Death That Leads to Life

A great poet once said
"You have never lived because you have never died"
It got me thinking about how
Dying is sometimes more than closing your eyes for the last time

You can die simple sitting
Letting your life pass by
Letting the life you could have
Take its bow and walk out your front door

You could die
Along with your loved one
Lying on their death bed
Little pieces of you dying slowly beside them

You could die
Wasting your time on
That person who doesn't value you
That only uses you for their pleasure

You could die
From a disease
Passed to you from that other
Who didn't have the courtesy to tell you

Death could meet you
Walking down the street
In the eyes of the vagrant
Begging for change in front of your favorite coffee shop

You might find death
In the eyes of a young girl
In a rundown brothel
Who's life has been stolen from her by money hungry owners

You might see
Death in the eyes of a woman
Who has been abused all her life
And can see no way to out and continues to take abuse she doesn't deserve

Or you can find a death that leads to life
In the arms of a God
So powerful and beautiful
That His presence in your life will help you, Truly. Live.

Shattered

There is a tearing
Somewhere deep inside
Like an earthquake there is shaking
Breaking me in two

There is a leaking
A bleeding of the old me
Oozing out through the wounds
My pores

Is this simply change
Or some form of creation?

The shaking is giving way to breaking
Which is giving way to shattering
That gives way to complete and utter brokenness

The breaking must come before renewing
But the pain is something you have to live through

Beautiful stuff... just listen...

the day that death died.

One of the people that I follow on twitter wrote today that Easter is "the day that death died. hallelujah!" I was reminded why Easter should be celebrated. Its not about the bunny or who will get more eggs at the easter egg hunt but it is about a revolutionary who came to the earth who was fully God and fully man. Its about that man who spoke for the outcast, took a stand against the "rules" of the era and showed that following God is all about love. Its about the Son of God who died for his creation to save them from eventual death, eternal death. And all this because He loves us. I feel so humbled when I think about this because many times I feel so unworthy of this love because it is so... well big. It is more than I can comprehend right now. I thank God for sending His Son to die for me and for you, because eternity will be the best days of my life! I also pray that I can walk in the footsteps of Jesus and love the downtrodden, that I will find the strength and courage to stand up for those who have no voice, and to help me love those who I can't seem to love on my own.

Legless Abandon

Legless Abandon by Brigitta Beam

Every time I look at this picture I want to know the story behind why the chair has no legs and was left at this abandoned house. Why did the people have to leave the house? Why has no one bought the house and repaired it to its former glory? I almost didn't get this shot. I thought I was finished shooting at this sight until I got in the car and looked out the window and saw the chair sitting alone without legs and I wanted to capture it. It's funny how sometimes the things we almost miss are the things that hold the most beauty. Take some time to slow down and look around and capture beauty.

Love?

I believe in a God that is love. A God that asks us to love others as we love ourselves. And still I see many who claim to follow this same God that express hatred for people who live lives that are not necessarily what you would see in the church daily. I don't understand how they can be professed Christians and still not love others as Christ loves. Maybe this is me being judgmental but I am just trying to call it as I see it. But I believe deep in my heart that God wants us to love others no matter what because when Jesus walked the earth the people that he hung out with were the people that society shunned. Just thoughts I wanted to get out there.