To My Followers

Dear Followers,
Thank you for following my blog :)
You validate me in my musings and need for self confidence.
I would like to reaffirm you
Whatever life is serving you right now
It's just one dish of many
The banquet of life is a full course meal
Some of the dishes are bitter
Some are sweet
I know it can be hard to swallow tough meat
But there's a salad at hand
There's a beverage to wash it down with
There's a dessert waiting at the end
All that imagery was meant to tell you
You can do it :)
You can wake up tomorrow and do it again
I'm not going to give you a false hope and say there will always be some one next to you
Helping you
Cause your friends and family just may fail you
They may not!
And that is the ideal
But what I'm saying is
Even if they do
You have it within you to succeed
God made you in His image
And yes, there is a hole in your whole where He needs to fit in
But He doesn't make broken people
He made the real deal when He made you, oh follower
And He threw away the mold
A perfect collectors item
One of a kind
Chock full of potential and abilities
Just waiting for the chance to show the world how great you can really be
Maybe you don't believe that God made you perfect
Maybe someone in your life has looked on you in contempt and planted the lie in your mind that you are inferior
That you are weak
But that ^ is not true
Not one bit of it is true
God makes treasures, not waste
And you still may not believe me
But try this
Hold up your hand in front of your face and observe
Lines
Fingerprints
Close it
Open it
Fan those phalanges out
That's pretty cool when you think on it.

There are my cliches
I'm not out to convince you that you are a perfect creation, however flawed now by this world
I'm not trying to convince you of anything because
Only you have the power to choose what you believe
No matter how hard the rest of us try to change you
You're still you
And you decide
No, I'm here to remind you
Remind you, perhaps, of a happier time
Remind you that you've seen yourself do some pretty cool things
Remind you to hold onto that hope that you have felt
However few times you've felt it
You've felt it
Even for a second
Return to that moment in your head
And maybe, just maybe
Some of those doubts will dissipate for a moment.
I have no idea if that will work or not
But I do know, from experience, from observation
From being a human myself,
That you, YOU
Are sweet and beautiful
And you don't you forget it
I love you :)
John H.

Movement

There are many things that need to move
Many things that have movement built right into their genetic code
Grasshoppers
Butterflies
I guess bugs in general
People
Foxes
Basically anything that has breath has to move
But even plants move in the wind
The real nut I'm trying to crack here is the truth that
Everything must move
Mentally, we must move
Physically, we've got to get out and about
Psychologically, if we don't move its called going crazy
Nostalgically, we have to live in the present and not stay stuck in the past

It's been a long time since I've written, not sure if anyone even reads this anymore
But I'm so struck by how fast the world is moving
If you don't move a long with it,
You are already stuck in the past
I don't want to be "that guy"
But I don't want to change just to change
I wan't to change because the change is good

Here is a good example:

My favorite bands used to be
Switchfoot
Relient K

And I still really like them, I think they are talented musicians and I want to support them
But I've branched out
Found new tunes that inspire me just as much or more
But I still talk about those bands as though they are all I listen to
Even tho I may not have listened to them in a long time
Why do I do that?
I think, perhaps, I'm not moving as much as I think
My senses are moving into adulthood
My social life is moving, more or less, into a more
John Hoehn state
But my long terms memories are still occupying a lot of my brain
And they seem to be stuck
Stuck Stuck stuck
stuck
Yuck
Maybe I need to do something big again
To remind me what moving feels like
That's a big reason I got a tattoo
I needed the reminder that I am an adult
And My life choices aren't made for me anymore
Which is both a freedom and a responsibility

Freedom to define myself
Freedom to do what I want in my leisure time
Freedom to go where I want

Responsibility to keep myself alive
Responsibility to look out for my future and those who will inevitably come into my future
Responsibility to present myself in a reputable way

That freedom to define myself is what's catching me right now
I don't know what I want John Justus Angelo Hoehn to be
I want people to think something when they hear that name
But heck, I've got to give them a reason, don't I?

