Amazing Grace

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound..."

I don't need my ears to hear your favor. That's why it's so amazing. That's why you're so amazing. My heart will continue to hear the sound that only you can produce. It's that life saving sound. I knew it was you who sang it.

"...that saved a wretch like me."

I continually prove how unworthy I am of your love, of your forgiveness, and yet I continue to receive both. It's incredible. I don't understand it, but I will continue to thank you for it.

"I once was lost, but now I'm found..."

I was breathing, but I wasn't alive. I was stumbling around as someone other than who I was always meant to be. I am defined by the relationship I have with you. In you, I am found.

"...was blind but now I see."

I saw my life as my own, but it is yours. Once I came to know that, I truly began to live. I surrender my body. It is yours. I surrender my mind. It is yours. I surrender my desires. They are yours. It sounds weird to say those things, but you've sorted this all out. It was all foggy. It was all strange...but I was blind. Now I see.

Living Love

When I get down to the core of who I want to be, I want to personify love. I want people to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I truly love God, and that I truly love people. 

I used to have a distorted view of what love really is. I'm young, but when I was younger, love was easy. Love was common. Love was just something you said. Love could change. Love might not last. Love was just like any other emotion. 

Now that I'm older, I'm beginning to understand what love is. With that new understanding comes a new way that I approach God and those around me.

Sometimes I feel a certain way but can't express it. I sometimes read the Scriptures, and I think to myself, “That is exactly how I feel.” Or I think, “That is exactly what I want to say.” Sometimes it's like the words I read are my own words. Or even more commonly, the words I read are exactly what I need to hear. 

This verse continues to change me every time I read it. It is a common passage, 1 Corinthians 13. I read these words as if they are my own, because they are my own. I hope you will read them in the same way. It is my prayer that we can all internalize this message, and it is my prayer that these will be your words too.  

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a noisy gong or a clanging symbol. 

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 

Love never gives up. 

Love cares more for others than for self. 

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 

Love is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

Love never fails. 

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.

When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. And now these three remain...

Faith, hope, and love. 

But the greatest of these...is love.”  

Listerine

I have taken quite a hiatus from my blog posting. This summer was crazy with all kinds of things. Many of these things I want to expand on in the future. As of now, I need to get back into the groove of things...so I thought this email that I sent to Listerine last night would be a good way to sail back "Into The Mike." 

Hello Listerine. I would first like to say, I love what you stand for and what you aim to accomplish. After using your product I immediately felt as though my mouth was further cleansed beyond what my simple brush can do. You are the Navy Seals of oral hygiene. You get the job done. I am, however, disappointed, and I am hoping you can help me solve the problem at hand (or at mouth). After I use your product, Listerine Cool Mint, the fluid leaves an unsightly blueish residue on the surface of my teeth. Is there something you can do to help me reach my goal of perfect oral appearance including the absence of plaque, gingivitis, AND the blueish residue? I hope to hear from you soon, and I hope  this can be the beginning of a long and useful relationship.