Friday, June 26, 2009

God is THE ultimate creator. There is no sidestepping this fact.

He is all around us…His creations give little glimpses of His character, His beauty, and His love. Look at the clouds…not one is shaped the exact same. Look all around…He proves himself in everything we witness in the earth and through humanity. There are many who try to deny the fact that God is real. But He has creatively inspired humanity to leave a mark on the dusty bookshelves, cover the walls of famous museums, dominate the ceilings of thousands of cathedrals that says “I am the God of yesterday, today, and tomorrow”…and “I am REAL”. There is no running from the facts.

Faith is believing without seeing.

God has inspired artists to see for those with unbelief to strike up a passion and awaken the spirit of the broken to be able to reveal His hope and love for His children.

Walking in to the St. Peter’s basilica is an experience of awe and wonder. The architecture alone is something that takes your breath away. Knowing that all of the brilliant colors of the marble on the floors, the walls, columns, and decoration were taken from the defeat of Roman Pagan temples and Pagan gods is what sends chills up your spine. Although, the beliefs and customs that this immaculate temple holds may be missing what is Truth, the building itself whispers…”My ways are your higher than your ways..my thoughts are higher than your thoughts”…

And I think…how can your ways be higher than THIS?? Look at this ceiling, look at the detail on the wall and in those statues, look at this marble floor!

But I feel God saying, “ This isn’t even close to heaven and what I hold.”

“you aint seen nothin yet

Thursday, June 11, 2009

today i tripped on acid.

yeah...today i tripped on acid.
it was an accident.
and it was my first and LAST time.

so here's the story.

I'm at our church's new building..which is under construction..and in need of a ladder.
I'm already frazzled...as usual..because I've been running late..and feel like i haven't gotten any work done...so I'm rushing to get all of the tools I need to finish painting one of the rooms.
Running, I round the corner of the hallway at the exact time a worker has covered the floor in glue eating acid and has gone to find caution cones so the 'idiots' like me don't walk through it.

So immediatly my feet fly from underneath me and I slide for a few feet and roll. Completely naive of this clear flesh eating liquid's power I slowly stand up and start walking towards the bathroom. And the man who has already had contact with the acid and has spent the past 2 weeks putting it on the floor acts like it's no big deal that it is lathered all over my body, so of course I'm in no hurry to wash it off before it seeps into my skin. Seconds later, I begin to feel an intense tingling of the flesh...and a quick flash of Anakin Skywalker's face boiling off comes to mind..and I.FREAK.OUT.
Screaming for someone to go get my aunt...who is for some reason without fail ALWAYS present when I'm in need of random medical attention, I sprint to the bathroom and turn sinks on...notice i said sinks...plural...why? we're not sure...we only needed one. My Aunt is there in a flash scrubbing the pain off and i'm focusing to keep myself conscieous....and slowly realizing i still have my flesh...and everything is going to be ok.
And that is how a normal day in the life of michaele maddox...begins.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Deep.

"he is jealous for me
loves like a hurricane i am a tree
bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy
when all of a sudden i am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
and i realize just how beautiful you are
and how great your affections are for me.

and oh
how he loves us so
oh how he loves us
how he loves us so

he loves us
oh how he loves us
oh how he loves us
oh how he loves

we are his portion and he is our prize
drawn to redemption by the grace in his eyes
if grace is an ocean we're all sinking
so heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss
and my heart turns violently inside of my chest
i don't have time to maintain these regrets when i think about
the way

he loves us
oh how he loves us
oh how he loves us
oh how he loves."

"The love of God changes us
we're never the same after we encounter the love of God."

-kim walker "How He loves us"