I just wanted to make a post to remind myself of what I need to write and blog hehe,
and I wanted to get some outside encouragment, advice etc...
I want to write two books one called 'Art of the Heart' and the other called 'The Courage to Change'.
I came up with the ideas last year for both of them, and I do enjoy writing, but I just
need a bit of a shove in the right direction.
Feel free to leave your oppinions and encouragment bellow :)
Art of the Heart: is about being a messenger of your worldview through art and creativity.
It's about realizing where your heart is before God, and being able to recognize where
it is heading and how things art influences you and the others around you.
Growing in a realationship with Your Creator, and imitating Him and shinning His light
through your art. Also I want to infuse it with some factual stuff on the history of spirituality
in art.
The Courage to Change: is about exactly that, "finding the courage to change". It's based on
encouraging the next step towards change whether that means overcoming addiction,
overcoming doubt, guilt, temptation, or insicurity...though finding the will power, surrendering
to the One who can give you power to overcome, and discovering how to embrace the life we
have have in Christ.
So what do you think? Would you be interested in reading either of these books?
I'm thinking about making a blog for each one of these topics/books...and first blogging
a section or blogging them chapter for chapter. Or I could just get to writing, and
make blogs for each book once I've finished them.
Right now I'm also working on finishing/re-editing a novel I wrote a few years ago,
so I might be multitasking in writing. But writing is always a good thing to do in the winter,
when there is plenty of time to be spent indoors.
Ok. so leave me a comment if you'd like! And let me know what you think.
Photo
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Audrey Assad - Known (Slideshow With Lyrics)
" ...Savior You have known me as I am, and Healer You have known me as I
was, as I 'will be'...In the morning and the evening You have known me..."
Thursday, September 8, 2011
People shall let you down...
People will let you down. That is an inevitable in life. And usually it's not on purpose either. After the fall, people just can't help but let us down sometimes. Human nature is so failing in this fallen world. It wasn't meant to be this way, people were not created to be untrustworthy, unloving, disapproving, critical, and selfish. We choose this. And in all honesty, the only hope we have is through Christ. Everything else won't solve our issues. God is Love, and what we are looking for is love.
Don't get me wrong, People were never meant to fill us completely. God was always our life source. But in all truth, God knew that we would not be physically and emotionally complete without other people.
Which is why He made not just Adam in the garden of Eden, but Eve as well. "For it is not good for man to be alone"...[to be conitnued]...
Trust in God. He will not leave you alone. And if you do find yourself in a time in our life when you
are lacking of fellowship etc. Don't cry; we've all been there. Christ has been there. And one day my friends, there will be no more loneliness! there will be no more let downs! We will reign with Christ, and we will fellowship with eachother, and with Him for all Eternity. Love will fill our hearts, and Unity is our King and Savior. The day will come. Look to it ;) Draw close to Christ, and don't let your hearts grow discouraged...
Don't get me wrong, People were never meant to fill us completely. God was always our life source. But in all truth, God knew that we would not be physically and emotionally complete without other people.
Which is why He made not just Adam in the garden of Eden, but Eve as well. "For it is not good for man to be alone"...[to be conitnued]...
Trust in God. He will not leave you alone. And if you do find yourself in a time in our life when you
are lacking of fellowship etc. Don't cry; we've all been there. Christ has been there. And one day my friends, there will be no more loneliness! there will be no more let downs! We will reign with Christ, and we will fellowship with eachother, and with Him for all Eternity. Love will fill our hearts, and Unity is our King and Savior. The day will come. Look to it ;) Draw close to Christ, and don't let your hearts grow discouraged...
Uderstanding Letdown, decision making, and other thoughts...
