Things To Let Go Of:

Self-doubt. Despair. Anxiety. It was Finished at the Cross. And Sometimes the act of Having Faith is Hard.

God is saying today,

What sin do you need to die to? Come, let us bury it. Let me make you a new heart so that you can receive the promise I’ve made to you in it’s fullness.

- Deuteronomy 21:23

Sitting at Your feet,is where I want to be

I'm home when I am here with You

Ruined by Your grace, enamored by Your gaze

I can't resist the tenderness in You

I'm deep in love with You, Abba Father

I'm deep in love with You, Lord

My heart, it beats for You, precious Jesus

I'm deep in love with You Lord

Humbled and amazed that You would call my name

I never have to search again

There's a deep desire that's burning like a fire

To know You as my closest friend

Lord, my redeemer, Your blood runs through my veins

My love for You is deeper than it was yesterday

I enter through the curtain, parted by Your grace

Oh, Your the lover of my soul

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” said the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back!”

“Be logical,” said the scorpion. “If I stung you I’d certainly drown myself.”

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Climb aboard, then!” But no sooner than they were halfway across the river, the scorpion stung the frog, and they both began to thrash and drown. “Why on earth did you do that?” the frog said morosely. “Now we’re both going to die.” 

“I can’t help it,” said the scorpion. “It’s my nature.”

___

…But no sooner than they were halfway across the river, the frog felt a subtle motion on its back, and in a panic dived deep beneath the rushing waters, leaving the scorpion to drown.

“It was going to sting me anyway,” muttered the frog, emerging on the other side of the river. “It was inevitable. You all knew it. Everyone knows what those scorpions are like. It was self-defense.”

___

…But no sooner had they cast off from the bank, the frog felt the tip of a stinger pressed lightly against the back of its neck. “What do you think you’re doing?” said the frog.

“Just a precaution,” said the scorpion. “I cannot sting you without drowning. And now, you cannot drown me without being stung. Fair’s fair, isn’t it?”

They swam in silence to the other end of the river, where the scorpion climbed off, leaving the frog fuming.

“After the kindness I showed you!” said the frog. “And you threatened to kill me in return?”

“Kindness?” said the scorpion. “To only invite me on your back after you knew I was defenseless, unable to use my tail without killing myself? My dear frog, I only treated you as I was treated. Your kindness was as poisoned as a scorpion’s sting.”

___

…“Just a precaution,” said the scorpion. “I cannot sting you without drowning. And now, you cannot drown me without being stung. Fair’s fair, isn’t it?”

“You have a point,” the frog acknowledged. “But once we get to dry land, couldn’t you sting me then without repercussion?”

“All I want is to cross the river safely,” said the scorpion. “Once I’m on the other side I would gladly let you be.”

“But I would have to trust you on that,” said the frog. “While you’re pressing a stinger to my neck. By ferrying you to land I’d be be giving up the one deterrent I hold over you.”

“But by the same logic, I can’t possibly withdraw my stinger while we’re still over water,” the scorpion protested.

The frog paused in the middle of the river, treading water. “So, I suppose we’re at an impasse.”

The river rushed around them. The scorpion’s stinger twitched against the frog’s unbroken skin. “I suppose so,” the scorpion said.

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Absolutely not!” said the frog, and dived beneath the waters, and so none of them learned anything.

___

A scorpion, being unable to swim, asked a turtle (as in the original Persian version of the fable) to carry it across the river. The turtle readily agreed, and allowed the scorpion aboard its shell. Halfway across, the scorpion gave in to its nature and stung, but failed to penetrate the turtle’s thick shell. The turtle, swimming placidly, failed to notice.

They reached the other side of the river, and parted ways as friends.

___

…Halfway across, the scorpion gave in to its nature and stung, but failed to penetrate the turtle’s thick shell.

The turtle, hearing the tap of the scorpion’s sting, was offended at the scorpion’s ungratefulness. Thankfully, having been granted the powers to both defend itself and to punish evil, the turtle sank beneath the waters and drowned the scorpion out of principle.

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” sneered the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back.”

The scorpion pleaded earnestly. “Do you think so little of me? Please, I must cross the river. What would I gain from stinging you? I would only end up drowning myself!”