Certainly

Now just to decide what that is ;)

Cya Latah, JH

Travel

The first blog I ever wrote was about my "Bus trip of a lifetime"
Well, I think that was over stating it
Cause I'm on another bus trip, and its pretty much the same
This time I'm not alone, Anna Banana is with me
This time I have a 9 hour layover in Chicago, instead of a 4 hour one
I'm currently in Union Station, which I did not enter last time
We have at least 2 1/2 hours left until we leave
So I blog.
Blog Blog Blog
What the heck is bloggin anyway?
A journal for the world?
An artistic outlet?
A pointless record of a bunch of random people who think they have something worthwhile to say?
Who even knows?
I'm just killin time now
And listening to the Head and the Heart
And watchin my sista drift into sleep
My muscles are so SORE!!
We walked down to the lakeshore
With all our luggage
And when I say luggage, you should know
I'm going back home from college
And Anna is moving back home from Michigan
The Megabus only lets you take one checked bag and a carry on
Let me tell you, we are at the max
My bag is at least 50 pounds
And my backpack
About 48
Cheese
My arms
My poor, twig-like arms
If you know me
You know what I mean
2 1/2 miles carrying probs 100 pounds
Dangum!!!
it's a rough life ;)
But I got to see my other Sister Ruth and her Husband Andrew
And their sweet child, only about 6 months old :)
I was there when she was born, day before Thanksgiving
Now Anna and I are taking the bus back to good Ol' Nebraska
To see my ...
Parents!
Friends!
Brother and his band on tour from Australia!
Brother's wife and 6ish month old daughter!( yep, they about the same age ;)
Brother's parents in law!
Whillickers
There's a lot to do in the 12ish days i'll be home
Before I go back to Searcy, AR on the 28th
So I can go on tour with Theatron for 10 weeks
That's an acting/ drama ministry group from Harding University, if you didn't know
So when I title this post "Travel,"
Now you know why
Cause I will not be in one place more than 2 weeks this summer
With the exclusion of Uplift, Harding's summer camp, which lasts about 3 weeks
Still.
I be on the moooove
Call me the south wind
Cause I'll be moving all summer too ;)
That's all
Keep a joyous attitude this Summer!!
And please, if you've got any cray cray summer travel plans, leave a comment!

Always Hope, Love REGARDLESS, and Please, Peace Out
John

Content

Life is good, am I right?
If you are reading this and you just feel real under the weather
I'm sorry to be that guy who is too bright for your eyes
But maybe this will help you rise out of your season of sadness
I just want to share this :)
I feel really content with where I am right now
Not complete
Maybe not even completely fulfilled
But I have come to this point where I feel
Good
Aware
Alive
Happy
Hopeful
Expectant
Excited
Close to my peeps
Layne and I have been having a great time just experiencing life together
Not taking stuff too seriously
Not taking stuff too lightly
Learning from each other
Learning about God through each other
Keepin it real
Sorry I mentioned you without asking ma'am
Not really ;)
I don't know blog readers
Life is just in a good spot for me
I feel as though I know God's mind more-so than I have before
Ever before?
Not sure
But definitely more
And, No, no one can ever fully understand God
But I seem to have been blessed recently with a better understanding
And I am here to tell you
That God really does take care of His own
If you really chuck your life into His hands
And Trust
Trust
That He will do his thing
He will
He does
He always will
Romans 8:38-39
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Hope is such a lovely thing :) 
Especially when it comes to fruition
To Reality
Do not fear, for He is the Lord your God
I love you dearly, whoever you are
And if I ever fail at that love,
God will not
Take courage in that
Always Hope, Love Regardless, and Peace Out
John H. 

P.S. Read 1st Timothy 1. and more if you have the time :) So Rad

Beautiful

Places I Want to see in Real Life

You

The American Dream: a house and a wife and two and a half kids and a crossover and a Nissan Altima

That's not my dream a bit

Sure, I  want a wife

And certainly a place to lay my head, but not necessarily a "house"

All those things are good things

But I don't want to be defined by them

I want to be defined first by Jesus Christ, then by John Justus Angelo Hoehn

I would have people say of my life that it was full and passion filled and free 

Rather than "successful."

Rather than "He climbed that ladder and was a part of the local Lion's Club"

Blech! 

Give me more! 

Give me a backpack and 100 bucks and a plane ticket 

And I'll take a snippet of LIFE

Give me a set of keys and an inspiration

And I'll give you a song

I'll give you a glimpse of paradise

Of life

We were created to live up to our potential, don't you think?

I heard somewhere that, anymore, people aren't following there dreams as much as they used to

That there are Heaps of Doctors out there who were Created to be Park Rangers

There are Piles of Teachers who are cut out to be Musicians

Plumbers who were Designed as Airplane Pilots

And they all hate their lives and their jobs because 

You can't force a square peg through a round hole

Well, you caaannn, but not without a whole lot more friction than is necessary

You ought not try to fit a Painter peg through a Finance Manager hole

It produces more friction than is necessary

And Heck, we've only got one life, haven't we?

