in someone else's words

I will pray for you

2011-11-10T11:30:00.000-05:00

Dear Lord Jesus,

You know him so much better than I do. You know his sickness and the burden he carries. You also know his heart. Lord, I ask you to be with my friend and his family now as you work in his life. Lord, let your will be done in my friend's life. Lord God, I pray for my friend just as your Word tells me to pray, for healing. I believe you hear this earnest prayer from my heart and that it is powerful because of your promise. I have faith in you, Lord, to heal my friend, but I also trust in the plan you have for his life. Lord, I don't always understand your ways. I don't know why my friend has to suffer, but I trust You. I ask that you look with mercy and grace toward my friend. Nourish his spirit and soul in this time of suffering and comfort him and his family with your presence. Let my friend know you are there with him through this difficulty. Give him strength. And may you, through this difficulty, be glorified in his life and also in mine. Amen.

And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up....The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:15 and 16

Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need: We humbly ask you to hold, visit and relieve your sick servant, for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon him with the eyes of your mercy; comfort him with a sense of your goodness; preserve him from the temptations of the enemy; and give him patience under this affliction. In your good time, restore him to health, and enable him to lead the residue of his life in your presence, and to thy glory; and grant that finally he may dwell with you in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. - Isaiah 41:10

truth

2011-11-09T13:07:00.002-05:00

I heard these truths on the radio the other day.

"Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority ... Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor (1Peter 2:13,14,16). This has nothing to do with your freedom in Christ. There is no such thing as absolute freedom. What you're free to do, is free to obey. Fish are free, but they are not free to fly. They are free within the parameters of God's design to swim any where they want but you know if you take a fish and throw it on the bank, it's not very free. Your freedom is a platform to serve and love other people and take your rights and lay them aside the way Christ did so other people get loved. Is there a price? You bet." -Chip Ingram

"Stop grumbling over the weather! What a waste of time! Did it ever change anything? Actually, it changes you. And you're even harder to live with because you're grumbling and you're complaining. And that's life. "Do all things without grumbling or disputing (Phil 2:14)... So life isn't what you expected? Welcome aboard. Nor is it for the person sitting right next to you, or living across the street from you, or going to school with you, or standing there beside you as you wait in line. We are all filled with circumstances that are outside our control, so why focus on them? You will never celebrate God if you're focus is on your circumstances. Read Nehemiah 8:10, The joy of the Lord is your strength! The joy of the Lord is your strength, not your income, not your occupation, not you circumstances, not your marriage.The joy of the Lord is the source of your strength!" -Chuck Swindoll

1000 Gifts

2011-09-02T17:04:00.000-04:00

...Water runs, always looking for yet lower and lower places to flow. I watch water run and spiritual water must flow like this...always seeking always the lowest places. Whenever I am parched and dry, I must go lower with the water and I must kneel low in thanks. The river of joy flows down to the lowest places.

God asks me to give thanks in all things, because He knows that the feeling of joy begins in the action of thanksgiving.

--Ann Voskamp

1000 Gifts

2011-08-21T22:24:00.000-04:00

If authentic, saving belief is the act of trusting, then to choose stress is an act of disbelief...atheism. Anything less than gratitude and trust is practical atheism. Perhaps the opposite of faith is not doubt. Perhaps the opposite of faith is fear.

he has not failed you

2011-07-30T22:30:00.002-04:00

You have trusted Him in a few things, and He has not failed you. Trust Him now for everything, and see if He does not do for you exceeding abundantly above all that you could ever have asked or thought, not according to your power or capacity, but according to His own mighty power, that will work in you all the good pleasure of His most blessed will. You find no difficulty in trusting the Lord with the management of the universe and all the outward creation, and can your case be any more complex or difficult than these, that you need to be anxious or troubled about His management of it?

--Hannah Whitall Smith

don't waste your life

2011-07-28T00:15:00.001-04:00

If you live gladly to make others glad in God, your life will be hard, your risks will be high, and your joy will be full.

--John Piper

my amy joy

2011-04-25T16:40:00.001-04:00

Just a little fun and encouragement to help you along. I know I'm a dork...Get over it!! Love you, friend.

