Moving Blog

Hey all, just an FYI I'm moving my blogging over to lovesolvesproblems.com

Love you all!

People Hurt

Life

Life is hard.

Life can hurt. A lot.

It hurts to watch others hurt.

It hurts to hear others hearts be broken.

It's hard to stomach the taste of a bitter world.

It hurts to smell the sulphur of selfishness.

Touch the hearts of the broken.

Love them.

Not you.

Them.

Every Small Thing

Every small victory of resistance to sin is the grace of Christ. Every small gift of a child's smile or a loving friend is a gift from the hand of God.

Do not forget that without Christ, our lives will always be consumed with trying to be fulfilled. We may strive for academic success, familial success, or financial success but we will never be fulfilled. Our lives will never be full until it is given up to Christ.

~ Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet you lack one thing: sell all that you have, and distribute unto the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. ~

Love More

Hey friends!

Just wanted to stop by to encourage you. Love more. Love Jesus more. Love your family more. Love your friends more. Love every human God puts in your life more. In a world driven by lust, power, fame, money, and the devil it is important for us to love.

Love is that which is beautiful. Love is sacrificial. Love is kind. Love is here to take care of others. Love is that which allows us to get spit on, beaten, and continually give up our lives for others because we care about their eternal souls.

Don't stop telling others about Jesus and His salvation, even if the world hates you for it.

Keep on loving my friends. ^_^

Forsaken

Life is tough when your friends forsake you. Life is not fun when your family forsakes you. But when God forsakes you, pure hell is a good description of that feeling.

This last year was difficult. I didn't blog much, and the reason for that was I didn't feel like I had much to contribute. Whenever I sat down to write, I was angry at something, and whenever I'm angry, I write stuff down and then come back to it a couple days later. (Something I learned, that's very beneficial.) And trust me, it wasn't worth sharing.

I wandered around this last year. Doing a little of this, a little of that, and really trying to find myself. Who am I? What are my gifts?

I floated around spiritually. I went to church, I listened to a couple sermons throughout the week, but I did it more out of boredom, willpower, or a sheer sense of wanting to find this little perfect pill that would cure me of all that disgusting sin of mine that was threatening my comfort and happiness. But I didn't want to give up my precious sin.

Well, it was all wrong. I tried to drown myself in entertainment, and it never fulfills. I tried to drown myself in lust, and that never fulfills. I tried to drown myself in exercise, and that will never fulfill. I tried to drown myself in daydreams, and that will never ever, ever fulfill. And then I realized that what I'm missing in my life is the Spirit of God. And I began to cry out for the Spirit to come upon me. I cried that He would make me like Him.

And He answered my prayers.

And now I no longer feel forsaken.

I feel full.

Oh Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief. <-- My cry, until I die.

Seeing Beautiful Things

I've had 22 years to see the beautiful things God has made. I've gotten to see creative people do creative things. I've gotten to see birds flying to and from their nests preparing for winter. I've gotten to see old ruins of generations past. I've gotten to see little babies take their first steps and say their first words. I've gotten to do a ton of things.

I must say, I'm excited about every day God gives me to explore and see His beautiful creatures and places He's created. Here's to another day of exploring and learning. ^_^

Follow God; Quit Listening to Morons

Whenever you're hurting or don't know what to do, look to God's word and those who make an effort to understand and wash themselves in the Word. If you're listening to someone who is just bringing you down, giving you terrible advice, and doesn't give a rip about what God says, they're an idiot. Just move on.

"Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." ~ Proverbs 13:20

Deny Yourself

I'm a selfish person. Very selfish. This fact has been banging its cement self against my head quite often for the past six months or so.

And in many ways, I've tried to just not be selfish.

But it doesn't work.

I am slowly learning that you can't just not be selfish. You must go do something unselfish. You have to take your brain and say to yourself, well instead of being selfish I will go do something kind.

Then go do it.

And that does work.

You can't replace something with nothing.

*shock*

;-)

Life's Tough - Deal with It

Life is difficult. Always. You're always facing decisions. You're always going to have a hard time doing something. I don't care what it is. You are going to have a tough life. Here's the question. Are you going to quit? Or are you going to keep going?

