colored glasses

wow, so these last two days God has really been dealing with me on some big things, it's been a little overwhelming to be honest. The last few weeks I have been challenged on what I believe about numerous issues, it felt like everything I believed was being called into question. I actually thought there was a chance my head would explode this morning there was so many questions running through it, but in the midst of all the questions there is a constant it's Jesus. He is the one truth that I am completely sure of, He is, who He said He was, and I can totally rely on Him. He loves me, and wants me to know Him, He is longing, and waiting to build a intimate relationship with me. But there are two things that keep getting in His way, first, my sin, the one He is dealing with me on at the moment is, loving my family.(my lack of doing so is the sin) God has told me to love my wife as He loved the church, something I fail at hundreds of times a day, and to raise my children in His ways, something I'm also good at failing at. Now I'm not saying this under condemnation, regret yes, but not condemnation, because God is showing me that He has a great plan for my life, and family if I would only do it His way. God wants us to see, and show, His love for us, in our family relationships. There can and should be great joy in marriage, and parenting if we do it God's way. So I am going to continue to strive by God's grace and in His strength to love my family the way He has called me to. (Sara, I am sorry for every time I fail to do this, {I know it's a lot} I love you more than words could say and more than my actions sometimes show. and kids I am so glad God has blessed me with you guys I love you with all my heart please forgive me for all the times I fail to model Jesus to you, and love you the way He does)
But the second thing that God has really been dealing with me on is religion, I'll admit I often look at things through my, "religous colored glasses". believing something because, it was the way I was raised, what my church teaches, or maybe because a author I respect believes it. So lately God has allowed, every doctrine and belief I hold to be challenged,(at least it feels that way) and I confess even for a questioner like me, the questions have been totally overwhelming. all of a sudden, it seemed everything I thought I knew was in question, even as I opened my bible I seemed to find more questions than answers, it was the hardest and strangest spiritual desert I've ever gone through. And today in utter desperation as I cried out to God, I told Him I didn't even know who to talk to about what I was going through, and that is where God met me. He showed me that was His plan all along to bring me to a place were all I had was Him. He was taking my religous glasses off, shaking everything so only the things that cannot be shaken would remain. Now I just want to know Jesus, not the baptist Jesus, or the pentecostal Jesus, not my churches Jesus or my family's Jesus; I want to know Jesus as He really is, my hearts cry and my continued prayer will be Jesus please reveal yourself to me, Holy Spirit teach me about Jesus, Father conform me to the image of your dear Son. Above all else may I always seek JESUS.

Thankful for God's Amazing Grace

Sorry, but this has been on my heart for a week already, recently one of my favorite christian artists, choose to live a life of sin ( coming out of the closet) and since then I have heard numerous people bash him for this. Now I am in total agreement homosexuality is a sin, not because I think so but because God said so, and I believe that continuing in a lifestyle of blatant continued disobedience can and will cost him his salvation (as well as anyone else who chooses to live a life of disobedient unrepentant sin ). However I have heard and seen people make comments like "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" and I can't help but wonder what makes us think Jesus would ever say something like that? I can't help but think of a story in scripture where some people caught a woman in sin and brought her to Jesus, they wanted to stone her, yet Jesus stopped, scribbled something in the sand, then said, he who is without sin cast the first stone. I want to be like Jesus in all I say and do, the scripture says Jesus came " full of grace and truth" and I am so glad for His grace, because I definitely cannot cast the first stone. Now hear me out I am not excusing or justifying sin in any way, shape, or form. Jesus didn't and neither should we, but Jesus also wasn't sarcastic about it either. According to what I see in scripture when Jesus was dealing with sinners He lovingly called them to repentance. I want my conversations to be seasoned with grace, speaking the truth in love, as Jesus did and would. We must stand for truth and never compromise, but always, always in love. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)that kind of love amazes and humbles me. So it is my hope and prayer that those of us, who have been forgiven much, will love much, that we will freely give, what we have freely received and show Gods amazing love to the world around us. Lets pray for reconciliation for our brothers, and sisters caught in sins trap, instead of spreading condemnation and judgement. Realizing that it is "grace that has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home"

Living by Accident

What would you do if you were offered $ 1,440.00 every day with the only condition that whatever you don't spend at the end of the day you lose? Well every morning God gives you 1,440 minutes and at the end of the day whatever you didn't use you lost. I am ashamed when I think of the countless hours I have wasted in my life, it is so easy to waste time, five minutes here, ten minutes there, and I don't even want to know how much time we spend watching TV in a given week. Ephesians 5:15-17 says "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is."(KJV). Redeeming the time, or making the most of every opportunity, as the NIV says, is a challenge God has been dealing a lot with me on these past few weeks. in Jeremiah 29:11 God says " For I know the plans I have for you. declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.(NIV). I believe God has a great plan for all of our lives yet, many of us will miss many of the great things God has for us because we are so busy living, our life, our way. I have heard people say "life is what happens while you are busy making plans" and when asked what happened to dreams, or relationships, respond "life happened", and I think this is really, really sad. We as Christians need to stop living reactionary and start living pro-active, we need to be pro-active in loving our neighbor, pro-active in loving our enemies, pro-active in sharing Jesus with others, pro-active in encouraging our fellow believers. We need to stop living by accident and start living with God's purpose, looking for, and making the most of every opportunity God places in front of us. So next time you are with friends playing cards, or having lunch turn the conversation to things that really matter. Next time you are in a public place ask God if there is someone He wants you to talk with. Set your affections on things above, and see what great things God has in store for you today

my sons gift

yesterday as my son and I took out garbage waiting for his sister to get back from school. Isaiah was as usual running full speed ahead when suddenly he stopped walked back a few steps and picked up a leaf honestly I hadn't even noticed ran back to me and said "here daddy I got a leaf for you". I smiled and said thank you as we continued on our mission of taking out garbage, but this morning as I thought back on that I was reminded of a story in sports a month or so ago one Wednesday morning Matt Bryant's (the Tampa Bay kicker) wife went to wake up their 3 month old son and he wasn't breathing. They experienced every parents nightmare, a tragedy I can't even began to comprehend. big news in sports that week as Bryant made the game winning kick that Sunday but slowly forgotten as other news broke (like rumors of a ex-quarterback leaking "classified" info to an opposing team). So whats my point well I believe God wanted me to pray for the Bryant family, but also to teach me that life is short scripture says it is "even a vapor" (James 4:14) and it is important to love fully in the time we have here. It is so easy to do as I did smile at a gift from your son and then continue with the busyness of life. I could have stopped and admired God's handiwork with my Son, grabbed him in a bear hug and ran in circles till we both fell down laughing or hurried to get the garbage in the dumpster that wasn't going anywhere. i love my children with all my heart but sometimes I have completely messed up priorities I don't know what tomorrow holds but today I want my kids to know beyond the shadow of a doubt exactly how much daddy loves them so I'm gonna hug them till they tell me to stop then hug them some more. I'm gonna take some breaks in the midst of cleaning house to wrestle on the floor to play trucks with my son as we clean his room or play dolls as we pick up the 10 million dolls my daughter has. so today I want to encourage you make your family a priority treat them like the incredible gift they are give them a hug today actually give them a couple hugs don't just tell them you love them show them. the gift from my son wasn't the leaf it was his love and that's a gift I have every intention of reciprocating so I need to go play puppy with my kids now.

Are we too casual with God ?