-Jess

Push it -- push it real good. -Salt N Pepa

I am coming out I want the world to know. -Diana Ross

Come on baby, make it hurt so good. -John Mellancamp

If you're going through hell, keep on going, don't slow down. If you're scared don't show it, you might get out before the devil even knows you're there. -Rodney Atkins

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my STRONGHOLD -Psalm 18:2

Wait for the Lord; be STRONG and take heart and wait for the Lord. -Psalm 27:14

He gives strength to the weary and increases the POWER of the weak. -Isaiah 40:29

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. -Isaiah 58:9

But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded. -2 Chronicles 15:7

For when I am weak, then I am strong. -2 Corinthians 12:10

I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you; I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds! -2 Corinthians 7:4

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. -Psalm 73:25-26

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will STRENGTHEN you and HELP you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. - Isaish 41:10

Baby, I'm amazed by you - lonestar

Be my light in this darkened room. I'm on my face and I'm calling you...Everything about you, takes my breath away. Hallelujah. -sanctus real

This is my prayer in the fire, in weakness or trial or pain. There is a faith proved of more worth than gold. So refine me Lord through the flame. -Hillsong

You are my hope, my strength, my life, my peace, my rock, my joy, my everything. -Jeremy Camp

Listen to this song, Let it make your heart feel better - sanctus real

greek

2011-04-14T17:04:00.000-04:00

Is the height of my chara joy dependent on the depths of my eucharisteo thanks? So then as long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible. Joy is always possible. Whenever, meaning --now; wherever, meaning --here. The holy grail of joy is not some exotic location or some emotional mountain peak experience. The joy wonder could be here! Here, in the messy, piercing ache of now, joy might be --unbelievably-- possible! The only place we need see before we die is this place of seeing God, here and now.

Charis. Grace.
Eucharisteo. Thanksgiving.
Chara. Joy.

--Ann Voskamp

1000 gifts

2011-04-13T06:26:00.003-04:00

I think how the God-glory in a cheese ring might seem trifling. Even offensive, to focus the lens of a heart on the minute, in a world mangled and maimed and desperately empty.

I know there is poor and hideous suffering, and I've seen the hungry and the guns that go to war. I have lived the pain, and my life can tell: I only deep the wound of the world when I neglect to give thanks for early light dappled through leaves and the heavy perfume of wild roses in early July and the song of crickets on humid nights and the rivers that run and the stars that rise and the rain that falls and all the good things that a good God gives. Why would the world need more anger, more outrage? How does it save the world to reject unabashed joy when it is joy that saves us? Rejecting joy to stand in solidarity with the suffering doesn't rescue the suffering. The converse does. The brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world. When we lay the soil of our hard lives open to the rain of grace and let joy penetrate our cracked and dry places, let joy soak into our broken skin and deep crevices, life grows.

--Ann Voskamp, pg 40.

desert song

2011-03-15T15:49:00.000-04:00

This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

This is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flame

I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

This is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on its way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've received I will sow

--Hillsong

Thanks Ash, it's my new favorite.

head first i dive into your grace

2011-03-10T12:47:00.000-05:00

You are my hope, my strength, my life, my peace, my rock, my joy, my everything.

--Jeremy Camp, My Fortress

satisfied with God alone

2011-02-26T17:11:00.001-05:00

Do not I fill heaven and earth, declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 23:24

Do you think that the infinite God cannot fill and satisfy your heart?

Francois De La Mothe Fenmon

john waller

2011-02-10T14:21:00.000-05:00

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting

--Theme of my life song

cake

2011-02-09T13:28:00.000-05:00

I don't want to wonder
If this is a blunder
I don't want to worry whether
We're gonna stay together
'Till we die

I don't want to jump in
Unless this music's thumping
All the dishes rattle in the cupboards
When the elephants arrive

I want to love you madly
I want to love you now
I want to love you madly, way
I want to love you, love you
Love you madly

I don't want to fake it
I just want to make it
The ornaments look pretty
But they're pulling down the branches
Of the Tree

I don't want to think about it
I don't want to talk about it
When I kiss your lips
I want to sink down to the bottom
Of the sea

I want to love you madly
I want to love you now
I want to love you madly, way
I want to love you, love you
Love you madly

I don't want to hold back
I don't want to slip down
I don't want to think back to the one thing that I know I
Should have done

I don't want to doubt you
Know everything about you
I don't want to sit across the table from you
Wishing I could run

I want to love you madly
I want to love you now
I want to love you madly, way
I want to love you, love you
Love you madly

snow patrol

2011-01-25T16:17:00.002-05:00

If I could cradle you into my arms
I would cradle you tight in my arms - always
So don't be scared of all the hurtful words
Cause in the end they'll hurt themselves much more

You are my joy - you are my joy
You are my joy - you are my joy
You are my joy - you are my joy
You are my joy - you are my joy

psaln 31:24

2011-01-22T12:58:00.001-05:00

So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord!

--NLT

be my escape

2011-01-19T01:08:00.000-05:00

but the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair.

--Relient K

lamb

2011-01-17T01:53:00.000-05:00

"So that these actions will become natural, spontaneous, without being diluted by thought, right? Compassion is the same way," said Joshua. "That's what {he} knew. He loved constantly, instantly, spontaneously, without thought or words. That's what he taught me. Love is not something you think about, it is a state in which you dwell. That was his gift. Who took care of him? Fed him? Looked after him? Did you have to think about that before you did it?"