Right now I'm sitting here, and am trying to recollect my thoughts on what to type. It's been a great summer. God has blessed me with some great experiences, that have resulted in lovely memories, and hopefully will further bloom into Christ glorying work...Thank God, for all the great things He has supplied this past summer...But of course, there has been the conflict, the strife, the pondering...Life just wouldn't be life on earth, without some of that I suppose. Something I've been thinking a lot about lately, and not just lately, but over the past year and a half..is 'decision making'. Another thing I've been trying to overcome, is some sort of apathy, or perhaps lack of confidence, in my faith. And the reason for that has not exactly been of my own doing. Last fall I endured a"ex-communication" from a friend. There was a misunderstanding, and ultimately the friendship dissipated into a ever present 'guilt memory'. No fun. It hurts to be judged wrong, and it hurts to give your affection and realize that you "walked on broken glass" (see other blog post). Even though God worked it all out, for my good, and the better of the other person...the worst thing about the whole cynario is that since then I've felt like I've fallen out from my cloud in the sky and landed on the cement; because I realized, what we all realize at one time or another of our lives, that if we do not study God's word, hear it, or fellowship, we don't grow very deep in Faith. For Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the word of God ...Secondly I was affected by another close conflict. Something even more 'home-hitting'. Just when I was getting to hear the word of God, fellowship with others, and grow some more in my faith, I was basically kicked in the stomach by un-christian teaching, and statements that broke me down to sitting limp on the cold wood floor. And even right now, as I'm writing this, I'm realizing a few very important things...
1. Things don't remain the same. We all grow and change.
2. Don't let other people's remarks, lies, and lack of care, destruct your faith, or make you believe
that you are less than God says that you are.
3. God can use what you go through to glorify Him, but only if you let Him do so...
don't be afraid to be honest about yourself, even if that means you are beaten,
bruised, broken, apathetic or doubtful.
Back to the topic of 'decision making'. Sometimes it's just plain hard. Sometimes there isn't really anyone to turn to for sound advice, sometimes all you have is thoughts and personal boundries in your head. It's not easy. It's certainly not all that fair. Sometimes the choices seem extremely small compared to the larger more common ones of life, but you know deep inside that they are 'just' as important. We all have the questions "what is my purpose?" "what is love?" "what is faith?" "what will I do?" "who will I marry?" these sort of questions...and we are plauged with decisions and choices that will determine a good bit of our futures. We try not to associate with those we know are not good for us to, we try to work hard and accomplish something with our days, we try to draw closer to Christ by listening to him...but it's not always easy. Like the choice between sitting and listening to God, or instead going to a friend, or making a phone call or not making that phone call, or letting yourself become attached to someone that you might shouldn't, but there is no one else...these sort of decisions, the ones that aren't "black and white", and aren't "talked about as often". I'm a believer in the fact that "little decisions" are important in our lives. God is the only one we can go to with these things that can't really be understood by others in our lives...God sees the bigger picture. What we need is the faith to believe that He truly does, and that as much as life is about choices, between the good, the bad, and the best...God is the giver, and holder, of all the "best".
"So God, please lead us in our decisions, please give us guidance in our moments of misunderstanding, give us hope and the faith in times of uncertainty and worry. God please show us how to redirect our thoughts to you, and to live is the fullness of who you'd have us to be on this earth. Cause...we it seems that more than anything, we are striving, to just 'be what we have been created to be', and what we've been 'destined to be'. Our lives are filled with struggle and a fight for Identity. God, and as much as you want us to fight for the 'best' in our lives, please, don't let us forget that this life isn't 'about us', it's not all about 'our happines' etc...not even all about 'our choices'. It's all about You. And once we get our eyes off of ourselves, once we stop our pondering for awhile, and realize that truly, 'you' are all we need focus on and fight, for...then, we lose some of that unnessary, all consuming, striving. That even though there are good things that we should also stand up for, and "go hard" for, we aren't "on this earth" to 'demand, or claim, un-scared, smooth surfaced lives'. Instead we should surrender all our hurts, let downs, emotions, feelings, and decisions...to You. You make the beauty in our lives. It is in You, that we live, we move, and have our being. Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Alimighty, who was, and is, and is to come. Forgive us our unessesary striving, and selfishness. We look to You. "
1. Things don't remain the same. We all grow and change.
2. Don't let other people's remarks, lies, and lack of care, destruct your faith, or make you believe
that you are less than God says that you are.
