CLARITY

Just a little bit of clarity came to me today.  Not sure how or why, but moments like these happen when the world has focus and my purpose seems defined in a more crystalline manner.  Has anyone else felt that brushing of God on their mind?  almost like He alone has access to my fine focus knob and every once in a while He reaches down and adjusts it just enough for me to see around the fray of life.  you know what i saw?
hope. 
life.
peace.
grace.
cloudless skies.
love.

i love moments like these because they come upon me so unexpectently.  and you know what else?  they reassure me that we're not alone, that my sins are forgiven, and that in my imperfectness, i am made whole through the LOVE of Christ.
it's great to have a Big Brother who is also the Son of God!

Pieces

I often think life should be more like a movie of sorts....not so much for the humor, the drama, the pointless banterings...all of which are importnat, of course, but because life needs musical accompaniment.  i wish each hour or so, we could pick songs from around us and attach them to our lives and anywhere we go, we'd have this background music playing telling the world how we're feeling at the moment.  this way we wouldn't have to put on so many masks that hide our true emotions.  i think it's a bit unfair that many people believe Christians aren't allowed emotions such as anger, fear, frustration, jealousy, or doubt.  Christians are human, are they not?  and as humans, we are allowed to feel.  and these feelings are not always suppose to be positive and upbeat.  people who know i work for the church have the false-impression that because i do, i must have all the answers to happiness and emotional adhesives.  i don't,  they seem surprised when my facade cracks and they see a hint of anger, impatience, or cynicism.  the thing is, it's taken me years to not be one of those people who think Christians should all be happy and carefree all the time.  in fact, the more i learn to be Christian, the more i am at accepting all my faults and failures.  they aren't easier to live with, but at least i'm not living in denial.  and i find my conversations with God need not be trite, guarding, or halting.  i realize now that He was never fooled anyway!
by the way, my song for the moment would be: "Pieces" by RED.

Being Heart-Deaf

So we are reading "Waking the Dead" by John Eldredge this summer.  What a book!  I'm only up to chapter 3, but he has a powerful premise about a person's heart.  I've found it challenging yet sensical.  We are often told to not "think" with our heart.  That decisions made from an emotional bend often turn out wrong.  We tell our kids to think before they act.  It's not how you feel but how you think.  Feelings from the heart are often judged less seriously than thoughts from the mind.  Eldredge makes a point about Satan's desire to wreck our hearts.  The Bible mentions the word "heart" or it's plural 876 times as opposed to the word "mind" which is mentioned less than 100.  So, which is more important to God?  Your heart or your mind?  Think about these two points Eldredge makes in his book:
"Without this burning in our hearts, we lose the meaning of our days.  it all withers down to fast food and bills and voice mail and who really cares anyway?  do you see what has happened?  the essence of our faith has been stripped away.  the very thing that was to give our lives meaning and protect us--this way of seeing (from the heart)--has been lost.  or stolen from us.  notice that those who have tried to wake us up to this reality were usually killed for it:  the prophets, Jesus, Stephen, Paul, and most of the disciples, in fact.  has it ever occurred to you that someone was trying to shut them up?"

"This is the last thing the Enemy wants you to know.  His plan from the beginning was to assault the heart, just as the Wicked Witch did to the Tinman.  Make them busy, they ignore the heart.  Wound them deeply, they don't want a heart.  Twist their theology, so they despise the heart.  Take away their courage.  Destroy their creativity.  Make intimacy with God impossible for them." 

So true.  the hustle and bustle of the world today and the emphasis on the factual have little by little eroded the landscapes of our hearts and driven a deep and viscious chasm between us and God.  A chasm of our own doing, mind you.  We need to wittle away the distractions that have made our hearts deaf to the calling of God.