So what is the point of wasting all your precious talents and your limited time in pursuance of something that does not fulfill you?

I KNOW you have heard this all before

But what holds you back?

I know a very lovely individual, whom I have gotten to know really well in the past few weeks

And one of the many words that comes to mind when I think of this person is

Bright

Because they shine

They are alive 

They walk on the curbs and not on the footpath 

Because that draws more "life" out for them

That should be everyone of us

We should all inspire each other to be ourselves

When you look at me, I want you to see the original John Hoehn

And I want that to inspire you to be the Original you 

Who the H are you if not you?

Our culture in America is all about fitting the "Prominent Businessman" cookie cutter

or whatever 

Instead

What if we focused on Filling the you shaped hole in the world?

There is a hole somewhere in this world

And I am the only putty, the only finger, the only patch 

That can fix it

And that goes for EVERY HUMAN BEING!

Every one adds something that the Earth did not have before

And gosh, that's a beautiful thought

Makes you view everyone differently, yeah?

Maybe I digress from my original thought

But what else is a blog for if not for sharing my original thoughts?

I know it's difficult to live as yourself

It takes a WHOLE LOT of soul searching

And a decent amount of hard decisions

We've certainly dug ourselves a deep hole of monotonousness and anonymity 

But we can climb out

I'm definitely not an "individual" yet

I've still got growing to do

But I realize that now

And I'm working on it

And I've got a friend who inspires me to work on it

I hope I will, in turn, inspire someone else

To be them

I love you, you special special you :) John H.  

Life

Woah, life's been happening for me recently
Don't even know what the big deal is
Maybe cause it's spring
Maybe it's cause I've got some REAL good friends here at Harding
But I feel a lot less "bleh"
And a lot more "Blessed"
I recently changed my major BACK to Communication Studies with a Leadership and Ministry secondary major
Back?
Well, I came to Harding declared as that ^
But as I explored the different things that I could do here, I started to doubt
I briefly, but seriously, considered Communication Sciences and Disorders
But the medical side of that is not for me
Nor is the grad school part
Then I thought about Public Relations
Because I love telling stories, something I've recently realized about myself
But PR is way too.... Businessy for my taste
So back to Comm Studies for me
Cause I love communicating with people
I do love telling stories,
Interacting
Enjoying life at the "speed of conversation" if I may quote Rhett and Link
And who knows what I'll do with that degree?
Hopefully, I'll have a whole lot of real deal friends and I'll cross paths with some real cool peeps
And Hopefully, God will use my life in the way He sees fit
Take me to a land far away to show kids how to make their letters in a different language
Or show me down three houses to wash my neighbor's car
And through everything
Through my life
I will be a point of Light in this Dark world

"Keep your nose from turning brown,
 and save your soul from pain
Look away when friends fall down
and frown out at the rain
OR
Keep your heart from turning rough
and wash your sins away
Look through all your dear friend's bluffs
and smile and dance and play"

Whatever floats your boat really
Ya gonna use your one chance to mean something
Or are you going to lay it down, pick up your iPhone and see what's currently trending on twitter...
"Am I not a man and a brother?"

Treat your fellow man to a piece of your life
And maybe, they'll return the favor
C'mon, we all rock SOCKS
Don't waste it
Always Hope, Love Regardless and Peace Out- John H.

Thoughts

So many things go through my head recently
I can barely keep track
I looked it up and apparently humans, on average, think 70,000 thoughts a day
I may be breaking the stats on this one
A lot of things that I should have thought about during the last few months and years of my life
Are finally coming to my brain
All at once
Like, who am I?
Literally, what makes John Justus Angelo Hoehn happy?
Laugh?
Cry?
Create?
Coldplay is one of my favorite bands, because I like how their music sounds and what most of the words say
But, is it still?
Believe me, yes, Coldplay is still great in my book, love them
Busting rhythms, Idk, am I good at it? I've never thought I was, cause I've never tried
So, now it's stuck in my head that I don't like rap music
Sometimes, rarely, I like Christian rap
Sort of
However, it's always been about the content for me, with rap
How are they getting their message across?
Hateful?
Proud?
Playful?
Profane?
That's what I've always hated about rap
The words
They're either too worldly/dirty or too preachy/cheesy
Do I hate rap though?
Don't think so, now that you mention it
Dead on what I'm talking about
Leaving my past conceptions behind
Leading a more fulfilling life
Loving in a more... MORE way
Realizing what I like and don't like
Reviewing what it is that ticks me off and what gets my face to never stop smiling
Revenue?
No way on earth
Never, at least I hope and pray, will I rely on money to fulfill me
Not on circumstances either
Joy comes from within
Jesus in the reason for every season, especially the season of life that you're in
Just think about that now
Many great thinkers
Mulling over the issue of fulfillment and happiness
Mastering all other aspects of life
Kept from this one thing
Knights of a cause they do not understand
Keep on keeping on, but never find it
Unless
Up against their own worthlessness
Urged by the Spirit of God
Epiphany happens
Everything changes
Easter means more than chocolate and fake grass

