Why Guilt?

Guilt continues to be, the best evidence for humanity's addiction to control #closertogod

The sins we proclaim...

The sins people typically proclaim to be greatest are the ones with which they do not struggle. Interesting. #closertogod

What's your vision?

Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world-Arthur Schopenhauer

In between the shores...

In between the shores of "I don't know how" and "I've made it" is the water of turmoil and circumstance. Jesus wants to walk on it with you #closertogod

Anxiety is...

Anxiety: death by ghosts

If the money...

If the money in your pocket dictates your mood and well being, say hello to your master (Matt. 6:24) #closertogod

To make religion...

out of following Christ, is to turn the Holy Spirit into an appliance with an On/Off switch #closertogod

Relationships are like...

a car engine, sometimes they need to flushed.

The briars and thorns...

of life are antithetical to the sensitivity of Love. True Love can not exist in this world without suffering. And that is why I trust Jesus. #closertogod

Dear Satan...

I regret to inform you that due to my own expertise with screwing up life, your services will no longer be needed #closertogod

No one chooses...

the desert (Matt. 4:1), to be tempted, weak, alone; but wealth is best enjoyed after lack, and life is most radiant when emerging from the valley of death #closertogod

Good afternoon...

God is pleased with you #closertogod

The difference...

between life and sin: the god you understand and the God that is #closertogod

True sin...

cannot bear the weight of holy laughter #closertogod

Culture of The Damned

Pulling sticky cards off stacks,
of Jesus Loves You,
The words we rarely say,
or ever mean.
When was the last time,
our actions showed what we believe?
 And in the gap is guilt,
when we sit,
And we think this is love.
Foolish children.
Have we ever known love?
Obsessive culture concerned with likes,
shares and RSS.
Feed your souls.
Did you watch a video?
Did someone tell you that is love?
And when will you see it from me?
And do I ever have the time?
Obsessive culture,
 I damn you in my own way:
To receive my love from a distance.


 Jean-Marc Saint Laurent

100 Things I Wish I Would've Known 10 Years Ago

1. People can't meet your every need.
2. Your parents are people with their own problems
3. Some friendships will require your effort
4. Some people are better to have as enemies
5. No, is an awesome word
6. You are not holy
7. New Years Resolutions are Pointless
8. You only really need one slice of pizza
9. God is not like your parents
10. Never return your car to the dealer
11. Pay your bills on time
12. Church is a hospital
13. Anyone that boasts about their exploits, isn't worth following
14. FREE now, means PAY later
15. You could have always waited longer
16. You think you'll die without their approval...but you won't
17. When in doubt, say “No”
18. No one's gotten over ANY sin really
19. You can't live for the approval of others
20. People lie regularly, so trust sparingly
21. You can learn wisdom from idiots
22. Start projects before you think you need to
23. You never have as much time as you think
24. Don't compromise your integrity for a feeling
25. People that tell you, they'll stick around don't always
26. You will have to learn many lessons on your own.
27. God allows us to deal with pain sometimes...er...often
28. No use in beating up yourself...over anything
29. If you really wanted it that bad, you would've done it by now
30. Trying to be someone else's version of you is pointless and exhausting
31. YOU are who YOU are by GOD'S GRACE
32. The finger you wave at others will lead you to similar sin
33. Don't confuse lack of opportunity with lack of sinful desires
34. You get what you negotiate
35. Listen to quiet people more often
36. “The empty truck makes the most noise”
37. Most of the people from your childhood should've been punched in the face
38. Chew over your words now and you won't have to eat them later
39. Jesus is the only one who was realistic about life
40. Be careful of singing songs you don't know the meaning to
41. Stop acting surprised when you sin, it'll happen again
42. Most people spend their whole lives trying to be taken seriously
43. Adding insult to another's pain is never warranted
44. People in the magazines aren't real
45. Your life will never play out like a movie
46. The only “clean” movies are PG and below
47. No adult watches only “clean” movies
48. Ignorance is the worst racism of all
49. Most people already know about their problems and bad habits
50. Life is almost rational all of the time
51. People dislike their families because they remind them of their past
52. Your mother will always embarrass you
53. Your MP3 player can change you for the better or worse
54. All truth is God's truth
55. You can be polite most of the time
56. Many “successful” people don't even know how they got there
57. Your life is not made up of a single over-arching goal, but a series of small victories
58. You typically don't meet people at first, you meet their representatives
59. Love is the sacrifice of space and boundaries
60. GOD always loves you
61. Kids are the only ones that mean what they say
62. You can do much more than you think
63. You have much more influence than you think
64. Overachieving can be a lonely activity
65. God doesn't carry a score card
66. Simple explanations of life don't get to the heart of it
67. No matter where you go, you bring YOURSELF along
68. Thank God you aren't sinning more
69. When you find encouraging people, chain yourself to them
70. You only need to work 5-6 days a week
71. You should never use text messages to talk about your feelings
72. Most people don't have the gall to disrespect you to your face
73. The news will always make the world seem like a more violent place than it will ever be
74. Politics is pointless
75. Don't vote for the sake of candidates, vote because you can
76. Saying “I Love You” more, won't make them believe it
77. You find out a lot about someone when you disappoint them
78. Actions speak louder than words, but words are always necessary
79. Everyone, sometime, eventually contradicts themselves
80. Feeling inferior is just a feeling
81. Most of the stuff you're worried about won't happen
82. Don't go with how you feel, go with what you know
83. Most decisions are better made after a good night's sleep
84. Appreciate people now
85. Thank you is still one of the most powerful phrases we forget to use
86. Its better to speak the truth, than act like you're cool with it
87. If you do the same things, you'll get the same results
88. Never try to predict people, once in a while, they'll surprise you
89. Respect should never be solely based upon a paycheck
90. Money can't buy class or respect
91. Having a little less money will always make you a little more hungry to achieve more
92. There's a lot to learn from bad parenting
93. Action beats talking about action most of the time
94. You might just be exaggerating, really, NOBODY likes you?
95. Plan for the worst, hope for the best
96. There will always be haters, just don't hate on yourself
97. Happy pictures don't mean happy people
98. Life wouldn't be as satisfying without the struggle
99. A good GOD and a few good friends is all you need
100. Don't yell at yourself, there are folks that'll do that for free.

