Currently Listening O Brother, Where Art Thou? By Various Artists - Soundtrack Man of Constant Sorrow see related

Favorite Quotes:

“I turned 15 and realized that girls don’t have cooties, and it’s been all downhill from there.” ...

"Fishing: A jerk on one end of a line waiting for a jerk on the other." ...

"You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly." ...

"Anytime you feel like you just can’t hold on,
Just hold on to my love and I’ll help you be strong" ...

"Love is like baseball, either you hit a home run, or you strike out." ...

“Baby, I wanna be your derivative, so that I can lie tangent to your curves!” ...

“In the book of life, the answers aren’t in the back.” ~Charlie Brown ...

“He sure took a while to get here in a hurry!” –Yogi Berra ...

A dog had followed his owner to school. His owner was a fourth grader at a public elementary school. However, when the bell rang, the dog sidled inside the building and made it all the way to the child's classroom before a teacher noticed and shoo'ed him outside, closing the door behind him.  The dog sat down, whimpered and stared at the closed doors. Then God appeared beside the dog, patted his head, and said, "Don't feel bad fella'....they won't let ME in either."

An excerpt from The Prayer of Jabez- For Teens, by Bruce Wilkinson:

Right Where God Wants You

Have you noticed that no matter how many sermons we've heard about God's power to work through us, we keep missing that little word through?

     Sure, we say we want God to work through us, but what we really mean is by or in association with. What we're really thinking is Lord, let me do this by my power and abilities, and You just add your blessing to it.  Yet God's work can be done only by God's power.  That's why, when the Jews returned from captivity, God told them, "Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts" (Zechariah 4:6).

     So when you face your moment of certain failure, when you look down and think you're about to fall, when you feel like yelling "YIKES!" at the top of your lungs, ask God to put His hand upon you.

     You are right where God wants you...a step away from a whole new way of living, a prayer away from a miracle.

The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore. - Psalm 121:8

Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat. My shoulder is against yours. You will not find me in stupas, not in Indian shrine rooms, nor synagogues, nor in cathedrals: not in masses, not kirtans, not in legs winding around your own neck, nor in eating nothing but vegetables. When you really look for me, you will see me instantly--you will find me in the tiniest house of time. 

Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?  It is the breath inside the breath.  -Kabir

Something to think about:

An excerpt from Wandering on the Way (Early Taoist Tales and Parables of Chuang Tzu):

"The marsh pheasant has to take ten steps before it finds something to pick at and has to take a hundred steps before it gets a drink.  But the pheasant would prefer not to be raised in a cage where, though you treat it like a king, its spirit would not thrive."

Maturity

     How mature are you? What does the word "maturity" mean to you? See how your definition of maturity matches up with mine:

Maturity is doing what is right and what is good no matter who sees, no matter who knows or doesn't know.

     Think about that for a while and read about the maturity of the Macedonian church in 2 Corinthians... What 4 word phrase sybolizies their "maturity"?

     "Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.  For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.  Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.  And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will."  2 Corinthians 8:2-5

     The phrase is, "entirely on their own".  The Macedonian church gave a gift to the poor believers in Jerusalem.  They gave much more than Paul expected them to give, and their giving was entirely their own idea.  They didn't need a set of rules to tell them when to give.  They didn't need directions or a command from Paul to give.  They were mature.  They knew the Christians in Jerusalem were in need, so they took a collection and gave.

     That's maturity: When you follow the rules--no matter who's watching--simply because on your own you've decided it's the right thing to do.  When you do what is right simply because on your own you've decided that it's a good thing to do, that's Godly maturity.  Are you mature?  Or do you need to do a little "growing up" on your own? Here is how you gain Godly maturity:

"My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.  For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.  He holds victory in store for the upright, He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for He guards the course of the just and protects the way of His faithful ones." Proverbs 2:1-8

Walk worthy of your calling!

Currently Listening Time Well Wasted By Brad Paisley see related

A Sense of Security

     Think about your life over the last year: all the things that have happened to you, all the things you've done, all the changes you've experienced.  Was it all good? Did it make you happy and excited? Or were some of the things you experienced not so great?  Even bad?

     Habakkuk could relate to those hard times.  Habakkuk had a tough time dealing with the terrible things that were going on in his life and all around him in Judah.  But even when life got truly hard--when there was a famine and no food to eat--Habakkuk knew where to turn and to whom to go for security......Do you??

     Hardly anyone gets through an entire year without some bad experiences.  Your girlfriend or boyfriend broke up with you.  Your parents split.  Or your grandmother died.  Maybe you moved to a new city, and the change was terribly hard.

     No matter how life has hurt you, God has been there in the middle of it.  Perhaps you forgot He was there, or perhaps you were so angry you ignored Him.  That doesn't change the fact that God was there.

     Even when life is one vicious struggle after another, God is with you, willing to give you a sense of security, even joy, when the going gets tough.  Habakkuk found that he could praise God even when his stomach was growling.  Pretty radical, don't you think?

     If God was with Habakkuk in his difficult circumstances, you can be sure He is with you in yours.  And He is not just there watching you suffer.  He is there willing to give you hope and security and even joy in the toughest of situations.

Habakkuk's hymn of praise:

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.  The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights."  Habakkuk 3:17-19

Please read Psalm 16 for further good insight on how David found peace in God's presence.......Walk worthy!!