The LORD came to me saying, "...what do you see?" And I said, "I see a branch of an almond tree", Then the LORD said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am ready to perform My word". 

In the Old Testament, the almond tree was a symbol of watchfulness, and the word itself means "watchful, wake". It's like He was saying to Jeremiah, Hey, be aware, lean in and listen carefully - because in the next several verses, God yet again says, what do you see? Jeremiah was the forever student, he was perpetually pitched forward into the arena of learning, and very little of it had to do with choice. From the womb, the boy had been designated to be a mouth piece, but also initiated into a tumultuous yet intimate conversation with his Creator - the clay talking back to the hand.

I am a perpetual student, and I was just taught about being watchful via an almond tree branch. Weird. Amen. 

I don't normally put up media on this blog, but after watching this short film on the Great Controversy, I was impressed, and impressed to post it here: 

Sometimes tackling life is all in the approach. Tackling for me is in the role of a student, and I am perpetually tied to a desk since it's the only way I can get into the study zone. Being at a desk has always been my approach to studying, to studiously reading, and even diving into the Word. So, moving a desk into my current room only makes sense. As a teacher, I need that space to grade on, but I also need that desk to get into my student zone. Thank You, Jesus, for opening my eyes to that space in me. Amen. 

Urgency is needed at times. The matter of urgency hasn't been felt for a long time until last night after a rather sobering conversation with the boyfriend. I know where I once was in my relationship with Christ, and even though I am seriously stumbling at the moment, I know what once was. I knew the perimeters of our relationship, and I am reacquainting myself with His thoughts towards me. He, on the other hand, doesn't have experience. He as a man will have an entirely different interaction with Jesus than I would, but the question is how does he get there? I can't give any advice, and I can't rely on my own experience to share with him, because as a guy, he will have an entirely different take on his interactions with Jesus.

So this morning, I woke up determined. Urgency was definitely vibrating throughout my being. I know I can't do anything, can't say anything, BUT, I can pray. I know prayer works, I know the Holy Spirit can do some mighty revelation, I know that the enveloping presence of my Jesus can definitely step out of time and space and right into his mind. So this morning I immersed myself in Psalms 51:7-13, because man alive, I need some serious cleaning before I can do some serious intercession:

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities.
 
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
 
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You

Today, I learned about grace. Today, I learned about giving grace till the last possible moment. Today, I learned about being graced...daily. Grace is the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings. Jesus, you are gracious with me always - yesterday, today, and tomorrow. 

Anger is a good emotion if positively executed. Be angry and change the world, be angry and make the right choices, be angry and look at the stem of that anger. But often times, anger is a by-product of hurt, and so spirals out and hurts the world. I am angry at the moment, but I am perfectly fine with that anger, because it has caused me to wake up, delve in and look at myself. I am starting to look at the choices I have made in the last four months. It takes me a while to adjust to new ideas or situations, but Jesus is always the catalyst to begin the adjustment. In the process of dating the man of my dreams, I have fallen into some not-so-great-habits (courtesy of myself). I've been questing for a reason for those habits, and in my angered state, I have come to a root of the habits. I am still angry, but I now know what to do.  Thank You Jesus! Amen. 

I've been digging around my creativity in the last few days. I was looking at amping up my fantasy writing, and was beginning to do the research, however, during devotion time tonight, a thought hit me (curtesy of the Holy Spirit) - write stories that matter, write stories that are true, write stories that can change the heart and the only stories that I can think of are stories that come out of prayer.

If Jesus is the Author of my life, and the lives of those around me, why not write stories of victory, stories of contemplation, stories that aren't just following my narrative, but the voices of those around me. Those are the kind of stories that matter in this life. I remember the stories that I loved the most as a child were stories of missionaries as they traversed far off lands and wrote amazing and strange tales. I need to start researching those kinds of stories from the here and now.

Anyways, I am contemplating creating another blog just for those kinds of stories. Amen.