You can't make peace unless you have peace. That's what I was trying to say yesterday. Because, as always, you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. And here's the thing: We're effected by other people. We feed off of each other. If someone's running around like a chicken with their head cut off one of two things will probably happen. Either we'll get caught up in what they're doing (like a thermometer that takes the temperature of the room), or we'll be able to help them (like a thermostat that sets the temperature). And the important thing to remember here is that the fire in you is ALWAYS hotter than the fire you're in. What you've got is all-powerful. Because what you've got is love. Love is the trump card, if I can say it that way. Love wins. So while it IS appropriate to empathize with people... "Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep" (Romans 12:15 NLT)... the old saying goes, "I'll visit you at the bottom of the valley, but I won't make my home there." I think the we go through things for two reasons: 1. To learn and grow. 2. To be able to help others through the same things we've been through. So while it is appropriate to empathize with people, I think that connection is the launch pad to be able to then edify people. To say, "I'm right here with you... now let's go higher. Upward and God-ward." If someone's sad, let them be sad. I think this is going to be my next Rant series, and I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. But its ok to feel what you feel. Just don't let your emotions control you. Because love is not an emotion, as such. Love is a decision. A commitment. Love is when you count the cost and still give everything you have and everything you are no matter what. Love is not that fuzzy feeling you get when things are going good. Love is, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." And, as always, I'm not saying you should ever put yourself into, or stay in, a bad situation. I'm saying that even if someone is running around like a chicken with their head cut off... you can be still and know that He is God. You can be still and know that God is love. And you can let what's inside come out instead of letting what's outside fill you up. You're already full of it. You have already been given everything you will ever need. That happened when God gave the world His only begotten Son. Because He didn't want us to perish. He wanted us to have peace. Let me say it another way: "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). We have a High Priest who has been there, done that, and got the t-shirt. He knows what we're going through. And because He has already overcome it (and because He lives in us, and through us, and as us) WE have already overcome it. That inner peace is what equips and empowers us to go through things instead of letting things go through us (and wreck us). And once we understand that we've been through it and survived... that's when we can help other people get through it. That's when we can say, "I'm right here with you. I've been where you're at. I know the way." That's when we can make peace out of any situation. Because we HAVE peace. Because we are peacemakers. And that's how people will be able to identify us as the Son(s) of God!

Peacemakers will be KNOWN as the Son(s) of God, because God IS our peace. And what's inside comes out. When you know and believe its in there. Look at Philippians 4:5-7 (NAS), "Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Today I'm going to focus on God being YOUR peace, but only so that the God in you can be someone ELSE'S peace. Receiving and releasing, right? We have to know (and believe) there's something inside us before we can let it out. We have to HAVE peace before we can MAKE peace. We have to BE peaceful ourselves in order to BRING peace to others. Because you can't give what you don't have, and you can only give what you do have. Let me say it another way: "Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye" (Colossians 3:13). Our forgiveness comes from being forgiven. Our ability to be peacemakers comes from that peace that passes understanding. And, really, that's what peace IS. It is that inner calm when there is no rational reason to BE calm. It is letting what's inside come out, and affect what's outside, instead of letting what's going on around you dictate to you. its the difference between being a thermometer and a thermostat. One just takes the temperature. The other one SETS the temperature. And remember that Rant series I did about meekness? Meekness is not weakness. It is strength under control. It is being strong in the Lord and the power of HIS might. It is understanding that love is all-powerful. And while love isn't afraid to prove itself (HIMSELF), He also doesn't feel the need to force His own way on anybody. Love turns the other cheek, right? Love doesn't push back. Because when you push, usually only one of two things will happen: Either the person you push will push back, or the person you push will fall over. And from love's point of view, neither one of those outcomes are desirable. So what am I saying? Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. Don't be anxious. Let things be what they are. Seek first to understand instead of always trying to make square pegs fit into round holes. Just because something is right for you doesn't mean its right for everybody. Its ok to be different. So don't try to force things. Sometimes all you can do is plant a seed. And you might not ever see it bear fruit. But that doesn't mean it won't bear fruit. Some plant, some water, but God brings the harvest, right? Trust Him. Trust love. Love is the most peaceful thing there is. Because love doesn't demand its (HIS) own way. So let the peace of God reign in YOUR heart. Be still, and know that He is God. His peace will guard your heart and keep it open to love. So that you can receive it and release it. So that you can experience it. Experience the peace of God, and then share it. Let it in, and let it out. Then people will see who you really are. People will see God in you, because they will see love in you!

