5 Responses to “Simply H2O?”

1.  Brian Eberly  on 11/09/2005 7:25 AM  

   Fantastic message Gman!
   
   I quench my thirst and feed my soul by making sure I have quiet and alone time. Time to sit still and listen to God. Time to sit still and talk to God.
   
   I always benefit greatly from good worship music. I often find myself in a deeper time of worship when I am alone, than I do when I am in corporate worship with the church.

2.  Anonymous  on 11/09/2005 8:08 AM  

   Q. what have i done to quench my thirst latelt???
   
   A. honestly, not much. i'm actually about as close as a human can possibly get to burnout right now. i simply cannot live another year like i have this one. my moral is SHOT, my attitude SUCKS, and going to church has become a labor. i actually get up sunday morning and my stomach begins to ache. i wish i knew how this happened...
   
   BUT............. just this past week i picked up a book called "Blue Like Jazz" and folks, the lights are starting to come back on! its hard to explain, but this guy seems to have got inside my soul with this book.
   
   the only thing i can guess is that God must have guided me to this book. i found a recommendation in a really strange place. i went to the bookstore and almost didnt buy it...i dont really know why, but i almost didnt. man, i'm glad i did. its helping me come back to life.
   
   also, i started reading the Gospels again - for the first time in years. as strange as it sounds, its like i thought "oh, i've read those enough". but the words of Jesus, read outloud, and with passion, really make your soul come alive.
   
   i recently saw a video clip in church. it was from the movie Jesus of Nazareth and the music in the background was about grace. i watched it and felt like i was melting inside. i started to cry and couldnt stop. i actually felt kind of foolish for getting so emotional. but i just wanted to jump inside that screen and grab Jesus, literally. i wanted to tell Him, "Jesus....i'm so messed up...i'm so broken...i feel so lost again...and i'm actually trying to live for you...please help me...please touch me...please heal me...please just look at me and let me know its going to be ok...please....i need you..."
   
   i think God's taking me down a new road. i resist, but then i realize that my old and normal way of thinking have led me here to misery. my thoughts and crappy attitudes have led me here to my current state. my doing things "my own way" have led me here to restlessness, stress, and borderline insanity.
   
   i really want, more than ever, to live my life for Jesus now. not just serving him in church and wearing myself out for the approval of ppl, but really being His. used and loved in a real way. its really hard to explain where i'm at right now. but i hope that helped.
   
   great topic.
   
   -sam

3.  Anonymous  on 11/09/2005 8:12 AM  

   oops...
   
   my "moral" is not shot...but my *morale* rather.
   
   note to self: type slower
   
   -sam

4.  Jason Retherford  on 11/09/2005 8:28 AM  

   Gman,
   
   Thanks for provoking, prodding, pushing, encouraging, and stepping on my toes. I appreciate what you are doing here on the YMF.
   
   How am I quenching my thirst, and feeding my soul?
   
   I think in many ways I struggle with this all the time. I try to start my day on my knees, but I don't always. It is sad that there are times when I have gone through my week with out praying much. But, I am finding the more I pray, the more refreshed I feel. The older I get the more comfort I am receiving from prayer.
   
   Also, spending time in the Word is important. I try to placed my selves in the stories, and ask questions of the text. I think journaling about you read today, and how it is affecting you is important.
   
   Youth workers, I am finding are good and quenching and feeding others. I am wondering, are our ministries only as effective as our own spiritual well being? How can we minister to others, and help to quench the deep soul thirst of others when we too are parched and in a desert?

5.  Jason Retherford  on 11/09/2005 8:29 AM  

   oops,
   
   last paragraph should read:
   
   Youth workers, I am finding are good at quenching and feeding others. I am wondering, are our ministries only as effective as our own spiritual well being? How can we minister to others, and help to quench the deep soul thirst of others when we too are parched and in a desert?

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