deciphering the days

Over the last couple of years, the vast majority of my prayers begin with the words, "Kind Father." A friend of mine prayed like that and I picked it up along the way. It is a nice reminder of two obvious things: 1) God is kind and 2) He is my father. Simple enough. Perhaps that is one of the first times God intrigued me with the idea of kindness. Since that time, almost every time I am concerned about bringing my thoughts before God I hear: But I am kind. These constant reminders of God's kindness has left me to ponder what kindness is, and how I should be kind to others. I am reading 'The Love Dare.' The second devotional is focused on kind love. According to this source, kindness consists of gentleness, helpfulness, willingness, and initiative. A dear friend of mine recently said something to the effect of, "Marry someone who is kind to you. If he is kind to you and kind in his heart, then it will be easier to be kind to him, and your marriage will...

It's not uncommon for me to watch animes. Some are great! Some are less than great... I just started one called "Your Lie in April." It's one of the so-so animes. I'm not finished with it yet, but currently I wouldn't really recommend. It's kinda slow... But anyway. I didn't write to tell you I watch animes that I think are boring because I have no life. I'm writing because there was an interesting concept in this show which went something like the paraphrased comments below: A woman in love is beautiful. She was beautiful  a nd she was in love. ...she was in love with music... ...she was in love with dessert... ...she was in love with kittens... ...she was in love with painting... ...she exists within spring... I don't really have anything else to add. I am not saying that we should worship material items, or place idols before God or people. However, our God deeply cares for his creations, us most of all. I believe that...

a beautiful image. a beautiful phrase. a beautiful feeling. a beautiful song. a beautiful moment. There is beauty everywhere, I thought (and perhaps not incorrectly). Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? And isn't there a Bible verse that says God makes beauty from ashes? I can find beauty in places where others cannot. These thoughts, though none blatantly incorrect and most of which would encourage and inspire the Christian, were twisted and abused and I used them to justify my sin. I was listening to a lot of the latest greatest pop culture music. I still do sometimes, but I don't mistake its message for beauty. I was looking at ungodly actions and telling myself that God would make beauty from ashes so being in 'ashes' was not so bad. I abused the message that beauty could be found anywhere - including in sinful situations. Instead, I thought I found beauty in sin. I began to hear these words: Sin is not beautiful. Keep looking for be...

My little sister has always seemed older than her years. Life is very simple to her and even the most complex of situations are black and white -- and she knows she's right. Though usually her insite lacks a comprehensive understanding of circumstances, sometimes her causal comments are worthy of considerable thought. A particularly provoking comment arose while she listened to me stress about staying in contact with relatives and friends. There were phone calls I hadn't returned, emails to which I hadn't replied, and 'thank you' cards that I hadn't mailed. She speaks to me in the fashion of a old sage who is slightly dumbfounded by the young ones lack of understanding. "Sissy...there is always someone else to call." She wasn't referring to my endless list of relatives and friends that were deserving of my attention. She was referring to my relatives and friends -- that they were the 'someone else' who could call me. Her wo...