A Gift for Everyday

Does Christmas have a feeling?
If so, it doesn't "feel" like Christmas to me.
At least not in the way that it felt when I was a child. I remember feeling really excited about all the gifts that were waiting for me under the tree on Christmas morning. As I got older, I started realizing that not everyone celebrated Christmas like I did.

Religion, ethnicity, and money all play a signifcant role in how a family celebrates the holidays. Sometimes, we just need to go without to see how fortunate we are to have.

Sitting on my couch looking at my Christmas tree, I now understand that Christmas isn't about the quantity or quality of a gift, but rather, the gift that one gives. Gifts don't have to be material; they don't need to come all wrapped up in shiny reindeer paper adorned with a nice gold bow. The best gifts are those that you can give everyday such as a smile, a helping hand, friendship, a listening ear, gifts whose value is not measured by a price tag but by a person's genuine interest in the individual. Lasting gifts may not be easy to give but may be the exact perscription that a friend needs. Humbly giving to a neighbor in need reaches across the socioeconomic status that the media often defines as a "wealthy," a "middle class," or a "poor" individual.

Allowing your hand to willingly reach out and hold the hand of another is the exact love that Jesus was talking about. It is this kind of self-less love that brings about action, causes forgiveness, and promotes peace in our families, coummunities, government, wars, etc.

What if everyone reached out to one person a day?

Would our world be a better place?

Would your world be a better place?

Would those you touch either physically, spiritually, emotionally, academically, etc. reach out and touch another person, thus creating a lasting domino effect?

Would there be any changes in your life or the lives of others that you invest in? What would those changes be?

Could you see yourself adovcating for the lives of others, putting other's needs before yours, and loving regardless of the circumstances?

Would you be able to accept the fact that Jesus loves you everyday, not just on Christmas? That it is Jesus who watches over you, "knows when you are sleeping, knows when you're awake, knows when you have been bad or good"? It's not the man in the red suit that brings you toys once a year. It's the human, the Spirit, the God that holds his life in your hands. Every breath, every movement, every action is known by God even before you fulfill it.

Have you accepted the reality for today that God loves you just because?
Where in your life are you allowing God to "love" you?
If you have, where in our life are you not allowing God to "love" you?
If you haven't, why not? Where could you give of yourself to help a friend in need today?

Psalm 56

Be merciful to me, O God, for me hotly pursue me;

all day long they press their attack.

My slanderers pursue me all day long; many are attacking me in their pride.

When I am afraid,

I will trust in you.

In God, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I will not be afraid.

What can mortal man do to me?

All day long they twist my words;

th

Simply Beauty, Simply Love

Beauty knows no limits.
For what is beauty without God?
He is the essence of beauty and the perfect example of true love.
A love that never fails, but always lasts.
A love that doesn't hibernate with the winter, or fall off the trees, or sprout new leaves.
No, his love is one that weathers all storms.
His love has substance.
I can't even begin to put into words the amount of love that he has for you and I.
Though we will never have God all figured out, just know this: it's ok.
For he still loves you and I just the same.

Simply Love

A friend once told me to close my eyes and imagine an entire room filled with water. Every chair, every wall, every pore on my face consumed by water. A God who loves me as close as my breath, a God who is near to me as my human heart.

A God who loves me just because.

What does such as love feel like? Look like? Act like? Is it indescribable, does it have hands and feet, or does it have the characteristics of both? A love that is so incomprehensible that words cannot fully describe it.

When I think of such a love I am reminded of a marriage.

"A man should have to seek [Him] first to find her." Maya Angelou

Likewise, we should seek God first before we get swayed by a false love that does not exist, by a love that lacks a body, soul, and mind. God will fill this void that every one of us experiences at some point in our lives. He is the only one that can truly satisfy this longing, this natural desire for more.

For life is more than the next big thing. The next big term paper, the next snazzy car, the next cheap relationship. God is the solid foundation that will last. He is the ONLY ONE who provides lasting forgiveness. Material items perish standing next to eternal life. A life full of happiness and committed love.

A life where God loves you just because.

This life can happen right now.
What will you do?

