ten.

I am so tired.
I feel like I am fighting against the tides. You are thwarting my best efforts to create change, but I will not give up on you.
Every time I think you are close to acceptance you say something that sets us back two spaces. I will not stop loving you. I will not stop trying to see the best in you. I will not stop praying for you and blessing your family.
I am sitting here with my cats, and I am wondering what would happen if they treated each other like you treat people. I think how my house would be a wreck and then we would be standing around staring at them asking for an explanation. They, of course, would not answer and we would be left to pick up the mess.
I am offering to pick up the mess with you, but what I demand that the cats can't give me is an explanation. Please, explain to me why you think it is OK to tear apart our church in the name of Christ when Christ said division is bad. Why do you choose to exclude the "counter culture" when Christ was considered "counter culture" in his day? There is plenty of room in the church pews for people of all walks of life, yet you are content to let starving people sit outside because they make you feel uncomfortable. Put aside the fact that that is not only blatantly against scripture and try to understand that could be you. Would you change who you are for the people who exclude you? Would the fact that people yell at you and tell you that you deserve to die want to change how you live your life? I would say more than likely not.
Have compassion. Our generation is dying a spiritual death because you wont tell them about the saving truth until they "clean up" their "lifestyle." Do you see the misguidance in that? I do.
God have mercy on those who boast in themselves and not in the Lord. I have been sent with a message and I will happily help you clean up the mess. Whats your explanation?

Yours freely,
Tennessee James

nine.

So my friend Anna asked me to write a letter to the President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for her and some of the other Equality Riders to read as they are performing civil disobedience on that campus. Here is the letter I wrote.

President Patterson and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary,
I am writing to you today as a student who goes to a school that holds discriminatory policies against me. I was raised by a father that studied at your school when I was a child. We lived in your family townhouses and I was raised with your teachings and theologies. I can tell you as a kid who grew up in that environment that I was taught to love God with my whole heart. I was told that if I simply believed in my heart, and confessed with my mouth that he is Lord then I would be saved. Why then do you and other teachers of the word of God say that it takes more than that to call yourself a Christian? You will try and quickly correct me by saying that that is not what you believe, but every time you say you respect without accepting people for who they are is saying to me that you view me as less than the person God has made me to be.
Galatians says that when you teach salvation is found in anything else other than the saving grace of Christ it is a lie. What I am asking you to do today is put aside all the extra stuff you hold over people and remember that we are all one in Christ. We are no longer Jew or gentile, free or slave, male or female but we are all true children of Abraham and are now covered by the covenant that was made by him and God. What I ask of you today is simple. Remember that I am your sister in Christ. Remember that I believe in the same Savior that you trust for your salvation. Now with that being said, I ask you to accept my friends onto your campus and have a discussion with them about the issue at hand. I can tell you as a young lady I grew up with a very negative view of the church because for the majority of its people there is no room for discussion and the possibility that different does not necessarily mean wrong. Please listen to them as they speak about truth and love and know that they mean well and are not coming from a place of hatred but of absolute love for you and your students. Peace be with you, sir, and please know there are many of us that pray for you daily as you educate the future of our American church.
Peace and Truth to you,
Tennessee James

Short, sweet and to the point. I cannot wait to see change in the church.

Yours freely,
Tennessee James

eight.

Recently, I have found myself wanting to become more. Just more. I do not know what that means right now, but I know there is more. I want to be a part of more. I want to experience and see more.
I want to start taking chances that take me out of my comfort zone. I want to be challenged to not be afraid of anything.
I am ready to take on the world. Just let me do it in a peaceful, nonviolent way. Pray that I do not stop for anyone or anything. Pray that I will jump hurdles and climb over obstacles.
This is the time for action and I am ready to take on this challenge. Now, I am looking for people to take on this adventure with me. Will you be one of those?

Yours freely,
Tennessee James