Humility

It is difficult for the prideful to learn if not impossible, for they do not wish to accept that there is something wrong in what they have believed.  Seeking truth requires humility, willingness to admit that in reality your life is but a vapor and your opinion even less.

O, it is a difficult lesson indeed, but without it we would stand no chance at learning much else.

Waves of intricate existence both precede and will follow us.   Though we must not neglect to do what we can, we must not be so arrogant to assume that we are more than we are.

We stand before the rest of our lives, on the edge of grand journeys, at the start of a difficult path.  To follow Him is no mere folly, but an epic tale, and in epic tales there is always much more than simplicity.

Though the path is small and neglected by many, it is so very worth it.

So seek Him with humility, love endlessly and cling to hope.

There is so much more to life, so much more to learn, so much more to Him…  I can’t get enough of it, though I seek Him continually, I still long for Him even more.   Though I learn more every day,  my thirst for His wisdom is relentless.

I am nothing without Him.

~Tori Lynn

Mistaken

O, how mistaken we are! Fools caught in our own deception, sailors that deny we’re at sea.

A kind word is nice, but a small truth spoken in haste is but a drop of water to the thirsty, a grain of salt for the starving.

To think that we can believe this is all, to live and provide for ourselves.  To think that we claim to bear the light and yet we seek the shadows.

O, how have we fallen so low?  That we find it a marvel to see one who loves.  Waves come and then they also fall, the wind blows but it will still, and even the sun sets every evening.  But how are we tossed about so uneasily?

O God, have we abandoned you?  Have we sought your pleasures and denied You glory?  O God how you love us miserable creatures!  Cleanse my heart and forgive me my selfishness.

What a wonder it is, to be included in such a grand plan, to have a part in this epic story.  Show us Your desires for us, guide us in Your ways.  Teach us Your heart and don’t let us fall away.

O, what miserable creatures we are, to have been loved so dearly and fully yet we claim not to know how to.  Let Your love be evident within us, let Your light shine through us.

Have we been so mistaken that we’ve missed it all?  Not again God, please don’t let us fall.

~Tori Lynn

The Motions

I find myself in a strange realm outside of normality.

I am new, I am alive in Christ. I’m hungry to know the truth and share it.

How does this affect the everyday elements of my life, how would it (or does it) affect yours?

Towards the end of summer I was inspecting the idea of certain elements in a person’s life, experimenting with not entirely fictional characters and taking certain pieces of their lives out to see what would change. Of course, this could only be educated guesswork and creativity moreso than discovery, for I have no true way of testing these ideas. In any case, the regularities of school can be taxing and downright annoying to people my age, younger and older. In fact, this school year is already looking very heavy for me.

But what makes the difference? What use is it for me to go through a whole school year getting by with passing grades? Would that not be a waste? I would think it one, certainly.. I have much to learn, I may as well begin now. Were it my own choice, I would lighten the load and spread it out to some of those times in my past when the feeling of being bored crossed my mind. Ha, it is certainly a thing of the past for me..

As a certain sweet child I know would say, I’m speaking nonsense, so I shall try to explain my rambling now.

Have you ever heard the song by Matthew West, The Motions? I grew up knowing this song, every word to it. It’s meaning is deep, and it seeps all the way down to interactions with studies and knowledge. Aye, school.

I don’t want to read and memorize these things, only to forget them as soon as I graduate highschool come summer. That would be ridiculous, to me. I want to soak in this knowledge, so that it may affect my life, as I want to soak up all He is, so that it may be interwoven into every aspect of my life. I want to understand, I want to drain every last drop of juice out of every piece of fruit, so to speak. The motions are useless if your heart isn’t in the dance, it’s obvious to those who care to notice.

