For the first time in who knows how long I had to go to the dentist a couple weeks ago. I avoid that place like the plague and hope and pray that I never have teeth problems. However, that all changed when I awoke one night with horrible tooth pain. It was one of the worst nights of my entire life. The pain was unbearable and I couldn't sleep. First thing in the morning I had to call the dentist. I reluctantly made an appointment and prepared myself for the horrible experience ahead of me.As I was sitting in the chair waiting for the dentist to come in and look at my mouth, I sat and listened to the wretched sound of drills. When you have a toothache the first thing the dentist asks is, “Can you describe where the pain is at?” Having next to no idea of where the pain was at rather than a general location, he began tapping on teeth and asking which one hurt. Eventually we nailed down the fact that it was my wisdom teeth, but I'll save that horrific experience for another blog entry.

Recently a friend of mine was getting sick on a regular basis and wasn't able to eat much. Having no idea what the problem was, she went to the hospital to get it checked out. Exploratory surgery found it to be a tumor in her lower intestine, which was removed and she appears to be on the path to recovery.

Why is it the only time we get help, is when we don't know what is wrong with us? People with real identifiable problems go weeks, months or even years at a time with a known problem they never seek out help for. The hardest part for any kind of addict, is admitting they have a problem and that is from drugs to less obvious things like money or pornography. It seems though, that because the problem is easily identifiable, it's just as easily ignored.

God wants us to come to him with our problems and that can be easy, however the real struggle seems to be getting the help we need. We can tell God our problems and then lean back as we hope he will magically fix them, but too often we miss the real life opportunities he is putting in front of us as we sit waiting for a miracle. The point I am trying to make here is, don't wait. If you have real issues and you know it, then get the help you need. Give them up to God first and then be prepared to have them taken care of in what may be a simple or common way. God does work in mysterious ways, but sometimes he's just asking you to take the first step in the obvious directions.

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Took a long time off from the whole blog thing, not that I needed it, but because I've just been neglecting it out of a lack of interest. However now I am back and have decided to make my updates more frequent. So stay tuned I'll have a full blog post in a day or two. Until then enjoy this trailer for, "The Kevin Malone Story"

When I was a little kid, I use to get pains in my leg at night. It didn't happen all the time, but often enough to make it hard to sleep. Everyone has had these pains before, because our bodies were growing. However, that never made it any less confusing. Being young and so new to the world of pain, growth and change, pain without reason was disheartening. I use to toss and turn for hours. Some nights my mother would try to help by massaging my leg and that would help, but only until the next one hit.

On an individual basis we go through the fire daily. When we were young it was easy to get lost in life changing moments. The girl you loved that turned you down, a friend that left you or the grade that wasn't what you expected. Maybe it was a job you loved and lost or a loved one that passed away. It could have been a broken promise, a betrayal, or even an insult. Maybe it was something fantastic, like a first kiss or the smell of the hot pavement after a rain. The grass on your bare feet, neighborhood baseball or your first time off the high dive is still as much a part of you today as it was when it happened.Whatever it was, it hit you and left a mark you now carry forever.

Everyday is a growing pain, good or bad. The days stretch us and make us think we will always ache. It aches, because we will never be the same. God asks us to change everyday, to stand up to the growing pains and move forward with a determination that can't be stopped. I've decided to follow God in everything I do and for that reason there is no amount of ache, caused by me or other people, that will prevent me from doing that.

If there is one thing to take away from all this, this is it: Peace is not the absence of pain, but the presence of power. That power is God.

You will have growing pains. We all do. Will they control you?

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

...doesn't exist some days. I have days where I have to struggle, to want to love God. I know who he is and the importance he holds in my life, but there are days I don't want to pray. I am at ease with my lack of desire for Jesus, because I am happy with where I am at in life. I love the church and want to see it exemplify what Christ stands for, but that is so separate from where I stand some days, that I feel like this is simply my job to want the church to grow and that holds no passion. There is no spirituality to my strategic planning and knowledge I have gained and that seems OK sometimes. I find myself not talking to God as someone I love, but asking him to teach me how to love him, because I simply lack that.

Making God a conscious thought all the time is hard and takes a commitment that I have come to except as too difficult to take seriously. However, complacency is not where I can reside and a low point is not where to quit. I have these days as I am sure everyone does, but the difference between someone who found God and someone who chased a high becomes apparent in their ability to find God again.

Everyday that I acknowledge I have lost my passion is an opportunity to find and increase it that much more. Too many abandon ship far too early, missing the opportunity that God is hoping you will use to truly find your passion for him again. People avoid acknowledging they don't love God for fear they will be loosing their religion. The truth is, those are the moments he wants to teach you how to love him. More than you ever thought you have.

We are imperfect people and loving God is certainly affected by that imperfection, so admit it! Stop faking! If you are unable to love God, but act like you do, you can't address the problem. If you don't address you have a problem, God can't help you through it. Thus you spin in this circle getting farther and farther away from God, until your faith becomes a shell with no real meaning. All of this simply caused by humans inability to relinquish their pride and admit they are imperfect.

Break yourself in front of Christ and admit your failings. God will not leave you in this quandary if you ask for help. When you feel like there is no chance of rescue, hang on; you are almost there.

And in this we can trust that he is there when we don't know how to love him, don't think we can do it, don't have the strength, courage, passion or abilities, when we cry out and when we praise him. Never give up on him. Never give up.