#vertical drive

[jasonhackwith]

INTO THE FLAME I have gone, and I am not the same

The year was 1997.

The time was pretty bright for me. I was playing with a remarkable little band with fantastic guitarist (and guitar collector) Jasen Hecker and an amazing songwriter by the name of Ryan Mainard. We had big dreams. I was greatly inspired by Ryan’s excellent songwriting, and I wanted to write an epic song about an epic idea.

At that point, I had just begun working on a book that would eventually become Seven Dangerous Prayers. I was haunted by a single idea day and night: would I dare to ask God to do whatever He needed to do to refine me into the person He wanted me to be? Would I be so bold as to dare to ask Him to place my heart into the flame of his forge so that the dross could be burned away? Did I have the audacity to ask Him to be purify me and sanctify me, no matter what it took, no matter what I had to go through? Did I dare not to dare?

The idea enthralled me. I just couldn’t get it out of my head. In 1998 I wrote a song about it with that fledgling band called INTO THE FLAME (listen/download above), launched a website called intotheflame.com, and began my first tentative steps in working these prayers out in my life and the lives of those around me.

As I dove deeper into the Word, I found six other distinct concepts behind major periods of refreshing and renewal in my life. These seven concepts led me to seven Greek and seven Hebrew words that embodied each concept, and as I studied out each concept behind the prayers, I was amazed how these phenomenonally dangerous ideas were found everywhere, in every book of the Bible.

I became convinced that God longs for a profound intimacy with us. I also learned the hard way not to take these prayers lightly. These are not the “now I lay me down to sleep” kind of prayers. Nor are these prayers—or any other kind of prayer for that matter—some kind of magic spell or ritual that can get God to do what you want. No prayer ever has any power apart from God. That being said, let me be clear. These prayers, and the life-changing concepts behind them, are indeed dangerous for one reason: God is dangerous. God is so loving, He is so very good; yet God is dangerous because any real encounter with Him will leave us forever changed.

"Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him."  -- Matthew 21:43–44

We have two choices, Christ is saying here: fall on Him and be broken, or remain apart from God and ultimately be crushed at the end of the age by the inexorable fact of that Presence. Jesus is speaking here of “the stone that the builders rejected” (Psalm 118:22, Matthew 21:42), the very kingdom of God, the stone that breaks or crushes. Here is a mystery to ponder: if God is truly unchanging (Malachi 3:6), simply being in His presence will change us, just as a diamond scratches all softer stones. As one of my favorite authors, Richard J. Foster, has said, ”To pray is to change.”

When I first started on this journey, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. When I first dared to pray the Prayer of Tears, for example, I was utterly naive about just how terribly different God’s compassion was from my own. I was a complete mess for weeks. I couldn’t even look at anyone without tears welling up in my eyes. My heart was so broken for everyone I met. But that bottomless well of tears was glorious because layers of callous indifference were shattered right along with my heart.

In time God brought balance to my emotions, but the overwhelming surge of compassion and empathy He poured into me had done its work. Before I dared to pray dangerously, I knew vaguely that He loves us, that He has compassion on us. When I dared to pray the Prayer of Tears, however, for the first time I really knew what it was like to have God’s heart for others. I didn’t just know how much He loved me and the people around me, I actually had some of that profound love for others. He immediately manifested himself in this: forgiveness which had before seemed utterly impossible that suddenly was easy and freeing. My love is terribly imperfect and I am daily learning more about His perfect love, but I would never go back to the way I was before.

When I moved to the Lewis-Clark Valley after college, I also began compiling some of my poetry in an anthological work that would eventually become the river Beautiful. I worked on both books off and on for years, but for far too many tedious reasons to list here, getting either one finished seemed utterly impossible. Despite the thousands of hours I had put into Seven Dangerous Prayers, I began feeling more and more strongly that I needed to finish this work of poetry and song lyrics first. At first I rejected the idea, thinking that perhaps I was just being egotistical. Surely the countless hours and all the Bible studies I had done were more important?

Then a counselor friend of mine, Rod Myklebust, made a comment to me one day that really shook me up. I prayed with Rod, and then he told me that he felt that maybe Seven Dangerous Prayers was just for me right now, not for anyone else yet, that I should pray through it to see where God was leading.

