Resting on God

This is a prayer from "Valley of Vision," and I encourage all to own a copy of this book. This is my prayer for 2009:

"O GOD MOST HIGH, MOST GLORIOUS,

The thought of thine infinite serenity cheers me, 

For I am toiling and moiling, troubled and distressed, 

but Thou art for ever at perfect peace.

They designs cause Thee no fear or care of unfulfilment, 

they stand fast as the eternal hills.

Thy power knows no bond, 

They goodness no stint.

Thou bringest order out of confusion 

and my defeats are they victories:

The LORD GOD omnipotent reigneth. 

I come to Thee as a sinner with cares and sorrows, 

to leave every concern entirely to Thee, 

every sin calling for Christ's precious blood;

Revive deep spirituality in my heart;

Let me live near to the great Shepherd,

hear His voice, know His tones, follow His calls. 

Keep me from deception by causing me to abide in your truth,

from harm by helping me to walk in the power of the Spirit.

Give me intenser faith in the eternal verities, 

burning into me by experience the things I know;

Let me never be ashamed of the truth of the gospel, 

that I may hear its reproach,

vindicate it,

see Jesus as its essence,

know in it the power of the Spirit.

Lord, help me, for I am lukewarm and chill;

unbelief mars my confidence, 

sin makes me forget Thee.

Let the weeds that grow in my soul be cut at their root;

Grant me to know that I truly live only when I live to Thee,

that all else is trifling.

Thy presence alone can make me holy, devout, strong and happy.

Abide in me, gracious God....AMEN! 

ReFocus...

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart"~Hebrews 12:1-3

I need this right now! I hate how I get so distracted in this life either by my own sin or things that are not bad, but they take the place of my Savior! Jesus has a way of taking my wandering heart and putting it back on Him. I am so thankful for the brothers in my life that, with their lives and words, help me refocus! I don't need to say much, let the God's word speak to you! 

But if there is anything, there is this...RUN! Run from sin, Run from distractions, RUN TO CHRIST! Jesus set His eyes on the reward while enduring eternal pain and suffering...LOOK TO HEAVEN! Push me please. Hit me on the head and tell me to wake up! Let us not lose heart! 

...and more...

Memories...

God Wants Me To Be a "Wait Watcher"

"But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord;
I will WAIT for the God of my salvation.
My God WILL hear me."
Micah 7:7
One week ago today I did something very sudden and unexpected, I bought a plane ticket to come home. A little over a week ago I would have never thought I would be home right now. I was training for a half marathon and thought I wouldn't be able to make it home for another month...God had different plans.
This all happened because I used my back instead of my legs to try and lift this tree trunk. For a time after hurting my back I was a little angry. I was just getting over a shoulder injury and was getting into the swing of things then all of a sudden, "crack!" I couldn’t move...
I am so thankful to God that I hurt myself! He used this to allow me to come home and visit with my wonderful family and friends. Every single one of them are huge blessing God has put in my life

God also used this incident to teach me that I need to wait on Him. Many times I worry trying to figure out what the future holds, wondering what things are going to look like, what I should be doing now, worried that if I don't make a certain decision(like what in the world am I going to do after college,) I will be out of God's will.
I need to wait for the God of my salvation. He didn't save me for a confused life full of worry. He saved me for life fully dependant on Him. A life that watches and waits expectantly, trusting that God will hear my cries to Him. These different anxieties, from the small unexpected accidents to the big guys like where should I live, who should I marry, where am I going with my life... all these things that can easily cause anxiety in my heart, God wants me to wait for Him. Cast these on my Savior who will hear me, will answer me and will guide me!

"OH Savior, help me to wait on you! You are the God of my salvation, let me rest in this and may all my anxieties be turned to faithful, trusting obedience that watches and waits expectantly for you, for you are a great God who does great things!"