--Joshua, Son of God and Messiah.
Lamb by Christopher Moore

radical

2011-01-07T22:49:00.000-05:00

We will evaluate where true security and safety are found in this world, and in the end we will determine not to waste out lives on anything but uncompromising, unconditional abandonment to a gracious, loving Savior who invites us to take radical risk and promises us radical reward.

But I found myself becoming uneasy. For one thing, my model in ministry is a guy who spent the majority of his ministry time with twelve men...So how was I to reconcile the fact that I was now pastoring thousands of people?

--David Platt, megachurch leader

parrot head

2011-01-05T14:43:00.003-05:00

Searching is half the fun: life is much more manageable when thought of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party.

--Jimmy Buffet

i quoted you wrong, pastor

2010-12-14T17:48:00.000-05:00

In the majors- Unity
In the minors-Liberty
In all things - Love

-Jeff

joy and gladness

2010-12-13T17:59:00.001-05:00

Those who love God are encompassed with gladness on every side, because in every passing moment they see and feel a Father's love, and nothing of this world can take it away or lessen it.
H. L. SIDNEY LEAR

That is what our sacrifice of ourselves should be--"full of life." Not desponding, morbid, morose; not gloomy chilly, forbidding; not languid, indolent, inactive; but full of life, and warmth, and energy; cheerful, and making others cheerful; gay, and making others gay; happy, and making others happy; contented, and making others contented; doing good, and making others do good, by our lively vivid vitality. Doubtless this requires a sacrifice; it requires us to give up our own comfort, our own ease, our own firesides, our dear solitude, our own favorite absorbing pursuits, our shyness, our reserve, our pride, our selfishness.
ARTHUR P. STANLEY

my heart goes out

2010-12-06T15:10:00.000-05:00

When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Nehemiah 1:4

Whom have I in heaven but you?
   And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
   but God is the strength of my heart
   and my portion forever. Psalm 73:25-26

So do not fear, for I am with you;
   do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
   I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaish 41:10

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For 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, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor. 4: 16-18

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. Psalm 46:1-2
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:18-31

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4

Sanctus Real

2010-11-02T03:17:00.000-04:00

Lead me with strong hands;
Stand up when I can't.
Don't leave me hungry for love
And chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight;
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone

perfect will

2010-05-23T13:55:00.000-04:00

"My God, I believe in Your perfect goodness and wisdom and mercy. What You do, I cannot now understand; but I shall one day see it all plainly. Meanwhile I accept Your will, whatever it may be, unquestioning, without reserve."

H. L. SIDNEY LEAR

please hear these simple truths

2010-02-02T14:05:00.001-05:00

Be strong in the Lord
And never give up hope
You’re gonna do great things
I already know
God’s got His hand on You
So don’t live life in fear
Forgive and forget
But don’t forget why you’re here
Take your time and pray
And thank God for each day
His love will find a way
--Sidewalk Prophets, The Words I Would Say

2 Corinthians 7:4
I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you; I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds!

Micah...again.

2010-01-31T22:16:00.000-05:00

I want to paint this on the wall in my living room.

Micah 6:8
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

two zingers in one day

2009-10-23T19:01:00.000-04:00

J: Good grief, woman! You sound like a walrus!

Me: Today is not a special occasion, unless you're going to make it one.
J: I could ask you to marry me! Can I borrow that ring back for a minute?
Me: Old news, Joe.

The love of my life and all in regards to drinking a soda. :)

friends

2009-10-16T11:53:00.000-04:00

If a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it. ~Edgar Watson Howe

A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half-cracked. ~Author Unknown

oh daddy

2009-09-09T16:03:00.000-04:00

I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,

But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.

But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to.

2 Corinthians 7:4

2009-09-03T23:26:00.000-04:00

I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you; I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.

the one who knows me best

2009-08-29T12:43:00.001-04:00

You must hand yourself and all your inward experiences, your temptations, your temperament, your frames and reelings, all over into the care and keeping of your God, and leave them there. He made you and therefore He understands you, and knows how to manage you, and you must trust Him to do it.

--Hannah Whitall Smith

what a week

2009-08-09T00:25:00.000-04:00

It's worth repeating, What a week. If I could get rid of the entire thing, I would. With the exception of a couple of hours Thursday evening. But I have a God who promises to withhold no good thing from me. May my walk be blameless, Lord. Thanks for reminding me, Ash.

bigger and better

2009-07-23T09:38:00.000-04:00

Take your burdens, and troubles, and losses, and wrongs, if come they must and will, as your opportunities, knowing that God has girded you for greater things than these.

HORACE BUSHNEL

consider this

2009-06-18T09:07:00.000-04:00

Probably the greatest result of the life of prayer is an unconscious but steady growth into the knowledge of the mind of God and into conformity with His will; for after all prayer is not so much the means whereby God's will is bent to man's desires, as it is that whereby man's will is bent to God's desires.

