Inaudible Talking with Christian

merry christmas

2007-12-24T19:51:00.000-08:00

the recent events that have taken place this holiday season has allowed me to better understand the true meaning behind the christmas spirit. beyond the aspect of giving and receiving presents, eating lots of good food, or seeing friends and family its all about embracing the passion behind each of these gifts. much like the christmas story, its one thing to acknowledge that Christ was born but its another thing to embrace that gift. the art of embracing takes the idea of materialism and kicks it to the curb because whether who have one or one hundred presents if you embrace these gifts and give thanks with a grateful heart you will yield the same amount of joy. so whatever it is this christmas holiday truly embrace these gifts with a cheerful heart.

just being me.

2007-08-25T20:07:00.001-07:00

sometimes i forget to think. then i do, and its too late.

i was just thinking.

2007-08-23T10:52:00.001-07:00

I truthfully have nothing to say. Life right now is just...going...it's not bad just mundane. Expectations are null. Generally speaking the times are flat and I've got nothing which I guess isn't that bad. I feel like there is something more to this though, a bigger picture, a meaningful gesture to life. Maybe I've just totally missed it or maybe I'm encapsulated in this moment that is far more grand than my perceptions can comprehend. Merely thinking, I wish life wasn't like a still photo right now, but I'm just thinking, that's my problem. I sometimes forget to let go and just float, probably because I've been closing my mind and not my eyes. I feel as if freedom is some how being withheld from me, captive by my mind, not my heart. I wish it were the other way around. These times are always the hardest for me, things will get better, they always do.

so....

2007-06-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

and the truth is.....

i look everywhere for it.

i can never find it.

i want to go far from here.

unfortunately its somewhere between here and there.

its the only place i ever want to be.

its never here.

about me...

2007-05-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

Understanding that the needs of others is more important than our own self- interest, I believe is the beginning to living the lifestyle intended for our creation. Giving up our small ambitions refocuses our mindset from an earthly to an eternal perspective. Thus, having an eternal perspective allows us to walk in freedom to love and experience life abundantly that was promised to us. To live any differently would be to deny ourselves from experiencing the ultimate experience. This could possible make no sense what so ever but I gave it a shot anyways. Here are some good quotes to live by.

"I would rather die now, than live a life of obvious ease in such a civil world."

" What we need in this day and time is a much needed note of realism against the chorus of flatulent self-congratulation by the mediocrities who currently lead our society."

A fistful of paradoxes

2007-04-19T07:32:00.000-07:00

I've come to a place in life where I've found that essentially everything I have known or currently know is counterproductive in my search for Jesus. Being brought up in the church I've come to know a serene, non-abrasive Jesus, Who is out there winning the battles for me without me ever having to go into the trenches. I've been told that with Him on my side that nothing could ever go wrong, but if it does it must be something I've done. However, the truth is, when does Jesus ever promise me job security, lots of money, happy-go-lucky life, and I think the answer is never. Forgive my pestimistic rhetoric if you will and look beyond what I'm saying. Jesus invaded this earth on a mission to radically create a movement unlike anyone has ever seen before. Even His disiples continually doubted His actions and statements. These teachings they were hearing were absolutely unheard of yet so tanglible and true that whether they didn't fully understand it they were still drawn to them. The power and passion injected throughout the teachings were so personable and heart-piercing it disturbed the leaders of the church, the pharasees, whom Jesus constantly rhetorically fought a constant basis throughout the Gospel. The reality of Jesus becomes Truth in my life when I daily surrender myself to Jesus and jump down into the trenches begin fighting for His kingdom instead of standing alone on the battle field as an open target for the enemy. I'm tired of lying to myself and denying who I was created to be. I want the radical Jesus, simply, but wholly.

Joy of Humility

2007-02-11T10:45:00.000-08:00

On my face is where we meet.

strange days...

2007-02-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

In light of recent events I really want to ask myself could our situation get any worse? Hillary Clinton a possible candidate for presidency, the war in Iraq, the nuclear conflict with Iran, the growing concern over global warming, and the untimely death of Nicole Smith...well ok, maybe that was somewhat expected. These series of unfortunate events capture what it means to live in a world full corrupt rulers and self-motivated individuals. To break such a horrific cycle I believe we as the Church should...stop...be still...When chaos plays on around us we need to stop, be still, look-up, and listen. One thing I've learned is that you can't avoid what you don't control. When confronted with such situations I know there is nothing I can do in my power to change my surroundings so in response I realize my need for the Lord. My imperfection glorifies His perfection. If I could say one thing that could change most of our problems it would be this, "Love, love, love" The beatles had it right, "All we need is love".

a new major

2007-01-31T09:12:00.000-08:00

Currently classified as a junior in the College of Business I've decided to make some minor changes dealing with my major. I've switched from general business to economics which I persume is the best choice in my interest according the Dr. Stern. This switch will not be an easy transfer because I've got to adopt some basic statistical knownledge for the rest of my classes which doesn't sound like to much fun. Cal. II is whooping my butt right now so as I begin to second guess my decision I look to the Lord for confirmation. Nothing. There's always that timing thing that never seems to work when I want it to. That's the Lord's way of saying that He's in control I guess.

D-Now Weekend Extravaganza

2007-01-16T09:24:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was absolutely high-energy, exhausting, yet rewarding all at the same time. I co-lead a group of 7th grade guys with my roommate Zach and he would agree with me when I say there was no quiet moment our entire weekend.

The Lord moved in a slight and suttle way taking my expectations and throwing them out the window. I went down to Crestview, FL with hopes of watching a revolutionary event happen in those guys lives this weekend and left with the exact opposite. None of the guys seemed changed or even phased and I had a hard time copeing with the fact that they weren't all about running after the Lord and thats when it hit me. In all my selfish mindset and I had gone down there with the wrong expectations. Those guys more than anything wanted to just "hangout" with college-aged guys and be crazy. That was their aim and focus for the weekend and we did just that with a few quiet time intervals in between to try to rally their focus on Jesus which sadly yielded only a few of the guys attention. None-the-less, the Lord moved through Zach and I by just being. Our presence was enough for the Lord to work and move whether those guys recognized it or not. Its not always about teaching and saying all the right things, I think that just being that example is more than enough to spread Jesus. Having understood this for myself settled my heart and gave hope for what the Lord is doing in their lives right now in this moment.

