quoted

The world of posers is shaken by a real man. They'll do whatever it takes to get you back in line – threaten you, bribe you, seduce you, undermine you. Let people feel the weight of who you are and let them deal with it.
John Eldredge

thoughts on love

love. people look for it, live for it, relish it, and wrestle with it. to feel secure and fulfilled. to feel at peace. to know that you are accepted for who you are, doing whatever you do. our society is so wrapped up in it and we don't have a clue about how deep it runs. dating relationships and marriage is just the tip of the iceberg. people look for acceptance, inclusion and a feeling of belonging in so many places. friendship circles. families. jobs. relatives. neighbors. strangers.

while there is some good in feeling included by others, we need shift our focus. if we are always looking for the favor of others, we will never find out who WE are or what WE really care about. basing our lives on the opinions of others is not the way we were designed to live. each person is different, from the way we look to the things we love doing, to the weaknesses we have.

instead of looking around to others for a standard of life, we ought to look to the one who designed us. more than that, the one who LOVES us. loves us with the only real kind of love that accepts us for who we are and not what we do or don't do. we are made in the image of God and his standard for our lives is the one we should look to in shaping our lives.

our God is patient and kind. He is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. He does not demand his own way. He is not irritable and keeps no record of being wronged. He does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. our God never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

that is the kind of standard i want to be directed by. thank you God for your love.

"ever faithful ever true; you I know, you NEVER let go."
David Crowder

captivated

When I look into the mountains
I see Your fame
When I look into the night's sky
It sparkles Your name

The wind and the clouds and the blue in the sky
The sun and the moon and the stars so high
That's what draws me to You

I am, I'm captivated by You
In all that You do
I am, I'm captivated

When I wake unto the morning
It gives me Your sight
When I look across the ocean
It echoes Your might

The sand on the shore and the waves in the sea
The air in my lungs and the way You made me
That's what draws me to You

I am, I'm captivated by You
In all that You do
I am, I'm captivated

'Cause I am, I'm captivated by You
In all that You do
I am, I'm captivated

The wind and the clouds and the blue in the sky
The sun and the moon and the stars so high
The sand on the shore and the waves in the sea
The air in my lungs and the way You made me

The blood in my veins and my heart You invade
The plants how they grow and the tree and their shade
The way that I feel and love in my soul
I thank you my God for letting me, letting me know

I am, I'm captivated by You
In all that You do
I am, I'm captivated

'Cause I am, I'm captivated by You
In all that You do
I am, I'm captivated

Shawn McDonald.Captivated

quoted

"Intercessors have an essential role to play in creating a better future for our world, because intercession is spiritual defiance of what is in the name of what God has promised. The shape of the future will be determined by those who can survey all it's various possibilities and who, by faith, latch on to one as inevitable. History belongs to the intercessors who thus bring the future into being."

Walter Wink

thoughts on a good friday

I hear the Savior say, “Thy strength indeed is small
Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in Me thine all in all.”

Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

Lord, now indeed I find Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots And melt the heart of stone.

And when before the throne I stand in Him complete,
"Jesus died my soul to save" my lips shall still repeat

O Praise the one who paid my
And raised this life up from the dead

Praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead

Praise the one who paid my
And raised this life up from the dead

O Praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead

God. i have shown more times than i'd like to admit, that i am fallen. i have done so many things that would make me seem like i am far from being your son. yet you died, my soul to save. You gave yourself up willingly, to die. i didn't earn salvation, or even want it, but you gave it anyway. You pursued me and are showing me how much you love me.

O Praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead.