Hi friends. I just wanted to wish you all a Happy Go Texan day! In case you didn't know about this wonderful holiday, here is a brief explanation. It originated in Houston, the very location I sit right now. From the window I can see Reliant Stadium and the grouds for Rodeo Houston.

It's been called a spirit. It's even been referred to as a fever. Very few individuals - if any - can explain it. People in Houston just know that there's something in the air, and they know that it arrives early in February and lasts about a month.

They smell pit-smoked barbecue for miles. They see their friends wearing jeans and boots. And while driving to work, they pass hundreds of men and women on horseback, some even in wagons.

Most Houstonians know exactly what's going on - they've been around it for many years. But "foreigners" might not realize they're being soaked in the Go Texan Spirit.

"Grow beards, wear big hats, boots and spurs. Let's put a little touch of the Wild West into this thing." Those were perhaps the first words spoken that informally established the unique Western flavor of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™.

I can't smell the BBQ yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I do get to be a judge for a 4H competition tomorrow which I'm pretty excited about. I'll let you know who the winner is. Until then, enjoy being a Texan and if you aren't, well I'm sorry. ;-)

Well, I better get back to studying brain science. Love you guys.

Happy weekend's end. I know, it seems sad. The Love holiday is past. There is no more excuse to enjoy hunting for fun cards and candy treats. However, there is something to be happy about.

There is real love that never fades with the comings and goings of the holidays. For some Valentine's is an excuse to act like a kid and by silly valentine's for everyone. For some it brings reminders of lost love. Still others look forward to a fancy night on the town or a beautiful bouquet delivered to their corner office. However you look at February 14th, there is real love to be found. You don't have to be prettier, handsomer, richer or more sociable to receive the gift. This unconditional acceptance is found in God. I know, it seems like quite a trite answer. It sounds like an answer that won't sink into your soul. A hand to hold would be so much more comforting, but I'm convinced that God provides us much more than what we sense we are missing.

:::He provides time with an old friend to wander through vintage shops in the Houston Heights.
:::He provides a lovely cup of coffee from a nice barista in a hill country style cafe.
:::He provides a new song that just encourages the heart from itunes.
:::He provides about a hundred hugs on a Sunday morning.
:::He provides a delicious valentine's dinner with a group of new and old friends.
:::He provides reminders of blessings from the past.
:::He provides an ultimate frisbee game.
:::He provides homemade soup for school lunches.
:::He provides.

So as your week begins, trust that you can touch, see, smell, taste and hear God's love.

May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.
2 Thes 3:5

Yesterday I went to Hermann Memorial Hospital for some observation time. I really loved every minute, but one thing I'd like to share. Being around broken bodies makes me see just how strong our souls can be. I am just beginning to really grasp that people are so much more than just what is seen. But what are we? What will we be?
This morning I was taking a peak at one of John's letters. John was a fisherman, he had a regular job, in a regular town many years ago. He met Jesus and stuck by His side while He walked the earth.

1 John 3:2
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

We shall be like Jesus? That's an interesting and unbelievable thought. So we don't know what we will be, but we do know we will be like him. I guess that's where the gift of imagination has to help us out until we see it.

Many years later, on the island of Patmos, John encountered Jesus again and I think he had a better, more overpowering encounter. But still, so much is left to trust and faith.

Revelation 1:13
& among the lampstands was someone 'like a son of man,' dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, & his voice was like the sound of rushing waters...His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

I like that when John saw Christ in Revelation He had white hair. I think that beautiful elderly people have some of the most clear reflections of Christ. It's interesting to think that the older we get, the closer we may come to reflecting His image in some ways. Don't get me wrong, we won't spend our life with God in broken, fragile bodies, but the white hair, I think that's a blessing!

Also, I wonder if the tradition of wearing white Baptismal robes, like pictured in Palmar Hayden's 1950s painting, comes from this passage in Revelation. When we are baptized we are proclaiming that we believe in and are seeking to follow Jesus. Our clothes can be an outward reflection of an inward heart. Just a thought.

Dear friends, I must move on to reading about statistics and whatnot, but I pray that you have a day full of unimaginable surprises and blessings.

Excerpt from My Utmost for His Highest

February 10, 2009
Is Your Ability to See God Blinded?

Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things . . . —Isaiah 40:26

The people of God in Isaiah’s time had blinded their minds’ ability to see God by looking on the face of idols. But Isaiah made them look up at the heavens; that is, he made them begin to use their power to think and to visualize correctly. If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in nature and will realize that it is holy and sacred. We will see God reaching out to us in every wind that blows, every sunrise and sunset, every cloud in the sky, every flower that blooms, and every leaf that fades, if we will only begin to use our blinded thinking to visualize it.