--CHARLES H. BRENT

The Truth Project

2009-05-25T17:32:00.004-04:00

Even if with one voice, the world cried out, "I LOVE YOU" and died for you, it would not be sufficient.

What's infinity divided by 3 (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)? Infinity. What's infinity divided by 6 billion? Infinity. God lives in all of us. Unio Mystica

--Dr. Tackett

it's a hard life

2009-04-23T22:44:00.000-04:00

Do not make life hard to any.
R. W. EMERSON

Forgive us if this day we have done or said anything to increase the pain of the world. Pardon the unkind word, the impatient gesture, the hard and selfish deed, the failure to show sympathy and kindly help where we had the opportunity, but missed it; and enable us so to live that we may daily do something to lessen the tide of human sorrow, and add to the sum of human happiness.
F. B. MEYERS

What He Must Be...

2009-04-04T14:55:00.004-04:00

Only God can bring about the kind of change necessary in a young man to prepare him to be the kind of husband the Scriptures portray. This should drive young women to their knees as they plead with God to make a man like this and bring him across their path.

The traits include being prepared to lead (and lead like Christ), being committed to children, and the four P's: He must be a Protector, Provider, Prophet, and Priest. Whatever words we choose to use, it is clear that a young man must be ready to represent his family before God (as a priest), represent God before his family (as a prophet), meet the needs of those in his household (as a provider), and place himself between his family and all who would do them harm (as a protector).

A young man who is worthy of a wife will have a clear understanding of the covenantal nature of marriage. He will also have a healthy apprehension when he thinks about the magnitude of his responsibility should he assume the role of husband and father. He must know the weight he is taking on his shoulders and be willing to accept it. He must be a man who is willing to endure hardship for the sake of his family should he be called upon to do so.

Can any man be all this? Let alone a 21-year-old guy? Not apart from the Father. This is where we must place our hope, with an eye on the young man's trajectory, and faith for the man he'll become.

not so funny joke :)

2009-03-21T10:57:00.001-04:00

A man went to visit his doctor. "Doc, my arm hurts bad. Can you check it out please?" the man pleads.

The doctor rolls up the man's sleeve and suddenly hears the arm talk. "Hello, Doctor't; says the arm. "Could you lend me twenty bucks please? I'm desperate!"

"Aha!'' says the doctor.

''I see the problem. Your arm is broke!"

daily devotions

2009-02-13T12:06:00.001-05:00

Whatever the particular call is, the particular sacrifice God asks you to make, the particular cross He wishes you to embrace, whatever the particular path He wants you to tread, will you rise up, and say in your heart, "Yes, Lord, I accept it; I submit, I yield, I pledge myself to walk in that path, and to follow that Voice, and to trust Thee with the consequences"? Oh! but you say, "I don't know what He will want next." No, we none of us know that, but we know we shall be safe in His hands.

Catherine Booth

I get an email daily devotion and this is the one from today. When I read it, I couldn't help but think of you. The bold and underlined is my own addition and I have no idea who Catherine Booth is. :)

Jess

the shack

2008-12-21T21:17:00.006-05:00

Just because I work incredible good out of unspeakable tragedies doesn’t mean I orchestrate the tragedies. Don't ever assume that my using something means I cause it or I need it to accomplish my purposes. That will only lead you to false notions about me. Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors.

-- God, pg 185 of The Shack

redeeming love

2008-11-13T19:06:00.003-05:00

He was a quiet man, but there wasn't anything soft about him. There was something in his look that made men treat him with respect. It wasn't just his height or the strength of his body, which were both impressive enough. It was the clear steadiness of his gaze. He knew what he was about even if the rest of the world didn't.

listening

2008-10-22T15:56:00.002-04:00

There is a grace of kind listening, as well as a grace of kind speaking. Some men listen with an abstracted air, which shows that their thoughts are elsewhere. Or they seem to listen, but by wide answers and irrelevant questions show that they have been occupied with their own thoughts, as being more interesting, at least in their own estimation, than what you have been saying. Some interrupt, and will not hear you to the end. Some hear you to the end, and then forthwith begin to talk to you about a similar experience which has befallen themselves, making your case only an illustration of their own. Some, meaning to be kind, listen with such a determined, lively, violent attention, that you are at once made uncomfortable, and the charm of conversation is at an end. Many persons, whose manners will stand the test of speaking, break down under the trial of listening.

