forestphoenixx

[forestphoenixx]

Trust & Obey – Thoughts from January 1, 2023. 

            As we enter the new year, I’m reflecting on the weight those two words have had on me since September. Trust and Obey – they seem like simple things on the face of it, something every “good” Christian will tell you is a part of life. However, when faced with actual challenges in life, I’ve found that trust and obedience are harder than the words imply. As is often the case with following Jesus, things do not always go the way we would have them go, especially with regards to our future plans and the things we want for ourselves. His plan doesn’t always line up with ours, and that’s hard to come to terms with.

            If you’re anything like me, you love having a plan for literally any situation that comes your way. You’ve got that Type A, practical personality that means your every move is well thought out and considered before being made. And, if you’re like me, then you are absolutely devastated when things don’t follow the established plan. Whether it’s missing the plane you were meant to be on or something as simple as waking up an hour later than you’d planned, you just can’t handle the uncertainty and anxiety that comes with deviance from the plan.

            And that’s an okay way to be! The world needs thinkers like us to hold it together and keep it spinning on time. Although we often get a bad rap for not being as easygoing or agreeable as the “free thinkers,” the world’s creative types, we are needed at the end of the day to make sure that the dog gets fed on time and the clocks keep ticking in tandem. We are important; valued for combating the very things that often cause us distress. That bring the order and stability that we are uniquely and unquestionably able to bring to a chaotic world. We show God’s orderliness, His plan and pattern through the way we establish our own structure in our day to day lives. We are living evidence of a Creator who refuses to leave things up to chance, who establishes order in keeping with His character.

            However, sometimes it just feels like we’re getting in our own way, doesn’t it? I mean, life would be so much easier if I could just go with the flow, let things like disrupted plans roll off my shoulders, shrug it off and keep moving. But I can’t. I haven’t ever been able to, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. So, how do we navigate our lives in a way that glorifies God when it feels like the things we plan won’t come to fruition?

            We have to trust His plan. I know, I know – it’s trite, and even I’m tired of hearing it on my bad days. Trust me, I would rather manipulate a situation until no semblance of the original plan remains than move forward without one. Giving my plans over to Jesus and trusting that He will do infinitely more with them than I ever could is HARD. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, and it’s made harder by the fact that it isn’t a one-time deal. We have to give up our own sense of control, our ideas for what we want or deserve out of life, and we have to keep doing that time and time again until the end of our days. As Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” There will never be a time when His plans are not better than ours. There will never be a day where what we think we want is better than what God wants for us. If our wants and desires are not aligned with His plan for us, then we will continue to be disappointed, and we will end up disillusioned with Him if we aren’t careful. 

            If you grew up in the church, or have attended church for any stretch of time longer than, like, three weeks, there are several verses on this topic that you’ve probably heard multiple times and memorized at one point in your life. We can start off with Jeremiah 29:11 - “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” We don’t even have to look past the very words of this verse to get confirmation that He not only has plans for us, but that they are plans for our good, to give us hope. Psalm 33:11 confirms this once again, saying that “the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations,” and Psalm 32:8 tells us that He will “instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; [counseling] you with my loving eye on you.” 

            Of course, the “poster child” (or poster verse, if you will) of trusting in the Lord is Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” This verse is about as clear as it gets! We are not meant to trust our own thoughts and opinions over the Lord’s, no matter how wise we think we are or how much we know about a situation. When the Lord calls us out of a situation we want to be in, there is always something else going on that He knows about and we cannot see. Since we know that His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, He has plans for us, and that those plans work for our benefit even when we can’t fathom how, we can rest in Him and give Him our trust, our thoughts, and our plans for the future. 

            Indeed, we can even see implications in scripture of where a lack of trust in the Lord caused Him to delay the enactment of His plans (Matthew 13:58, “And He did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.”). This does not mean that the Lord’s plan is in any way derailed or misplaced, but rather that the Lord wishes to partner with us in the fulfillment of His plans for us. He wants our trust and obedience before He gives us the good things He has in store.