Peace is not just the absense of war. It is the presence of love. That's why, when we see in Matthew 5:9, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God," its important to catch that word "called." Because we ARE the Son(s) of God. That's the truth of the matter. But when we walk in our calling, when we let what's inside come out (by knowing and believing that its in there), that's when other people will know who we are. That's when other people will be able to identify us as the Son(s) of God. And remember what we were talking about yesterday, about loving someone and in that way bringing them inner peace? I don't think there's any better way to show someone God than to love them. To bring peace to a situation where there was none. To bring light to a situation where there was darkness. No greater love can a man have than to lay his life down for his friends, right? Giving someone everything you have and everything you are is my personal definition of love. But that doesn't mean you barrel in and try to bring peace through the use of force. Peace is about NOT escalating things. Turning the other cheek when someone hits you. Refusing to push someone, because you don't want them to push back, or fall down or run away. Sometimes we we want to help, but we end up trying too hard and we end up hurting. So we have to seek first to understand the situation. Because love IS the answer, but love can look different for each problem. People love differently, and people receive love differently. So what might bring peace in one situation could very well bring war to another. That's called being sensitive. That's called having wisdom. Letting a situation play out a little bit before you try to force it to be something its not. Letting people be who THEY are instead of forcing them to be who you want them to be. I've never been more frustrated in my life than when I tried to get people to do something they didn't want to do. Because at the end of the day we are who we are and we do what we want to do. And, yes, life is in large part about doing what you have to do... but we temper that with doing what we want to do as much as humanly possible. So if you're trying to make someone do what YOU want them to do, which goes against what THEY want to do... its not going to happen. They're going to push back. And that's the opposite of peace. That's the opposite of love. Love is NEVER about getting. Because love IS giving. Again, giving everything you have and everything you are. Without a thought about what comes next. You SHOULD think about how your love will be received, so you can have the right Word (which is Jesus, which is love) in season. But you can't worry about whether it will "work" or not. Because that's not up to you. You can't control how someone else will respond to your love. You just have to love them anyway. You just have to do your best and forget the rest. Be peaceful, and that peace inside WILL come out. And then people will know who you are. Even if they don't say, "He's a Son of God," maybe they'll say, "He's a really good guy." Or, "He sure does love people." And to me, that's the same thing!

Have you heard the phrase, "Keep your words soft and sweet, because you might have to eat them"? I think about that a lot. Not because I'm afraid of what I say coming back to bite me, but because I'm a pretty quiet guy. So if I AM going to say something, I want it to be edifying. Or, at the very least, funny. Helping or hurting, right? So I was thinking about what we say, and how we say it, and what we do... and I was thinking about Matthew 5:39, "But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." And I was thinking about Matthew 5:9, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." Basically, I was thinking about being gentle. Because a lot of the time it seems like we push people. And I'm not talking about stretching people. You can't grow unless you stretch past your comfort level. I'm talking about trying to get what we want from people. Its about all I see every day. Everybody trying to protect what they've got and also get more, more, more. Very rarely do I see the kind of selfless giving that IS love. And here's the thing: When you push someone, one of two things will happen. 1. They will push back. 2. They will fall over. Fight or flight, right? And neither one is a particularly good outcome. Helping or hurting. Helping yourself by hurting someone else? I don't think so. Helping yourself by helping others is how you truly help. Anyway, it occured to me that Matthew 5:39 is reactionary. What to do when someone pushes us. And that's great. We need to know what to do. Because, like I said, its about all I see everywhere I look. Hurt people hurting people. And if someone pushes you and you push back, you're just escalating the problem. An eye leaves everybody blind, right? But then I was thinking about Matthew 5:9, and how being a peacemaker doesn't have to be reactionary. We can get out in front of things AS the Son(s) of God. What's that old saying? Let prayer be first choice not last chance. Well, ditto for love. Love should be our go-to. And love doesn't demand its (HIS) own way. Love is gentle, and kind, and soft. A word in season, right? And the Word of God is the Word of Love. I've found that when it comes to arguing--which for the most part I plain straight will not do--its better to have the right Word than the last word. Its better to be kind than to prove someone wrong. I know we're taught that we have to be strong all of the time. I know we're taught that asking for help is a sign of weakness. But I believe asking for help is a sign of wisdom. I believe there is strength in vulnerability. If you can open up to someone and be real, that's when you can make a real connection. And if you can make a real connection with someone, that's when you can bring peace to someone. See, peacemakers don't necessarily need to get in the middle of two people who are at odds. Because sometimes we are at odds with ourselves. Sometimes we need someone to love us so that we can have a little bit of inner peace. And when that inner peace spreads, it will BECOME outer peace. What's inside WILL come out, when you know and believe its in there. So be gentle. Be kind. Love people first and foremost. Be a peacemaker, and people will KNOW that you are the Son of God!

