The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

I came that they may have l ife and have it abundantly. (emphasis added). (John 10:10 ESV) When are we going to gather up all that God has for us and stop living a dour,me asly existence, forgetting about the abundance of our spiritual walk with Him; i f only we will be willing to drink deep and press in closer to a loving and faithf ul God. So powerless, was I, a few years ago. If I am to be honest with myself, I lived very much, a works based religion. For years, I always heard of those who made t heir relationships with the Almighty God intimate and personal; I just thought t hat kind of life was not offered to me. I could see it in a select few believers who seemed to press in closer to God, but I was blinded to it for myself. A while ago, before my horrific accident, I was really drawing closer to god, an d bang, an unexpected thing happened; I was in the hospital, and it was pretty s erious. At the time, I wondered to God about the timing of the whole thing. I me an, this was the last thing I needed in my life, another incurable medical illne ss or a condition I was going to live with for the rest of my life. This time, there was something different. Anger and despair over my new conditio n was not awash over me as it had been in the past. I woke up from that blackout , through the vomiting, during the excruciating headaches and all the while feel ing a dull ache in my core, with a conviction. This was not going to define me, or stop me, or keep me from getting what the Lord had for me. I mean, God had am ple time to take me home to be with Him on that day, to be exact, He had four ch ances to take me home that day; but He gave me back to my family and the world. So, as I lay in that hospital bed, being the amazing miracle of medical science, as all the specialists gathered outside my room, I decided, right then and ther e; I was GOING to get ALL of what the Lord had for me in this life. I was tired of taking my thimble to the well to drink; getting enough for a few steps, but n ot enough for the whole journey. I wasnt going to blame the Lord for the loss of my hearing, my sense of taste and smell, the constant pain that I suffer with an d the rampant damage my disease states are causing to my body. I was going to no t listen to the pain and rise up; taking hold of all God wanted for me through H is son Jesus. There was a little problem though. How does a type A personality, a do-it-yourselfer, a striver, keep from trying to live this life in my own powe r? The word from the Lord to me was simple: seek after Me. Seek after Me? Was the Lord serious by giving me this childlike Sunday school si mplicity? Yes, He was. I learned that my sufficiency is nothing, and Gods is ever ything. He is teaching me to pursue him in the morning, the mid-day, the evening and all the times in between. But, the best lesson of all was this I couldnt slee p one night. So, I rose up and got my guitar and brought it to the livingroom wh ere I couldnt disturb anyone. Then He gave me a beautiful song. In it, He taught me that He wants me to stop taking a thimble full of His living water and grab t he bucket, throw it hard down the well, crank it back upwards and tip my head ba ck and drink deep letting all God has for me wash me clean, refresh and reprove me, giving me the strength to finish the entire journey; which is my life. I know this post is long, but please take this to heart. If you are only going s o far with the Lord, stop trying to DO things for him or get things from Him and just try to be WITH Him. His only desire is to have you know Him better, to imp art to you His knowledge, power, truth, peace, joy and love. What a wonderful se t of promises the Lord gives to those who drink deep. P.S. There is a fantastic ministry out there that helps dig wells for the poor in India. They also provide food, clothing, medical care and handicap aids. They

are called Champions House Foundation: www.championshouse.org . You can donate money directly on their site and they arent burdened buy a lot of administration costs; so you can feel your contribution is directly helping those in great need . Please prayerfully consider donating some of your resources to their obedient call to being the hands and feet of Christ. The Great Plains Poet, living water glutton, and giver to all that God directs m e to. Please enjoy the poem, subscribe, visit my Facebook page, hit the like button, and most of all, tell others what you have read here today.

Drinking Deep by Chris T.

I have come for my portion with great anticipation and hope. Traveling mile after mile in these worn out old sandals, And I will come to the well if I have the strength to find it.

Oh, this path is troublesome; filled with strife, hurt and constant pain. The years have clicked by and the time has gathered so slow, So slowly that I often forget the intent of this journey. Now, and later, I will experience the toil of this hard-walked life, To its full, experiencing all the bumps it has for me.

The thirst is so ravenous, so life-extinguishing, That my teeth stick to the inside of my mouth; Abrasive, parched and arid, I search for this well that Im being told exists.

Something is up ahead. Farther than my eyes can make out, But the sun-scorched land has finally revealed its secret. My heart does quicken, just knowing that I might get relief Now the sore laden feet begin to feel lighter and free.

My God, it does exist; this well of living water and the giver of life.

I arrived just after some one has taken his portion, But the bucket is not wet and he surely did drink.

Taking my pack off of my shoulder, I reach inside to get out my thimble; The largest vessel I own, and it is totally mine. For I am poor and at least this small amount of water will be totally mine.

I dip my thimble in the cool water and drink the small portion, Though it is miniscule, it does refresh for a moment. I wish I could drink another fill, but there are others behind me, And I wish not to be hoggish, or make the Masters well run dry.

I regain my heavy pack, tie up my sandals and place steps on the path once more I was refreshed, but only for a time, At once I leave the well in dire need of more.

As I looked behind me in the distance, I saw a curious man, Who took the bucket, threw it hard down to the bottom of the well, Lifted the bucket to the sky in thanksgiving, And drank his fill while the water ran down his chin, neck and nestled amongst h is hair.

I pondered this for a while longer and knew I had done something wrong. I traveled so far to get what the Master had for me, but I was too afraid, and filled with pride, To take all that the Master had for me there. For there is great restoration for those of us wholl drink deep.