            So, since we can see clearly at multiple points in Scripture that the Lord has good plans for us, how then should we live? How can we live out the trust we are meant to have in His plans and provision? Well, that’s where obedience comes into play. No matter what the Lord says, no matter where He wants us to go, what He wants us to give up, or who He wants us to forgive, we are called, as His people, to obey Him in all things. A point in the Bible where this idea is made clear that has stood out to me is the story of Jonathan and his armor-bearer from 1 Samuel 15. At this point in Israel’s history, Saul is king and the Philistines have dominated the Israelites completely, making God’s nation subservient to them in more than one respect. Jonathan, Saul’s son, decides to attack a Philistine outpost without informing his father and taking only his armor-bearer, a personal assistant of sorts, with him. Jonathan shows tremendous faith and trust in what the Lord would have him do, and obedience to what God said, by taking a step back and asking for His guidance before going through with what he wanted to do (verse 10). The Enduring Word Commentary on this chapter names Jonathan as having a “Romans 8:31 heart: ‘If God can be for us, who can be against us?’” 

            Jonathan showed wisdom and complete trust in the Lord in this instance. He knew that his heart might be wrong, that his human emotions and thoughts were fallible and might be leading him astray, and so sought the Lord’s guidance before making a move. Enduring Word makes the important distinction that he did not doubt a word from God, as had other figures earlier in 1 Samuel (cough cough, Saul), but rather doubted his own heart and mind. Jonathan was content in knowing his part of the plan without demanding to hear the whole one, taking one step at a time and trusting that the Lord knew everything that was to come. He showed an obedience fueled by his trust when he attacked the more than twenty Philistines stationed there with only his armor-bearer by his side. 

            We can take Jonathan’s example for how we should respond to our own thoughts, emotions, and plans, and take a step back to evaluate them next to what the Lord says to make sure they are sound before moving forward. When we realize that His plans work together for our good (Romans 8:28), that His plans will come to pass regardless of how much planning and strategizing we do for ourselves (Proverbs 16:9), and that He is working in His own time to keep the promises He has made to His people so that all may come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), we really have no choice but to give Him the reins and see where He takes us. 

            Well, I say we have no choice, but what I really mean is that we have no logical choice but to obey Him. We can fight, and push back, and rage against His plans, but at the end of the day, we are only hurting ourselves. When it feels like all we’re doing is getting in our own way by trying to be in control, that’s because we are. Things will run so much more smoothly with Him in control, since He knows not only the future, but our hearts and the hearts of those around us. When we can fully trust in His ability to work things together for our good, the only choice that makes sense is to obey Him when He speaks to us and believe Him when He says that He will see us through to the end. 

[forestphoenixx]

voices by house of heroes 

an analysis

(i’m sure these things have been noticed before but i was thinking hard about this song in the car earlier and wanted to rant about it so here, have a rant) 

thinking about the lyrics to this song and specifically the second verse, the lines that go 

“in a graceless world i was graceless / i’m just a murderer cuz murder was my only chance / though I’m wretched i am not faithless / the ears of God hear everything / and He hears them still / every cry (every breath), every lamb that i’ve slain / just to save myself / how can God show mercy? I was merciless to them” 

Keep reading

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me for the past week

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idk but there’s this feeling in my heart, this headcanon that popped up from the moment I first talked to Elliott

that this man has gathered himbo/hunk-ish physical traits like the infinity stones and he cannot help it and he absolutely fucking hates it. he’s tall, he’s broad on the shoulders, he’s lean but just heavy-set enough that he gives off fighter vibes, not bard. think more harpy eagle than crow. merman rather than lithe vampire. more knight in shining armor than starving artist and for fuck’s sake that’s not what he’s going for.

he is very particular about his appearance because the aesthetic was not natural, it was cultivated. he’s not a pretty landscape, he’s a curated gallery experience that looks effortless now because he’s been at it for a long time. leave him alone for two weeks without shaving his beard and he looks like you’d meet him in a shady tavern in the docks district of the next town over deep into his third bottle of rum. short haired Elliott looks like he’s about to commit a hate crime.

he’s not insecure about his appearance, he just knows who he is at heart and it’s important to him that the point easily comes across. he could have chosen from a number of occupations that people have told him would be more suitable, because he didn’t use to “look like a writer” but he needs to prove that he’s a creative, sensitive soul capable of touching human hearts with his words.

deep down, of course, he understands that most people wouldn’t care what he looks like. he knows, though he’s not ready to admit it, that putting effort into looking the part, living and breathing the part, is an attempt to prove to himself that he can do it, because time is slipping through his fingers and he feels like he is no closer to that finish line. it’s been a while and he still doesn’t have a novel, the ideas still don’t flow like he wants them to, he hasn’t found his muse - and it’s all terrifying.