I've been mentioning this verse for a while, might as well quote it and dive into it, eh? "For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged" (Romans 3:3-4). Kind of clunky, to be honest with you. Good old King James. Let's read it in the Message Bible: "So, what if, in the course of doing that, some of those Jews abandoned their post? God didn't abandon them. Do you think their faithlessness cancels out his faithfulness? Not on your life! Depend on it: God keeps his word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth. Scripture says the same: Your words stand fast and true; Rejection doesn't faze you." In other words, you can trust God because not only does He TELL the truth... He IS the truth. LOVE is the truth! Let me get one more memory verse in here: Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." He is unchanging. Unrelenting. He loves us no matter what. Every second of every day. No matter what we do, or don't do. Because love is unconditional. Paul wrote about how nothing--NOTHING--can separate us from the love of God. God's love--Jesus--lives in us. When God moved into the neighborhood (on the cross, when He drew us all into Himself and planted Himself in us all) He put down roots. He moved in and He isn't moving out. He will never leave us nor forsake us. I heard one preacher say it like this, "God is a stalker!" He doesn't give up on people. No matter what. And, to be honest, I'm pretty sure He likes underdogs. He likes to take people who don't want the spotlight and raise them up. Because its people who don't want the spotlight that are more ready, willing, and able to trust Him. And I'm telling you, God is less concerned with your ability than He is with you AVAILABILITY. "Here am I, Lord, send me," right? If you trust Him, and are willing to obey Him, HE will do what He required in you, and through you, and as you. HE will bring it to pass. LOVE will bring it to pass. Because that's His New Commandment for His New Man. His ONE New Commandment. And, yes, loving others as Jesus loves you comes in many shapes and sizes. That's the point. To live is to love and to love is to live, right? So His commandment is for us to LIVE. To live His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of Love by letting HIM live it (again) in us, and through us, and as us. Letting Him LOVE in us, and through us, and as us. We don't need to worry about what other people say or do. We can love them anyway. Because God keeps His Word no matter what. And His Word is love. Its the only Word He has ever needed. Let there be light. Let there be love. And once love was introduced into the scene--once the light of the world shined on us, and in us, and through us--that's when things were revealed to be in Divine Order. And here's the order: We love because He first loved us. He fills us up with His love and then we fill ourselves to overflowing with what we've been filled with. Let every man be a liar. Doesn't matter. Because God (LOVE) is the Way, the Truth, and the Life! Don't let rejection faze you. Let love consume you!

Obedience is a trust issue. Because the thing we are supposed to obey is the New Commandment. Which goes like this: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another" (John 13:34). Which really makes it pretty simple. Receive and release the love of God. Love people as much as God loves you. But that's where the trust comes in. Because if you don't know and believe the love of God, then you don't have any love to give anybody else. We love because He first loved us. We love Him because He first loved us. We love each other because He first loved us. We love Him BY loving each other because He first loved us. God doesn't require blind faith. He gave us something (someONE, Jesus, Himself, LOVE) to believe in. He showed us what love is by laying His life down for us on the cross. By giving His life for us, and giving His life to us. By wrapping us up in Himself, dying, and then coming back to life. So that we could have life more abundantly. So that we could have HIS life. His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love! And the way we live that life--the way we experience Jesus living His own life in us, and through us, and as us--is not by trying to get something. Its by giving what we've got. We experience the love of God when we love people. When we, again, love God BY loving people. When we share the gift we've been given. When we give it away. And I just want to put this out there: "Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him" (1 John 2:7-10). A few keys here: The "New" Commandment is really the ONLY commandment. "Let there be light." The first thing God is ever recorded as saying. And since God is light, and God is love, it could also be written as, "Let there be love." Because to be in the light means to be in the love. And if you're in the light you can see where you're going. If you're in the love you can't stumble or fall. Love holds us up. Love holds us together. Love is only thing that is truly trustworthy. Because love never fails. I mentioned this yesterday, and I think I'm going to hit it tomorrow to end this Rant series... let God be the truth and every man a liar. Let LOVE be the truth. People may let you down, but love never will. You can believe in love. You can have faith in God. Because He is faithful. You can trust God, because He is trustworthy. He doesn't expect you to do anything He hasn't already done. Love other AS He loves you. Just receive it and release it. Let it in (because it--HE--is already in) and let it out. Breathe it in and breathe it out. Trust that love will light the way. Follow your heart. Trust your gut. The deep calls out to the deep. And deep down we know what's real. We know what's worth putting our faith in. What's worth trusting. What's worth obeying. And its love. Its all about love...