Alot can be said about this weekend but I just want to leave it at, Jesus met us right where we were and He was made known and given all the glory. Recognizing Jesus in every situation and circumstance and understanding the power of the cross will move anyones heart if they are willing to accept Him right where they are.

step-by-step

2007-01-07T09:59:00.000-08:00

Thanks to T-Brooks I have furhter enlightened myself on what to do with the "stuff" that engulfs my daily life. An article he directed me to provided the following steps on how to identify and rid our busy lives. Now I know these summarizations are a bit trivial, however, they do provide much truth in them. I want to take it a step further and look at this step-by-step process from a Jesus-centered point-of-view.
(All * are my additions)

1. identify all the stuff in your life that isn’t in the right place *(sin)

2. get rid of the stuff that isn’t yours or you don’t need right now *(verbal express your sin through pray)

3. create a right place that you trust and that supports your working style and values
*(develop a quiet time)

4. put your stuff in the right place, consistently
*(practice ceaseless pray/always be eternally focused)

5. do your stuff in a way that honors your time, your energy, and the context of any given moment
*(give the Lord all praise and glory in everything)

6. iterate and refactor mercilessly

romance means more than soppy soap operas

2006-12-07T13:31:00.000-08:00

if theres one thing i lack right now, its romance. romance from the very one who created this intimate closeness between two beings. ive lost touch of this intimacy between my heart and the Lord. ive allowed my heart to be wooed by earthly desires and lustful deceptions. the Lord has put this passion in my heart to be romanced by Him, its only through His intimacy will i ever be fully loved, accepted, and received as whole and without fault.

concerns, fears, and eternal promises

2006-11-24T10:49:00.000-08:00

my mind has been filled with deception and uncertainty lately about major life decisions. its hard for me to trust in the unforeseen promises of the Lord and trust in His sufficient grace as the time nears crunch time for a decisions to be made. i struggle with not allowing myself to get in the way of the decisions to be made, but to allow myself to step aside and wait on a response. i know His promises are true and sufficient putting them into practice is another story. its seems like when it rains, it pours for me. when one thing goes wrong, everything seems to be falling right behind it. i guess my choice to not disrupt the Lords ordained plan is acting totally against my nature. i know the outcome is His will, i just dont know if its the outcome i want to happen.

taking a step back for a better perspective

2006-11-13T12:24:00.000-08:00

life comes at us sometimes in an overwhelming fashion leaving us in way over our heads. thats where i've been for the past few weeks, in way over my head, getting caught up in life and all its false-hopes and pipe dreams. coming out of this overwhelming experience has left me with a better perspective on alot of things including what life looks like through the eyes of someone who doesn't place there faith in the Lord. life at this angle is filled with missing puzzle pieces that are constantly being searched for. a big relief for me since i know the one who holds these pieces. letting go is the hardest thing i can ever do yet it brings me to that place where i never want to leave. loving life and being satisfied in this place where the Lord has me is the best gift in the world. nothing can satisfy me more.

I'm back

2006-11-09T14:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it has been awhile since I've last posted. I have been quite bogged down with school work and life to have time to stop, sitdown, and think about anything. It feels good to hit the pause button every once and awhile. To be continued....

an uneasy soul

2006-10-02T11:40:00.000-07:00

emptying out my soul is what i feel like im doing. the lifelessness i feel now is piercing my heart, the same one that beats in sequence with your heart father. all logic points in the direction of destruction and condemnation but your light still shines through the darkness consuming me. the light is my only hope. all that my faith is founded on is that light, the hope and promise of your son. i will continue to strive. i will continue to obey and love. i will continue to trust that this life has much more meaning than what i can see. being able to understand is not the answer, just trusting and waiting. wait. thats the word. wait. patience. hold on. just wait.

a new perspective

2006-09-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

what if the new style was not being like everyone else? imagine if for once being cool meant being not like everyone else or part of a certain group. what if living or striving to be like something or someone wasn't the most important thing in our culture? where would life get "its" definition from? what would we do as culturally driven people? what would your self-image be? would it reflect that of your creator or yourself? hmmm..good question. why must life's main idea remain this everlasting game of trying to possess our own soul by the possession of something outside it? look for something more deeper, more eternal than this materistic view life gives us. Looking to culture you will only learn that it refuses to learn the truths of the spirit, which is that good and the means of good, love and the means of love, are irreconcilable.

2006-09-12T19:25:00.000-07:00

Luke 8:2

"and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary Magdalene from whom seven demons had come out;"

Whats going on before and after this passage to put it in better perspective the passage talks of the twelve disciples and the women who have chosen a life of serving the Lord and His followers. In particular I want to examine the seven demons that Jesus casted out of Mary Magdalene. Now normally I would look at something like this and be in awe of the deliverance of a woman plagued with evil spirits but this instance I think there is something that lies deeper within these seven demons.

First off, before I go any further with this I want to make everyone aware I am not adding nor taking away from scripture I am just writing my take on this topic.

I believe I have figured out the name of those seven demons that controlled Mary Magdalene, and no I am not a biblical scholar just a Child of the Father who listens to his Fathers voice. These seven names are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Now, that wasn't that bad was it. Interesting huh. I just named the seven days of the week. How can they be the seven demons that plagued Mary? Well Mary realized her need for Jesus and instead of living day to day she was obedient to His calling was broke free from the stronghold of each day or demon. Talk about a "case of the mondays". Alot of times I'm overwhelmed by the Wednesday demon but all it takes is a simple recognition that it has no power and stronghold over my actions and thoughts because I have professed these things outloud to my Savior who has totally taken over my week.

Again, I am not trying to take away or add to scripture I am just sharing my thougths on the topic. Enjoy Him.

a growing depressed generation?