Day Dream

Aaron McLain never had to say a word. The “Shot Spot” was his second home; his drink was finished before he even had time to pull out his card. Aaron was in his favorite seat, reading Howard Pyle’s, “Men of Iron.” His reading goal for the day was marked with a 5 dollar bill. After each paragraph, he would take a sip of the quad, peppermint zebra, extra hot, non-fat with whip-cream, mocha.
He was glad he got his seat today. The brown, corduroy material barely stayed in place as the last few buttons were struggling to hang on. It was set perfect distance from the wall so that when leaning back on only two wicker legs, Aaron could be sure that he would be safe from falling. Now Aaron knew that today would be a good day.
Moving the cup toward his lips, it brought warmth to his numb fingers. He slowly slurped it into his mouth. He let it swish around so that every area would be able to experience the flavor. Bringing it all to the center of his mouth, Aaron took a deep breath while closing his eyes so that he could taste his mocha with all five of his senses.
The bells rang out from the door. Aaron was awakened form this trance.
Her rich, chocolate brown hair danced around her shoulders as she walked inside. The perfectly shaped lips that rested on angelic face broke into a smile as she was greeted by the owners. There she is, he thought to himself, and looking as beautiful as ever.
“Good morning Natalie,” the owner said as he started on her coffee.
“Good morning,” she replied.
Her soothing voice sent chills throughout Aarons back.
Natalie smiled and gave a little wave with her fingers as she walked by Aaron.
Aaron could easily lose mind, body and soul if he held onto her gaze to tightly. Her deep, dark brown eyes captivated him completely.
A very strange moaning sound came from Aaron as he tried to respond to Natalie. She smiled again as she went to get her drink. Her spell was much more potent than the coffee Aaron drank each morning.
Go buy her coffee. No, that’s too much. She will think I am crazy! Oh my gosh, she has made me crazy.
Aaron remembered the last time he tried to talk to her. Out of all the words that come out and actually made sense, he was only able to complement the plain white socks she was wearing.
Why can’t I be a “man of iron?”
Aaron looked at his book and wished that he could have been written by the author, then maybe he would have a chance.
You can do this! Come on Aaron, be a man!
Aaron set down his book and prepared himself for what he thought was going to be his execution.
Just one more drink and then I’ll be ready.
He brought the cup to his mouth, closed his eyes, raised his head up and again started his ritual.

***

It rejuvenated him. Aaron placed his cup on the flattened cork, stood up and faced the window that overlooked the street with the overhanging lights turning off one by one and the trees that swayed with the crisp morning wind. His reflection showed that a few of his hairs decided to have a mutiny. Trying to push them all to one side, he gave up after only making it worst.
Well at least I have the messy, slightly over-weight look going for me.
Aaron was only delaying the inevitable. After taking a deep breath, filing his lungs with the exotic South-African coffee of the day, he moved in. He tried to figure out what she was reading today. This was a hard task with her back facing him.
A five dollar bill lay face up slightly under Natalie’s table. Aaron slowly walked, heal to toe, just as his grandpa used to demanded of him while they were hunting, over to Mr. Lincoln. He bent over so that half of his body was under the table, while the other half was nicely and unintentional positioned right in front of Natalie’s face. After realizing that he was in such an awkward pose, Aaron quickly reached and grabbed the money and tried to escape this vulnerable state. The table above hindered his smooth transition and if it weren’t so sturdy the whole thing would have flipped over by the force of Aarons head. Aaron fell to his knees from the tables punch.
“Yep, these legs are sturdy, no need to worry.” Aaron said half moaning as he slowly pushed his body from the ground .
He finally made it to his feet with the 5 dollar bill in hand.
“Is this yours?”
Natalie’s face held amusement and confusion as her eyes darted back and forth form Aaron holding his hand on his head, to the 5 dollar bill and to her vanilla spice latte that was now forming a nice puddle on the floor.
Her head started to shake in denial as her lips broke into a smile.
They both started chuckling which led to a complete, full-blown laughing attack.
“Well your drink is on me.” Aaron said as he began to regain control of himself.

