what is left of tres kennedy

Last night, President Obama reported that Bin Laden was dead. No big deal right? Wrong.

So many people began to post saying they were happy that he had died, and it made my heart hurt.

I tweeted this:

“Heart breaking to see people celebrate a death and say thank God for it…terrorist or not completely uncalled for.”

It got a big response, I posted on Facebook as well but deleted it because of how bad it got.

After thinking more about it and talking to a few friends I have come to the realization that some of my comments were wrong.

Here is where I was wrong:

1. Lumping everyone who was celebrating into one big category of super right wing rednecks. I did not take into realization all the people who were celebrating for the right reason. (Yes there is a right reason) Celebrating what the death stood for (years of torment, hearts broken from family deaths, terrorism) all of these things coming to closure in some ways and a step in the right direction for others…for good overcoming evil. For those reasons celebration is necessary, but I put everyone into the same category of celebration from a man’s death because that’s how America rolls…there are a good number of people in this category, not everyone though so I am sorry for that.

2. My sarcasm. The tragedy of 9/11 will never be forgotten by me or my family because my uncle fought for our freedom because of this terrible day. This day means so much to people all over the country and beyond. It’s really not a joking matter and definitely not a place for sarcasm. What started from heart break out of loss of love for an individual regardless of past mistakes turned into an argument where I said some stuff that may have angered people. I was not posting or tweeting to anger anyone, I just could not take it seriously and I was wrong for that. People should not be offended because they are celebrating closure and so on.

3. I said it was uncalled for, should not be allowed, wrong, and called for silence. If you celebrated for any of the reasons I named previously then I apologize for telling you that you were wrong or that you should be silenced or that any joy you received from hearing the news was uncalled for. 

This takes a lot for me to admit.

I hope I have not lost respect from anyone, I did not mean to anger anyone in the beginning. I am only human and sometimes make mistakes believe it or not.

I love my country. I love the ones who fight so that I can tweet, post on Facebook, and write blogs that not everyone will agree with.

I do not celebrate this man’s death, but I do celebrate the closure from families and a step in the direction of ending terrorism.

peace be the journey.

///tres

Look at this face. How happy is he? You can make someone smile just like this. 

Right now, almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. That’s one in eight of us. Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.

So why me? Why help? I want my story to be different. I want my story to have meaning beyond Alabama. Water is simple, and without it we die. So what can you do to help me? For $20 you can give one person water for 20 yrs. But Im not even asking for that much, whatever you can give (more or less). Everything given goes straight to this cause and 100% of the money goes to build a well.

Im trying to raise $1000 for charity: water. I believe I can do this with your help. To help motivate, I am not shaving or cutting my hair for the duration of my campaign (2 months and 24 days). Why? Because I grow a terrible neck beard that looks terrible and my hair gets thick and waivy and looks stupid…it’s not about me though, Im wanting to humble myself and every day I wake up and look and the mirror and want to do something about the way I look, I will be reminded that I am doing something that is not about looks but far greater.

Please help me. Be part of my story. Make it your story.

go here. http://mycharitywater.org/hairandbeardforwater

peace be the journey.

///tres

I read recently that one of the biggest issues today in youth ministry is teens not having their own faith. And I have never really thought about that, but it is so true, even as I was growing up and a teenager, I realized I never really had my own faith. As the years have went by I have worked and studied and shaped my faith into something that is unique and a faith that I call my own. Not a faith that is the faith of my parents, or a friend, or something I heard my pastor say, or a podcast that I listened to. My faith is something that by really searching, and listening, and praying has become part of me.

I suddenly understand the danger that this issue has today. So many teens can put out there on twitter, or facebook, or tumblr what they believe and it just be nothing more than words typed on a keyboard. And that’s it, not understanding what they believe, believing in their faith, or fighting for their faith. So many nonbelievers today are so educated in why they do not believe and are waiting to rip into someone who is not sure why they believe other than their parents telling them to believe it. 

