Wednesday, January 27, 2010

We Struggle, We learn, We Grow... -Tom Fritts

(Sometimes someone else’s story helps ours. A confusing young life can lead u to be a stronger person. There is more to a person then what you see on the outside. Things will happen in a persons life to make them the person they are. Why do we forget that? -Chris.)

We Struggle, We learn, We Grow, and We can be stronger because of it.

By Tom Fritts

I guess I don’t really know why I’m writing this. When Chris asked me to write for this page I didn’t know exactly what to write about. So what the hell, ill give it a try.
My life was pretty normal as a kid, hanging out with friends, legos, camping with the family, fishing trips. It seemed like a great start. Then age 14 hit. My father lost his job so he and my mom both started working day jobs. So money quickly became tight and tensions grew. I started isolating myself from the family, going to friends places all the time. By the time I hit 16 I started hanging out with the older kids some even in college. I experimented with alcohol and drugs. Constantly coming home late with a buzz on or skipping class. By this time I was trying to see where I stood even sexually. I guess I always knew I was different. My parents saw texts from a guy I was interested in on my phone and without me knowing started watching more closely. Sure enough they caught me with someone. Immediately they decided they needed to “fix” me. 3 times a week I had to meet with someone at a local church and talk about how im sinning and that I’m basically going to hell. Personally I never have believed in God. I believe in the science of evolution. So I just thought this lady was freakin’ nuts. Plus I had to waste a perfectly good Thursday night with her every week. I started skipping the meetings too, I hated that my home was so disapproving of me. So I went out even more. Going to college parties and trying anything my friends would hand me. I was actually having a good time with them. They didn’t give a crap what my sexuality or beliefs were. By the time I was 17 almost 18, my father kicked me out of the house when he caught me smoking in the bathroom with my friend.
I packed my things and moved into the basement of my friends place. It was a bit skechy but his mom was the sweetest person I ever met, she encouraged me to apply to schools, told me about industrial design, and told me that I had a natural talent for the career. Once I moved to NYC and started school here at the art institute I made my new family, my friends.. I couldn’t ask for more. Yeah maybe it’s a bit dysfunctional, but their all I have they support me, love me and care for me. We go out we party, concerts, prank and all the other stuff that people would see as trouble or “bad Kids”. Maybe I did make bad decisions. But I never would have done differently if I had another chance.
I try to call my home once a month, but usually I never get an answer.. so I leave a voice mail just talking about how my life is going. I know my mom loves me so much. And she always has. And god I miss her so much. I wish she stood up to my father and told me I could have stayed. I also talked to my younger sister regularly. She means the world to me, and she always will. Now that she’s gone. I have realized. Life is so short. And I’m not about to change for anyone.
I am happy with myself. Some may be disappointed or feel pity on my past, but I’m happy it happened. I could never be here right now. I’d rather not have life be easy. I’m so over people judging me and telling me how to live. That’s up to me. I don’t wanna deal with regrets when I’m older. I wanna do what I want now. Sometimes that’s where love starts. loving and accepting yourself.

Live life.. no regrets..

Tommy Fritts

Monday, January 25, 2010

The Common Cold



1. Where is the first character supposed to be? The first characters and all the characters are residents in a cold fictional town.

2. Is there a spiritual side about this? Yes. The town is cold because of their selfishness and they try to get warmth from blankets but it ends up not curing them, but actually making them more selfish.

3. Is it from a Bible verse? There are certain parts that were directly inspired by Luke 3:11-13, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." (the guy with a drawer full of gloves even though his neighbor has none, etc) and "Don't collect any more than you are required to" (the blanket salesmen)


4. When/where did you come up with the concept? There is a song called "A Comet Appears" by the Shins, and in that song there is a line that says "there is a numbness in your heart and it's growing", from that I started thinking about how numb we can be to loving people, sometimes we feel really compelled to love but then we bury it with something else, which makes our numbness grow. We distract ourselves from our true needs. Kind of like when we feel lonely we buy things for ourselves, instead of hanging out with people, we self-indulge, which makes us only more lonely.