The hardest thing, in my opinion, about trust is that once its broken it can never completely be put back together. That's why I stress so hard to my son that, "If you always tell me the truth, I'll always believe you." Once that doubt sets in its hard to root it out. Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice... shame on ME. That's why we think we guard our hearts by closing them down. We think not being able to get hurt (again) is what makes us strong. But true strength comes in doing things whether we might get hurt or not. True strength comes from being vulnerable. From putting yourself out there. Giving everything you have and everything you are whether its recieved or not. Trusting that the reward of something well done is in the doing. Its not the destination, its the journey. Especially when you consider that the gift of God that we've been given is eternal life. There IS no end. Its a never-ending life-long journey into the heart of the matter. Which is the heart. God's heart beating with love in our chests. So in reality we don't guard our hearts by closing them down. We guard our hearts by keeping them open. Open to love. Trusting love. Trusting God. And here's the thing: We might think differently in the heat of the moment, but God is completely trustworthy. He has never, and will never, let us down. Let me say it another way: "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5). And I know we always seem to focus on the never leaving nor forsaking part (its an important part, certainly), but I want to point out the be content with what you have part. Because that's why it seems like God lets us down sometimes. We want things to be a certain way, and when that doesn't manifest we shake our fists at the heavens and blame God. We think God is supposed to be our own personal genie and grant us wishes on our command. Let's get real for a minute. God does what HE wants to do. And luckily for us, what He wants to do is love the hell out of us. But that doesn't always (or barely ever, really) look the way we selfishly want it to. We want things to go the way we want them to go. And when they don't we usually take it pretty personally. When really its just life. Life happens. Whether we want it to or not. But that doesn't mean God hates us. It doesn't mean God let us down. Love never fails, right? So if we can trust ANYTHING... we ought to be able to trust love. The key is in seeing things through the doves' eyes of the Holy Spirit. Seeing things the way they really are. Seeing that all things work together for our good. Even when it doesn't seem like it possibly could be. I quoted this verse the other day, but it fits here and its still in my Spirit, "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive" (Genesis 50:20). In other words, let God be the truth and all men liars. Don't worry about what other people say or do. Let people say what they're gonna say. Let them do what they're gonna do. Turn the other cheek. Love them anyway. You don't have to trust someone that has burned you, but you can trust the fire that is God (that is love) to totally consume you!

If you trust someone, you'll do what they say. Obedience is as simple as that. We don't do it because we're trying to get something, or earn something. We do it because we know and believe our heavenly Father has our best interests at heart. That while we may THINK we know what to do... most of the time we confuse what we WANT for what we NEED. I want to connect two memory verses here. "Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him" (Matthew 6:8). Your heavenly Father, like any good father, knows what you need. And, like any good father, He has provided those things. We have everything we need. We have, past tense, been blessed with all Spiritual blessings. We have, past tense, been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. In reality, we don't need anything at all. We should probably just stop trying to earn what can't be earned (what we already have) and start enjoying the gift we've been given. By sharing it. By giving it away. And here's the other verse, which I think goes right along with Jesus' declartion of Papa God knowing what we need: "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure" (Isaiah 46:10). The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. The end was declared from the beginning. Not only does God know what you need... He knows everything else too. Nothing surprises God. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He IS the beginning and the end. The only thing in the world that God has CHOSEN to forget is your sin. Because He's not interested in that. We are so much more interested in "sin" than God is. He dealt with sin, or unbelief, on the cross by giving us something (someONE, Himself, Love) to believe in. He TOOK AWAY the sin of the world. And those who are born of God CANNOT sin. So we don't have to be afraid of God getting us when we mess up. On the cross, 2,000 years ago (and really before anything else ever happened), God got us. Jesus was lifted up from the earth and He drew us all into Himself. He said, "...I will do all my pleasure." And what pleased God was bringing humanity out of death--dead in our trespasses and sins before the cross--and into life. HIS life. His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of Love! That's why Jesus is (and we are) God's beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. Because let Himself be loved by God. He didn't try to earn it. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word (which is Jesus, which is love) of God. Jesus knew His Father loved Him, and He acted accordingly. Even in the garden of Gethsemane Jesus said, "Not my will but yours be done" (see Matthew chapter 26). Because He trusted His Father. He had faith in God. He had faith in love. Love will make you do some seemingly crazy stuff. Like laying your life down for your friends. Giving everything you have and everything you are without any thought of getting anything from anyone. Because you trust that love will lead the way. Because you trust your gut. Because you follow your heart. That's what it means to be obedient. Because that's what God wants you to do. He wants you to let Him love you, and He wants you to love Him back by loving others with that love! Trust me. Trust love...!

