Happy Trails…

I had lunch with an old friend recently who shared with me a heartbreaking story of how she had her heart broken. Apparently letting a man in close proximity to her before really getting to know him, she got burned. Pretty crazy, right? Not really, it happens quite often. I shared with her some of my similar experiences. She had texted me earlier in the week, reeling from the pain of finding out who this individual actually was, so I sort of already had an idea of what to expect at the lunch. She didn’t want to talk about it but when I reminded her about Proverbs 4:23 and guarding your heart I think she realized I had already noticed what was going on…

My friend is no spring chicken. She’s been around the block a time or two… but it is interesting how we often keep making the same mistakes in life. Maybe it’s our vulnerabilities that continually draw us in I don’t know… but I do know now more so than ever the power of having a decided heart. I also continually see example after example of how powerful this verse is:

Guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.

I have also noticed something about grief – that response or feeling when we lose something to which a bond is formed. This all centers around a re-kindled friendship with an old college buddy. She’s a grief guru, you can check out her website here. It’s sort of funny every time I think of the word “grief” Charlie Brown comes to mind. The gang always heckled Charlie Brown and his antics with the phrase, “Good grief Charlie Brown!!” And so I came to the conclusion that grief is indeed good… when we heal and recover from it. If you visit my friend Kelly’s website you will see she is a proponent of the full recovery from grief and the loses in life. I like that.

Back to the decided heart… and my other friend’s predicament…  the “ghosts of girlfriends past” – those gremlins that seem to sneak into our minds. I’m not referring to the sociopath who can’t let go – they’re dangerous and need help… 50 shades of creepy.

Remember, it’s about how we approach the end of the story. God breathes life into us daily through His word and the power of the Holy Spirit. With every breath is He deeper into you? (Click To Tweet)

This is like addictions, this grief thing – once you admit to yourself there’s an issue, you have hope. Only then can you celebrate and click the button like Desmond, resetting the clock every 108 minutes… Cheerios!!

Hopefully my friend will be a little more conservative about letting strangers have a part of her heart. The power of a decided heart would help her from having more weeks like the doozy.

With vulnerability we should demand authenticity. Then we can open up and things start to get real…

Image courtesy of OakleyOriginals on flickr.com

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St. Johns River flowing through Jacksonville at night
Image courtesy of Don Dearing on flickr.com

Did you know the vast majority of rivers in the world flow from north to south? This is almost a freaky weird statistic, molding our distinction about north being on top of the world. King of the hill. For goodness sakes, even Santa lives up there!

I think the misnomer about which way rivers are “supposed” to flow comes about partially because our minds are conditioned to believe, when considering a map, that north is up(hill) and south is down(hill). Kinda like the drip drip drip of the coffee pot.

These north-to-south flowing rivers do follow a basic rule of plumbing. There are actually 3 basic rules of plumbing. Don’t know them? The 3 rules of plumbing: (1) hot’s on the left, cold’s on the right, (2) stuff, like waste, or sewage (a nice way of putting it) doesn’t flow uphill, and (3) payday is Friday. Which rule do the rivers follow? Ummm, it’s #2.

In fact, all rivers follow the second rule of plumbing, even those that flow backward. Of the rivers that flow backward, or south to north, the Nile River is the most famous, the world’s longest an incredible distance of 4,150 miles!

Locally, in Florida, the St. Johns River flows backwards. It’s been long postulated that the St. Johns flows to the north because Georgia sucks, but that’s just hearsay. Curiously, the  source of the St. Johns lies along State Road 60, just west of Vero Beach (where I grew up), and it’s mouth is in Jacksonville, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Yep, Jax is where I live now. So this quiet, southern river is somewhat of a metaphor of life to me, you know, like from “As You Like It”…

“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances” William Shakespeare

And so in many ways on the stage of life, what we project comes back around. Life, I guess, sort of flows backward too – what we cast out, be it love, joy, a pleasant demeanor, or whatever, what we bring to the table comes back to us in many ways just like casting a fishing pole upstream into the river.