WHERE ARE YOU GOD?

I'm doing everything I'm supposed to,

but somehow the connection is faulty.

All I do is see the heathen prosper,

so I'm likin' the Psalms right now,

but everything else seems like jibberish to me,

I'm so surprised by how vulnerable I am,

how angry I really am,

and how alone I feel when you are supposed to be with me.

When are you going to show up?

I get tired of asking that question,

and yet I still ask,

because I still pray,

though sometimes I don't know why.

Now and again, I remind myself these days:

“Yes, I believe in God”

But where are you?

Do you believe in me?

My thoughts are nothing but lust and anger these days,

my actions are pride, hopelessness and, sometimes hope,

but I need more Lord.

I need more...or I'll die.

Come quickly.

Amen.

Don't Lose Hope, God Has The Keys...

So I was out with my sister, at a store she HAD to visit in one of the many lovely shopping complexes that absolutely litter my part of town.

I was annoyed, yet there I was.

After bearing the selection process, the line, the awkward conversation with the cashier, we were back in the parking lot.

“Now, where is the car?”

I walked, as most men do, by my God-given gift of instinct—in the wrong direction. In fact, everywhere I walked in this parking lot WAS WRONG! I tried to replay the memory tape in my head, re-visualize the walk to the store—I was lost every time, rather, the car was lost.

And there was my sister, who can be a bit of drama, especially during inconvenient moments such as these.

What got to me most about my situation—perhaps—was not being complained at or walking, even though I started to feel New York in my legs all over. What did it was that I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN where I was going, I should have known, but I didn't. And every speed walk down another hopelessly pointless lane, munched at my sense of pride.

For those that have followed this blog, thank you first, but secondly, I hope to be honest with you, because I think this might be therapeutic—my life is that parking lot these days. I keep walking up and down, the same aisles, it seems, with the same results: no rest, no answer. I want someone to take it easy on me—GOD, PEOPLE—someone to make me feel affirmed, but it doesn't always happen that way, does it?

Y'know, I think of Moses these days, I mean, really think—how were those first 40 YEARS in the desert (on the run for murder) (Exodus 2)? I imagine they weren't really comforting years. I don't remember reading about any great revivals in the desert while Moses tended sheep. He didn't even know what God wanted to do with him until he was 80!

And that's a truth I'm finding out about God, yes God is loving and patient and kind, but God is tough, and God will pull us through situations that will not give us the option of ignoring them or sleeping through them. They may very well hurt.

AND LET ME TELL YOU: from the perspective of one who wonders if his faith is not just leaking from him—it will take prayer just to pray, and faith to have faith (if you don't know what I'm talkin' about now, you will). You will have to preach to yourself and rely heavily on the Lord's grace.

But back to the car in the parking lot...

The one thing that gave me hope in that 30 minute search, was that I had the keys in my hand, and therefore, I knew I had a way home after that mess.

God holds the key to your solution.

Remember that.

In Him,

Jean-Marc

Revelation 1:17-18: “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”

The Clasp

The Clasp
by Sharon Olds

She was four, he was one, it was raining, we had colds,
we had been in the apartment two weeks straight,
I grabbed her to keep her from shoving him over on his
face, again, and when I had her wrist
in my grasp I compressed it, fiercely, for a couple
of seconds, to make an impression on her,
to hurt her, our beloved firstborn, I even almost
savored the stinging sensation of the squeezing,
the expression, into her, of my anger,
"Never, never, again," the righteous
chant accompanying the clasp. It happened very
fast-grab, crush, crush,
crush, release-and at the first extra
force, she swung her head, as if checking
who this was, and looked at me,
and saw me-yes, this was her mom,
her mom was doing this. Her dark,
deeply open eyes took me
in, she knew me, in the shock of the moment
she learned me. This was her mother, one of the
two whom she most loved, the two
who loved her most, near the source of love
was this.

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Read This Bible Chapter Everyday

1 Corinthians 13: 
 
The Way of Love

1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,^a but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;^b 6it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

If you want a truly convicting sermon replace love with your name in 1 Corinthians 13, verses 4-7, and see if that's true.

In  Him,

Jean-Marc