Good morning to all.  It is the 4th of July- this is the first 4th (I think ?) that I have been out of the country.  And at the least, the first 4th that being in a different country has been so sobering and significant.  I am in Mexico.  Most of you reading this are probably in the United States.  There is a border between us - a border (and in some places a wall) that has not only political and geographical significance - but - at least for me -and I know I’m not alone- emotional meaning. So that is the part of these matters of walls and borders where I would like to land on this 4th of July... on the emotional... the heart.

Here is mine, my heart (heart message is on shirts—💜)... Some of you have seen the below shirts.  They were made about 2 1/2 years ago for my first trip to Mexico, when a great friend Shannon Ferguson had invited me on a once in a lifetime trip... 3 nights of acoustic sets by Dave Mathews and Tim Reynolds, along with amazing openers Vusi Mahlesela, Carlos Varela and Aldo Lopez Gavilan- all concerts beachside along the Riviera Maya, while staying at an all inclusive resort (I had never done that before- nice!).  Wow.  In thinking more on Shannon’s invitation to the trip, I realized I could not go to Mexico without saying something.  In short, my intent for the shirt (and thank you to those who helped crystallize my message, and to Xochitl Jacques-Smith for translating)  was not to make a political statement... it was to make a RELATIONAL statement.  Dear Mexico, and world, —- and today I also say from South of the border Dear America, I love you.  May there be no relational separation between you and me - no matter the policies (and not that I don’t care about policies), I desire to have unity with you- because we are all people created in the image of God... we can have unity in our humanity.  I love you because you are a person....   On the back of the shirt are friends and family (bio and church) that were supportive of this short love letter to Mexico and the world. Now, this time around I did not get a chance to make new shirts.  BUT, you can still participate if you’d like.  If you are supportive of this message, you can either reply below or send me a message through messenger- and feel free to add a note with any other words you’d like to share.  I will collect the names and messages and periodically share them with my friends in Mexico and the rest of the world through various means such as Facebook, this blog, emails etc.  I know I’m not the only one with this message, so please feel free to join me💜!  #loveallpeople #say-something