Thoughts on Satisfaction (& Peace)

When you're reaching for temporal things to satisfy...

The things that really satisfy don't seem satisfying, and the things that really don't satisfy seem satisfying.

"As a rule, man's a fool.

When it's hot, he wants it cool;

When it's cool, he wants it hot,

Always wanting what is not."

what do i mean when i say i worship God?

worship. what is worship? do we worship? how do we worship? worship. it is running to the heartbeat of God. it is holding a small child when she is crying. it is waking up with a deep breath in and an exhale of the will. it is laughing. it is smiling. it is crying when i’m lost. it is crying when those around me are lost. it is praying on my knees, in my car, at the grocery store. it is living in wealth. it is living in poverty. it is singing through the hard times and sitting in silence. it is keeping watch and letting go. it is seeing beauty and understanding pain.

worship is . . . in all these things! it is not separate from them. through them, in them - we worship. because it’s not about what we do or how we sound; it’s about who. who do we worship? the One we worship tells us He is in all. He says through Him all things are created - He upholds the very structure of the universe.

maybe the question is why. maybe we have to answer that before we answer what. but the why is answered in the who. the who impels worship, which is the what.

what is worship? - who is God?

do i know Him? have i met with Him?

SUCCESS

what if success was defined by worship to God? . . . . . in doing that, did i worship Him with everything i had?

can't get no Satisfaction

If it's about people and things, then that is what you will find your satisfaction in. You will get it, and it won't be enough.

If it's about God, then He is what you will find your satisfaction in. You will get it and always find more!

Psalm 145:6

You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

(i'm freaking out about that! he satisfies our longings out of is own hand)

Chasing the Wind

Sometimes we live life like we're chasing the wind. We fill our lives with one thing that feels nice and pleasing until it ends. Then we look and wait until we can find the next gratifying thing to fill our time with.

I remember being a kid in a neighborhood full of other kids who loved the endless possibilities of playing outdoors. We could play imaginary games for hours on end, stopping only when we were called in by our mothers or from pure exhaustion. There were those times in the hot summers when we just couldn't make our legs move around anymore. In my front yard were three towering pine trees huddled together. The neighborhood kids, my two brothers, and I would gather under those pine trees because the wind, whether it was in our imaginative minds or not, blew stronger and cooler there. We knew we could find refreshing amidst the pines, and then we could go back to making fun for ourselves.

Well, aren't we like that sometimes? Chasing the wind. The wind can't really be chased. We can feel it. We can find where it blows the strongest. But we can't catch it. We can't really follow it. It's too elusive. We know it's there because we can feel its effects- something we all learned as children. The wind provides refreshing in the uncomfortable heat of the summer. But it's always moving on. It's there; then it isn't. We can enjoy and appreciate it while it lasts, and even search it out in the shadows. Even so, when the wind is gone on those sizzling summer days, so is our pleasure in it.

When we search for fulfillment in things that don't last, our delight fades along with them. Yet, we do it. We do it because we know we can find immediate, yet temporary refreshing under the pines when what we really need is to stop playing and get in the air conditioning and drink 8 oz. of water and have some home-cooked macaroni and cheese with chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Then, we'll have the energy we need to go back out and play hard. We can play hours longer this time. We don't have to crowd beneath the pines periodically for reenergizing. We have water in our veins and food in our bellies.

thoughts on Beauty (it's Good to Think about)

A. Crimson. Piece. Of. The. Sky. And. Land. Melted. Together.

Bright red lines the horizon, and it's beautiful! It's the kind of beauty that's startling, then stunning. Then it causes wonder in the heart of the beholder-- how could this beauty be so sharp, yet so pleasing to the senses that I want to soak up every moment in which my eyes are laid upon it?

Sleepwalker (a song)

Got up this morning

But something wasn't quite right

Things were a little off

Did my usual morning routine

But I knew it was somehow all wrong

Thought I heard someone call my name

Calling me to something more, to something real

But this is all so real

I know what I'm doing

I know what I want out of life

To be secure and successful

It's only a couple steps away

I can almost touch it

Went about the day

Doing what I usually do

Went to class, talked with friends

Then I had a little break

I was just gonna sit and think about nothin'

But then I heard it again

Thought I heard someone call my name

Calling me to something more, to something real

It was louder this time

But this is real

I do know what I'm doing, don't I?

I do know what I want out of life, don't I?

To be secure and successful

It's only a couple steps away

I can almost touch it

I realized it is all wrong This, this isn't real

I don't know what I'm doing

I don't know what I want out of life

I'm so alone

So I answered that voice calling my name

Then I woke up

Had it been a dream?

I had been asleep

But it all seemed so real

The voice was clear now

God, You're calling me

God, You're calling my name

You were all along

Well, I'm here

I was in a dream, just sleep walking

"Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light."

(Ephesians 5:14)