We need Heroes!

It doesn't matter if you can fly or run at super speed. The only superpower you need is compassion and an ambition to do good!

Calling all heroes. We need you to save the world!

To Save a Life

2010 February 1
by G.J. Frye

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2009 December 25
by G.J. Frye

‘Twas a Night Before Christmas (Rewrite)

2009 December 15

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the land
Not a creature was hoping, not a single man.
The temples were hung with an aura of guilt,
But unknown to all, a Kingdom would soon be built.

The people were settled all snug in their inns,
While it was Mary and Joseph whose worlds began to spin
But a keeper, so kind, gave them his stable to stay
Where they had to settle amongst all of the hay

When out in the fields there arose such a chorus,
I looked with my sheep to see what was before us.
Down from the heavens they flew like a flash,
Tore open the veil as though opening a sash.

High above all they gave off such a glow.
They gave the illusion of mid-day to shepherds below.
Then, what to my wondering ears should be heard,
But a resounding declaration of hope to be stirred.

With such gracefulness, as lively as youth.
I knew in a moment it must be the truth,
More rapid than eagles His angels they came,
They sang, and they sang, and called out my name!

“Now hear, all! now hear, all! now, a baby is born!
On, Earth! In David’s town! on his body cloth only worn!
Joy to the world! Shepherds hear our call!
Now dash away! Dash away and tell them all!”

As fast as they came, back to the heavens they did fly,
They met not an obstacle, as they mounted to the sky.
So up to the heavens the messengers they flew,
With the good news of God, of Jesus Christ, too.

And then, with a twinkling, a star above roofs
Which caused the pawing of all my sheep’s hoofs.
As I raised up my head, and was turning around,
Down from the town my brothers called what they found.

He was wrapped all in cloth, in the manger he was put,
And his parents seemed tired from a journey on foot.
A bundle of joy as he laid on his back,
And he looked so peaceful, for being in a hay stack.

His eyes-how they shined! his hands reached for Mary!
His skin was so soft, his nose like a berry!
His small little mouth, he opened up so slow,
And the yawn of his lungs was more pure than I know.

The thumb of his hand he held tight in his lips,
And my heart could not keep from its skips
As his smile covered his face, what did he utter,
But a beautiful laugh, which caused me to stutter!

He was chubby and round, a healthy baby boy,
And I cried when I saw him, for I was filled with joy!
Such a silent night and holy halo above his head,
Soon gave me to know I had awoken from the dead.

He spoke not a word, but stared intently at us all,
And lifted up our hopes, for he would never fall.
And waving his hand at us, I knew for sure,
Jesus’ love for me and my soul was already secure!

The first Christmas has come and now I write this epistle,
As I think about my Lord and my sins’ dismissal .
For He came to say a blessing for more than a day,
He came to say, “I am the life and the truth and the way.”

Inconsistent.

2009 November 6
by G.J. Frye

I think I may have just taught myself a lesson. Inconsistency is the biggest way to alienate anyone. I’ve been inconsistent in posting on this blog. I gave up at one point. But I will not fail to remain loyal to those that do read my blog. I want to be here to offer food for thought for those that are chasing after the same goal as I: Revival. My revival is Jesus. The one truly consistent person in my life. I love Him, and because of my love for Him, I want to love on all of you. So what do you say? Give me another shot at speaking to your hearts?

I’m going to do my very best to offer a consistent flow of creativity for you, check back more often, I promise there will be something at least once every few visits you make.

God Bless,
GJ

The War

2009 September 8

Gunfire was flashing in the distance.

I had been kneeling for some time behind the wreckage of a tank in the middle of a street trying to sum up the courage to tread alone in the open. Explosions from buildings over miles away put me on edge. Anxiety swelled in my soul.

How had I become so helplessly alone? The unit I had been ambushed and somehow I had been knocked unconscious and left for dead. I awoke to see my companions with the flesh torn from their bones by bullets.