The real test of spiritual focus is being able to bring your mind and thoughts under control. Is your mind focused on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Is it your work? Is it your idea of what a servant should be, or maybe your experience of salvation and sanctification? If so, then your ability to see God is blinded. You will be powerless when faced with difficulties and will be forced to endure in darkness. If your power to see has been blinded, don’t look back on your own experiences, but look to God. It is God you need. Go beyond yourself and away from the faces of your idols and away from everything else that has been blinding your thinking. Wake up and accept the ridicule that Isaiah gave to his people, and deliberately turn your thoughts and your eyes to God.

One of the reasons for our sense of futility in prayer is that we have lost our power to visualize. We can no longer even imagine putting ourselves deliberately before God. It is actually more important to be broken bread and poured-out wine in the area of intercession than in our personal contact with others. The power of visualization is what God gives a saint so that he can go beyond himself and be firmly placed into relationships he never before experienced.

I was talking with a dear friend last night while we studied at the local Barnes & Noble and she said that she was focusing on praying for other people. It really got me to thinking because within my busy day, it is so easy to spend hours without even thinking of anyone else, let alone putting mental energy into praying for them. I think that what Oswald is saying here is that if I visualize or imagine the life of God coming in the daily life of my loved ones (and my enemies) then that is essentially praying for them. Hoping and asking God to bring healing, peace, effectiveness and prosperity to others. Hmmm, what a good and real challenge.

Have a lovely day friends. I miss you folks during the craziness of school, but know that if you EVER need anything, please call!

Labels: prayer

Good morning.
It is a good morning.

Oh golly, this week. Where to begin.

I think I want to share something I've been thinking about for a while. I think it's time to just work it out in typeface.

There is a term in our culture that stirs up some quite strong reactions from most folks. Some are absolutely for it. Some are staunchly opposed. Some fear it, others fear the absence of it. Some churches take quite a stand on the issue. Some politicians, well the politicians seem to stay out of this one. What is the term you ask?

Singleness.

sin⋅gle
   /ˈsɪŋgəl/ –adjective
1. only one in number; one only; unique; sole: a single example.
2. unmarried: a single man.
3. pertaining to the unmarried state: the single life.

I know, I know you were expecting a term like gun control or abortion or civil rights. Nope, not today. Singleness it is. Take a listen at this quote from the recent hilarity of a film, Baby Mama.

Mom: "You know Kate everyone is not as tolerant of your alternative lifestyle as we are.
Kate: "Being single is not an alternative lifestyle."
Mom: "It is when you're 37."

The single lifestyle is certainly a hot topic concerning singles and married folks alike. Some who were wish they weren't and vice versa. Life is messy no matter what marital status you fill in on your tax return. Any way you look at it, I've been learning something that brings a bigger perspective to this lifestyle anomaly.

Jesus was single. Have you ever thought about that? I hadn't. Why is he single? Is it because marriage is bad or He liked His space? He wanted to have complete control of His own schedule and didn't want to bother with sharing His stuff with a mere female? Quite the contrary. He's waiting on His bride to be ready for Him. Who is His bride you may ask? This can get a little complicated, but to simplify the situation, the children of Israel, are His primary love interest. Gentiles, or believers that are not Jewish, are being grafted into the vine, brought into the picture. Keep in mind that because we don't fully understand, the analogies aren't 100% perfect, but they give us a place to start gaining perspective.

So, why is He waiting? Why not get married now?

There's a lot of reasons. One, He's gone to prepare a home for His bride. Two, He's giving her time to prepare to be with him, time to be purified and mature.

"In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." -John 14:2-4

But what if she starts to doubt His return? What if He quits calling and she thinks, He's just not that into me? Jesus, like other good Hebrew man would have done, sends her gifts to assure her of His undying love. What gifts you may ask? The spiritual gifts are a reminder of the promise that Christ is returning. But spiritual gifts are a discussion for another day.

When will He come you ask? When this time is right.

The recent hit by Taylor Swift, Love Story, has some lyrics that bring a really cool picture to the return of Christ, the groom. Listen to the last verse. Just when she's doubting, when she thinks He'll never return...well, just listen.



And in Revelation 19, the wedding to come is described.

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
"Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)

Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' " And he added, "These are the true words of God."

So friends, the wedding, the marriage, the pursuit of relationship is something that God has written on each of our hearts in that we would long for Him in a deep way. The whole process, no matter where you are in it yourself, is a picture of Christ's pursuit, preparation and union with His bride.

Love you friends. Have a beautiful Friday.