Passion.

For much of my life I have had a countless number of people confirm my dream of being an artist to be a "financially insecure" one.  "Yes..you can do it, but you need another job on the side because you won't make any money."  

Cool.  So I need to do something I hate to pay the bills and do something I love on the side.  That is, hate your life 60% of the time and love your life 40% of the time, at best.  I wrote a blog about this in December and referenced Alan Watts, a British philosopher.  I just agree with him so much.  Why not do what you love now, and trust that the money will follow out of your passionate drive.

For me, it's painting.  When I paint, I feel alive.  I feel peaceful, exciting, zoned-in, focused, artistic, creative, masterful, amazed!  It's what I live for in my free time.  I've always done it off and on since I was little.

I get a little encouragement here and there, but mostly people brush off my passion as a hobby, a silly waste of time and money that has no future.  Although it is important to me, most people don't see it.

I took a couple painting classes  at my community college a few years ago and at the University I would schedule one day a month where all I did was paint.

Now that I am on my own and working and living through my heartbeat, I paint quite often and the more I paint the more I want to paint.  In fact, as of January I designated an entire room of my apartment into "Arts and Crafts City."

Over the last month or so I have slowly had more and more people offer to pay me for my paintings.  According to a 5th grade teacher I once had, that means you are a professional.  Family, friends and customers at my first job are coming out of the woodworks to compliment me on my artistic abilities and ask me to custom make a design for them!

One guy in particular blesses me more than he knows.  Every time he walks in my bar he brings up my artwork and how amazed he is.  He has ordered one painting for me and is ready to hit me with another challenge as soon as I get the time.  I know he doesn't realize he's doing it, but every praise and compliment he directs towards my art is like a boost to my soul.  Why? Because art is something rooted deep in my bones.  It's something I have always wanted to do and have always seen myself doing, but never pictured it being serious.  His encouragement to my artwork is like a cool ocean mist, refreshing my spirit.  I need this.

I want you to read this because I want you to think about what makes you feel that way.  What's your passion?

One of my best friends rides motorcycles with her husband every Sunday.  I've only been on a motorcycle once so I really don't know what it's all about, but this amazing woman sure does.  She absolutely refuses to work on Sundays because those motorcycle rides are her way of church.  It's how she feel close to God.  I asked her to explain further and she said she can't.  "It's the warmth of the sun shining on your back, the presence of the Holy Spirit riding with you, and the clarity of being outside.  I don't find that kind of worship inside a church building or at a department store.  It's on the back of that bike where I feel my soul come alive."

Another dear friend of my is extremely gifted in "framing."  What started as a small interest in her retirement years has turned into a full-blown business in her backyard.  Her husband at first was reluctant, but eventually gave in and bought her a warehouse full of framing supplies, which then lead to him building her an entire play-space of framing, cutting, matting, and whatever else she finds to do!  You know it's her passion when she can make it fun.

I went to go see her about framing a picture of mine.  It was a 12x12 print I had been given for Christmas.  I loved the print but I couldn't find a frame to fit it anywhere.  Knowing nothing and caring less about framing, i assumed I would pick between black, brown, and beige wood and she would frame it and I would give her $60.

How wrong I was.  I walked in and she was more alive than I had EVER seen her.  I show her my print and she immediately pulls cyan blue, velvet fuschia, and royal blue from her storage cabinets.  "Wow, I love the fuschia but I think it could be better!  What if we added an orange and burgundy backdrop with a gold inlet frame and crown molding on the edges?  Perhaps a violet or lavender would soften the print, or maybe..."  Wow, I was sucked in.  It was so much fun!  She taught me all about the framing lingo and initially refused my financial offering.  THAT is how I knew she was in it for the fun, not as much for the slavery of it.  She made my print twice as beautiful as I thought it already was originally and I go back to visit her every week with new paintings and prints to frame.  She makes me want to be more passionate about my own thing!

