Purposeful Placement

I laughed at a quote the other day that talked about purposely placing yourself in the presence of God. I thought that was the most ridiculous thing I had heard of. After all, God is God. I have no ability to make him draw near to me. But tonight after a crazy day following a crazy few days and straight in the midst of more craziness to come. I made a choice. I needed Him. So I "tuned" into the One who Never leaves my side. I opened my heart to the love that He constantly awaits to give. And at least in this moment- I understand a bit better the concept of purposely placing yourself near Him. It's all about a willing heart. He could choose to not be present but those are the times I need to choose to wait.

God is good. And oh, how He indeed loves us.

Psalm 34:8 - Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

WHOA

What is reality?
Our minds are vast and easily misconstrue.
Why is there so much misunderstanding between people?
Easy: perceptions, actions, and conversations all leave much room for
interpretation.

When our minds go to misleading thoughts - our perceptions go wild with attempts to rationalize and prove our own understandings. Even if they are totally and utterly WRONG!

This is a scary truth. Our lives leave wide open the room for interpretation. There is a TON of room for our minds, emotions, and perceptions to flat out lie to us. Crazy, eh? That's not even including the many lies that our friends and enemies tell us. That doesn't include the lies satan can lead us down.

Listening to these lies will lead us to paths of destruction. Not always death but broken relationships, fears, compromise, unlived potential, and much much more. Haven't you ever experienced a moment where you talked yourself into or out of something? Of course you have- we all have!

I believe the worst lie we can make ourselves believe is that their is no truth, only our understanding and perceptions of reality. This lie has led many people to totally give up the search for truth. For you see, there is truth but it is not found within ourselves. We can never understand truth on our own. Never. Left to our own devices, I would have to agree with this lie - we can never understand real truth.

Praise be to God - there is another way! There is a way out of the confusion, out of the misunderstanding, out of the fear, and out of the darkness. There is an answer out of all this mess. We find the source of truth in John 14:15 - Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Did you catch it? Jesus is truth.

Please listen to me. We must seek Jesus Christ to understand life and our reality. He paved the way for a life free from the lies around us. He is the source of the answers we seek. When life seems dark - turn to him. He will remove your lack of understanding and give you true understanding. The bible talks about this in 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

It is my prayer that we would all begin to live true lives of freedom. The freedom that is found in Christ. The freedom that is found in living in an understanding of truth. There is not enough room in this blog for me to write of this truth. It is found written clearly in the Bible. Right now if you are reading this - please know one thing. What you seek is found in Jesus Christ. He is not a fictional story, He is not a dead man, He is God. He is your source. Ask Him and He will reveal himself to you.

Little Peak into my heart

Mixture of emotions floating down the pipe.
Feeling content and peaceful
wanting more of you.
split second passes, I take a glance around.
Lovers surround me with eyes for one another.
Children fill their quivers, blessings easy to see.
Longings threatens to creep in -
will I ever share this life?
But you are right beside me,
bringing truth to light.
this life is special when shared with you.
Holy Spirit within:
guiding and leading
Drawn to your love,
comforted in your grace.

Now I stand Reminded -
this life is GREAT because of you!

Thank you Lord (and I mean it!)

Thank you Lord for :

My mouth that gets me into trouble for saying the wrong or hurtful thing.
My attitude which builds a gap between us until you lead me to repent.
My bank account which is never where it needs to be.
My abilities for they never quite meet or exceed those around me.
My mind which tends to forget about loving everyone I care for.
My lack of ability to properly manage my life, time, appetite, or finances.
My indecisiveness which leads me to missing out on opportunities.
My fears which remind me of my weakness.
My emotions which when uncontrolled take me on wild trips.
My lack of confidence which many times has stunted my actions.

Thank you for all of these things (and many more).
For all of these weaknesses and lacking areas reminds me all the more that I undoubtedly NEED you.
Be it through success or failure Lord - keep drawing me closer to you!

A Pilgrim's Heart Cry

You alone
are my true faithful friend.
I know no one else that loves like you.

So right now,
I lift my eyes to you.
For though it is large,
That mountain is far away
You will guide my every step.

Day by day
I vow to turn to you.
And with each passing hour
may my eyes of faith grow clearer still.

From you alone,
comes the strength to possess this faith.
So when I wander Lord,
direct my eyes.

Oh my worthy guide
I know that you will guard my heart.
So each passing day its fulfillment is found
in you.

With my eyes and heart
safe in your arms.
I know my steps will be firmly placed.

Though I fear in this moment,
help me remember
where my eyes should be cast.

Someday I will not need this faith,
when your glorious plans fall into place.
You will stand for all to see.
The King of kings and Prince of Peace.

But oh until that day,
guide me Jesus.
Guide me today.