A diamond is found in the rough.

This beauty is found deep in the earth

And amongst hard and tough stone.

Great effort is put forth to discover these gems.

Beauty is found when these diamonds are revealed.

In fact, beauty has been there all along,

But it was buried beneath the rough.

Ya see, a diamond is no ordinary find,

Its beauty is indescribable and greatly unique. 

It’s no wonder that a great struggle

is required just for these gems to be unveiled.

 

It is the rough, though that is familiar to so many.  

It’s hard, it’s stubborn,

and it’s not easily worked through.

Struggle and strife is inevitable;

The rough puts up a great fight.

In fact, there’s been a number of tragic casualties

That have come by the way of the rough.

We can take heart though;

There is beauty in the rough.

There always has been.

As we challenge the ornery rough

And break through it,

We are reminded

Of the beauty, of the “diamond”

that was there all along.

And the greatest beauty

That was awaiting its great entry

Has finally been revealed.

 

God's Love for us

It is He who loves you.  What does that mean exactly?  God loves you; He loves me.  Yes, indeed He does, but what does that look like?  I honestly cannot express how much He loves you or how much He loves me because I don’t think I’ll ever be able to grasp how much He loves us.  If I do, it’ll be in Heaven and I’ll probably be incredibly and inexpressibly overwhelmed.  I can tell you though, that the God who spoke the stars into being, He also spoke man into being and He saw that it was very good.  He put thought into His creation.  We were woven together in our mother’s womb, so intricately.  The Psalmist says that we were ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’.  God desired to know us even after the fall.  He wants to have a relationship with us.  He sent His precious, one and only son, and perfect at that, to take on the weight of the sin of the world; that is the world then (when Christ was on the Earth), the world now (the world we live in today), and the world to come (future).  The past, present, and future sins.  In fact, if we have received salvation then we are justified and God sees us as saints, as righteous, as set apart.  Isn’t that unbelievable?  Well, it’s very true.  It is crazy to think that God would want to have a relationship with someone so filthy as me or you, but in fact He does.  He sees us as worthy and We have been covered by the blood of Jesus.  We have been soaked by His Grace.  He loves us unconditional; there is nothing we can ever do that will separate us from the love of the Father, nothing.  Ever.  We may not get this because in fact it’s unfathomable to the human mind, but it also may be unbelievable because in fact we think we don’t deserve it, well we don’t.  But, really that’s irrelevant, but because God’s standard is different.  The Bible says that His ways are not our ways.  We may be so caught up in our past, what we’ve done; we may be so bogged down by guilt and shame; we struggle to understand why God would love us.  Really, for some it’s hard to accept God’s love because in fact we have been told so many times that we’re filth, that we’re unworthy, and we’ve believed it.  We may know that God loves us, in our minds, and we may believe it to an extent, but still haven’t fully accepted it because there is so much keeping us from being freed and living the life God has created us to live.  Because God created us for so much; He has a great plan for us.  He wants us to accept His love and live in it.  He doesn’t want us to believe lies that some of us have believed for so long.  We were created for more than to just go around sort of living instead of living in our potential.  God created each one of us the way he did for a reason.  We are each here for a reason.  We each have a purpose.  It is to bring Him glory, but we each have specific passions, gifts, etc.  And we are to use them not waste them.  So, the truth is, God love us.  He loves who we were, who we are, and who we will be.  And He wants us to accept that love.  And live in it.  We may not fully ever comprehend it, but may we accept the gift He bestows on us.  In that, May we seek Him.  And trust Him. 

Words of Wisdom

"...risky self-disclosure is what I mean by intimacy, and intimacy
is the way that love is transmitted.

"Some say the word comes from the Latin intimus, referring to that
which is interior or inside. Some say its older meaning is found by
in timor, or 'into fear.' In either case, the point is clear:
intimacy happens when we reveal and expose our insides, and this is
always scary.

"One never knows if the other can receive what is exposed, will
respect it, or will run fast in the other direction. One must be
prepared to be rejected. It is always a risk.

"The pain of rejection after self-disclosure is so great that it
often takes a lifetime for people to risk it again."