"Just wait till your father gets home" man I hated when mom said that, why because I had a healthy respect for dad and the consequences of breaking the rules. fear of dads punishment kept me from making more than a few bad choices, but now as an adult those words mean almost nothing to me. Now my interactions with dad are more peer to peer (adult to adult) than child to parent. and while this is healthy in family relationships I believe it is dangerous in our heavenly relationship. I think way to often we treat God as a peer, there is little to no fear of God anymore. All we want to talk about is how our heavenly Father loves us, we don't want to think about the fact that our heavenly Father is also the rightous judge of the world. Ravenhill said "If the modernist reiterate that the love of God cannot be overstated, they need to be reminded that the justice of God cannot be understated." Jesus said " And fear them not which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt. 10:28)I truly believe that this lack of "the fear of the Lord" is why holiness may be at an all time low in the lives of God's people. We have developed the attitude that if we sin it's no big deal we'll just tell God we're sorry when we are done. Instead of being a people of repentance we've become at apoligizing, remorseful maybe, regretful possibly, repentant not usually. So while we proclaim Jesus as our best friend we maintain a cold and callous attitude about the very thing that cost Him His life in the most awful way. Do we really belive God doesnt care that we treat the sacrifice of His Son so disrespectfully? That it is okay to say I love you Jesus but I'm going to continue doing ______________ even though it cost you your life and when I'm done I'll tell you I'm sorry. (there is a awful lot of I in there)? lets see what God says "For if we sin wilfully after that we have the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgement and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"(Heb 10:26-29)All throughout scripture God has required holiness from His people, in the O.T. the priest would purify himself before going into the Holy of Holies but now we go into the Holy place to let God purify us. what I believe we need, what I am longing for is a revelation of who God is, not the comercialized watered-down version of american christianity's Jesus. But a true revelation of the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, The Great I AM. And as God reveals Himself to us may our response must be as Isaih's (see Is. 6) one of humility and repentance may we present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable unto God and let God transform our minds. Trust me God is longing for a intimate relationship with you more than you are for one with Him. So lets stop letting our sin seperate between us and our God (Is.59:2) let us boldly approach the throne of grace to obtain mercy because I am confident of this very thing that He who began a good work is faithful to complete it. God please forgive me for treating you to casually, for treating your sacrifice so callously forgive me for all the times I apoligized but never repented of my sins God create in me a clean heart. Holy Spirit convict me of sin lead me in your ways help me to daily get on the cross and die to all my wants, dreams, desires, failures, and sins and live for Christ and Christ alone in me the hope of glory In Jesus Name Amen

Revival Prayer

"Too many people pray like little boys who knock on doors then run away" Francois Fenelon. Our country desperately needs a great awakening but our church needs a revival, and I'm not talking about a set of three or four planned meetings. I'm talking about when God shows up and shatters all our misconceptions about Him. When God begins to do what only He can do so He alone gets credit and glory for it. When God begins to change hearts and lives, the sick get healed, the bound get delivered, and lukewarmness gives way to red hot, sold out, passion for God.This is what our church, our country, our world needs, honestly this is what I need. Rev 2:4 says "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love" I am guilty of this not because I woke up one morning and decided I wasn't in love with God today, but because I was lazy. I knew God loved me and that I was saved by grace through faith, I knew the general idea of what the bible said and had some of the key verses memorized. So I put my pursuit of God on cruise control yes I prayed if prayer is merely bringing a shopping list to God or thanking Him for food or a nice day but actually going in a closet and shutting the door and waiting on God to speak, not so much. I was okay at talking to God but not so good at communicating with Him, okay at talking not so good at listening. You know the old saying " if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans" I was good at that telling God my plans instead of waiting for Him to tell me His. And I traded intimacy with the Father for convenience, after all life is busy and I justified this by telling myself at least I prayed five minutes before I took off about my day. And in the midst of changing diapers and "where are my keys" prayers I slowly left my first love. E.M Bounds said "God's acquaintance is not made hurriedly He does not bestow His gifts on the casual or hasty comer and goer. To be much alone with God is the secret of knowing Him and of influence with Him." God please forgive me for the sin of prayerlessness, Jesus teach me to pray reveal yourself to me show me your ways that I may walk in them bring revival to my heart Father in Jesus name Amen. okay I need to go spend some time in my prayer closet.

