whenever one door closes, i hope one more opens.

doors

holes in walls the offer us a way out or a way in.

just putting your hand on the knob and seeing if it turns can make you weak in the knees.

what if it's locked?

what if it's unlocked?

what if no one answers?

what if someone does?

what if the hinges creak and the heavy wood swings open

and you're suddenly standing at the threshold of a brand new tomorrow?

what if your horizon is nothing but blue clear skies?

what if it's a raging storm?

what if?

what if?

w h a t i f ?

i hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean.

if you're ever lying on a beach with

80 billion grains of sand beneath you,

700 thousand ocean waves before you,

60 million stars stretch out above you,

and you're still not at all impressed,

i want you to think about this:

the light you see reflecting from the stars is over one million years old.

wow.

but then, just before you start to feel like a mere blimp

in the gigantic scheme of things,

please remember this:

yes, you are small,

but you're also irreplaceable

and invaluable

and miraculous.

those stars don't have anything on you.

god forbid love ever leave you empty-handed.

but if it does,

may it leave you

patient and stronger,

willing and wiser,

tender and tougher.

may you never take one single breath for granted.

so breathe out and breathe in

and soak it all up

you get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger.

hunger is the wanting:

to see more

to feel more

to touch more

to crave, to desire, search out, find, hold more.

and sometimes hunger hurts more.

but go on, go west, young man, young woman.

plow the land,

plant the seeds,

grow the food for the whole wide world.

i hope you never lose your sense of wonder.

what is hope?

to want? to desire?
to expect that what's envisioned may indeed happen?
yes to all of the above.
is hope that gut feeling that it's worth holding out a little longer?
absolutely.
is hope the core of the human condition?
certainly.
can you have hope without faith and humility and wonder?
that's tough.
just the thought that there's something bigger, something truer, something totally surprising out there waiting for us is...
priceless.

what would you be without hope growing deep in your bones, thriving in every inch of you?
NOTHING.

what does it take to hope?
EVERYTHING.



hope takes never ceasing
to be amazed...

wearing
your soul on your sleeve...

holding
your breath, waiting to hear
"i love you, too..."

believing
that tomorrow could be better than today...
that you'll get a second chance...
that you'll make a difference...
that you matter.

i hope you dance.

okay, so i'm doing something new with hope. for the next few blog posts. it's going to be a "series." i know...exciting, right? i should be updating daily, so check back regularly for the next post. i hope you all like it. the inspiration is from a book my grandparents gave me that was inspired by the song "i hope you dance." so thank you to mark sanders and tia sillers for your beautiful words.

take these words to heart. think about them. learn from them. let them inspire you like they have me.

love, meg.

nine o'clock pm.

holy moments are rare and special. but when they do happen, hold on to them. i had the priviledge of experiencing one tonight, and the joy to share it:

i was on the way home from a family vacation, and it had been quite a long day. i was in one of those moods where i really just wanted to spend time with the Lord, but was in a car with my family and didn't have the option of having quality alone time. and that fact, along with not feeling well from the car ride, had put me in a bad mood. so i put my ipod headphones in and started watching out the window. and it was an ordinary highway drive scene for a while, but when i finally began to really take in the beauty of my surroundings, i was overwhelmed. it was nine o'clock at night, and the sun had just set. but the pinks and oranges from the sun were still at the horizon. and above those colors was a light blue. and then a dark blue. and finally black above me. and high up in the sky was a single, bright star. and these lyrics were being sung around me:

i hear You say
My love is over, it's underneath, it's inside, it's in between
the times you doubt me, when you can't feel
the times that you've questioned "is this for real?"
the times you've broken
the times that you mend
the times you hate Me
and the times that you bend
well My love is over, it's underneath, it's inside, it's in between
these times you're healing
and when your heart breaks
the times that you feel like you've fallen from grace
the times you're hurting
the times that you heal
the times you go hungry and are tempted to steal
in times of confusion and chaos and pain
I'm there in your sorrow, under the weight of your shame
I'm there in the storm
my love, I will keep you by My power alone
I don't care where you've fallen
where you have been
I'll never forsake you
My love never ends
it never ends

i was utterly amazed by the Lord tonight. over and over again, i listened to theses lyrics and looked as the sky change colors, and as that single star remained. no matter how far we traveled, that star stayed. it was constant. it was faithful.

isn't this the same way we are with the Lord? we constantly change, but He never does. He is always there, even when we doubt, question, break, mend, hate, bend, heal, are heartbroken, fall, hurt, hunger, are tempted, are confused, in pain, are shameful, are in the storm, and stray.

H E i s t h e l i g h t .

worth LIVING for.

i'm apart of the fellowship of the unashamed.
i have Holy Spirit power.
i've stepped over the line, the decision has been made:
i'm a disciple of His.

i won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
my past redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure.

i'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed vision, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dark goals.

i no longer need preeminence, position, promotion, applause, or popularity.
i don't have to be right, first, tops recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded.
i now live by faith, lean on his presence, walk by patience.
i am uplifted by prayer and labor empowered.

my face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my God reliable, my mission is clear.

i cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed.

i will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of my adversaries, negotiate at the table of my enemy, or ponder at the pool of popularity.

i won't give up, set up, let up
until i've stayed up, prayed up, preached up
for the cause of Christ.
I A M A D I S C I P L E O F J E S U S .


[ thanks ryan :) ]

five hundred thousand.

warning: some of the content of this video is quite harsh. it is disturbing, but the message it is conveying is disturbing itself. you'll finish it changed, but just know, parts are quite intense.


[youtube link to video]