"The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours.”

—	Alan Bennett

Dear Ella,
Do everyone a favor and swallow your pride.
Just be the light that they need, and love on them.
God will do the rest.
Love, Me

Expectations

I wrote this in early August

I had these expectations
Of what my life should be
I had these plans so perfectly
Planned out and set for me
Wanting to mold my own future
I lost sight of what you had in store
And slowly each plan came crashing down
My expectations lay broke on the floor
I lost myself to the world
So easily consumed in its wrath
Stumbling around for some truth
I got lost on my very own path
Your ways are so pure and true
Nothing in this world can compare
Lord Jesus consume me completely
For my life is yours to share
Lead me back to the cross
And hold my heart in your hands
For I know you will never abandon me
My faith is in you, and your beautiful plan

Francis Chan Challenges

”But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through"

"We need to stop giving people excuses not to believe in God. You've probably heard the expression 'I believe in God, just not organized religion'. I don't think people would say that if the church truly lived like we are called to live."

"Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter."

"It is true that God may have called you to be exactly where you are. But, it is absolutely vital to grasp that he didn’t call you there so you could settle in and live your life in comfort and superficial peace."

"The core problem isn’t the fact that we’re lukewarm, halfhearted, or stagnant Christians. The crux of it all is why we are this way, and it is because we have an inaccurate view of God. We see Him as a benevolent Being who is satisfied when people manage to fit Him into their lives in some small way. We forget that God never had an identity crisis. He knows that He’s great and deserves to be the center of our lives."

"When it's hard and you are doubtful, give more.

"Both worry and stress reek of arrogance."

"The world needs Christians who don't tolerate the complacency of their own lives."

"When I am consumed by my problems-stressed out about my life, my family, and my job-I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God's command to always rejoice."

"We have to believe it enough that it changes how we live."

"Are we in love with God or just His stuff?"

"Christians today like to play it safe. We want to put ourselves in situations where we are safe 'even if there is no God.' But if we truly desire to please God, we cannot live that way."

"Christians are like manure: spread them out and they help everything grow better, but keep them in one big pile and they stink horribly."

"Nothing compares to being truly, exuberantly wanted by your children."

"Lukewarm people don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin."
"Lukewarm living and claiming Christ's name simultaneously is utterly disgusting to God."

"Lukewarm people love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves."

"Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven."

"The irony is that while God doesn't need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don't really want Him most of the time. He treasures us and anticipates our departure from this earth to be with Him-and we wonder, indifferently, how much we have to do for Him to get by."

Note to Self #2

The Books of 1 Corinthians and Galatians..

"For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." - 1 Corinthians 1:25

- People who are foolish and weak before God are more praise worthy than a man who thinks he is strong and wise in the ways of the Lord.  There is truly no such thing as "being knowledgeable about God and knowing you are" because a person who is truly knowledgeable about the Lord is humbled and admits he knows nothing because of the vast amount he has yet to learn. -

"Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord" - 1 Corinthians 1:31

"So that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom but on God's Power" - 1 Corinthians 2:5

"Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait til the Lord comes.  He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts" - 1 Corinthians 4 : 4-5

"Do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather serve one another in love." - Galatians 5:13

"If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.  Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load." - Galatians 6 : 3-5

Lyrical Inspiration

"So if we keep seeking out what is right,
Moving on after being set back.
Searching out what keeps us strong.
Searching out, and always building up
The things that we lack.
This path we choose is not the easiest to walk upon
And knowing that I am more eager to continue on
Because I know that when I reach the end
...I'll be better than before"

- Searching, Seeking, Reaching, Always [We Came as Romans]

Note to Self #1

The Book of Matthew..

"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court.  Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.  I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny." - Matthew 5:12

"If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away.  It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." - Matthew 5:29

"Do not swear to someone on God's kingdom or even on your own life, let your yes be 'Yes.' and your no be 'No.' " - Matthew 5 : 34-35

"Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you" - Matthew 5:42

"But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.. your Father sees and will reward you." - Matthew 6 : 3-4


"For your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." - Matthew 6:8
Don't pray to God just to ask him for things, he already knows what you need.

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:21

"Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." - Matthew 7:21

Think Hard. Stay Humble.

"God gives the world enough of what it needs. He just doesn’t distribute it"

Campus Crusades Retreat

I went on my Campus Crusades Retreat this past weekend and had such a blast. It was an amazing learning experience for me and the speaker Steve Rieske really convicted me in a lot of ways. He talked about how the world today is essentially "Babylon" and things haven't changed. The conspiracy of "normal" today is greed, power, and sexual immorality and it's everywhere. He said we as Christ followers need to start a revolution and begin to help change the way the world is becoming. He gave us a road map to the Revolution and said you need to:
1. Deny self.. Find the areas in our lives where we find our worth and the things we so strongly desire and deny them because if they're not Jesus, they're Babylon.
2. Self Death.. God tells us so often to GO. We need to LEAVE Babylon, because it's not going to leave us. Die to what we were.
3. Follow.. Act with love and compassion to all as Jesus did when He walked the Earth. Spread the gospel by love, be on fire for God. If you ever wonder "am I doing enough?" then you're not, because when you're on fire for God you're so consumed by it you don't have any other thoughts but how else you can further His kingdom.

The biggest thing I took away from this weekend was a new point of view on judging other people's sin.  We cannot evaluate someone else's life. Their right and wrong are based on how well they know Jesus.  Because by knowing Christ, his values become our values, but for someone that is lost, what they know and seek for comfort in this world is what's going to eventually break them down until they have to call out for God.  We cannot try and remove the sin from their lives, or their hearts will starve and they will never be able be broke before God.  They will develop a works-based faith where they say, "I don't sin, and I do all these good things" and it will lead to a faith where they don't NEED God because they feel they have it all together.  Don't lead people astray, and don't judge their sin. Just love on them, show them a love like Christ loved us, so that they see it and desire more than just what the world has offered them.



"The greatest blessing God could give you is himself" - Steve Rieske

"What are we doing with our time that is so much better than sharing the gospel?" - Natalie Clifford