Random Thoughts
(7-1-03) What do I think about having dreams?...Let me put it this way...When I am walking through the woods, if I keep my eyes on the ground and never look up or out, I will seldom trip and fall...but I will miss a lot of beautiful scenery and a lot of other paths I might have taken.
(7-10-03) In Matthew 17:20, the Bible talks about faith as a grain of mustard seed. This has been turned into so many points I can't list them, but one thing has been on my mind that doesn't get mentioned very often. When it says "as" a mustard seed, its really talking about the quality of the faith, not the quantity. You don't have to have a whole lot of faith or even just a little bit of faith. This simile is simply referring to an active faith. There is the qualifier "if" followed by a required action, "ye shall say". It is referring to a faith that causes you to act upon that faith. An active faith doesn't have to be a great mystical thing. It just requires that you act on what you supposedly believe anyway. When we do this, miracles will follow.
(7-14-03) All good things come to those who go and get them...
(7-15-03) Praise and worship are not really the same thing. Praise can be likened to a slow dance by yourself. It has a form and beauty but it is still lacking something...Worship is more like a beautiful dance between two people. Worship is interactive praise. It involves a mutual fellowship between the praiser and the one receiving that praise. Anyone can praise, but not everyone can worship.
(7-24-03) The one basic need of all mankind is a need for love. Virtually every serious pursuit, whether it be career, social life, or spiritual growth, stems from our need and search for acceptance and love. However, the sad part is that most of us base our self-worth on variables of life that are temporary or conditional. This includes our relationships, achievements, or just the temporary happiness highs we pursue on a daily basis. For our self-worth to be the constant needed for a healthy, authentic life, we need a source of unconditional love. I, for one, have not found there to be any true source other than Jesus Christ. He is the one constant in this world and His love for me is just as constant. Thanks to His love, I can endure any other failing or circumstance in this life and still live a contented, authentic life. (ref: Heb. 13:8, Rom. 8:28-39)
I've been in a vacuum where no thoughts occur lately. Too busy. So I decided to cheat and borrow some.
(8-9-03) "Work like you don't need the money. Love like youi've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching." - Satchel Paige
8-10-03) Dependence says, "I need you." Co-dependence says, "I need you to need me." Independence says, "I don't need you." But, interdependence says, "Although I am strong enough to function without you, I choose to lean on you, to allow myself to need you." - Dan Mitchell
I truly believe that you must be a whole person before entering into a meaningful, intimate, and complete relationship. A lot of people expect a relationship to complete them and then are so messed up when they realize that life is still life and in fact there are perhaps even more difficulties with a relationship.
(8-11-03)
Hope is a desire for improvement, change. Hope is not really faith but more of a desire. Not just an “I wish…” type of thing though, but more like something I cling to in expectation. My hope in the Lord - its what comes through in my weakest moments of insecurity. When I am not enough, my hope in Him carries me through ‘til I reach a contentment that springs from the realization of who He is and a self-realization of who I am and the dynamics between myself, my Creator, and His Creation. Hope helps me to stand and fight when it when it seems as if I’m flailing the air and I can’t see anything getting done. It sustains my belief in God and myself when external data alone would indicate that I should be down or depressed about myself and my efforts. Hope helps me persist when I see no results or impact of my efforts or life. Hope springs from trust, trust from faith, and faith from an acted-on belief in God and the things of God.
(8-24-03) I often pray for the strength to do things for God...but I wonder if I changed the direction of my prayers more towards praying for opportunities to be used if I wouldn't be more effective. God will always give strength to those who go through the open door.
(8-31-03) If He's the Great I Am and He lives inside of me, why would I ever be content to be a great "I wannabe" rather than an "I am?"
(9-10-03) Open yourself to love, give yourself to love completely. To do so will be to open yourself to hurt, but love anyway. To be hurt is unavoidable, but each time the hurt will dig love's hole in your heart deeper and wider. In time this expansion will give you a greater and greater capacity for stronger and better love.