What an inspiring and creative way to worship!  Motorcycles may not be for me and painting may not be for you, but what is your thing?  Whatever it is, do it.

Transform Your Mind, Christian

Romans 12:2

"Be transformed by the renewing of your mind..."

One of my friends posted this as her status a few days ago:

"My identity is inescapable. My destiny is an enormous desire of my heart. I long for what God has for me. I'll long for it more and more, as the time approaches. At just the right time, God will have all the pieces in place. He will send my leader to walk me into what He has called me to."

CHRISTIANS:

We have got to stop living like the world!

I'm not talking about drinking, cussing, sex, smoking or drugs.  Yes, those are bad and yes we are told not to do them.  But quit judging people for these things and look at your heart compared to God's!

For one big huge thing: STOP WORSHIPING MONEY!!

You do not have to base your life around the comfort of a fat income.  The Bible teaches all over to trust God FIRST, then he will provide absolutely everything you need..and THEN some!  Don't you know those O.T. stories by heart yet?  How many times did people get called into crazy scary things?  How many times did God come through for them?

God never changes...so that means that stuff still applies to us and still happens today!

Also, STOP DATING!
That's not loving your neighbor, that's not thinking of other people's feelings.  That's not trusting God.  It's not being patient.  It's not focusing on the Lord, his will, or his Word.

You agree, yet how many of you can raise your hand and say you are in college right now to get a fancy job and find a mate?

How many of you can raise your hand and say you already did that?

Where was God let in on any of these plans?

Oh good, you prayed at the ceremony.  That's all the power he probably wants anyways...much less deserves. -_-

I only rant because I too have been guilty of these things. The truth is, God has called us to a much higher standard, and if we want His best for our life, we've got to let go and start trusting him.

Now.

You will never reach your destiny if you keep it in your hands.

Check out these lyrics from Kasey Musgrave's song, Merry Go Round:

Tiny little boxes in a row,
Ain't want you want it's what you know,
Just happy in the shoes you're wearin'.

Same checks we're always cashin',
To buy a little more distraction.

We often get so sucked into tradition and culture and everything else that we forget to ask God what he really wants for us.  We assume, thus missing out on some of life's greatest blessings.  

My Thoughts Regarding the Proverbs 31 Movement

Several friends of mine have brought to my attention the Proverbs 31 Movement.  Perhaps you may have seen the logo on Pinterest of Facebook.  Anyhow a wonderful blogger I follow, named Preston, stirred things up a bit as he very humbly and biblically corrected the movement.  You can see one out of the three posts he published here.

 (While you're there I recommend following his blog and checking out some of the other posts--great stuff!)

Anyhow, I have studied Proverbs 31 on my own lately and this is what the Word tells me.

First of all, Proverbs 25-31 were written specifically as advice for leaders.  Proverbs 31 is wisdom King Lemuel has learned from his mother.  The first 9 verses have very good points such as:

• Watch out for adulterous women
• Don't get drunk on wine
• Defend the poor and weak

The next verses (10-31) are the infamous "Proverbs 31 Woman" that we all have come to love or hate.  Something I learned while studying this chapter appealed to me as very interesting.  Verses 10-31 are an acrostic, meaning each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  We use acrostics for all sorts of cutsie little things now.  I'm not totally sure if the acrostic was used for the same types of things back then or not, but an example can be found in the picture to the right.

While the common misconception is that the Proverbs 31 Woman is an example we are all supposed to follow word for word, this is false.  As Preston stated, there are many other noble women in the bible worth following who don't meet the P31W standards.  (I'm pretty sure that just affirms their human citizenship.)

Some theologians even suspect the passage is a picture of womanhood altogether, not just one single woman.  This makes sense because how many women do you know who are a manufacturer, farmer, seamstress, merchant, wife, and mother, who never sleep?  If you answered yes, this woman might be a robot.

