Strangers

This is not the ending

No, this is not the ending 

We're all strangers here

So it's alright if you can't 

Stop the tears that you cry

'Cause someday we'll touch 

The face of our God

And the sorrow will disappear 

Until then, we're all strangers here 

Strangers here 

* 

Tenth Avenue North, 2012

"The fact that our heart yearns for something Earth can't supply is proof that Heaven must be our home."
- C.S. Lewis

Find strength in each step

Knowing Heaven is cheering you on

We are almost home 

Brother, it won't be long

Soon all your burdens will be gone

With all your strength

Sister, run wild, run free

Hold up your head 

Keep pressing on

We are almost home

I know that the cross 

has brought Heaven to us

But make no mistake

there's still more to come

We are almost home

* 

MercyMe, 2019

"For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness."
- 1 Chronicles 29:15

We are almost home, my dears <3

Light Breaking Forth | Easter 2020

radiant light <3 

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.
// isaiah 58:8 

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
// 1 corinthians 15:55-57 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
// 1 peter 1:3

As someone was discussing in a radio broadcast I heard recently... We shouldn’t talk about Easter only one Sunday in the spring. We should be steeped in it. Easter should flavor our lives every day of the year. We don’t go to church on Easter Sunday to learn what Easter is—we go to celebrate what we already know, and to worship. 

Isn't that a thrilling thought? Christmas and Easter are wonderful holidays that serve well as timely reminders of what's important, days to make memories with family, and opportunities to share our faith with the world. 

But living for Jesus is about so much more than that. He should be the center of our lives every single day. We have too much to celebrate to cram it all into a couple days or weekends a year! 

Just think of it.

Our sin, an unimaginable debt that we could never even hope to repay, has been covered. Paid in full by the blood of Christ Jesus, our perfect sinless Savior. Hands that held nations, stretched out on a tree. Our very souls redeemed from a destiny in hell. The only One who could repossess the keys to death and the grave snatched them from the hand of the wicked one. The power of darkness holds no more dominion over us.

This is worth sharing, so very worthy.

Morning has dawned. Our Lord has risen. The light is breaking forth. His love is real. Hope abounds. Mercy flows anew.

This is what it's all about. This is the center, the core, where all our hope, our everything, rests.

Saturday has ended. The wait is over. Darkness and despair has passed. Sunday is here. The light has come. The Lord has come. Because He lives, all fear is gone. 

Our hope resides in the glory of the stone rolled away. We have this hope. 

A thought occurred to me earlier today. Can you imagine the rejoicing in Heaven on that first Easter morning? Doesn't that thought bring a smile to your face? Just imagine the coming day when we'll all be joined together for a celebration like that. Every believer, reunited with all those we love in the presence of our Jesus.

All because of a Savior whose love for a sinsick world was greater than all else.

This is redemption from an unimaginably fate.

This is hope, living hope.

This is light breaking forth.

more jumbled thoughts. happy resurrection day, dears <3 

When All is Darkness | Saturday

light in the darkness <3

For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.   // john 20:9 

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. ...

And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things.
// luke 23:46, 49 

And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.  // mark 16:10  

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. // psalm 30:5b

It's Saturday.

The in-between day, wedged between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. It has no official title (that I know of). Yet it holds such meaning and symbolism.

On that first Easter weekend, Christ had been crucified and laid to rest in the borrowed tomb. We're not told much of how the disciples and followers spent the time between the Crucifixion and Resurrection. But they certainly weren't living life as normal.

They were hurting and broken. They were grieving. Their very souls were crushed.

Peter was struggling, personally, with the knowledge that he'd audibly denied his Lord...thrice. The group must've also felt betrayed by Judas, one who they'd counted a friend and brother, yet he had sold their Lord by a deceptive kiss for thirty pieces of silver.

In a sense, they were waiting, too. But did they know what they were waiting for?

He had spoken of a home with Him someday, of eternity, of a Comforter. But they didn’t understand the meaning of these words yet. All they knew was their Lord—the Promised One, their everything—had been brutally killed before their eyes. Life as they’d known it had ceased, crashed, halted.

All their hope—gone.

