david

How long must i take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?...But I have trusted in Your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me. Psalms 13

bountifully: free in giving, liberal in bestowing gifts

in crappy times He is being ever gracious and loving. no matter my circumstance whether life sucks to the point that i want to swear really loud, whether i am abundantly happy, or whether my heart is in a pit of sorrow. in His salvation He has dealt EVER bountifully with me...

cs lewis and brooke fraser and john piper

one of my favorite writers inspired one of my favorite musicians. amen:)

"i will sigh and with all creation groan as i wait for Hope to come for me. Hope He's coming for me."

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? Romans 8:22-24

"The whole creation groans. It is a general divine decree on the whole world. And Paul's point is: even the precious children of God must suffer with Christ in it.

So let us humble ourselves and take our share of suffering with patience and hope. Because we consider with Paul that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed to us." -john piper

michelle kwan or sasha cohen

Watching these winter Olympics makes me think of being a child. When I was five I was unwaveringly positive that I would one day be one of those competing ice skaters. In my 5 year old mind Sasha Cohen would go out and perform, next up would come Michelle Kwan then I would hit the ice and figure skate with such flow and perfection that I would win the gold of course. I also knew I would fly a plane. I would be an ice skater by day and fly people all over the world at night, (because of course planes only fly at night). I had faith though. One day all the dreams I dreamed would be true. Somewhere along the line life hit. Life hit me hard. Those goals weren’t quite as real and my faith dwindled into a distant hope.

haha sad sad story right. but seriously somedays I wonder if our faith in the Lord is not one bit different. We see His unfathomable grace and mercy in our lives. We realize how dead and sinful we are and how much we need a Savior so we call out. We ask Him to forgive us our sins and come save us. Our joy is full and we are resting in His unchanging grace. Years go by. Life hits hard. We forget the cross. We forget our testimony of grace. We forget His love. We lose faith. Then we read verses like Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest take My yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11: 28-30 and we no longer have faith that we can find rest in Him. when I read that sometimes I think, oh that’s nice and find temporary rest in it. But what does this verse even mean? How do we find rest in His yoke and why is it lighter than our own?

I forget what Jesus said before this verse I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Matthew 11:25-27

Just like when I was five years old and had unpenetrating faith that i would be a figure skater. Jesus calls us to have the same faith that He is who He says He is. He is the one who came to take on your burdens. Oh and what burden it was. It was the burden of the sin of the world He who knew no sin was made to BE sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

I could talk about the verses in Matthew 11 for hours and probably never understand the real riches of all that Jesus was saying. He says that little kids get this, this unique faith that believes beyond question. Believes that the Father sent His son to become flesh for you and to reveal to the world that He is the Savior. It was His “gracious will” to do so. Now that we know this we can come to Him, with child-like faith saying “I am weary and I am heavy laden. I have been striving for years and trying to please you, but I’ve forgotten that Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light.” His yoke and His burden is what He bore for you at Calvary. Jesus paid it all that's why we no longer have to take on other yokes of our own righteous works or be burdened by our inability to please the world or please the Lord. He's pleased with You because He sees His perfect Son when He looks at you. In that we can rest and believe like a little child that our Daddy is a good Daddy and has more steadfast love and graciousness towards us then we can ever fathom. So come to Him…the one who laid down His life for you…He’ll give you rest.

this truth is way better than flying a plane or years of olympic figure skating...

peter mariani

just a hilarious conversation i had over the phone with the Mariani's today. it brought me joy so I thought I'd share...

"Do you swear in italian dad?- Nina Mariani
Sometimes when I get upset at your mother.-Peter Mariani
Dad, that's awful- Nina Mariani
well sure, But what your mother doesn’t know doesn’t hurt her. -Peter Mariani
Hi peter.- Me
Happy Valentine's Day to you Gwen.-Peter Mariani
You're the first guy to tell me that today Mr. Mariani -Me
well sure, the Lord's saving a good one for you ...tenere i suoi occhi aprono.-Peter Mariani
what does that mean?-Me
Keep your eyes open, even at night. Stay on your gaurd Gwen.-Peter Mariani
Ok I will Peter.-Me
I could get a doctor for you but he'd work late hours. you wouldn't want that.- Peter Mariani
Dad, I had a dream that i got engaged but the guy was a jerk but the diamond on the ring was really big so i didn't know what to do. - Nina Mariani
Nina, you ever have a problem with a guy, send him over here and i'll punch him in the nose."-Peter Mariani

moral of the story: keep your eyes open, even at night. thanks Dr. Mariani

northern ireland

somedays i wish i could get away to here, preferably with gaelic music playing in the background...
but i'll be content in all circumstances. it's just so darn pretty. i'm probably just longing for heaven...

c.h. spurgeon

"if the people do not like the doctrine of grace, give them all the more of it."


c.h. spurgeon

i truly do get discouraged when i think of a life sharing the gospel of grace with people. people will reject it. it's a promise.

2 corinthians 3:14"...for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away."
i hope the truth of His grace remains on my tongue until the day i die. i hope i never exhaust it's riches. i was dead. He gave me life. i was blind. He lifted the veil. i was wretched He made me His righteousness.

2 corinthians 3: 16 "For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart...as we look not to things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."


so we are looking to things that are eternal...thanks for the reminder spurgeon.




and He's offering His grace freely to you. that's it. He died to give you
life...

mark driscoll

i like humor, actually somedays i think it determines a lot of what i do or don't do. which might be a heart issue. i just know i love to laugh.
i'm sure of it that Jesus was a funny man and people enjoyed being around Him. just like all the little joys of life, i know the Lord created humor to display some of His glory...
Here's driscoll's take on it.

sharedhope

" ... to preach the Good News to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn to grant those who mourn in Zion to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that He may be glorified." -Isaiah 61

the point of this is not to have a "feel bad" mentality or a temporary emotional reaction, but you can do something by signing a petition on this website to fight against this injustice: