Fresh Manna

Well, I just woke up, oddly enough. Its 5:00 AM on the dot, and if any of you all know me, Im NOT naturally a morning person...

The spiritual warfare is strong. Well, since I'm up, I'll read today's journal:

- Luke 5:2 - even though there was chaos & people all around him, Jesus still saw the boats. He still sees YOU. No detail is too minute for Him.

- 5:3 - God will use whatever He sees that you have to offer: a boat, a dollar, a hand.

- 5:4 - They had to move the location of the boat - to "deep water" - in order to see change. Realize this did not require simply pressing a button, or just by chance catching the wind at the right time to whisk them away... Taking that boat back out to sea was a laborious process - one we know they had JUST completed, as the boats sat at harbor.

- 5:5 - Are you that quick to do what He says? Peter didn't even know Jesus or His character yet, but he STILL was that quick to obey. "Sounds weird, but if You say to do it then... OK, of course I will."

- 5:8 - You know you're in the true presence of God when people begin to confess, unprompted, of their own volition.

- 5:11 - They left it all to follow Jesus. This was right after they got that HUGE catch - the catch of their lives - the right time to turn a profit. Please realize then, that following Jesus cost them the largest profit-making day of their lives. People are always willing to follow a God they cannot see when things are hard - there is no fish, no profit, no where to stay. Are you willing to follow Him when times ARE good? When you have what you need, when you are provided for? These 3 men became the closest to men to Jesus - His best friends and disciples... Follow Him in the bad times, but follow more closely in the good. 

- 5:16 - Jesus knew the importance of corem deo with His Father - remaining face to face. Even when people were screaming His Name & He was the biggest celebrity (which He WAS!) He would still make sure to steal away & find His secret place. How much more important is it then for me to do the same?

Lord, help me to consider these things today as I go about my schedule. Interrupt my day and show me where You want me to go; what You want me to do. I love that song that says, "Where You go, I go; What You say, I say." Let that be my anthem today. I love You and I know You have Your hand & Your protection over my body and mind. With You by my side there is no such thing as failure.

Saturday Night...

Well, Santos & I went on an actual planned "date". We never really plan them, we just kind of hang out when we can. But there was a carnival this weekend in Milpitas by our church & we wanted to check it out. So, the date was made!

Saturday night, we walk into the carnival and take a look at what's around: lots of food, rides and those bright carnival lights. All the rides are the spinning kind - the kind that make both Santz & I a little... queasy. I was a little bummed there's no ferris wheel; would've been a great picture :) We see 2 of those walk-through kinds of "rides" & decide that that's what we'll do. Now let's see... each "ride" is 4 tickets per person, so that's 8 tickets for both of us to do 1 ride, times 2 rides... ok so 16 tickets. Get to the front of the line & see that 1 ticket = $1.00... "Alright, I'm not paying $16 to walk through some lil mirror house!" We decide to only do ONE walk-through attraction so we buy 8 tickets. As we stroll over to the clown house, which I was guessing was like a mirror house; "Hey, this should be fun..." We go up to the ticket-taker-guy & he looks at us, "You don't want to go in here... I just can't let you do that." Haha I can't believe the worker didnt even want us to go in it because it was so jank! Alright, so we go over to the other walk-through "ride" which is a "scary" haunted house thing. We go over to the ticket-taker-guy and he looks at us holding out our 8 tickets and says, "I can't do that to you guys. It's hella boring... Um, here, just gimme 4. Don't tell anyone, ok!" Haha that's twice! And yes he was right. It was "hella boring", haha! So the whole carnival was hilariously pathetic... BUT we had so much fun! Laughing and NOT spending much money = perfect :) Great date Santz, I loved it. Saturday night... was perfect.

Perspective is Everything

It has been almost a month since I last posted a blog on here... I guess I better get to it!

I heard a song today that I haven't heard in a really long time. (I get inspired by music a lot; can you tell?) I had my iPod plugged 

into my brand new Radio/CD/MP3 system in my car (yes, it's a beauty!) and this Amy Grant song starts playing. I first heard her songs when Karly & I were sharing a room & she had the cassette tape of hers, "Heart in Motion". This song is a lesser known song of hers; not quite as catchy as "Baby Baby" or idealistic as "Every Heartbeat". It's called "How Can We See That Far":

... The same sun that melts the wax can harden clay,

And the same rain that drowns the rat can grow the hay,

And the mighty wind that knocks us down - IF we lean into it -

Can drive our fears away...

See, it all depends on how you look at things. The sun can melt things, making them softer, but it can also harden things into brick. Rain can bring devastation, but it is also the thing that brings the fresh crop of provision. Wind can be so strong that we loose our balance, but if you lean your body into the wind, freedom is found in letting go & trusting that it will catch you. Perspective is everything. It all depends on how you see the situation. The sun is hot on some days, but without it, the earth would freeze over. The trial may be hard for a few days, weeks, months, years. But without it, who knows where your path would otherwise end up? We've got to look at things in the positive. Perspective is everything.