So I took some time to start reading one of these books, "The Pursuit Of God" by A.W. Tozer this past sunday.  In only a few minutes I found myself smacking my forehead as I realized he had explained in a few short paragraphs what I was trying to get through to my students in SS earlier in the day.  With all my words, hand motions, description of steak and food, etc., in the end this man who had mentored so many bible teachers of this day summed up the core of the message with little effort.  Humbled and silly I felt...


It was a good reminder that for all the good Christian principals we may try to live by, how well meaning our desires to live pure, God honoring lives, we must never look at Scripture as a means to living a better life.  The blessed man or woman is the person that finds delight(joy) in the Words God has spoken to them. 


So let me share a few snippets of wisdom from this man, and hope that this will inspire you, as well as for myself to become more like Psalm 1:2-3 then just Psalm 1:1...

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 ...The world moves for love
.
.
.
   
           
           
           
              
It kneels before it in awe.

Edward Walker
~The Village~

As expected, it turned out to be a great time for bargain-hunters and discount shoppers this past weekend.  A friend & I went shopping on both days, looking around for bargains and discounts for a bunch of misc. things we've been waiting for... such as pens!

It's kinda amazing when we went to Target, Staples, OfficeMax, and even Stop N'Shop to see all the different variations, combinations, and prices that these stores put up just for PENS!  I mean, seriously, do pens need to be super fancy these days?  All I ask for is a fine tip at the end that allows me to write my signature with some style & clarity.  Is it a necessity to have rubber grips, & chrome handles when the tip of the pen will make it look like you have 5 inch thick fingers?  (From what I saw, I guess it does have some relevance, if anything it might give more confidence to the pen writer.)

Either case, it was a good weekend to hang out and just browse the stores, get some dvds and what nots for the home.  The only scary near-mishap was when I was trying to put back a 4-drawer plastic storage bin on top of the shelves.  That thing was so bulky and hard to maneuver that I nearly dropped it on some guy below me as he was walking by.  Thankfully he saw just in time and grabbed it before it could do any damage.  Now I know why Target asks people to get their staff to get the stuff from the top shelves...

On another note, just want to thank the teens who got me my "bear" at the last appreciation dinner.  I really liked him and he was quite useful yesterday for SS.  I think he might have some acting aspirations, but we'll see.

                               

Though I am concern as he's been watching a lot of TV...esp. Phantom of the Opera...  oh well.

When God Shows Up — James MacDonald

We are taught as kids to hate broken things—broken toys, broken bones, broken promises. But that’s not the way God looks at it. God delights in brokenness, because it is in our brokenness that He can begin to do in our lives all the things He longs to do.

Have you ever been broken? Brokenness says not only “God, I need You,” but also “God, You are all I need.” Brokenness is having desperation for Him. It’s empty-handedness before God. It has no demands, and makes no requests. Brokenness is falling into the embrace of your loving Father and finding Him to be enough. Brokenness is saying no to the clamoring voice of your flesh, no to the pride and self-confidence that has made you so restless and unhappy for so long, and saying yes to the longing for God that is deep within every person’s soul.

If I want God to work in me, what exactly must be broken?

My independence. “I can make it without You, God.”

My willfulness. “You can’t make me. You can’t tell me.”

My stubbornness. “I’m going to do this my way.”

My pride. “I will protect my interests, my reputation, my position.”

All of these attitudes keep God from showing up in our lives, so they’re the things He will seek to remove. He uses tools like broken health, broken careers, broken dreams, broken relationships, broken promises, and broken hearts.

The purpose of brokenness is to bring us to the point where we can say to God, “Not only do I need You, but You are all I need.”

Light of the world Light of the world Light of the world come shine upon us Light of the world Light of the world Light of the world come shine upon us

Singing Majesty Singing Majesty Your Grace has found me just as I am Empty handed but alive in Your Hands Singing Majesty Singing Majesty Your Grace has found me just as I am Empty handed but alive in Your Hands

You're the Name above all names Lord You're worthy of all praise And my heart will sing How great is Our God You're the Name above all names Lord You're worthy of all praise And my heart will sing How great is Our God How great is Our God Sing with me How great is Our God And all will see how great How great is Our God

Here I am to worship Here I am to bow down Here I am to say that You're my God You're altogether lovely Altogether worthy Altogether wonderful to me Here I am to worship Here I am to bow down Here I am to say that You're my God You're altogether lovely Altogether worthy Altogether wonderful to me

We love You Lord
We love You
We love You

"Thank you" to all who remembered and celebrated with me yesterday.  Nothing like a "Cinco de Mayo" celebration minus the Mexican/French/Liberation theme to make a night of chinese take out, eating my first house, and finding "notes" in my apartment, enjoyable. 

