These are some really amazing lyrics.

What Sarah Said

-Death Cab for Cutie

And it came to me then that every breath is a tiny grant of father time

As I stared at my shoes in the ICU that reeked of piss and 409.

And I rationed my breaths as I said to myself,

"Did I already take in too much today?"

As each descending peak on the LCD took you a little farther away from me.

Amongst the vending machines and your old magazines

In a place where we only say goodbye,

It stung like a violent wind that our memories depend

On a faulty camera in our minds.

And I knew that you were a truth I would rather lose

Than to have never lain beside at all.

Then I looked around at all the eyes on the ground

As the TV entertained itself.

Cause there's no comfort in the waiting room.  

Just nervous paces bracing for bad news.

Then the nurse comes round and everyone lifts their heads.

I'm thinking of what Sarah said,

"Love is watching someone die."

So who's gonna watch you die?

Hope

In most of my writing I am persuaded by someone who misses reading it.  They miss it because I'm never consistent.  Someone ask me to write today and my response was, "I'm not sure if anyone wants to hear my thoughts right now."  So I've searched for something that I think might be beneficial to someone...something that might meet someone where they are.  

So in this searching I found hope.  Hope always meets us where we are.  Hope is what smiles for me on bad days; hope is what wakes me up every morning.  

One of my favorite quotes is from Tom Hanks' role in Castaway where he says, "I gotta keep breathing...because tomorrow the sun will rise.  Who knows what the tide could bring."

Thats hope.

There is always tomorrow and God is faithful to make the sun rise.  It happened yesterday and the day before and every day before that.  And if the sun doesn't rise for me tomorrow, then I'll be wrapped up in the arms of grace.  Either way...I win.  Either way...there is something greater coming.  There is always something great on the horizon.  We strain our eyes and see something mounted on the edge of the world but can't quite make out what it is or if it is even coming towards us.  Sometimes there is nothing in sight...but that doesn't mean that there won't be tomorrow.  I hate waiting on things.  Some friends talk about mixed martial arts.  Oh how I would love to be a black belt, but I don't have that kind of patience waiting on something to mature and develop like that.  Thats also why I don't really work out.  I like to see results.  I'd work out everyday if I could see a difference everyday.  

We are all waiting.  We all have a hope for the future.  Thats what keeps us going....thats what keeps us alive even.  

Thats all I got..........

“When will you allow yourself to be set free from the past that you’ve created?”

-Jason Stone

Phil. 3:13-14

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

What in your present is affecting your future?

*Maybe you’re a slave to a past that you had nothing to do with.

*Maybe you’re a slave to a present that you have no control over.

Some of you may be going home to drunk parents...

Some, maybe to parents that don’t tell you how much they love you or how special you are. 

_______________________________________

Are you going to let someone else blaze your trail for you?       I know I’m not.

YOU ARE SPECIAL TO GOD

Deuteronomy 32:10-11 (The Message)

He found him out in the wilderness,
in an empty, windswept wasteland. He threw his arms around him, lavished attention on him, guarding him as the apple of his eye. He was like an eagle hovering over its nest,
overshadowing its young, Then spreading its wings, lifting them into the air, teaching them to fly.

I hope that you can feel God’s love tonight.

He is wanting to father you.

Wanting to teach you how to fly!

He is the Father of fathers...the perfect father.

REGARDLESS OF YOUR PAST, PRESENT, OR FUTURE, GOD IS CALLING YOU TO FIX YOUR EYES ON ONE GOAL, JESUS CHRIST!

WORSHIP!

What is worship?

“Worship is...our response, both personal and corporate, to God--for who He is!  And what He has done!”  -Louie Giglio

“We don’t initiate worship; God does.”

God works and we respond...

Has God worked in your life?  What has he done in your life?

2 Samuel 6:12-15; 21-22

12 Now King David was told, "The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God." So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 13 When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, 15 while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

21 David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD's people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. 

David saw God’s blessing and he responded with complete abandon.

How does God desire us to worship Him?

1)  With your life

Romans 12:1

  1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God this is your spiritual act of worship.

2)  In Spirit and Truth

John 4:23

23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

God will still be God even if we don’t worship Him.  He doesn’t need us; He wants us.  It’s an invitation.

Luke 19:37-40

37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives— the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." 40 He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."

Even the rocks cry out!

The Wild Dance

The Wild Dance

Wild- stormy; violent. Savage; ferocious. Extravagant; fantastic.

Dance- v. move quiveringly from emotion. n. a party for dancing; ball.

The Christian life is a STORMY, FEROCIOUS, EXTRAVAGANT party filled with EMOTIONAL DANCING!!

It is a wild dance.

There is nothing tame about it.

If your walk with God seems tame, boring or mundane, YOU AREN’T LIVING A LIFE IN LOVE WITH JESUS.