Anyhow, as with every point ever made in the Bible, we can always draw it back to our two main commandments as Christians.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind first.  Then, love your neighbor as yourself.  (Matthew 22:37-40)

As verse 30 touches on, what makes this woman beautiful is not her talents, careers, and style, but her deeply fearing heart for the Lord.  Our overall goal as Christians is not to maintain a superb standard, or to outserve everyone else.  Our goal is not to imitate the P31W,  nor Ester, nor Sarah, nor any other woman in the bible.  

No, our goal as Christian women is to imitate Christ and let him mold us and shape us into the life-long sanctification process of becoming women of God, who love the Lord with gladness and strive to give him glory, honor, and praise everyday of our lives because our hearts are so broken before him.  Our goal is to live and love in true humility that comes from knowing and receiving the gospel of Christ which we did not even deserve in the first place.  

(Ephesians 5:1, 1 Corinthians 11:1, Romans 6:18) 

This is what the P31W is pointing us to, a life lived in reverence to Christ.  If you try to do all that she does in your own strength you will fail.  Not only that, but you will be running around like a chicken with your head cut off, ignoring all the real important things in life because you are busy worrying about your next sale or investment.  This is not at all how Jesus calls us to live. 

(Ephesians 5:2, Luke 10:38-42, Matthew 6:33, Psalm 28:7)

So my goal for you today is this: seek to imitate Christ above all else.  Love him with every part of your heart, even the parts you don't want anyone else to see.  Love him until it hurts.

Completely to You

So what can I say? 
What can I do? 
But offer this heart O God 
Completely to You

This is a beautiful song by Hillsong United entitled The Stand.  As I was getting ready for church yesterday morning I was listening to Air1 when this song came on.  The snippet above is what hit me.  It captured my life at that very moment and God spoke through it.

After an intense weekend full of God-thoughts, worship services, and the emotions of life shared with friends, I realize just how easy it is to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life and forget about the one thing that really matters.

As humans, we worship by design.  What we worship is specific to each individual.  The receiver of our worship can range anywhere from sports to boyfriends, music to backpacks, and Star Wars to baking.  None of these things are bad in and of themselves, however the Bible says anything we worship more than God is an idol, and idolatry is a sin.  (Luckily we already knew we were sinners and God has already taken care of that for those who ask!)

For biblical reference:

• Exodus 20:3-4 “You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneat or in the waters below.”
• Matthew 4:10 “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”
• Matthew 22:37-38 “Jesus replied, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and the greatest commandment.”

Something I hadn’t thought much about until recently, is that even ministry can be an idol if our motives are wrong.  An example of this would be a youth pastor obsessing over how many kids are coming, what they are going to eat, how to get them to listen to the gospel, etc. rather than focusing on God, what he wants for the children, and asking Him to use the event to glorify himself. 

This isn’t cold hard fact, just an opinion, but I think girls are more vulnerable to making people our idols, whereas men are more vulnerable to making things their idols. 

For most women, idolatry easily creeps in to our relationships because of the Genesis 3:16 curse.  Our desire is for relationships, and more specifically our husband.  How many girls do you know that check their phone every 5 seconds waiting for that guy to text them?  Or what about the women who are so starved for love (like many of us) that they reach out for whatever male figure they can cling to.

We all have idols in our hearts.  This week I was convicted about chasing God’s plan more than God himself.  In high school one of my big idols was popularity and acceptance from other people.  But what’s your idol?  What are you not letting God control in your life?  Is there something you deem as more important than the creator of the universe?  Something coming in between you and your walk with God?  Take some time to examine your heart today and lay down any idols you might have.  Let God be God. J he does have it figured out ya know!

For a great bible study on idols I recommend: No Other Gods by Kelly Minter

A Guy's Perspective

We have a guest-author in the house tonight--A very good friend and a wise man of God, Jarod Grice. Here are his thoughts on dating divinely:

"There is common misconception when we talk about the difference between men and women. We’re told that men and women have completely different emotions and we might as well not even try to understand them. We’re just destined to a life of confusion and struggle when it comes to relationships, so we had better get used to it! The truth is, men and women are equally creatures of an emotional God and that God creates us with the same emotions. We all experience fear, anger, joy, confusion, envy, doubt, insecurity.

