it's how you choose to see it

I am not perfect, but I am a limited edition.

sermon note

Christian maturity is responding appropriately in faith to God when it would be easier not to because of the trials or doubts that stand in your way.

http://www.handsandfeetproject.org/

AUDIO ADRENALINE

remember...

someone else is happy with less than what you have.

stained

life always looks different through the glass.

shades of yellow some green. more red. shadows of blue that swallow you.

it's hard to make out what's on the other side 

however, many times clarity makes the perfect stranger. 

it's broken. that is clear to see

but i shift my gaze to what is real –

away from the storm that shall soon pass.

the pieces have fallen away. out of reach.

no hope for repair. but there will always be another window.

another view. another stained.

another glass.

change

If you don't get comfortable with change, you'll never be comfortable with God.

trust

Being willing to trust God without knowing how everything will turn out is essential to biblical faith.

Weak faith in a strong branch

Imagine you are on a high cliff and you lose your footing and begin to fall. Just beside you is a branch sticking out of the edge of the cliff. It is your only hope and seems more than strong enough. How can it save you?

If you’re certain the branch can support you, but you don’t actually reach out and grab it, you are lost. If instead your mind is filled with doubts and uncertainty that the branch can hold you, but you reach out and grab it anyway, you will be saved. Why?

It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you. Strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to weak faith in a strong branch. 

Tim Keller, The Reason For God 

Country Store Revelation:

A bible that's falling apart often belongs to someone who isn't.

north

Maturity in faith is more about the direction you're facing, and less about the distance you've traveled. 

color theory

When you're feeling blue,
mix yourself with a little red and yellow...
and then you'll be brown.

Downtown Alive

Thank you to all of those who came downtown and made this evening a great success.

minds

Great minds discuss ideas;
Average minds discuss events;
Small minds discuss people.

–Eleanor Roosevelt

without

Some people are so poor, all they have is money.

unknown

sometimes it takes sadness to know happiness, noise to appreciate silence, and absence to value presence.

2 cents

Your value doesn't decrease based on someone's inability to see your worth.

bring the rain

It's been raining here a lot lately... and these lyrics encourage me. 
I wish they do the same for you.

I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain

–Mercy Me

landfill

most believers aren't in imminent danger of ruining their lives. they're facing a danger that's far greater: wasting them.