- Life is so much more basic if we talk to God about everything. Pretty sure I’m like .1% along in that journey, but I’d like to think I’m on the path.
- Forethought goes a long ways.
- “If you ever get to live the dream, be deliberate about it.”
- Prayer for confidence in what you’re supposed to be confident about goes a long ways.
Category: Reflections
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Thoughts No. 1
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It’s now-a-days I wonder if I’ve put too much on my plate.
Probably.
I’m learning to pray more about it all, at least I think I am.
Was I truly being led of the Spirit when I accepted projects, or even my own project idea?
I think I need to learn to just wear different hats and accept that it’s a good thing to be able to wear different hats. And when I’m not wearing a certain hat, don’t bear the weight of it. Just think of systems to place each hat in and let the system do its job. Just show up. Do the thing. Take the hat off. Move to the next thing.
Yeah.
I think that’s the solution. 🙂
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A Plain Path
Psalm 27:11 – Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.
I’ve been burning out. Slowly but surely, trying to push myself has been grinding my spirit into a sad powder, haha. The more I work the less I want to work, and it continually leaves me questioning my direction more and more. It’s left me unsatisfied, tired, and depressed. Is what I’m doing worth it? Am I just doing all this in my own strength?
The biggest reason behind my burnout is I’ve let myself spend less and less time with God. The days where I’ve given consistent time to Him puts my spirit to rest. I feel refreshed and hopeful. I know that even if I expend myself today, I will have what I need to accomplish what I need and I don’t have to worry about the next day. As I’ve lost the habit of being with Him, so leaves my peace, assurance, and joy.
Then for the first time in a long time, I spent a couple hours with God yesterday and it was such a breath of fresh air. To open up the Word with no agenda is a beautiful thing. That’s when I came across a phrase in Psalm 27:11. “Lead me in a plain path.”
- “Lead” – I’ve been wrestling with the idea of “being led.” Will God lead me places I truly don’t want to go? What if I have to let go of things I’ve built up or held dearly?
- “Me” – I mean… it’s me. Other people may have one view of me, but I have another. Is it okay to ask God to lead me? Do I have enough value?
- “Plain path” – These are the two words that got me the most. I want this. I want something obvious, and yet doable. The future, though unknown, doesn’t have to be obscure. We just have to know today, and thankfully God promises to show us His plain will today if we ask and seek.
I’m thankful His Word is always available to lead and to guide us.
My satisfaction will never come from a grinding work ethic or connections or progress per se. It come from Jesus.
Thank you, Jesus, for never letting me go. “Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.”
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The Value of Pain
What’s the value of pain?
In fact, what’s the value of pain when you don’t even know what’s causing it?
- Pain results from nerve endings.
- When a child puts his hand close to a fire, the child would naturally withdraw his hand because the pain he felt was real. The fire sent a signal through the nerves saying, “This hurts. You don’t want to go any further. You are safer to retreat your hand.”
- Pain is just as relevant related to emotional nerve endings.
- An elderly lady once heard me express some pain that went back to my childhood, and the first thing she told me was, “You were hurt. It was genuine. You have every right to feel hurt.” Emotional health can be just as important as physical health, and understanding the relevance can be very important to how you frame your circumstances.
- Pain is what we were created to feel.
- When we hurt, it’s important that we let ourself hurt and not bury that pain, but rather listen to what it has to tell us. When you feel something, beating yourself up can only worsen what’s already going on. If a person is bleeding profusely, loathing himself instead of going to the hospital can only prolong and intensify the consequences.
- Pain caused from the unknown is still valuable.
- Just because you can’t pinpoint why you feel a certain way doesn’t negate the value of what is going on. It’s a driving force that can lead you to good conclusion even if you never understand the source of what drove you in the first place. Disillusionment doesn’t have to mean discouragement. In fact, a certain acceptance of disillusionment can lead to bravery, and thus you’ll find freedom in moving forward.
If you find yourself with a big question mark in the midst of your pain, you’re not alone. Matthew 27:46, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” And yet, if we put our faith in God, there’s a unity with him on the other side of whatever you’re going through.
