Les Mis Devotional

I wrote this late at night for a friend.


(No hate please! this is only interpritation)

We are all sinners, we are bound for much more than 19 years in prison. We have all broken the law- no man is perfect. Grace however can save us, as was exemplified in Jean Valjean's story.

The barricades is often a part of Les Mis that gets brushed over in the allegory, however the barricade has so many different levels of interpretation.  The barricade can be thought of politically and religiously. I'm a huge political nerd, as everybody knows- but for my friend I'm writing my religious interpritation.

Life is the barricade, we are all at a constant spiritual warfare. There is a line where the amis are almost tricked into thinking the enemy will not attack. Likewise- many preachers and teachers make trick us into thinking spiritual warfare is not real. We need to keep being vigilant.

I saw Enjolras' and Marius' relationship as interesting. Enjolras I saw perhaps as somebody saved for a long time, he was always in the fight since he was young. Marius I saw as a new believer- he is gradually getting used to it, and is kind but very distracted. Enjolras never looked down upon Marius, he saw him as an equal.
The barricade was a fight to the death-- in the end however through all the struggles each of them lived in heaven.

Movie Review: The French Revolution

I was scrolling down my tumblr feed, and saw a bunch of clips to this one miniseries called "La Revolution Francise." It looked wonderful- the problem was I did not speak French, however I was delighted to find the whole thing in spoken English on YouTube. It was not a documentary, but a dramatic miniseries.
The first episode was one of my favorites- It starts out with an innocent looking young boy (Maximilien Robespierre-- but we do not know it yet) reading a poem in Latin the the king. The king rudely tells his driver to move on. Young Camille Desmolins (also to become important later on in the miniseries) comforts Maximelien, although it is obvious both boys are offended.
Years later- France is sinking in economic turmoil.  A disaster so bad it makes our current economy look good. King Louis and the other nobles are aware, but somewhat blinded. They form a national convention- somewhat like a congress. Three classes are represented- the Nobles, the Clergy and the Third Estate. The Third Estate is the biggest- but the Nobles and Clergy always ganged up on them. Camille Desmolins looses election to the convention, but Maximilien Robespierre wins.
Robespierre and the others are sitting in the convention talking about the economy-- Camille watching from the galleries. At this point Camille and Robespierre are great friends. The following day the Third Estate is locked out of their meeting room on purpose and forced to meet in a tennis court. The Third Estate refuses to disband, the king though may have them all put to death according to rumors. Robespierre and the others are in the national assembly room, Camille escapes to warn France.
Camille stands on a table in a city square and gives an inspiring speech about liberty. To quote from part of his speech; "Yes, i'am the one speaking up- for liberty! You won't take me alive. I will die before I see France enslaved!"  After this speech the Parisians storm the Bastille in order to get guns and ammunition needed.
I will try to refrain from saying much for for the sake of spoilers, this whole series stretches to the end of the French Revolution.
Robespierre makes an 180 degrees  character change. He seemed like two totally opposite people from the beginning to the ending of this movie. Saint Just, Camille, Danton and the others were very well portrayed. Jane Seymour even made an appearance as Marie Autoinette! Each of these characters are very well-portrayed, and the movie itself was pretty historically accurate but at the same time had enough drama and action to keep the viewer interested.

Casted Aside Revolutoin

At my college- I ran into something rather alarming, a girl in my class was saying how she wanted the French Revolution proved to her. I was shocked anybody would say "prove it!" and not believe something such as the French Revolution happened. I was joking about it with my roommate, and another girl explained how she never actually learned it. This was not isolated, apparently many public schools (not all) are erasing the French Revolution.


Hold on there!

I'm an American history girl myself. I believe every period of history is vital though. The French Revolution showed a very powerful part of history--- It started out with grand ideas "liberty", "equality" and promised a brighter future instead of a tyrannical monarchy. Sounds nice, right?  Who wants to live under a monarchy? I wouldn't...

Well, unfortunately did not stay nice.  Power corrupts.  Once a group of men who started out with these grand ideas took power, paranoia and suspicion turned this whole revolution into a bloodbath. It was not meant to turn out this way though.  It is the story of a 5'1 tall revolutionary who started out "incorruptable" yet fell hard (I happen to share this guy's birthday, try to guess who he is), out of touch royal officials (including a queen that Kirsten Dunst played in a popular film), starving people, revolutionaries in what appears to be pajama pants, and a dream for a better society- that turned into a nightmare of terror.

This offers an extreme but very true lesson on what absolute power can do to people. Power must always be checked and balanced, lest something like this happens.

 Without the French Revolution- Napoleon never would have came to power, meaning--- we would never of had the War of 1812, meaning Andrew Jackson would never have been elected as well as many other presidents.
We also never would of had the concept of "nullification" without the French Revolution, nullification started by states ignoring John Adams' Alien and Sedition Acts.

So many periods of history make it easier for us to understand man's nature, and different parts of history--- world and US tie into each other. You can't have one without the other.  The French Revolution needs to be taught in schools.

"It is time for us all to decide who we are."

