Like ships passing

I once heard a story of a young man who was in constant battle with his father. For his 21st birthday he wanted this particular car. It was the latest one out, who wouldn't? The day finally arrived and after leaving many hints to his father, guessing from the small box he received, it was to no avail. Opening it swiftly he peered inside to find a bible. He threw the box at his father (along with some words in which I am unable to quote) frustrated and angry at how his father never gave him what he wanted. So he packed his bags and left.

Years past and the son heard nothing from his father (not that he wanted to) until one night he got a phone call from the police announcing his father's death. Slightly shocked he began to think of the last time he had done that - think of him.

Feelings from the day he left began to surface but formalities on the phone deemed it inappropriate to lash out at that time.

The night after the funeral the young man went through his fathers things that were bequeathed to him in his father's will. Scrummaging in a box he came across the bible his father had given him for his 21st birthday. He looked at the book with indifference as he slipped through its dusty pages - all until he got to the last page.

He opened a latch on the inside of the bible's cover that revealed a small bump. His eyes began to well up as he peered at the small object now in his hand. A key with a letter in his father's handwriting , something he knew all too well. The letter read:

My son,

"...seek and you will find..."

~Matthew 7:7~

Love Dad

What he held in his hand was the key to the car he had wanted for his 21st but he was too proud to look inside the gift to find what he wanted. All these years he had kept resentment in his heart towards his dad because of his ignorance and ungratefulness with the 'wrapping'.

The message of this is simple. We don't don't always find what we're looking for in the most obvious of places. Sometimes we must look in the most unlikely of places to find it.

God has promised us a great future, But when does this come true?

For all those who have received salvation, we receive the an inheritance of eternal life, but thats not all. For those called according to his purposes, God has promised us a life of abundance; a life of promise and prosperity. However, we don't always see this instantaneously. With all of our hopes and dreams, it can sometimes feel as though they are put aside for the 'things of God.' However those hopes and dreams were put in us from God and therefore He only desires for them to come to being. But then again, God's ways are higher than ours.

Our expectancy for God to bring about these hopes and dreams is for them to be done now. But sometimes God beats around the bush in a way.

We are human and our nature comes with many faults and failure and habits that are hard to break - but not impossible. You see, God works all things for the good of those who love Him. He leads us around the bush because although we don't see it, there may be some thorns blocking the way. There may be things in our lives that need to be pulled and pressed and pruned in order to attain all that He has for us.

I see that now. In my lack of satisfaction with the glacial pace my life seemed to be moving, God was working in me and on me in order to make His glory known through me. As I said above, we are human and therefore don't always see this and that is why we get discontent when our hopes and dreams aren't yet fulfilled. I think in our pride we don't see what God is doing because we have ignored the problems a long time before God began to work on them.

Yet in all of our shortcomings, God has made a way and everyday He continues to make a way for us. He brings light into those dark areas of our life. He brings a sweet fragrance in the stench of our sin. He guides us through the path of our unrighteousness through the path of righteousness, and best of all - He gives us the key.

This key is the Word of God. Hidden in its pages are secrets about God because the Word of God reveals the nature and character of God as it was God. No question is too hard for it to answer. Search and you will find. Many a times have I gone through it and found nothing because I wasn't searching in it. Like ships passing in the night, I have gone through the bible passing the answer because of looking hastily. Yet our answer may not always jump out at you. It may require you to dig deeper, question, gain knowledge, understanding and wisdom before it comes.

Your questions and seeking may not be about our hopes or dreams. It can be about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING; no matter the task, the bible can achieve it. God's word will not come back void. It WILL accomplish all that it is sent to do (Isaiah 55:11). That is why I trust it. That is why you should. God is faithful. Everything He promises and says He will do - HE WILL DO. Do not discount the Word of God in your life because it is the bread to your spirit. I encourage you to go through the pages and you may be surprised with the key you find. It unlocks our chains. It opens the door, and it fuels the way to your hopes and dreams.

~JP~

I dreamed a dream

I have this stirring desire in me to do something with my life; a desire to follow what I am passionate about. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have always wanted to do acting but never knew how to start. WELL...last night I had a dreamed I was getting acting lessons with the cast of The Vampire Diaries. It was so much fun, but ended abruptly.

Of course there are times that we find ourselves in the lull of life where we feel like there is something missing. I think this is our ornate design. We were made to feel this so that we would go out and actually do something significant. Having God will fulfil you but there is always going to be the burning to do something GREAT. I do not mean that God doesn't fulfil every need, I am saying He designed us in such a way that we would be moved to be significant.

