We rejoice in our sufferings?

I've had a hard time praying the last couple of days, but I know God is faithful. I still have a song ringing in my ears from the trip down to Florida, a call of hope from a barrel of darkness. Seeing the pain of my mother, though she tried to keep her "chin up" as they say. Yet all she has and enjoys is fading away.


When Nothing Satisfies
Jennifer Knapp

When it rains or it shines on this pillow of mine
I will lift up my head to the sky
So I have chance to see
Where my hope has come from
Know there's nothing that I can't abide

When Nothing Satisfies You
When nothing satisfies you
When nothing satisfies you
Hold my hand

Send forth Your Light Lord,
And send forth Your Truth
Let them guide me to Your Holy Place
Then will I go to the Altar of God
To my Joy, my Delight and my Strength

When Nothing Satisfies You
When nothing satisfies you
When nothing satisfies you
Hold my hand

Why are You so downcast o my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God My Savior, my King
My Savior, my King

When Nothing Satisfies You
When nothing satisfies you
When nothing satisfies you
Hold my hand

That must be a peek into the window: without Jesus, suffering is the destination, with Jesus, suffering is the journey. How else could Paul write with great power and beauty and purpose...we rejoice in our sufferings (Romans 5:3).

...we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

I will find my strength in the shadow of your wings

As I was flying home the other day I popped open my computer to listen to some music. This Third Day song came up as I looked down on the brilliant white tops of clouds on a snowy day, reflecting sunlight against the crisp blue sky. A tiny plane went screaming by between my plane and the clouds a few thousand feet below, it seemed so free.

I was overwhelmed by a sense of God's power, majesty, immense love and freedom. Not from the a protective yet earth-bound hen, but a soaring mighty bird of prey.

The same song came up first again this morning even though I listened to 20 songs since then.


Your Love Oh Lord
Third Day (Psalm 36)

Your love, oh Lord
Reaches to the heavens
Your faithfulness stretches to the sky
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains
Your justice flows like the ocean's tide
I will lift my voice
To worship You, my King
I will find my strength
In the shadow of your wings



As always, the original is even better:

Psalm 36
1 An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.
3 The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good.
4 Even on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong.
5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
10 Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 May the foot of the proud not come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 See how the evildoers lie fallen— thrown down, not able to rise!

Krakatoa: Shaking us out of complacency

A friend of mine received this (who happend to be going through some shaking). He told me that very same week his company named all of their servers after islands, and one of them happened to be Krakatoa .... God has a good sense of timing!

In 1883, the greatest volcanic explosion in modern history took place. Krakatoa, an island volcano along the Indonesian arc, shot 6 cubic miles of soil, rock, vegetation, and animal and human life 24 miles up into the stratosphere. Its shockwave traveled around the world seven times, and its debris fell as far as Madagascar-more than 2,000 miles away! At the time of Krakatoa's explosion, Captain Sampson of the British vessel Norham Castle was nearby and wrote in his log: "I am writing this blind in pitch darkness. We are under continual rain of pumice-stone and dust. So violent are the explosions that the ear-drums of over half my crew have been shattered. . . . I am convinced that the Day of Judgment has come."

Captain Sampson believed that the world was coming to an end. The explosion does seem to fit 2 Peter 3:10, "The heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat." As terrible as Krakatoa was, though, it did not signal the end of the world.

Crisis has a way of shaking us out of complacency. It reminds us this world is not our home and encourages us to be godly (v.11). When it feels as if our personal world is coming to an end, we should focus on living for eternity.

-Dennis Fisher

Batman Begins: Two thumbs up

I like Batman Begins not just because it has one of the coolest car chases ever, but because the story of a man who had everything, and gave it all up to find the truth of who he was meant to be, and fight his fears in the process.

What Bruce Wayne finds in the beginning of his search was a group of people who believed they alone had the truth, and that the way to restore the world was to destroy, tear down and kill all those who were lost in the city of Gotham. Through fear, peer pressure and mind warping the cult hoped to turn him to their principles. It is at this very moment that Batman finds himself...what he stands for, what he believes in, what he learned from his father: Gotham can be rescued, and he is part of that story.

