The Word and His Pen

     Happy Conquerors Day!!      For those who have not heard of Conquerors Day before I'll do a slight intro.      Five years ago today, December 10th, I was crossing the street and was hit by a car. I woke up in the back of a car speeding off towards the hospital and heard God say, "The devil just tried to kill you, but I said no. I only let him come so far." In that moment I felt peace amid countless unknowns God was in control. Being hit by a car has not changed the fact that God is sovereign and still on His throne. Then before I knew the extent of my injuries or even remembered the date, I heard God say to remember this day and celebrate it every year. He said to call it Conquerors Day because death and darkness did not conquer me, but God conquered them.       So, every year my family and I celebrate December 10th, as a reminder of God's goodness and His sovereign plan. We do something fun to celebrate and recount the mind-blowing ways that we have seen the han

     We live in a world that is so self-focused and self-driven.       Yet there is a freedom and sense of relief when it is realized that this life is not about us.       My life is not about me. It is instead to glorify the Giver, Creator, and Sustainer of Life.       When life is self-focused, we face this pressure and dissatisfaction. Pressure to live up to every standard we deem necessary and dissatisfaction because we are merely living for our own pleasure. Add that to a few billion other people who are also living for their own pleasure, plus a broken world and you get frustrated, dissatisfied hearts.       In this, we can see that we are not created to live for ourselves. We experience so much joy and fullness when we live for the One who Created us; that is how we are meant to live! Glorifying God, sharing His Truth with the world, and loving His Children as He does. That is what fulfills us.       Philippians 2:3      "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in

     Rest. As human beings, we all need rest. Rest is a topic that is frequently discussed and pondered. How do we get enough? What is enough rest? Is rest more than sleep? How do we do everything that needs to be done and care for ourselves? Different cultures go about rest very differently. Where I lived for several years, in a small West African village a slower pace of life was embraced. In several countries spanning from Brazil to Italy, the workday goes a little bit later to factor in a two-to-three-hour nap time in the middle of the day. From what I've seen here in the U.S. rest is largely not practiced, either that or it is the most quickly sacrificed.        Different cultures look at rest in different ways. So, how are we, as Christians, supposed to look at rest? what does it mean for us? It nearly makes me weep for joy to see how thoroughly this topic is covered in the Bible.      Naturally, the first place that we see rest mentioned in the Bible is Genesis 2:3 "So

     Last summer God gave me a word one night at youth group and recently showed me how to connect that to another experience I've been looking forward to writing about.       It was the end of the summer youth group. That night at youth group we were supposed to grab an item that somehow represented our summer. We were outside sitting around a fire in a fire pit. So as the group scattered to find something there that would represent their summer, I walked over to a small pile of broken bricks. I needed to look no further than these as God spoke to my heart about how this simple item represented what He had been doing in my life over the past summer. We gathered back around the fire giggles scattering throughout the crowd as we looked to see what all had been brought. A full-length mirror and different mugs or dishes were among the items that people brought to represent their summer. The leaders just asked people to go as they pleased. They wanted to hear from as many people as pos

     A little pondering entry to start this post.      What is home?      Is it security? Is it that feeling of safety, knowing that you can put your guard down and let go of it completely leaving it behind you on the floor not caring if it is trod upon? Is it steady, reliability? Is it a feeling? Is it a piece of space and time in which you are safe, treasured, seen, and loved? Is it the well-known glances or smiles that immediately bring light and relief to your heart? Is it hearing the voices of dearly loved ones over the phone or in person that fill your heart with joy? Is it a group of people in which time spent together is healing and there is little need for translation? Is it a building or a place? Can you walk there? Do you have to take a plane? Can you point to it on a map? Is it one place or many? Is it a view that once you see it your heart swells and you know that you are home, back to a place of belonging? Is it familiarity, knowing a place well enough to walk it blindfol

   Hello readers! It has been months since I have posted anything! Yeesh... However, let me just testify that whether or not I'm writing about it, God is always moving. He has been doing amazing things in my life and continuing to bring healing as He takes me deeper in relationship with Himself.       Recently I went on a trip to Colorado with a church group of peers. I've visited seven different countries over the world in my life so far, yet this trip was one of the best trips I've ever been on. What made it so? Two things. The first was that the group I went with was absolutely amazing. I could fill this post, probably several, with stories from the trip and the people I went with. The second would be the lessons I learned about God, and the emphasis placed on looking for spiritual parallels while on the trip.      I wanted to use this post specifically to process the lessons and spiritual parallels that I found on this trip. It  was an adventure-type trip. Every day had