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Even a scorpion knows to look out for its own skin. Climb aboard, then!”

But as they forged through the rushing waters, the scorpion grew worried. This frog thinks me a ruthless killer, it thought. Would it not be justified in throwing me off now and ridding the world of me? Why else would it agree to this? Every jostle made the scorpion more and more anxious, until the frog surged forward with a particularly large splash, and in panic the scorpion lashed out with its stinger.

“I knew it,” snarled the frog, as they both thrashed and drowned. “A scorpion cannot change its nature.”

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. The frog agreed, but no sooner than they were halfway across the scorpion stung the frog, and they both began to thrash and drown.

“I’ve only myself to blame,” sighed the frog, as they both sank beneath the waters. “You, you’re a scorpion, I couldn’t have expected anything better. But I knew better, and yet I went against my judgement! And now I’ve doomed us both!”

“You couldn’t help it,” said the scorpion mildly. “It’s your nature.” 

___

…“Why on earth did you do that?” the frog said morosely. “Now we’re both going to die.”

“Alas, I was of two natures,” said the scorpion. “One said to gratefully ride your back across the river, and the other said to sting you where you stood. And so both fought, and neither won.” It smiled wistfully. “Ah, it would be nice to be just one thing, wouldn’t it? Unadulterated in nature. Without the capacity for conflict or regret.”

___

“By the way,” said the frog, as they swam, “I’ve been meaning to ask: What’s on the other side of the river?”

“It’s the journey,” said the scorpion. “Not the destination.”

___

…“What’s on the other side of anything?” said the scorpion. “A new beginning.”

___

…”Another scorpion to mate with,” said the scorpion. “And more prey to kill, and more living bodies to poison, and a forthcoming lineage of cruelties that you will be culpable in.”

___

…”Nothing we will live to see, I fear,” said the scorpion. “Already the currents are growing stronger, and the river seems like it shall swallow us both. We surge forward, and the shoreline recedes. But does that mean our striving was in vain?”

___

“I love you,” said the scorpion.

The frog glanced upward. “Do you?”

“Absolutely. Can you imagine the fear of drowning? Of course not. You’re a frog. Might as well be scared of breathing air. And yet here I am, clinging to your back, as the waters rage around us. Isn’t that love? Isn’t that trust? Isn’t that necessity? I could not kill you without killing myself. Are we not inseparable in this?”

The frog swam on, the both of them silent.

___

“I’m so tired,” murmured the frog eventually. “How much further to the other side? I don’t know how long we’ve been swimming. I’ve been treading water. And it’s getting so very dark.”

“Shh,” the scorpion said. “Don’t be afraid.”

The frog’s legs kicked out weakly. “How long has it been? We’re lost. We’re lost! We’re doomed to be cast about the waters forever. There is no land. There’s nothing on the other side, don’t you see!”

“Shh, shh,” said the scorpion. “My venom is a hallucinogenic. Beneath its surface, the river is endlessly deep, its currents carrying many things.” 

“You - You’ve killed us both,” said the frog, and began to laugh deliriously. “Is this - is this what it’s like to drown?” 

“We’ve killed each other,” said the scorpion soothingly. “My venom in my glands now pulsing through your veins, the waters of your birthing pool suffusing my lungs. We are engulfing each other now, drowning in each other. I am breathless. Do you feel it? Do you feel my sting pierced through your heart?”

“What a foolish thing to do,” murmured the frog. “No logic. No logic to it at all.”

“We couldn’t help it,” whispered the scorpion. “It’s our natures. Why else does anything in the world happen? Because we were made for this from birth, darling, every moment inexplicable and inevitable. What a crazy thing it is to fall in love, and yet - It’s all our fault! We are both blameless. We’re together now, darling. It couldn’t have happened any other way.”

___

“It’s funny,” said the frog. “I can’t say that I trust you, really. Or that I even think very much of you and that nasty little stinger of yours to begin with. But I’m doing this for you regardless. It’s strange, isn’t it? It’s strange. Why would I do this? I want to help you, want to go out of my way to help you. I let you climb right onto my back! Now, whyever would I go and do a foolish thing like that?”

