interactions are what matter most

trust

choose wisely who you trust. the worldly man will follow selfish ambition. the people who flatter you are usually interested in your wallet. they're interested in taking your ideas, your passions, using you. they'll talk forever about themselves and then put words in your mouth, never fully listening, never fully understanding.

yes we're called to be transparent, but also wise. the wise man lives by convictions. the wise man follows god with his life, not another man. so do not be fooled by the fawning of the world. when you continue giving god the glory, you won't fall off of his path for your life.

importance of your spirit

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." 1 Peter 3:3-4

God can use something as unspoken as your spirit as an influence on other people's lives. Being a christian doesn't mean outsmarting science. it doesn't mean overpowering evil and darkness by ourselves. it doesn't mean belonging to a special club "no one else understands." it means LOVE. doing everything we can to love on even the people who bother us most. it means OUTREACH. making an effort to win as many people for the kingdom as possible! it means DETERMINATION. trusting God can use something as simple as your spirit to change someone else's life.

introducing truth

what if the next time someone asked you "how are you?" you told them the truth? what if EVERYONE did that? We make (what could be) meaningful interactions into how quickly we can spit back "good!howareyou!" sometimes not even waiting for their response.
what are we hiding? why are we spending our entire lives putting everyone under the impression that we lead a flawless life?

and if someone you know happens to take this step before you, don't be taken aback by the fact that their day is better or worse than you expected. don't make it awkward, take advantage of the information they have given you. pray for them when you think of them! take steps to knowing people deeply.

be more t r a n s p a r e n t .

afraid

Why is everyone so afraid of the future? Don't you want to see results? Don't you want to be happy?
It's sad to me to watch people freak themselves out about what could happen. That's just it though, it could. It's imaginable, so therefore possible, therefore probable (in your mind). Even if something eternally scarring was "probable," even if it was likely, don't we all desire deep down to prove the world wrong? Don't you want to look back on your life and evaluate all the chances you took, the risks, and be so thankful for how it all turned out? So satisfied that you tried everything you could?

I do.

So go talk to that girl.
Quit your horrible job & find a better one.
Get out of your misery and start making an effort, because happiness sure as hell isn't going to pursue you.

waiting around

One of the biggest thing i believe christians often omit is that we still have to work for what we want. Being a christian isn't an "easy way out" by any means. Yes being a christian gives you something to trust in. Yes it gives you comfort & peace during trials & tribulation.

What we're forgetting is that those trials and tribulations almost always come BECAUSE we're christians.

In other words, we're not taking the path less travelled because it's easier. we do it for a million other reasons.

Christians still have to fight for their beliefs. We still have to face injustices and discriminations and failures like everyone else. Being sedentary is still fatal.

If you give your life to Jesus, give him control of everything and put all your trust in him, you don't get to just wait around for him to bless you or guide you for the rest of your life. If you wait and let things fall as they may, things will happen almost the same way as if you had never made that decision. I

If you wait for life to happen, it will never exceed mediocre. FIGHT for what you want. FIGHT to fulfill God's plan over your life. It's NOT going to be easy, in fact, it will literally be the HARDEST thing you will ever do. It will also be the most fulfilling, the most influential, and the most legendary.

trust and strength

Something I've noticed about people today is they want solutions without the work. They want answers without effort. They pretty much want someone to do all the hard stuff for them. This is a huge flaw in the way that we think.

The amount of strength that you obtain is equivalent to the amount of trust you have. Trust in yourself, trust in others, but if you want eternal strength, trust in God. This seems to be what people can't put together. Everyone wants to be strong & courageous. Talented & wealthy. Famous & needed. But they keep putting their trust in things that will fail. Material things that are temporal rather than eternal.

When you have a firm foundation such as this faith, you can start building things like strength, patience, love, peace, kindness, generosity, justice, and power on top of it with full knowledge that you won't fail.

This is kind of the biblical version of "if you believe you can, you will, and if you believe you can't, you won't." But now there's actually a belief in something other than yourself.

It's the moments that I remember God's plan is better than my own when I have the most strength. When the burden of life is lifted and I can focus on the needs of the people around me. That is why we're here, isn't it?

those days

Today I had one of those days where I'm struggling to keep my head above the water. One of those days where the waves are high and I can't focus on anything around me. One of those days where at the end, I'm desperately trying to realize where I am in life. Trying to remember that life isn't about surviving, it's about serving.

Ever have so much going on that it feels like it isn't your life? Like you're living your life on top of someone else's & you can't keep them straight anymore or remember what's important? Like you're just going through the motions? Where was the fire today, where has it been?

challenge me

Opinionated people are always the most challenging to me, in the best way. When you dig your heels into the ground and make up your mind about your beliefs in life, you become less impressionable. These are the people that can actually maintain meaningful conversations. These are the people who want to know what you think, why you think it, and why it works or doesn't work. They're also not afraid to share their side.

The hard part about being a christian is that you have to be this way, but you also have to be open in order to understand the way other people think. You have to be loving as well. Being a closed off, hard-hearted christian is the last thing God wants. You can believe in him all you want but your life will never progress if you never share it. 

The more you share things that mean something to you, the easier it gets.

This is what being a "good & faithful servant" is all about. It's the difficult to talk about- nerve-wracking- deep in your heart stuff. Putting the most vulnerable version of yourself out on the table time & time again.

I've only met a few people in my life who are actually like this. People who don't run into their shells when confronted with something they don't agree with. We have to fight this fight like warriors in God's army. We have to declare truths in a world of falsities. We have to get worked up about things and remember that being loving is not always about "not hurting feelings." 

Love is about Truth.

purpose

Just in case I haven't made this clear, I am a firm believer in purpose. I believe each of us has a specific place in the world and extreme potential, but we just have to access it by a number of increasingly difficult tasks.

1. prayer, devotion, faithfulness

2. worship in every area of your life. worshipping God with every action. every word. every thought.

3. a giant leap of pure, unexplainable, original faith.

God wants everything. He has called us to be his hands & feet in this world. In order to make a difference we've got to be 100% there, focused, determined, and ready. When we put forth the effort, he makes us able.

well that kind of makes us sound like puppets, doesn't it? why do I have to do everything He says for the rest of forever?

God not only created you for a purpose, but he also designed you individually with specific desires & ambitions. so ultimately, we WANT to accomplish these things! to both fulfill our lives and serve a powerful God! double win.

It doesn't mean it won't be absolutely terrifying in every sense of the word.

It doesn't mean we won't have to make sacrifices that will change us forever.

It doesn't exempt us from pain, loss, and heartache.