--Frederick WM. Faber

2008-10-09T18:59:00.000-04:00

mere christianity

2008-10-09T01:27:00.000-04:00

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

--Clive

(yes, we are on a first name basis)

captivated

2008-10-06T11:04:00.000-04:00

when I look into the mountains, I see Your fame,
when I look into the night sky, it sparkles Your name

the wind in the clouds and the blue in the sky,
the sun and the moon and the stars so high
that's what draws me to You

I am, I'm captivated by You
(You know that You do)
I am, I'm captivated

when I wake unto the morning, it gives me Your sights,
when I look across the ocean, it echoes Your mights

the sand on the shore and the waves in the sea,
the air in my lungs and the way You made me
that's what draws me to You

the wind in the clouds and the blue in the sky,
the sun and the moon and the stars so high,
the sand on the shore and the waves in the sea,
the air in my lungs and the way You made me,

the blood in my veins and my heart You invade,
the plants how they grow and the trees in the shade,
the way that I feel and the love in my soul,
I thank You my God for letting me know...

I am, I'm captivated by You
(You know that You do)
I am, I'm captivated

parenting advice

2008-10-01T22:27:00.002-04:00

i think of heaven

2008-09-29T22:16:00.000-04:00

All that I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

2 days

2008-09-22T13:52:00.003-04:00

We ought to be worried about only 2 days; today and that day (Jesus return).

--Old guy at 707

an oldie but a goodie

2008-09-18T23:22:00.003-04:00

Don’t call yourself a friend if you’re not concerned about their soul.

--Jeff Schofield, back when he was a youth pastor

ferocious love

2008-09-18T23:22:00.001-04:00

Pure, spiritual, intellectual love shot from their faces like barbed lightning. It was so unlike the love we experience that its expression could easily be mistaken for ferocity.

--C.S. Lewis, Perelandra

Mary Boyeln's Husband

2008-09-18T12:21:00.002-04:00

Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.

-William Carey

jane austen

2008-09-17T23:31:00.001-04:00

A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.

Elizabeth, having rather expected to affront him, was amazed at his gallantry; but there was a mixture of sweetness and archness in her manner which made it difficult for her to affront anybody; and Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her.

-Pride and Prejudice

when you have to try

2008-09-16T16:00:00.001-04:00

Begin with thanking Him for some little thing, and then go on, day by day, adding to your subjects of praise; thus you will find their numbers grow wonderfully; and, in the same proportion, will your subjects of murmuring and complaining diminish, until you see in everything some cause for thanksgiving. If you cannot begin with anything positive, begin with something negative. If your whole lot seems only filled with causes for discontent, at any rate there is some trial that has not been appointed you; and you may thank God for its being withheld from you. It is certain that the more you try to praise, the more you will see how your path and your lying down are beset with mercies, and that the God of love is ever watching to do you good.

-Priscilla Maurice

707 quote

2008-09-10T13:02:00.003-04:00

I am tremendously weak. I need Jesus more and more each day.

--Some guy with a funny voice

P.S. I'm eating turkey and american cheese on white bread and drinking grape koolaid and it brings me back to Mexico.

captivating

2008-08-30T11:21:00.003-04:00

But most especially, he hates Eve.

Because she is captivating, uniquely glorious, and he cannot be. She is the incarnation of the Beauty of God. More than anything else in all creation, she embodies the glory of God. She allures the world to God. And there is more. The Evil One also hates Eve because she gives life...Women nourish life. And they also bring life into the world soulfully, relationaly, spiritually -in everything they touch. ...

And thus Eve is his greatest human threat...

Put those two things together -that Eve incarnates Beauty of God and she gives life to the world. Satan's bitter heart cannot bear it. He assults her with a special hatred.

--John and Staci Eldredge

turtle joke

2008-08-27T23:35:00.001-04:00

Deep within a forest a little turtle began to climb a tree. After hours of effort he reached the top, jumped into the air waving his front legs and crashed to the ground. After recovering, he slowly climbed the tree again, jumped, and fell to the ground. The turtle tried again and again while a couple of birds sitting on a branch watched his sad efforts. Finally, the female bird turned to her mate. "Dear," she chirped, "I think it's time to tell him he's adopted."

the only one to depend on

2008-08-19T10:23:00.001-04:00

Too many people are not faithful in little things. They are not to be absolutely depended upon. They do not always keep their promises. They break engagements. They fail to pay their debts promptly. They come behind time to appointments. They are neglectful and careless in little things. In general they are good people, but their life is honeycombed with small failures. One who can be positively depended upon, who is faithful in the least things as well as in the greatest, whose life and character are true through and through, gives out a light in this world which honors Christ and blesses others.

-J. R. Miller

devotion

2008-08-16T14:08:00.001-04:00

Never shrink from deep devotion, because you fear its trials or its sacrifices. Paul, in martyrdom, was unspeakably happier than God's half-hearted servants.

-William R. Huntington

to find happiness

2008-08-07T12:15:00.000-04:00

I never knew her to fail to find happiness wherever she was placed, and good in whomever she came across. Whatever her circumstances might be, they always yielded to her causes for thankfulness, and work to be done with a ready and hopeful heart.

-Hortia K.F. Eden

my thoughts on love

2008-07-19T13:33:00.001-04:00

You know that DC Talk song, Love is Verb!

Love is a verb, its an action, it is intentional. It’s not passive, it’s not a feeling, and it’s not a state of being. It’s not something you fall into. It’s not a wall you hit.

Love is a conscious effort to put someone else before you. It is wanting the very best for that other person even it that means its not you.

The determination and the dedication you have with each other will keep you together but make it about something bigger than that. Its is not just about two people in their own little world, It is about two people whose love for each other is a glimpse of the shadow of God’s love for you. Having someone who loves you, who picked you specifically, and you loving them back is a that same glimpse for the world around you to see an example of the love God has for them. Your love for each other should be a testimony of God’s love for human kind.

Love is always connected with what you do.

The greatest demonstration is the story of God sending His only Son, and Jesus giving His life for our salvation.

when the saints

2008-05-04T17:30:00.001-04:00

Lord it's all that I can't carry and cannot leave behind
it often overwhelms me
but when I think of all who've gone before and lived the faithful life
their courage compells me

and when i'm weary and overwrought
with so many battles left unfought

i think of paul and silas in the prison yard
i hear their song of freedom rising to the stars
i see the shepherd moses in the pharaohs court
ihear his call for freedom for the people of the Lord

and when the saints
go marching in
i want to be one of them

i see the long quiet walk along the underground railroad
i see the slave awakening to the value of her soul
i see the young missionary and the angry spear
i see his family returning with no trace of fear
i see the long hard shadows of calcutta nights
i see the sister standing by the dying man’s side
i see the young girl huddled on the brothel floor
i see the man with a passion come kicking down that door
i see the man of sorrow and his long troubled road
i see the world on his shoulders and my easy load

and when the saints
go marching in
i want to be one of them

--When the Saints, Sara Groves

Am I A Polar Bear?

2008-03-10T12:58:00.004-04:00

One day, up in the frozen north a polar bear and his son were out for a stroll. Daddy bear sat on a lump of ice to admire the view and sent his son off to play. Two minutes later Junior came back to dad and says, "Can I ask you a question dad?"

"Sure, son what is it?"
"Am I a real polar bear, Dad?" asks Junior.
Dad smiles and says, "Of course you are, son. Now go and play."

So off Junior goes again throws some snowballs at the seals but soon he's back."Hey Dad, are you sure I am a real polar bear? Is there not a wee bit of brown bear or black bear in me?"

Dad smiles again and says, "Look son you've got big hairy black feet, a white coat, and a black shiny nose...of course you're a polar bear....now go back and play."

Once again Junior runs off, slides down the ice, chases a couple of seagulls, after ten minutes of fun he returns with a puzzled look on his face.

"Daaaad....are you absolutely sure I'm a polar bear?"
"Look son...I'm a polar bear, your mums a polar bear, your granny and grandpa were polar bears...why are you asking all these questions?"

Junior looks up and says... "Cause I'm freaking freezing!"

kevin's verse

2008-02-23T18:57:00.003-05:00

But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don't take yourself too seriously — take God seriously.

But me, I'm not giving up. I'm sticking around to see what God will do.I'm waiting for God to make things right. I'm counting on God to listen to me. Don't, enemy, crow over me. I'm down, but I'm not out. I'm sitting in the dark right now, but God is my light. He's on my side and is going to get me out of this. He'll turn on the lights and show me his ways. I'll see the whole picture and how right he is.

-- Micah 6:8 and 7:7-9

going there and everywhere

2008-02-17T14:00:00.000-05:00

Go there with an open, joyful heart as often as possible; if not always joyful, at least go with a brave and faithful heart.

--ST. FRANCIS DE SALES

the pursuit of God

2008-02-15T15:12:00.002-05:00

To have found God and still pursue him is the soul's paradox of love, scorned indeed by the too easily satisfied religionist, but justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart.

I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made thirsty still.

--A.W. Tozer

to remind me how to live

2008-02-14T20:30:00.002-05:00

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails... Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, and love extravagantly.

--God, 1 Cor. 13:4-8, 13 NIV/Message

if you haven't read it by now, you should

2008-02-13T21:04:00.005-05:00

Mrs. Whatsit explaining to Calvin why the fortune teller couldn't see the future. A little predestination and free will.

“If we knew ahead of time what was going to happen we’d be-- we’d be like the people on Camazotz, with no lives of our own, with everything all planned and done for us. How can I explain it to you? Oh, I know. In your language you have a form of poetry called the sonnet… It is a very strict form of poetry, is it not?”

“Yes.”

“There are fourteen lines, I believe, all in iambic pentameter. That’s a very strict rhythm or meter, yes?”

“Yes.” Calvin nodded.

“And each line has to end with a rigid rhyme pattern. And if the poet does not do it exactly this way, it is not a sonnet, is it?”

“No.”

“But within this strict form the poet has complete freedom to say whatever he wants, doesn’t he?”

“Yes.” Calvin nodded again.

“So,” Mrs. Whatsit said…

“You mean you’re comparing our lives to a sonnet? A strict form, but freedom with in?”

“Yes.” Mrs. Whatsit said. “You’re given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you.”

--Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle In Time.

i love being a girl.

2008-02-12T19:27:00.000-05:00

I take comfort in the fact that God commands my Christian brothers to treat me differently. God's balance, of course, is perfect. He commands that I be respected, but also that I respect. He commands that I be honored, but also that I honor. He commands that I submit to authority, but also commands that authority to submit to Him. He understands my heart.

--Heather Koerner

emerson

2008-02-08T15:29:00.000-05:00

All that I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

to the glory of God

2008-02-06T11:22:00.000-05:00

The work of a Beethoven and the work of a charwoman become spiritual on precisely the same condition, that of being offered to God, of being done humbly 'as to the Lord'. This does not, of course, mean that it is for anyone a mere toss-up whether he should sweep rooms or compose symphonies. A mole must dig to the glory of God and a cock must crow.

-C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

sound familiar?

2008-02-04T13:51:00.000-05:00

The path of our feet should never contradict the conviction of our heart.

-Jeff

consistently inconsistent

2008-02-01T22:22:00.001-05:00

I found my Deviate notebook tonight. :)

I want my heart to be so buried in the depths of God, that a man would have to search the heart of God to find it.

that's all there is

2007-11-04T12:40:00.000-05:00

Whether I'm certain or very confused, I still know God is good.

invincible patience

2007-11-03T18:19:00.000-04:00

Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.
-Psalms 37:5

Plan not, nor scheme,--but calmly wait; His choice is best. While blind and erring is thy sight, His wisdom sees and judges right, So trust and rest.
-Adelaide A. Procter

my prayer

2007-11-01T17:23:00.000-04:00

"She always faces tomorrow with a smile. When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say, and always says it kindly...Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades. The woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God."
Proverbs 31

the trial of faith

2007-10-31T15:06:00.000-04:00

God wants you to understand that it is a life of faith, not a life of emotional enjoyment of his blessings. Never confuse the trial of of faith with ordinary discipline of life, because a great deal of what we call the trial of faith is the inevitable result of being alive. "I will remain true to God's character whatever He may do." The highest and the greatest expression of faith in the whole Bible is -"Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" (Job 13:15).
-Oswald Chambers, October 31

what is secular?

2007-10-30T18:16:00.000-04:00

Let us trust Him with the hallowing of our ordinary, "secular" interests, let us try to shape each day's life so as best to please Him. "Would our Lord like me to say this or to read that? Would He sanction this train of thought or of fancy? When I go with that companion, can I imagine His drawing near and walking beside us?"
-William Bright

here is our king

2007-10-29T17:31:00.000-04:00

And what was said to the rose to make it unfold
was said to me here in my heart
So be quiet now.
-David Crowder Band

no matter the circumstances

2007-10-28T16:52:00.000-04:00

If I believe in God, in a Being who made me, and fashioned me, and knows my wants and capacities and necessities, because He gave them to me, and who is perfectly good and loving, righteous, and perfectly wise and powerful,--whatever my circumstances inward or outward may be, however thick the darkness which encompasses me, I yet can trust, yea, be assured, that all will be well, that He can draw light out of darkness, and make crooked things straight.
-Thomas Erskine

preeminent love

2007-10-16T11:46:00.000-04:00

Those who truly love God love all good wherever they find it. They seek all good to all men. They commend all good, they always acknowledge and defend all good. They have no quarrels. They bear no envy. O Lord, give me more and more of this blessed love!
-St. Teresa

a prayer

2007-10-13T12:32:00.000-04:00

God is not found in multiplicity, but in simplicity of thoughts and words. If one word suffice for your prayer, keep to that word, and to whatever short sentence will unite your heart with God.
-Margaret Mary Hallahan

oldie but a goodie

2007-10-09T14:04:00.000-04:00

Some days, doing "the best we can" may still fall short of what we would like to be able to do, but life isn't perfect- on any front- and doing what we can with what we have is the most we should expect of ourselves or anyone else.
- Mr. Rogers

everyday tasks

2007-10-04T15:45:00.000-04:00

There is no other way in which one's life will be so surely, so quickly transfigured, as in the faithful, happy, cheerful doing of every-day tasks. We need to remember that this world is not so much a place for doing things as for making character. Right in the midst of what some people call drudgery is the very best place to get the transformed, transfigured life. The doing of common tasks patiently, promptly, faithfully, cheerfully, makes the character beautiful and bright.
-J. R. Miller

faith

2007-10-02T15:44:00.000-04:00

Gaze intently with the eye of faith at the infinite wisdom and omnipotence of God, to whom nothing is impossible or difficult, and consider that His goodness is unbounded, and unspeakable His willingness to give, hour by hour, and moment by moment, all things needful for the spiritual life, and for complete victory over self, if we will throw ourselves with confidence into His arms.
-Lorenzo Scupoli

just think of how annoying we are to God

2007-09-29T18:02:00.000-04:00

We never can long continue to dislike people for whom we pray.
-H. L. Sidney Lear

seeking solitude

2007-09-28T16:59:00.000-04:00

In solitude, we learn what Blaise Pascal meant: "The sole cause of man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his own room."

i am wholly yours

2007-09-27T17:00:00.000-04:00

Be constant and courageous, and rejoice that He has given you the will to be wholly His.
-St. Francis De Sales

a little busy

2007-09-26T15:44:00.000-04:00

Kissing is the most fun, dancing is the second.

bathroom book (because no time should be wasted)

2007-09-19T15:01:00.000-04:00

The undiminished radiance, which is the result of abundant joy, is not built on anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing can change.
-Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest

a little humor

2007-09-17T17:02:00.000-04:00

If you cannot begin with anything positive, begin with something negative. If your whole lot seems only filled with causes for discontent, at any rate there is some trial that has not been appointed you; and you may thank God for its being withheld from you.
-PRISCILLA MAURICE

Wake Up!!

2007-09-15T14:19:00.000-04:00

"The first step in life, people, is you got to wake up!"
-Dr. Kious, VP, Huron Hospital

feeling yucky

2007-09-13T15:26:00.000-04:00

When you feel ill and indisposed, and when in this condition your prayer is cold, heavy, filled with despondency, and even despair, do not be disheartened or despairing, for the Lord knows your sick and painful condition. Struggle against your infirmity, pray as much as you have strength to, and the Lord will not despise the infirmity of your flesh and spirit.
-Father John

loving others

2007-09-12T14:01:00.000-04:00

Do you feel yourself alone and empty-hearted? Then you have necessity indeed for fortitude and brave endurance, but above all and before all you must get out of your solitude. You cannot command for yourself the love you would gladly receive; it is not in our power to do that; but that noble love which is not asking but giving,--that you can always have. Wherever your life touches another life, there you have opportunity. To mix with men and women in the ordinary forms of social intercourse becomes a sacred function when one carries into it the true spirit. To give a close, sympathetic attention to every human being we touch; to try to get some sense of how he feels, what he is, what he needs; to make in some degree his interest our own,--that disposition and habit would deliver any one of us from isolation or emptiness.
-George S. Merriam

love

2007-09-10T18:01:00.000-04:00

Love me always, boy, whatever I do or leave undone. And--God help me--whatever you do or leave undone, I'll love you. There shall never be a cloud between us for a day; no, sir, not for an hour. We're imperfect enough, all of us, we needn't be so bitter; and life is uncertain enough at its safest, we needn't waste its opportunities.
-Juliana Horatia Ewing

a thunderbolt

2007-09-08T12:58:00.000-04:00

You will not select the most agreeable task, but His task, whatever it may be; for the current of His will, to be swept away and be forgotten, if it pleases Him, or to be caught up by His mighty hand and transformed thereby into a thunderbolt.
-Elizabeth Prentiss

A Sale! 2 for 1

2007-09-06T10:18:00.000-04:00

Cheerfulness in the service of Christ is one of the first requisites to make that service Christian.
-Frederick Temple

We never can long continue to dislike people for whom we pray.
-H. L. Sidney Lear

melancholy and the path to holiness

2007-09-05T13:44:00.000-04:00

Never suffer yourself to be subdued by melancholy; it is amongst the things that will most injure you. It is impossible to persevere in the path of holiness, if we give not ourselves to it with joy. The love of God should impart peace to the soul.
-Madame De Guyon

my all and best

2007-09-04T18:57:00.000-04:00

To all that she was called to be and to do, to bear all that might in the future be required of her, as a constant witness of the mind that ought to animate and pervade the whole action of the soul. Life should be always the offering up of what we are, to do our best for Him who has called us. The responsibilities, the ventures, the conscious obligations which press on the soul, with all their conditions and unknown possibilities, supply the question that is to be solved; but the true response is the result of a habit formed through countless, nameless acts of conscientious obedience, which by use have become the bright and cheerful exercise of the one purpose of giving its best and purest to One most fully loved.
-T.T. Carter

believe, wait, and follow

2007-09-03T21:52:00.000-04:00

I will charge my soul to believe and wait for Him, and will follow His providence, and not go before it, nor stay behind it.
-Samuel Rutherford