The Ides of December

God wants us "at our wits end"

- A.B Simpson  Days of Heaven Upon Earth

A Proverb.

Assume nothing,     Know everything.

Ask and listen,
     The key to being a trusted friend.

I the Lord do not Change.
     But Son of Man, you are flawed.
You must change, so do not be afraid of water.
     Not when it is raging,
          nor when it is still.

When dwelling in the house of your fore father;
     accept each gift with a grateful heart.
But be cautious of those too foolish to fast.

Rest when told to rest.
     Wait when told to wait.
Stay diligent when assigned to the watchtower.
     But if you do the latter before the former,
           you will be found asleep in the bed of fools.
But the man who leaps from the highest peak with proper restraint,
     is praised among kings of every nation.

I have hunger,
    you have thirst.
Together we bicker and curse.
     But the answer for both is the same.
Stop longing for fresh milk
     and drink the cup you ignored to begin with.
Beginning to end is the only way.
     Then you shall be covered with glory.

If you are caught on a merry-go-round,
     after your eleventh year;
          and yell to the wind,"Life is not fare!"
Then shame will soon follow.
     But the blessing are of heavenly realm
     for the one who stops, and climbs onto the rock.

Humility without wisdom
     becomes a mat on the ground.
Wisdom without humility is an ugly tree,
     too stubborn to lose its leaves.
Find them both and your fruit will multiply.

God, you amaze me.

There are a few moments in life when everything seems to just ring together as one big note.  All the things around you that by themselves were just rumbles and groans.  All of them for a slight second ring together, in a peaceful stillness of knowing with out a doubt that God is real. That God is working in lives, that His timing is perfect, and his grace is enough.

I should probably be asleep right now, but I have been thinking about the work of God's hands.  He knows me better than I know me.

Joshua 23:14
Now I am about to go the way of all the Earth.  Know with all your hearts and soul all the good promises the Lord has given you, have not failed. Every promise has been fulfilled, not one has failed.

Faith.

Hebrews11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Hebrews11:8

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

Hebrews11:13-16

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.  And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.  People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. I f they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.  Instead they were longing for a better country a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 

Hebrews12:2

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

A mothers advice.

I talked with my mother today. Something I should have done long ago.  Her advice is invaluable.  Wisdom I never thought she had just came out of nowhere.  I’m sorry for not going to her sooner.  I  knew deep down inside, that I needed her perspective.  And now It has been given to me. 

“By just never talking with someone again, shows that you didn’t value them very much.”

“it’s not your responsibility to determine someone’s relationship with God”

                                                                                                                                         -          Mom

Man, that is a hard lesson to learn.  I can direct and guide someone, but ultimately it is Christ that calls them.  I can NEVER ever do it for them. 

John14:6

I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me. 

Because I am a male, and God created both male and female.  I can literally never truly understand a female until I am reunited with Christ as one. 

I thought I had it all figured out. I was wrong.

LAST DAY TO DONATE!!!

SHARE 11

All proceds go to Sarah's Covenant Homes

Never stop seeking God.

Calendars

I posted a link below to Sarahs Covenant Homes, the orphanage I will be working and living by in India.  They made these super cool Calenders!  Just want to share the awesomeness of these calenders, and maybe spark some Christmas shopping ideas for ya'll.

http://sarahscovenanthomes.blogspot.com/2011/10/order-sch-2012-calendars.html

Order by: November 18, 2011
Price: $18.99 ea.
FREE SHIPPING in the continental U.S. (delivered by mid-December)

Purchase here using paypal:

(Short address of order form is http://tinyurl.com/sch-2012-calendar ; long one is
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=4WGYH3WQUPX88 )

All profits go toward the loving care of children with special needs at Sarah’s Covenant Homes (SCH) in Ongole, India. For the past 4 years, SCH has been caring for abandoned babies, children and young adults who have physical and mental disabilities. At present, SCH gives life, love, and hope to 108 children, many with very severe medical and developmental challenges.

Promotion.

I received a promotion on Saturday.

Why me God?

Because You are giving.

I don’t feel like I am giving enough.  I feel very comfortable...

