Jason Vana: Becoming a Better Man

Light Wins →

Background Photo Credit: PhotoXpress

Our world is dark.
Very dark.

Turn on any news program and you’ll hear of murder, rape, drug addiction, child abuse, terrorists, bomb threats, and shootings within our country, and that doesn’t include the sex slavery, child labor, and countless deaths caused by curable diseases happening throughout the world.

And it seems no matter what we do, things are only getting worse.

It can become easy for us, even as Christians, to focus on the darkness - to believe that darkness is winning in our city, our state, our region, our country, continent, and world; to see darkness rising in our workplaces; to think there is nothing we can do to bring true change.

There is a battle between light and dark, and it looks as if the darkness is winning.

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Studying Hebrews 11:5 netted 3 pages of notes and this gem: if your actions don’t line up with your beliefs, you don’t really believe what you say you believe. #truth

Two-Way Street →

Photo Credit: Rocky Lubbers (Creative Commons)

My fingers made their way over the keyboard, desperately trying to put my jumbled thoughts into understandable words. I got a sentence out, read it, backspaced, rewrote it, highlighted the whole thing, deleted, and started over.

This wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought. How do you effectively convey tone, emotion, and sincerity through something as impersonal as email?

I tried to do this over the phone.
Wanted to share these thoughts as close to face-to-face as I could get.
But that wasn’t going to happen.

It takes someone picking up the phone, returning a call, to get that personal level.

So I wrote some more, backspaced, thought about not even sending the email, pushed forward, wrote some more, backspaced some more, threw my hands up in the air, walked around a bit to clear my head, sat back down and tried the whole process all over again.

I shared my thoughts.
Tried to convey my sincerity.
Prayed before I hit Send.
And felt tears welling up in my eyes.

As much as I was praying for restoration, I couldn’t do it on my own.

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Loved & Wanted →

Photo Credit: Lindsay (Creative Commons)

You are loved and wanted.

The words fell out of my mouth faster than my brain could process what I was saying. That’s not really what I intended to say. Not the direction I was heading when I started praying, but apparently, it’s what my friend needed to hear.

Loved and wanted.

I couldn’t get away from those three words. I tried. I wanted to pray something different, something more profound. But everything else felt blocked. Those three words kept coming out.

Loved and wanted.

As I wrapped up the prayer, said my goodbyes, and headed out, all I could think about was how powerful that time of ministry was. My friend really needed to hear those words, and God allowed me to speak them. It’s always awe-inspiring when God does that - allows me to speak words of life and encouragement to someone else.

And just as I was basking in the awesomeness that was how God moved through me, a gentle whisper invaded my mind: You needed to hear those words, too.

Oh.

Loved and wanted.

No matter how far I’ve come, how much I’ve worked through my own issues, how often I’ve faced my own insecurities, wrestled my own demons, or fought to find my identity in Christ, I always come back to those three words.

Loved and wanted.

They are words we all long to hear.
Words we need to hear.
Words we were created to hear.

You are loved and you are wanted.

Read more and join the conversation!

Loved & Wanted →

Photo Credit: Lindsay (Creative Commons)

You are loved and wanted.

The words fell out of my mouth faster than my brain could process what I was saying. That’s not really what I intended to say. Not the direction I was heading when I started praying, but apparently, it’s what my friend needed to hear.

Loved and wanted.

I couldn’t get away from those three words. I tried. I wanted to pray something different, something more profound. But everything else felt blocked. Those three words kept coming out.

Loved and wanted.

As I wrapped up the prayer, said my goodbyes, and headed out, all I could think about was how powerful that time of ministry was. My friend really needed to hear those words, and God allowed me to speak them. It’s always awe-inspiring when God does that - allows me to speak words of life and encouragement to someone else.

And just as I was basking in the awesomeness that was how God moved through me, a gentle whisper invaded my mind: You needed to hear those words, too.

Oh.

Loved and wanted.

No matter how far I’ve come, how much I’ve worked through my own issues, how often I’ve faced my own insecurities, wrestled my own demons, or fought to find my identity in Christ, I always come back to those three words.

Loved and wanted.

They are words we all long to hear.
Words we need to hear.
Words we were created to hear.

You are loved and you are wanted.

Read more and join the conversation!

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i-heart-jesus-org:

http://facebook.com/jarridwilson

Your weaknesses and areas of brokenness are just as much a part of who you are as your strengths and abilities.

How to become Superman…

arenacreative:

“I’ve seen your graphic design and I’m not impressed” poster #lol