I Refuse

I refuse to believe that my God will ever demand that we serve Him before we are first free to rest in Him. I think sometimes we feel like God's promises and assurances given in the Bible are for everyone else, except ourselves. I'm sure most Christians have no problem telling others about God's unending grace and love for them, but how many of us have trouble believing that He is longing just as much to give us that love. When he said "My grace is sufficient for you", he was talking to you! And the weary and heavy laden can often be you and me; meaning that He was talking to you when He said that He would give you rest. Often, God calls us to serve Him in obedience, but I once heard someone say that God wants us to be LOVERS of Him before we are Workers of Him. Also that LOVERS always outwork WORKERS.

Earlier today I felt like God asked me to go and evangelize to people at a Starbucks near my house. This was challenging and stretching for my own personal bubble, but I know that it was right. The only problem was that after talking to a few people there, I immediately felt like I had to more. Like what I had already done wasn't enough. Or that I wasn't enough. All the while, God's heart was so proud of my obedience to Him, and would still be so proud even if I had given an excuse to avoid obedience.

God gives us commands and rules like any father would give his son. But how do you think that father would feel if his children followed the rules but forgot to love him. As a parent, it would break your heart if you had a child who was obedient but felt unworthy to receive your love. How much more will our heavenly father who is so much more loving than us feel towards His children who feel the same way.

Whether or not you feel it is true, God is so proud of you and longs to love you as you are.

My Father

Today is my father's 49th birthday. Now for some of you that may not be a very momentous occasion, but it is of extreme importance to me. I feel it weighing on my heart even now to explain to you who my dad has been to me and my siblings our entire lives. He means so much to me and this is not simply because he happens to hold the title "Dad" in my life.

Since I can remember my dad has always been there. EVERY time I needed to talk he was there to listen. And any time he couldn't he would make time for it later. He has been a constant source of wisdom and strength to me throughout my life. He has also never been afraid to say that he loves me or how proud he is of me. And just as important, my dad was always willing to come back and say "I'm sorry" when he was wrong. I love how firm he is in his beliefs. I love how his so-called "old-fashioned" views on being a man that I have tried to live out, separating me as a gentleman from many others. And I respect so much his willingness to work so hard for us without complaints.

When my dad was younger, before he was married, he used to read books and do studies on being a good father, all in anticipation of his being a father. I have 4 brothers and 1 sister, and I can tell you that we would ALL be much different people if it was not for my dad. Now of course it was God who guided us and changed us into who we are now, but I have no doubt that my dad was one of the greatest tools God used in building our foundations as children of God. I would guess that the main reason that I can connect with the Father-God of the trinity the best, and see God in that father's light is because I have grown up with a father who loved me as best he could. I also know that his fathering could not simply be contained within the wall of our home but overflowed in to the lives of many others. I have no doubt that some of you who are reading this have been poured into by his father-heart.
Now, I am not in any way saying that my father was perfect. My dad definitely has his share of flaws. But I want to recognize his obedience to God throughout his life and his always trying his best to love and care for myself and my family. So thank you dad. And thank you God for such a gift in my life.

Thanks ya'll

Enjoying Life

Here is a list of things God is teaching me.

1)To Listen...

-This can be difficult for me.

2)To let my cares go...

-There are so many. He can handle them...

3)To Enjoy the little moments...

-The ones that quiet your heart and sooth you. Almost like God pours a cup of cool water on your weary heart.

4)To rest...

-I got to take today off and do nothing but enjoy the day with Him beside me.

5) To have faith in people...

-They are capable of so much with someone like God contending for them.





Lately, I have had the great sensation of one who is taking in the moments. I am beginning to appreciate my friends and family. Things will not always be the way they are now; people move and change. I know I will always miss these times with my brothers. All of us sitting around in our pajamas on a Saturday night just doing anything in each other's company. Tonight it was a western movie. Myself, afterwards listening to Kina Grannis' music and enjoying reading blogs such as Dreams Running and Malorie Grace. I have also noticed that certain TV shows like 'Everybody Loves Raymond' are funny to me not just because of the its contents but also because of the countless times we've sat around my parent's bed watching it, hearing the familiar, comforting laughs of my parents.
All this to say, that I know God gives us permission to enjoy things in life not necasarily relating to his kingdom, but rather relating to family and friends whome you love. I have no doubt that God smiles on our family movie times as well as our family prayer times.
Take time to enjoy whatever it is you are doing...God wants to be involved in all of it.

You Found Me

Whenever I hear the song "You Found Me" by the band The Fray, I feel like it moves something inside of me. But not in the same way that it does to many other people. I have so many friends who can really relate to what the lead singer of The Fray, Isaac Slade, wrote in that song because they also feel the same way. It is the cry of a generation feeling lost and abandoned by a distant, uncaring God. I wanted to show you the lyrics so you can see how broken this guy really is. Then, after, I feel like God has put on my heart an answer to the question "Where were You?", posed in the song. It will be written as a letter to Isaac Slade, the lead singer of The Fray.