[forestphoenixx]

Precious things:

- lightning bugs rising from the ground

- evening light through the summer forest leaves

- the sound of night rain

- a cool breeze on a warm day with the sound of rustling leaves

- slow deep breaths after a hard moment or tough cry

- sitting alone outside, taking in the thunder and rain

- identifying a star or constellation without a map

- fresh clothes out of the dryer, still warm

- meaningful hugs

- the perfect song coming on at the right moment

- sun rays through the clouds

- a loving hug from someone after a long (sad, not angry) cry

- stargazing/sunset gazing with God

- walking in the warm rain

- hearing/feeling someone’s heartbeat

- a gulp of cold water when you’re hot & thirsty: feeling it go all the way down your chest

- full cedar trees billowing and dancing in the wind

- seeing snowflakes when the weather never called for snow

- the fact that humans make houses for birds

- dog noses

- laugh lines on an older person / seeing an old person smile

- small little wildflowers

- seeing wildflowers on the side of the road as you pass by

- hearing your favorite song on the radio

- When someone remembers something small about you

- stars at the beach

- taking a blanket out of the dryer and wrapping it around you

- the first star you see in the evening

- shooting stars/satellites

- knowing someone really cares & resting in that

- music boxes

- cicadas on a summer night

- sunday evening/afternoon drives with the windows down

- feeling the grass between your toes

- watching and hearing your friends laugh together

- seeing a smile in someone’s eyes / seeing their face glow

- when you notice your friends starting to pick up and use your language and quirks

- when a friend wears your favorite color just to make you smile

- receiving heartfelt gifts

- an old stone wall covered with moss

- writing stories in an empty coffee shop while it’s raining

- when a stranger pays for your order

- wearing someone else’s shirt/jacket because it smells like them

- a roaring fire

- nutmeg on eggnog

- when something smelling like a memory

- a heart that’s broken but still beating

- holding someone’s face / your face being held

- seeing a bluebird

- a fresh warm loaf of homemade bread

- whispered I love yous

- hay bales in a field

- birdsong outside your window

- hearing a bird sing for the first time after winter

- watching dust float through the air through a sun ray

- seeing fruit develop on a tree, over the course of a time, and seeing the creatures it brings to eat it

- morning crickets / the sound of early morning

Keep this list going, and add your own precious things

#precious #poetic #poetry #words #moments #life #nature #personal observations #writing #quietmoments #comfort #safe #precious things

[forestphoenixx]

I swear every attempt at a period piece that tries to be ‘modern’ and ‘bold’ and ‘daring’ just end up doing the same thing as each other.

You know what would actually be daring and bold for a period movie would be to allow the characters clothing, behaviour and attitude to represent (or at least capture the spirit) of the time period they are in and trust the audience to still be able to relate and empathise with people from such a different world, who still go through such innately human experiences. 

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by joe_shively_photos

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Gamma Cygni Nebula in Cygnus by Min Xie

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by @omisoshiru_oisi

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NGC 6188, Dueling Dragons

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his charm. his love. his berry

[forestphoenixx]

if i bring a book someplace it doesn't necessarily mean i want to read it mayb i just want to take her on a walk. Get her some fresh air and a change of scenery

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Anastasia Trusova on Instagram

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Oceanshades | By Frederick Judd Waugh (1861-1940)

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Staff Sergeant Lusic of the 8th Air Force makes his air gunner preparations before boarding his plane for the next mission - date and location unknown

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Always glad to see another 3 bladed Corsair on the scene. Oshkosh 2021