Your career might be kicking your rear right now. Does that mean you're going to quit? Are you going to give up? Are you going to not try as hard? Maybe your marriage is on the rocks. Are you going to quit? Are you going to give up?

Guess what.

Life will just get harder and harder.

And some will give up. But the ones who win and the ones who make it to the end are the ones who stick their nose to the ground and just push through the hard times and Never Give Up. Eventually there will be good times. Maybe it's when you go to heaven. But there will be good times ahead. Put your eyes on the prize and run and don't be weary. Obey God. Read His Word.

DO IT!

We are Wealthy

We are rich. We are rich beyond our wildest dreams.

The man we pass holding the cardboard sign is dripping with wealth.

The lady who rolls by us in her fancy new 2014 BMW convertible is uncomfortably wealthy.

And you are virtually dripping with diamonds.

Every single day!

We have all been given 24 hours per day. Whether you are 82 years old with a billion dollars in the bank, or the broke college student wondering what food that doesn't consist of an Asian seasoning on top of noodles tastes like.

What are you going to do with your 24 hours? Hope it's something good. ^_^

And it's okay when you run out. You will be given another 24 hours tomorrow.

One last encouragement - which I'm working on, definitely more failing then succeeding.. :-/

"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is."

Just One Thing

As I wake up in the morning I've begun asking myself one thing.

What am I going to avoid doing today? Maybe it's too hard, embarrassing, I don't feel like it, etc.

Then I write that one thing down.

Then I go do it.

And at the end of the day, I can look at that one thing and say, "well at least I killed a lion today."

Living in the Present

I live with my fingers on my phone. My eyes occasionally leave its illuminated screen. I look at those who are angry and respond to them by giving them some credence. I remember the situations that are terrible. I think of the future as some large black hole that must be jumped into.

But I want to see that change. I want to live in the present.

I'm tired of every situation being an Instagram post; every funny moment is to be posted to Facebook; every situation happening in my life is a possible like on a social network.

I want to remember the good times. I want to see the beauty and just marvel at the greatness of God.

I want to be able to laugh and not feel that this is some sort of moment that needs to be broadcast to my acquaintances who I have the pleasure of friending on Facebook.

I want a simple life. A life where God is very real. A life that is not consumed by a fanatic desire for fame, money, sex, pride, and that assortment of sins that calls out to the heart of man.

Life is so beautiful with Christ. When he is a very evident part of my observance of the past, a living in the present, and the plans of my future, life is good.

When I abandon him for my attempts at fame, a fill of lustful desires, and a prideful heart, life becomes a turbulent pool of living hell.

And yet, the fool's burnt and bandaged fingers go wobbling back to the fire. The dog returns to his vomit. And I turn my eyes back towards hell.

"O God, do not be far me;
O my God, make haste to help me!"

Normal

Hard hearts are normal. Sexual deviance is normal. Anger is normal. Men with no ambition is normal. Women with a proud look is normal.

But why?

Sin is filling a normal man's heart.

His heart is corrupt. He is out for himself.

Life is about him and only him.

And yet. Although this is normal, we hate it.

Nobody loves being lied to.

No one loves being stolen from.

No one loves someone screaming in anger.

Men were made perfect. And yet we fell.

Normal is full of filth. And a pride for our filth.

Christ came to this earth. And he has restored a normal man.

And made him special.

Special in His eyes.

And that which is normal is shown to be what it really is.

There is a new normal.

A beautiful normal.

One that is filled with peace. Joy. Humility.

And the greatest of these is love.

Get Less Selfish; More Satisfied

Contentment. Needed. Always.

It's interesting how if you just settle down and accept what God gives you, you can all of a sudden see His plan. You see His work. Yes, it might not be the most pretty to you. It may not be your "perfect" plan. But generally your perfect just messes everything up anyways.

Be satisfied in Christ. Then go do things.

Because then, when you do fail.

It won't hurt so much.

Christ doesn't fail.

Never.

Life is an Adventure

Staring up into the stars, wrapped in a sleeping bag while wondering at the glory of God, and knowing many of those you love are on the other side of the hemisphere is a feeling that brings a warm and yet cold feeling into my heart.