This stirring has been there for a while but I think it is ever increasing as I come close to actually fulfilling the dream. I know that I will be successful and thats not being proud, its faith; security in what we do not see at present. I'm so excited about the future because I know that my future is blessed - DO YOU?

When was the last time you stirred your heart to do something that you were always passionate about? When was the last time you found your niche and filled it? If you haven't yet found that place I suggest you do because you will always feel incomplete without it.

Carpe Diem - seize the day in which you have been given. It is a gift and dare I say it, it goes as fast as it comes. Make the most of every opportunity (something I continue to learn). You have been given a passion so run with it!!!

-JP

Grace Coddington Masterpieces

Last year I watched a documentary called, "The September Issue" which follows the creation of the 2007 September issue of Vogue. However there was much speculation that Grace Coddington, Creative Director for Vogue stole the limelight from Anna Wintour, Editor in Chief. I couldn't care less who the main characters were. However, what I did care about was the amazing work by Grace and so I thought I would share with you some of my favourits. These are not all from the 2007 September Issue however.

Grace Coddington (Above)

Me, myself and no one else

I think there is something rather revolutionary about just talking. For me, there is always the need to discuss, to have some sort of confounding depth to the blogs I write, but I think talking is fine. More specifically: chatting about myself. Understanding the writer can give you some insight into the writing can it not?

So that is what I am going to do. Chat. Talk about me, my life, endeavours, regrets, failures and successes, dreams and fears. I think it will do you, the reader, some sort of benefit if you knew what I was all about. So here it goes...

When I look at successful people around the world and wonder where they started from, I can't help but question if they knew they were going to be successful long before they actually became the success we all know them as today. I wonder if Sir Richard Branson ever thought about success when he was a kid. If he had that yearning in his heart to do something great! If he had this certainty of it brooding in himself.

I did and still do.

For some reason I always knew I would be successful. For the most part it was because I promised myself that I would after seeing so much loss around me. But then there was the growing desire to want to do something that was worthwhile. I mean, if I am putting myself on a limb, I want the world to know. I don't want to risk for a something small. Getting to your dreams is a hard road they tell me, but if it is going to be a hard road, at least its going to get me somewhere BIG! If you get my drift.

But the road is not the hardest part for me. In life (and I will attempt to avoid depth) I have always been fine with the journey, its always been the starting and the end. Finding the start and reaching the end is always the hardest part. Certain experiences in my life have lead me to have a certain maturity and understanding about issues in life. Yes I get tired and yes I will come to a point of collapse, but that has never kicked me out of the journey because I have understood that there will be those times of breaking and reforming. I promised myself I would do all I can to get somewhere significant. That means that I cannot and will not let any part of the journey disqualify me from getting to the end.

Start and end.

This is where I stand at present. I have all these passions within me and so I decided to start with one of them - Writing. Making this blog was one of the attempts to be able to grow my vocabulary and style my writing. To see if there was a market for my writing which has proven not so successful as there isn't much exposure to the wide world.

So, I attempted to write a book. However, there was so much I didn't understand from personal experience which I find necessary in the production of a great book. Research is also a huge part of the writing process, but that is something I would like to have done after experience. I would rather have tried and tested something for myself and wrote about it, then stand as third person and write what I saw. I want to know what it feels like to fail at a grand level. I want to know the ins and outs of it. To smell, touch, see, feel and hear everything about the journey and to be able to document that. This I feel is far greater than researching another's life.

So I have decided to take up the next thing...ACTING! After mentioning this to a friend, she said to me, "You are definitely dramatic enough!" This made me smile because I taught myself to make life exciting. Every story you tell, tell it with a bit more enthusiasm; make it better than it was because someone is never as excited as you about your stories. So by making it almost unbelievable, you make it somewhat interesting in their eyes. Its acting.

I always hated bad acting. I would rather grate my skin than watch Shortland Street and all its fail acting. Yet to justify all this criticism myself, I want to try it out and see if I can do any better. That is the problem with critics that are not in the field they are criticising. Ridiculous really.

Now that I have my new passion to aim to fulfilling, I have broken this down into tasks that I need to accomplish before the end of the year. One of them which I think is the most critical is getting training. It has been a long time since those drama classes at Kaitaia College so brushing up on these skills will be more than needed. The second would be to find some small parts to build a portfolio out of. Then an agent. Brad Pitt didn't get parts because he was an amazing actor, but because he has an amazing agent. They are the reason why a lot of Hollywood actors and actresses are where they are today on blockbuster movies. My timeline for this is a little sketchy at the moment as I don't know how long it will take for me to do the first two, BUT it is definitely somewhere in the mix.

