Amen. I Needed To Read This Today. I Don't Want To Exist Outside Of Christ.

Loooool.

Become The Player & NOT the Spectator of Your Life

Don't waste your life being a passive watcher of things that you could be doing yourself! In life you must learn to be resourceful and build a drive force that can allow you to be involved in the field rather than to be an observant from afar. Get out of the stands and back on the field, be a part of the game, where the action is, where you get to hit, to score, to win.

• Average people use the tools they have at hand as a form of excapism from their reality, great people utilize the tools they have at hand in a resourceful manner to improve their quality of life.

• Average people use social media as a form of distraction, great people use it for business purposes.

• Average people become complacent with the routines and people/places they have grown accustomed to because they fear change, great people embrace change and allow themselves to get out of their comfort zones to constantly try new things.

• Average people are followers of the crowds, trends, other people's behaviour, lack the capacity to think for themselves. Great people are leaders, trend setters who don't rely on the approval of others to feel secure in themselves and do what's best for them.

• Average people seek comfort, even if that same comfort keeps them stagnated in the same mediocre place, great people learn to thrive in their discomfort because they know that growth can only occur when one pushes oneself our of the boundaries of what we have previously been accustomed to.

• Average people are ok with doing the bare minimum to get by, great people are allergic to mediocrity, complacency and the possibility of succumbing to reaching their maximum potential, they give their best to whatever it is the do or they simply don't do it at all!

• Great people have and seek for vitality, average people numb themselves down with cheap entertainment, fast/unhealthy foods, unhealthy comfort habits and a lack of vision for themselves and their lives.

Do you want to be an spectator or a player in your own life, to be average and mediocre or an over achiever and successful person? The choice and the power to choose that is yours.

“The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”

— Isaiah 58:11

HOLY Spirit is such a faithful teacher and revealer of ALL truth. John 14:26.

Holy Spirit will take care of that, of everything.

This is one of my favorite hymns!

History of Hymns: "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus"

by C. Michael Hawn

“‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” by Louisa M. R. Stead | The United Methodist Hymnal, No. 462

“Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, and to take him at his word; just to rest upon his promise, and to know, "Thus saith the Lord.” Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him! How I’ve proved him o'er and o'er! Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! O for grace to trust him more!“

From her childhood, the call to missionary service was the guiding motivation for Louisa M. R. Stead (c. 1850-1917). Born in Dover, England, and converted at the age of nine, Stead came to the United States in 1871, living in Cincinnati. She attended a camp meeting in Urbana, Ohio, where she dedicated her life to missionary service. Ill health prevented her from serving initially. She married in 1875, and the couple had a daughter, Lily. Hymnologist Kenneth Osbeck describes a major turning point in the family’s life:

“When the child was four years of age, the family decided one day to enjoy the sunny beach at Long Island Sound, New York. While eating their picnic lunch, they suddenly heard cries of help and spotted a drowning boy in the sea. Mr. Stead charged into the water. As often happens, however, the struggling boy pulled his rescuer under water with him, and both drowned before the terrified eyes of wife and daughter. Out of her ‘why?’ struggle with God during the ensuing days glowed these meaningful words from the soul of Louisa Stead.”

The hymn, “’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus” was inspired by this personal tragedy.

Soon after, Lousia and Lily left for the Cape Colony, South Africa, where Louisa worked as a missionary for fifteen years. She married Robert Wodehouse, a native of South Africa. Because of her health, the family found it necessary to return to the United States in 1895. Wodehouse pastored a Methodist congregation during these years until, in 1900, they returned to the mission field, this time to the Methodist mission station at Umtali, Southern Rhodesia (present day Zimbabwe).

Kenneth Osbeck records a message sent back to the United States shortly after her arrival in Southern Rhodesia: “In connection with the whole mission there are glorious possibilities, but one cannot, in the face of the peculiar difficulties, help but say, ‘Who is sufficient for these things?’ But with simple confidence and trust we may and do say, ‘Our sufficiency is of God.’”

Her daughter Lily married after their return to Africa. Louisa retired because of ill health in 1911. Lily continued to serve for many years in South Rhodesia. Her mother passed away after a long illness in 1917 at her home in Penkridge near the Mutambara Mission, fifty miles from Umtali. Following her death, it was recorded that Christians in South Rhodesia continued to sing her hymn in the local Shona language.

While the exact date of the composition is not known, sometime between 1880-1882, Lousia Stead’s hymn was first published in Songs of Triumph (1882). The Rev. Carlton R., Young, editor of The United Methodist Hymnal, describes the hymn’s content as “a series of loosely connected key evangelical words and phrases.” Indeed, the hymn is full of the language of piety common to the day in evangelical circles. Furthermore, the succession of stanzas lacks the usual progression of ideas leading to heaven that characterizes most gospel hymns.