2006-09-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

after reading an article on foxnews.com i was moved to express my feelings on the topic of a growing number of college students becoming victims of depression. the article states that suicide is the second leading cause of death among the college population. but why? what's driving so many students to this state of depression? well professional counselors say simple, life. these students come from a variety of different backgrounds ranging from high-class to lower-class, deriving from broken homes, sexually abused, exposure to media violence, fighting an obession with physical appearance and money. life is hard. life is not always fair. however, there is an answer to all of these challenges we as college students encounter. the answer can be simply be found...prayer! ask Father for His help in those times of depression. He knows your hurts, pains, and disgruntled thoughts, however, He wants to hear from your mouth the cry of desperation and the acknowledgment that there is nothing that you can do to fix your situation and that you fully trust and believe that He is there to pull you out of your valley. be encouraged!

embrace what's yours

2006-09-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

embracing the gifts and freedom we receive from Him each day. live life knowing you are blessed each day with a smile on your face and with the hope that He gives us to make it through the day. much like the cliche phrase "seize the day" we has Christians should embrace where we are in life while praising and rejoicing in our inadquacies. by doing so we are acknowledging that it is Him who gives us each breath we take and it is Him and only Him who has granted us grace to continue on. embrace the season of life you are in. "Blessed is the man who Trust in the Lord and whose Trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit."
Jeremiah 17: 17-18

if you are in Him, no matter what season you are going through He is there moving whether you realize it or not. are your embracing Him where you are currently so that you may continue to yield fruit? embrace. embrace. embrace. hmmmm...now thats good stuff!

coffee, calculus, and a spiritual awakening

2006-09-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

its interesting this thing called college. i sit here staring at my calculus work. a page filled with numbers and letters jumbled together into a thing called an equation which apparently is suppose to mean something to me. some how the far reaches of my brain have a hard time trying to grasp this concept of numbers and figures. the oddity of it all is that while looking at this sheet filled math problems the Lord intervenes my thoughts. in the midst of apply rules to these equations He taps my emotions. the realness of Him, the Holy Counselor, makes Himself known. in all objectivity the presence of a living God that lives within me sturrs my soul. i dont know if its the potent mixture of Cambridge Special Dark coffee and calculus or a time and place the Lord wanted to reveal to me His continual presence working in me as i sat there figuring out the problem of differentiation. none the less i know it is Him that is moving because i feel tapping on my heart to share His love and encouragement. i love when He moves me. the restoration is much needed.

revolutionary prayer

2006-08-26T09:33:00.000-07:00

my heart has yearned for a clear connection through prayer and not that i have figured all the kinks out yet, however, i do have a better perspective of how i should enter into a time of prayer. pray is a gift from God. a gift of Holy Communion between not just God the Father but also His Spirit along with The Son. Without one part the other can not function.

three main elements lie in part to intercessary prayer: (1) laying at His feet, in an act of reverance, humility, or honor for His glory (2) decerning His will and praying in accordance to it and (3) knowing and allowing His word abide in you, rhema word, the Living and Breathing word of God.

as simple as these three things may seem to be putting them into practice takes patience and a willingness to submit to Him for as long as He wants to be in communion with you, His child. as you can see ive really dug deep to try to figure out this prayer thing and now that i have the principle concepts behind what Jesus meant by saying,"When you pray do it this way". Amazing what the Lord can show us through simple submission and asking upon His name to reveal something so vital for my spiritual growth.

a few good words

2006-08-17T23:31:00.000-07:00

keep reminding me of my need to be with you. i desire to only boast in my failures, and trust with sincere faith that you are there to bring me through. independence is my downfall. bring more brokenness so that i may continue to seek your source of life and not the one of this world. my pray is Your kingdom come, Your will be done. Your kingdom is not for later but reigns true over my life right here in the present time. Your will i pray may be done through my adherence to your present kingdom set forth before me. my Your will be burnt on my heart so i may continually seek your council first.

hallowed be thy name

2006-08-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

communing with God through prayer i often forget the model Jesus gave us to follow when we pray. one fragment of the Lord's prayer that what i believed is the basis of our faith is, hallowed be thy name. to worship someone is to acknowledge His worth, to give Him honor and reverence due Him. Thus, Jesus begins by reminding us of the Supremecy of God, the One who lives in heaven and who controls all the affairs of the universe. (Daniel 4: 34-35)
Kay Arthur writes this about the name of God, "God's name testify to His character. If you hallow His name, then you acknowledge and respect who He is and behave accordingly." i feel i need to be more reverent when coming into the presence of the Lord while calling upon His name. Thank you; Elohim my Creator, El Elyon The Most High, Jehovah Tsidkenu The Lord our Righteousness, Jehovah Jireh The Lord will provide, Jehovah Raah The Lord my Shepard, Jehovah Shalom The Lord send peace, Jehovah Nissi The Lord is my Banner, Jehovah Rapha The Lord that healeth, Jehovah Shammah The Lord is there! Specifically call out to His name in which you desperately need in prayer. He loves the voice of His children calling out His name, He desires for us to be passionate for His name. All power and glory reside in His name!

be my rest

2006-08-11T17:41:00.000-07:00

summer classes have ceased and now i find myself enjoying the fullness of Jesus, soaking in Him and finding peace and rest from His Word. He has showed me that this place of rest He desires to give me even through busy times. my sabbath is any day of the week i choose to sit aside my daily routine and focus on His Heart and Word. it's exactly what He intended the sabbath to be. during my sabbath i receive strength, renewal, joy, and most of all rest. i love His presence during these intimate moments of prayer and intercetion they reveal so much more than what i ever expect.

listening means to abide

2006-08-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

life comes with lots of decisions, some harder than others to make. ultimately, a decision must be met and the determining factor on what you choose comes down to whether you choose to abide by what the spirit leads you to choose or whether you make a man-based decision. now both can have positive outcomes that doesn't neccesarily mean it was a good choice. situations have risen lately for me and the pressure is on to stand strong in who i am and to listen with a discerning heart what it is the Lord has in store for me. im fed up with worrying and not knowing what i should do, im ready to listen and abide. im tired of listening to all of the negativity and pesimistic views of the world. i want the truth. i want freedom. i want life abundant. i want an obediant heart. i long for joy, hope, and peace to become what makes me who i am. i want people to look at me and see a gentle spirit, one of warmth and genuine compassion for others. i ask for more brokeness and humility. keep it coming. its in this place i find who i really am and under what authority i truly live by.

just to hear you speak.

