Watch it. Just watch it. JUST DO IT.
I very nearly died of laughter watching this. And I’m not even sure why.
(Source: kaynayan, via thethingsyouwere)
Love of Jesus
summertime in my heart
Those times you know what you’re meant for
I’ve spent a week telling kids how much they’re loved by the King of the Universe. I can ask for nothing more.
I’ve spent a week holding hands with a little girl as we walked washed-out mountain roads, just watching her smile, counting her freckles, seeing rays of sunshine dance in her strawberry-blond hair, praying her bruises are from summer play and not from her father’s hand. I heard that little girl tell me this morning that she’s smiled more this week than she has in her entire life.
I’ve spent a week watching a boy-turning-man cry broken tears for want of his family to be near. I’ve spent a week talking with my hands, animated, trying to keep his mind in the present, watching as he tried too hard and tried not enough, watching him grow. I told that boy last night that God knows every hair on his head, knows when every sparrow falls. I told that boy last night that he’s worth much more than any sparrow. That God has a plan for him, that he has no reason for fear. I watched that boy sigh away tears and grin at me and walk away less broken.
I’ve spent more than a week soaking in beauty until my cup overflowed. I laid out on lumpy grass under a million stars, counting the times I laughed until I cried, worshipping with nothing but a guitar and our voices and our hearts wide open until too late to tell. I waded through wildflowers and thistles and gopher holes, looking for rockets that are probably never going to be found, laughing when my feet touch icy rainwater puddles. I sat with my brothers and sisters, face lit by fire-glow, listening to simplest music echo in clear mountain air in praise of the Lord. I ran down a mountainside in sheets of rain, counting campers every three steps, telling them every four steps that no, God is not going to strike us with lightning. I read Isaiah for the first time with my back to a warm wooden pillar, soaking up August sunshine and the sound of wind in the pines along with the words of promise. I cried as I heard freckled campers sing praise for the first time all week as rain soaked thirsty ground and a fire spat sparks into our hair. I gasped at the beauty of a mountain ridge set afire by sunset as I ran and then stopped suddenly, taken up by the glory of the Creator. I met people who are more valuable to me than anything in the world, and I prayed that God would reveal Himself in ways unprecedented.
He answered resoundingly.
I keep reminding myself.
I keep saying it, saying it, saying it.
I’ll say it again because I need to be reminded of loveliness in the midst of swirling beginnings of frustration.
I’m here for Him.
For my Lord.
For beauty, for grace, for glory,
for healing hands.
Somebody once told me
We’re built to praise God in every moment.
The word Yahweh is like taking a breath.
Inhaling.
Exhaling.
Breathing is real, it is present, it is constant.
With every breath you take, you praise your Designer,
Creator,
Lover,
Savior,
Friend,
Comforter,
Protector,
King,
God.
You praise Him by existing.
Exist to His glory.
Breathe in love. Breathe out love.
Your life can never burn up like straw if you burn love for Jesus. That is all.
If you can really see— the weight of Glory always tips the scales for joy.
For those who can see, the world’s beauty outweighs its burdens, its grace greater than its grime.
Finally found a guitar I want to buy!! :) :)
Empty containers make us seekers, hunters of glory.
It amazes me how God always shows up, even when you’ve been half ignoring Him for who-knows-how-long. Love that
Just realized the reality of Living Water
God never seems to provide only what is needed to fill His people. He always gives more than needed, more than could ever be consumed. The cup is overflowing! Not just full—overflowing and trickling into the plate and onto the table and onto the floor and out the door. He provides enough to absolutely saturate us and then some more. He is our Sustainer and Provider and more than enough and our All in All. You’ll never be thirsty. Never!!
Dear Future you,
We will travel all over the world and save lives just by making people laugh. You will play music, and I will sing. I will read poetry to people, and we will all cry. Our children will always have bare feet, and I will only cut my hair in the summer. We will live in Africa for five years and then move to Nepal, Australia and then South America. We’ll bring Jesus to everyone we meet, and people will crowd the streets when we leave. You’ll sing songs in my ear until I fall asleep at night and I won’t need anti-depressants or sleeping pills. Our children will always know they are beautiful. They will dance on your feet after breakfast. I will cook all of our meals from home, except on the weekends when we’ll eat in diners. We’ll host dinner parties and drink white wine, inviting everyone we know: the homeless man who hangs out by the grocery store, the teenager working at the deli down the street, our kids soccer coaches, your boss, all of the kids from the youth group at the church we attend. Our kids will be home-schooled, and we’ll teach them about astronomy, horseback riding, calligraphy. We’ll go on hikes every weekend and take them sail-boating. I will write songs and we will sit on our front porch and sing. People will come from all over the neighborhood and sit on our front lawn. In the spring, we’ll plant wild flowers, and in the summer, we’ll fly kites and go on picnics. Our children will all play musical instruments. They will love reading, and our daughters will respect themselves because they will know that God treasures them and that their worth is found in Him alone. We’ll read the Bible to them as they fall asleep, and when they rebel, we’ll wait and pray and trust God to bring them back to Him. We won’t worry about money, and we’ll always help out the families we know who are struggling. We’ll always be smiling. You’ll always make me smile.
!!
Chad Bruegman:
“I got this analogy in my head one day as I was praying about what we’re supposed to be doing for the Kingdom of God, as I was praying about the fear of failing Him. I got this picture. And it was a father and a son, they’ve got the hood of the car up… the father is passionate about engines. He loves taking old cars apart, he loves restoring the engines and making them better than they ever were before, he knows the intricacies of these engines like none other… and the son comes out into the garage one day and says, ‘Hey, Dad, can I work on the engine with you?’ …And this is what Dad’s most passionate about. And then his little man, the other thing he’s most passionate about, he comes out and says ‘Dad, I want to participate in that which you are most passionate about.’ (Okay, well the little kid didn’t say that…that’d be weird. But that’s what he means, you know?) But he comes out and asks to help. Dad could be like, ‘Son, it’s too dangerous, and I want to get this done fast and efficiently. So would you go back in and play some more video games or talk with your mom til I’m done? This is big guy work.’ No! The dad goes like, ‘Oh my word, please come! You can mess the engine up, you can put the nuts and the bolts all in the wrong place! When you go back in the house and tell everyone that you fixed the car, I’ll even smile at that!’ Cause that’s what we do sometimes as Christians, we’re like ‘I fixed the engine!!’ and God’s like, ‘Yeah you did, buddy!’ …and then He’s up there re-fixing everything… And He wouldn’t trade it for the world. He never needed you to come out in the garage and help Him on the engine, it slows things down, it messes things up, but He would not trade it for the world!! Because He created us to commune with us, He created us to be with us, and once the Fall happened, He had to redeem us, He’s just like, ‘Please, join the process, I just want to be with my kids!’ There’s something dynamic in your heart and in your soul when you say, ‘God, I want to be a part of what You’re doing, I want to help You help others connect to You. I know the results aren’t up to me, I know salvation is way above my pay grade, but at the end of the day, if I coud do anything, anything…’, what Dad is gonna say, ‘No, I’m not gonna let you be fruitful in that.’?? No, no, no, you will start to see God using you. He doesn’t need you to accomplish His goals, but He wants you, so so much, to be a part of what He’s doing.”