This is the chapter of the long-term impact of our decisions and how they help to determine our destiny, the conditioning of our heart, and what’s going to happen here in this life. Have you ever heard of The Butterfly Effect? It basically states that small changes in initial conditions, such as a butterfly flapping its wings, can have global consequences even on weather patterns. In the same way, Andy Andrews showed us specific examples of how the actions of people have shaped history. The scientific community embraced this as “The Law Of Sensitive Dependence Upon Initial Conditions.” This happens in nature, and in life.

The St. Johns River didn’t just up and decide one day that it was going to flow to the north. A long history of sea-level fluctuations carved the shoreline of the Florida peninsula, leaving a trough along the eastern seaboard that sloped ever so slightly in a northerly direction. Within the trough, rainwater collects, and follows that second rule of plumbing – it has to go somewhere, so it flows downhill under the force of gravity. Yes, I’m an expert at this!

Can you reflect on a decision in life that had a significant impact on your future? Boy, I surely can. I have 3 adorable grandchildren that stem from a decision that I made decades ago, and that I’m thankful for. Do all of our decisions turn out that way? Not necessarily, there were many painful experiences along the way that also came into play. My faith journey similarly blossomed from a seed that was sown years before, during a storm huddled under a rock with a guy who told me about Jesus that made sense to me for the very first time.

As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart. Proverbs 27:19

We reap what we sow, be it good fruit, and in the choices we make. Our compadres are another great example of those who influence us. They all become embedded in our heart, and reflect out from there. Like the river that flows backwards… it didn’t just decide to be that way, the choices and forces of mother nature made it that way. Could that all change one day? Or, could I make decisions today that will change the future, not just for me, but also for my grandchildren, or even for people far away that I don’t even know? Just as importantly, can I make changes that will have the effect of taking my heart back to a better condition when it is hurting? I think so, as long as we’re still players on Shakespeare’s stage of life, there is hope for good old pitter patter.

Recognizing that many of our choices in life affect our heart, what could you change today to put your heart on a better path for tomorrow?

Are there any rivers near your home that “flow backward?”

This post is an excerpt from my forthcoming book, “The Wellspring Of Life.” You can read more about this book and my other titles by clicking this link.

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Image courtesy of thewaterproject.org

This post is an excerpt from my forthcoming book, “The Wellspring Of Life.” You can read more about this book and my other titles by clicking this link.

Value. Whenever I think of value, I think of something that is a good investment. Some of my friends poke fun at me for wearing clothes that have seen better days. A few are tattered, some even frayed, and maybe one or two with holes in them. They’re comfortable to me, I guess that’s why I pull them out of the closet and keep wearing them so frequently. I figure the threads I wear should be durable. Some of my brands in clothing are that way too, a better value for the price because they last longer. I think that’s a good choice. Is throwing that penny into the wishing well a good investment, or of value? lol… not sure about that, but it is also a choice we can make. And you may just end up beating a well grooved path to that one.

When it comes right down to it though there are some things that are necessities in life, and having a supply of potable water to drink is a need right at the top of the list.

Vast bodies of water stored in our environment are typically in underground reservoirs called aquifers, or in natural or man-made lakes or surface bodies of water. And while there are some environmental variables, generally speaking when we identify a body of water sufficient to supply the needs of a community we call it a resource. It will provide for their needs over a long period of time. These significant resources are replenished by mother nature in the form of precipitation that either runs off the land surface into the surface water body that we’re tapping, or infiltrates into the ground to the underground aquifer.

A water well, properly planned, located and constructed in the right place, drilled to the right depth and tapping an extensive aquifer, adds value. Generations can enjoy fresh drinking water from that well. There is a long-term residual effect of our efforts. We could say there is a reason to hold that source in high regard, protecting it from pollution or depletion. Water resources development is the other field that I work in!