2006-07-26T14:18:00.000-07:00

The Lord is doing some radical changes in me right now. He is slowly revealing to me His gift of unending grace in relevance with my existing idea of inadequicy of communing with Him. He has continued to love me consistantly throughout each season whether up or down just to hear me speak the simple statement, "I love you, I am yours". There's so much power found in that simplistic statement. His Spirit moves with this same power, the power that raised Jesus from the Grave resides within me. I feel the more we realize we are adequite and do possess this power that we can truly experience true communion with the Lord creating balance and structure for our lives.

israel

2006-07-22T19:52:00.000-07:00

israel, the apple of the Lord's eye, at war. we as american's should stand beside israel even though the jewish religion isn't neccessarily our own beliefs, jesus never denied his jewish roots. the Lord's promises still remains for His chosen people. the Lord has specifically instructed that we as gentiles should help lead the jews to know Jesus as we know him. any person, tribe, country, leader, group, etc that provokes violence toward israel will experience the wrath of God just as described throughout the old testament. we as Christian's should prepare and focus our hearts and minds for reaching out to those jews who don't know Christ. we should pray for the nation of israel and for the Lord's presence to be shown throughout the war.

talking about iceland.

2006-07-04T14:44:00.000-07:00

running from a calling is what i've been doing. the Lord laid the people of iceland on my heart back at the beginning of january and it has taken me this long to finally adhere to that calling. call it a time of preparation if you will, but funny thing is the whole spring semester and the summer semester all the way up until now i've been doing everything but really listening to what the Lord's wants from me and now all of the sudden this iceland vision comes up again. through it all the Lord has shown me his souvernty and consistency with me in a steady pursuit of my heart. its like i figured He stopped when i stopped seeking his will but, all along the away he was there softly and gently calling me and fashioning me to His likeness and beauty. worrying and fear are my enemy in this time of steadying my heart to the Lord's vision for me. prayer is what i long for from friends and family as i journey into a new and exciting season the Lord has in store for me. my prayers are directed toward the people of iceland preparing their hearts for the Word that is going to be shared by the mission workers. pray for the Lord's hand to lift up the church in iceland and spread throughout the island.

hot topics: Questioning the divinity of Christ?

2006-05-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

A couple of years back an author by the name of Dan Brown released a book called, "The Da Vinci Code" which would in turn rock the foundations of the church. Many readers Christian and nonChristian interpretted the text of Brown's as faSINating new discoveries of a long time conspirarcy of our Savior Jesus the Christ. Brown provides falsified evidence stating Jesus' divinity was made up by a group of bureaucrats speeching on behalf of the church centuries ago thus extinguishing the gospels truths.

1 Timothy (3-10)

3.As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer 4.nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work—which is by faith. 5.The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6.Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. 7.They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.

8.We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9.We also know that law[a] is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10.for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.

It upsets me that the Lord's own would fall victim to such absurdity, but also shows the grace which he has so faithfully giveness us to cover the decisions we all will make. My hope is in His Kingdom that reigns forever in which nothing will remain there if unclean or false because it has been cleansed and blessed by the Lord. If something doesn't settle right with you whether its teaching or certain doctoraine ask your Father who holds the truth to all things and He will reveal to you the abundance of Truth.

love: the derivative of passion

2006-04-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

Edmund Burke a British Rhetorist wrote this about love, passion, and desire. Though this passage from his excert on "Beauty" was not intended for believers, I find it quite copisetic with biblical truths.

"Which shows that beauty, and the passion caused by beauty, which I call love, is different from desire, though desire may sometimes operate along with it; but it is to this latter that we must attribute those violent and tempestuous passions, and the consequent emotions of the body, which attend what is called love in some of its ordinary acceptations, and not to the effects of beauty merely as it is such." -Edmund Burke

The origin of the word passion is Latin, Passio, which literally was created to describe and mean the suffering of Christ. The perfection through his life and the shedding of His blood is the beauty which drives our passion and in turn the product is love. There is no seperation, through pure passion for His name our lives are defined by love. I Cor. 13 Desire is a biproduct of passion but is only based off of emotion which in small portions is ok but should never control us fully.

Beauty can never fully be defined because of who and what it represents, something so sacred no words or art can truly express. Our perceptions are just imatations and blurry figures compared to what the meaning of beauty really represents.

more.

2006-04-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

He is slowly showing me my place in authority. i'm finding out how inadequite i truly am without Him. humility is what i long for. once i can openly receive that gift of humility the more childlike in spirit i will be. i want my heart to be fully consumed by His and learn what it truly means to be a child of God.

the best we've known has yet to come.

2006-03-21T22:18:00.000-08:00

eternity driven. stepping into the unknown...

made in heaven.

2006-03-08T21:06:00.000-08:00

i hate how i limit myself to His abundance through living in a self-control enviroment. living a life of allowing myself to predict my next move, i'm sure, isn't what He intended. His creation fashioned by the hands of the greatest choreographer. so let go. BE! be maliable. mold in His sight not your own. shape to His beautiful purpose. the end result is His gift to you...beauty!

made in heaven.

satisfaction guarantee.

2006-02-27T18:00:00.000-08:00

Life. The essence of existence. God. The creator. Spiritual-beings. Made in the image of their creator. Duty? To ultimately bring its creator glory. Reason? The creator's selfishness. Direction? Abandonment, relationship, selfless love. Outcome. Wholeness, identity, and freedom.

Is freedom being exhausted for our desire to hold on to the chains? The freedom of simply BEING. No rules. No religion. Just life.

The life abundant is patiently awaiting our arrival with open arms. Are we willing to receive it?
No cost. Satisfaction guarantee.

to the least of these.

2006-02-22T22:14:00.000-08:00

"For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have."

