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These guys (plus my mom and grandpa) waited for literally hours for my dad and i to jump out of a plane. Troopers I tell you. Troopers. (Taken with Instagram)

Don't Walk Away

This morning I witnessed some things that made an impression on me.

Usually on my way to work every day, I have the choice of taking 1 of 2 routes: to go down one busy road and then turn onto one other road or to wind through a bunch of streets and through downtown. Both take about the same amount of time so it's usually a toss up. I really like downtown though so that's the route I like to take, and I did this morning. And while I was driving downtown, yielding at a green light and waiting to turn, I saw the first instance that made me start thinking. . .

To my left I looked and saw two elderly people. One was a woman in a wheelchair and she was being pushed across the street by an elderly man. They looked about the same age, he had a wedding ring (I didn't see her left hand), a back brace on and a look on his face that I think can only belong to someone looking out for the one they love. It was precious. As they got to the other side of the street, she started saying something and he leaned down to listen.

As the straight-going traffic had all gone through, I turned onto the next street and drove up to the next traffic light where I waited for the lights to change. I looked around as I usually do at stoplights, scanning the scene, when something to the right caught my eye.

Two younger people, a man and a woman, were walking together towards the corner of the intersection. Before they got there, the woman seemed to just have snapped. She said something curtly and began walking the other away. The man turned around to see her walking away, and said something. The woman just shook her head strongly and with what seemed like a lot of frustration and kept walking away. The man stood there (obviously trying to decide what to do), and then started walking in the other direction. And then the light was green and it was time to drive on. I was left puzzled at having two glimpses into the lives of others over the course of one trip to work when I usually don't have any (or at least none that I notice).

I found a single thought in response to the two situations I had recently witnessed:

Whoever would have faithfully pushed your wheelchair in your old age won't be able to if you walk away while you can still walk.

Maybe those old people weren't married and the man was just a kind stranger who offered to help the old woman get across the busy street.

Maybe the young man was treating the young woman like dirt and she should have walked away years ago.

But there's the possibility that the old man has been there for his wife every time she needed someone to push her wheelchair. And there's the possibility that the young man and woman are being stubborn and selfish and would otherwise be great together if they would only get over themselves.

I don't know and I probably never will, but either way, I want to learn from this series of events that I was privileged to have a look into. There are times when walking away is the right thing. But I don't want to walk away when I should be staying to push someone else's wheelchair - or vice versa.

#nature #rocks #beauteous

Everything She Had

I want to write about something that came to mind the other day. A story from the Bible about a woman. I don't know how old she was or much else about her except that she was a widow and that she was poor.

Jesus was sitting in the temple watching people come and put money into the offering box. This woman came and put two small coins (both of them TOGETHER equaled a penny) into the offering.

Jesus called His disciples over to Him as He saw it and said,

"Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." Mark 12:41-44

And my heart is sort of broken over this, in a good way.

The widow probably never knew that Jesus (or anybody else) noticed the sacrifice she was giving. She probably wasn't blessed with overwhelming wealth after she gave the two small coins either (contrary to what the prosperity gospel may try to say).

My guess is that she probably died poor and maybe alone (in regards to people). It doesn't really seem fair. It seems like a sad story. But that's not the end of it. Sometimes amazing stories have sad parts.

When she died and was freed of the law of sin and death, she figured out that Jesus did notice her giving those two coins that day. And even if she didn't get any kind of reward for it on earth (which she probably didn't), her reward in heaven was great. Because the Lord doesn't look at the outward appearance like man does. He looks at the heart. That fact should either be comforting or terrifying. It wasn't the fact that she gave money that touched His heart, it was that she gave everything she had.

Maybe for me it's not money. But the equation is always the same: do I give everything I have to God or do I look out for myself?

Sometimes it's emotions- when I'm numb, feeling a lot, or feeling a little- Jesus wants them all.

Sometimes it is money- whether I'm broke or richer than Minus-He wants everything I have to be His.

Sometimes it's time- whether my schedule is swamped or I don't know what to do with all the time- He wants the best (and worst) of my time.

Sometimes it's relationships- whether they're going great or I just got my heart shattered- He wants all of my heart (broken or not).

There is a verse strung through the whole Bible and quoted in a lot of different places:

"Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength."

Anything less than that just doesn't cut it. Anything less than that is just giving out of abundance. Anything less than that is not everything I have to give.

It's very much in my personality to be closed. But this is an invitation to not only open my heart up but to take what's inside and give all that I have to give, to Jesus. I know He'll take care of me and I know that one day I'll see that it was worth giving everything I have.