The time comes in the course of everybody's life to make a huge life altering choice. In the words of Enjolras from Les Miserables "it is time for us all to decide who we are."  I made the commitment to devote my life to politics for freedom when I was 14 years old. Although my political views have changed over the years, the message has not. 

I was part of an amazing group called Generation Joshua. This group changed my life in tremendous ways.  I was Senate Minority Leader in 2010's IGovern. At that IGovern I made a very special commitment to remain politically active.  In 2011 I was a vice presidential candidate, I made some unpopular stances that possibly cost me the vice presidency. It was worth it though, I would speak for what is best for the people, even if it is unpopular politically.  2012 was my last year at IGovern, I because somewhat of an IGovern celebrity. I also was part of three Student Action Teams. Even though we lost several elections we would not give up- we are fighting for the future and liberty, something greater then us.

Reminiscing aside, in 2012 I went through some quandaries. I wanted more then anything to help at IGovern, but I was rather immature and sensitive at times. I knew this may hinder me, so I prayed and reflected on how I may change.  When I first came here to Liberty University I noticed something- I no longer was thin-skinned, I could laugh and be ribbed andays  just let it roll off my back. All those years at IGovern did help me. I remember Joel Grewe telling me the areas in which I needed to change and improve, I took his words to heart and what Joel said over the years made me a better person.  I'm far from perfect- I can never be perfect. I improved and matured over the years though, and looking back and the way I used to think I see how far i've come.


In two days I will be 19.  That is the age of becoming a Generation Joshua leader.  Back in November I was not sure if I was ready to take on such a large responsibility. But after prayer and consideration in January my mind changed--- i'm ready. College and my friends have really helped me mature and grow up. Thank you to everybody for making me who i'am today. 
I long to give the Generation Joshua kids what the GenJ leaders gave me so many years ago. I want to be a good role model, and I want to help them the way Grace, Brittany, Kathy, Joel, Daniel, Jeremiah and Michael helped me.

Yes, I accept it.

"Will you join in my crusade? who will be strong and stand with me?" - Les Mis

I have not seen the movie yet- but will be seeing it on Saturday.  I finally completed reading "Les Miserables" it is an amazing book full of colorful characters.  My favorite was Enjolras, I could relate to him personality wise, and the act that we both are very passionate about what we believe in. I'm the moderator of a facebook group called; "The Coffee House" for intellectual discussions, and a subgroup of the "Coffee House" for political activism. Like Enjolras, I'm a leader of a bunch of passionate and amazing young people. I'm honored to be there, and honored to have an amazing bunch.  Something Enjolras said struck me though; "we are under the eyes of the Revolution, we are the priests of the Republic, we are the victims of duty, and must not be possible to slander our combat."- he said that after executing a man who murdered an innocent.  I was thinking about that quote, and how it applies to us.  Don't get me wrong, we aren't revolutionaries and we do not have anybody who killed innocents. But we are under the eyes of the world, they are watching our every step. When we are on the campaign trail, at the "barricade" (of political signs), with our families. The world wants to see us fall, but we should try our best to remain blameless and pure. We do not want them to talk "slander" about our actions, then in turn it will ruin our whole course.  Remember to keep your eyes on what is right. It is impossible to be right all the time, but in public try your best--- the world is watching.

Characters That Made An Impression

Inspired by Rachel Heffington's post today about characters that leave an impression in one's heart, here is my list.

1)
John C. Calhoun- from John C. Calhoun: American Portrait.   Even though I disagree with him on some political issues I greatly admire him. Calhoun stood against corruption and spoke up for what he believed in. He wanted to retire to his beloved family but decided God called him to Washington and he should stay.  I could relate to Calhoun personality wise, which made me find him a very sympathetic character who shared my dreams and ambitions.

2)
Enjolras- Les Miserables. His love of politics and freedom. He wasn't afraid to be different or stand out, he put his country and ideals first.  He had good morals, and good moral restraints. Usually people say that relate to Fantine, Eponine or Marius--- but for me it was Enjolras. Before I watched Les Mis some of my friends said I reminded them of him, and now I see why.


3)
Henry Clay- Henry Clay: The Essential American. We do not have very much in common, but I just love Clay.

4)
Lucy Pevensie- Narnia. She is adorable, and a picture of hope and innocence.

5) Peter Pevensie- Narnia. Honorable, leader, noble--- what more can you admire?

6) Beth March- Little Women. Unlike Enjolras, Beth and I do not have much of anything in common. But she is so sweet and compassionate, she most certainly has an imprint in me.

7) Orry Main- North and South. Again, a character I can relate to personality-wise

8) Abigail Adams- John Adams. Really smart and supportive.

The Church's Duty: The Social Scene

I will divulge in this blog post something you have heard for years. However, this is a plee to act on those beliefs.

With all the heat going on about the current crises with government programs, people are concerned about who will take care of the poor.

I have a simple response- the church. You do not have to be a believer but one thing is certain, the church's responsibility is supposed to be reaching out to the world around it. The church is supposed to help the downtrodden.

The church has been lax, but in scripture it is commanded for the church to help the widows and those less fortunate. It is up to you to help those who are downtrodden.