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Archive for November, 2009

do not fear

Posted in encouragement, eternity, faith, fear, tagged on November 30, 2009 | 1 Comment »

here are the lyrics to the heartbeat of my life right now:

I will not fear
He is here, searching my own heart
I will not doubt
He called out, setting me apart
He is a king
with a heart unlike ours
He is a king
with a crown made of stars
I will not fear
He is here, searching my own heart
I will not doubt
He called out, setting me apart
I will not form
To this world, that’s too hard for me
I am a slave
To my grave, serving sets me free
He is a king
With a heart unlike ours
He is a king
With a crown made of stars
He hears us
He hears us
He hears us sing
He hears us
He hears us
He hears us sing
I will not fear
He is here, searching my own heart.

thanks sam.

what is your soundtrack today?

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the end of chapter one

Posted in eternity, tagged , on November 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

tonight is the last night of the first chapter of Ash & my life together.

i don’t have words right now.

i am going to do a review post of this awesome start to our life at some point soon,

but i’ll be focusing on moving/unpacking for the next couple of days.

i just wanted to ask for your prayers over these next couple of days

because i had a hard time going back to college after thanksgiving for two weeks,

and i am now not just hitting enter/tab but page break instead.

i’m so thankful i have a relationship with God,

the prayers of the saints,

and the support of my best friend Ashley,

that I know will sustain me through this time.

any good chapter two titles in mind?

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Change then grow.

Posted in Uncategorized on November 25, 2009 | 1 Comment »

The original goal my brother ronnie had for this blog:

Change perspective, Gain Perception.

What does it mean to you to change your perspective?

Have you tried this today?

I guarantee that once you try it, you will not be less of what you are.

 

 

 

 

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comfort = contentment

Posted in comfort, contentment, eternity, faith, freedom, tagged , on November 23, 2009 | 2 Comments »

i’m kidding.

i think the exact opposite, but could not find the “does not equal” sign, so i thought i would just use the “equal” sign to get you to keep reading.

i think that our society pushes comfort as the ultimate goal …

oh if i could just have this much money to _____ (ie be comfortable)

oh if i could just get that job to have enough off time to _____ (ie be comfortable)

and most wonder why they never seem to be content … with the money and free time

because we try to use it as our spiritual nourishment and it never sustains us.

once we reach one threshold, we create another.

the only sustaining grub for our souls: “is to do the will of him who sent me,” (john 4:34)

to feast on the Word,

to rely on his provision through prayer.

the most satisfying thing in our lives is to be in tune with the will of our Father for our individual lives.

why?

because He created us, loves us, and knows what is absolutely best for us…

we don’t know what is best for us.

we try to pretend like we know better

and try to find contentment elsewhere,

and we are let down (eternally) every time.

we might achieve a temporary high,

followed by a crushing let down every time.

after two months of doing the same thing, same pattern, searching for comfort, i came home empty.

now that i am very uncomfortable, i have never been more content because i am having to rely more on Him and less on me, every day.

is it easy? no

is it fun? not always

does it look normal to the world? for sure no

is it worth it? every second, every tear, every lost hair, every blood drop, and every dollar missed is worth it.

it takes me back to a quote from francis chan in his book, “crazy love”

lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to.

luke 12:16-21

hebrews 11

do you want to feel a closeness to God like you never have before?

then situate your life so that the only option is for God to provide … like never before.

do you agree?

do you have any experiences that support or oppose this idea?

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passion aint enough

Posted in edification, faith, Persistence, promise, tagged , , on November 21, 2009 | 1 Comment »

about six weeks ago jeff mangum – a pastor at the austin stone community church in austin, tx – spoke on the importance of being “equipped for the mission”

people with passion are very important, wonderful, and necessary for the Church to exist

however, if passion remains the only source of energy, the only fuel for their spiritual lives, they will fizzle quickly

thus, you need to go to seminary

i’m kidding

but i do believe in the importance of “training/equipping/preparing” even more so today than i did yesterday

and this is because the idea popped up in the book of John as my wife & i were reading this morning:

John 13:37-38

Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

Then Jesus answered “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!”

peter’s passion was not enough…and i don’t think peter was lying here either

i believe peter was actually completely convinced that he would do literally anything for Jesus, even if that meant laying down his life

and 24 hours later, he had disowned Jesus three times…

if you are full of passion – be thankful for that passion and take full joy and advantage of that blessing

but don’t rely on that alone … even if you “know” you will do anything for the Kingdom

study

read

pray

learn

every day

especially when you don’t feel like it

have you experienced “burnout”?

what do you do to fight against this?

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