Riches Everywhere

Riches Everywhere

Don't envy my talents, 
or seek them.
For few could bear the suffering it took
to mine the jewels I have. 

There are divine riches everywhere.
The most natural way 
for most to find them
is by caring for those around us
as if they were our Beloved. 

       Do you ever consider yourself to be a gardener of life? Extracting the fruit from the root? Mining the gems of this Earth? Do you ever listen to the wind, and draw the Spirit from it? Whirl in ecstasy? Bow down in worship? The greatest challenge in life is discovering who you are. The second greatest challenge is being happy with what you find. Are you happy with the riches you have mined? Are you interested in scattering them abudnantly?
       1 John 4:17 (MSG): "God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and matures in us."
      There are two things I would like the share here. One is a fragment from the poem Gardener by Tagore: "Who are you, reader, reading my poems hundred years hence? In the joy of your heart may you feel the living joy that sang one spring morning, sending its glad voice across the years."
      The second is the lyrical poem, turned folk song, by Woodie Guthrie, This Land Is Your Land.

This Land Is Your Land (1944), Woodie Guthrie

The Theater of Freedom

The Theater of Freedom

In my divine studio
I have been working on this: 

Painting the Truth,
Revealing a picture of God,

Tearing down cruel walls
so you can enter 
the marvelous theater 
of Freedom.

       Hafiz told his followers many things, but two that recently stood out to me where: 1) "We all have liquid ruby-light that we can lift in a cup." 2) "Where do you think you will be when God reveals Himself inside of you?"
       So my question would be, what frees you in life? Is it Truth? Is it your own understanding of Truth? It it Love? God? Hope? Promise?
       Tomorrow I turn 22! To close from another wonderful poem (She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron): "She walks in beauty, like the night/of cloudless climes and starry skies..." 

The Night Is Still Young (1985), Billy Joel

There Is A Wonderful Game

There Is A Wonderful Game

There is a wonderful game we should play,
and it goes like this: 

We hold hands and look into each other's eyes
and scan each other's face. 

Then I say, "Tell me a difference 
you see between us. "

And you might respond, "Hafiz, your nose 
is ten times bigger than mine!"

Then I would say, "Yes, my dear, almost 
ten times!" 

But let's keep playing.
Let's go deeper, go deeper. 

For if we do, our spirits will embrace
and interweave,

our union will be so glorious 
that even God will not be able to tell us apart. 

This would be a wonderful game to play. 

        Wow, what a wonderful poem, with such depth. It really speaks to the spirit and the union that we can have with others if we pursue it. 

        1 Peter 4:10 (NIV): "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms." 

The Shape of Color

The Shape of Color

The shape of the night,
the shape of the day,
the shape of color, 
the shape os us.
What holds all this? 

Who made this miraculous mold
and then too, cast everything? 

Imagine the form that poured all forms,
that whittles from a single thought 
that took over the Inconceivable. 

What can entwine all this in his arms? 
The one some call God. 

          I love the song "Indescribable" by Chris Tomlin so much! It's just an incredibly energizing song about how great God is, but also how we should really marvel at creation, and that includes ourselves. As Rumi said, “Study me as much as you like, you will never know me, for I differ a hundred ways from what you see me to be. Put yourself behind my eyes, and see me as I see myself, for I have chosen to dwell in a place you cannot see.”
         The song is below, but some of my favorite lyrics are:

"From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea

Creation's revealing Your majesty

From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring

Every creature unique in the song that it sings..,

Indescribable, uncontainable,

You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name...

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go

Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow

Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light..."

Indescribable, Chris Tomlin

Laughter

Laughter

What is laughter? What is laughter? 
This tender and magic song 
It is the glorious sound of a soul waking up. 

It is the sun poking its sweet head out from
behind a cloud
you've been carrying too long 
veiling your eyes and heart

It is light breaking ground for a great structure
that is you real body - called Truth. 

It is happiness applauding itself and 
then taking flight 
to embrace everyone and everything
in this world. 

Laughter is God,
who eternally says,
"My dear ones come this way,
toward Me and Love!" 