Our western society sort of takes water for granted. Less so than in the past as alternative supply is more costly, but in comparison to many third world countries or crisis areas, indeed, it remains true today. I was just reading a story yesterday, it seems the primary dilemma for survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines is water supply. One man reportedly is hiking 3 hours round trip every day to the nearby mountains to collect water from a stream, hoping that it is safe for his family. There are surely many others like him. No doubt safer than what he can find near his home at this time. Humanitarian efforts continue globally in our day and time to reach out to impoverished third world countries and their people, providing water and wells that often mean life to them, or significantly extend their life expectancy. Once we identify the reservoirs, civilizations can form around them, becoming dependent on them, sort of like an oasis in the desert.

Some of our choices are just that way too. When we make a choice to head down a path we should be thinking about added value. Value to continue, or move in a forward direction. Like a quality of life thing. Value like the well. How will this decision effect my future? How will it affect my family, and their lives? What are the implications? Maybe these are residual effects then of our choices.

Consider the Doppler Effect. This wave phenomena is most easily recognized in hearing, as is the case when we hear a train approach and then pass. The sound waves in front of the train become more condensed, while those trailing the locomotive are spread out. The same thing happens in the transmission of fluids, like the water in a well and, yep, even the flow of blood through our heart and the rest of our body. In fluids, we can measure the movement of particles that are within the liquid to determine velocity, and to show the Doppler Effect. Pretty cool how the residual frequency of a wave gets more and more dispersed after the source passes, like the waning of the full moon until the time of the new moon.

The vestigial presence and value of our choices, directly and through the vision of the Doppler Effect. For our generation, making choices that bring goodness and abundance. All good stuff that we can then pass on to the next, and the one after that. The pleasing comfort like a well-worn pair of pajamas that you can’t wait to feel against your skin again as they spin in the dryer. The brand you know you can order online because you know the maker. And our Maker who we know we can go to, like going to the well in prayer. It just keeps adding value. Like the enduring value of a water well.

Like doing things right.

And doing the right thing.

Where does the water supply come from in your community?

What are some of the choices that you’re making today that you hope will impact future generations in a positive way?

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Allentown Rose Garden and Wishing Well.
Photo courtesy of Lehigh Valley, Pa. on flickr.com

The wishing well… that fixture from folklore that people approach like a god. Water wells are commonly used to provide potable water for our consumption. The mythical type that we throw money into along with our requests? Yep they’re still around too, typically they have a fountain and are located in the center of shopping malls. We throw coins into them with our kids, making a wish… to? All in good fun.

The idea of wishing to a well or body of water says something about how important water is to our existence. When we toss money in, it may be something seemingly trivial or of little value, like a penny, but we attached a glimmer of hope along with it. We make light of it, sometimes joking about it and what not, but in our heart, at least some of the time, there is something more – call it a feeling, or desire, or just a wish. So while we may have just thrown in a penny, we really gave the water “god” a piece of our heart, and our hope. I guess in that regard, wishing at the well is sort of like what we do when we pray sometimes if we ask God to make something happen. The big difference being that we are worshiping a false god at the wishing well.

Why do I bring all of this up?

Well, I wanted to take a moment to think about the importance of water, because without it there would be no life here on earth. Yea, it’s that fundamental to life on our planet. Both science and the Bible agree on this point: the water came first.

Remember the phrase, “going to the well” – it’s from the 14th century. If you go to the well once too often it means your luck may have been depleted. Yep, you’ve pushed your luck a bit too far. As an athlete in high school, we used to go to the well – pushing hard when we were hungry for results. Pushing too hard can deplete your reserves, or empty the well. The same would be true if you approached that mythical wishing well too often, your luck would plain run out.

“Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” That’s our verse from Proverbs, 4:23. Life flows from our heart, like water flows from the well. This is the deal that links the heart to the well, and life to water. So we can either learn to guard our heart through having a relationship with Jesus and learning from Him, or we can sing an ode to the wishing well.

Visiting the wishing well to satisfy the thirst in our heart is just like coming to Jesus…

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander of the peoples.
Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations that do not know you will hasten to you,
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.” Isaiah 55: 1-6

When we approach our true God, like we approach the wishing well, we come, listen, seek and call out to Him. He hears our voice and considers what we have to say. And, He always answers us with love. You see, God’s love is the same today as it was yesterday. It will be the same tomorrow, too. The love that God offers us is free. His love doesn’t run out, we can’t approach Him too often. I think that’s the well that I want to go to.