#shoes (Taken with Instagram)

#shoes

Taken with Instagram

#river #flowers #cloudyday (Taken with Instagram)

#flowers #river #cloudyday

#jesus #isaiah63 (Taken with Instagram)

#isaiah63 #jesus

Could a woodchuck chuck this much wood if a woodchuck could chuck wood? #cheesy (Taken with Instagram)

#cheesy

Right side of the tracks. (Taken with Instagram)

The original toaster effect. #nofilter (Taken with Instagram)

#nofilter

clengheartsyou

If you haven’t met opposition from Satan recently, you’re probably going his way.

C.S. Lewis (via abideinthevine)

coramdeo3-deactivated20180623

jamiekcurtis-blog

“Suppose you read at about 250 words a minute. Now the reason I wanted to make this 250 words a minute is because the average American reads between 300- 350 words a minute. So what I’ve tried to do is pull you down to a fourth grade elementary school reading level. I’m saying if you want to try...

#breakfast

I'm not good enough for you . . .

Sometimes it’s an excuse for being too lazy to make yourself the kind of person you think would be good enough for that person.

But sometimes it’s a lie. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.

And other times maybe it’s the truth. Maybe you aren’t good enough for them - but if that is the case, sometimes the type of person you think they deserve is who you need to become.

It's not about chicken sandwiches

I'm gonna be controversial here. Brace yourself.

So this whole Chick-Fil-A and gay marriage thing, it's just part of a bigger issue.

There are things on both sides of the bigger issue that bother me and I'm tired of them sitting inside. This is a blog. It's to be able to say what needs said. So here I will say it.

The bigger issue should probably be defined first. The bigger issue is the debate on homosexuality.

The even bigger issue is the fight against sin.

Because I believe in Jesus and that the Bible is God's word, I believe that homosexuality is sin because the Bible calls it sin. I actually think a lot of the people that are in favor of homosexuality would admit it is sin if they're being honest with themselves. Cause you can't discount what God says without sort of slapping Him in the face and there are a lot of people out there who know better than to consciously do that. Calling God a liar to His face is a bad idea and that's not rocket science.

So I believe that homosexuality is sin. We got that out there. All sin is equal though.

Yeah, some sin has bigger consequences than others but the issue isn't that people have sinned against themselves or society or even me. The issue is that we have all sinned against a Holy God.

So whether it's lust (which I am guilty of), stealing (which I am guilty of), hate (which I am guilty of) or homosexuality (which I happen to not be guilty of), it's all sin. Doing something that opposes what God has said to do or not to do in the Bible is sin-and we have all sinned.

So here's my stance on the issue: homosexuality is wrong, but it is not a greater sin than any I have committed. While it's not right, it's not more wrong than anything that any straight, saved person has done.

So why all the slings and arrows people??? I'm talking to both sides when I say that.

To the people who think homosexuality is wrong: why don't we start acting like Jesus out of the love He shows us instead of acting like Pharisees who always have to be right?

To the people fighting for homosexuality: Jesus loves you and He sees you for you, not for your sexual orientation.

I don't expect an unsaved person to behave as if they were saved just like we shouldn't expect saved people to behave as if they were unsaved.

Church, instead of yelling at people about what they shouldn't be doing, I bet if we spent more time doing what we should be doing, a lot less people wouldn't be doing what they shouldn't be doing.

"Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:34-40

No More Pain

I would sit and think about how bad it all hurt once again. The reasons are always different but the feeling of pain is all the same. Some deeper, some surface pain. Some more like a pressure, some more like an ache. Some more like a cut, some more like a break. "At least it's becoming familiar. I can deal with familiar," a thought I had the other day. I'm beginning to catch on. It's not going away. There will always be something (in this life) that comes to demand my happy estate. A disappointment. A betray. A death. An unfair trade. Even someone else's pain or loss. And I'm beginning to learn that sometimes, that's okay. Because pain is not the enemy. Where I got the idea that it is I don't know. The world I guess.

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 1 Peter 2:19 For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God.

Hebrews 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

"Here we go again," I would think "what am I supposed to be learning this time?" or "What lesson didn't I learn last time that I have to feel this much pain once again to get through my head?" But it dawned on me that it's all for the same cause. It's all playing for the same team. It's all being used for the same thing. Every trial is unique. And it does produce different things. But while each trial works on something a little different in my heart, they're all still doing the same thing to it: making it beautiful.

Revelation 21:4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

There's a reason for pain in this world. Although pain is the consequence of sin, it has a purpose for good- to mold hearts into the shape they were meant to be in. But someday, it will be gone. It will be gone because sin will be no more. And by the time sin is no more, our hearts will be right. I really look forward to the day when I will look Jesus face to face, eye to eye and have no sin in the way and no pain in my heart. I actually can't even imagine what no pain and no tears at all will be like. But I know it's gonna be good. And I know someday, it's going to happen. I have faith in that. No pain is something that I'm really looking forward to.

#Revelation #Hebrews #1Peter #James

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