3. God can use what you go through to glorify Him, but only if you let Him do so...
don't be afraid to be honest about yourself, even if that means you are beaten,
bruised, broken, apathetic or doubtful.
Back to the topic of 'decision making'. Sometimes it's just plain hard. Sometimes there isn't really anyone to turn to for sound advice, sometimes all you have is thoughts and personal boundries in your head. It's not easy. It's certainly not all that fair. Sometimes the choices seem extremely small compared to the larger more common ones of life, but you know deep inside that they are 'just' as important. We all have the questions "what is my purpose?" "what is love?" "what is faith?" "what will I do?" "who will I marry?" these sort of questions...and we are plauged with decisions and choices that will determine a good bit of our futures. We try not to associate with those we know are not good for us to, we try to work hard and accomplish something with our days, we try to draw closer to Christ by listening to him...but it's not always easy. Like the choice between sitting and listening to God, or instead going to a friend, or making a phone call or not making that phone call, or letting yourself become attached to someone that you might shouldn't, but there is no one else...these sort of decisions, the ones that aren't "black and white", and aren't "talked about as often". I'm a believer in the fact that "little decisions" are important in our lives. God is the only one we can go to with these things that can't really be understood by others in our lives...God sees the bigger picture. What we need is the faith to believe that He truly does, and that as much as life is about choices, between the good, the bad, and the best...God is the giver, and holder, of all the "best".
"So God, please lead us in our decisions, please give us guidance in our moments of misunderstanding, give us hope and the faith in times of uncertainty and worry. God please show us how to redirect our thoughts to you, and to live is the fullness of who you'd have us to be on this earth. Cause...we it seems that more than anything, we are striving, to just 'be what we have been created to be', and what we've been 'destined to be'. Our lives are filled with struggle and a fight for Identity. God, and as much as you want us to fight for the 'best' in our lives, please, don't let us forget that this life isn't 'about us', it's not all about 'our happines' etc...not even all about 'our choices'. It's all about You. And once we get our eyes off of ourselves, once we stop our pondering for awhile, and realize that truly, 'you' are all we need focus on and fight, for...then, we lose some of that unnessary, all consuming, striving. That even though there are good things that we should also stand up for, and "go hard" for, we aren't "on this earth" to 'demand, or claim, un-scared, smooth surfaced lives'. Instead we should surrender all our hurts, let downs, emotions, feelings, and decisions...to You. You make the beauty in our lives. It is in You, that we live, we move, and have our being. Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Alimighty, who was, and is, and is to come. Forgive us our unessesary striving, and selfishness. We look to You. "
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Cadet For Christ ~ Running the Course: Love's Pain
Cadet For Christ ~ Running the Course: Love's Pain: A conversation with a friend earlier revealed some rather home-hitting truths about the perspective of love's place in life.
You know, it...
You know, it...
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Beauty Restored; and Beauty Made
Right now I'm blowing my poor nose and rubbing my watery eyes...I've been sick. So when I look in the mirror I see the farthest thing from physically "attractive". A red nose, dry skin, half open eyes. But this doesn't seem to matter. God is restoring beauty, and forming beauty that perhaps has never surfaced in my life before.
Remember also in one of my last blog posts I was mentioning how "Forgiveness" is a step towards true healing and beauty.
Health and Beauty go hand in hand. They really do. You can't look your best on the outside if you are sick...even, sick or wounded on the inside. Beauty begins with love. Beauty, in - people, circumstances, begins with "real" love. As an example;
If You've ever see someone's face when they are "in love" with the one they plan to spend the rest of their life with...That love, makes them look even more beautiful on the outside, such as a glow to their face etc. That is because love shines from the inside out. Love can make anyone a beautiful creature. Love is the basis for Beauty. Love is forgiving, love is meek, love does not boast, is not proud, does not provoke to anger...Love...
