Posts Tagged ‘Life’

A small/BIG reminder for us men – For Steve and Me and all my brothers

I have often told soon-to-be-new parents that they needed to prepare for the event of when the doctor hands them their newborn baby. For when he, or she, hands them the baby, he, or she, will take convenience away from them from that point on. The fact is, I haven’t slept well in 7 years.

The truth is, though – it’s worth it. The rich life and truths and pictures in parenting so far outweigh any so-called independence that the benefits could be described as transcendent.

Andrew Peterson (song) here provides a helpful perspective. Take time to watch it after the bath, and the story and the prayers and the hugs’n kisses. You’ll be tired, but for the right reasons.

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/1428169?pg=embed&sec=1428169[/vimeo]

DailyTheocentrism:We can only give out of what we are;this is why God’s eternity is key for us.

We can only give out of what we are; this is why God’s eternity is key for us. Without it He could not offer eternal life. His offer of it must be affirmed by His ability to provide it. Since we cannot categorically provide something beyond us, we cannot give unless we have. It is an old drummer thing that I have taught a’many’a student: “Son, if you ain’t got the rhythm in you, you ain’t gettin’ it out” It’s a bit like that – only different.

Now think about what God is . . .

The Song of the Savior – A Parable

Truth be told, it is an unusual thing to find something in the forest. So, Alathea was simply startled when she found a lost boy in the Eon Forest. There he was: like sadness itself, alone and confused. She knelt down to look into his eyes, and he in hers, and told him with not-so-many words that she could be trusted – and somehow these words he understood.

“What is your name?”, she asked with a gentle help up.

“Adam”, he said.

“Well, Adam, I am Alathea and I am wondering how you came to be in such an ancient and dense wood all by yourself.”

“I dunno”, said Adam.

“Are you lost, then?”, she asked.

“I dunno”, he repeated.

She couldn’t bear to continue asking such questions, for they seemed to be frightening him at each new realization that he was, in fact, lost. She spritely took his hand and said, “Well, Adam, as long as you are here, let me show you around. There is so much to see and hear in my country that it will cheer you right up.

As the girl guided him from valley to vale, he seemed to be warmed by her words and explanations. His senses and imagination began to be filled with wonderful sights and smells. Read the rest of this entry »

When you have faith in Jesus – well, that means A LOT

2 Corinthians 1:24

Below is a good addition to the subject of how the Cross of Christ is to be, as Piper puts it, the Blazing Center of the life not wasted – a proper life, a life lived for the purpose for which it was given. This is what saddens me regarding those who get caught up in the Lordship/Free Grace debate who say something like, “all you have to do is ‘believe’ in Jesus – anything else is works.” As if believing is so shallow, so sterile. Believing in, or having faith in (Greek, pistis is the same root for both “believe” and “faith”) is profoundly exhaustive as a total-life change/revolution/redemption/directive. He is everything and to have faith in Him is to connect to the One who is the center of life. To believe is whole life – the means and the end.

Dare You to Move – Switchfoot

This one could be taken a few variant ways, I suppose. This particular Album, The Beautiful Letdown, is great. Lots of cool stuff here and perspectives that really get to the big picture. Dare You to Move is not about lifting yourself up by your boot straps and living in self-help, Stuart-Smalley-isms. Rather it is rooted in forgiveness and weakness. We are constantly being beat down and the call is to get back up.

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;

9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. (2 Cor. 4:7-10)

Welcome to the planet
Welcome to existence
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next?
What happens next?

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before

Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistance
The tension is here
The tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened

Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened before