rachististneat-blog-blog

[rachististneat-blog-blog]

Check this man out. Awesome poet who I've had the privilege of meeting. He reps Jesus and is unashamed!

#jesus #god #poet #poetry #poem #poems #art #love #christian #christ #Christianity #identity

[rachististneat-blog-blog]

Marathon

I have never run in a marathon, and I probably never will. But I do know one thing, if I knew I wouldn’t make it to the end, then there would be no way anyone could ever coax me into starting one. Now, I’m not gonna lie. I’m not fit. And I have asthma. And physical activity and I aren’t exactly the best of friends. What would be the point of starting a race just to fail? It would be embarrassing and image wrecking for many. It would be a stab to pride. Why did I even try this? I have come up short. I have failed. I have seen several people give up on God simply because things weren’t going the way they wanted. God didn’t seem to be doing the things He told them He would. He wasn’t giving them the desires of their heart. The actual truth is, they didn’t have control. They saw Jesus with open arms and thought, He seems like a nice guy. He wants to help me out – get me out of this hole I’m in and give me stuff. He wants me to be happy! While this is true – Jesus is a pretty awesome guy and He wants you to be filled with joy – Jesus wants all of you. Yes, all of you. Jesus wants you to pack every thought, desire, ambition, item, family member, friend, etc., into a box, tie it up with a bow and hand it over. With a true, burning passion for Jesus, comes total surrender. And with this surrender, we begin a race. And some people aren’t quite ready for it. Jesus invites us all to recline at His table and dine, but some aren’t up to stripping themselves of everything they’ve toiled for before dinner. Some just aren’t ready to hand everything over. Some aren’t ready to run. What if I don’t have a hot wife? I need to get my doctorate. Jesus can’t give me the same feeling as heroin pumping through my veins. Oh, what Jesus’ blood can do. Oh, what total surrender to the divine power of the universe will do. I promise you, there are few believers who just said “Well, I guess today is the day that I’m going to finally give up everything and give Jesus a shot”. That’s not how it works. The Gospel invades and forces us to harden or soften our hearts to the supreme reign of God. We are forced to either surrender or walk away every time we hear about Jesus’ sacrifice. I understand that some people have some extra weight. Fears. Insecurities. Shortcomings. I understand that these can bog a person down if there seems to be no hope at the end of the tunnel. Chasing after dreams seems so much more liberating than letting a God who isn’t truly visible, tangible. I have seen Christians who have been dedicated to the faith for years just get depressed and begin to slow down. Where am I actually going? Where is Jesus going? I need clarity. I need hope. This isn’t working out. “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” – 1 Thessalonians 5:24 (ESV). God has not moved. God will not move. And God will not let you fall down. I promise. I have 100% faith that God will turn your life around. And I have the same amount of faith that God will use you for His purpose, which is a thousand times better than anything we could ever dream up. God promises to carry you through everything. And even though you may not always feel like you do on a Sunday morning when “I Exalt Thee” is played, remember that God has a plan. God will use you for His glory. God sent His Son to die so we have the opportunity to clean ourselves up and walk joyfully in His divine path carved out for us. Whether that is being a stay-at-home mother, an office worker, a window cleaner, a politician – whatever God has called you to is for His purpose, and He will bring you through it triumphantly. Dig deeper into the Word. Talk to God. Remind yourself of where you were before Him and where you are now. Even if it seems like you were living the dream life before you kneeled before God and now it seems like you have nothing, you have so much more than you realize in this moment. You have your life nailed to a blood stained cross with Jesus. You have your life in His hands.

#perservere #running #jesus #christian #scripture #god #peace #love #joy

[rachististneat-blog-blog]

[rachististneat-blog-blog]

Consumed.

Here I stand, Victorious on my chains. And here I lay, Overpowered by Your grace. Your love for me strengthens me. Your majesty humbles me. You have consumed me. You have consumed me. My Jesus, You have consumed me. On my knees, Lost in Your Presence, My King. Swept away, You give me reason to sing. Your love for me strengthens me. Your majesty humbles me. You have consumed me. You have consumed me. My Jesus, You have consumed me. Be my breath. Be my heart. God Almighty, You consume me. You have consumed me. You have consumed me. My Jesus, You have consumed me.

[rachististneat-blog-blog]

Awwww!