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” said the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back!”

“Be logical,” said the scorpion. “If I stung you I’d certainly drown myself.”  

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Come aboard, then!” But no sooner had the scorpion mounted the frog’s back than it began to sting, repeatedly, while still safely on the river’s bank.

The frog groaned, thrashing weakly as the venom coursed through its veins, beginning to liquefy its flesh. “Ah,” it muttered. “For some reason I never considered this possibility.”

“Because you were never scared of me,” the scorpion whispered in its ear. “You were never scared of dying. In a past life you wore a shell and sat in judgement. And then you were reborn: soft-skinned, swift, unburdened, as new and vulnerable as a child, moving anew through a world of children. How could anyone ever be cruel, you thought, seeing the precariousness of it all?” The scorpion bowed its head and drank. “How could anyone kill you without killing themselves?”

kinda weird hozier asks

- Take Me To Church- Are you religious?

- Work Song- Is there anyone you’d sing a love song to, romantic or platonic?

- Someone New- Do you fall in love easily?

- Almost- Do you ever dance alone to music?

- Cherry Wine- Do you have a sweet tooth?

- Nina Cried Power- Do you participate in any activist movements?

- From Eden- Do you think theres “something tragic about this” life?

- Movement- Do you perform in any way?

- Angel Of Small Death and The Codeine Scene- Any addictions?

- Like Real People Do- Have you kissed people?

- Jackie and Wilson- Do you want kids?

- Shrike- What’s your favorite bird?

- Dinner and Diatribes- What’s your favorite food?

- Moment’s Silence- What do you find beautiful about the situation you’re in now?

- Would That I- Is there anything you wish you could change about the past?

- NFWMB- Is there anything you would protect with your life?

- To Be Alone- Do you prefer other people’s company or your own?

- Arsonist’s Lullabye- Do you ever feel lost?

- No Plan- Do you believe in a pre-determined purpose in life?

- Sedated- What time do you go to sleep?

- As it Was- Do you go to many parks and natural places?

- In A Week- How do you want to die?

- Be- Have you changed much as a person in the last year?

- In the Woods Somewhere- Have you ever had a supernatural experience?

- My Love Will Never Die- Are you dating anyone?

- It Will Come Back- Do you like to write?

- To Noise Making- Do you like to sing?

- Talk- What’s your best friend like?

- Nobody- Who in your life is important to you?

- Foreigner’s God- Do you ever talk to yourself or something above?

- Sunlight- Do you prefer sunny or rainy weather, or somewhere in between?

Thanks for playing!

“Nothing is more necessary than finding God and falling in love and deeper into Him. Love decides. Love decides everything. What you are in love with decides what you live for. Fall in love with the One who fills your lungs with this breath and all these people and this sky and all this light, all this glorious light. You have to fall in love because this will get you up and keep you going every day.”

— Ann Voskamp

all i wanna do is travel and look hot

Food for thought.

Imagine you were about to move into your dream house and then all of a sudden, everything fell through and you were forced to stay in your current house for another year. Rightfully so, you would be frustrated. But in that moment you have two choices: you can either spend the whole year complaining because you can no longer move into your dream house, or you can start to see your current house in a new way. That bedroom that seemed so boring? You can paint the walls. That kitchen that seemed outdated? You can change the knobs on the cabinet and replace the tiles on the floor. The living room that was nothing exciting? You can learn how to make new curtains or a new rug for the floor. You can start to appreciate and make the most of what was already there. ⠀ This is what it means to learn to be content with you have. Being content with what you have is not settling for what you have. It is learning to see what you already have in a way you might have otherwise overlooked. ⠀ Through contentment, God wants to show you the many beautiful and intricate details of what He is already doing in your life that you may have otherwise overlooked, had you only been focused on what you don’t have yet. ⠀ You may not have your dream house, your dream job, or your dream family yet, but by learning to be content with what you have, God wants you to see the beauty in the life He has already laid in front of you. ⠀ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. - Philippians 4:11 ⠀ Written by @morganhnichols for #TheDevoCo

How Cool is This! :-D

Try seeing through a teary face.. Too blurred.

Lord, Bless Me.