Jesus is romantic.

He is wild, unrelenting, persistent, courageous, bold, valiant.

He is LONGING to engage you in a PASSIONATE dance.

Are you dancing?

“You turned my wailing into DANCING; you removed my sackcloth and CLOTHED ME WITH JOY, that my heart MAY SING TO YOU and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.” (Psalms 30:11-12).

Why are you not dancing?

You fell out of love.

Rev. 2:2-5

Doing the “right” thing is not good enough....

In the midst of you trying to be the BEST CHRISTIAN YOU CAN BE, “You have FORSAKEN your first love.”

You have left Jesus out on the dance floor all alone... 

How do I start dancing again?

“Remember the height from which you have fallen.” (Rev. 2:5)

You were once in love with God.

Jesus is waiting right where you left Him to pick up right where you left off.

There was a time when God was your pursuit and Jesus was your delight.

Jesus is simply saying, “Come back!”

There is no need to be cleansed...He’ll take care of that.

He doesn’t care where you’ve been; He just wants you with Him.

“I want to get lost in the BEAUTY OF JESUS and DANCE through the night around your throne.” –Evan Earwicker

“God is not merely the reason behind existence, nor the curer of ills and confusion. Matter and thought are a canvas on which god paints;  ...a painting of tragedy and delivery, with sin and redemption. Life is a dance toward god. And the dance is not so graceful as we might think. For while we glide and swing our practiced sway, god crowds our feet, bumps our toes, and scuffs our shoes. He lowers his head, whispers soft and confident, 'You will dance to the beat of 'amazing grace' or you will not dance at all.'  So we learn to dance with the one who made us. And it is a taxing dance to learn. But once learned, don't we glide. And don't we sway. And don't we bury our head in his chest. And don't we love to dance." -prayer and the art of volkswagon maintenance (Don Miller)

Hearing God's Voice

Hearing God’s voice is so important!

We are all about talking TO God...but how often do we just pause to LISTEN?

We are so selfish!

I love hearing God’s voice.

It makes me feel important that the creator would direct His words towards me.

1 Kings 19:9-12

How does God not speak?

Boisterous

Boastful

Through Wind, Fire, and Earthquakes

It’s amazing to me that God doesn’t speak that way.

He has all the reason in the word to be a boastful God.

How did God speak to Elijah?

“A low whisper”

We are always looking for some huge display of God.

3 Ways God Speaks To Us:

 Directly

I don’t mean through some audible voice.

God gave you a conscience for a reason and you know right from wrong and you understand what is wise and what is foolish.

Sometimes the decision isn’t between right and wrong...it’s between wise and unwise...good and best.

The problem with this is that Satan is VERY smart.

He is very good at sounding like God

 Through other people

Godly advice from those you trust is very important.

The danger in this is that you may try to find someone who will tell you what you want to hear.

WHAT YOU NEED IS SOMEONE TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH!

 His Word

It’s already been written...it’s already been said.

2 Tim. 3:16 -  ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD-BREATHED

Why do you have to pray about it?

GOD’S WORD IS THE FINAL AUTHORITY!

The Changes of Seasons

I love the changes of seasons.  I especially love the change from Summer to Fall.  I love the colors, how they change from greens to brown, reds, and yellows, and especially the fresh new cool in the air.  I get excited at first hints of Autumn.  I'll notice a smell in the breeze that signifies fall and it brings nostalgic memories.  I always love the smell of household heaters firing up for the first time in months, the smell of burnt dust.  I've been praying that more than the season will change this year.  I pray that my heart will change.  I don't feel far from God, but I've let my heart be filled with things that aren't close to God.  Being engulfed in an unhappy, sinful lifestyle doesn't happen all at once.  A Godless life is something that creeps in without the person noticing any difference.  I'm not by any means unhappy; there are things happening in my life that I couldn't imagine being any better (good job, nice car, great ministries, great relationships with real friends where real things are talked about).  But having all the things that make you "happy" and not having God, is an unhappy life.  God is definitely present in close to all areas of my life, but is he precedent?  In some, yes.  In others, no.  I want God to lead the pack of all the priorities and people in my life.  This is not a matter of me moving from a Godless life to a Godly life; it's a matter of me moving from a God-present life to a God-consumed life.  My God is a consuming fire.  My God is worthy of my most devout affection.  I'm learning more and more that God is not found in knowledge and all the right words.  God is found in my complete reliance on Him.  I think thats faith, me knowing that I have no idea and relying on God for all the answers.  I long to be dependent on God for all things.  Dependency leads to intimacy, and there's not anything I want more in this life than to know Christ and him crucified.  His blood that makes me pretty in the Father's eyes.  His purity that brings acceptance that, otherwise, I could never deserve.