5. What kind of camera did you use? I used a HVX-200, I borrowed it from The Red House arts theater, they are a Syracuse arts theater that helped me out so much with equipment.

6. Did you have help writing/brainstorming about it? Anything I write I run by friends and just telling them a verbal story helps out so much, but there are a few friends that really give some awesome advice so I call them all the time.

7. Whos' the older guy supposed to represent? The guy shoveling snow? He represents everyone's neighbor, the neighbor Jesus tells us to love. He has a need, and the first character sees that need, but decides he likes to keep his gloves for himself.

8. The guy stops when he comes out of the house, was he planning on shoveling and then saw the older guy and changed his mind? The first character leaves the house so he can meet the truck at the lot, on his way out he sees the shoveling neighbor and thinks about helping him but sees the truck and realizes that he doesn't have the time.

9. Were they expecting clothes or actually expecting blankets? They were expecting blankets. I didn't successfully establish that that box truck coming through town is a routine for them, they are used to following it to the parking lot.

10. Did they expect to pay for it? They did. If you notice the first guy that pays had money ready, but it ended up being more expensive than he was used to.

11. Is the house a metaphor/symbol for something else? The house is just a house, but in this story houses don't provide the warmth you expect from a house. Some people buy the nicest houses, with the nicest heaters and nicest carpets, but don't have any warmth in the house and it still doesn't feel like home. So in this film I wanted to show that if the cold is in their hearts, all the blankets and houses in the world won't warm them up.

12. Is the cost of comfort killing us? Sometimes, yes. Leaving a comfort zone is how you experience life. You cannot experience a roller coaster if you are too comfortable on the ground. And you won't experience the outdoors if you are too comfortable on the couch. This happens spiritually all the time, if we are too comfortable with what we know about Jesus, we don't challenge what we know to learn a bit more.

13. Do people think to much about their own comfort? I think so.

14. What are the blankets supposed to represent in the video? The blankets represent something different for each viewer. Some think they are drugs, TV, money, food and anything else. I think of them as addictions we have, they are different to each viewer. But the main point is they are just a quick distraction from their real need.

15. If we learned to show love more would the "coldness" go away? The people that don't love in real life are the ones that seem the most miserable and cold. The people that know how to love their neighbor because God, love himself is showing them, that is when you find someone with true joy.

16. How can we make the "cold" around us go away? I think we need to realize that all the blankets in our life are just distractions and turn away from them.

17. Is cold representive of Hate or loneliness in this video? I think selfishness is why we hate and hating is why we are lonely. I see hate/loneliness/selfishness in the same boat. There is a song by 4:37 called "Samuel's Son" in that song there is a line I think applies, "is it possible that loneliness is just a tomb, a symptom of our separation from you?". He is referring to separation from God. I think we all were born into a separation from God, just like cold is a just a lack of warmth, hate is a just a lack of love, the God that says 'I am love' we are separate from, we lack him, so selfishness is the lack of that love. Hate and love can't come out of the same source. If we lack true love and joy and we know it, I think it's important to face it instead of distract ourselves from that desire.

18. How long did it take to film? It took 4 days to film. The main shoot with all the extras took 12 hours in -10 degree weather, (it got colder when the sun went down).

19. How long did the whole production take? I released it one year after writing the script. I had the first draft edited within a month of the last day of shooting. It ended up taking a year because there was no budget, it literally cost me $50 bucks to make, (we had to fill the gas tank in the box truck), everything else in the film from cameras, to camera-cranes, to actors, extras and everything else were friends and family wanting to help out. Since the composer is a professional producer/sound engineer, and I couldn't pay him, he had to make the music when he wasn't working on other jobs. What also took time was that I have learned a ton about storytelling after I wrote this so I tried to fix a lot of the plot holes in the editing. I also had to color correct and other things. The composer, Elias Gwinn, finished that awesome score a long time ago, but I wanted to have real violins replace the midi/fake violin sounds, because we just had the midi violins as a temporary solution, but it got to a point where I though, "I need to release this film before it's out-dated on the things I have learned about storytelling and filmmaking". So I released it, nearly one year to the day from the first day of shooting.

20. What are the pictures near the end of the video that are covered up? The blankets on the wall arm attempts to insulate the house. In those attempts to warm things up they are separating themselves from their family photos and love. They are forgetting the memory of warmth and togetherness in attempts to warm up the house.


21. When they're covered up does it represent what we do with our loved ones sometimes, we shut them out? Yes, Exactly.


22. Do you think everyone will understand it? I don't, I think of 'The Common Cold' as a parable, Jesus told a bunch of parables and a lot of people didn't understand them, they had to ask him "what did you mean by that?". In Luke 8:9-10 The disciples asked Jesus what his parable meant and Jesus said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, " 'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand." I don't want my films to be spoon fed, there have been a percentage of people that don't understand any of this film, I think there are a lot of storytelling flaws that I could have improved and it's not the best told story, but I also think that some people don't understand it because they don't try to understand it. We have stopped thinking about the things in our lives. I think everything in our lives is a lesson but we don't see the lessons sometimes, we just see it as a tree or a squirrel or a rainstorm. All of Jesus' parables might make a good story to just listen to, but then you can think about it and it means so much more, and you can keep thinking about it and the metaphors he uses just expand when you allow them to.


23. Why do you think we search for comfort in material things? Sometimes when we have certain things it makes us feel like we are doing something right. Like, "I have a nice car, I must be doing something right".

24. Where should we go for such comfort? Sometimes the most cliché answers are the right ones, this answer is no exception. Jesus Christ. If you are Christian or not, I think we need to start learning who the real Jesus Christ is, not the PG version that we have made him out to be. Knowing him for who he really is, will rock our world.

25. How do we look for it? Seek truth and you will find him. Be honest with yourself. Are you comfortable with who you see Jesus as? or are you trying to get to know who he really is?

Real Life Does Happen

I am writing this blog backstage at a concert on the Willet 2010 New Zealand Tour. As I read the purpose for “The Advocates of Love Project”, I realized that I had an opportunity to truthfully share my experience over the past week as a Christian artist. As a band, and in my life personally, I have always tried to be transparent on stage, off stage, and through our websites / social networks online. For one, as a Christian I think that we have that responsibility to be genuine, and two, I think its vital to share the “highs” and “lows” of life in community with other believers. Many fans of Christian music make the mistake of assuming artists “have it all together” just because someone straps on a guitar, sits behind a drum set, or steps on stage at a “Christian event”.


This is far from the truth.

Every tour, and specifically, every show, I do attempt to be open to God’s will for that moment, and respond as I feel His leading. Some nights, I feel as though there is a tremendous connection and it is very clear as to how God is using Willet. Other nights, I take the stage and quite honestly, am broken. I’m broken because each show for me is an emotional battle because of what Willet stands for. Getting on stage each night in a different city and sharing about poverty around the world can easily become “routine”, and in fact, last year, during our Christmas tour, I fell into a pattern when I spoke where I didn’t actually “feel” the burden anymore. I would get up and present the stories, share the statistics, and ask for people to respond. People did respond, and great things happened for children living in poverty! But, I refuse to let speaking about children in poverty come across as a “commercial” or “promotion” of some sort.

This is real life.

Because this is real life, and because poverty does kill thousands every day, I needed to make sure that it was personal again for me. On January 12th, 2010, God broke me down in a way that I wish to never experience again.
As a band, we were in New Zealand enjoying an off day with some friends we met. They invited us on a 9 hour hike on a mountain summit, and we accepted. As we were down to the last 3 hours of this journey, we received a call. It was a friend of ours back in Auckland that just heard news that a massive 7.0 earthquake had just hit Haiti, and leveled the country.
My heart sank.

