I have been listening to this song a lot lately, I'm not quite sure why. Well okay I know why. It is an old but great song by Brooke Fraser.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
And all that jazz...
"The problem is not out there; the problem is the needy beast of a thing that lives in my chest” (Blue like Jazz, Donald Miller, p. 20).
As I begin to read Blue Like Jazz I am painfully reminded that if I want to fight for social justice and if I want to see a change in the world that it must start with me. Often times we neglect the person staring at us as we look in the mirror and point the finger at others. We speak words that we hope will fight the injustice of others but we are not practical in our giving of money or time unless of course doing this will show others that we are socially concerned. I do believe that one voice can make a difference in this world but only when that one voice stops thinking about themselves and how they look or what will make them feel better and focus’ on others.
"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get waht you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, becuase you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures" - James 4: 1-3.
The problem and the solution can be me, it is I that choose to follow God, His path and for the glory of His kingdom. And it is only through Him that I can focus on others and not myself, and instead of thinking about myself a large percent of the time, think about others, and help others. But before I can begin to help others, I must first look in the mirror and see what is wrong with me. Change is contagious once I begin to change the dirt inside myself it is like a spark quickly lighting a field on fire, one corn stalk at a time.
“Nothing is going to change in the Congo until you and I figure out what is wrong with the person in the mirror” (Blue like Jazz, Donald Miller, p. 23).
- T.
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| Guatemala 2008 |
If I want to see change here...
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| ...With Me. |
Then it has to start here...
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Are we listeners?
In Chapter 11 of Dan Allenders' The Healing Path he describes us as third graders who are "straining our arms to stretch higher than our peers". We only want to listen to others so that we may tell a related story about ourselves (pg. 211).
It is so much easier sometimes to talk and give our opinions rather than to just listen and focus our attention on the other person and their story, we ask questions that relate back to a story we want to share when we should be hearing the story of another. We have lost the art of listening, whether that be too our friends, family, strangers or God.
James 1 tells us, "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do" (James 1:19-25).
We want to be heard by God, and we want to hear God but we do not listen we do not take the time to seek Him, to hear His voice. If we strive daily to listen more and talk less; to truly hear there stories instead of wanting to share ours in all our relationships there is a chance they will grow deeper than we could ever imagine.
- T.
It is so much easier sometimes to talk and give our opinions rather than to just listen and focus our attention on the other person and their story, we ask questions that relate back to a story we want to share when we should be hearing the story of another. We have lost the art of listening, whether that be too our friends, family, strangers or God.
James 1 tells us, "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do" (James 1:19-25).
We want to be heard by God, and we want to hear God but we do not listen we do not take the time to seek Him, to hear His voice. If we strive daily to listen more and talk less; to truly hear there stories instead of wanting to share ours in all our relationships there is a chance they will grow deeper than we could ever imagine.
- T.
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| Me and my Bestie at my Grad :) |
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Congrats Ang & Trevor!!!
Thursday, June 2, 2011, my dear friends Ang and Trevor got engaged! Congrats guys!
- T. :)
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| There engaged :) |
- T. :)
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| And they laugh at my singleness... well I laugh at your engagedness ! |
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