***

The last time he remembered he was this nervous was the first day of kindergarten. Aaron felt like a five year old again as he stood in front of her door.
“Come in and make yourself at home, I’ll be out in a few.” Aaron read as he pulled the pink sticky note form the eye whole.
Vanilla filled his nose as he opened the door. Noticing the spotless white carpet, Aaron removed his shoes before crossing the threshold. They were the only dress shoes he had. There worn-out brown color did not go well with his navy blue suit and to top it off he could not find his sole pair of black dress socks. Dirty-white ankle socks were his only option.
“Hello? I’m here,” Aaron called out as he walked over to the entertainment centre.
Brave heart? Gladiator? Dumb and Dumber? She is amazing!
“I’m ready.”
Natalie walked out form past the wall. Turning around, Aaron again felt like he was 5 at Disneyland for the first time. She wore a white sun dress that looked stunning against her dark Italian skin. Her brown hair hung in big curly locks against her soft shoulders.
“Nice socks.”
“I knew you would like them.”
Natalie and Aaron walked out to his lovely ford festive’ and began their adventure. They went to the “Tides,” seafood restaurant that overlooked the rocky coast. The mist was filtering in and settled around the base of the cliff. However, this couple didn’t even notice the beautiful scenery. Instead, their eyes were filled with tears and their stomachs felt as if they had been doing crunches for an hour. Laughs like that don’t come about too often.
“I think I can feel a two pack.” Aaron chuckled as he tried to push his stomach in for the pain.
“Seriously, who needs the gym?”
“I know, if I hang out with you anymore, I’ll start looking like Brad Pitt.”
Just then the waiter set the “Chocolate Mountain” between them both.
“Well, there goes that dream.” Natalie said smiling, bringing a spoonful of chocolate delight to her mouth.

***
The candles sent dark, strange figures dancing across the walls. Sitting in the middle of the room, the rich oak table, clothed in a burgundy cloth, adorned with white rose petals that scattered about, was set for two. He was proud of this genius scene he created, “Thank you Martha Stuart!” he thought to himself as he placed the crystal next to her setting. He then checked his pocket for the third time, making sure he still had the ring.

* * *

Natalie received her flowers about an hour ago. The man in the white suit and friendly smile, walked up to her 4x4 cubical that she loathed with a fiery passion.
“These are for you” he said as he placed the vibrant red roses upon her desk.
“How do you know they are for me?” she responded with her mouth closed as much as possible, for she knew that there was food still trapped to her teeth.
“He described your beauty so well that I know it is you. And he also told me to say that!”
At this time in the day the last thing she felt was beautiful. Her hair sprawled about in every direction; clothes ruffled and wrinkled looking like used tinfoil. An empty plastic salad container rested upside down on top of the inbox bin. Her diet Pepsi accompanied it along with the covering of a giant snickers. Even though she only had a salad and diet soda, Natalie still felt guilty and bloated form the cursed candy bar. It didn’t matter now, he made her feel beautiful.
The card fell form the bouquet. How did she miss it?

To my beautiful,
Nice socks…
Always wonderful
The best friend
Amazing
Lovely
Indescribable
Even more than I could ever wish for

Please come to my place for a dinner. I’ll try not to burn it this time!
Love,
Aaron


***

The food was just placed at the table when there was a knock.
Aaron set the filet’ mignon and went to the door.
“This way Midam.” Aaron said in his best French accent as he lead Natalie into the room.
“Oh my gosh? This is beautiful.”
“I try.”
After freshening up, Natalie was sat at the table and poured a Mondovi’ Merlot and served garlic mash potatoes with the medium well filet mignon.
“You never cease to impress me monsieur.”
“And you still can’t speak French.”
Aaron went over to his side and after serving himself he sat down. Leaning over for his wine glass, his chair gave way and Aaron fell to the floor.

***
His quad, zebra, peppermint mocha was now all over polo shirt. Reaching around to see how he ended up on the floor, his hands found the “sturdy” wicker legs that were supposed to be supporting him. He looked around to see how many people were laughing at him.
Where did she go?
“Did you drop this?”
Getting in a normal sitting position on the ground in the middle of a coffee puddle, Aaron looked up. Natalie stood there with Jane Austin’s, “Emma” in one hand and a 5 dollar bill in the other.

...one small step for man...

Well, here it is, my first blog! Wehhhhhuuu, I got that out there! Well, I don't even know if I am talking to anybody, but I wanted to use this first official blog to state my intension. I was thinking many days ago where and how I can store my creations and share my thoughts?
So for my creations, which include, films, stories, poems, photos, hand puppets and so forth...my first thought was an external hard drive. That is boring and I concluded a stupid idea! So, as they come along I will post random creations ...whatever that entails(im not quite sure yet)
As for my thoughts, I could journal in some sort of notebook, but that kills countless numbers of precious trees and makes me think of that girl movie(yes I have watched it and sort of like it, but not really)...Well, maybe not the tree part, but it could be true and if I can somehow in someway save a tree, or even a branch, then cool!
So there we have it, the reasons why I decided to start this blog. Well, as you can see, this will probably be very random and make no sense, but then again, I ask you...what makes sense when its outside of the box?