[rachististneat-blog-blog]

Straining God Through a Spaghetti Strainer.

If I couldn't control it, I was never able to be around it. Seriously. People, plans, things. If I didn't have at least 95% control over it, I wanted nothing to do with it. I've always been power hungry out of fear and the lust of control. My grip was tight on everything I had my crummy hands on - and if it started slipping, I dropped it like a red-hot iron. I was never willing to take risks at my own expense. I feared failure, loss, heartache, and every other undesirable thing imaginable. But that's not how God planned it. He tells me to come to Him. He wants me to surrender all and come to Him. He wants me to drink from His fountain of living water. He wants me to have life, and have it abundantly. My God is bigger than me and anything else I may encounter. Whatever I put my hands in, HE controls it. Not me. He just lets me taste it. It's His, and always will be. He may lend it to me for a brief moment, but it's still His, and His, ONLY. Whenever I take control, everything fails. When I do not consult God with what to do with my resources that He has blessed me with, I WILL mess things up. Unless I am constantly aware of God, His plan, and His will, I will be left with nothing but a puddle of slop. His word explains it all: "For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water" - Jeremiah 2:13 (ESV) When we try to take control of anything, we are first of all forsaking God. We are blaspheming and downplaying His promises, commandments, and being. We literally tell God, "Yeah, I know You're awesome and sovereign and all that cool stuff. I know You've made and kept promises repeatedly, and I know You will have control no matter what I do, buuuuut, I'm gonna try to do it better". We spit in His face, mock Him, and turn away without remorse. And it doesn't even end there! We then proceed to do things our way! Our destructive way, that makes absolutely no sense. We begin to worship ourselves and our situations that we create for ourselves for our own benefit, simply because we fool ourselves into thinking we have control. It doesn't take any faith to strike up a conversation with a best friend. But what if God wants more to display His own amazing glory? What if He tells us to talk to a man walking down the street who could quite possibly be shooting up heroin behind closed doors? Fear will control us unless we let God have control. Fear DESTROYS the works of God. Instead of following Him, we may end up disregarding His tugs and pulls and destroy His beautiful, intricate plan. If we do things His way, we can dance barefoot in overflowing, always renewing fountain. If we go about our own way, we will have a spaghetti left with sin and debris at the bottom.

#god #glory #pride #control

[rachististneat-blog-blog]

A woman who has truly denied herself, taken up her cross, and become entirely consumed with Jesus Christ is not going to be an insecure young woman, starving herself and obsessed with making herself look more attractive. Rather, she’s so enraptured with Jesus Christ that she’s completely lost sight of herself.

Leslie Ludy (via bindmyheart)

[rachististneat-blog-blog]

Sinner.

Whether I have vocalized it or not, I was, am, and will be a sinner. I cannot say I'm blameless. Only the One on the throne, encircled by a sea of glass can smooth Maybelline over the blemishes and call me spotless, and unbuckle the collar and let me leap in green pastures reserved for sinners like me. Only He can set me free. Only He can name me. And only He can grant me the grace to kneel at altars eradicated of incense; with no more colored curtains- and spill our my heart, And play Yahtzee with the Spirit. I have planned to play Holy Pursuit when I was ready to- but I never realized I was only player two And the One has been defeating mission after mission, setting me up with the Great Commission- but I played with my hat over my eyes, I wasn't ready to hold the prize, I wasn't ready to call it mine. I wasn't ready for Him to lock salvation in my chest, and close my ribcage, And lock it with a key labeled "forever". He still answered my prayers I screamed into darkness in the comfort of my bedroom, setting me up with the right utensils to scribble holiness over children's foreheads and scratched "wait" into my uterus and painted rainbows and lightning on the insides of my eyelids preparing me for my future future. He placed glass slippers with the appearance of emerald on my ill-deserving feet that were washed 2000 years ago by a woman who reeked of repentance. Whether I realized it or not, I am Lady Magdalene. A poet like Plath, with a heart like Mary- holding grace close to my breast with Jesus' blood beating in my chest. The blood that dripped from the cursed tree from the cursed man who died for me to write and play and leap and pray. I have been chosen by my Father to wear the cloak- to stand in the furnace, to run the race and shout at anyone I pass by- that I am a sinner and He still calls me holy.