The day that changed my life

(my story continued.....) One day while serving an internship with Central Assembly I preached a sermon at the annual family camp about the three generation cycle and why we were losing so many of our young people to the world, I shared how badly we needed to see God move in mighty ways that we young people (myself included) wanted more than rules and regulations we needed to meet God. I encouraged everyone to began seeking God to do big things and then to share their testimonies of Gods faithfulness and as just as I finished the sermon. Joe a fellow intern at the church came running up they had received a call at the church from my family,
mom was in the hospital with cancer and not doing well. I can't even describe all the emotions I felt at that moment disbelief, I knew mom hadn't been feeling well but cancer impossible there must be a mistake then panic, what was I gonna do, what if, no don't even think that. I had just preached about seeking God to do big things so that was what we would do so I asked a few people to pray with me then headed to the hospital to find out it was all true mom had stage four colon cancer and our family faced a very serious battle for her life. The doctors may not have wanted to say exactly how serious it was but the Internet had no such problems and a search for "stage four colon cancer" was not an easy read. Now I was raised in a church that taught divine healing I was serving in a church that has divine healing as 1 of its 16 fundamental truths and I believe with everything in me that divine healing is for today and is promised in scripture as part of the atoning work of cavalry. Yet as I went through the next several months and countless visits to the hospitals I watched mom get worse I listened to people pray with me and ask God to help us if He decided not to heal mom, I listened to arguments for why God might not heal and at times felt like I was believing alone. I told myself how hard we were fighting I'd fast for a day or two, pray for a few hours at a time and then I had the dream and knew we were still losing. and then one day sitting with mom she told me her faith was struggling the pain was so great she said she didn't know how much longer she could fight she asked me to believe for her, to be strong and not doubt I promised her I'd never quit that we would win. As mom got worse and the pain grew I never once heard mom ask why me or complain I watched as God did a work in her heart changing her she grew even closer to the Lord. In one of her last visits to the hospital she sent dad to get something to drink so we could have a few moments alone she told me how proud she was of me how much she loved me that she knew God had a great plan for my life it was one of the only times she ever acknowledged Gods call on my life she said God had gifted me with a great memory for His Word that next time I preached she would come hear me (she never got the chance), she told me for the 1st time she supported my decision to marry Sara and she was gonna work on building a real relationship with her, and some other thing I'm gonna keep in my heart alone right now, if id known that it was gonna be one of the last times we would talk alone I'd have never let it end. on August 27 I went to see her I wanted to spend my birthday with her she wasn't feeling well she gave me some money told me she was sorry she didn't get me a gift and that next year we'd go out together for my birthday it was a promise she never got to keep on Sep 1, 2005 I got a call to rush to the hospital the ambulance was taking mom there. The doctor walking in to that waiting room telling us they had tried everything is a memory I can't seem to forget I ran outside telling mom I was sorry over and over again I'd promised mom we'd win but I'd also promised her I wouldn't quit I went back inside and when they let us see her after everyone else left I stayed and I prayed for God to raise her from the dead it was the same prayer I would pray at the funeral as we said our last good-byes at the grave site my brother shared that mom was in heaven that the sun was shining and God was in control we sang that since God carried the weight of the world He'd carry us through this and about the footprints mom had left behind would leave a legacy of faith behind (she did) and after everyone left I stood there alone some men asked if the could start filling in the hole all I could do was nod my phone rang my family wanted to know if I was OK but how do you tell someone you feel like you failed your mom when she needed you the most all I could do was stand there and with every shovel full of dirt they threw tell her I was sorry. I believe with everything in me still that God is the Lord our Healer that we are healed by Jesus stripes and when we call for the elders and pray in faith we should see people healed. And I have never quit asking God why mom wasn't healed or where are his miracles (Judges 6:13) And I am going to keep seeking to know God better to walk with Him closer and to live life the way Jesus did yes I want to see miracles I want to go to a church living the book of Acts but above all I want to love God with all my heart, soul and mind to be all Jesus called me to be. Sep 1, 2005 changed my life forever I learned it's easy to talk about wanting more and following God with a whole heart but actually living 24-7 for Jesus takes commitment the commitment to come and die to self so Jesus can live through us the commitment to put my wishes, dreams, and desires on the cross so I am dead to them and alive to Christ and Christ alone.This is the journey that took me to where I am today, desperate for God

finally music

Okay, so it took me a week to figure out how to add music to my blog. No one would accuse me of being computer literate. These are some of my favorite songs and I hope they minister to you as you read. It is my prayer that you will be challenged to join me on a journey of radical pursuit of God and that my posts will both challenge and encourage you to that end. Let us run the race before us as one who wants to win the prize. (1 Cor. 9:24-25)

