" we smoke the same cigarettes and use the same pens."
quote of the day.

best line from a rap, " i get the party jumpin' like tiger, but now i'm pooh-in"

Before beginning a Hunt, it is wise to ask someone what you are looking for before you begin looking for it.
-- Pooh's Little Instruction Book

Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.
-- Pooh's Little Instruction Book

You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.
-- Pooh's Little Instruction Book

i love pooh bear for several reasons. i enjoy it as a kid, since they are heart warming tales of a dumb bear, dumb friends, and a whole lot of loving community between piglet, pooh, and christopher robin. I read the stories now and i enjoy them for the same reasons and a few added reasons. There is so much wisdom put into dumb words. I see the usefulness for big words, complicated theology, and long essays on a simple topic. God is an unfathomable being, but he has a habit of reaching down to us when we have little understanding and the heart of the gospel is simple, powerful, and radical. The heart of sin is distortion and complication. satan can't create, the only person who can create is God, he is the only source of anything new and unique.

"The simplification of anything is always sensational." - gk chesteron

the start of growth and the end of it begin with the same thing, We are loved and given grace that we can never know the fullest. No amount of theology or doctrine is going to make you grow an incredible amount, rather the a-z of growth is, and always has been, the gospel. Jesus sacrifice, planned by the father, so we may have a father and home we never had, is the gospel. that is how we begin and that is what we are called to when we die.

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

so, the things i enjoy most are usually under five dollars. the things most people enjoy i really couldn't care less for. usually a 19 year old college student is pretty caught up in drinking, sex, and something self glorifying like that. i can hold my alcohol better than most people and chug faster than most any guy, but i really could not care any less about that. i think the thing we long for most is home, a place where basically they have to take us in when we return and they take us in lovingly. in general family vacation spots and places where people know they are loved bring peace and a sense of healing to people who have experienced these things, just the thought brings peace to people. i think that in the end we are seeking recreate some form, a remnant, of home. When you think of it, half of the obnoxious things we do are for other people to notice, acceptance, social standing, in a strange way it is about creating a place where we are loved.

in the end, i know where my home is and i know when i will be there. i know a little of what it is like. the closest thing to home i have here, the remnant, the hint, that is on earth is family. Building a relationship with God, since home is unity with Him for me, loving people and enjoying life and what he has given me. that is the closest thing to home i have and those are the things i enjoy the most and long for the most.

the first home for humanity was the garden of eden. God and man walked and talked in a way that showed a deep relationship. After leaving eden there was a barrier inbetween us and God. the final and permanent removal is when we are finally sent to our real home, in heaven, the new earth. The things i crave and try to pursue and the closest remnants of home i can pursue on earth and that is why i pursue them.

the heart of sin is not breaking a rule, rather it is creating a distance in a relationship. keeping the law perfectly or doing everything possible to fill yourself with everything around you is about the same really. the heart of it is filling yourself up with something other than a relationship with God and trying to make it on your own. I think the greater danger is in being the "elder brother" since it is filled with seemingly good things that in their heart are selfish, but because the physical symtom are hard to see you are not going to pursue a doctor like you would if you knew you were sick. instead of seeking treatment, you die without knowing your need. The strange thing is that sin really isn't even about us. it is about a relationship with another. Sin, in the end, is relational. between God and between people is where all sin leads.

To avoid sin is to avoid God. Not meaning go out and sin to find God, but the essence of the gospel is dealing with sin. Jesus came to deal with sin and the whole bible is about showing what sin is, showing the consequences of sin, and pointing to our need and the fulfillment of that need to have someone come and deal with our sin in the ways that we could not. this is a new definition of sin for me, but i do believe that all sin is relational in a way. I struggle and satan hammers me with guilt from who i have been and the remnants of what is lingering on from who i have been. I allow this guilt to pull me away from God, since i am ashamed of who i have been and it is hard to stand up open before God when you know you are unworthy. The issue is, my claim for righteousness is not in my own merit, it is in christ's perfection he gave me. This is a trust issue for me, i have trust issues in friendships and relationships. The heart of my guilt is really believing that Jesus took my guilt, took my shame, and died with specifically you, with specifically me in mind. He died thinking about your darkest moment and mine as well. Not just humanity as a whole, but God knows how many hairs are on our head. the amazing thing is not that he knows that, but that he actually cares to know that.

romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus

then because of this:

romans 8: 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

that includes your own guilt, my trust issues, and everything inbetween. it isn't about you, you can't even seperate yourself from the love of jesus. for me, i am laying down at this point and saying take me into your love. i am done running with my guilt.

tonight raise your glass
and scream till you breath no more
since everything around us is about to pass
so give what you have
since when you're dead it doesn't matter if you're poor.

i am proud to say i am one of you
bound on a journey that isn't ours
so, tonight, tomorrow, and the next we celebrate in the corner bar
and drink to what is true

to be a brother you freely give
and hold nothing back from one another
fate will try and make you forget to live
so, we fight as a community of brothers
and together conquer fate