My wife moved to Haiti as a full-time missionary back in November of 2009. She was living in an orphanage during the time of the earthquake.
I was helpless. I wanted to get on a plane and fly to Haiti right away to make sure she was OK, but no one could get in or out of Haiti for several days, including relief groups. For 2 1/2 days, I waited anxiously to hear if my wife had survived the earthquake. I didn’t sleep at night, had trouble eating, and tried to ask God, “Why?”. Finally, through a string of short text messages, my family back in the states heard that Kathleen and all the children survived, and were currently sleeping in tents!

The next day, we took the stage for a small festival we were headlining in Levin, New Zealand for 500 people. In the middle of our set, I shared the emotional story of the Haiti earthquake, and gave glory to God that my wife and the orphans were OK. I shared from stage that it was really difficult for me to take the stage that night knowing that my wife was surrounded by death and destruction. I expressed my feelings towards the fact that over 200,000 people were killed within hours of a natural disaster, and how I was broken. I asked people that night that if they didn’t know Jesus as their Savior, that they needed to repent and invite Jesus into their hearts.
That night, 12 people trusted Jesus as their Savior!

On this tour in New Zealand, I do not have it all together. I am broken. I am confused. I wish I could be in Haiti helping…But, God is still moving and changing lives through that brokenness. I am about to take the stage in front of several hundred people tonight. I will do the same tomorrow night. In a few days, I’ll get on stage at Parachute Festival with Switchfoot, Underoath, and Leeland in front of thousands of people. Each night will be an incredible opportunity to share about Jesus, and what He has and is doing in the lives of people around the world. God can use our brokenness for good. He is sovereign and He is listening to our every cry for help.

Many of the Haitians following the earthquake said it was as if, “Hell came up”. Our response to their situation will determine whether or not they feel “Heaven came down”.


If you don’t know Jesus, put your trust in Him.

- Jeremy Willet (lead singer for Willet, co-author of carried.)

Friday, January 15, 2010

Moved to Tumblr

we've moved to Tumblr..


http://advocatesoflove.tumblr.com/

Monday, December 21, 2009

Bekahs' thoughts on Christmas :)

Luke 1:39-45
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you![d]”

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel[e] forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she’s now in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.[f]”

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

I read this part of the Christmas story and think about how it be like if an angel came to me and told me this.Would I replied like Mary or said no way Jose?I tend to wonder how Mary was feeling.God has this planned out for her which reassures me that he has a plan for me also.Even if I don't see it God knows exactly what he is doing. When God calls you to do something what do you say? Is your response the same as Mary's or different?
Luke 2:1-7
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancĂ©e, who was now obviously pregnant.

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

God choose to have his song born in a manger.I love this thought.Also he choose ordinary people to raise Christ.God chooses ordinary people for great things.Like mission work or Christian service.God uses anyone willing.I know I feel pretty ordinary myself.Anyone can do extraordinary things for God.So this Christmas when you are unwrapping gifts,eating or doing whatever else don't forget about Christ and how you can serve others.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Virgin isn’t a dirty word!

One of my favorite poems is “The boobie poem” by Bradley Hathaway. It talks about how well I’ll let you read it for yourself.

I’m 22 years old and I have never touched a girls boobies on purpose before. Just once on accident about a year ago at a rock show, it was dark and I couldn't really see which way to go. Walking with my arms out in front and my elbows slightly bent (I don’t normally walk like this) but it must have been destiny this night I guess, and before I knew it my palms were pressed on her chest, 2 handfuls full of soft fresh breast. But that was on accident so it really doesn't count.

I have never seen a girl’s boobies in real life on purpose before except for my mom and sisters but that doesn't count does it?

So if I have never seen them or touched them you’re probably thinking I'm a virgin right? Yea, yea correct assumption I am, but now your like whoa wait a minute he’s 22 fairly good looking, if he tried hard enough he could get some right?

So maybe your thinking �yea I’m kind of skinny, maybe I'm a little insecure, maybe I’m worried about my manhood, my measurements being a little too small but that is not the case I assure all of yell. I've measured it before and I am about the same as all of you guys with the Caucasian persuasion so mere mathematics doesn't even fit into the equation.