Joy, Newsboys 

Angels In The Marketplace

Angels In The Marketplace

Sometimes I see angels standing 
in the marketplace.

And sometimes I see you
and someone 
is trying to convince you to build 
a house here, on Earth,
but you are not really meant for that. 

This other world hopes for your delight 
and contains all the ingredients for it. 

            Interesting thought by Hafiz, that "the other world contains all your ingredients for delight". For many I have heard that this notion is exactly what provides them with great hope and comfort about the trials of this imperfect world. Two bible verses recommended in church today to deal with suffering were:

James 1:2-4 (NIV): "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Romans 5:3-5 (NIV): "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." 

God is God, Steven Curtis Chapman

The Prayer Upon My Lips

The Prayer Upon My Lips

It is the Beloved who is revealed
in every face,
sought in every sign,

gazed upon by every eye,
worshipped in every object
that is adored,
pursued in the visibe
and in the unseen.

Every single one of His creatures
will someday find the divine
the primordial and glorious,
the forever and the Infinite.

To be united with that
is the prayer upon my lips. 


          I love how Hafiz always speaks of being united with the Ultimate Truth, how he seeks to understand that we are all one, that we are all interconnected, that we are all divinely and perfectly made! And it's so cool to think about what happens if you go beyond your own little world, if you're willing to pursue the invisible. The song "My Own Little World" by Matthew West challenges us to think about the question, "What if there's a bigger picture?"

My Own Little World, Matthew West

Is Each Creature

A holy infant, taken from God's womb, is each creature.

            There you have it, in God's eyes, everyone is worthy. Everyone is a King or Queen.

Kings and Queens, Audio Adrenaline

Rising Up Like a Thousand Suns

In my world all that remains is the wondrous call to dance and prayer, rising up like a thousand suns, out of the mouth of a single bird. 

      Wouldn't it be interesting if everyone lived with God as the focal point of their lives? And all that remained was this joy, this triumph...and all of it, every last drop, from the mouth of a single bird, since that's what loving God first gives you - everything. Yet, we acknowledge, and quite regularly, how difficult that is to do. How difficult it is to completely surrender our human concerns, our annoyances, our grievances, and just dance and praise. For most it is impossible, but I am convinced for the certain souls capable of achieving this, it is probably like receiving the light of a thousand suns.

A Thousand Suns, Crooty on DeviantArt

The Name of God Upon Your Tongue

Sit down with the name of God upon your tongue, and fear will go somewhere else for easier pickings. 

          John 10:27 (KJV): My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

          It does seem like a powerful way to live, with the name of God upon your tongue, His mercy and goodness a part of your every word and action.

My Savior, My God, Aaron Shust

Anything But Grace

Now is the time for the world to know that every thought and action is sacred. The time for you to deeply compute the impossibility that there is anything but grace. 

Post by Fusion Church.

What God Can Do

What God can do is only a surprise to the novice on the path, of course things can happen like that!

       For a while I had difficulty accepting that God should be loved first, before children, spouses, family, etc. Then I realized (after help from a friend) that God has to be first because any of the other things can be taken away too soon, but faith in God means you will see those other things again! In other words, you cannot love the gift more than the giver.
       “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” - Jim Elliot

Soften Your Heart (1982), Keith Green

Everything God Says Can Happen

From the unseen and the immaculate, we came for a visit to form, knowing everything God says can happen. 

           I find this verse comforting. God can do anything. So believe in miracles, they happen!

Pushing Back The Dark, Josh Wilson

Heart Has Held

My heart has held that which can never be touched. 


       Today I became a Christian, and though it took prayerful meditation and some reading of all the religions of the world (just to be sure), I would attribute the catalyst of my conversion to music. The Christian music I hear is so uplifting and so encouraging, it makes me want to go to the mountaintop. Below is a song I find near to my heart now, "Come Let's Go Up The Mountain/Fly Me Like The Wind" by MorningStar Ministries.
       I read on Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry something that changed my heart as well. It was more of the logical convincing that I needed. After reading it, I realized I often appealed my worth based on my own "goodness": "You must trust in what Jesus did on the cross to forgive you of your sins and not trust anything else, not even your own sincerity. That's right, sincerity isn't good enough. Why? Because sincerity is an appeal to God based on the goodness of your own heart. If you're appealing to God based on the goodness of your own heart, then you're being prideful. Sorry, salvation is either based on Christ alone, or it is not."

