Candles and Coffee

I remember a few years ago, I was in a candle store looking at candels. Most of them were scented, and after a while...I couldn't smell any of them. The owner of the store recognized my dilemma, and with a smile on her face she came over with a can of ground coffee. She held the can up to me and told me to take a big whiff. The smell of the coffee was so totally different than the perfumed smells of the candles that my smell sence "reset". After that I was able to smell the candles again.

Looking around the store, I wondered how many shoppers couldn't smell them anymore. How many went by appearance alone...how many only looked at the pricetags?

Into the depths

As a SCUBA diver, you usually have to wait in line for others to get back onto the boat. Instead of bobbing on the surface swallowing seawater and getting seasick, I will usually put my regulator back in my mouth and dive down a few feet. Here the water is calm. The noise is muffled and I can relax in comfort while I wait.

However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"
But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
1 Cor 2:10

Deep is the dwelling place of God
Deep is the gift of discipline

The same analogy can be used between snorklers and SCUBA divers. Both can say they saw the reef, yet their experiences are vastly different.

Dont be satisfied with Sunday church or even Bible study groups. Dive deep into the depths of God. It takes more training and hard work to become a Diver, but the rewards are beyond anything you could have imagined.

The spark

A single spark falls to the ground;
So bright, so full of potential.

Pile too much wood on it and it will smother;
Left alone, it will fail.

Hands placed to block the wind;
A gentle breath gives the spark hope.

Smoke comes first.
It stings the eyes; clogs the lungs.

Even now, if left alone it will die.
Persistance is so difficult.

As spark blossoms into fire,
Surroundings are illuminated.

The glowing eyes of doubt
Flee farther back into the woods.

Wood piled on now
Only makes the flames grow higher.

Symbiosis

You are the vine,
I am the tree.

I bear your weight,
You adorn me with your beautiful flowers.

We are different,
Pain comes as we entwine.

Our purpose is never lost;
Together we grow towards the light.

Friend Jail

I just had to pass this along to everyone. This is genius:


http://welcometodoland.blogspot.com/2006/01/you-gotta-fight-for-your-rights.html

Dawn

Darkness surrounds me,
I am cold, for the sun has not risen in so long.

Petals turned inward for protection;
They thirst so desperately.

Creator, is it coming?
Is dawn almost here?

My heart beats with anticipation!
Dark shadows transform into hues of deep orange.

I doubt even as I feel the warmth of the rising sun;
I am not worthy of such a gift.

Indistinguishable from the morning dew
Are my tears of joy.

Faith of innocence

I dont know how I got here,
But I feel safe; Father is with me.

Look how far I climbed Daddy!
Watch me jump so high!

I don't understand passion or depression,
Yet I know without a doubt that Father loves me.

Money? Daddy will provide.
Hunger? He will feed me.

He can do everything,
I will never be alone.














Truly I tell you, unless you change
And become like children,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18

Diametric

The more we love,
The more we fear.

White knuckles grasp,
That which is held most dear.

The more we give,
The more we are given.

So backwards to what we're told;
Gaining treasures in Heaven.

Jealousy and anger,
Birthed out of passion.

Fearfully designed minds,
Hiding emotions that turn hearts ashen.

Light and Dark, Love and Hate
Without the other, one cannot relate.

Dirt

Why do we associate "dirtiness" with "sinful"?

Genesis 2:7 says this:
And the Lord God formed man from the dust
of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life; and man became a living being.

As dirt we were nothing;
Because of His breath we are dirt no more.

In Genesis 3:19 God curses man:
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you
return to the ground. For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are. And to dust you shall return.

God forever reminds us of our origins.
He cursed the ground so we must work so hard to benefit from it.

As I rage my own war against sin, I am reminded of my origins.

I don't feel dirty, I feel hollow;
His breath absent from this pile of dust.