A New Year

2012 has had it's adventures. Every year at this time people reflect on their past year; I'm no exception.  I've learned a whole lot more about who I am this past year just by living.

I get so wrapped up in trying to understand myself and others that I get highly irritated. Luckily, I'm not alone in this. I have great people around me to help break open the shell and extract a pearl.

 God is  so amazing like that.

If you ever feel like God isn't there,

Wait. Pray. Live

He is the eternal, so we must never forget he is not put off of saving us everyday. We are the ones stuck in time (I'll look back on this post later and be glad).

May God truly bless the next moment you experience. And the next. :-)

A recommendation

Hi  all!
Just thought I'd add a recommendation for an author I follow.His work has inspired me alot and I cannot wait to read his new book! Anyways, here's a link to the teaser for his book:  Jeff Goins book The-In-Between.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

New life from rest

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,^[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

²⁹ Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰ And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Genesis 1:26-31

I stumbled upon something really interesting tonight. 

Bear with me.

As I read though the Chapter, it seemed like the same reminder of creation, but it wasn't until I read Genesis 2 that I found that something that got me thinking.

Genesis 2:1-25

Then it struck me. 

It seemed "Adam" was created inside God's rest. The garden was placed in an area set aside for His man.

And it is the same for His women as well.

It was out of the rest of Adam that Eve or Life was created. She was made from Adam's structure thus being the of the same creation. 

I am not setting new doctrine or adding to anything, but think about it.

Every-time God breathes on someone to be set apart to himself it is out of rest.

This rest is like how a peasant submits to the rule of a King.

It is the rest that allows God to shape us how he sees fit and move us with His Spirit.

 Instead of just being created by Him, we are made by his hands. 

God set many things on this earth with the ability to replicate themselves, but we are set aside for Him! 

We draw others to Him by being who we are. Animated by His Spirit.

Hitting the wall

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24

Being an endurance runner I truly understand this verse. There is a point at which your body at about an hour in, stops using glycogen (basically sugars) for energy and starts to burn fat. It causes your muscles to start to fatigue and you often slow your pace rapidly.This process happens so fast that unless you are ready for it, it is like "hitting a brick wall" literally.

Well, it is the same with our Faith. If you are not prepared to be pushed beyond your mental ability and  down to your knees...even to the point you despair your own life, you get hit hard. It feels like God has forsaken you or you failed Him. 

Neither of which are true. 

At this point many drop out of the race. Most are too fatigued to go on...but those who push through are rewarded greatly. 

After their body adjusts to a slower burning fuel, they find new energy. 

After we come to the end of what we can do, the end of ourselves, on a daily basis we find new strength to go further than we have ever imagined.

It is to God's glory we are able to go on. We WILL NOT look pretty to the world, but to his people and to Him we are like a bride running to the arms of her Beloved.  

So keep on in the race. Though the road be long and the way treacherous we run to be perfected as a Bride preparing for her wedding day. The stories we get along the way are what makes the journey. All along the way we get to touch people we could never have imagined had we have gone our separate ways. 

Continue with endurance so at the end we can truly say with all our hearts:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

2 Timothy 4:7-8

Taking a small break

Hi folks! I'm taking a small hiatus from this blog to get closer to God. I've found sometimes that I say too much too quickly and am buried with ideas yet it takes a long time to really digest the thing I write myself. I'm also working on my writing, so my blog may be a little more structured the next time I write.

Ciao!

Letting God be Himself

I get into trouble every-time I write. Without fail, God holds me on what I claim on my blog...

He writes it into my flesh and mind.

Here goes.


I recently read an important idea from Donald Miller's program, "Storyline" (http://storylineblog.com/) to make "What if's" in your life and move towards them.


My  biggest "WHAT IF"

What if I truly gave God control over my life each day and  every day?



I HATE THE IDEA!.





It's full of scary roads and massive possible failures.

Putting your entire life willingly in the hands of a being that could easily snuff you out?

On top of that, laying down the ability to scrutinize others on their mistakes?

That second one may have got a small chuckle. The truth is, I love "playing god."



To give up 'Giving up on Ben' is terrible. I am so good at it. *Snort*


I've found the reason behind all of my frustration with people. A pesky thing that gets in the way every-time.  It stops me from being able to help them with their problems. Wouldn't it be so much easier without it?

Oh yeah, it was a gift from God.

Their will.

I have one too.

He lets us walk away from Him all the while pursuing us with His Love in a way that only He can. That's real love. Allowing Himself to be wounded only to forgive us and accept us as sons and daughters when we return.

I hope that one is etched into my being. That love.

I want to allow God to work on others....and myself from the inside.


Letting God be Himself in me and allowing others to be themselves as well.

I'm done waiting

Time to get a little vulnerable. As a single guy living in a community where at least 80%  of my friends are married, 60% of which are within 2 years of me in both directions...

I often find it a great struggle to focus. 

It is human nature to want intimacy with another person. A closeness that makes you feel wanted by one other person. 

I've seen MANY books for single women (read none) of 
how to wait for the ONE. 

Men are often left out to dry..
since we are supposed to initiate the relationship. 

But.... What happens if it doesn't happen? 

Even if there is a desire, prayer, and even trying to be ready?


While marriage is  very important to those who are blessed with it, 
we can get so wrapped up in thinking and "prepping ourselves" that  we  miss the point. This is the time in our lives where we can devote ourselves entirely to falling in love with God.


For men it becomes like a deer hunt: waiting and jumping at opportunities...it becomes an obsession. 

God created us for  closeness with one another,sharing our life, and to live for the other.. 

Doesn't it sound sorta familiar? 

God created us to echo heaven. 

In the "Lord's prayer" it says ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN! 


Paul talks about this in Corinthians 7:7
"Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that." 

I am not for holding out anymore. I cannot do it anymore. I have to move on. The desire has been absolutely paralyzing to me.


To sum up this whole thought in a few words it would be "Falling in Love with God above all" 

It is something that is missing from ALL marriages that go awry. 

To love God means loving that person in front of you whether it is your spouse,brother, sister, or  even YOUR WORST ENEMY more than you treat yourself! 

In the process of allowing yourself to feel God's love for you, you will then overflow & pour that love on others.

For those who have no spouse, it is easier in a way: putting God first before desires, giving your future to Him, and making Him your desire. 


It is both a scary and exciting thing to give your entire future to God. It means He does what HE wants. Is able to fashion you into a tool of His design. 

Then...when you are set in another person's life and them in yours, He'll be the center of the union. He is of course to be our first love. The one which all loves are meant to reflect. 


I could go on for hours, so I'll just leave you with that. I may need to write an eBook to share what God is working out in me. I'll truly enjoy Him revealing things in the days ahead, since life is about the valley and not the mountain-top.