It's All About Perspective

how do you see people through the eyes of Christ?

Secrets From a Fortune Cookie

I believe that God can speak to us in a variety of ways. Here are some of the things he said.

*Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

*In the midst of every difficulty lies opportunity.

*You will live the life that makes all others not envious, but proud of you.

*Learn to listen, not hear.

*Your smile makes everyone realize that the world is a lovely and beautiful place.

Do You Accept?

a simple act can set a heart on fire.
a simple act can yield a field of flowers.
a simple act can deliver rain to a drought, scorched, and parched land.
a simple act can be a smile.
a simple act can be a high-five or a handshake.
a simple act can be the shining sun on a warm spring day,
accompanied by birds chirping and leaves blowing in every which way.
a simple act can be a hug.
a simple act can be an invitation to learn more.
a simple act can be meeting new people.
a simple act can be listening.
a simple act can be hearing.
a simple act can be talking with a friend.
a simple act can be seeing life from another person's eyes.

a simple act can not seem very simple at all.
a simple act may be hard to live out.
a simple act may require some sacrifice.
a simple act may ask you to put a friend before yourself.
a simple act may require you to remove selfishness.
a simple act may cause one to examine the inner self in search of something greater.

but guess what?
a simple act has already been done for you today.
Jesus Christ died for you so that you may live in eternal happiness and paradise with him; bringing the same love that he gave you to your friends, families, or anyone you meet.
it's an open invitiation to live your life radically different.
do you accept?

Promises, friends, and God; uniquely woven into a myraid of indescribable beauty

I have only recently come to terms with the unforseen reality that I have a lot of commitments.

These range from commitments to family, to friends, to school, and to personal goals/beliefs. Each commitment is a promise to fulfill a need, a desire, or a duty. I live by the philosophy of "don't make a promise that you can't keep." Yet at times, I am unexpectedly thrown into a situation where the majority believes that I can fulfill a promise that I have yet to discover.

It feels like sometimes my friends believe in me more than I believe in myself.

I am truly greatful for a solid group of people who seek to stretch and pull me in order to grow. They have a signifcant impact in my life, shaping and molding me to use and aquire my fullest potential. I am grateful for their "potter-like' mentality, creatively leaving their imprints in my life through smiles, words, listening ears, warm hugs, and unique personalities. I am grateful that they are allowing themselves to be used by God in order to bring joy into another person's life.

Through my friend's, I see Jesus manifested as a human, as Spirit, and as God himself. I wish to bring these caring and compassionate traits that my friends have been freely giving me to people that I meet. I long for seeing genuine smiles and courageous testimonies. I long to see God's work manifested in all of his people. I long to be a part of something greater than myself. And each day, I see myself growing into this person that God has always intended for me to be.

Listening

Have I been listening?
Really listening?
Listening to the voices of the weak, of the oppressed, of those in need?
or, have I been listening to myself?
to my needs, my wants, my hopes, my future?

we need to learn to truly listen to God,
to listen with our eyes,
however that may look for you.
listening comes from practice, not from a flower sprung overnight.

to truly want to listen comes from the Perfect One above.
for he is the prime giver of patience and a heart that longs to see a caring friend comforted.

for if we listen with our ears,
and investigate with our eyes,
we may find beauty hidden beaneath the soil.

Strength vs. Weakness

2nd Corinthians 12:9, 10

"But he [God] said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness...For when I am weak, then I am strong."

why don't we allow ourselves to become weak in order to see the sun?
in order to be raised higher?
in order to learn something of value?

is it because we are afraid of falling?
is it because we are afraid of change?
are we nervous about making a mistake and yielding the results of it?
are we uncertain about the circumstances that lie ahead, anxious about how to tackle them, and worried that the end result may not turn out exactly as we had hoped?

are we truly afraid of change, that we may lose something precious that we once had?

weakness requires one to give up something for another person (or, for something else).

to be ready, willing, and able.
what if we tried this for a day? submission; the very thing that God helps us to do everyday.

it is his grace that provides substance, everlasting fulfillment, and complete joy..
his grace is sufficient enough to provide all that we need.