What are the hopes that bring you to sing to the well? How often do you typically go to God in prayer?

“Ode To The Wishing Well” is an excerpt from my forthcoming book, “The Wellspring Of Life.” You can read more about this book and my other titles by clicking this link.

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Can you read the waves in the ocean, and life?

I love to swim and play in the ocean. I guess I must have  been born that way, like some dogs are called “water dogs”. Having grown up in Vero Beach, Florida, my brother and I spent a lot of time at the beach. We would play in the waves for hours on end, riding our rafts all the way to the shore whenever we caught a good wave. I remember packing up the car with rafts, blankets, towels, food and drink, and lotion, and then the satisfaction of arriving at the beach for a good wave day; it was exhilarating!

On several occasions while riding the waves I recall being caught in an undertow. Usually when this happened it was sort of fun, like riding a big wave on my raft and being out of control for just a fraction of time. It often made me giggle. Maybe that’s just my love of adventure, I don’t know. Being caught in the undertow was sort of funny too, the first few times it happened, as I was able to overcome the feeling of being out of control quickly. Well, that all changed when I experienced a strong undertow that took me to the bottom and tossed me around until I was almost out of breath. That was scary, not knowing when it would end and I would be able to overtake the strong ocean current.

Fortunately, on the occasions when this happened, I was always able to resurface and swim to safety. I quickly realized when this happens that we’re very much on our own. Sure, there were other people in the ocean, my brother was nearby, and my watchful parents we’re on the beach, but when you’re caught in the undertow and resurface a considerable distance from where you started, you quickly realize the power of the ocean’s waves. Then you realize that you really are on your own, and that there is always a possibility that help wouldn’t reach you in time to save you.

Sometimes in life we make decisions that have a pronounced, long-term effect. The Bible tells of how our decisions affect the generations to come, at times carrying over to several generations later. I know, that ‘s Old Testament stuff. I’m not sure if it’s a generational curse, or the learned behavior that parents pass on to their offspring, but there is some validity to this thought. The decisions that I make will definitely have an after effect not only on my life, but on my family for quite some time.

Playing in the ocean as a kid was lots of fun. I’m thankful for those wonderful memories with my family. I did learn to respect the ocean, and the undertow. There were days when we looked at the waves and didn’t go in. Much later in my journey I learned the appropriate adage, “live to conquer another day”.

When the Bible tells us to guard our heart, we should take heed of this sound advice. It’s just like standing on the beach, looking at the ocean, and deciding whether to grab my raft and hit the waves, or live to conquer another… there are some days when it’s going to be giggly fun, and others when I should be cautious. How do I know the difference:

- Learn to read the waves. Ok, so the life parallel is to not stray too far from familiar territory when in a foreign land, take it slow when getting to know people, learn from my past and be sure to avoid making the same mistakes.

- Learn my own strengths and weaknesses. While my older brother may have been able to go out further in the ocean, or he may have been able to ride larger waves, I had to respect that he was older and more experienced than me. Furthermore, he was a stronger swimmer. I’ve learned a few things about my weaknesses, for example that I’ve been way too open and trusting with people (yep, just a wee bit gullible). I need to seek guidance from other people who I know I can trust and depend on. Often.

I’m thankful that my parents spent lots of time with us and took us to the beach. Their protective nature and respect for the ocean taught me to learn not only about its beauty and strength, but also my own limitations. So now I’m wondering… how can I be sure to pass this on to my daughters, and to my grandchildren? Am I being cognizant of my decisions now, and how they affect future generations? Am I giving my offspring an opportunity to learn, while staying involved enough to recognize where I may want to offer some assistance, or advice?

What decisions do we make that affect the emotional and psychological health of our heart?

Have you ever made decisions that you feel with affect the lives of your future generations?