I whispered a silent prayer for each of them.

I had come to this place of terror as a journalist. I wanted to shine light on what was going on. Why? I don’t know. To give hope? Courage? Perhaps I was being selfish and just wanted an adventure. Either way I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

Jesus, I need your peace.

After quickly cleaning off a handgun that had been lying nearby, I said a prayer and rushed to the wall of a building parallel to me. No one shot at me. I peered through a blown out window. Still, no one shot at me. I climbed through the window into the room. Again, no one shot at me.

When you’re on a roll, you’re on a roll.

The room was some type of lobby. Rubble was scattered around the room and patches of the walls and ceiling were blown out. It didn’t seem to want to collapse though.

I ventured further into the building, through the first door, it led to a hall. This building had a familiar feel to it, though it looked strange and abandoned. The last door on the right was the only one left unlocked, I carefully inched the door open. It was dark. I pushed the door open the entire way.

Upon the floor, someone had fallen, blood was evident. I lowered my gun.

The figure stirred, moving me to raise my gun, but as I did so the person turned over and I could see the face clearly in the light from the hall.

A child. A beautiful little girl. She didn’t seem scared though. I once again lowered my gun, feeling guilty. Her eyes were saddened more than anything. Being in a foreign country, I wasn’t sure how well she would be able to speak English, so I spoke slowly.

“Hello, I don’t want to hurt you, where are your parents?”

She, to my surprise, spoke English quite well. “They are gone, they were fighting against you’re Americans, but lost, they are dead.”

I knelt down next to her. “I’m sorry,” What I said felt like a begging whimper, “is there anything I can do?”

“Bring them back.”

My heart broke. “I can’t, I’m sorry.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. I went to pick her up to take her for medical help, but she refused, saying, “I don’t want to leave, I’m in my Father’s house. He will take care of me.”

“But I thought you’re father was dead?” I asked gently.

“My Father is alive,” she pointed upwards at the wall.

A cross. This was a church building. The war that I was supporting was killing my brothers and sisters. I felt as if I had pressed some kind self-destruct button on the Body of Christ.

The little girl, reaching out with her arms, grabbed the crucifix around my neck. “Why do you kill us? Is not the christian way to be a peacemaker, for they will be blessed?”

This time, tears welled up in my eyes and I began to sob. The little girl drew herself to her knees and embraced me.

She whispered into my ear, “It’s okay, America, I forgive you and I still love you.”

His Megaphone

2009 August 13

I had once again found myself walking alone. The once homeless man who had been following me disagreed with a few of my beliefs, so we agreed to disagree and we went our separate ways because as long as we still loved Jesus, we would still be brothers despite minor differences.

I had been traveling the path for days on end without a break from a terrible storm, there was no place for me to find shelter from the conditions, either.

I couldn’t help but stumble.

At one point I twisted my ankle, I fell to the ground and my cross hit the mud with a splash. I had fallen in agony. Tears streamed down my face and onto to my once white shirt. I was soaked from head to toe and stained with mud. At that point I would have done almost anything just to be in a warm home, safe and secure from the weather. I began to doze off, dazed and confused.

Dirty and suffering.

Just a few days previous the sun was bright and a cool breeze made the temperature perfect as it whispered in my ears of God’s amazing beauty. Clouds were white and each one had a silver lining. Now the clouds were a dull gray mass that filled the sky. When they first turned dark the whispers of God’s magnificence grew to an easily heard voice but the rain quickly drowned that sound out.

I attempted to stand but my ankle had begun to swell and I fell to the ground cutting open my hand. I wanted to stop but I knew that I had to keep going.

I grabbed my cross and with all effort pulled myself to my feet. The cross dug into the cut in my hand and I gasped for air but water filled my mouth and lungs and I once again fallen to the floor. I couldn’t make it. I had no energy left. My vision dimmed as I realized I had been pierced in the side by a sharp stone from the fall.