From that point forward he moves confidently, even recklessly toward becoming what he was meant to be, even though he has never been there before. He finds someone he can trust, and delivers the bad guys who prey on people's fear. Others are encouraged and find their own part in the story. Then the cult returns....I won't spoil the plot.

Aren't we like Gotham, desperately vile, hopeless and some days Godless. Isn't God's heart like that of a shepherd (Ezekiel 34:11), to RESCUE us and others through us?

Rescue: Batman Style

"Stay Calm, you've been poisoned..."
"Trust Me"
"He's not on a street, he's flying on rooftops!"....
"Stay with me"...
"Just hold on"
Batman delivers the antidote

Should we be afraid of those in the parking lot who dress differently, fearing them to be agents of satan, or instead, should we view them from God's perspective, as needing or possibly knowing Him? Our role is not to condem, but to seek and save.

Kim Hill - Show The Way

You say you see no hope
You say you see no reason we should dream
That this world would ever change
You say that love is foolish to believe

'Cause they'll always be some crazy
With an army or a knife
To wake you from your daydream
Put the fear back in your life

Look, if someone wrote a play
Just to glorify what's stronger than hate
Would they not arrange the stage
To look as if the hero came too late

He's almost in defeat
It's looking like the evil side will win
So on the edge of every seat
From the moment that the whole thing begins
It is love who mixed the mortar
And it's love who stacked these stones
And it's love that made the stage here

Though it looks like we're alone
In this scene set in shadows
Like the night is here to stay
There is evil cast around us
But it's love that wrote the play

In this darkness
Love can show the way
Now the stage is set
You can feel your own heart beating in your chest
This life's not over yet
So we get up on our feet and do our best
We play against the fear
We play against the reasons not to try
Playing for the tears
Burning in the happy angel's eyes
For it's love


Cry Out To Jesus- Third day
to everyone who's lost someone they love
long before it was their time
you feel like the days you had were not enough
when you said goodbye

and to all of the people with burdens and pains
keeping you back from your life
you believe that there's nothing and there is no one
who can make it right

there is hope for the helpless
rest for the weary
love for the broken heart
there is grace and forgiveness
mercy and healing
he'll meet you wherever you are
cry out to jesus, cry out to jesus

for the marriage that's struggling just to hang on
they lost all of their faith in love
they've done all they can to make it right again
still it's not enough

for the ones who can't break the addictions and chains
you try to give up but you come back again
just remember that you're not alone in your shame
and your suffering

when your lonely
and it feels like the whole world is falling on you
you just reach out, you just cry out to jesus
cry to jesus

to the widow who struggles with being alone
wiping the tears from her eyes
for the children around the world without a home
say a prayer tonight

What does your to-do list look like?

Talk about an A type personality, this guy has plans, dreams and imagination. What does your to-do list look like. What does that say about you?


Zaaks To-do List

A Song for the Breakfast Club

I was cleaning out my ITUNES and found this song at the top of my most played list. It made me think about my own pain and how I can respond to it. I hope you find the same hope I did.

Till the next time...Grace through Him alone


Take my hand(The Kry)

I know there are times
your dreams turn to dust
you wonder as you cry
why it has to hurt so much
give Me all your sadness
someday you will know the reason why
with a child-like heart
simply put your hope in Me


[ CHORUS ]
Take My hand and walk where I lead
keep your eyes on Me alone
don't you say why were
the old days better
just because you're
scared of the unknown
take My hand and walk

Don't live in the past
cause yesterday's gone
wishing memories would last
you're afraid to carry on
you don't know what's comin'
but you know the one who holds tomorrow

I will be your guide
take you through the night
if you keep your eyes on Me
Take my hand and walk where I lead
Keep your eyes on me alone
don't you say why were
the old days better
just because you're
scared of the unknown
take my hand and walk where I lead
you will never be alone
faith is to be sure of what you hope for
and the evidence of things unseen
so take my hand and walk

Just like a child
holdings daddy's hand
don't let go of mine
you know you can't stand
on your own