The difference comes in expression. The reason we seem so different is in the way we express these emotions. For example, a woman often times expresses insecurity in a very different way than a man. A man might conceal his insecurity by lashing out socially and attempting to seem overly confident to compensate for his feelings of inadequacy, whereas women are likely to build up a wall to shut everyone out or become co-dependent in a relationship for validation and security.

Of course these can work both ways, but the point is that there is a tendency among men and women to deal with relationships and emotions differently. Though we express them differently, the emotions are the same. These expressions affect our expectations and opinions of the opposite sex when it comes to dating, especially for Christians.

I’m not going to sit here and pretend I have the formula for the perfect Christian man. I don’t believe there is a formula or a perfect man. I’m not going to give you anything that will help you “figure out” guys, because figuring out the opposite sex is not the point. We are complex creatures with complex emotions. What I will tell you is that, though we are complex creatures, you must have standards. From a man’s perspective, developing standards for a potential mate is one of the most difficult things and most important things to do. It takes time, effort, and, most importantly, grace. It’s equally important for you as women to develop standards.

I’ve noticed two primary tendencies in women in regards to dating when godly standards are not established. First is the woman seeking a man-savior. This type of girl is looking for a man to rescue her. They tend to think of their guy as their own personal savior. When the relationship begins, everything is great. You spend every waking moment with the other person and you’re convinced that this man is flawless. You’ve placed him on the highest pedestal, and nothing could go wrong. Until… something goes wrong. Then your world has ended. A fight ensues, and the struggles of human relationship destroy you emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. Nothing could be worse in your life, and you may slip into depression, and as a result become desperate and settle. It may sound drastic, but this happens on a daily basis.

The second type is the woman with the project mentality. This is the woman whose boyfriend is a loser, and I mean a LOSER. He’s lazy, unmotivated, asks for money, disrespectful to you and your family, perverted, sexually aggressive, not focused on Jesus, self-centered, and sometimes even abusive. He’s not respectable or desirable. But in the woman’s mind, he’s got every excuse in the world. “He’s looking for a job, I promise.” “He’s just dealing with stuff right now, it’ll pass.” “I can take care of him, don’t worry.” “You can’t judge him, you don’t understand our relationship.” In this situation, the woman is treating the man as if he’s a project. She’s determined to fix him and make him a good man, whatever it takes.

In this example, the problem is not the opposite sex becoming the savior, but it’s an issue of self-worship. In this woman’s mind, she’s built herself up as a savior in the relationship and she is determined to fix her wreck of a boyfriend. Hear me when I say this, you cannot save a man’s soul. As hard as you try, if he’s a loser, he will most likely remain a loser until Jesus changes his heart, and it is not your responsibility to fix him. You are not Jesus.

The common trend in both cases, and in all cases, is an issue of worship. We are all worshippers of some sort, and for a lot of us, our object of worship is not Jesus. It’s the opposite sex. Or it’s ourselves. There is no easy fix for any relationship, and there is no perfect man. Standards are important and I highly suggest developing standards, but it’s really easy for us to develop unrealistic standards that will never be met in another human. This is why the most important thing any of you can do to develop godly standards is to ensure your identity is in Jesus. Jesus is the only constant thing in this life, and he desires our affection. The beauty of this and the response that comes out of it is a right understanding of others in relationship.

When we are in love with Jesus we can truly love another person and show grace and kindness in a relationship. Relationships are a mutual effort, and when both parties are focused on Jesus as their center the storms will be endured. Notice I didn’t say the storms won’t happen. Struggles, fights, and issues will come up in your relationship that will seem impossible to overcome, but with Jesus, and only Jesus, youcan overcome them.