- Pain results from nerve endings.
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Let’s Go On An Adventure
It is 3 am, and my colleagues and I graduate from college tomorrow. Well… today. Whatever.
Within 8 hours we will receive diplomas. Mine represents a degree in Accounting.
However, there is a hunch that runs through my veins. Maybe it runs in yours as well. It is an adrenaline rush that aches for adventure. It is a child’s wish while blowing out his birthday cake candles. It is a vision. It is a storyline that, even if it does not top the storyline in the book next to it on the shelf, it is unique – just like yours.
Do you feel it? Does your heartbeat begin to race? Do you open God’s Word and feel a weight on your chest which crumbles under the thought, “My child, adventure is out there!”? And even if you do not “feel” the weight, maybe you still know it is there, and that is enough to move forward. Moving forward takes faith.
But you see, you do not need as much faith as you may think. Christ termed a mustard seed’s worth as moving a mountain. Here is the best part though: Jesus is talking to you! He is talking to me! He is speaking into that very dose of epicness that is flowing through our veins. He is saying, “Forget how much faith you think you have or do not have. Just… move forward!”
I do not know about you, but I have prayed many a prayer towards the direction of my life. We all do now and again. But there is something special about tomorrow, or… today… *head scratch* Something defining. Whatever the ultimate storyline of my life is, I am willing to take a bet that this is the turning point that God’s plotline in my life has been waiting for.
So friends, whatever the future holds, let us be brave! May our prayers be larger than our dreams, and our dreams larger than our realities! Let us open God’s Word with childlikeness afresh and approach His presence with boldness, confidence, and security. These are the things concealed and presented to us within the gift of salvation.
So how about it?
Let’s go on an adventure!
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Warrior Poet’s Log – May 12th, 2016
These are the nights that define us. When the enemy surrounds us in our darkest hour, to whom will we turn? Will we flinch or will we raise the banner? Will we stand when all else fall? Will we grit our teeth and charge into the abyss of uncertainty with complete certainty in our God? Many claim a testimony of gained growth in Christ after doubting outside the courts of weighty trial, but such a testimony pales in comparison to those who stand firm beside their Lord in the center of hell’s jury.
These are the nights that define us. When everything within threatens to cry, do we squelch the tears and shout for victory though no victory be in sight? Victory that is seen requires no faith, but without faith it is impossible to please Him, therefore it is in our darkest hour that our true faith is revealed. And as our good Lord asked, “When the Son of Man cometh, will He find faith on earth?”
These are the nights that define us. And this is the night that will henceforth define me. I have cried my way to crosses before, but not tonight. No, this time I accept the nails as my friends. I do not and cannot see my Lord’s plan, but I accept my present fate with a wry grin and a growl in my soul. Though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be swept into the midst of the sea, I will not fear. I trust my God to the end. His will be done and His kingdom come. Amen, and amen.
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The Value of Trying
There are various posts in the works, but I suppose there isn’t much said (or anything said for that matter) that’s… “real.”
So… here I am being real!
Oops, sorry. That still wasn’t “real.” But I thought you would enjoy that anyway.
It never ceases to amaze me how God has wired us as humans to be able to change. The brain, the body, and everything involved has the capability to learn new habits. And all too often we sell ourselves short because “we can’t do something.” Well, okay, maybe you can’t! But have you tried? Failed? Well, try again! Then try again! And again! How do you suppose sanctification is supposed to work?!
Listen. Psalm 103:14, “For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.” God understands when we fail (to an extent because sometimes we’re just plain stupid). Proverbs 24:16, “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.”
This semester God has been “rewiring me” so to speak. I prayed, “God, change me” and God quickly stuck His hand into the details of my life and basically was like, “So… you realize that isn’t what I would consider excellent, right?” To be frank, I have failed 100 times. And ironically enough, I’ll fail 100 more times! The best part is: that’s okay. It is the grandest privilege in the universe to try, fail, repeat the process 100 times, and still have an all-knowing God love me the same amount either way!