I give back with what He has gifted me. It's to the least of these that I give back too. I have everything in Him and will do everything through Him. It's not a test it's a passion for His name. Life has lost it's contingency because for the first time it has purpose and meaning though my future direction seems unpredictable I trust that there is something beyond my expectations awaiting me. In serving and giving what I don't from a worldly perspective I know that he will bless and anoint my situations as they occur.

intimacy awakened.

2006-02-20T22:48:00.000-08:00

"You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with on jewel of your necklace. How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume more than any spice! Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue." How can we deny such beauty and love? He entices us with these characteristics each day yet we find no delight in Him. STEAL MY HEART! Let your love flow in me!

indescribable beauty.

2006-02-17T08:03:00.000-08:00

Job replied to the Lord:

"I know that you can do ALL THINGS; no purpose of yours can be twarted. You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know."

"You said, 'Listen NOW, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.' My ears had heard of you but NOW my eyes have SEEN YOU. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."

Job's struggles have already occured by this point in time and Job has question God's authority. Job's character has been tested, tried, and refined by God's Mercy now a broken man humbled before the Lord he states these very things above. No matter the circumstances we find ourselves going through our faith should rest solely on Him.

The Lord questions Job asking him who obscured his plans without knowledge. When the Truth is finally revealed in the end, Job realizes he had been the very one who obscured his own plans because they were based on his own efforts. Once Job realized this profound statement through alittle self-evaluation he quickly repents and expresses that the wonder of God is beautiful, unique, Holy, relentless, powerful, mighty, knowledge, or basically indescribable.

One thing I have learned over the past few months is listening to the many variations of God's communication skills. Though He may speak to me different ways whether through His Word or others, there is always a common characteristic about His voice, it's always in the present tense. In the verses above you see the Lord telling Job to listen to him now, in the present, stop, sit down, turn off that tv, get off the computer, put down my Word, and listen to me I want to reveal my beauty to you. There is beauty in receiving in silence with the Lord. The Lord says He will question Job and that Job will answer. I don't think God actually had a question to ask Job about because God is the very one who made up the question, however, I believe the purpose for God questioning Job was to exercise Job's willingness to put aside his agenda and pick up the Lord's through simple obedience.

Job rejoices because not only has he heard from a Living and Breatheing God but his eyes have been uncovered to see God's fullness. How indescribable is that moment when Job finally realizes just how beautiful God really is. I feel like in that moment, once Job's eyes were open to see the Lord in all His splendor that all of Job's fears, doubts, anxiety, depression, and any other problems produced during his horrible situation that previously occured were all removed. My prayer for myself as well as the one's I am involved with daily is for us to look to the Lord when things seem there lowest or even highest, just a glance at His beauty will expell all other thoughts. He is sufficient in times of need. Meditation and pray is the avenue that leads us to His throne. His Word is the true knowledge. His Spirit is our guide. His love is our motivation. His beauty keeps us coming back for more.

life is where the heart is.

2006-02-12T21:54:00.000-08:00

truth, love, and intimacy is met at the intersection of; life through christ and life of worldliness. we find that these two roads take us down two totally different paths which appeal to our emotions that can be catagorized either "short-termed" or "long-term" (eternity focused) . one eventually leads to spiritual execution while the other to a spiritual renewal. i believe in community and the benefits it has to offer the contemperary christian, however, we sometimes forget that community is just the venue. true life is met when the relationship is put before community that way the heart is fully relied on to get us through life. when our hearts meet life the final product is the abundance of fruit that we are called to share with our brothers and sisters. its in this place where community is running at 100% efficiency because it started with one-on-one "doing life with God" time.

Speed of Light = 300,000 m/s

2006-02-10T19:35:00.000-08:00

When we stand before Him heavy and burdened He without hesitation takes all the excess weight. What a lighter subject to lighten a heavy situation. What about His light? His light a beacon for all the world to see His hand in everything but ultimately reveal His glory.

Beauty in the Surreal...

2006-02-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

Every day life, a gift from the Creator Himself. The beauty of life is my personal experience with a REAL grace and peace from a REAL God in a surreal setting of soaking and receiving. This place I speak of is where I tap into true intimacy with the Holy Spirit at work in me. An explosion of love, vision, truth, peace, and guideness settle on my heart to bring comfort and rest.

The beauty in these moments is unexplainable, thats why they seem to be surreal. We who call ourselves Christian's have the authority to reach into the Throne Room of God and take hold of the very things we need to get us through this real life. The beauty in the surreal is where I want to live this "real" life of mine.

-Raise up Mount Zion, the choosen ones of God, and receive from His beauty-

My heart longs....

2006-02-07T08:17:00.000-08:00

The beauty that encompasses love is unexplainable. I wish to have been there when God transformed Solomon's heart that inspired him to write the book of song of songs. The compassion and deep desire displayed through out every verse are the very emotions I cry out to receive. I feel Him wooing my heart to love his love and embrace it with my everything. That way I will be careful not to awaken love until it so desires. His annointed, sacred, convenant of love my heart longs to be drenched with.

Breathe Him in...

2006-02-01T09:45:00.000-08:00

Breathe in the Lord's sweet aroma today. We have been washed clean by Him and carry the scent of the Father. Where we go we dispense His sweetness in hope for others to become asphyxiated in Him.

His Peace...

2006-01-31T08:36:00.000-08:00

My heart finds refuge in Your peace. Though storms rage all around I find comfort in You. When the enemy catches me off guard You are there to shed Your light to scare away the darkness surrounding me. I love Your presence Father. For all eternity You never grow old. You are always refreshing and persistant. Father thank you for being You.

Stay in Him.

Present Suffering and Future Glory

2006-01-30T11:10:00.000-08:00

Romans 8:18-21

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God."

I for one find this passage quite refreshing because so often I find myself complacent and comfortable in sin that I forget that if I resist through suffering for Christ that there is a promise of glory waiting for me at the end. Once we arrive at the place where God has called us to be in perfect union with Him through His Spirit that dwells in us then we will be totally liberated from this world and finally become adopted into sonship. In this moment will we finally breathe the true breath of life in and be filled with His consuming compassion in hopes that others may be consumed by Him the one who consumed us.

The Reason for Sacrifice...

2006-01-24T08:39:00.000-08:00

John 1:16
"Out of his fullness we have all recieved grace in place of grace already given."

God could have freely given everyone on Earth grace for their past, present, and future sins. Instead He chose His Son as a sacrifice in hopes for everyone's grace. God left the choice of Free Will up to us to choose grace. Now the question that pulls at my heart is, "How many people don't know Grace or ever heard of it?" To ignore my heart is to ignoring life itself. I must live from my heart daily to seek out what it is He has called me to do. He has made my choice! Amen!

-Always seeking-

AH HA!

2006-01-18T22:41:00.000-08:00

So today after my quiet time at Cambridge Coffee the Lord revealed to me something huge. Now the answer is not here yet and I'm still munching away on this new idea but there seems to be a connection between our "Identity in Christ" and walking in obedience according to His Will for us. My theme for this season I'm going through is, "How to truly walk in Obedience". This concept is so hard to follow because you are leaving yourself vulnerable to Christ' work in and through you anywhere and anytime. It scares me to death because the more real I get with Him the more my heart leans toward total abandonment which could take me in any unknown direction in life. Yea, I know, and the direction that keeps tugging at my heart is the nations though I don't know what it all entails all I can do is just trust that He will make it clear to me in His timing.

2006-01-16T13:59:00.000-08:00

Jeremiah 2:13- *A leaky cistern*

13.My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

The title of Jeremiah Chapter 2 is "Israel Forsakes God". Now I know that maybe not sound much like a surprise since most books within the old testament have aleast one Chapter in discussing the disobidence of the people of Israel (God's chosen people). In verse 13 I find the analogy quite useful in getting the point across. God has is revealing to his people that they have harden their hearts to His will and have chosen to live a life based off their own efforts. God has filled their cisterns inwhich He has gracefully given them yet they choose to dig their own cistern to fill with the "earthly desires".

I know in my life I find myself digging away at my cistern and living a life based solely on MY concerns, fears, struggles, and misguidance. There are two things wrong with digging and filling our own cistern. When digging our own cistern we are choosing to do the "work of God" or in other words playing the role of God in our lives. In scripture its plain and clear that the cistern has already been dug and all we have to do is remain faithful to receive the living water. To our dismay our finished project of a cistern is all jacked up and flawed and we soon find that whatever we fill it with doesn't stay very long even if we do fill it with God. The second problem is when we dig this cistern based on our of efforts what we choose to fill it with is usually based on selfish ambisions and motives. The living water, God's refreshing, cool, filling, unending, satisfying, drink is put aside to fulfill short term desires and passions. So now after having said all this I ask myself,"Am I ready to stop this digging and allow God to fill my cistern He has already given me to be filled with His life giving water?"

Drink from Him!

2006-01-09T18:13:00.000-08:00

Just a "little" bit of faith in the New Year

Acts 3;1-10
1.One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2.Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3.When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4.Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5.So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

I must confess that sometimes I feel like the cripple man talked about in the verses above. In the moments of brokeness and emptiness I sit self-consumed in my sorrows wasting a gift called Beautiful or Life. I find the story frustrating because this picture of a man, crippled and broken, sitting outside of a temple because thats where he directed his friends to carry him. He had the capablity to be carried to the temple,however, chose to be placed at the gate to dwell on his diabilities instead of lifting up his abilities to the Lord in the temple. In doing this he would forfeit his own efforts to the Lord and live life by faith. This is a great introduction to what happens next in the following verses.

6.Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7.Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. 8.He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9.When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10.they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

This New Year I think I've heard more about New Years Resolutions than any other year and truthfully I'm neither discouraged or encouraged by this. It's good in the sense that people see room for improvement in their life but to their dismay it's only a Resolution which usually follows in disobidence and lack of will power to do or not to do they said they would do. Therefore, I propose a new goal for the New Year. To continue on through the rest of the verses, John and Peter meet the cripple man at the gate before entering the temple for prayer. The events that occur in the next few minutes speak the entire "Christian life". The cripple man probably had no clue who the two men were and had probably heard of Jesus before and maybe a few stories about the miracles of Jesus but probably never witnessed any first hand since he was cripple and sat at the gates of the temple everyday. When the two men reached out to help the man up while proclaiming the healing, the man without hesitation reached out on an act of faith. THIS IS PROFOUND!!!! This cripple, nonchristian, self-consumed, begger of a man actually took a step of faith! Now I'm not saying this cripple guy had this amazing amount of faith because more than likely there was about 99.9% of doubt in his heart yet they left just enough room for that .1% of faith to step in and wow what an outcome! This New Year I want to live a life of faithfulness. In faith I sure don't know the outcome however I do know that whatever the outcome is it won't be because of self-consumed actions but the will of my Father. Once the cripple man was healed his joy was uncontainable leaving the people around the gate in amazement not only about the miracle but the might power and love of our God. This is ultimately my prayer and hope that my choosing to live a life of faith will encourage and provoke others to come too or closer to a God who loves and adores them.
-Be blessed-

2005-12-14T10:25:00.000-08:00

1 Corinthians (Paul's first letter to the Church of Corinth)

4. I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5. For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge— 6. because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. 7. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.

Before verse four Paul reminds the Church that God has made them Holy through the name of Jesus Christ. After some brief research, Holy, means to "be set apart". This seperation is the division of among the people by the way they think and function, instead of doing the things that comes naturally which is influenced my worldly standards they CHOOSE to act and think differently than the majority. Because of this heavenly mindset in verses 4-7 he encourages them that because of their faith God will grant them with gifts that will enhance their vision and broaden their minds to see beyond what this world has to offer.

18. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."

Gosh, what simply truth can be taught from this passage. So often we hear that the cross empowers us but how often do we really believe the "cliche" statement? There is no wisdom without knowledge of the cross, however, with the knowledge of the cross brings fulfillment in all aspects of life. The power, our foundation, and life only come through the cross. Meditate on what the cross truly represent in your life. Does it reflect the absolute power of God? Or does it reflect a cliche verse that we believe because it was taught to us as little children in sunday school and we know we must have it to go to heaven?