I think sometimes I repeat themes (and perhaps even titles) for these Rants... but I took to heart the advice my pastor gave me a long time ago: Preach it until your heart is empty of it. And these themes are the ones that I'm full of. The ones that can't help but overflow out of us. So if I've Ranted before on the trust issue we seem to have, I'm doing it again now, and will probably do it again later on. Because I think its important. Because obedience is all about trust. If you trust that your heavenly Father has your best interests in HIS heart, then you'll be willing and able to do what He says. And, spoiler alert, He only ever says one thing. He only ever wants us to do one thing. "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another" (John 13:34). That's about as simple as it gets. Let God love the hell out of you, and love the hell out of everybody you come into contact with. Receive and release the love of God. Share the gift you've been given by giving it away. Fill yourself to overflowing with what God has filled you with. Which is Himself. Which is His love. Isn't it interesting that the sum of the Law of Moses was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength? But the New Commandment (for the New Man) is to love ONE ANOTHER... and to love one another AS JESUS has loved us. The Law was all about what you could do. The New Commandment is all about what Jesus has done. In you, and through you, and as you. Its a complete and total shift from being self-centered to being Christ-centered (people-centered). From trusting ourselves... to trusting Him. Look at 1 John 4:16 in the NLT, which is my key verse for this Rant series: "We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them." Knowing and believing. Because you can't believe something you don't know. Because faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word (which is Jesus, which is love) of God. We know God loves us because He gave His life for us, and He gave His life to us. And we put our trust in His love. When He asks us (or commands us) to love... we know that He loves us. In truth, the only reason we CAN love is because He first loved us. Because love is giving. And you can't give what you don't have. You can only give what you do have. God gave us His love so that we could give it back to Him by giving it to each other. But you have to have faith in God. You have to have faith in love. You have to trust that love will light the way, and lead the way. You have to trust that you have everything you need. Otherwise you'll waste your life trying to be someone you're not in order to get something you think you haven't got. God doesn't want that for you. Jesus came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. A life of love. Being loved and loving others. Trust me... that's what its all about!

The fire in you is ALWAYS hotter than the fire you're in. That's why the three Hebrew boys weren't burned up when they were thrown into the fiery furnace--they were purified, and their bonds were burned off, but they came out smelling like roses. They weren't consumed by what was going on around them. They were utterly consumed by what was going on inside them. The Holy Ghost wildfire of love fills us to overflowing and doesn't leave room for anything else. When Jesus remade the world on the cross, He remade it in His image. Consumed everything else and left only Himself. When the gold goes through the fire... only love remains. And watch this: "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18). What we see is what we be. When we see the glory of the Lord in the mirror--in ourselves and in each other--what's inside comes out. And notice that we are not changed from crap to glory. We aren't bad and we don't need to become good. Good and evil are on the same tree. The tree of death. And when you eat ANY fruit from that tree... well, what else could come from the tree of death but death? God wasn't punishing Adam, He was trying to warn him. God's not waiting for us to turn over a new leaf. He wants us--like Zacchaeus--to come down out of that tree. Because He wants to abide in our house. See, its less important where we are, and more important where HE is. Because its like that old saying, "Wherever you go, there you are." When you know (and believe) that you are in Christ, because Christ is in you, it doesn't matter what's going on around you. Because what's going on inside you is all powerful. Because what's going on inside you... is love. A fervent love. A "no matter what" love. From a pure heart. And, as always, I want to say that loving someone doesn't mean putting yourself, or keeping yourself, in a bad situation. You can love people and not let them abuse you. You can love people without being a doormat. Remember, meekness is not weakness... it is strength under control. Sometimes the best thing you can do is let someone go. But I digress. What I'm trying to say to end this Rant series is that when you know who you are, it doesn't matter what anybody else says or does. You are not what people call you. But you ARE what you answer to. What you believe you are. If you let the world, or your mistakes, or your perceived blemishes define you... you'll always try to be someone you're not. And you'll never be able to enjoy the gift you've been given. But when you let the truth define you--that God is love, and He loves you... that God is love and He loves THROUGH you... that your heavenly Father loves you and is well pleased with you--that's when you've been purified. That's when you've been conformed into the image of God's beloved Son. That's when the love inside WILL come out. Because whatever we believe is inside DOES come out. It has to. We live from the inside-out, even when we let what's without dictate what we believe is within. But, again, when we know and believe that God's love is within... that's when pure love comes out of a pure heart. That's when the fire inside consumes everything else. That's when we can give everything we have and everything we are no matter what!