Refocus

Aitch Escape - it's the name of this blog. I named it that over a year ago because I wanted a place where I could run to and share my thoughts. That way, if people read them, they couldn't pin anything on me...and somewhere along the way I got off from that - so I hope to shift the focus of this blog back to that.

Love.

Tonight I felt Peace for the first time in a very long time.

As many of you know my roommate is Muslim. As general knowledge you understand that Jews and Muslims do not like each other. However, tonight I saw a glimpse of what the love Jesus wanted us to feel towards one another looked like.

As my roommate and I were driving back from the library he requested to listen to my newest cd, Matisyahu's One Day. He loves the guy. Jewish or not he does not care. So as you can imagine it was kind of surreal to be driving back just jamming out to this hasidic Jew with this awesome song all about peace and love with a Muslim singing and of course myself, being a Christian doing the same thing. I really felt like our God, (since we all have the same one) but in particular, Jesus, really looked down upon that with a smile.

A group please

Man, okay. So straight up. I'm on my own now, got the apartment, got 3 roommates and I'm sitting on the dock looking out to a sea of opportunity and I just am struggling so much to find that group of friends that I can be myself around. I've been praying for that group for a while now. I just feel like I have all these different groups of friends and only a small part of me goes into each one. No group gets all of me or sees how I truly am. I guess this has always been my style, a few close friends and the rest of the time it's David solo. I know this group can't really come together immediately and I'm pushing it, it's just tough though. I feel like I am torn between the person I want to be, there are two ways I can go and I really do feel like I keep swinging back and forth between the two. Ah. Benadryl is taking over. Thoughts are becoming way to sloppy. Forgive me. Good night.

Max Lucado

So every day I wake up and read this little daily devotional by Max Lucado called "Grace For The 

Moment." It's great. But I was reading through a few days that I missed and the one for May 20th struck me. So understand these are his words and God's teaching.

God Is Angry At Evil

"So put all evil things out of your life...These things make God angry."

Colossians 3:5-6

Many don't understand God's anger because they confuse the wrath of God with the wrath of man. The two have little in common. Human anger is typically self-driven and prone to explosions of temper and violent deeds. We get ticked off because we've been overlooked, neglected, or cheated. This is the anger of man. It is not, however, the anger of God. 

God doesn't get angry because he doesn't get his way. He gets angry because disobedience always results in self-destruction. What kind of father sits and watches his child hurt himself?

Amen to that. 

At A Boy

So I wake up, still very groggy from the hydrocodone that hasn't left my system and I go grab a chocolate pudding, a glass of milk and I sit on my parents bed and start flipping through the news stations. While flipping through, I catch a quote from two women that are talking about Barack Obama and the one goes, "In his speech today, he really portrayed himself as someone that is everything to everyone." 

Did you catch that? 

No really. Read it again. Because that statement is one of the saddest things I have ever heard. Okay, we all have our understanding of politicians. These opinions put them somewhere relatively low on the ladder of popularity, kinda near a used cars salesmen. Of course there comes the point in which Americans must vote and determine who to put into the Presidency. No easy task. Politician is still a politician. But there is a difference here. Barack Obama is continuing his show, his facade if you will, as everyone's main guy. He's still playing this popularity game that politicians play, quite frankly though, he needed to stop once he was elected. He is in office with a Democratic congress backing him. There is no reason for this to continue on.

But this is where the huge realization came to me. George Freaking W. Bush never gave in. That guy, (whether you like him or not) always flew his true colors with America. He never dished out fancy rhetoric and inspiring speeches, (honestly I don't think he could if he had tried, it's just not him) but he always did act upon what he found to be best for America. Bush continued to do what he found best for America whether his approval ratings were 80% or 8%. 

Mark 13:13 says, "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." 

To those who know my past, many of you know my passion for politics. I think I'm shifting though and that I understand now that Christianity isn't politics and that Jesus wasn't a politician. I just know if that is the route that I'm meant to go down, I will be carrying my Christian spirituality with me because it is that important to me. So I guess this post was to try and shed some light on what we know about George Bush and give him some credit for his faith and how he served this country. None of us will ever know his heart completely or what he really believes until we are standing in heaven one day. I hope this showed some of the contrast between the two leaders, I'm not saying one is right or wrong. God says he puts the leaders of this world into power. I just hope that as we all continue to grow in our faith that we are able to stand strong in what we believe in and really exemplify a Christ like heart :] 

Eye Confess

EYE

Luke 6:42 

"How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

CONFESS

James 5:16 

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." 

Eye Confess

To confess means to acknowledge a fault, crime, or in this instance sin, by way of revelation. My past has been marked and hacked away at by my own sinful nature. I have messed up. I am not without fault. Lust, lies, and worry top the charts in my past (not to mention the other countless sins). My closest friends know my past and that is where James 5:16 comes into play. I'd like to thank them for always praying for me and always willing to lend an ear when I'm in need of letting out my past sin. I hope they know and understand that I am always here for them when they are in need. 

However, this brings me to the point of this whole post and what I need to let out. I am done with my past. Others may continue to say and speak the truth about my past. I do however, absolutely refuse to bring up anything against their past (I mean honestly, is that going to get us anywhere? Someone else speaking on behalf of another person?). Now don't get me wrong, my past has obviously shaped me and has been filled and blessed with many moments I never wish to forget. But sometimes there are those periods in your past that seem to effect your very core and inner being, whether positive or negative. The most influential time in my past is rather bittersweet. It was initially negative yet it has reaped positive rewards thanks solely to the redeeming power of God. We do of course understand how satan loves to deter us from the positive aspects and pull us down to his level of negativity. And this is where I offer one of the best statements I have ever come across:

"Do not let your past be the enemy of your future"

Do not, I repeat DO NOT let your past seep into your current thoughts and bring you down. It is written in 1 John chapter one, verse 9:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 

No advancements will be made for the kingdom of God if our pasts continue to rip at us and hack us right back down. STAND FIRM.

GALATIANS 5:1 

"IT IS FOR FREEDOM THAT CHRIST HAS SET US FREE. STAND FIRM, THEN, AND DO NOT LET YOURSELVES BE BURDENED AGAIN BY A YOKE OF SLAVERY." 

None of this is easy. Anything that is worth it in life requires work and persistence. However, God will make us new. He will clean our slate. This is the LORD's grace. 

-Alright. I woke up at 6:40 this morning with all of this on my mind. Now I'm off to have my wisdom teeth removed. Farewell. 

Beautiful Day + (Wildflower Festival)

So I really just absolutely love it when Sundays are amazingly gorgeous and beautiful and just perfect outside. And I feel like today deserves at least some sort of recognition, like a blog post. If you live in the Dallas area well then I think you should NOT be reading this but should be outside smiling and soaking up God's glorious creation :] 

Add on: The Wildflower Festival was totally sick last night and today. Bob Marley and The Wailers minus Bob Marley was definitely the best :]