my story

It's interesting what details stick in our minds, I can honestly say I don't remember a whole lot about being five years old but I do remember one day very well. I was sitting on one of the swing sets in our back yard my mom was on the other one we were practicing the alphabet and the sounds they made if memory serves correct we were on the letter E (is for elephant) and my mom started talking to me about Jesus and salvation. I don't remember the exact words she used but I know that I knew I was a sinner in need of Jesus and that God loved me so much He had sent His only Son to die for me. That day I accepted God's offer of salvation and my life changed forever. I can remember over the next several years truly falling in love with Jesus I was the holly roller, bible boy and a few other names as a kid. In a small town being home schooled and going to church in your basement (we had a small house church that at the time met at our house) was more than enough to make me the weird kid on the block, add to that the fact that some of the neighbor kids were not as interested in hearing about Jesus as I was to talk about Him. Thinking back on those years I don't remember a whole lot just some snapshots, I remember sharing Jesus with my friend and next door neighbor with a children's Bible and all I can remember of the conversation is how I told him that at the judgement seat God would separate the sheep from the goats and that I was a sheep and going to heaven and he was a goat and going to hell because I had accepted Jesus as my savior. Okay so maybe not how I'd say it now but back then before I ever heard of arminianism, Calvinism before I understood words like propitiation and atonement all I knew was Jesus was real He had changed my life and I wanted to share that with my friend. And God honored that I got to pray with Him to accept Jesus and become a sheep. I remember getting water baptized, I don't remember the day but I know it was COLD we were at a friends house on the Bay and my cousins were also getting baptized and I can remember sitting on the rocks wrapped in a towel shivering. ( I was doubly blessed, when my mom led me to Christ she was a newer believer herself and so I got grow in the Lord with her as she learned new things she passed them on to me, I can remember many a time talking with each other about something we had read in scripture) So while I may not have understood all the significance in water baptism I knew I wanted to obey Jesus and be baptized. I can also remember being filled with the Holy Spirit, mom had told me about it and I wanted it we had prayed for it and one day while I was playing in the living room under some blankets turned into a tent I felt the Presence of God and received the gift of Tongues ( I believe I was filled with the Holy Spirit the moment we prayed even though the Gift of Tongues came later) I was so excited I ran outside to tell mom, what a great day that was. I wish I could tell you it was always like that but sadly things changed. Slowly the cares of this world became more important than the things of God especially football and that's how most of my teen years went a spiritual roller coaster of ups and downs with God calling me, the world calling me and wrestling with heavy questions. There were months of backslidden complacency with times here and there were I'd respond to Gods calling but through it all God never gave up on me and mom never quit praying for me. And God used a a speaker at a youth camp to get a hold of me in my late teens I rededicated my life to God and began slowly to start seeking the things of God again. By the time I was eighteen I was serving as a youth leader and striving to answer the call I believe God had placed on my life. Yet even as I served in ministry I struggled with questions, I was longing for something more I wanted to live Christianity as I read about it in acts. I didn't want to just read about the great revivals of days gone by, I wanted to see God move like that now. And over the next five or six years I began searching for that asking lots of questions moving from church to church looking for something more..... (to be continued). I realize this is a very condensed version of the journey God has led me on and there were many other life changing moments the infamous Green Lake experience, our family trial, etc. but through it all God has loved me and He has used all of it to make me into who He wanted me to be. Just like Romans 8:28 says "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." So as I look back over my life I see the tremendous grace of God, I see He has never left my side, He has loved me through it all and I can be sure that He will continue to be Faithful and I can stand with confidence on the promise of Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

don't forget

Today as I was reading in Hebrews God reminded me of something He has been teaching me, Something He wants me to live. In Hebrews 2:1 it says "THEREFORE WE ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip." too many times God shows us something or does something for us and shortly after we have forgotten it. In the Old Testament when God did something for His people often He would tell them to make an alter so that when their children would see the stones and ask why there was a pile of stones there they could tell them about the incredible thing God had done for them. So many things happened in the Old Testament that I think could have been avoided if God's people would only have remembered. God had just delivered His people from years of slavery and harsh treatment in Egypt, with amazing signs and wonders but at the red sea they complained and asked why they were led out there to die, if instead of looking at the dire situation they had taken a moment to think of how God had worked on their behalf the red sea may not have seemed such a insurmountable obstacle. And then when the spies looked over at the promise land had they remembered how God delivered them from Egypt maybe more than two of them would have had faith that He could do it again. Time and time again scripture tells us something would happen God's people would cry out to Him He would miraculously deliver them and then they would forget, and they would end up in trouble again. Sometimes in my human arrogance I wonder how could they forget, I mean the deliverance from Egypt is incredible to read imagine seeing it first hand and yet if I'm honest with myself I am guilty of the very same thing. Revelation 12:11 says " And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death." one of the keys to overcoming the devil in our lives is testimony's, it's remembering. When we look back and see all the times God has been faithful, all the times He has done the impossible in our lives, (the piles of stones) it not only allows us to see God's faithfulness, it compels us to say God has been faithful and He will be faithful. Yet so often we are like the nine when Jesus healed the ten lepers one came back to thank Him, nine just ran off to live life free of leprosy. I know I have been guilty of doing what the nine did way too often, sometimes maybe offering a hasty thanks as I run off, instead of stopping and really thanking God for working on my behalf making a memorial of the event something to share with my kids, to remind me of His faithfulness the next time I face a trial or to encourage a brother or sister in Christ facing difficulty. Everyone of Gods children have a testimony, a story of how God has been faithful in their life starting with how God called them to salvation in Christ Jesus and a life worth living. And continuing in all the ways and times God has shown His faithfulness in answered prayer, divine blessings, daily guidance etc. So in my next post Lord willing I plan on sharing my testimony of how God reached out in love and led me to Jesus and how I met the Lover of my Soul. And I want to invite and encourage anyone who reads this to do the same I love to hear the stories of how our great God is working on our behalf