Have you thought about the parable of the talents, the story seems to always focus on the lazy servant who buried his money, in fear he would lose it.  What about the good and faithful servant who put his money to work earning more money.  Was He shocked at receiving a 200% increase in profit? Not only did he earn back what he had invested but received more.  So then what does he do with it?

He gives again.

Matthew 25:16

The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more.

I could imagine that if he invested 20 talents he would then earn 40 talents, then 40 to 80 and so on.  That is a really sweet interest plan if you ask me.

1 KINGS 8:56-61

Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us. May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other. But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.

Redemption

I have been in this daily battle long enough
to know its time to bring this to an end.
a call to be pure, to be so clean.
a call for action
I lift my prayers to you father,
bring us to our knees.
Let me hear your voice in this time of need,
and take this lust away from me!

this is your redemption.
this is our freedom!
our freedom, our right,
tonight i make this promise,
to never let lust take over my life.
i know there will be many trials,
and i will be tempted,
but by your grace and your love,
i will defeat this,
and taste the sweet sweet victory,
in you Jesus
By: For Today

Honesty Part 2

So if you have not noticed yet, I am trying to blog more.

I read other people’s blogs and can actually grasp an idea of what is going on their lives.  But I feel in my own blogs I have written with a sense of vagueness. 

I think I may have been trying to put up a face of perfection.  I admit my past mistakes, but shy away from the ones right in front of me. 

Yes, I am a new creation in Christ, the old has gone the new has come, but it is not over.

The renewing never stops.  The learning never ceases.  I could never handle seeing what God will do in my entire life, so he reveals slowly.  Little by little, like a steady stream of living water.  I take comfort in knowing that. 

2 Corinthians 4:17-18

Though outwardly we waste away inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Another day of trying to look up

When I woke up today, it was a little hard to look up.

I felt as if I had been doing something wrong, or maybe not completed enough things that I am supposed to do.

To be honest I do not feel ready to go on my trip to India.  I don’t have my Visa yet, I don’t have a plane ticket yet. I don’t know the exact dates yet.  Sometimes this bothers me, because I like the comfort in having a plan, or structure.  Its embarrassing to think I could have done so much by now and been prepared a month ago.

Funny though how I look at this little things and make them seem like big things.  I know all will be accomplished in time.  I know that I will be ready even if I don’t feel like I am.

God has gone ahead of me and prepared the way.

I went on a run today with Ben. He is one of my best friends and we have known each other through some hard and joyful times. 

Ben is really good at reminding me about the simple things in life that I often forget.  I really appreciate our friendship.  Anyways we were running, it is a beautiful day, blue sky and white clouds.  I looked up many times during our run and just thought, wow, this sky is awesome. Having the ability to run is awesome, being here in this moment is awesome.

We were chatting a bit and reflecting on the past few years.  Ben talked about how good it can feel to just be outside in the fall and experiencing it.

Then I remembered something my friend Ryan Brown would always say, We are human-beings not human-doings.  Just be, do not get caught up in the doing.

So again today I was reminded to look up and just be.

Looking Up

      The view of the night sky from my back yard is amazing, well considering I live just outside of Indianapolis its fairly decent. 

     It’s funny how so often in life we get caught up in what is right around us. We do things like camping to get away and reconnect with the simply joys in life, yet if we never stop and look up to remember God is bigger, way bigger than we are, then I am reminded, God is good to me and is preparing things, great things that I cannot yet see.

     I have to constantly remind myself, "Look Up", for there is a magnificent show on tonight. Its called creation. God created the stars. Millions of bright stars billions of miles away simply to remind me He is good. He is with me.

     I like to pick out one star and just stare at it.  Then the thing in life that seem so important fade and God simply says, rest child. For it is when you sleep that I am working all things together for your good.

     I enjoy looking up.

Oldie but a Goodie

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

O what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.

This is my story, this is my song,

praising my Savior all the day long;

this is my story, this is my song,

praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,

visions of rapture now burst on my sight;

angels descending bring from above

echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest;

I in my Savior am happy and blest,

watching and waiting, looking above,

filled with his goodness, lost in his love.