I’m studying for a final right now, but I thought I would take a moment to post something. It’s too bad there isn’t time to delve into tons of detail. That would be nice…
Merry Christmas!
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Nevermind, Cap
Okay, so… I’m going back on something, and this Captain America GIF is to somewhat convey the awkwardness of it, meanwhile, add some awesomeness (because he’s just that cool).
Posting every Saturday is turning out to be extremely difficult, and it will continue to be, especially in the up and coming semester. Furthermore, one thing I’m intending to do this next semester is working extremely hard on Saturdays so that on Sunday I can just chill with literally no game plan except Church, time with God, time with friends, food, and rest.That being said I’m cutting out the weekly posting thing. I have some pretty cool posts in the works, but I don’t want to rush anything or post something that’s sub-par. I want every post to be genuine, well thought through, edited, and revised until it’s the best it can be.
I’ll keep on writing on posting, but not systematically. Just being real.
Here’s one more Captain America GIF to close us out…
#lifegoals #givemeafewworkouts
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Four-hundred Days
Four-hundred days.
That is almost how long it’s been since I last posted, and I can honestly say that it is crazy how much has happened in the past four-hundred days.
I considered writing an insanely long update about everything that has transpired, but to be frank, I don’t think that that would be worth it. A tiny nugget of summary may be worth more than a truck load of information.
So.. if I were to describe the past four-hundred days in two words, what would they be?
Roller. Coaster.
The biggest contributor to the ups has been the sheer fact that I have never dropped consistent time with God every day. The biggest contributor to the downs has been the sheer fact that though the discipline has been daily, some days it has only added up to maybe five minutes…
What’s interesting, however, is reading back on a bunch of my old posts prior to four-hundred days ago. As I read them, I think to myself, “Wow, life sounds like it was epic!” Yet the truth is that God was only being God in my life. There’s nothing else to it.
Have I grown spiritually since four-hundred days ago? Short answer: yes, but to be frank, I believe there may be a difference between growing and maturing. God has taught me many lessons. He has opened many doors that back then were locked shut. He has given me more insight into different areas of life. Have I grown? Eh… Have I matured? Yes.
None the less, I want to clarify a big reason why I’m picking up The Traveler’s Overflow all over again. God is on the move in my life and in my friend’s lives. I adore the poem The Hound of Heaven by Francis Thompson because that would seem to describe the past four-hundred days quite well. God is literally hunting me down. Actually. Clarification. God has hunted me down. His finished work on the cross is complete, and I am thankful that as Paul says in Ephesians 1:11-14, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, and we have an inheritance that cannot be taken away! Praise God!
The Traveler’s Overflow serves as a creative outlet for what God is doing in my life, and I really want what He does to go down on record. I have been writing since 2013, and though I have many journals, this journal specifically has provided some of the finest land-markers for times and seasons of my life. I haven’t given much detail into any specifics on the past four-hundred days, but I trust that all of my posts to follow will shed some light on things that have happened. I love to write poetry, stories, music, etc, and it will all play a part.
I do want to commit to posting. Discipline is a part of life, and there are many blessings none of us would have without discipline. I will try and post something weekly by 11 pm (Central Time Zone), Saturday night.
Not many people keep up with my writings, but to those few who do, I pray you’re blessed.
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Update From the East Side
I know I said in my last post that I wouldn’t write for four months, but I have a few spare minutes in Starbucks with my teammate’s laptop, so…
For the past month, I have been traveling all over the Middle Colonies as a representative for Pensacola Christian College on Proclaim’s Drama Ministry Team. We have been doing services in many Churches and Youth Groups almost every day except Monday. It has been a blur, to say the least, and God has been flooding me with wisdom from Pastors and elders.
What has God been teaching me thus far?
The first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. And 1st John says that we love Him because He first loved us.
If you water a plant and keep it under sunlight, it can’t help but grow. Therefore, the key to spiritual growth is to constantly be watered by the Word of God, focusing on the Light of the world.
I know it’s simple, but I’d rather get my master’s in Christianity 101. #win
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