okay to be me

Praise God, now I could follow that with hundreds of reasons why but I think we should praise Him because he is worthy and really not need any more reason than that, however God in his goodness continually gives us reasons to continue to praise Him above and beyond the fact that He is totally worthy. And one of the many reasons God gives us to praise Him is His amazing love for us it is true that God loves us just the way we are but, it is just as true that He doesn't leave us that way. (now there's a great reason to praise Him) He is continually working in us to conform us into the image of His dear Son. And I am so grateful that He never gives up on me no matter how many times I get in his way or hinder His work in me by dragging my feet or arguing with Him about how much the change will hurt or cost. He keeps loving me, teaching me, and leading me to the life He wants me to live. So now that I've turned this opening into it's own entry let me share what I really wanted to share this morning. I woke up today with a couple realizations, first I'm getting older, my body was pretty sore from the football game yesterday. More importantly as I was talking to God and attempting to quiet my heart to hear from Him I had such a feeling of Love sweep over me as God reminded me of how much He loves me. And as I rested in that love God showed me what He's been trying to teach me these last few weeks that it's okay to be me,that He made me exactly the way He wanted me and that He doesn't make mistakes. Let me back up for a moment I'm a questioner, always have been. I have questions on top of questions, I have questions about questions and when I find an answer to one it usually leaves me with five or six new questions. My head just seems to work different than so many of my friends (if my wife was reading this right now she'd say a loud amen to that) some people look at life as half full and others as half empty I wonder why it can't be full or if it can be full why we settle for only half full. some people look at things the way they are and wonder why, I look at things as they could be and wonder why there not. Sometimes driving my friends and loved ones crazy with my "what ifs" , "why not's" and bazillion other questions. And sometimes it's left me feeling all alone wondering if I'm the only one with these questions, wondering if there's something wrong with me why can't I just accept things the way they are. Ive been like this my whole life, as a kid I was full of questions and not the ones like how a radio works or why leaves change colors, I can remember as a pre-teen driving my parents crazy with questions like "why did a all-powerful God allow a innocent child to be abused, or a young lady to be taken advantage of?" and as I've gotten older the questions haven't gotten easier. But this morning God showed me He loves me He made me this way that He is big enough for any and every one of my questions. That as my Heavenly Father He is okay with me coming to Him a thousand times a day with "Father I have a question" actually He is more than okay with it He longs for it. That He created me to be exactly who I am to ask all these question and in my search for answers I will always find Him, because He is the Ultimate Answer, He is Truth, and He has a great plan for my life and it starts with ..."come and learn of me..." . So today I'm gonna praise Him, I'm gonna praise Him because He is worthy, and I'm going to celebrate being loved by God, Being "fearfully and wonderfully made"(Ps. 139:14) , I'm going to live in the freedom to be exactly who God made me to be, I'm going to rejoice that He has a plan for my life and He is "working in me both to will and to do His good pleasure"(phillip. 2:13) And I'm gonna run with joy the race that has been set out for me, I'm gonna answer Jesus call to "come and follow me". And since God said it was okay, I"m gonna just be me.

new at this

hello
I'm not really sure what im doing here but I feel God wants me to do this so im going to be obediant and learn as I go. I believe that Heaven has called us to so much more than most of us are living, I know personally I am not content with the lukewarm version of Christianity I have been living.
I want to challenge myself and anyone who reads this to live the life that God has called us to live, to be radical, and passionate in our pursuit of Jesus. It is so easy in our busy lives to talk about how important God is to us, while in truth only spending minimal time with our Lord.