So hopefully I gave you a good insight into what I want to do and where I want to go at the moment. Life is something that needs to be worked at and sought out. Life isn't having breath, its being able to justify every breath with work that you love to do. I want to live to the fullest because I only have around 60 years left. I dare you to do the same!

-JP

Jessie J

Someone I found on the net. AMAZING SINGER!!! So I thought I would share with all of you :)

ENJOY...

Da mi ne Zaboravim

I think its because we forget. We don't remember the things that God has done for us resulting in our ungratefulness.

I forgot what He had done, I must admit. Truly I had forgotten when I became dissatisfied with the way things were going; with the way things are going. Did I forget He died for me? No. What I did forget, however, was the day when I was a child, scared of the dark. I cried out to God and He comforted me. I forgot the times when I had no money and in some way, I ended up with all I needed. I forgot the moments when I needed wisdom, and it came. I forgot the times when I was exhausted and He gave me more than enough strength for the task ahead. I forgot the times when I needed a father and He humbled himself to become dad for me. I forgot what it was like to stand on a mountain and see all that He had made for me. I forgot what it was like to be carried in those tough times life loves to swing our way all too often.

Da Mi Ne Zaboravim

This random cluster of words is seen on most memorials. It is Croatian for the more common saying, "Lest we forget" or 'if we do not forget.' I used to love hearing how elaborately people would incorporate this tag-line as such into their Anzac Day speeches. It was slightly entertaining as the next day, those speech-givers would have most likely forgotten.

But can we blame them? I mean I forget. Constantly! I hate it. It is definitely something that I would love to change. But unfortunately I am still forgetful after so much reminding.

That is why I read the Bible daily. There are so many promises given to us through God's Word. Here are some of the verses from Psalms alone. Packed with promises and still only the very least of them:

Psalms

5v12; 9v9; 22v24; 25v8; 27v14; 29v11; 34v7, 9-10, 17-19; 37v4-5, 39-40; 63v8; 68v5 etc.

Maybe the reason why we strive and work out of our own strength is because we find we are always trying to receive these promises on our own when it is only by the grace of God we obtain them. We become impatient for a promise that God has not yet fulfilled in our lives. Then out of our anxiety we move from trust in God to trust in humanity and our own strength. But what we forget is that GOD IS FAITHFUL. He is not human; unreliable and flaky. Ponder this for a while:

"As the rain and the snow

come down from heaven,

and do no return to it

without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

So is my word that goes out from my mouth:

It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which it was sent."

~Isaiah 55:10-11~

All too often we sit at home frustrated at why the fulfilment of God's promises have not come. Yet we forget that even though He has promised something - He will fulfil it. He can be trusted. When things aren't turning out how you planned, He can be trusted. When things in life turn against you, He can be trusted. When you get left alone, He can be trusted and not one time will He disappoint you because HE CAN BE TRUSTED.

Trust can be calculated in the mind, but in the end it is the heart that must lead. It is a fruit of the heart and not of the mind. I find it hard to trust because of people in my life disappointing me - but this is God. He is not a parachute in a bag. He is the wings of an eagle. My experience with man does not determine my trust in God. They are two different beings. When does one say, "The shower was faulty, I will never have a bath." Never. If anything you would turn to the alternative (the alternative for the shower being the bath for clarity).

Proverbs 3v5-6 we know well. Trust with everything! Trust for the things that are being worked out. But also, trust for the things that are to come and when things begin to turn to custard - cross your arms across your chest, close your eyes, and throw all of your weight upon Our Faithful God.

-JP

No Ordinary Sun

This was written by one of my favourite New Zealand poets Hone Tuwhare.

Tree let your arms fall:

raise them not sharply in supplication
to the bright enhaloed cloud.
Let your arms lack toughness and
resilience for this is no mere axe
to blunt nor fire to smother.

Your sap shall not rise again
to the moon’s pull.
No more incline a deferential head
to the wind’s talk, or stir
to the tickle of coursing rain.

Your former shagginess shall not be
wreathed with the delightful flight
of birds nor shield
nor cool the ardour of unheeding
lovers from the monstrous sun.

Tree let your naked arms fall
nor extend vain entreaties to the radiant ball.
This is no gallant monsoon’s flash,
no dashing trade wind’s blast.
The fading green of your magic
emanations shall not make pure again
these polluted skies . . . for this
is no ordinary sun.

O tree
in the shadowless mountains
the white plains and
the drab sea floor
your end at last is written.