Women, don’t settle with a boy: find a man, and not just a man that talks like a spiritual leader, but one that ACTS like a spiritual leader. Even the “Christian” guys can be losers. Find someone who truly loves Jesus and works hard at pursuing godliness, not someone who simply talks a big game. Stop making excuses for the boy you’ve chosen to date. Find a man that seeks after God’s heart and is committed to seeking your good in all circumstances. Develop standards for your future or current boyfriend, but remember that just as important as standards are, grace is. Remember the kindness that Jesus has showed you, and show that to your significant other.

Above all, remember that you are not self-sufficient. Too many women react to negative experiences in relationships by closing themselves off to any man, and they try and take care of themselves, but God has created us to be in relationship. We just have to remember that he created us to be in RIGHT relationship, and right relationship is worth the effort. Whatever stage you’re at in life, God is in control and is seeking the good of those who love him. Take comfort in that while you wait."

-Jarod Grice

Jarod's Post

We have a guest-author in the house tonight--A very good friend and a wise man of God, Jarod Grice. Here are his thoughts on dating divinely:

"There is common misconception when we talk about the difference between men and women. We’re told that men and women have completely different emotions and we might as well not even try to understand them. We’re just destined to a life of confusion and struggle when it comes to relationships, so we had better get used to it! The truth is, men and women are equally creatures of an emotional God and that God creates us with the same emotions. We all experience fear, anger, joy, confusion, envy, doubt, insecurity.

The difference comes in expression. The reason we seem so different is in the way we express these emotions. For example, a woman often times expresses insecurity in a very different way than a man. A man might conceal his insecurity by lashing out socially and attempting to seem overly confident to compensate for his feelings of inadequacy, whereas women are likely to build up a wall to shut everyone out or become co-dependent in a relationship for validation and security.

Of course these can work both ways, but the point is that there is a tendency among men and women to deal with relationships and emotions differently. Though we express them differently, the emotions are the same. These expressions affect our expectations and opinions of the opposite sex when it comes to dating, especially for Christians.

I’m not going to sit here and pretend I have the formula for the perfect Christian man. I don’t believe there is a formula or a perfect man. I’m not going to give you anything that will help you “figure out” guys, because figuring out the opposite sex is not the point. We are complex creatures with complex emotions. What I will tell you is that, though we are complex creatures, you must have standards. From a man’s perspective, developing standards for a potential mate is one of the most difficult things and most important things to do. It takes time, effort, and, most importantly, grace. It’s equally important for you as women to develop standards.

I’ve noticed two primary tendencies in women in regards to dating when godly standards are not established. First is the woman seeking a man-savior. This type of girl is looking for a man to rescue her. They tend to think of their guy as their own personal savior. When the relationship begins, everything is great. You spend every waking moment with the other person and you’re convinced that this man is flawless. You’ve placed him on the highest pedestal, and nothing could go wrong. Until… something goes wrong. Then your world has ended. A fight ensues, and the struggles of human relationship destroy you emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. Nothing could be worse in your life, and you may slip into depression, and as a result become desperate and settle. It may sound drastic, but this happens on a daily basis.

The second type is the woman with the project mentality. This is the woman whose boyfriend is a loser, and I mean a LOSER. He’s lazy, unmotivated, asks for money, disrespectful to you and your family, perverted, sexually aggressive, not focused on Jesus, self-centered, and sometimes even abusive. He’s not respectable or desirable. But in the woman’s mind, he’s got every excuse in the world. “He’s looking for a job, I promise.” “He’s just dealing with stuff right now, it’ll pass.” “I can take care of him, don’t worry.” “You can’t judge him, you don’t understand our relationship.” In this situation, the woman is treating the man as if he’s a project. She’s determined to fix him and make him a good man, whatever it takes.

In this example, the problem is not the opposite sex becoming the savior, but it’s an issue of self-worship. In this woman’s mind, she’s built herself up as a savior in the relationship and she is determined to fix her wreck of a boyfriend. Hear me when I say this, you cannot save a man’s soul. As hard as you try, if he’s a loser, he will most likely remain a loser until Jesus changes his heart, and it is not your responsibility to fix him. You are not Jesus.

