My mom and I went to Ohio last week to spend time with family. We had a blast. I got to spend an evening with my cousin and his little boy, Miles. Miles is about 1 1/2 yrs old and so much fun! Here are some pics of him.
"The Matrix is everywhere, it is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window, or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth. The truth is that you are a slave. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born into a prison that you cannot smell, or taste, or touch. A prison-FOR YOUR MIND."
This is the biggest thing that movie put in perspective for me. Everything in this world is meant to distract us from what we are REALLY here to do. Some of the distractions are the lives that we make for ourselves and everything in entertainment. We have to constantly be on our guard. We cannot allow ourselves to get sucked into the ways of the world. We are here for another purpose, a much greater purpose. It is so easy to let the little things go. Before we know it, we let almost everything go. We even make excuses for those distractions and try to convince ourselves that they are okay. What distractions have you let in? What is that God wants you to focus on? God has placed you where you are for a reason.
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" There is a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path."
We all know the truth, but do we live it out daily? We have a choice in how we are going to live our lives each day. I know that we are all going to have times when we struggle, but we need to be constantly seeking Him and resting in His presence.
"You have to trust me, you have been down there, you know that road. You know exactly where it ends. I know that's not where you want to be."
This is the same kind of thing that God whispers in our ear when he is warning us of what we are about to do. If we have a lot of other junk in the way, we are not going to be able to hear him. He does not shout. It can be hard sometimes to listen to the truth. We just push it aside because we want to do things our way. We always need to be aware that God may be speaking truth to us through the ones we love.
"Do you believe in fate Neo?-No, because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life."
We all like to be in control of our lives, and it is often for selfish reasons. We all go through the process of learning that trust and faith thing. God's timeline is very different from ours. It may seem to us that God provides at the last minute, but he provides precisely when he means to. If it wasn't at the last minute, we wouldn't have to trust and have faith that he would provide. God wants the best for us. We think we know what is best for us, but we really have no idea. Following Christ will not be the easiest way, but it WILL be the most rewarding and fulfilling thing you ever do.
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The Matrix was an incredible movie for special effects when it came out a few years ago. Over the last six months, I have been watching this movie with a new perspective. Watching the movie through new eyes, The Matrix becomes spiritually meaningful. It really brings the spiritual world to life. There are so many analogies and things in this movie that symbolize the Christian faith. The agents are demons. Morpheus is John the Baptist. Cypher is Judas. The Matrix represents the world. The Chosen One is Neo and he represents Jesus Christ and the Christian walk. I learn something new every time I watch this movie. I am in awe because SO many of the quotes penetrate right to my soul. There was something special going on when they made this movie. I don't think the writers meant for the movie to be an allegory to the Christian faith but it truly is. The next several posts will have some of the amazing quotes from the movie and my thoughts on them.
"I know why you’re here Neo, I know what you've been doing. You're looking for him. I know because I was once looking for the same thing. When he found me, he told me that I wasn't really looking for him. I was looking for an answer. It's the question that drives us, Neo. It's the question that brought you here. The answer is out there Neo. It's looking for you, and it will find you if you want it to."
We are constantly looking for answers. We want to know if there is more to this life, if there is a higher purpose for us. This is the question that drives us. We all have that God hole that needs to be filled. Nothing else will ever satisfy that need. We can try and fill it with work, relationships, material things, or hobbies, but it will never be enough. We will only find true peace and contentment when we let God in. God doesn't force us. He gently nudges us and quietly whispers in our ear. He waits patiently for us to come to Him.
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I love listening to Bethany Dillon. The lyrics to her songs are very honest and real. I was listening to her song "Exodus" and I love the excitement in the song. This is the kind of excitement that people with disabilities bring to the church. This is how excited they are to share God's love. This is how excited they are to worship. This is how excited they are to talk about God's faithfulness.