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Discovery… and Indiana Jones. Love Indy. He was the adventuring archaeology professor that “lived” on the big screen… so I like this adventure tale. I also love 00 Smooth… Bond… James Bond. Both dudes were suave… debonair… (neither quite crunchy sexual though… ha!). Oh well, close enough… I guess I could write this “discovery”pitch… it would be fun… and would certainly lead us to an image of Jesus if posed here… but I’m bringing something even lovelier today… yep, and it likewise leads to Jesus…

Discovery to me brings to mind something new… or growing… like a bank of knowledge… or love. Picture with me the cute old couple sitting on the park bench… smiling… in love… STILL in love… it’s been a good life they’ve shared… oh so many memories… children… their children’s children… and so on…

Wondering why I would use an image of a very old couple on a park bench while trying to convey the concept of something new? Or growing? Discovery?

The answer may just surprise you… and totally transform your perspective of the meaning of love… and discovery.

I wonder how many people are genuinely excited about growing old? I don’t know as I’m necessarily excited about this growing old concept… the aches and pains… loosing my memory and eyesight… hearing?? … cant’ run fast anymore… but I am excited about eternity. And I am excited about these two old people we’ve envisioned growing old together. Why?

“Growing old together” … what exactly does that  suggest? Well, to me it suggests that we’re going to continue on a journey to discovery… one that is enduring, like we say about true love… love endures. To me, if “growing old together” means we’re experiencing something that builds formidable mountains in terms of intimacy, I want to know more!

“Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13:8

Wouldn’t it be awesome to think that our love could grow continuously through time? I kind of think of that as a goal. At church we say our goal is to be in a growing relationship with Jesus. That’s what I’m referring to here… for Jesus, and for other people.

How do we foster this growth, of our love for others?

The reason that true, unconditional love grows is discovery. (Click to Tweet)

Remember, unconditional love is accepting you exactly as you are. Whatever your imperfections are today… and whatever comes up tomorrow… this love endures. It is unchanging. It’s like the invitation from God…

“For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.” Romans 11:29

When we’re in a relationship that clicks right, there is growth. It could be in your marriage, with your other loved ones, and also with Jesus. Especially with Him. That’s exciting! It may not happen every single day, and certainly we’ll go through seasons, just the same as in every other aspect of life, but hopefully there is growth in a positive direction.

How do we stay is discovery mode?

There is one enduring truth: When all else fails, the truth of God will still be standing.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” Jesus speaking, as documented in Luke 21:33

Growing love and discovery… it’s not a gimme… we have to have a healthy heart to be in this arena.

The thought driving this through me doesn’t dive into the physical side of a healthy heart. While that’s important to our vitality, and it’s something that I prioritize in my personal life, this effort is focused on the emotional health of our heart.

A good, warm and inviting fire… fueled with the deep, enduring love of Jesus, fanned by the breath of the Holy Spirit, and ignited by the crisp spark of God’s word on the tip of our tongue.

That’s how we get to the proverbial park bench from here…

Discovery is simply having a positive attitude, initiative and a healthy heart. (Click to Tweet)

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. Ecclesiastes 3:11-12

Christian Writers Blog Chain

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In the beginning…

Water, Icebergs and water vapor in the clouds.. the 3 states of matter. These 3 can also be thought of as conditions of the heart… and where we are on the road of life.

These three words that have the power to provide crystal clear answers to just about anything and everything. If we just knew some of the answers, true mysteries would be resolved forevermore… talk about discovery! However, maybe the elusive bewilderment is actually part of the answer here?

Through Trust… Believe… and Faith… we discovery many answers… and find peace…

As for our heart, in the beginning our heart was immature… and pure.

So what does it matter?

Well, the next thing to transpire after the first spanking… life happens.

Immature… and pure… and then we experience feeling…

And so now we have these other two words… experience feeling… and the residual impact they have on our heart. The enduring impact of childhood, school, sports, past relationships, drama… and trauma, marriage, parenting, family, work, moving, illness, and bereavement, just to name a few.