Live in love, and you will live in Beauty, Live in Love and you will fulfill the law, Live in Love and you will live in Christ's example.
People will remember Beauty....because what people truly remember, is "Love".
And the greatest thing about this is; if you give Love, you will reap Love.
If you live "beautifully" aka "live in love" then you will reap "beauty" and "love" in your own life.
God wants to Love you. Let Him do it, and you will find yourself getting more than a make-over. If you let yourself be consumed in God's Love, if you 'lose yourself there', and trust God to satisfy your soul- then things can be transformed, beauty expanded, and God can heal you.
True Love enables Trust. Trust can only be preformed if there is the knowledge and belief in a degree of Trustworthiness. How do we know someone is trustworthy? God is trustworthy...Not only because He has always proved to be so, but because we know His Love for us goes beyond how "we usually tend to love"...God was always true, even up to sending His own Son. And Christ died for us, even "while we were yet sinners".
I want to encourage you, the reader, to find your Identity in Christ, and no longer in your own goals, nor in the lies of others, or the offers of the world, but instead to find it in a Love story, a Love story that involves "you losing your old selfish self, in the love of God" and "finding the more beautiful person he has made for you to be, by falling in love with Him". Sanctification is a process; Beauty is a process. For example; when you first believed in Christ and asked Him to forgive you of your sins, that black ugly chunk of cole that you used to be, suddenly was cracked open, fell off, just like a hard nut shell, and reveled a raw, precious gem underneath. Yet that stone is un-cut, un-polished etc. That is where your "life with Christ" comes in. Having a moment of decision to serve God for the first time, asking Him to forgive You your sins, to confess your belief in Him, is an amazing moment, and the start of a journey. It is not the end, but the beginning. We are like those raw precious stones after we come to God...We must let God continue to form us, sand us, and polish us. Just like that clay vessel on the potter's wheel, we must not think just because we've jumped on the Potter's wheel, that we are perfect...without being formed, spun, molded, polished etc. The same with Salvation, we cannot think just because we've taken the leap into faith in Christ that we are perfect...without letting God work in, on, with, and through - us.
There are things that we can never do to our selves to make us more beautiful, (more like Christ), and more into the person that we are meant to be, because there are some things that only God can do to us, that only God can preform on us, and inside us, and through us. Also some beautifying can only be done in, and through us - by Other People, Circumstances, situations...
Love "wows" us. It really does. And God, who is full of Love for us, likes to "Wow" us :) He likes to do things for us that we think are impossible. And God want's you to radiate in the beauty He knows can shine from you. He wants to restore you, heal you, form you, and let you shine like the Amazing Jem that you are. God has plans for you...Yes, He does. Plans for good, for your wellbeing, and "NOT" for evil. God does not have plans to distort you, to take a sword and make cuts to your realtionship with Him, nor is He like a vampire that wants to suck your life. God "wants" you to be blessed in every way, He wants to give you Abundant Living. But you've got to let Him, and you've got to have a relationship with Him. Evil and unrighteous: harm, brokenness, hurt, true ugliness, all comes from the Enemy and from sin. God is Light, there is no darkness in Him. God created you to be in perfect harmony with Him. Sin seperates us, yet because of the Love of God, through Christ Jesus we can come boldly unto the throne of Grace. I just want you to "expect". Be "Expectant" that God will Restore, God will heal, God will make you more into the beautiful person that you are meant to be...and have the potential to be! That you are inside! But, that beauty can never be shone, that potential can never be reached, or produced...if you don't surrender to the Crafter's hands. Yet, if you really Trust Him, beauty can be restored, and beauty can be formed from the ashes.
Remember also in one of my last blog posts I was mentioning how "Forgiveness" is a step towards true healing and beauty.