Do you see what I've done?
I have created order out of the madness in my brain
At least a small part of it
At least some semblance of order
What you have just witnessed is my thought vomit on a page, a webpage
What I really wanted to say is that I have recently met someone that, if you're reading this
Don't get the wrong impression
Just keep smiling :)
Anyway, this person has stimulated a great many thoughts in me
How do I relate to other people?
What do I value in a person?
In a girl?
In a dude?
How do I effectively express my thoughts in conversation?
How do I look past the awkward moments and move on with the friendship?
Am I a radical
Or am I common place?
Am I being real with myself?
With other people?

I could go on
But this blog is long enough
Mull over it
Tell me your thoughts
Tell me something I don't know

Keep rocking, Keep rolling

Always Hope yall, John Hoehn
  

Comrades

This will be short.
You can never do it alone
Anything.
You cannot do anything worth doing in this world, by yourself.
You certainly can try.
But you certainly cannot do Christianity solo
It wasn't created for that.
Jesus set down the ground floor of a family that meets regularly to have family dinners
That takes care of eachother's needs
That looks out for one another when anyone is looking blue
There is no I in Team
There is one I in Community, but there is also a U
Bite the bullet and be real with your peers
Cause ninety percent of the time, they are trying to justify bringing the same subject to your attention.
I have lost sooooooooooo many opportunities too look someone in the eye and say that I was there
To stop a friend on a path and say "Hey"
To look at a friend's Facebook wall and realize that all their posts are about how suckey their week has been
To say "I love you and want the best for you. Now what is the best for you? Let me do that."
I just let those moments pass by
In fear
Fear of rejection
Fear of not knowing what to say
Fear of being an idiot and finding out that the person is doing absolutely fine
Fear of exposing my own problems and showing that I am in no position to offer help
Well
I am here to say
It doesn't matter
I would use expletives, but I don't think Jesus would
And I want to emulate Him
Even though I fail, DAILY
That is the whole premise of the Christian way
You fail
Jesus Saves
You fail
Jesus Loves
You Fail, Fail, FAil,FAIL
Jesus picks you up and says "Look at all the great things you have done with your life! I am so impressed!"
No
Jesus doesn't physically pick you up
Or talk to you
But Dillon does
Debbie does
Charlie Briggs would, were he here
Jennie would, Karlie would
Place your friends' names in these spots and REALIZE that Jesus is among us
We just need to open our eyes and see Him
Shake his hand
Bump his fist
Hug Him
"whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me." Matt 25:40
Your friends are reading this too and they need you to be Jesus to them.
If I have said anything worthwhile, take it to heart.
Peace Out, John H.