Ben Rector - When a Heart Breaks

Future Version Shane & Shane

'Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus

1. 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
   Just to take Him at His Word;
   Just to rest upon His promise,
   And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”

Refrain:
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.
I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

Stand On Grace- Jimmy Needham (with lyrics)

Fear God

"When you truly fear God-when you revere Him-you don't want to disobey Him, reject Him, or refuse to believe Him, because you know He is worthy and holy.  That kind of reverence for God overpowers your other fears, because you're able to rest in His words, trust in His character, and be certain of His power.  Because you know who God is and understand His worth, your other fears fade.  God becomes the most important thing in your life, not your fears." Hayley Dimarco, from her book Obsessed

Bethany Dillon My Love Hasn't Grown Cold

Truth

I have been created by God, not man.  I live for Him, not you.  It is He who determines my worth, not her.  I am created for a reason, so intricately designed, and delicately and thoughtfully made.  Why is that you , that man so annoyingly and conveniently continues to try to get in the way of that?  Satan so deceivingly weaves his lies in and through my mind, to tell me, my worth, to lie to me.  But for me, it’s so cleverly and “beautifully” wrapped, I fall for it.  But all the while, it is Him, that is telling the truth.  It is what He says, has said, and has done that matters.  It is for Him that I should live.  He is the one that so loves me that He would come to Earth to take on wrath and sin and death for me, so that I can live.  He wants to take on me, all of me, all of that I am, the filth, the garbage, the sadness, the hardship, take it and carry, because He loves me, and He did, and does carry it.  He is the one that has a plan for me, His opinion is the one that matters above all else.  He is the one that has a purpose for me; I wasn’t created for nothing.  He didn’t give me talents and gifts and passions for nothing.  I wasn’t created for nothing.  I matter.  I am not here for man.  I am not here for worldly approval.  It is much greater than that.  After all, I’m not from here, this is not where my citizenship lies.  What can man do to me?  I walk around like their opinion matters, far more than His.  But why?  I walk around like this place is better than my Heavenly home.  I get so caught up in the deceivings of this world, but it does not compare to my God and what He has planned for me here and oh my, what is going on Up There.

Words.

(The other day) A thought I had a few minutes ago.  I have this sentiment a lot, but these are these words I was thinking..."I wish that I could lay my heart on a piece of paper and it would write out all its thinking (feeling) as opposed to me trying and failing and not doing justice because its inevitably seemingly impossible to use words to explain how I feel about things."  It's true because I may read about something so horrid that has happened in someone's life or someone may tell me something that has effected them greatly (two real life recent instances) and I feel so much, but I just can't gather the words to say.  It's happened a lot lately.  I feel so strongly towards something, but it doesn't seem that any words/word will be able to suffice how I feel.  Because words is our medium or least our most common medium to explain how we feel about something.  And I could try to word how I am feeling by writing or speaking until I have no more words, but still I don't think that would be enough.  And isn't it annoying when we don't even know how to express something using words?  We don't even know the words to use?  We could use other mediums like painting or playing music or something, but would that suffice either?  And when I want to explain something that can't be explained because there aren't words to explain their depth or their intensity is even more frustrating.  When I want to explain something that is beyond horrid.  And I could describe it, but still words would fail.  Something could be so beautiful, but only so many words would do...they would still run out.  I am so thankful for words and the ability I have to use them and the capability.  I am glad they are means for me to express and to describe, but I will admit the frustration that comes when I can't describe the way my heart feels.  There are times when my head is full and my heart so heavy that I don't even know where to begin nor do I want to try to figure how to explain how I am feeling or what I am thinking.  There are times, like that when I am just at  a loss for words, but perhaps this is appropriate, perhaps this is supposed to happen, maybe I don't always need to speak.  And perhaps we aren't mean to fully be able to describe, perhaps that's a part of wonder and amazement and I think it's the reality that I am a mere human and I do have limits.  Which is a frustrating reality.  Perhaps it is also a reminder of where I stand in comparison to God, a humble reality check maybe?  He's the one in control, not me.  But as my previous sentiment allows, it would be crazy but ever so helpful if my heart could just write or even speak for itsself, wouldn't it?  Or maybe if I could just open my mouth and I could just start speaking what my heart felt?  Or maybe I could hold a pen in my hand and it would start writing.  I see the reality, but it's inevitably still difficult when I feel so much, but I can only say some much.  But, I guess I will also repeat that I am really thankful for words, nonetheless.  So, what do I do with this?  Do I remain dissatisfied?  Do I realize that I am blessed and move on?  Do I learn to write more?  Because in fact, I do love words, but I am not always diligent in using them.  Hmmm...