I feel the warmth of knowing that God really does care. This is a place where you can drive all day and see a couple cars the entire day. You know that if you break down, you're going to be stuck, and probably for a very long time.

But you realize that as you lay there under the stars, it feels clean. You're not watching the billboards and banner ads of seducing women flash by your eyes all day. You're not hearing the swearing and cursing God day after day. It's just you laying and staring at the beauty that God has made. You see the windswept plains with new eyes. The relativity of our world begins to disappear from before your eyes. And God is revealed in a more real sense.

I feel that travel will open one's eyes up to what you believe and what it really all means. It gives you the opportunity to see other cultures. People who grow up in a different area are made just as much in the image of God, but they see life from another angle. Maybe these people have never had the opportunity to hear the gospel. Maybe they haven't been exposed to the sensuality of the West's entertainment (And the more I travel, the more I realize that there are very few).

At the same, I feel the cold in my heart. There's a feeling where a part of the heart is missing. You begin to miss your family. You miss the laughter, you miss the idiosyncrasies, and you miss the love. You miss sitting by the warm and crackling fire. You miss cleaning your room. (Yeah, it's kind of weird) You miss your friends. You miss work. And you begin to get a taste of how blessed you really are.

And yet, when you get home you miss staring up into those twinkling stars and the simplicity of it all. Your challenges are different at home vs in the middle of nowhere. One is not necessarily worse than the other, but for me one is definitely easier than the other.

But life is an adventure. And I love it.

I love these verses from Philippians 4.

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

Life is Rough

Life is hard. Life isn't nice to you. Maybe your flesh will ruin you. Maybe your enemies will ruin you. Maybe your friends will ruin you. But just remember, Christ is who we look to for salvation. Not others. Just Christ. Don't let other men's examples be the reason you look to Christ. The reason you look to Christ is because you need Him. You need him because you are weak. Other men are weak. But Christ is strong.

Planned Parenthood and the Abortion Holocaust

There is nothing different about the offering up of children to the god of self in an abortion clinic when compared to the pagans who plunged knives into the breasts of young children on top of giant altars in Central America. Call a spade a spade.

Contentment

This life is short. It seems like I've just blinked and surprise, surprise I'm 22.

God has put me where I am in life. He made me who I am. I have a distinct personality, I have a sin nature (man's own doing.. >_<), I have distinct characteristics, distinct facial features, and so on and so on.

But here's the point. God made you. God gave you commands in His word.

Go do them.

Don't live with a wish to be something else; be someone else. Go take dominion. God commanded it.

But don't forget. Obey His laws and things will go well with you. Obey the words that He has for you in His Word.

Be content with those things.

The temptation is to want to be god. Don't give in to that. Don't allow your lusts to consume you. God is God. You're not.

*back to work.... zzzz*

Live with Hope

In a day and age where journalism is driven by the almighty dollar, we see a lot of depressing stuff. Depressing, sexual, and shocking stories drive page views; page views means more ads which means more money. So simple.

I've noticed the longer I keep my eyeballs focused on all these sites, they begin to affect me. A haze begins to crowd out the beauty and life all around me. It's like a drain is being installed in my bathtub of happiness and it lets it all out while replacing it with black water. Not cool.

God is good. People are naturally evil. I have a bit of experience with angry people. As long as you tell them things that make them happy and rub their tummies, all is good. But tell them they are a sinner and need to repent, boy you have released a demon. (In many ways, I think this is a good way you can tell a Christian from a non-Christian; how they respond to your pointing to their wicked hearts.)

But does a natural tendency towards evil in others need to cause us to lose hope? NO! Why?

Christ.

That's about it.

When you read a horrifying news story, just remember.

This is why Christ came.

This is why blood was spilled on the cross.

This is how these wicked men who may have raped a woman, or murdered their grandfather will be released from this evil.

And that is why we live with hope, faith, and repentance.

Open Your Eyes

Seriously. Get it out of your life. I've been getting to see more and more how evil seeds planted in people's lives begin to turn them into the monsters that they are today. They let their sin grow and now they can no longer see right from wrong. They wander around blindly screaming at God.

I am thankful for the mercy God has had on me. Otherwise, that is who I would become.