Health and Beauty go hand in hand. They really do. You can't look your best on the outside if you are sick...even, sick or wounded on the inside. Beauty begins with love. Beauty, in - people, circumstances, begins with "real" love. As an example;
If You've ever see someone's face when they are "in love" with the one they plan to spend the rest of their life with...That love, makes them look even more beautiful on the outside, such as a glow to their face etc. That is because love shines from the inside out. Love can make anyone a beautiful creature. Love is the basis for Beauty. Love is forgiving, love is meek, love does not boast, is not proud, does not provoke to anger...Love...
Live in love, and you will live in Beauty, Live in Love and you will fulfill the law, Live in Love and you will live in Christ's example.
People will remember Beauty....because what people truly remember, is "Love".
And the greatest thing about this is; if you give Love, you will reap Love.
If you live "beautifully" aka "live in love" then you will reap "beauty" and "love" in your own life.
God wants to Love you. Let Him do it, and you will find yourself getting more than a make-over. If you let yourself be consumed in God's Love, if you 'lose yourself there', and trust God to satisfy your soul- then things can be transformed, beauty expanded, and God can heal you.
True Love enables Trust. Trust can only be preformed if there is the knowledge and belief in a degree of Trustworthiness. How do we know someone is trustworthy? God is trustworthy...Not only because He has always proved to be so, but because we know His Love for us goes beyond how "we usually tend to love"...God was always true, even up to sending His own Son. And Christ died for us, even "while we were yet sinners".
I want to encourage you, the reader, to find your Identity in Christ, and no longer in your own goals, nor in the lies of others, or the offers of the world, but instead to find it in a Love story, a Love story that involves "you losing your old selfish self, in the love of God" and "finding the more beautiful person he has made for you to be, by falling in love with Him". Sanctification is a process; Beauty is a process. For example; when you first believed in Christ and asked Him to forgive you of your sins, that black ugly chunk of cole that you used to be, suddenly was cracked open, fell off, just like a hard nut shell, and reveled a raw, precious gem underneath. Yet that stone is un-cut, un-polished etc. That is where your "life with Christ" comes in. Having a moment of decision to serve God for the first time, asking Him to forgive You your sins, to confess your belief in Him, is an amazing moment, and the start of a journey. It is not the end, but the beginning. We are like those raw precious stones after we come to God...We must let God continue to form us, sand us, and polish us. Just like that clay vessel on the potter's wheel, we must not think just because we've jumped on the Potter's wheel, that we are perfect...without being formed, spun, molded, polished etc. The same with Salvation, we cannot think just because we've taken the leap into faith in Christ that we are perfect...without letting God work in, on, with, and through - us.
There are things that we can never do to our selves to make us more beautiful, (more like Christ), and more into the person that we are meant to be, because there are some things that only God can do to us, that only God can preform on us, and inside us, and through us. Also some beautifying can only be done in, and through us - by Other People, Circumstances, situations...
Love "wows" us. It really does. And God, who is full of Love for us, likes to "Wow" us :) He likes to do things for us that we think are impossible. And God want's you to radiate in the beauty He knows can shine from you. He wants to restore you, heal you, form you, and let you shine like the Amazing Jem that you are. God has plans for you...Yes, He does. Plans for good, for your wellbeing, and "NOT" for evil. God does not have plans to distort you, to take a sword and make cuts to your realtionship with Him, nor is He like a vampire that wants to suck your life. God "wants" you to be blessed in every way, He wants to give you Abundant Living. But you've got to let Him, and you've got to have a relationship with Him. Evil and unrighteous: harm, brokenness, hurt, true ugliness, all comes from the Enemy and from sin. God is Light, there is no darkness in Him. God created you to be in perfect harmony with Him. Sin seperates us, yet because of the Love of God, through Christ Jesus we can come boldly unto the throne of Grace. I just want you to "expect". Be "Expectant" that God will Restore, God will heal, God will make you more into the beautiful person that you are meant to be...and have the potential to be! That you are inside! But, that beauty can never be shone, that potential can never be reached, or produced...if you don't surrender to the Crafter's hands. Yet, if you really Trust Him, beauty can be restored, and beauty can be formed from the ashes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)