Courage

You are not alone
You have a faithful few around you
Realize it or not
Few or minuscule
There are people in this world that only want your life to come to ruin
And your soul, to harm
But there are SOME people, people that you've never met, that you may never meet
That want good for you
That want you to succeed, to do well in your pursuits
And it sounds cheesy but it's gosh damn true
There is so much darkness that it's hard to see the good in people
But there is good
And I know it's hard to see
And I know that sometimes good people are few and far between
I know that the darkness, Satan's power, has corrupted the human race to a pitiful remnant of its former glory
But
Think
About the person that smiles when they check you out at Wal-Mart
Think about the friend who stops their homework to hear about your day
Or if you don't have that, if there is no one around you that seems to give a care about you or your life or your problems
Think about the teachers at Sandy Hook who DIED to save their students
There was no logical reason for their courage
There was only an undying human spirit that wanted to help, to continue those children's lives by sacrificing their own
That inspires me
To think that just PEOPLE
Catholic, Atheist, Baptist, CofC, Muslim, Buddhist
No matter their background
Have caring hearts and willing spirits
If it doesn't you, that's okay
But maybe it should make you reconsider your view of the human race
To know that, when it comes down to the wire, when "the tough gets going," some HUMAN will
ALWAYS
rise up
And fight for Life
It may not be obvious in your life, it's not always obvious in mine
But
There is a courage out there, that we mortals possess, that cannot be squashed
No power of evil, karma, spirits, demons, Satan, Mara, or even other people
Can keep each person on Earth from doing what is Right
In the moment of pain, of tragedy, of despair
There will always be a hero, unsung or lauded, that will rise up and Do
Do Right
In the face of whatever
I just hope I can do what I need to when the time comes
Courage is such a complex thought
But in its simplest form
Its a choice
To stand up and move forward in hope
Or to let the Earth keep unraveling itself
And fall into ruin
Keep your thoughts on track with this blog, I know there are a lot of cliches in it
I know it's been said before
I know that your current situation may be in total opposition to everything that I've just said
But if you ever want encouragement to stand up
If you want something to come back to later, when your crap stops happening
Think about the sacrifices that countless military men and women have made to keep you in your pajamas on a Saturday morning, watching cartoons and eating poptarts
Think about the sun going black when the Son of God went limp
Think about your parents giving up their freedom to have you
I don't know
But it seems to me that we were meant to live for So Much More
Do you have the courage to do it?
                                                                  Always Hope, Love Regardless, and Peace Out- JH
P.S. Listen to Hello Hurricane as well. It's good :)

Hope

I've always been in love with the idea of Hope
"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor. 13:13)
I know it says Love is the greatest.
But Hope
Is among the three greatest
I just can't imagine anything having any purpose without Hope
You know what I mean?
In everything, there is Hope
In a basketball game, there is hope that the other team will have a flaw, that your own teammates will hit a fluke and play really good, that the ref will be on your side
And none of these things can be counted on, none can be mapped out
But all these things will make you play better, give you more purpose
There is hope in a business endeavor, that the CEO's hearing your idea will be having a good idea and that they will be kind, that they will see what you're trying to say, in the way that you're meaning to say it.
Now, again, none of these are really "scientific" things, none can really be expectations
But they give a light-heartedness, a sense of well being that preparation can never give
I think that is my favorite bit about Hope
There's no explanation for it, it just is
And, of course, it is made sweeter because it is not compulsory
It's voluntary
You don't HAVE to be hopeful
But as with anything else that is as potent, the option makes the choice sweeter yet more difficult to make
Take love
If Love was compulsory, and sometimes it it, it wouldn't exist
Love is intentionally looking past people's faults, ignoring their annoying factors and looking out for their UTTER well being, no matter what they or anyone else says
If it were forced, we would do it like robots, to check our names off a list
But it isn't
And that's why it is such a great force, so powerful a thing
Hope is like that
You can choose to look past today's rain-clouds to see tomorrow's sun
And no, it is not the same sun that rose today
It is always a new one, always different, ready to shine down on new circumstances, and a new day
Doesn't that just sound, great?
Hopeful?
You could say " John, you are way too optimistic. Life is a lot more grim than sunshine and butterflies. Grow up."
But I would reply this
Why, with all the obvious terror, fear and despair, roll around in the muck of the world?
Why focus on the terrible?
It's not changing
So why think about it?
Why not, instead of being "realistic" and worrying about things you cannot change, look at what could be?
And I'm not talking unrealistic, foolish, pipedreams that are never going to happen
But I'm talking
A promotion at work
A glance from your lover
A letter from your friend across the world
A skype call from your parents
An A on your heartfelt, but poorly defended final paper
None are certain
None can be planned
But they all can happen
And things like these happen all the time, to people all over the world, in all different walks of life and social statuses
And it's good
Hope is like God's gift to a hurting world
He may have banished us from His presence, because of our brokenness, and taken eternal life from us
But He left us Hope
In the form of Joshua Messiah
That's the literal Hebrew
Just a regular guy, albeit of divine birth, without special facial features or big biceps
Just a guy who Hoped
Hoped for his return to his father's side
And for the reunion, someday, between humans and his Dad
And with this life that he lived, the death that he died, and the resurrection that he achieved
He obtained Hope for all people to come after him
A Hope of rebirth, renewal, and an unending life in paradise in the presence of the All-Everything God and Father
So when life is getting you into a rut, when Satan is playing his cards real well in your life
Hope
:)
Simplicity is beautiful, aye?
Just think about tomorrow
And if tomorrow holds nothing, think about next week
or next month
You see what I mean?
It isn't easy
But, heck, it is so worth it :)

ALWAYS Hope, Love Regardless and Peace Out
                                                                                           JH