Every time I see the glory of His creation, this earth, in us humans, the very buildup of a leaf or pebble, and the beauty of sunsets and sunrises, ah, I long to sing His praises and forget the troubles of the world, but even more, His love, a deep sense of awe and wonder wells up inside of me and I can’t help but smile at how amazing He is, how glad I am that He forgave me, so that I, as lowly as I am, am made new so that I can live with Him and share that love, that forgiveness with others…

Sunset over Glacier National Park

Proverbs 20:15 Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,
but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.

 

 

 

In all truth and honesty, I won’t just go through any motions, I can’t. I’m gonna keep seeking the truth, treasuring love above all, striving in hope, and following Him with all humility.

~Tori Lynn

Excitement

Something is coming, something like never before, a new chance, a brand new day. Joy ripples through me as the adventure awaits. So much lies ahead, so many beautiful memories have come. I am not afraid, the path I tread is indeed a thin one but I am not alone.

As we set out on new adventures, new challenges await, but even these are worth the trial, oh so much more worth it than we could imagine. Every time I read His magnificent Word I am amazed. There is nothing quite like having my own thoughts ripped from my mind and replaced with His. Ah! It brings me such great joy to read His word, even when it is difficult, especially when I find myself wrong, for then He corrects me and I may learn..

Proverbs 23:4-5 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
do not trust your own cleverness.
Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

So many lessons I’ve learned, I have yet so far to go..

Philippians 3:15-21 …All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

I have always wondered, what would Paul say to us now, what would he say of me? I marvel when he mentions names of those in the churches, his letters astound me, the very story of it.. There is so much more in depth than a few simple verses here and there, the truth is beautiful..

Colossians 4:5-6 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Ah, I could go on and on, but I have to prepare for my flight. Be encouraged, my friends.. There is hope when there does not seem to be, strive to follow Him with everything in you and you shall be surprised indeed. I must say, my stomach still twists up in anticipation, but I have naught to fear.

Bubbly anticipation, I can’t even imagine. What is to come and what is yet far away, I have been so blessed I could never cease thanking Him and it would not be enough. I do not worship only in services, but with my entire life, take all that I am. Oftentimes, sharing in old adventures, delving into my thoughts of the past can be more difficult than embarking on a new one, but ah, they are both worth it and certainly wonderful. A beautiful smile, your eyes light up my world. Dear friends, we share this time now, for that I am so glad. Thus, another adventure begins..

~Tori Lynn

Truth

John 14:16 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Ahh yes, the truth. Some would say that the “Truths hurts”, I’ve heard it a bunch of times in the past month alone. People fear the truth. They tell you not to tell them things. The truth is powerful. The truth can be difficult to get a hold of. The truth is commonly buried. The lack of truth is binding. Lies create strongholds, lies fill the mind with bindings that make no room for truth.

Standing alone by the lines

We struggle to break the chains when the key lies within reach. Ignorant, we continue to struggle against the chains of lies and sink within them. The key awaits.

John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Recently I’ve begun re-reading the Paradise novels (Showdown-Saint-Sinner). I am almost through Showdown again and it still speaks to me as much as it did the first time. Something I’ve realized in my own experiences and the experiences of others, is that those in the dark do not wish truth to be known, and when truth is known, they are raw and open. Exposed.

Part of me wants to go in depth on this, but another part wishes to leave it as it is. Simply the raw truth. The Truth will always prevail, as will Love. Always. There are times when the truth is hidden, but He will bring it forth.

Luke 8:17  For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all.

Those who are really looking will find. Don’t go about life pretending to seek out Truth. If you are truly looking, you will find. You cannot simply give up on the search for truth or lies will overtake you.

Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Love and truth go hand in hand for we are called to a life of both. I love the truth. The path I’ve come across has been difficult at times, but never more than I can handle, in Him we grow stronger. In Him we learn to Love.

Ephesians 4:15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

One side note before I sign off, I have begun this program in which I will be reviewing books on here. I will by no means cease to blog as I do, but straight up book reviews will be mixed in. Thank you.

Live and Believe, Love and Hope, Do Everything You Do For His Glory. ~Tori Lynn