady my age mentioned to me that it she was glad to see me happy because she knew I was going through all that stuff.  Now this isn't all about me, but it got me wondering, do we do that?  Do we see someone suffering, and hope someone else will fix it?  Psychologists call it a diffusion of responsibility. How it works: Group A (the larger the better) sees Person B in a crisis of some sort.  The larger group A is, the less likely someone is to help Person B during said crisis.  Studies have been done on this, an opposing idea has not yet come up.  Are we mingling into the crowd to not stick out?  


The bible calls us to something else.  We are called the light and salt of the Earth (Matthew 5), we are set apart and called to be different and to make a difference.  So I wish to issue this challenge, when you see someone going through a challenge, walk WITH them, not around them.  


1 Corinthians 12:26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.