[rachististneat-blog-blog]

A Poem to No Name

I have uttered your name under my breath while holding a two dollar cup of coffee I bought with quarters downtown in a small shop littered with microchips, briefcases, and ambrosia. I often wonder if it's okay to speak of you, to pray for you, to long for you, and the scent of your cologne? Is it alright if I stammer? Is my tongue allowed to curl itself into the shape of your spirit, and pour its worth onto the countertop- exposing itself to anyone to contaminate? To clench their fists and ball it up like the crumpled "Region" section of a newspaper, and toss it into the trash? You have trained my cochlea to generalize any statement into "just give it time". Is it a crime to dream of the texture of your fingerprints etched into my skin? Will you leave your signature at the end of the poem you wrote on my chest with the same fingers that dug into the earth to uproot a tulip that had the same two lips that spoke of your love for my spunk and the way my hair played tag with the wind? Is it okay if I hope you can change my eyes from grey to blue like our Pennsylvania skies, and hope you whisper prayers under your blanket at night- hoping I would hear so I knew the true color of your soul? I want you to know that I will remember the way I stapled your toes to the floor when I tried to knock you off your feet, or the way you smiled when I stuttered and stumbled over your unknown name.

[rachististneat-blog-blog]

viplairnotyet:

I will keep this photo posted for 1 week.

Every time someone Reblogs this photo I will donate 10 cent to charity: water

charity: water provides clean and safe drinking water to those who most desperately need it. After the money is donated I will post proof of donation.  

Show you care & Reblog.

Click the photo to donate.

$20 provides 1 Child Clean & Safe Water for 20 Years

[rachististneat-blog-blog]

Harbor me in the eye of the storm. I'm holding on to the love you swore.

#John Mark McMillan #Love You Swore #Jesus #love #Christianity #worship #music #lyrics

[rachististneat-blog-blog]

[rachististneat-blog-blog]

Just a little something God really poured into my heart last night as I was reading Jeremiah 44. Sometimes He gives me a quick glimpse of what He’s feeling about something, and in this case it was idolatry. Maybe it’s something ya’ll have realized before, but for me it was just a deeper understanding.

Idolatry is a big thing that we often don’t talk about anymore. But it needs to be talked about because we need to be aware of it so we can run from it at high speed.

[rachististneat-blog-blog]

JOHN MARK MCMILLAN.

So, after seeing him live for the second time this past weekend, I can say that I love his music more than almost any other artist. And guess what? HIS NEW ALBUM, "ECONOMY", COMES OUT TOMORROW ON ITUNES.

#John Mark McMillan #Christianity #Jesus #worship #excitement #economy

[rachististneat-blog-blog]

WARNING: GRAPHIC. I find this poem, while being extremely graphic in describing rape, I find it to not only unleash emotions I have suppressed, but it is deeply healing. Not only does it break me down to my basic elements of who I really am, but it builds me up - knowing that tragedy leads to compassion. I feel that this speaks for me.

#spoken word #poetry #Jasmine Mans #rape #daughters #fathers

[rachististneat-blog-blog]

Shelter.

I'm not sure if this is my own wanting, or if it's something that God has put on my heart, but when I have a home of my own, I want to share it with other people. How? I'm not sure. I think it was all affirmed when I was in Baltimore this weekend. I saw a homeless man laying on the ledge of this building, and all I wanted to do was take him to dinner and make him feel like someone cared about him. I couldn't imagine not having a blanket, or someone to talk to, or knowing that I would have a meal when I needed one.. I was overwhelmed with sadness for this man, to say the least. It made me think about my life in the future. Will I have a guest room in my house, and give shelter to homeless? I mean, non-profits and churches can only do so much. And I was blessed with a loving home to stay in when I was basically homeless. I was well-fed, kept warm, and loved beyond anything I've felt before. I was shown who Jesus really is. I lived with a family who truly followed Christ. Or will I end up adopting children? I'm not sure. But I do know that my home will not only have my biological family living there.

#homelessness #Baltimore #God #Jesus #Christianity #future #Christ #love #home #compassion #adoption #children

[rachististneat-blog-blog]

One’s faith should be like DNA. No matter what they are involved in, no matter what career choice, no matter who they encounter it simply should be ingrained, and a part of them. My faith is simply a part of me. I can no easier remove my belief in Jesus than remove my cells or heart.

Stephen Christian (via terriblekite)