Nothing would ever be the same again.

How often, in our darkest moments, do we cry out to God that we don’t understand? Maybe it's not even that we're doubting His goodness or rebelling against His will—we just don't know why it's happening. We want to understand. We want to comprehend. We want to be able to make sense of things. We want answers.

But you know, it's okay if things don't make sense to us. It's okay if we feel lost in the darkness, cracked and broken and crying out to the One who always hears. It's okay if answers elude us. It's okay if all we have the strength to do is cry out to Him, take it moment by moment, and make it through one day at a time.

It's okay.

Because He is good, no matter what.

Because He is with us, every single heartbeat.

Because this pain won't last forever.

In the wise words of my friend Mikayla, “Sunday’s on the way.”

We can believe that. We can rest in that.

The light will break thru. Darkness will not win. 

Even when I don't see, I still believe. 

what does this day of waiting mean to you? 

It is Finished | Good Friday 2020

wow, those clouds... 

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. 

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 

Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. 

// matthew 27:45-46, 54  

When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. 

// john 19:30

It is finished...

As many of you know, I'm a student of American Sign Language pursing an education in interpreting. While ASL and English are essentially the same written language, the grammar, sentence structure, and sign/word definitions of ASL are vastly different than that of English.

The sign for finish/finished, for example, is very definite, final, and emphatic. It's not used to mean something that might be done soon, or will probably happen, or to exclaim that you're finished with someone in a non-literal sense.

It means it is done, in full, totally. Finished. Definitely. For certain. In the past. It means completion. It means finality.

On that day at Calvary as our Lord breathed His last, he cried out, "It is finished." Three simple words, yet a phrase so brimming with meaning and underlying truth.

It is finished. Forever and always, it's done. Taken care of. Over with. Completed. Never to have to be worried about or thought of again.

It is finished, Jesus cried, and every since, I'm satisfied... 

Satisfied. Satisfied by the heart of the One who fulfilled the sin debt we had no hope of ever repaying. He cleared our charges, he eases our hurting hearts, he brings love and peace and contentment—and asks only our love and faith and allegiance in return.

This Man. This Son of God. This Passover Lamb.

He is the Finisher. He is enough.

And He is good.

just some really disjointed thoughts, but maybe they make sense to someone <3

When Your Own Words Aren't Enough

'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.

I am not skilled to understand what God has willed, what God has planned. I only know at His right hand, stands One who is my Savior. 

I don't know what You're doing, but I know Who You are. 

Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can't heal. 

I know Who Holds tomorrow. 

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; 
We are perplexed, but not in despair;
Persecuted, but not forsaken; 
Cast down, but not destroyed;
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, 
That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
- 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 


*


God is still good. He is patient and faithful, even when we don't understand His plan. A family that my family is close friends with suffer a tragic loss this week. Please remember them and all the family and friends in your prayers. My heart breaks for them. <3

Fearless.

I don't know what to write. I sit here, scrolling through my draft posts (and trust me, there's plenty), but I don't know what to write. I don't know what I want to write.

There's so much going on in my state and country and world this week, and as much as I feel like I should join in the barrage of coronavirus centered articles, I don't want to. I've talked about it with family and friends and co-workers until I'm tired of talking about. I've researched and analyzed until I drove myself crazy with it.

I'm tired of the fear and the panic and the chaos. I'm tired of the memes—even though some of them are...really funny. I'm tired of news articles—often contradicting each other. I'm tired of the arguments. I'm tired of the constant change in what is and isn't "allowed" as far as gatherings and events.

But here's the thing. I'm choosing to not be suffocated by the panic and alarm and frustration that surrounds this pandemic labeled "COVID-19." I specify labeled because, in my belief, the disease isn't the basis of the problem—fear is.

Yes, fear. That four-letter F-word that we don't like to think about.

So maybe that's what I'm really here to say. The panic, the hoarding, the chaos and confusion—it doesn't stem from a illness that's characterized by a fever and cough. It's created by the fear we allow to overtake us when we focus on the sickness instead of the Healer.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.   // 2 Timothy 1:7 kjv

As Christians, we shouldn't live burdened by fear. That's not how God intended for us to live our lives—before, during, or after COVID-19 has ran its course.