2005-12-07T14:07:00.000-08:00

Wow, its been awhile since I've posted my thoughts. Right now the Lord has been so good to me, teaching me His faithfulness and showing me His unfailing love. The realness of God is overwhelming in my life right now. There is so much He is daily revealing to me through visions and dreams. His spirit is drenching His children and His calling is echoing through the streets of Auburn. I see the reflection of the Son more and more each day in my life as well as the life of other brothers and sisters which keeps me encouraged. "No matter what may come, my heart was made for you, forever"-watermark. This should be moto in life. No matter what rough times we endure our hearts were made for one purpose and how we use it reflects either the existence of the Son or the existence of our selfishness.

2005-11-15T11:04:00.000-08:00

In order for us as Christian's to begin to wrap our mind's around what it is our Father wants for us we must asked for a RMC. Radical Mind Change. Once we can totally remove our thoughts, wants, and desires which are self-driven, we leave room for divinity to work and move in and through us. We should understand the concept of ridding our motives and gifts for short-lived things and reroute our focus on the eternal gifts. This will drive our passion's in a totally different direction than what we could have ever began to fathom thus we discover more and more of God's truths. The change in focus will change our attitude about why we were created. The love of the Father in us will be more apparent to others and the result is His ultimate glorification.

2005-11-10T07:30:00.000-08:00

How my heart longs to be with you. For so long you hid Your love and now You have awaken my spirit full of joy, hope, and peace. Your presence is over-whelming and I desire nothing more than to magnify You and give You all the glory. Lord help me come to the place of full abandonment where I have no choice but look to You for guidance. Your kingdom is the source of the River of Life, that brings forth life to anything and everything that drinks from its water. Your mercy pours down to covers us like a blanket of newly fallen snow. Your soft gentle breath of wind speaks of its creator. The mountains echo Your mighty power father. Lord my soul rejoices when it hears from the father of the universe. Help turn my focus away from my own selfish desires and turn them toward Your people. Put in me the desire to serve You through serving others. May material things have no control over me, because Lord, this world has nothing for me. May all the Glory and Honor and Praise be to you my Lord my King forever and ever. Amen.

2005-11-01T05:45:00.000-08:00

7:30 in the morning before my 8 o clock class and usually I'm just waking instead through an act of obedience I have decided to make this time my quiet time. This mornings reading of Ezekiel Ch. 1 absolutely blew me away! Lately, the Lord seemed to have lost His luster and in my life and the passage I read this morning reminded me just how Brilliant God is! As I read through the verses chills began to run down my back has God's Truth slowly seeped through my mind. Its amazing the things He will reveal to us if we come to Him in obedience. I want to learn more about His love. God is perfect and God is love, so therefore, God is perfect love. No mind can fully grasp this concept I just wish to somewhat take hold of this new concept and reverse the affects on me to show others. I find it funny that I even read the Ezekiel passage in the first place because I intended on reading Dan. Ch. 1 but by accident without me knowing I guess I pressed the Ezekiel passage. So after being blown away then realizing that the passage wasn't even Daniel I was floored even more because God intended on speaking to me through my own human flaw...haha...isn't it great to know that if He wants He can speak to us through anything even our screw ups. Well I read the Daniel passage and it gave an account of Daniel and other prophets being taught wisdom and understanding through the King's counsel. Of course the main concept of this passage is listening to the Lord we also can gain knowledge, wisdom, and understand but I believe more importantly the Truth we can gather from this is if we rely on just ourselves to grow in anything that we will not succeed, however, through community and the Lord's hand we can. Well thats all Ive got right now, its about time to head to class.
Thank you Lord for teaching me through my imperfection.

2005-10-31T20:45:00.000-08:00

ok, this sucks, i had this really long thought out message written and I lost it before I could publish it. I guess it wasn't God's intention for it to be posted. For me to sum it up in one sentence I would have to say this. God is love. So let us love one another because God loves us. Simple yet so complex.

2005-10-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

Well this is no fun, Im sitting at work all by myself on a saturday while there is an Auburn game going on. Well yesterday was interesting since it started off reasonably slow and easy and what I thought would be a day of rest turned out to be quite busy since I had to come into work for someone. Last night was fun standing outside around a fire with friends talking and making fools of ourselves. Kalli Black hung out with me last night, shes my new friend who is going to be a future resident at campus pointe next semester. Shes a really sweet girl and is fun to be around. Well back to watching the Auburn game.

2005-10-27T22:48:00.000-07:00

Well its alittle after midnight and Im sitting down for my first cup of coffee. Encounter was tonight with special guest holy spirit, it was quite amazing! My expectations were totally thrown out the window with Rita Springer. She has an amazing heart for worship and I feel bad for down playing her abilities before I even heard her. Matt's message pierced my heart tonight, he quoted the exact thing I was telling myself today when I was driving my car. How I long for the heart of my Father yet I feel as if Im inadequite and I still jacked up with sin. My heart is where it needs to be and my motives are good there are just struggles I have and will continue to have and I must learn to be content in Him through these struggles. Its hard to do that and say you are loving God with all your heart but then His reminder of Grace over me echo's all throughout my life and for me to deny that Truth is to deny life itself. The Lord has been doing some major repairs in my life right now and He has been calling out in me the Heart of David through worship and praise. I am in know way doubting God in this time of silence, I believe its a test of faith as He prepares me for something really awesome. The expectations are welling up inside of me and the excitement is almost unbareable, I have to talk about it, I just can't be silent any longer. I love this season I am in even though I don't know whats to come. Living a radical, God-inspired, Spirit-driven life, is one exhilerating ride that I hope never to get off of and hope that others around me join in on this breathe taking experience. Its 30 mins past midnight and I just finished my first cup of coffee. Coffee shop talk with Jesus is the best! Nothing like experiencing God over a steaming hot dark brew of beans in a fancy designed coffee cup while people talk about topics from relationship troubles to how many beer they had consumed early that day in the background. They randomly glance over toward me from time to time probably wondering if there loud convos are disturbing me and I just glance back at them with a smirk on my face giving then the signal that their not disturbing me and that I may even be kind of entertained by their convo. Well this has been a great post and I think its long enough even though I left out the part about me not doing so hot on my speech today in class. This is it for now and I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings well I guess I mean what later today brings since it is early in the morning. Thank goodness it's friday!

