wake up

if you’re proud, you won’t pray. If you’re proud, you won’t be thankful. You’ll seek independence from the Word of God, from the authority of God and you’ll lack in biblical prayer. You don’t pray, why? Because you think you can live without God—that’s pride. Remember this Pharisee? He prayed about himself. He really didn’t think he needed prayer. He had no real heart. If you really believe that you need God, you’ll pray with all your heart. John 15:5 says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." That’s a declaration of the state of human beings. Jesus is saying, "As I assess the infinite reality of this world, you can’t do anything without Me." Do we really believe that and know it? We absolutely need God for life and strength. If we were really humble, we’d pray like we absolutely needed to. Prayer is not just a nice thing to do. It’s the inevitable reaction of a soul that sees the spiritual realm. It’s not, "Oh, I guess I need to pray." It’s breath. It’s the inevitable reaction of a soul that sees the reality of the world, of oneself, of God. We need to pray with passion, with all our hearts. You pray the best in crisis and hardships, because you are in a state of humility. In crises we are most humble. We know we are nothing. We say, "I need you, Lord."

What should you do when you can’t pray? You must ask God to show you the reality of your soul. The state of war, reality, spiritual realm, my future, who I am, how weak I am, how fleeting this life is, how dangerous are the temptations that lie ahead—help me to see, Lord! If you see that, you’ll be able to pray. Ask the Lord to open your eyes. "Open the eyes of my heart, Lord." When I can’t pray with my heart, I need to see reality, that I’m in a state of delusion. When you’re not humble, you’re deluded. You’re in a dream-state.

the love of a sinful woman

I recently read a beautiful depiction of Mary, the woman who ran wildly around in search of love but finally found it at the feet of Jesus. I didn't realize that I am that woman. I sell and demand love from everyone but the one who matters. A way to describe her love is explosive. What do I mean? She was so thankful to Jesus that she wanted to anoint Him with expensive perfume, but everything went wrong. Her emotions started to rise and she couldn’t hold back her tears. You don’t plan to cry, unless you’re an actor or actress. She just wanted to anoint Him with perfume but she started to cry and couldnt stop herself. She used her hair to wipe His feet, her face was probably covered in thick makeup. A pool of tears, muddy hair, a broken jar, spilt perfume. She was a self-forgetful mess. She exploded. Emotions, tears, hair, it was an uncontrollable explosion. The whole scene resulted from the explosion of her heart in response to the explosive love given by Jesus Christ. Do you love like that? Is the love that you give to Jesus explosive? Is it a love that you cant help but to express? A love in which theres no way to contain it? Do you love like that? When grace goes in, worship comes out. When grace goes in, tears come out

the greatest.. really

Wimbledon Final 2008 Nadal Vs. Federer from Whizkid One on Vimeo.

paris je t'aime

i miss paris

Fleet Foxes - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

beirut

its been a long long long long time since we smiled and i will let go of my fears my time and in a year maybe this will work out but its been a long since we smiled

i am giddy and this wave will pass im sure but i'm happy so enjoy

the most easily told part of my trip so far

Yesterday I went to the french open.

We left the Hotel Castille around 10:30 because I overslept. It was a long metro ride to Dauphine, where we bought tickets from an American woman. She and her husband have lived and worked in paris for 3 years. Their apartment in Dauphine kind of mademe homesick- CNN was on, folded laundry sat on the couch ready for room drop off, random potted plants littered their living room- these were emblems of stability and ritual with which our cushy hotel lifestyle (2 hotels in less than a week) failed to give us. Anyways, after that we took the bus (which is free in Paris... i think) a few blocks down to Roland Garros. True to our Parisian way, we got off the wrong stop subsequently got lost and had to ask for directions. Parlez-vous anglais si vous plait? Where is roland garros?



This sign was the first thing I saw. pretty cool, it gives you the distances to go for the other three grand slams. ALso, all the ladies were given white long stemmed roses throughout the day as it was the women's semis but i left mine in the stadium.





This was our view. Interestingly, people don't show up until midway through first match. And if you leave at any part of the match, you can't return to your seat until the end of each game which can take quite awhile. I have a vid clip of it but will upload another time maybe b/c blogger is too slow





This is Safina, but the match between Ivanovic and Jankovic was the best. I was crushing on Ivanovic with the rest of the crowd. Even if she celebrates her fist too much. Jelena called her out that too.. jealously. haha, sadly no one cheered for her.



Proof the above aren't google images. Ah, friends, can't wait to demolish u in 10is ;)

discuss.