Faith Full Thoughts

Is there a wrong way to be introduced to Jesus? Doesn’t God have the power to work all things towards good? Nothing is going to be perfect. Human interpretation and representation can be very wrong. But if it gets people asking the question – Who was/is Jesus? – isn’t that indeed a good thing? Now that doesn’t mean that that same medium can bring you the answers. No, the only real source of truth is the Bible.

Why that time? Why not now?

That is something I have often contemplated. Not that I think Jesus should have been sent during my time, but it’s something I wonder. I wonder what it would have been like if God had waited another 2,000 years before sending the Messiah. Would it have worked? How different would it have been? With advanced technology, transportation, and communication, how would the life of Jesus affect the world today? And what type of world would Jesus have been entering into. So many worldly events have occurred almost because of Jesus’ life taking place when it did. If Jesus had been born 2,000 years later, how would the world have taken shape?

I know my life could have been drastically changed. In fact, it may not even had come to surpass.

Now wondering about this fact, (because I do indeed believe that Jesus lived, died, arose, and ascended into heaven) does not negate my faith. It can only help me to grow. That is, if I choose to search for my answers in the right place – the Bible.

A faith full of paradoxes. A faith that doesn’t change, but one I cling to even during the harder times.

6/13/17 – ALJ

HOME

A house
A home
Responsibility
The blessings outweigh the burdens
Such are the things in life
What's worth having
Is worth working for
And you enjoy it that much more
In the end
It's not really yours
So take the time
Take each moment
Soak it in
Those brief minutes of the day
Where worries are cast away
You're home now
You found a place to stay
You may not know how long
But it's the place where you belong
And for now
That's all you'll need

6/8/17 -- ALJ

MADNESS

But that's the thing, you can be mad. You can get mad. That is totally OK. You can shout at God. You can tell Him how mad you are. Shout your frustrations. Don't hold it in. It is OK to get furious, to not understand. To want to yell at God. Because it sucks. And it's going to feel that way. But sometimes, shouting at God is what we need to do. It doesn't make him hear us better, but in our frustration, when we turn to Him, we acknowledge the fact that we know He is in control. We know that He has the answer. We know that He's the one that truly has our best interest at heart. So when we are mad. When we are angry. When we are frustrated, that's not something you turn away from and tell yourself to ignore. However, you don't linger there. You move on. To conversations with God, turning to Him in prayer and refocusing that anger and frustration into something positive by trusting in Him and knowing that He will ultimately work everything to good. And unfortunately, there is no timeframe for when God will answer you. You may feel even worse. But unless you take your troubles, your frustration, your anger, guilt, madness, shame. Until you voice those feelings and bring them to God, you're only going to feel worse.

Left Behind

The things you leave
After you're gone
The things left unsaid
Left unlived
Left undone
The words you might say
Are not here today
But all is not lost
All is not gone
It is in those left behind
Left with memories and hope
Left to remember
And to cherish
Left to carry on

Left behind are the burdens of life
Left to those still to live
Yet the things you leave
Are more important than you think
Left to the people you love
Left to pass on
Those things you shared most
Showing that you cared the most

And above all
It's the love that you have
That gets left behind
It stays with those people
And though hearts break
And never fully mend
Yet like an imprint on their hearts
The LOVE for each one of them
Remains

2/4/2017 -- ALJ

The Introvert's Dilemma

Wanting to be there
But not wanting to talk
Not sure if you can really listen
Among the hammering noise
The music plays on
As the voices ramble on
Sitting on the couch
You tried so desperately to avoid
You're fine with watching the madness ensue
Like you're own personal zoo
But others start to perceive
Your distance as unease
And that you must feel out of place
Though you're okay where you're at
Just not wanting to seem
Uninterested or mean

12/2/16 -- ALJ

HURT

These are the moments that hurt the most
When all I want is to help
But it all leads to screaming
I just want to share my side of things
There's a wall built up
That I just can't breach
That I just can't reach
And the slamming door echoes in my heart
I never say it right
I don't make it better
It's now just so much worse
But I don't want you to change
I just want you to be happy
Stop living in two worlds
Don't make your own rules
This life will beat you in the end

7/17/16 -- ALJ

Remnants

Remnants of the storm
Broken pieces left behind
Gathered together
Still resting on your mind

Plies and piles
On either side
Piled up high

A broken bench
Where we used to sit
Left in pieces
Strewn across the ground

Ravaged by the storm
It swooped in
Crushing and crashing
Hitting anything it found

How to recover
How to mend
The many things
Completely destroyed in the end

7/16/2016 -- ALJ