Wisdom- T.S. Eliot

"Endless invention, endless experiment,
Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness;
Knowledge of speech, but not of silence;
Knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word.
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?"

Psalm 51

Psalm 51


Have mercy on me, O God,
       according to your unfailing love;
       according to your great compassion
       blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity 
       and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
       and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
       and done what is evil in your sight,
       so that you are proved right when you speak
       and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
       sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
       you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
       wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
       let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
       and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
       and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
       or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
       and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
       and sinners will turn back to you.
Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
       the God who saves me,
       and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
       and my mouth will declare your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
       you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
       a broken and contrite heart,
       O God, you will not despise.
In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
       build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
       whole burnt offerings to delight you;
       then bulls will be offered on your altar.

He is faithful. He never changes. He is always good.

Early this morning I went out to the back porch to spend some time reading and praying.  I got outside and it was really dark.  It had rained throughout the night and the sun wasn't out yet.  The sky was covered in clouds.  As the time passed the sun slowly started to come out.  There was a point when a song came on my iPod called "Picture of Your Love" by Luke Wood.  God always seems to orchestrate things like this, but the lyrics are absoutely beautiful and it is such a beautiful image of God's presence and faithfulness even in the darkness, in the shadow of death.





Your love is the rock that I cling to

Your name is the tower that I run in to
Your strength is what lifts my head when it's bowed low
Your song is the light that shines through my window

And after the rain has fallen
And after the clouds all roll away
The sweetest name remains on my soul

And like the sun after all of the rain's gone
The morning without any cloud comes
With a picture of your love
And when I think of the stars so high over me
The moon in the darkness let's everyone see
A picture of your love

You're faithful you're always the same
You're faithful Lord you never change
You're faithful you're always good you're always good

And though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I have no doubt that you've already gone ahead
By fire by night by cloud by day

And though ten thousand fall to my right and my left
Under the shadow of the most high I find my rest
By fire by night by cloud by day

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."  Psalm 23: 4


The presence of a shadow and the presence of darkness implies that there has to be a light.  There cannot be a shadow without light.  God is that light.  God is there in the shadow.  God is there in the darkness.  Throughout our walk with God we go through hard times, dark times.  Times where we doubt and question.  Times when we cannot see God.  But God is there.  


He is faithful.  
He never changes.  
He is always good.

Trusting and Believing God-- Romans 4 and Psalm 32

Romans 4: 20-21
"Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised."

Psalm 32:  7-11
"You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.  I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.  Do not be like the horse or the mule, which has no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.  Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.  Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!"

1. I need to believe God and not waver from believing His promises.  I need understanding and wisdom.  I need to go to God.
2. When I go to God, He will strengthen my faith.  I need to make Him my hiding place.  When I trust Him, His songs of deliverance and unfailing love surround me.
3. When I trust God I am upright in heart.  When I am upright in heart, I rejoice in Him and give glory to Him.

Romans 4: 3     Believing God

Not believing IN God.

but.......

BELIEVING GOD.

Romans 4:5     Trusting God

Not trusting IN God.

but........

TRUSTING GOD.

I will go to Him who is my Hiding Place.

I will go to Him who surrounds me with His unfailing love and songs of deliverance.

I will go to Him who I believe.

I will go to Him who I trust.

Percy's Hot Dog + Meeting Bill

So for those of you who know me pretty well- you know that I don't like hotdogs.  Random fact.  But it is true.  I've never really liked hot dogs.  But there are these hotdogs at this little country store called Percy Flowers in Clayton, NC.  And they are good.  I mean- these hotdogs are good.  haha  :)

Long story short I took the middle daughter of the family that I'm staying with (Lizzy) to Percy's for lunch after school today and we were just getting ready to sit down and enjoy a good Percy's Hot Dog and a soda (Cheerwine- it is amazing!  it is like dr pepper mixed with cherry coke) and as we're sitting down we see this guy (Bill) sketching at the table next to us.

We compliment him on his sketch.  And he strikes up a conversation.  We start talking about the different things in North Carolina and then I mention I'm from Arizona and he starts telling me of the different places he has ridden his motorcycle throughout the US.  As we keep talking he tells me about being to Arizona and on one trip he was driving and he ran into some really bad fog/rain/wind and he couldn't see while driving.  And he said that was the first time he had ever really prayed to God- he asked God to help him get through the storm.  He said that he was not religous and didn't really care about religion, but at that moment he knew there was something more.

So we kept talking and I mentioned how it is so funny how it takes a really intense or scary situation like that for us to even think about God's existence.  I shared a little bit with him about me being an atheist until I was 19 and how it took a big event like that for me to question about God.

We continued talking.  And he started talking more about God, spirituality and religion.  He believes that there is a higher power or maybe a god.  He doesn't like religon.  He doesn't believe the Bible is really the Word of God, but that is from men.  He thinks all religions are in essence the same.  He believes in right and wrong-good and evil.

I got to share some with him about Jesus and what I've experienced and how I've seen people's lives transformed because of what God has done in their lives.

All in all it was a pretty cool conversation.  And I know that God is planting seeds and working in Bill's heart.

God really showed me through this conversation how much I need Him.

Every time I share my testimony or share the gospel I am reminded of who I was before I knew Jesus.
I am reminded of how much I truly need God.
God has given me life.

Please pray that God would continue working in Bill's heart.