People of the Second Chance

via Twitter a while ago, I found this.  People of the Second Chance site / social media interaction thing.
potsc.com 

Their headline is "overthrow judgement. liberate love"

i love the idea, but it's a little...scary...or makes me question.

giving people or ourselves a second chance to me conjures up thoughts around if people have the ability to change.  I know mostly I seem happy and positive and glass half full, but unfortunately, I am a lot of glass half empty a lot of times.

By word, I believe that God has the power to change situations/lives/people and even bring things to life that were dead, but I don't always think and act that I believe this is true.

I want to believe that people can change, but mostly, if I'm being honest, most the time I think deep in the back of my head that this isn't true and that people mostly stay the same, stay in their situation, keep their same frame of mind.

in the bible, over and over, jesus gives second chances.  He changes lives and he answers prayers to change lives, or things in lives.  I mean, at the very heart of what I BELIEVE is GRACE.  God gives me an absurd amount of grace everyday (when I fail to trust him, when i blame Him) and ... recklessly, I am able to give this grace to others whom break trust or disappoint or who outright do me wrong.

i don't really check out this website, People of the Second Chance, often, but the line has stuck with me.  And now that I'm looking at the site...WOW.  ... if you don't want to read all the words below..scroll down for some pictures/words.

Here is some stuff from their site:

 WHO WE ARE
We are a global community of activists, imperfectionists and second chancers committed to unleashing radical grace everyday, in every moment, for everyone.


We challenge the common misconceptions about failure and success and stand with those who have hit rock bottom in their personal and professional lives. We are a community that is committed to stretch ourselves in the areas of relational forgiveness, personal transparency and advocate for mercy over judgment.


Founded in 2010, our organization is based in Southern California.


TARGET AUDIENCE
The message and mission of People of the Second Chance impacts a diverse group of people. We have listed below our target audience and those we intentionally engage.


1. You have survived or are currently going through a personal failure, crisis, addiction or loss.


2. You are a friend, spouse, family member or co-worker that is currently dealing with the ramifications of an individual’s betrayal or failure.


3. You need authentic community so that you can process your fears, hurts, failures and struggles.


4. You have experienced or you are currently seeking a powerful second chance moment that will radically alter your life and mission.


5. You want to boldly fight against a vulture culture that celebrates personal destruction, humiliation and the division of people.


6. You want to grow in the areas of relational and self-forgiveness and refuse to live as a powerless victim.


7.You are looking for a way to leverage your second chance story for a greater purpose to benefit others.





CHARACTER TRAITS
Our mission is to impact how we live and interact with each other. Our content seeks to develop the character traits below and define second chance people.


EMPATHY
You have a heartfelt connection to the pain and struggle of others. You bring comfort and not judgment. You are an effective heart handler to those who are hurting. As you help others you help yourself. You avoid selfishness.


TENACITY
You are steadfast and resilient when you feel like giving up on yourself and others. You stay the course and demonstrate grit and toughness even when it is difficult. Second chances can be a bumpy road that requires the determination to never give up.


COURAGE
You are willing to take risks and operate out of your personal comfort zone. The acts of grace and forgiveness require extreme bravery to surrender our rights to get even. Courage is required to live honestly, transparently and to have “everything in the light.”


PURPOSE
You live every moment and savor your existence knowing that your life impacts the world for the good. With purpose you can persevere. You set big goals and work hard to achieve them. Life is a gift from God so work hard to make the most of it. Your story doesn’t end in the valley.


HOPE
You embrace a hope that is a combination of optimism and realism. You comprehend that with failure comes loss but also is the seed for something better. Hope moves us to a place where healing can occur and has clear spiritual, psychological and physical benefits.

There is also great verbal art on labels...

these make you think...

i mean surely we've all labeled someone..

surely we've all been labeled...

"labels lie. don't accept them. don't use them."

this city continues opening my eyes to how, though our differences are so vast...that we are all the same.  we are all people w/ value that deserve love and hope.  what if everyone got this across their thick skulls??  what kind of a world could we live in?