Intro

Manhood. What is it?

According to popular culture or shall we say the not-so-pop-but-more-hick culture, a man is someone who gets drunk at the bar, drives a pickup truck, shoots guns, plays the six string, and "tries on a new woman" every day. "Pop" culture only gets worse. Tune into any typical downtown pop/rock station and it doesn't take long to pick up on their definition.

Don't those definitions bother anyone else?

I mean seriously. This thought of "what a man is" has been going strong for years. Christians have just refined some of this to make it a little more acceptable to their "church culture". To many Christians, a man is defined by driving a pick-up, shooting guns, being ripped and strong, playing the six-string, loving "your own woman" until death, and working hard "to the point of nothing left" if that is what it takes. Notice the similarities?

Are these traits and characteristics bad? No!

Are these a terrible way to define a man?

Yes. But why?

Shooting guns, driving a pick-up, and playing an instrument are not bad. Loving your wife until death, showing commitment, and working hard are things men are called to by God so why aren't they what define a man? If they are good or at least normal things, why can't we peg them into the definition of a man?

Because that is not how God defines us.

You may wonder, "ok. Good point. But... what is God's definition of being a man?" Good question. I am asking that right now. Over this next week (aka spring break, *yay* :) I intend to dig into His Word and find that definition. Why?

Because I need to be that man. Not a man of the world but a man of God, standing for Him and living a life like His.

Because as I have been surrounded by this world's culture, I've begun to believe their lies and it scares me. I need to reestablish my roots.

This journey will be hard because in some ways what God calls us to be is so counter-culture. But it will be rewarding because I know that God's Word will not return void and worthless.

Rest.

No need for confusion..

Life has provided many ups and downs for me in the past month. It seems that once I've recovered from the up, I'm in a down and the other way around. It's been a time of self-discovery, and a time of self-confusion. Learning, and finding out how much needs learned. A time that says, "hey you, you've got issues" and then, "hey you, you are flying high". A time that will ultimately be for my good as Paul tells us, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

Still, I can't help being confused. I mean seriously, life made so much sense, but now it doesn't. When did I stay from the simple, understandable path? When did I "grow up" past the magic and the sparkling excitement, uncertainty, and hope in the world? Why did I try to solidify everything in my life instead of just trust God to make sense of the unsensible?

Why have I lost my sense of w o n d e r?

Why have we put ourselves in the place of God?

Since when did we develop the ability to know, discern, and create what we think is...

... t r u t h?

How do we determine that fine line of truth and myth?

Is that even possible?

What is truth?

Thankfully for us this fine line, this hunting of truth is not left up to us,

It's up to Him.

The moment that we place ourselves above Him, we are in trouble. Big trouble. Our doctrines and beliefs start crumbling, and we lose our sure footing in Christ's promises. Whenever there is something that doesn't make sense, but Scripture says it is true, the key is to remember these key points:

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)

"The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law."(Deuteronomy 29:29)

God really does make it simple for us to understand..

...just trust Me.

We also need a sense of wonder. As Aslan says in Narnia, "There is a deep magic that governs this land, deeper than any known magic."

News flash.

We don't understand everything. 

There is a deeper knowledge to this world, one that we can't understand because we are finite. Only God can understand everything and the fact that he does understand it should instill a sort of awe into our hearts and lives.

Losing this sense of wonder is recreating God.

Recreating a God that is so similar to ourselves...

...that he can be ignored.

So don't listen when they tell you that, "it isn't important what you believe...it doesn't matter if you think the Bible is not true or reliable...who cares about creation anyway as long as we believe God loves us. We can redeem ourselves."

Because it is important what you believe. What they say is false.

Let men be liars, and God be true...

...and go find some wonder in the world. 

:)

01. Grab a mirror and look into it. 
02. See yourself and realize how legit you are. 
03. Punch the mirror and smash it because you’re that cool. 
04. Listen to the Rocky soundtrack. 
05. Get pumped. 
07. Do push ups. 
08. Realize I skipped step 6. 
09. You just checked. 
10. Now you’re smiling. 
11. You’re smiling even bigger now.

This made me smile big too. :)

Mikeschair - You Loved Me First

"I should've known all along, You're the one who loved me first

And if I had to save myself, this never would've worked

I wouldn't be in Your arms, I wouldn't know where to start

But You gave Your life to prove to me what I was worth"

"You loved me first"

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

We love him, because he first loved us." ( 1 John 4:8-9 )

Hoodwinked

Hoodwinked

You've come here for years,

Have your own favorite pew.

People know when you're here,

You come off so smooth.

You wear the right clothes,

Say all the right things.

You are a poster child for Christ's,

or is it your community?

Quickly and craftily you always take charge.

No one takes time to notice you go,

And before they blink twice,

you're on the church throne.

This throne is disguised, 

Most hard to see. 

It takes an expert to crack through your secrecy. 

To most you look innocent,

completely safe and free.

You have them all hoodwinked,

They don't see a thing.

You feel safe and secure,

Like a king or a queen.

The order you promise to easily provide,

Is simply just chaos and quickly divides.

You rest on your laurels and make all seem fine,

But your turmoil shows when you're alone at night.

You have them all hoodwinked.

They don't see a thing.

But know that while most people are fooled,

God can see right through to who's the true fool.

Dear friend know this, here's what God seeks. 

A heart that is tender, soft, and meek.

So before you stroll in,

Next Sunday in pride.

Consider the opinion,

of the Lord in your life.

And don't disregard the words that He said,

The prideful soon fall down to their...

death.

Time to be the salesman :)

You guys can help me earn money towards books by looking into this.. If you sign up for Amazon Student ( which is free:) I get a $10 credit per person. The benefits include 6 months of Prime ( free two day shipping ) and then prime is half off as long as you are a student. ( 41 bucks instead of 78 or something like that ) You also get a free kindle book a month. If you buy textbooks or anything else from Amazon look into it.. We've used Prime for a while now and love it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/student/signup/info?ie=UTF8&refcust=4ASJFJXKG2H2KERNLZ4SDWKOCU&ref_type=generic

Edit.. It's $49 for Prime by students.. not 41. ;)

The way to wake up..

You slumber. And if you are like me, you might slumber long. In fact, slumbering doesn't even do the event justice. The word hibernation might just come close, but still lacks the power to describe my changing sleeping patterns since school let out.

One of my favorite things to wake up and see is the sunrise. From my window I look out over our little country valley and see the silhouettes of trees, passing cars, and golden red rays of the sun just peeking up over the mountains/hills around us. It is needless to say, beautiful. The rising sun reminds me of God's grace. Every day we have a chance to start fresh and begin again. It also lets me know that He is merciful. As Matthew tells us,

"..for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:45

There are times I fall in the unjust/evil category. But I know I can call on my Father when I fall, when I'm down. He helps me up, cleans the cuts and scrapes, and keeps the sun going.

This morning I couldn't resist the chance to get out and take some pictures. I've included some of my favorites. Most are raw but I put one or two into Lightroom.