Josh Garrels IN:5 // Love

Keys

The door is locked by a small, but powerful and quite effective lock,

We look through the key hole to see what’s on the other side, but we can’t open it without the key,

The lock and the key have quite the relationship, one cannot work without the other

It’s really mind blowing to think that the only thing that stops us from getting to the other side is one, rather small, seemingly fairly insignificant handcrafted key

The lock is small and so is the key, but they both work together to form a powerful bond that keep that door from opening.

It only takes the key entering the key hole and turning the right way in the lock, for the door to open.

As we look in the key hole, we see a glimpse of the other side, we long to be there and to experience what’s there. 

It’s very intriguing when we’ve never been on the other side, we don’t know what awaits us.

There is obviously a reason why the door is locked, actually perhaps it isn’t a door.

Maybe it’s a chest, or a safe, or a diary, maybe a locket.

Either way, it is locked and there is a reason for it.

Maybe we locked it or maybe someone else did.  

Perhaps we’ve never seen the other side. 

Perhaps we’re not supposed to, maybe that’s why it’s locked.

Maybe we’re being protected from the other side.

Something awaits us.

Again, I can’t help but think about how small a lock and key, and key hole can be, yet something rather significant and great can lie on the other side.

The strong and significant bond that is created between the lock and keys is a picture of the great role of the two.

They work together to protect something or even someone. 

People lock the door to their homes to keep people from entering,

Safes are locked, typically very strategically and securely, to keep people from getting the valuables within.

Lockets are locked, and so are diaries; we want to keep what’s dear to us from other people’s eyes.

Caged doors in prisons are bolted and locked to keep the prisoners in the jail.

Caged doors on animal cages are locked and bolted to keep them in, so they don’t hurt anyone.

There is a purpose for keys and locks.

As we continue to look through the key hole, we long to be on the other side, but perhaps this particular key hole will never see a key entered through it, well at least not while we’re around.

Perhaps what we’re seeing through this particular key hole is all we’re going to see.

Maybe we’re being protected from something greater than we even know.

It’s amazing to think that such a thing as a lock can keep us from so much, can protect us from so much.

Or maybe it’s not protection, but it’s neglect.

Maybe it would be better for us to see the other side, at it’s fullest, but perhaps we’re being kept from it.

There’s a great reason why someone invented keys and locks. 

Their bond is remarkable.  But is it always a good thing?

To be kept from something?

Because we don’t always have the power to unlock something, we don’t have the keys.

How do we determine what should be locked and shouldn’t be? 

Oh, to feel, the love

The moon is rising
on a muggy night;
I walk home
underneath its light.
The approaching autumn
rustles my hair
and I wonder,
are you still there?

I often struggle, I often wonder.
In fact, I will admit I long to feel something,

to maybe hear something,
to know if you're there.
On a night, such as this one,
I feel certain that I would feel you.

I've got everything I want,
I've got everything I need. I’ve got everything
but I don't feel free
and I long to be.
I just want someone to set me free,
free as a bird in the sky,
free, unafraid to die.

There's just something missing,
it's freedom.

But where does the freedom come from?

I look to you, or look for you,
and I think that will set me free,

but I don’t feel free.

It's always the same
at the end of the day;
I take in so much pain
and feel no release.
I'm tied to the ground
by my own troubled mind.

I just can't seem to get any freedom from it;
I feel like I'm trapped, like a caged bird,
that flies around and around, but cannot seem to be free.

I don't know how much more I can take;

I mean there is freedom, right?

It's like I'm running and running, but there's no escape.

My heart has begun to mimic my mind,

to be full and heavy.

I have a picture of freedom, of life, in my mind,

but I cannot seem to grasp it.

I feel like I'm reaching and reaching and trying to grab on to it,

 but I can't.
As I walk in this night,

 I long to feel something,

this freedom, can you give it to me?

What does this freedom look like?

Just like a sailor gazing up at the stars
I'm studying the sky
I can't take my eyes off of it.
All the power of this miracle
is inside of every living thing
and like a sailor being guided home
I know just where to go;
this boat is on a course
heading straight for the harbor
of your love.
No matter how long it takes,
I am following the stars
and I'm feeling the love,
being free in the love.

-NA and KW

A blogpost I came across, check it out.

http://dieulaprevilon.blogspot.com/2011/07/muslim-school-in-our-neighborhood.html

Check this out!

https://www.facebook.com/#!/FindDerekLueking

Colossians 1:9-10

⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,^{[a] 10} so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

Sovereign Over Us - Aaron Keyes

Grace Greater Than Our Sin

Hillsong - Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus - With Subtitles/Lyrics - HD Version