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On another note, the dear folks at How Stuff Works, have written up on the construction and operation of your own personal Lightsaber.  This is a must-read for all "Do-it-at-home", "Hands-on(off)", "Personal-defense", and "Have-lots-of-vacation-time" individuals everywhere.  A snippet of the article says: 

Chances are that you have seen a lightsaber at one time or another, whether on the evening news or down at the local cantina. Therefore you know that a lightsaber is an amazing and versatile device that is able to cut through nearly anything in a matter of milliseconds.

Have you ever wondered how these remarkable weapons work? Where does the energy come from, and how are they able to contain that energy in a rod-like column of glowing power?

In this edition of HowStuffWorks, you will have a chance to look inside a lightsaber and discover the source of its incredible characteristics. Let's get started!

For more, click here
For further details, another reputable site

    

Be careful, that blade is sharp. 

You see the depths of my heart
And You loved me the same
You are amazing God
~Chris Tomlin~

They(Pharisees) said to him, “John's disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”

Jesus answered, “Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”

It's been a very busy filled time lately.  Been thinking a lot about possible life situation changes, work, and just the normal business of life.  Yet, in the midst of it, God has been percolating stuff within me, but I'm wanting more of it to come out.  Last week I had a glimpse of it when God reminded me in just little cool ways of why I originally wanted to become a counselor... why I wanted to be a youth worker in my church.  To be able to see Him work through just time spent with the teens and sharing life with them in small ways was so encouraging to me.  I went back home with a big smile on my face and it was just a moment of deep gratefulness I felt towards Him.


Today, had another glimpse of it.  As I was teaching my lesson to the students there, we reached the part in Luke 5:33-35 where Jesus tells the Pharisees what fasting is really all about.  It's kinda odd how God can take a tiny thought, a comment, and change your presentation when you're in the middle of it!


I originally just intended to point out that according to Jesus, fasting was not a religious excercise, but only should be done when the groom of the wedding is not present amongst the guests.  When the groom is there and the wedding is under way, who wants to fast?!  It's time to party!!!  Yet, once the groom has to leave (or taken away), then the guests will fast.  Yet, I can't explain why, but the thought occurred to me that I saw an example of this last night...


Yesterday I was at the office putting in some extra time into our testing and I talked with my best friend, letting her know that I was probably going to be late.  I wanted her to go ahead and get dinner for herself and eat because I was gonna be back in Boston later than I had hoped.  When I finally got back and met up with her, I asked what did she eat, but to my surprise she hadn't eaten dinner.  At first I was confused why didn't she eat, but her answer afterwards just got me in the heart..."I wanted to have dinner with you."


To say I was touched would be an understatement.  In the same way, I realized in the midst of today's lesson that Jesus had transformed a religious exercise for good church-going-sunday-school-christians into a heartfelt expression of love to Him!  So when a lover of Jesus fasts, the heart expression is saying to Him, "I want to honor you.  I would never dare think of celebrating without You Jesus!  You are the very life of this party!"

Lord, may my life be enwrapped in Yours...You see the depths of my heart & you still love me the same!  You are amazing God!

Here Is Our King

Here is Our King, Here is Our Love
Here is Our God who's come
To bring us back to Him
He is the One, He is Jesus
He is Our King, He is Our Love
He is Our God who's come
To bring us back to Him
He is the One, He is Jesus, Jesus

From wherever spring arrives
To heal the ground
From wherever searching comes
The look itself
A trace of what we're looking for
So be quiet now and wait

The ocean is growing
The tide is coming in
Here it is

And what was said to the rose
To make it unfold
Was said to me here in my chest
So be quiet now and rest
Be quiet now and rest

Majesty, finally
Majesty, finally here

~David Crowder Band~

Happy Birthday Lisa!

Plus, have a great St. Patrick's Day.