You Found Me

(Verse 1)
I found God on the corner of first and amistad,
Where the west was all but won
All alone, smoking his last cigarette
I said where you've been he said ask anything
Where were you
When everything was falling apart
When all my days were spent by the telephone
Never ring and all I needed was a call
Never came to the corner of first and amistad

(Chorus)
Lost and insecure
You found me you found me
Lying on the floor
Surround me surround me
Why'd you have to wait
Where were you where were you
Just a little late
You found me you found me

(Verse 2)
But in the end everyone ends up alone
Losing her the only one whose ever known
Who I am who I'm not who I wanna be
My way to know how lost you will be next to me

(Chorus)
Lost and insecure
You found me you found me
Lying on the floor
Surround me surround me
Why'd you have to wait
Where were you where were you
Just a little late
You found me you found me

(Verse 3)
Early morning city breaks
I've been calling
For years and years and years and years
And you've never left me messages
Never send me no letters
You've got some kind of nerve
Taking all I want

Lost and insecure
You've found me you've found me
Lying on the floor
Where were you where were you

(Chorus)
Lost and insecure
You found me you found me
Lying on the floor
Surround me surround me
Why'd you have to wait
Where were you where were you
Just a little late
You found me you found me

Why'd you have to wait
To find me to find me?


(A Letter to Isaac Slader)

Dear Isaac,
You need to know, I have never left you. I don't know who you found on the corner of First and Amistad, but it wasn't me. Didn't you know that I have been beside you your entire life? My heart breaks for the things you go through. I long to take your burden, but You Won't Give Me The Load! You have been fighting alone for so long and I have just been waiting for you to ask for my help.
You began to run away from me at a young age and I tried to call you back but you've gotten very good at ignoring me. You ran yourself all the way to your downfall. You listened to the king of lies and trusted all the wrong people. They beat you and left you lying on the floor, lost and insecure. You wanted to know where I was. But what you didn't know was that I took the beating with you! Then I held you in my arms to comfort you but you pushed me away again.
I wanted to be your everything! Your comforter, you best friend, Your Father, but you wouldn't let me. Every day I came asking for your companionship but every day you slammed the door in my face and broke my heart. You went back to the same things and people that hurt you, when you didn't have to. My son died for you so you wouldn't have to live in sin.
Lastly, you need to know that I am still waiting. As you get up in the morning and go to meet with your so called "friends", I will be there. I will always be there. You will always have a choice. "I have plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jer. 29:11) That is my promise. I'm not giving up on you. And I love you...If you only knew the way I love you. I won't stop until you do.

Fighting For You Every Day,

_God

Well-Seasoned Holidays

I realize that the holidays are extremely busy for a lot of people. I'm sure many of you travel to visit your families or are even the hosts for your own charming relatives. And cooking too! There seems to be a lot of cooking around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Despite the fact that the holidays are...well, a holiday, we tend to be very occupied. And that's fine! My only advice to you would be to really enjoy it. It is so easy to get caught up in the hectic side of our "time off" that we forget to stop and take in the moments. You guys know what moments I mean. The holidays really start to feel like the holidays for me from some of the more simple things. The smell of eggnog lattes brewing at Starbucks. The crisp feeling the air gets around the fall. Charlie Brown's Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas have always been big ones for me. My friend was telling me the other day that she thought that Charlie Brown's Halloween was too early for the holidays. But I don't know - something about when Lucy tricks Charlie Brown into trying to kick the football always ends up kicking of the season for me. Anyhow, please, I implore you- enjoy your holidays.



(It must be said that I am not referring to this time of year as "The Holidays" because I am avoiding terms like Christmas. I am just attempting to include all the fall holidays.)

I also know that many people don't celebrate many holidays. A family I am very close to doesn't really celebrate the holidays themselves but they might say that any season is a good one for honoring and giving glory to the righteous Lamb of God. Haha, that's another thing. Spending this season seeking the heart of God will turn out to be the greatest time of your life. Seriously though, I wish I could express in a blog the way he makes me feel. This is very off topic from where I started but I feel my heart burn for Him and I just have to say how I feel. He is so glorious! Seek Him and you will not be disappointed! Let Him be your magnificent obsession. My youth pastor was telling me that hunger is the currency of heaven. The more hunger you have for God the more his presence will fill you. But yeah...anyways - Back To The Holidays!



I must say that I haven't even gotten to the original point I was intending to make with this entry. My thoughts are not so much for those who have extremely busy holidays but unto those who sincerely and positively have absolutely nothing to do! ~ I am somewhat in that particular boat this season. Today marked the first day of Thanksgiving Break from school which will last for 9 days. But already today I found myself starting to get that bored feeling that you get in the pit of your stomach when you have nothing to do, and nothing, seems to be able to get rid of that feeling. So, having no options that were appealing at the time, I decided that maybe I could shake off the feeling by helping out around the house. All I really did was help my mom collect all the laundry from the house; it only took like 5 minutes. And I kept a servant heart the whole time. But you know what, it actually worked. I felt really good. I seems really absurd, but what I actually did was change my attitude from bored and sulky to willing; and I enjoyed every bit of the rest of my night. The smallest things made me smile tonight.



And this idea of being a servant is totally Biblical! The story of Jesus washing His disciple's feet is told in John 13:1-17. This idea is so amazing that he who is greatest will be servant to all. The greatest man ever to walk the earth was a servant to everyone though His life and more importantly, His death! So what should that challenge us to do?
In verse 12-17, when The Holy Lamb of God himself finished washing his disciples disgusting, soiled, dirty-cracked feet, he says this; ~ "Do you understand what I have done for you?" He asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." ~ When you serve you Will be blessed. I challenge you to find some time these holidays to serve at home or wherever you live. You don't have to say anything or expect any recognition, just have a heart to serve. You will feel amazing when you do and it's a great time filler for those with too much time on your hands.



~ Tune in next time for blogs with Michael............(just kidding) Happy Holidays!

Hey guys, so I'm figuring this whole blogging thing. Most of what I will be blogging about will be any personal experiences and revalations from God. You should know how completely, and totally in love with Him I am. He has stolen my heart from now till forever. I hope that the revalations he gives to my heart during my walk will also speak to you all. That you can all see him in the same intimate ways. Here we go!