"Exodus"
Come, come fallen ones
Dance in the healing stream
He has faithfully kept you
Brought you out of captivity
Rejoice, rejoice with all your hearts
Sing Him a new song
That’s heard high on the windswept mountains
It will resound
Lead, Lord, with unfailing love
Those that You have ransomed
And we will sing out as we go on
Our God is faithful
Our God is faithful
Reflect, reflect on all your days
You weren’t so free then
Once you were all called slaves
But now, blessed children
Move, move your feet
Dance before the Lord
On to the Promised Land
On to your reward, sing
Lead, Lord, with unfailing love
Those that You have ransomed
And we will sing out as we go on
Our God is faithful
Our God is faithful
Our enemies are at the bottom of the sea, our enemies
Our enemies are at the bottom of the sea, our enemies
We were once slaves, but now we are blessed children. God leads us with unfailing love. Let's get back to the basics. Let's get some of that excitement that we had long ago. Lets dance before the Lord. OUR GOD IS FAITHFUL!
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Barb was the lady I took care of a few summers ago who had cerebral palsy. As I look back, I can't believe how patient she was with me. That week was the first time I had ever done full care for someone. I know that I totally sucked, I had no idea what I was doing. I can't imagine what she must have been thinking. She seemed to put up with me pretty well. I know that she could tell that I was nervous and a little overwhelmed. I guess she must be used to it. She was patient, and I was grateful.
How is it that this lady could teach me so much in only five days? She has completely changed my life. Camp Daniel has always been a wonderful experience for me. My experience with Barb confirmed the fact that I wanted to spend the rest of my life working with people with disabilities. I can't put into words all that this loving, beautiful woman has done fore me. One night when I was sitting next to Barb, she put her hand in mine. That reassurance from Barb was so encouraging to me. I know how hard she had to work to get her hand by mine. Her limbs are always stuck tight up next to her body.
During chapel one night, another camper wanted Barb to sit next to her. I parked Barb's wheelchair next to this camper and I ended up sitting on the other side of the chapel. We had a worship time and the message was given. The special thing about that night was the altar call. Some people went forward and then I looked over at Barb. She had her hand way up in the air. This wasn't something she normally did so I went over to her. I asked her if she wanted to go forward and she said yes. I wheeled her up to the front and prayed with her.
When the prayer was done I wheeled her around to face me. I looked into her eyes and said "You are a unique masterpiece that God has created and He loves you so much!" I will never forget the way she looked at me. She had tears in her eyes. We shared a special moment together. I saw right into her heart. It was so special to be a part of that moment.
Some people may say that they don't understand. I'm here to tell you that they DO understand. Their spirits are NOT disabled. We are ministering spirit to spirit and there is a special connection in that. I could share so many stories with you about how I witnessed a camper comprehend something spiritual better than we ever could. We have so much to learn from them. I can't wait until camp!!!!
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Last summer there was a camper that was in his 50’s or 60’s. That week was his first time at camp. There was an older counselor that had been matched up with him. The camper wasn't communicating a whole lot, at least that we could see. We soon found out that he couldn’t hear. During the first day of camp there wasn't a lot of communication with him.
For the first time last summer, we had a gal at camp who knew sign language. She wondered if he knew sign language so she sat down and started signing to him. He started signing back to her and they had a good conversation. No one told us he knew sign language.
There are always a lot of things going on during chapel. You always have to be aware of what is going on around you because you might miss something. Every once in a while I am lucky enough to see something amazing taking place. During chapel that week, this camper was across the pew from me. I watched as this gal stood right next to him and signed the songs to him. The thing that really impacted me was that he was trying to learn and sign the songs along with her. If this gal hadn’t of been there, he wouldn’t have been able to sing/sign these songs. It was an amazing thing to watch them worship.
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Ah, the innocence of children. They believe that there is no danger. They have BIG dreams. And they believe that magic is real. Unfortunately, in this horrific world we live in, so many children have their innocence, their lives stripped from them. The longer I live in this world, the more I learn how much this world sucks. There are so many horrific things going on all around us.
There are child soldiers in Africa and they are taught to kill and destroy. These children just disappear, they are stolen from their families. Their governments deny they exist. There is human trafficking. Then there are girls and women sold into prostitution. Little girls who have their innocence stolen from them. LITTLE GIRLS! A lot of the little girls are orphans that live on the street. They wouldn't be missed right? This is happening all over the world! War is destroying families and homes. People with disabilities are neglected and abused. Kids are hurting from broken homes. There are hurting people all around us. Now what are we going to do about it?
Let's put our words into ACTION! Get to know your neighbors. Volunteer at a local school or organization. There are so many things we CAN do. We need to be fighting for the innocence of children. We need to speak up for those who can't speak for themselves. We need to be fighting for souls! Let's get out there and love on people!
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