These experiences are all bundled up in our life story. But they’re only a part of the story, really.  What we do with these memories… how we handle them… and how we live out or lives… that really makes up the story that our life will tell. And that is the overflow of our presence… and our heart.

It’s all relative… and relational. As is our relationship with God. Think about the 3 states of matter in terms of some place along the road of life…

- Solid… rigid… stiff… structured… Here’s an example… if you’re a guy you may live life this way. Men, to generalize, are creatures of boxes… we like to compartmentalized, as psychologists say. For instance, many of us have the fishing box, the football box, the Playstation box, the family box, the work box, and, yes, eeeeks… even God goes into a box. This helps us stay on point, generate solutions, maximize efficiency, productivity and income… and makes us rigid, robotic, and, well… manly. I’m guilty of this just this morning… I boxed my time in blocks to maximize efficiency and productivity though my day.

- Liquid… flows… like the living water of Jesus. Sticking with our example of the boxes here… women are more relational and tend to blend, mix or flow through life. They seem to get life done in a way that many guys simply can’t comprehend (and whenever a dude observes the female way there may even be an eye roll involved).

- Gaseous… flighty? Yea, that would be a good description… and so there is an 3rd option for the state of our heart… maybe think of this one as “neither here nor there.” Right. It just is… not necessarily a good thing, but not the evil wicked bad stuff either.

The 3 states of matter… water transitions between these states depending on temperature and pressure. Our example may be carried to express or describe the condition of our heart. I can imagine mine being solid… liquid… and gaseous at different times, for sure!

I used the boxes as an illustration here, but they’re not always just a guy vs. girl thing. Several years ago I started to evolve out of the boxes and into the warm and fuzzy. Whenever I find myself back in the world of boxes it seems like I end up flustered when things start to overlap… and I find myself having to readjust to a better “One Big Box” balance. For me personally, I find that life is more FRUITFUL when I’m not living in a series of sharp-edged boxes.

I lived some juicy liquid flow just this morning… gladly receptive to leaving the rigid box to converse with the SC 🙂

What lives in our heart, like experiences of the past, and how we handle them, can be either a trap to anger and frustration, or a well light road to take us on an exciting journey. In many ways, it’s all about a choice we make.

Immature… and pure…

These words also take my thought process to how little things can actually turn out to be a pretty big deal.

It’s fascinating to me that our world and everything in it is made up of some really, incredibly small stuff. These little pieces or building blocks of life and the other matter around here are tiny. What knowledge and imagination that God had when he made this place! Impossible to conceptualize, really.

Water is a basic building block of life. We can’t do without it. It covers 71% of the earth’s surface. So yea, it’s everywhere.

This water is static in its chemical makeup. Pure and simple, it consists of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. they’re tied together or bound by a covalent bond. This type of bond involves electron sharing. Wow. So no one is giving it up, as in ionic bonding… covalence is co-operative. That’s you + me = we. Or maybe this is that mashup thing again… just think about it, 2 H’s and an O.

Living water brings life… eternal life. Like that? Still afraid of getting old? It certainly makes me less afraid.

So those little things… the 2 H’s and the O… they created a stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces… the sharing of electrons between atoms… and it all added up to some substance covering the majority of the planet earth… and to living water… that seems like a pretty big deal, right? If it is, why wouldn’t we want to learn… grow… and live a life filled with peace… love… and joy? I know I do, but where do we find it? It’s pretty simple, really… through the wellspring of life!

Q: What are some life changing events that can affect the condition of your heart?

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Can we really get too wet?

The living water… life as we know it is supported by water. Our bodies… what we put in them for nourishment… the air that we breathe… and our surroundings are all based on the presence of water. It’s a very basic building block. We can’t live without it. Our existence and that of most everything else here in this world are both dependent on it.

God is called the fountain of life and the spring of living water…

Jesus, speaking to the woman at the well, says, “If you knew the gift of god and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have give you living water.” John 4:10

He invites us to come to Him to quench our thirst…

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters…” Isaiah 55:1

I find myself wanting to not only quench my thirst, I want to drench myself in this sparkling clean wellspring… yearning for the water to flow from the inside out…

“If a spring has not been opened in a soul, a spring of living water from God’s own Son, no waters can flow and there is no life in you.” G.V. Wigram

Then I wonder sometimes…

Do you think we can ever be so drippy wet that our testimony turns people away from God, instead of toward Him?