Things are crazy right now, I know. And I could be wrong, but I believe this won't last long. By the end of the year, we'll be able to look back on the month when stores were selling out of everything and remember the good aspects of these days instead of dwelling on the fear and turmoil.

If you're frightened by the events transpiring in the world over the past few days and weeks, that's totally understandable—it's a lot to take in at once. The important thing is to not allow that anxiety to control you.

Spend time with the Savior, and allow His presence and His word to remind you again and again that it's going to be okay. We serve a God that is so much greater than any pandemic, stock market dive, or nation in distress.

Through it all, life goes on, and we go on too. Tomorrow, the sun will rise and people will go to work (some of us, anyway). We'll talk and laugh and yawn and sneeze. We'll learn something new or reminisce about days gone by. We'll read books or watch television. We'll make jokes and remind our family members we love them.

And we'll be okay.

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.   // Psalm 46:10 kjv 

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.   // John 14:27 kjv

To sum it up—God's got this, so we have no need to fear. Wash your hands. Prayer for those effected. Use necessary precaution. By all means, quit hoarding toilet paper. And be fearless.

thoughts, good or bad? opinions, agreeing or not?

What I'm Writing | Chasing a Dream

17,346

That's the current word count total of Chasing a Dream.

(And yes, I'm rambling about this to y'all when I could/would/should be writing. *maybe sorta possibly hasn't written in like ten days* But I have literally no inspiration, so. Excuses prevail. Blog post it is.)

Honestly, I'm pleased with this number—and a little surprised by it, too. There's been more than a few times over the past year or so when I wondered if this little wannabe story would ever amount to anything worth talking about.

But it is, y'all. It's growing and morphing and becoming something bigger and better and with more meaning (in my opinion, anyway) than I ever anticipated. It's a complex story, with real characters, and a purposeful theme.

This weekend is the annual local rodeo that my family has attended many times over the years. We're planning to go again this year, assuming nothing comes up and there's not a cancelation. (Lots of events are being cancelled since we've been declared in a "state of emergency" *headdesk*)  This is the same rodeo, though, which spurned the idea for CaD into existence.

Considering that, and how it's been nearly an entire year since this story started as just a little idea and a few random thoughts, and how weird and beautiful and crazy and wonderful life is has put me in an introspective mood.

So here I sit, 12:23 am, when I could be sleeping or writing or reading. But what am I doing? Thinking about a story. Thinking about a story casted with people who aren't real. Well, at least the people aren't real. But maybe the story is, for someone, somewhere. Maybe it makes sense—it's relatable—to someone. And maybe that's why it's all worth it.

Maybe that person is you, or maybe it's not. But that's okay. Because I'm writing it anyway. For myself, and for that one person who may be out there somewhere in need of a story that'll remind them it's going to be okay.

Snippet: 

The young bull starts into a tight death spin, a technique his line of ancestors are known for. He bucks while spinning in a circle, utilizing centrifugal force to sling me off his back.  

Another harsh buck and I’m flying through the air. I plummet to the sunbaked earth with a thud that knocks the air from my lungs. Coughing and choking, I wait until I can breathe easier before attempting to push to my feet. My head spins as I stand, but I take a few deep breaths and push through it.  

Behind me, Wyatt loops a lead rope around the bull’s and guides him out of the corral. He knows I have no intention of trying it again this evening. Not after that sorry excuse for a dismount.  

I cast a glance in Nelson’s direction. He’s slowly shaking his head as he watches me walk across the corral towards him. Dang it. He’s not impressed.  

Irritation wells up in me. The old cowboy might be known for the bulls he raises, but several decades have passed since the last time he was the one climbing unto the animal’s back.  

As I approach, Ryder struggles to keep a straight face, but Nelson eyes me with a look I can’t read.  

“So?” I lean my arms onto the fence next to him, squinting up at the elder cowboy’s worn face in the sunlight. “What do you think?”  

“You’re gonna have to do better than that if you’re gonna make it in the rodeo world.”  

No one ever accused this man of being anything short of brutally honest. 

are you excited for Chasing a Dream?