Hope for the Indebted

Debt
I am in debt
I am indebted to so many people
I do not tithe now
how do I think that when it comes time for me to pay back my debt that I will tithe then
money will be even tighter
I think back to high school
how i spent so much money
how if i saved more worked more
i would be so much better off now
so i must apply that lesson to my life now
I need to work now
because when i leave school
I will be even more worse off
in 2 years
I will have no home
in 2 years
i will have to buy my own food
In 2 years
I will have to buy things for my house
take care of all my needs
be independent
In 2 years
In 2 years
will I tithe then when i am worse off
if i do not discipline myself now?
no.
whose money is it anyways. Gods.
I am so blessed
live under my means
tithe
give your money your life to God
Give everything you own to God
your relationships
your time
your thoughts
It is all His.
I am His.
I can find comfort in that.

You can't love too much one part of it...

Through my years of living I have come to realize and still realizing that life is all about balance. I always wanted to make life about one thing or another but I am slowly realizing that life is about the two living side by side in harmony. The bad makes you appreciate the good. The bad makes you have a stronger character...the fire purifies the metal.

You can't love to much one part of it. Life. You can't love to much one part of it. You have to love the good, the bad, the awkward, the ugly, the beautiful, the unexplainable, the confusing, the awe-inspiring parts of life.

I am not a lover of cliches but I think this quote gets to the heart of what I am saying: (plus i love storms and so its a good visual for me)...
Some people wait for the storm to pass, others dance in the rain.

Life will never be perfect so enjoy every part of it.
Lord grant me joy, something that transcends fleeting happiness.

Lonely City Nights

Riding the L through Chicago one night this is what came to my mind...

The city lights glow with magnificent lonliness. The lights are on in the empty rooms of brick and fine furniture. There are a million cold boxes that should be homes. There are a million hearts that should be loved. Both lonley and empty. Missing life inside them.

A perfect day in holland

The bells toll
it is midday
the warm sun is a cozy blanket
on this breezy fall day
the sunshine illuminates the tree leaves
in a variety of amber crimson and goldenrod colors
I watch those who pass from here to there
as I rythmically rock back in forth in my chair.
It is a brillant display of God's goodness
and the unbelievable beauty
makes it seem as though
this landscape of light and color
was like so many paintings i had seen before
beautiful but not real.
Not so with this day.
This day I am soaking in the majesty of creation
A squirrel peeps his head up
with his two front paws on the front step
he looks at me for a minute or two
as if to say hello
and then scampers away
I look up and see him.
He is walking across the the leaf cover earth
My smile is for the day
My heart smiles for him.
Everything seems as it should be.
A perfect day in Holland.