This was it. All my knowledge, wisdom, perseverance, it was for nothing. It meant nothing now. I wouldn’t make it to where I needed to be.

“Dear God, I need you.”

Then a sound. It resonated in and surrounded my mind and my being. It seemed to have no point of origin and at first I couldn’t understand what it was. But then words formed from the chaotic melody. Words that could only make sense to me.

As the message became more clear I realized where it was coming from, it reverberated from each drop of blood that spilled from my wounds. From each pulse of agony from my ankle. The longer the song lasted the more I realized it had been playing all along, I had simply been deaf to it.

God was calling me and although I didn’t mean to, I ignored Him. I had rejoiced in Him when the sun was shining down on me and the world was all that it should be, but as soon as God through something else into the mix, I had, at once, failed the test.

With God’s strength, not my own, I was able to stand. With God’s strength, not my own, I was able to walk forward. Within steps I was out of the rain. I looked back, the storm still raged on but I was not under it. Something was marked on the road in large letters. Suffering.

If it wasn’t for the pain, I never would have realized what my heart should have been saying all along: “Lord, Blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering.”

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.  -C.S. Lewis

Be still

2009 August 7

On the path I had a dream…

I dreamed of a man on his knees. He was praying to God, almost shouting. In fact, his voice was drowning out another voice. Jesus’. Jesus was off to the side, trying to get the man’s attention. The man was shouting, though, there was no way he could hear God’s call.

Jesus looked saddened.

The man had no idea. He stopped and then Jesus, full of hope, began to speak but the shouting started up again, louder than ever.

He was shouting his pain and issues and questioned over and over as to why God would not answer his prayers. Kneeling, he explained he was losing faith. He stood and screamed to the sky. Jesus walked over to the man and tried speaking again but the man kept walking around.

I was actually starting to get mad. Why couldn’t this man notice what was right in front of him?

Jesus, dismayed, fell to his own knees and prayed. Jesus, he was still and silent in his prayer. Suddenly, after an undetermined length of time, Jesus stood. He moved swiftly into the man’s path.

Before the man could go a different direction, Jesus bellowed,”BE STILL AND KNOW, THAT I AM GOD.”

The man stopped his ranting, stopped his anxious movements, and fell to his knees. Awestruck. Waiting. Still.

Jesus began to answer the man’s every prayer.

Will Work 4 Change

2009 July 20
by G.J. Frye

I had, once again, found myself traveling the path alone. I had been walking with Faith for awhile but she needed time to sort things out by herself, so we agreed to meet up again. I could only hope that she would find her way and we would once again travel together.

Lost in my thoughts and constantly maneuvering the cross on my shoulders to keep from getting too sore, I almost missed a man who had camped out just off the path. He was holding up a cardboard sign that read “Will work 4 Change” and he seemed to be lost in a daze.

My feet seemed to stop in front of the man and as they did so my hand reached into my pocket. It seemed like a simple reaction. A little mercy offering to a man in need. My hand enclosed around air. My pockets were empty. I had nothing to give. Or did I? I saw something flash across the man’s eyes as he looked into my own. Namaste. Words echoed around in my head. “Whatever you do for the least of these, you have done for me.”

There was nothing I could give, though. He was willing to work but I had no change. I smiled sadly at the man and turned to walk away, feeling terrible that I got his hopes up. The man’s shoulders slumped and his head sunk.

My heart broke seeing his hope diminish.

I set my cross down off the path and sat next to the man. His head was still down. I thought for a moment.

“What kind of change are you seeking?”

“Any kind.” He whispered without looking up.

“How hard are you willing to work?”

“As hard as it takes.”

“Leave your sign and follow me.”

“I will, thank you.”

And with that exchange of words, the two of us set off and the man stood tall, for he had hope that he would finally be able to change.

If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.