Link To "Come Let's Go Up The Mountain/Fly Me Like The Wind"

A Royal Event: Existence

We all help to host a royal event: Existence. 

            Today I took a liking to the song, "Testimony of Grace", it's a song about the stories of those who have come to know God. Since it's Sunday, take a listen.

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The Experience of God

The experience of God can so easily deepen and change. 

          This is so true, our relationship with God (and it should be a relationship) will evolve, change, grow, deepen, and be born anew. We will bring to the table the fellow believers we meet as well as the ones who challenge our beliefs. We will bring to the table the moments we felt close to God and the moments we felt terribly in this world. In doing these things, in living this life, we can only expect our experience of God to be different than when we started out, but God has been sovereign, working in our hearts throughout.

      I found this on the blog, Desiring God: "And the reality is, even if you don’t have a formal, written life plan, you have a life plan in your head. We all do. You have an imagined future in your head. You want to have a family, have kids, get a college degree, start a business, travel to Europe, etc. You get the point. I don’t have a formally stated life plan, but I want to accomplish certain things. I want to attain a certain level of comfort and stability for me and my family. I want my life to actually mean something. To reference a well-known author who seems to get quoted a lot on this site, I don’t want to waste my life. Now don’t get me wrong: I’m all for planning. Without plans, little of enduring value gets accomplished. Those who fail to plan, often find themselves binge watching on Netflix. But the reality is, there are many times when God intentionally messes up my life plan. And that’s a really good thing." 

He Knows My Name (2014), Francesca Battistelli

The Less Friction You Make

The Less Friction You Make

The less friction you make 
as you move through this world,
the more power you will gather 
and can store. 

Fire will take an interest in you,
thinking you are an heir to Light. 

Reason will take an interest in you,
thinking you are an heir to Truth. 

And you will wait, for your time to come,
to speak up with passion,
to tear down some walls of tyranny. 

 Stained Glass, Keith Green

There Is A Place

There Is A Place

There is a place between knowing you are priceless 
and at the same time, recognizing you are nothing. 

Somewhere between those two poles, live;
if you can.

       Keith Green's The Prodigal Son Suite touches on life between these two poles, while at the same time telling a compelling story of redemption. The opening orchestral music is just breathtaking. Take a listen!

The Prodigal Son Suite, Keith Green

Pour You God

Pour You God

God needs sacred tablets 
where He can write His resplendent verse,
and I have become such a stone. 

I build canals into the cities and plains.
I run beside small villages and sing. 
I nourish the roots of stars and mankind. 
Birds fly to my shores. 

I ecstatically speak with words,
and also with the purest language - silence - 
saying in a thousand different ways
to everyone; countrymen, comets, and stars: 
"I am so full of love, bring your cup,
and I will pour you God." 

I Am, Mark Schultz

Don't Charge Too Much For A Beautiful Prayer

Don't Charge Too Much For A Beautiful Prayer

God brought me to an emerald field 
and said, "Harvest." 

As I began to load my wagon 
with various things, He spoke again: 
"But don't charge too much for what 
I gave to you in exchange for a beautiful prayer." 

Not on its own will the meadow seek payment 
to be near its soft body;
someone, though, may stand nearby in a booth 
by a gate and make you
pay to get close. 

"It has never been like that with me,
so invite all others in." 

        God invites everyone near him, the poor, the rich, the sick, the healthy, the old, the young, the unbelievers and the believers alike. He says to come sit at his table, to share in his gift of eternal life. When Jesus was on Earth, he didn't just go to the safe places, He went to everyone, so that His light could be most effective. He did not build walls and gates to keep the less trustworthy out. He did not charge fees to prioritize financial stability. He just said come and follow me, and people dropped what they were doing and came.
        Matthew 5:16: "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

Dunsmuir Lodge, A meadow in California