I mean, who hasn’t hesitated to talk to the church people who come knocking on the door unexpectedly, right? Did they have an impact? Was that a good one, or a bad one? I’m not questioning their intentions… they were following our calling to spread the Gospel. I want to do that… but with an impression that is magnetic. One that has a favorable result.

Wondering… can we be too wet?

I think that which separates the two… wet vs. too wet… is not so much when I think of fulfilling my own thirst but how I have influence… my witness to others in my community… and what lies within my heart… my motivation… is humility.

This thirst, or desire, seems to be both internal (through the notion of where I am on my own spiritual journey) and external (how that connection with God has an impact on others).

So maybe being thirsty is internal… like putting oil in the lamp… and being wet is external… how the lamp shines its light?

And this wetness just continually flows…

“Christ is not a reservoir but a spring. His life is continual, active and ever passing on with an outflow as necessary as its inflow. If we do not perpetually draw the fresh supply from the living Fountain, we shall either grow stagnant or empty, It is, therefore, not so much a perpetual fullness as a perpetual filling.” A.B. Simpson

Staying thirsty… and wet… it’s revealing the condition of our heart…

Q: Do you think we can be “too wet” in the way our testimony speaks to others?

“Image courtesy of num_skyman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net”

The post The Living Water: Can We Be Too Wet? first appeared on I'm Just Thinkin'.

Like the heart, at the core of the peach lies the seed… nurture the seed and it will produce an abundant tree!

Have you ever noticed that when you get to know someone really well you can almost “hear right through them” and into their heart? It’s as if you can tell the minutiae from the meat and potatoes when they speak.

I can hide a lot of stuff in my heart… from you, me and everybody else too! If that’s my choice. However, if you really spend some time with me you’ll eventually be able to discern my true feelings… and what my heart is really saying.

“It is when our hearts are stirred that we become most aware of what they contain.” Andy Stanley

This is pretty cool… and revealing…

Jesus said, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.” Matthew 12: 33-35

… for out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks…

So when we get right down to the nitty gritty, whatever is deep in our heart will appear… and that’s our true self… the real deal… our intrinsic, authentic feelings…

God does His work in there…

Our job?

Jesus told them this parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, “The old is better.” Luke 5:36-39

You see, new wine expands as it ages, and the new wineskin is pliable. The old wineskins are not. We have to be like the new wineskin when it comes to our heart… willing to grow through the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.

Our hearts are where life breathes… and where Jesus’ life-changing message transforms us daily to be more like Him. That change becomes evident in the statement of what a heart is really saying.

The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand. (Ps 37:23-24)

What statement do you hope your heart will make today?

The post Listening To What A Heart Is Really Saying first appeared on I'm Just Thinkin'.

“Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life” Proverbs 4:23.

Guard… protect… defend… shield…  look out for… that’s really important…

… but if my heart is going to be “the wellspring of life” … something equally important has to happen… I have to love… and trust.

A new twist on love and trust…

The jist of this is that I broke one of my own principles that has become dogma… The 4 Circles And The Great Beyond… it guards… protects… defends… it’s a system that 1 can use to establish barriers around the heart… it will help establish boundaries… I’m down with that part.

The twist? Once I have the safe boundaries I need to trust God to take care of the rest.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Yep, our Heavenly Father showed me the way… the experience rekindled a fresh perspective for me… and the last chapter…

It’s a new twist… to cherish… cultivate… embrace… nourish… treasure… value… adore… honor… treasure… (did I mention treasure?) and otherwise just LOVE…

Guarding… The 4 Circles… and then Trust in God to take care of the rest. A wise strategy.

Are you generally a trusting person by nature? Do you ever find it difficult to trust God’s lead?

The post A New Twist On Love And Trust… first appeared on I'm Just Thinkin'.