Walk In The Light As He Is In The Light

Mathew 5:14-16

“You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Where does this light come from?

John 1:1-5

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.  In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Jesus is the LIGHT!

1 John 1:5-10

-vs. 5- In God is no darkness at ALL.

-vs. 7- “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light...”

Do you walk in light or darkness?

What keeps you from walking in the light?

-vs. 7- What does it say will happen if we walk in the light?

Jesus’ blood will cleanse us from all sin.

Does that mean that if we walk in darkness our sins will not be cleansed?

No, I don't think so, but it is a scary thought...

-vs. 8-10- The truth is....WE’RE GOING TO SIN!

1 John 2:1-6

-vs. 2- Jesus has paid the price for all the sins of the world

-vs. 3- How do we know that we know Christ?

We keep his commandments

-vs. 5- If you keep his word, GOD’S LOVE WILL BE PERFECTED IN YOU!

-vs. 6- Do you walk like Jesus walked?

Irresistible?

"What is irresistible about you to the world that we live in?  Are people attracted to the Christ in you? Are people attracted to the irresistible Jesus Christ, Son of God, in you?  Do they know he lives in  you; do they know that he exists in you?  How are loving people; how are you accepting them?  How are you displaying Christ in your life?  Because if we're going to be effective at sharing the gospel with the world we live in, we've got to be intentional with our relationship with Christ in a way that we can display Him to the world that we live in, in a way that people can come to know who Jesus is by the way that we live our lives.  What is it about you that people are attracted to you?  That they're wondering, "Why does she live that way?"  "Why does he live that way?"  "Why does he do the things he does?"  "What's different about him?"......"

                                   -Brad Horton

Wow!  What does my life look like?  Am I irresistible?  I know that Jesus is; I know that He was.  People were attracted to Jesus; they followed Him.  He was different, not in an attempt to be cool, but because He was holy, set apart for God's glory.      

How precious are your thoughts to me, O God!

God is doing a lot in my life...much of it through unwanted circumstances.  Sometimes I don't understand why He does the things that He does.  I know he wants the best...I know he has a plan for me....I know all these things and I have unshakable faith in that.  I will NOT be shaken.  

Before I get to the point I think I need to define who people think that I am...

I'm that guy that has it all together.  The one that everything works out for.  The one who knows who he is and is content in the things in his life.  

At least that's who I think people see me as....

So...here's my point....I don't have it all together.  

I don't really know what God is doing.  He is doing something; I just can't quite figure out what He's up to, where He's going with all this, or who He wants me to come out the other side as.  Regardless of how confused I am, I praise.  Regardless of how lost I may feel, I worship.  I push and I wrestle and I fight.  Christ fights with me, for me, and on my behalf.  The only thing to do when you are in the desert is fight your way out.  (I don't really feel like I'm in the desert, but I do feel something great happening in me and I want to see it come to fruition.)  I feel very saturated with God's presence.  God has been speaking to me very clearly.  I love the sound of His voice, the way hearing it makes me feel important.  I don't know why He would choose to communicate with me, but He does.  There is something special about affirmation from the creator.  It fills holes that no other voice can.  I'll leave you with this....

"How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!  How vast is the sum of them!  Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand."     -----Psalms 139:17-18

Amazing!  Why God?

-Randy

fun fact:  this blog was written listening to Bush...old school...kinda funny huh?

I don't know why it's been so long....

I'm not sure why its been so long since I've written on this thing....I guess I've gotten busy with life. That happens easy with me. I'll get caught up with important things and forget about other important things. I would say that my life is really busy now a days. My days off pass by in record speed and my days consumed with work and other obligations are spent eagerly awaiting my off days. It is surely a neverending cycle.

So I guess the question is, "Why start back now?" My answer to that is....because someone asked. I didn't know anyone read. So, now my prayer is that my words would carry weight...a weight that only God's words could carry. I pray that His words will be in my mouth and that I will not let my pride try to yell louder.

This is a second introduction. There will be more.

-Randy

More than conquerors?

And the Lord said to Moses, "This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name." Moses said, "Please show me your glory." And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live." And the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen."
-Exodus 33:17-23

These verses are pretty scary to me. They show just how glorious God is. A glory so great that if I were to look upon his face I would die. I am so glad that my God is powerful. I am so glad that I can't understand him. It's amazing to me how I can read a verse over and over and I read it again just at the right time in my life and I find something that I've never found, something I had always looked over. It's alive, God's word. Alive, deep, relevent, penetrating.....

Sometimes I feel like a baby when it comes to the things of God. And I know that in a lot of ways I surely am, but God has such a way with words that even the oldest, wisest, most knowledgeable Christ-follower has to stop and ponder on a verse or sentence or word while reading the bible.


If God is for us, who can be against us?...Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
-Romans 8:31-39

-Randy