I am on a quest now to help teens search for their faith, understand their faith, and love their faith.

For me to do that, they will have to know my faith. So I’ve decided to take it a step further and put it out here for all to see. Without any further wait…my faith.

My faith is able to move mountains.

My faith is in a greater hope than this world.

My faith is in a grace that no human could possibly understand.

My faith is in a love that that I have never experienced from anyone else.

My faith is in a son that defeated death.

My faith is in a son that is returning for me.

My faith is in a creator who put me here for a reason.

My faith is bold.

My faith all I have.

My faith is what gets me through life.

My faith is like diving off a cliff and knowing I am falling into arms of love.

My faith is me.

peace be the journey.

///tres

Let’s start by saying I love my mac. It is a great computer (yes the price is high) but you will get your money out of it. There are so many great programs and things that you can do on it with such simplicity. I have a dear friend that will most likely chastise me for posting this but I am truly in  love…and this has nothing to do with the post. Just a random rant and intro for what was on my mind as I was putting a new cubs sticker on my mac.
I believe that things and people should have character. This is true with my mac, my car, and myself. All of these things are original, this picture shows things that really describe me. I love sports and foot obviously, if someone sees me driving they can also see this plus my love for music. What I am getting to is that these things define me. My car car and my mac both accomplish this…so what about me? Are my actions, what I stand for, what I believe…do these things define me…are they original or am I fitting some cookie cutter mold?
Too many people today are trying to be just like someone else. As times are changing more and more people are walking away from faith because it is the open minded, trendy, smart thing to do. Where is the character? Do not let people tell you what to do, what to believe. I know someone may read this and say that I am doing the exact thing that I am speaking against. I am not forcing anything on anyone, in the end the choice is yours. I cannot make that decision for you, I can only be a small voice added to the argument. But I would ask what is more open minded and close minded? Simply believing that this is it, nothing goes on after our last breaths are taken? Or having faith in something larger than humans all around the globe can wrap their minds around, believing that a man came to this world and lived a perfect life and died a crucial death, one that he did not deserve, for the sake of mankind, and rising from the grave and defeating death. Giving us a beautiful thing called grace to pardon us from a life sentence of pain, sorrow, and fear. So that one day we as the human race could live for all eternity in heaven, something we truly do not deserve. I only hope that you may see that you can be your own person and you can have faith. Be different. Be like a sticker on a computer. Be yourself.
In the words of the great Rhianna…”just live your life.”
peace be the journey.
///tres

Now there are way more than 10,000 apps for the iPhone. Try over 750,000 apps. Let’s start off first by saying I love my iPhone. By far the greatest purchase I have ever made for a phone. The number one reason I love it is because of it’s simplicity. But that is another post for another day. Today I want to write about the apps. I would go out on a limb to say there is literally an app for almost anything you can think of. You can tell a lot about a person by the apps they have on their phone. If someone has one of these apps then you might want to gently put there phone down and walk away. Here are my top 5 favorite apps. Go get them if you don’t have them and have an iPhone. If you don’t have an iPhone you are missing out and go get one.

1. Pandora

2. Angry Birds

3. Twitter

4. Catalyst

5. Relevant

what’s your favorite app?

///tres

I am finally on Summer vacation. I am really trying to get done with school while I am a part time student pastor. Which if you are in ministry you know that there is no such thing as part time. Im ready to be done with school for many reasons, but all the more I have really enjoyed George Jefferson State. With the weight and stress that comes with youth ministry and being a college student, I can’t help but think how great God is. Because regardless of the hours I am spending on school work or the hours and days spent on youth ministry this is my story. A story that I love, and the story I am telling daily with my life right now. One day I will end this chapter and start something new but until then I have to create and keep this story interesting.

I might try and add some adventure that involves a sea vessel lost in space trying to save all of mankind with my trusty sidekick gold fish. Who knows what will be in my story, but I guarantee that I will love it. 

How is your story coming along? Embrace it. Create it. Love it.

peace be the journey.

///tres