Perhaps the hymn might be best described as a mantra on the name of Jesus. Indeed, “Jesus” is sung twenty-five times if one sings all four stanzas and the refrain. Stanza one is a simple statement of “trust in Jesus.” The singer is invited to “rest upon his promise.” Though the “promise” is not specifically articulated, it is assumed that all know that this is the promise of salvation. The stanza ends with “Thus saith the Lord” – a phrase, interestingly enough, that appears 413 times in the Old Testament in the King James Version, and is a reference to God rather than Jesus.

Stanza two continues the theme of trust, drawing upon the “cleansing blood” of Jesus. The poet demonstrates her trust as she “plung[es] … neath the healing, cleansing flood,” a possible reference to the William Cowper (1731-1800) hymn, “There is a fountain filled with blood”: “… and sinners plunge beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.” The typology of the cleansing flood may find its biblical roots in Genesis 6-7, the account of Noah and the great flood, or perhaps the blood and water that flowed from the crucified Christ’s side (John 19:34), or even a conflation of these ideas. Cowper’s hymn was probably well known to Stead, and she referenced it in her hymn.

Stanza three stresses that one should die to “sin and self” by “simply taking life and rest, and joy and peace” in Jesus. Stanza four is a personal witness by the author that she is “so glad I learned to trust thee.” The final stanza concludes with a fleeting eschatological reference, “thou art with me, wilt be with me to the end.” Though this reference to heaven is not as pronounced as one would often find in similar gospel hymns of this era, especially in Fanny Crosby. Referencing heaven in some way is virtually obligatory in this theological context.

The refrain establishes the Jesus mantra, singing his name five times, the last strengthened by adding the qualifying, “precious Jesus.” Though the singer has “proved him o’er and o’er,” the prayer is for “grace to trust him more.”

C. Michael Hawn is University Distinguished Professor of Church Music, Perkins School of Theology, SMU.

Attribution: Photo (The old red books or red worship songbooks in church) courtesy of Wirestock at: https://www.freepik.com/ijeab

hahahahahaha..omg i totally fell in lovve with this...society is so condescending! society is a bitch.

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!

Can relate.

realizing all over again that God is truly all we need and there’s no way around that. there have been many times in my life where i’ve searched for things to fulfill me. people, relationships, approval, popularity, hobbies (yes even hobbies) and so much more. still, every single time i think that this certain thing could bring me joy, i end up reaching a point of emptiness inside. whether it’s a split second or even an entire month, i realize all over again that i am nothing without God. not even a full days rest could compare to the refreshing joy of being connected with God and being fully known by Him. without God, i am nothing and i can do nothing. it really all comes down to this: even if everything was taken away, would i still be okay with just jesus?

so friend here is your reminder that God is all you need and all you’ll ever need.

haha me to buddy. Me too.. Dont we all? :-D

https://vine.co/v/MpJVKzEK1PU/embed/simple?audio=1

I like black women. Damn! I love them.

Oversharing Asks

(Disclaimer: These questions are very personal and may touch on sensitive subjects; you may want to look over them before reblogging. You can strike out or totally delete questions you don’t want to deal with.)

Who hurt you the most?

Who have you hurt the most?

Who do you miss the most?

Who do you want out of your life the most?

Who had the biggest positive impact on you?

Who had the biggest negative impact on you?

Who do you wish you could be honest with?

Who have you harbored (any kind of!) secret feelings towards?

Who would the world be better off without?

Who do you wish you’d treated differently?

What was the worst day of your life?

What’s your greatest fear?

What’s your biggest insecurity?

What’s your biggest regret?

Describe your ideal world.

Describe your personal hell.

What’s a hopeless dream you’re still holding on to?

What’s the most embarrassed you’ve ever been?

What’s the angriest you’ve ever been?

What’s the saddest you’ve ever been?

What’s the most scared you’ve ever been?

What’s the most hopeless you’ve ever felt?

What’s the most frantic you’ve ever felt?

What’s the bravest you’ve ever felt?

What’s the best case scenario for your future?

What’s the worst case scenario for you future?

What’s the most physical pain you’ve ever felt?

What’s the most emotional pain you’ve ever felt?

Describe a time you felt like a hypocrite.

Describe a time you felt like a traitor.

Describe a time you felt like a hero.

Describe a time you felt inhuman.

Describe a time you felt like a failure.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?

What are you proudest of?

What’s your relationship with your family like?

What’s your relationship with religion like?

Talk about someone you’ve lost.

Talk about someone who abandoned you.

Talk about a desire you have that scares you.

What’s something you wish you were capable of?

What’s something you’re afraid that you’re capable of?

Describe the kind of life you wish you’d been born into.

Describe your worst heartbreak.

Describe your worst disappointment.

Have you ever taken a fall for someone?

Have you ever forced or let someone take a fall for you?

Have you ever done serious physical harm to someone?

Have you ever done serious emotional harm to someone?

Have you ever self-harmed?

Have you ever attempted suicide?

Have you ever stolen something?

Have you ever cheated on someone?

Have you ever been cheated on?

Have you ever taken revenge on someone?

Have you ever seriously considered killing somone?

Have you ever betrayed someone who trusted you?

Have you ever experienced something supernatural or unexplainable?