The common trend in both cases, and in all cases, is an issue of worship. We are all worshippers of some sort, and for a lot of us, our object of worship is not Jesus. It’s the opposite sex. Or it’s ourselves. There is no easy fix for any relationship, and there is no perfect man. Standards are important and I highly suggest developing standards, but it’s really easy for us to develop unrealistic standards that will never be met in another human. This is why the most important thing any of you can do to develop godly standards is to ensure your identity is in Jesus. Jesus is the only constant thing in this life, and he desires our affection. The beauty of this and the response that comes out of it is a right understanding of others in relationship.

When we are in love with Jesus we can truly love another person and show grace and kindness in a relationship. Relationships are a mutual effort, and when both parties are focused on Jesus as their center the storms will be endured. Notice I didn’t say the storms won’t happen. Struggles, fights, and issues will come up in your relationship that will seem impossible to overcome, but with Jesus, and only Jesus, you can overcome them.

Women, don’t settle with a boy: find a man, and not just a man that talks like a spiritual leader, but one that ACTS like a spiritual leader. Even the “Christian” guys can be losers. Find someone who truly loves Jesus and works hard at pursuing godliness, not someone who simply talks a big game. Stop making excuses for the boy you’ve chosen to date. Find a man that seeks after God’s heart and is committed to seeking your good in all circumstances. Develop standards for your future or current boyfriend, but remember that just as important as standards are, grace is. Remember the kindness that Jesus has showed you, and show that to your significant other.

Above all, remember that you are not self-sufficient. Too many women react to negative experiences in relationships by closing themselves off to any man, and they try and take care of themselves, but God has created us to be in relationship. We just have to remember that he created us to be in RIGHT relationship, and right relationship is worth the effort. Whatever stage you’re at in life, God is in control and is seeking the good of those who love him. Take comfort in that while you wait."

-Jarod Grice

Music: Worship

The next step up from Christian music is my favorite, Worship music! J

The difference between worship music and Christian music is that worship music focuses solely on giving God praise and glory. Christian music is usually about God and good things, positive attitudes, etc, but not always about giving God the entire glory.

To me worship music is very effective simply because it’s what we were born to do. We

were made to worship. Everyone is made to worship, and to worship God. However we sometimes get lost in what we are supposed to worship. Worship can come in many different forms: sex, acceptance, drugs, alcohol, friends, school, etc. This often happens in relationships, when we as girls tend to worship the guy we’re dating (this can be shown by texting him all day long, thinking about him incessantly, and focusing our heart and emotions on him.) This is an act of worship, however it’s not the pure worship God designed us to do. The problem with worshipping guys, our boyfriends, or even our husbands, is that they will let us down. They're only human, not perfect like God. Also, God commands us to put him first and others second. Matthew 22:37-39, Exodus 20:3

Worshipping God includes more than just singing hymns once a week in church. Ephesians 5:19 says “sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.” MAKE MUSIC FROM YOUR HEART. SING from your HEART!! When you sing in church you should feel every lyric resounding in your heart. Worship connects us to God. It shows him that we appreciate him and love him. Going beyond that, worship is an act of living. How we live is worship. We have the choice to either worship God with our lives or to worship something else. The choice is yours.

What are you worshiping? How are you worshiping?

Therefore, when we listen to worship music outside of church, we are showing complete love and devotion for our God. He gave his all for us, so why wouldn’t we want to give a little extra love to him? He deserves it after what he did for us, and for what he is doing presently in us.

Here are a few of my favorite worship bands and songs:

http://www.davidcrowderband.com/ David Crowder “How He Loves Us”

INSERT

The Cody Dunbar Band http://codydunbar.com/

“The Stand” Hillsong United

“Here am I” Matt Papa

For more on worship: http://jollyblogger.typepad.com/jollyblogger/2006/02/man_was_made_fo.html

For more worship music: http://www.worshiptogether.com/