Pray this today:

"I am a servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."



This was the exact response of a poor, illiterate, unmarried, nothing-going-for-her, scared, small-town girl who was between the age of twelve and sixteen when she was told she was going to the most significant woman in all of history.

She was about to become the mother of Jesus.

When sailing in a furious storm, I have two choices.

"I can escape below into skepticism and intellectualism, hanging on for dear life.
Or, with radical amazement, I can stay on deck and boldly stand in surrendered faith to the truth of my belovedness, caught up in the reckless raging fury that they call the love of God.
And learn to pray." --Brennan Manning



I must learn to pray like I'm surviving a storm, not taking a test.

Simple Things That This Guy Likes:

-walking through a freezing cold Montana creek
-laying on the warm ground after getting out of the pool
-hammocks
-cool bed sheets
-dog following me at my heels
-trying to hold back a laugh in a quiet room full of people
-ladders in libraries
-cookie dough
-hole-in-the-wall restaurants
-watching an M-80 explode under water
-throwing glow sticks into the ocean (don't do often because of environmental issues, but do at least once because of the coolness factor)
-new car smell
-stone fireplace
-leather briefcases (Indiana Jones style)
-rolling the dice to determine who will live or die when playing the board game, Risk
-throwing rocks at things floating in the water
-snow getting inside my shirt when falling over while skiing (not because of comfort, but because of the intense reminder that I am very alive)
-storing moments and feelings in pictures
-peeling off sunburnt skin
-building a bookshelf
-the fresh smell of morning
-Coke in a styrofoam cup with crushed ice at a Braves game
-fresh strings on a guitar
-smell of pipe smoke
-sound of scratches when listening to a record
-old jazz
-when words look good on a page
-storm rolling in over the ocean
-eating an orange right off the tree
-french-pressed coffee
-putting ornaments on the freshly cut Christmas tree
-sitting in a living room full of people
-charcoal grilled hamburgers (hand-shaped beef, not that frozen nonsense)
-getting my hair cut
-jogging at night
-maps
-playing music with my best friends
-watching the massive ships from Savannah's River Street
-cabins
-smell of books
-seeing the men's restroom sign after a long movie and a large Coke
-spitting off high balconies
-revolving doors because no one ever walks through them with total confidence (watch people's faces as they time their first step)
-my grandparent's grandfather clock ringing
-acting ridiculously passionate at a football game and high-fiving people you don't know
-watching a massive flock of birds change direction at the same time
-taking the pack off after a long stretch of the hike
-eating watermelon off of the rind
-the chill you get when you first sit in a hot tub
-looking around at everyone's faces when the fireworks light up the sky
-the moment after something terrible could have just happened but didn't

What are some of your simple likes?

Let this statement heal you.
Let this statement make you sing.


"But he gives more grace."


The salve to the wounds I cause and receive.
My plea before the judge.
The well from which I draw.
My song.
Reason for an eternal cheering applause.