But maybe that is still not it, maybe your thinking he's kind of girly, got the long hair going, maybe he doesn't like girls and likes entrances in the backdoor.
NO WAY JOSE
I mean I am not homophobic I can say if a guy is hot or not like that actor dude Vin Diesel.
Sure he is hot but I don’t want home’s lips blowing on my whistle.

I'm just a simple dude that thinks sex is special between two people.
One man and one woman in the boundaries of marriage, and when I find the girl that is to be my one its with her to our hidden bed we will run, oh we will have lots of fun together the creator will praise and not shun but only after the exchange of vowels and the blessing of the sun will our lives be physically intertwined as one.
Our love making will resound with the loudest ringing and burst through the ceiling and begin ascending into heaven with the angels rejoicing and singing.
God smiling down upon us through our humping true worship resonated,
yea so much more than empty friction will be making but gifts saved in treasured for one another in the exchanging my body her body ours and ours alone for the taking.
In these moments will be the closest intimacy between 2 people possible and for me to do it outside of god’s way doesn't seem causable, to do so would to throw away part of my soul with the girl that was never meant to know that part of me.

But for those of you that have done so know how it feels and goes when that boy or girl you just did is long gone leaving you with a sad song hurting hearts.
You can be made new, poke a teeny tiny hole in your heart for him to shine his light through and you will be made as bright white and as dove take flight around this guilt that has interloped itself around your soul so tightly.

When I first heard this poem I was blown away. I am a simple girl who thinks that sex is special between one man and one women under the bounds of marriage. I’m 26 years old and I’m a….wait for it…wait for it….. VIRGIN!!! Dun dun dun,. And the crowd goes silent, lol. Yet I’m 100% okay with it! That is the way God intended for it to be . I’m not married and I have every intention on WAITING for my husband.

It breaks my heart when I see girl throwing away this precious gift that God has given us. I understand that things happen and people mess up, but know that the beauty of life is that is starts over everyday. You can choose at any given moment to start over!

I wear a purity ring and tell people when they ask me what it means, Yes I get a lot of weird looks and laughs but that’s fine. So I guess this blog is just to encourage every girl out there to hold on to your virginity. Save it for your husband. Trust me it will be worth the wait.



Until next time..

In Christ.

Jess.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

City On Our Knees

I'm pretty dedicated to helping heal the hurting world. Starting with the Youth/Teens. Most peole are hurting because of lies they have believed since they were young. It all needs to be rebuked and destroyed. God loves you! He accepts you! He Likes you. Just the way you are. I don't know how many people I talk/type at that feel like everyone hates them because of a few negative people in their lives. You need to RISE above that. Take Gods' hand and let him show you how much you are Loved. Kids I wasn't dealt a great hand either. I was sexually molested for years by my adoptive Father. That's not the real view of what a father should be. Father God is Holy. He loves you, He made you.. He hasn't left your side. All you have to do is turn to meet him and He's right there. I can help you see Gods' love. I know how infinite His love is. God is NOT prejudice. He loves you no matter what color, race, religion, sexual orientation, political views, or any other thing that would make you think God doesn't love you. God doesn't hold the junk of your past against you. He wouldn't know how to, He's that forgiving! We need to learn to be a "City On Our Knees" for each other-praying being there for each other, being the shoulder that ANYONE can lean on(not just your close friends). We need to learn to be there for each other. We have to start showing Jesus, The Real Jesus. Jesus was caring, loving, and non-judgmental. He knew Gods' heart because He studied his Father growing up. We should be doing the same thing. Study Jesus, Would he have told someone who is a different sexual preference that they're going to Hell? NO. he wouldn't Check yourself Christians! Check yourselves before You wreck yourselves. Watch what God your showing people, because if you're doing that, You ARE NOT showing My God to people. So your question is, Does God love me, even though im....?


Yes... He Does.

You can't expect God to help you when you have rejected Him Your whole life. But you do have to ask for His Help, He did after all gave us free will, He's not going to force Himself on you. Bu when you do finally turn and say "God I need you." He will show up, He will be there.

Because one day we will ALL bow before God The Father.



Be Radiators,
Chris