2005-10-26T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well today i met with my advisor and of course there is always bad news however the bad news isn't really that bad at all. The courses I have chosen to take next semester that I thought I needed for part of my core has been changed so I don't need to take them anymore which means I dont have enough hours to keep my scholarship right now and all my communication classes are full and i cant start on one of my minors until my junior year and Im still working my way slowly on my other minor. So Im stuck right now hoping, wishing, and waiting for one of the comm. classes to open up. Other than this news today has been pretty good for the most part. Ive got a speech tomorrow that Im not prepared for yet and its already 845 and I still have practice at church for sunday morning worship tonight. Oh well, Im sure Ill play the part well tomorrow in class and act like I know what Im talking about for 5 to 7 mins. Well back to closing up the office.

2005-10-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

Ahh got to love Tuesdays...class all day and work all night long! Its all good though, I had some good reading this morning at Cambridge before my 8 o clock class, Proverbs was the book of the day. God pretty much blew me away at 7 in the morning while I was having my coffee. He drove home the fact that knowledge and truth is Him and Him alone. Its not about reading intellectual books, watching cspan, or listening to boring professors when you want to gain knowledge. All we simply do is ask!?! Now who would have thought to be smart all you have to do is ask? Well I believe its alittle more than that, knowledge isn't always about how much you know I believe its about realizing how much you don't know and trusting Him in the things that you can't explain and watch Him reveal these truths to you thought His amazing awesome ways. So this must mean its different for everyone because not everyone experiences God in the same way, therefore, he reveals His knowledge, truth, and understanding through certain specific events, circumstances, or passions that we alone can acknowledge and distinguish the Lords Hand or intervention. For me lately, I have been trying to over analyze things in my life and the hardest part was trying to understand God. To me God was like one huge math equation I would think I was about to solve then sadly find out that theres more to the equation than I thought. Haha...funny how we naturally click God's minimize box so we think we have Him figured out and really we are just kidding ourselves and in doing so we leave room to move his little minized box to one side of our "screen" or life and open a new program to occupy our time with hmmmm....never really thought of it that way until now. Anyways, I guess God is constantly revealing Himself to me in different ways and its not until I ask Him will I ever endure this life of knowledge and truth.
The only equation I want in my life is; Mylife - Myself+Jesus=truth,love,confidence,satisfaction,hope,glory,grace, and lastly heaven!

2005-10-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

Just needed to say that I really enjoy the guys in my small group. Its always good to come together with a group of guys who want to get real about their lives and share it with others. Man bonding is the best!

2005-10-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

Well this weekend was bittersweet, Dad and I did the father son thing in T-town and watched bama barely slip by Tenn. with a 3 point victory and we had a good time however Auburn didn't perform to there fullest potiental and with the help of Vaughn loses the game. I mean I understand if a kicker misses a few field goals but when it comes down to crunch time and you miss 5 out of 6 I think someone needs to reevaluate a starting kicker position. What does a kicker do at practice all day??? Does he kick or does he just screw around on the side line until special teams time to hit the field. There is lots of room for adjustment in that area and something needs to be done before the blames falls on to Tuberville. Anyways, enough on that subject, today is monday and its great, no class or work! The time has come to schedule my class for next semester and I don't know what I need to take which probably isn't good so I'm going to take a visit to my advisor Wed. for some advice. Well thats about it for right now. Gone to go practice kicking since I have 4 years of eligiblilty left.

2005-10-21T14:06:00.000-07:00

Opps...I forgot to save my post from yesterday...oh well...nothing really fun happened anyways just class from 8am to 3pm and worked the usual hours from 5pm to 9pm at the lovely campus pointe apts. So today is quite relaxing being back at home in wetumpka and all..gotcha love good ol elmore county. Well tomorrow Im off to that other school to watch bama play tenn. with my dad..nothing like some quality time with pops. Well I gotta jet so ta ta for now.

-Godspeed (I don't really know what it means but I like it because it sounds cool)

2005-10-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

Recently the days have just seemed to fly by and I still feel like nothing is accomplished welcome to the story of Christian Calhoun. Funny how we allow ourselves to get bogged down with insignificant things and become frustrated. Everyday I tell myself the same things over and over, "O.K. Christian, today you are not going to allow yourself to get pulled down and swamped with fears of not accomplishing your task", but of course, as much as I hate it the thoughts overwhelm me and another day is lost all in vain. So I've been doing some theological reading and when I say reading I mean studying because John Piper is the most complicated author ever! Anyways, Mr. Piper has given me a new muse toliving life and it's summed up in one sentence, "To be TOTALLY satisfied in Him, He is ultimately glorified". Now I intently chewed on that sentence for a long time and have finally come to this conclusion that if I don't wake up each morning and literally say, "Alright Jesus I trust Your will for me and I give you my day and I will walk by faith in accordance to Your Word. I'm fully aware that things might go way wrong but I know that You are there to guide me through them or things might be awesome and instead of me taking the glory I will acknowledge that it is all because of Your grace that I can receive these earthly gifts and I will give You praise." Each day is a constant struggle for me as much as I may seem to have everything together, truthfully, I don't and trying to figure out this Christian life is the wrong way to go. I'm through with the religous factors of Christianity. It's not about; living a "good" life, giving lots of money to the church, saying a long complicated prayer infront of lots of people, being a speaker, being a worship leader, knowing lots of scripture, going to seminary, or supporting a child from another country, its all about seeking the Heart of Jesus and once you experience just a glimpse of His power and glory "YOUR life goals" will fade way and "His Will" will be implimented in your life. Gosh, thats alot of information but this is something that God is revealing to me slowly day after day so now everyday I can have something to look forward to when I wake up which is to see a new and exciting aspect of the God of the Universe! Wow, this was a very long blog and I can almost promise you that I won't have one this long ever again. Well I have done enough procrastinating for now so I must get back to work.

2005-10-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

This post goes out to the real american hero, the man who every young lad should aspire to be like one day, the one, the only zach benson!