Building the Bridge

2009 July 17

I’m traveling this path with my entire focus on Him. However, loving Him means loving what He loves. Therefore, upon this path I must seek those in need, rather than letting them seek me.

At one point upon my journey I was traveling with a rather large group of people. They all spoke of doing amazing things along the journey. They had their heads held high and pointed straight ahead. Focusing on the light ahead and ignoring the darkness trying to invade their vision. I did, as well. But then something caught the corner of my eye. Like a hook it whipped my face to the right as my feet continued moving forward and I fell to the ground. The group I was with continued onward. I yelled but they were too focused on moving forward rather than helping me or anyone else for that matter.

The sight that captured my attention was an island just far enough out of reach so that I couldn’t jump onto it. The island was deserted, save for one soul.

Now you may assume that the person on the island was ragged or deformed in some way to make them unwanted but there was nothing that seemed uninviting about her. She was attractive, clean, and smiling. But there was something about her eyes. They didn’t match the rest of her appearance. They were filled with a completely blank stare. That’s when I noticed that she wasn’t moving either. She made no effort to get off the island.

Maybe she didn’t know that there was something else other than that island. Maybe she thought she was alone in the world.

I tried waving to her. Shouting didn’t work. Jumping up and down was in vain. Numerous travelers walked by and no one else seemed to care that she was there. Despite all of my efforts, no one noticed her nor did she notice anyone else. She just kept smiling and standing there motionless with that blank stare.

I looked left and right but there was nothing to use as a bridge to get to her. Angered but the continual flow of people walking by I grabbed one person and asked them why they wouldn’t notice her. They said they saw no one and continued walking.

I fell to my knees and prayed to God that He would provide a way for me to reach her. During my prayer, I became aware of the cross that I had been carrying on my shoulder. I had been carrying it for so long that it became comfortable, that I didn’t even notice it anymore.

I hefted it from my shoulder to the ground. It wasn’t big enough to reach across. And so I asked God, knowing full well that if it got bigger than I would be in some discomfort for the rest of my journey, that He would increase the size of my burden so that I could reach the girl.

It grew tremendously to the point that it could easily reach both sides. I walked across and stood in front of the girl, not sure what to do. Out of instinct I hugged her, because I felt like that’s what Jesus would do. (WWJD? seems to be a popular yet highly unused idea.) She blinked and her smile faded. Her face turned to an expression of confusion and then warmth. She realized what I had done for her and she gladly followed me to the path I had been on.

I retrieved my cross, which had doubled in size, and hefted it on my shoulder. The journey would be uncomfortable but sometimes that’s the price to pay to be a true disciple of Jesus. The girl, coincidentally named Faith, had her own cross to carry now. We began walking, once again, towards the light.

Is your cross comfortable?

Sometimes we need to get uncomfortable in order to help those that really need us.

The Path I Travel

2009 July 13
by G.J. Frye

The day seemed bright and the future looked hopeful as I traveled down a narrow road that was sure to have obstacles.

It would rain but the rain would always end. There would be danger but I would always be safe. There would be death but I would always find life. I would meet others on that narrow road but sometimes they were heading in the wrong direction, sometimes I could persuade them to change directions, sometimes I couldn’t. I used to occassionally stray from the road and wander into an aimless direction, those times were unpleasant. But they happen less frequently now.

Sometimes when I grow too weary to continue on I am given rest and comfort. When I feel that I am lost in chaos, peace comes to me when I ask for it. I have a map to guide me, as well a compass. I always travel in the direction of the rising Son. Sometimes I sing, sometimes I play instruments, but I am not limited to that in finding joy and praise for One that calls me to my destination. By simply walking towards Him I find a way to worship.

It is important that I have others with me at times to help me when I need them. But is also important at times to walk alone. But I am never truly alone.

Someday I will reach gates and I will find a book. My name will be written in that book and I will walk through those gates and I will stop searching, for on that day I die but I finally experience true life, that will last forever.

What path do you travel?