passion or escapism

"passionate potential"by thephotozoo
I can be passionate about something, whether it's blogging, or knitting, or working out, or friends, or drawing, etc., and throw passion for "religion" in there for good measure. The thing is, often these "passions" in and of themselves are distractions and methods of avoidance or escapism. If and when I give my full attention to God's stuff and am truly passionate about Jesus, all these other areas of life are illuminated and enhanced. I end up with a deeper appreciation for art, food, clouds, fun, people, photography, exercise...get the picture?

There's a vast difference between being passionate about exercise for example, and passionately pursuing a fit physique because I want to physically reflect the spiritual strength that God has endowed me with over this past year or so. That takes it to a deeper level, a deeper sense of satisfaction, a deeper determination, and greater possibility of reaching my potential.

There's also a vast difference between being passionate about partying and having a good time, and passionately loving and reaching out to people when they don't deserve it, or when it's inconvenient to you personally. One bears fruit. The other simply doesn't.

"Ask all the people of the land and the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?" ~ Zechariah 7:5-6 (NIV)

imagine all the girls, ah ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah

And the strings,
Eee, eee, eee, eee, eee, eee, eee, eee.



or watch it at YouTube here

returning home

"return from the crossroads"by blank photography
Yesterday at church, the teaching was on the parable of the prodigal son.

The prodigal son seems full of life, bound by the shackles of responsibility and constrained by the need for humanity, reliability and stability. Living life as a consumer reigned supreme. After all, life is about personal fulfillment.

Or is it?

His "passion" for life and the squandering away of his inheritance for the sake of good times left him starving and sleeping with the pigs.

Can you imagine how you'd feel at your warm reception after an out and out rebellion? I imagine a profound state of gratitude and humility. I imagine it would be life changing. I imagine a deeper level of maturity forged in the fires of adversity. I imagine the lust for pleasure being exposed for what it is: meaninglessness and poverty.

The pattern of the prodigal is:
rebellion,
ruin,
repentance,
reconciliation,
restoration.
~ Edwin Louis Cole

“Never cease loving a person, and never give up hope for him, for even the prodigal son who had fallen most low, could still be saved; the bitterest enemy and also he who was your friend could again be your friend; love that has grown cold can kindle”
~ Soren Kierkegaard

"fruit bowl"by quiet darling

"Spirituality is measured in terms of fruit. Rationalist, pragmatist, mystic nut--whatever our disposition--we are only spiritual to the extent that the fruit of the Spirit grows in our lives. To come to that life in Christ is the aim of us all, and it requires that each of us bear our cross and are "crossed-out" by our opposites, the rationalist by the mystic, the liturgist by the free-worshiper, the common sense fellow by the brilliant scholar, the plodder by the leaper, the artistic by the prosaic, the complex by the simple. Mystics need the counsel of the rationalists--and the rationalists need the challenge and the excitement of the experiences of the mystic. "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another" (Prov. 27:17)."

~ John Sandford, "The Elijah Task"

happy mother's day?

"Roses for Mom"by Terry McClary
My heart goes out to all women who find Mother's Day a sad one, especially those who have lost their own mother. May you be especially blessed today.

oh the time we waste

"let there be light"by MaritereCR
Lately, without any effort on my part, I've caught wind of people dissing the emergent church movement. I say bring it on. Frankly, I'm seriously sick and tired of people sitting around conversing about how the church should or should not function etc. Heck I've even done it a little on here lately.

Snore....yawn....eyes rolling....it's totally and completely irrelevent to reality. While some people SIT on their asses philosophizing, other people are out there being Jesus.

That's all I wanted to say. :o)

"Simplexity" by Irene Suchocki

I MANY times thought peace had come,
When peace was far away;
As wrecked men deem they sight the land
At centre of the sea,

And struggle slacker, but to prove,
As hopelessly as I,
How many the fictitious shores
Before the harbor lie.

~ Emily Dickinson