focus

focus is absolutely essential in our lives. we need to focus while driving to stay safe. we need to focus on our work so that we are efficient and accurate. but the most important focus is  the focus on God. just like quality work requires focus on a task, we need to focus on God in order to live in a way pleasing to Him. we can't follow God if we don't focus on who He is and what He wants for us. its also very difficult to keep our focus. it can result from even the slightest digression from Godly thoughts.  work, responsibilities, hobbies, even things that seem good like family can take our minds off God if we dwell on them too much (don't misunderstand me, family is important; just not relatively). i can recall several times when, in the middle of a church service, i simply think, "who's that?" or "what does this song actually mean?" and cease understanding or thinking about the point of the song or message. unfortunately, i don't have any profound advice on keeping focus or resisting outside thoughts. i can only say that when i pray extensively for focus and more or less "enter the zone" of worship (i really don't know what it is, just like a mindset or something), that's when i find focusing on God and His Will the easiest.

bound to freak you out

star frame

the image of a star is quite an oddity. with all we know about stars and their form, we still repeatedly depict them and recognize them with angled points (usually with the ubiquitous five- point; "why five?" ive always wondered). the reality of a star is shrunken from infernal blaze, nearly infinite energy, and beyond blinding light to a few triangles when depicted. even the immense pictures we have of our galaxy captured with our most advanced technology hardly gives us an idea of what firsthand encounter would be like. we often do the same thing when it comes to God. we know and acknowledge that God is infinitely powerful and wonderful... (ive often caught myself just repeating the word 'blah' in my prayers). still, when thinking about God and certain situations, we come up short- sided. we cant help but box God in a little frame. not only that, but like adding triangles to a star, we tend to add certain more human- like qualities to Him (constraints of time and space, human emotions, etc.) and make God something entirely different in our minds. this problem may never escape us, but if we take the time to only acknowledge God for what we know Him to be and leave the rest (see sweet uncertain) we might just be able to gain a better understanding of who He is.

faustus' tradeoff

after reading Doctor Faustus in my British Lit class at mc, my professor went over some themes found in the work.  among those covered were the futility and imminence of life, man's need for something better than what he has, and the risk of seeking the unreachable (along with several allusions to Icarus and Daedalus). however, my professor never referred to the much iterated Matthew 16: 26, which i found interesting. that lead to my personal study into the matter, and eventually into this sketch.

visual representation of immense boredom as a result of waiting at an auto shop for three hours

(please disregard nonsensical adjectives in upper left corner)

the ultimate change

Salvation through Christ is not a passive, serene process. it is dynamic, explosive, and revamping procedure. it changes us from the condemned and guilty enemies of God to His chosen, righteous children. the problem is that this is something already done for us and we simply accept it.  if salvation was something that occurred at the precise moment we wanted it to, my guess is we wouldn't even be able to handle it and be completely devastated (physically).  instead, we accept Salvation after the fact. because of this, there isn't much initial change in our behavior. the only thing that changes is the spiritual crossover from death to life (thank you LeCrae). however, we do know that our spirits have been changed so radically that it will affect us in our lives and the way we act.

sweet uncertain

"i surrender, im surrounded by my mind. and as the white flag gently waves, it spirits me away. i raise my hands 'cause i can't awake my voice. im hemmed in once again by the sweet uncertain." goes the song sweet uncertain by Braddigan.  sometimes we do feel surrounded, trying to understand God. we get so caught up trying to figure out things that are hopelessly unfigurable (check righteoustified under "life on purpose"). little do we realize sometimes that impossibility is the very nature of God. impossibility to understand, to comprehend, to put in a nice little box ("as the heavens are above the earth..."). sometimes we need to raise that white flag and rest in the fact that we do serve a God who is way more than we can understand. one thing ive noticed about the way we describe God is the word "wonderful" comes up a lot. the first definition that would come up for "wonderful" is mostly a simple synonym for "good" or "great." while this is a common misconception, this is one of the truest things about God; He is full of wonder. the beauty of God is the mystery of God. "won't you come and fill this place..."