The Vision

So this guy comes up to me and says "what's the vision? What's the big idea?" I open my mouth and words come out like this… The vision?
The vision is JESUS – obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.
The vision is an army of young people.
You see bones? I see an army. And they are FREE from materialism.
They laugh at 9-5 little prisons.They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday.They wouldn't even notice.They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the west was won.They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport.. People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence.They are free yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying.What is the vision ?The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes. It makes children laugh and adults angry. It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago to reach for the stars. It scorns the good and strains for the best. It is dangerously pure.
Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation.It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games. This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause.A million times a day its soldiers
choose to loosethat they might one day winthe great 'Well done' of faithful sons and daughters.
Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night. They don't need fame from names. Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: "COME ON!"
And this is the sound of the undergroundThe whisper of history in the makingFoundations shakingRevolutionaries dreaming once againMystery is scheming in whispersConspiracy is breathing…This is the sound of the underground
And the army is discipl(in)ed.
Young people who beat their bodies into submission.
Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms. The tattoo on their back boasts "for me to live is Christ and to die is gain".
Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes. Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them ? Can hormones hold them back?Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them ?
And the generation prays
like a dying manwith groans beyond talking,with warrior cries, sulphuric tears andwith great barrow loads of laughter!Waiting. Watching: 24 – 7 – 365.
Whatever it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cosy little hide. Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials. The advertisers cannot mould them. Hollywood cannot hold them. Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the cockerel cries.
They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive
inside.
On the outside? They hardly care. They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate but never to hide. Would they surrender their image or their popularity? They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell. A throne for an electric chair.
With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days,
they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them.
Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.)Their subconscious sings. They had a blood transfusion with Jesus. Their words make demons scream in shopping centres.Don't you hear them coming? Herald the weirdo's! Summon the losers and the freaks. Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes. They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension. Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.
And this vision will be. It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon.How do I know? Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the Spirit, the very dream of God. My tomorrow is his today. My distant hope is his 3D. And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great 'Amen!' from countless angels, from hero's of the faith, from Christ himself. And he is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner. Guaranteed.

Verse of the Post: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the son of God,who loves me and gave himself for me.
Galations 2:20

Simplicity

Today was in a word... fun! I went to school today and it just whizzed by. I got to take Kenzie to school and it was a total blast. She was hilarious. We watched Bora (not Dora) together and laughed at Swiper (Swiper no swipeing)! She made a hand puppet and a princess crown! We went home and just hung out till Sara got off work. The whole time she cracked me up. She walked around my house in her business suit, being a kid in a grown-up's body. Kenzie has gotten so big! Well, then 4:00 rolled around and her mom came and got her:*( Then, I called Ashley Perkins and we hung out. Let me just tell you... if you need your liver worked out... hang with her... she's hilarious! It was so simple, perfect! We were supposed to baby sit Kenzie while Layne and Sara went on a date, but then Layne felt he had to be the youth pastor and plans came to a halt! So, while Layne was out saving the world, Sara, Ashley, Kenzie, and I had some stuffed- crust pepperoni pizza... mmm...! After that Ashley and I went to Des Moines to the mall. It was so much fun... no one had to try to impress anyone else... we could just be US! I got an outfit for $20! I was sold! Then, we went to Target and meandered through all the scarves and hats! We drove back to Adel to pick up her car! For like an hour, we just sat and talked and were real. She gave me some good advice and we just shared our lives. We are both on the same page on some stuff... and that was cool! God has blessed me with people like Ashley... they keep your head on and we just have a total blast. Well, get a liver workout... Me

Verse of the Post: And you will be hated by all for My name's sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved! Mathew 10:22

Winter Wonder Land?

Snow... what a mind- boggling thing! I remember when I was like 6... snow was a beautiful creation... it was like money (to me) falling from the sky. Rich, glorious snow, cascading down from an abundance of blue. I remember playing in the snow... building forts, chairs, and snowmen out of it. We always told people never eat the snow covered in yellow then laughed gleefully. Asking the plowmen innocently, "Push the snow my way cause your my hero." Now, snow is nothing but a car-wrecking, icy tragedy. Everything about snow disgusts me... no more snowmen... cause all they do is melt away to bottomless disappointment. Plus, snowmen steal your gloves, hats, and scarves when they liquify. Driving is the worst ever in snow. People don't know how to drive, and they swerve all over the road like maniacs. Plowmen use the snow as a prison to trap a person's car in. It just baffles me how an icy wonderland could turn into a frosty incarceration. Well, have a safe drive... Me

Verse of the Post: Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalms 51:10

Introduction

Yes, I have become a hypocrite. I got one of these silly man journals, or in my case, a diary. I don't really know what to say... not much has happened today. I got paid and my work gave us cool little $25 gift certificates to Dahl's! I was pretty excited. I just got back from Jackie's 11 year sobriety birthday. It was cool to hear recovered alcoholics talk about submitting their lives to Christ. After the party, I went over to Jeremy and Jessica's to see their baby room. It looked really cool. I couldn't get my shoes untied for like 15 minutes... it was so frustrating. I get to take Kenzie to school on Thursday! It will be so much fun. We are going to make dirt cups out of pudding, crushed oreos, and gummy worms! After that Ashley Perkins and I are going to hang out and spend my gift certificate to Dahl's and buy some good snack food! Friday, my youth group is going to have a scavenger hunt... My De is coming with... it will be exciting. Well, bye for now... Me

verse of the post... according to my earnest expectations and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body whether by life or by death Philippians 1:20