Ever get really hungry for something and you’re just not satisfied until you have exactly what it is you’re craving for?  Yeah… McDonald’s cheeseburgers [extra onions and with lettuce] and chicken McNuggets with hot mustard sauce [sweet and sour's okay, too]
MMMMM… GOOOOOD….

Similarily, I think our insides have cravings…

cravings to fill the “God shaped hole” in our heart
cravings to fill the “missing rib” in our sides [applies to guys mostly]
cravings to fill the void left behind when brotherhood|sisterhood and accountability are neglected

cravings for deep and meaningful relationships… in other words:

INTIMACY!

Yeah, don’t be afraid of that word; it’s been mainly over-used in reference to just a small aspect of relationships [mainly that of a man and woman], but intimacy reaches something much further and deeper and wider than we’re used to [so it's uncomfortable at first] but once we have it, you won’t want to be without it.  But make no mistake, it’s not about the warm and fuzzies.

Amazing… just absolutely amazing, the things that God intends for us but we just completely MISS!  We just drop the ball [sorry ladies for the sports reference] but enough with the INCOMPLETIONS already!  We have Jesus for our Quarterback and He threads the needle to get us the ball, but oh so sad… butterfingers [not the candy bar] drops the ball in the end zone.

Let’s step it up, gentlemen.  Put on those sticky gloves and hold onto the ball, even if you can feel the Free Safety breathing down your neck.  Let’s score some TDs, but be mindful of this: football is a game of inches and you have to fight for every freakin’ inch.

Yeah… it’s an increasingly ravenous craving. 

Sometimes… you just let things go; doesn’t matter if you win or lose… just let it go.

God is good!

I want to be a man of few words but diligent action, doing the right things rather than trying to do things right.

I’m in Laguna Beach, California right now and it’s just amazing down here.  My company paid for all the recruiters to come down for a conference here; I’m staying at the Surf and Sand Resort [absolutely first rate].

I’m so impatient to go back home and apply all that I’ve learned… and the biggest lesson of them all, is the reminder that whatever I do, do it with a servant’s heart, with humility, as if I was doing it for the Lord… unworthy to serve but called to do so. 

I’m reminded that it’s all about meeting the needs of people… and in doing so, the other things will come… in being someone of value, the successes will come.  In being someone of value, it means I’m taking care of people and truly serving from the heart.

Enough said.

God is good!

Today, I experienced a great mystery.  Something dreadful became beneficial and though I was found to be lacking, I am the benefactor…  He is able to both humble and bless simultaneously.  How is that possible?  My head hangs… but is lifted up; ”What a mighty God we serve!”  Though I am selfish and unwilling to give to Him, He multiplies my blessings; the Father’s love amazes me once again. 

So, love your enemies…

Your ways are beyond fathom, oh Lord.  It’s shameful to have thought that I grasped understanding… I know nothing… am nothing. 

I had a glimpse of the cross today, a sliver of His might; He demonstrated His mastery of the impossible and control of any circumstance to bring glory to Himself.  “What a Mighty God we serve!”

I am not my own.

He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow . . .
—John 7:38

Jesus did not say, “He who believes in Me will realize all the blessings of the fullness of God,” but, in essence, “He who believes in Me will have everything he receives escape out of him.” Our Lord’s teaching was always anti-self-realization. His purpose is not the development of a person— His purpose is to make a person exactly like Himself, and the Son of God is characterized by self-expenditure. If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain but what He pours through us that really counts. God’s purpose is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us. Our spiritual life cannot be measured by success as the world measures it, but only by what God pours through us— and we cannot measure that at all.

When Mary of Bethany “broke the flask . . . of very costly oil . . . and poured it on [Jesus’] head,” it was an act for which no one else saw any special occasion; in fact, “. . . there were some who . . . said, ’Why was this fragrant oil wasted?’ ” ( Mark 14:3-4 ). But Jesus commended Mary for her extravagant act of devotion, and said, “. . . wherever this gospel is preached . . . what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her” ( Mark 14:9 ). Our Lord is filled with overflowing joy whenever He sees any of us doing what Mary did— not being bound by a particular set of rules, but being totally surrendered to Him. God poured out the life of His Son “that the world through Him might be saved” ( John 3:17 ). Are we prepared to pour out our lives for Him?

“He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow rivers of living water“— and hundreds of other lives will be continually refreshed. Now is the time for us to break “the flask” of our lives, to stop seeking our own satisfaction, and to pour out our lives before Him. Our Lord is asking who of us will do it for Him?

Ever feel like a jacka$$ when you talk too much?  Yeah… that’s me.  
…but the Lord punishes those He loves in order to set them straight, for my own good.

So, God is good in that way, too.

Donate now to children and families in desperate need.

For every portrait sessions [GHKim.com > Pricing > Portrait] booked this month, GH Kim Photography will donate $50 to assisting in providing relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina through World Vision.

[Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life. ~ My Utmost for His Highest]

I’ve learned years ago that “holy” means to be set apart for God and our purpose in life isn’t all the “tasks” we’re given to do or the accomplishing of monumental events, but simply being available for His purpose [it's the principle of being].  It’s the “availability” of my life to the Lord that is key in living right with God.  It means that I can drop anything, no matter how important, at the mere glance from my King and fall prostrate before Him, focusing every ounce of my existence to give him Him my full attention, especially if it’s because I’ve spent too much time away from Him completing tasks.

I have nothing to boast about.  EVERYTHING I have or have accomplished thus far is by His grace alone; if I ever get to share with you one on one, I’d hope that it would be very evident – the Hand of God in my life.  Even in failure, it is His grace; He always lifts me up higher afterwards upon learning a very important lesson

I often wonder why He chooses to bless or hold back… as I am wondering why He’s chosen this year for His outpouring so that His blessings are gushing out my ears, nose and every other bodily crevice/opening [okay, i know that sounds gross, but you get the point ]. 

I wonder because I have this bad complex of feeling compelled to earn blessings/rewards although I know they are freely given by our loving Father… and beware when I actually do feel I’ve earned something cause my head gets to be the size of a small planet.    It’s already big enough [literally]. 

We often forget that we were “created” with the holiness built into us [holiness, meaning that we are to be set apart for God's purpose] and live life struggling to become “holy” with our own efforts.  That’s foolishness… our folly… and it’s no wonder God doesn’t just “smite” us in frustration

…”Honey“, that’s LOVE!