To be honest I was pretty devastated, especially with that coming from Rod, whose opinion means the world to me. I know Rod never meant it, but I got stuck on the thought that I had wasted most of my life, working on a book that was just for my own edification, not for anyone else’s. The black depression which followed was utterly crushing.

Lindsay and I had moved out of the Lewis-Clark Valley chasing teaching jobs in the North Cascades and the Oregon coast. I ended up getting injured pretty severely with a torn left bicep and torn rotator cuff. We eventually ran out of money and moved back to the Lewis-Clark Valley to regroup, but my depression and anxiety were worse than ever. I finally reached out and got medical help and counseling and have been slowly climbing out my present darkness, day by day.

I never thought myself a man of prayer, yet somehow I find that I have become one. It didn’t happen overnight, and it certainly hasn’t been easy. Between health problems, depression and anxiety these past seven years especially have been the hardest of my entire life. It is only through the faithful prayers of so many that I am alive today.

Brennan Manning, the beloved vagabond evangelist who transformed my life, said it best: “The Word we study must be the Word we pray” (The Ragamuffin Gospel, pg. 45). True, effective prayer is always founded and grounded in God’s Word. I dug into the Word again and kept on praying. I slowly began to see a little more clearly, and then one day God brought me completely up short with several sudden realizations:

Both books I had been working on for decades had seven chapters;

Each chapter in the river Beautiful corresponded perfectly with one of the seven dangerous prayers; and

It turns out that all the time I had been writing two books, I was really only writing one. I will release the Seven Dangerous Prayers Bible study in a year or so when it feels right, but for now, I finally know that this is what I’m supposed to do.

As soon as I came to that realization, I finally found peace with finishing the work. It makes sense for me not to just tell you how dangerous prayers have transformed my life, but to show you exactly how I have changed through my poetry and prose and illustrations. Since I finally figured out what I was supposed to do, this work has progressed smoothly and peacefully. It’s so very nice to have such a wise Editor.

I’m releasing a new signature design today entitled “NIL NISI CRUCE: “Firestorm” in the INTO THE FLAME store. All proceeds go towards supporting publication costs for the book.

[3dprintcess]

I made an animation for "Fragile Life in Llyn Tegid, Alex Horne PhD" - my Taskmaster merman AU fanfic. Please note the bubble 🤍heart🤍 and the mer-creature reaching out for the little boat. All hand drawn! (There's also a podfic version with sound effects!)

Teen rated, M/M, 6.6k words, set in the seventies.

Marine Biologist Alex has been studying Llyn Tegid - the largest lake in Wales - and its fragile, delicate ecosystem. Desperate to protect its last remaining, unique, endangered species, he takes on illegal fishing operations single-handedly amidst a terrible storm - and comes to a terrible end. Then the marine biology finds him.

[zevsarainai]

the ps5 pro being 700$/€800 is genuinely insane to me wtf is sony thinking

[kellerybird]

Losing my mind of people making Sister Michael content and saying she does karate

She

She does judo

She states this in the show. Multiple times.

She does judo on Fridays and doesn't like to miss it

[astrocassette]

i don't have the engineering know how to design a bot but the idea of a battlebots submas au came to me and is making me smile

[bitchfitch]

I've officially befuddled another eye doctor. Apparently my eyes are misaligned on both axis instead of just one.

She has however confirmed that the weird thing my pupil does when it just stops reacting to light right is probably a pots thing and not micro strokes like my past neuro ophthalmologist thought it was. She confirmed this by having me stand up and sit down fast enough to make my hip mad and also start up a pots episode which in turn triggered the freezing issue. Didn't know pots could do that.

also i have officially been undiagnosed with dyslexia, turns out i have trouble reading bc my brain is trying to compensate for some "how has no one noticed this before" and "Oh God please tell me you don't have a driver's license you ran into a chair walking into this room" level eye problems.

tldr you assholes better be prepared for me to take off these fucking training weights (getting glasses with prism correction)

[bluestonewings]

I LOVE SKY EVENTS!! I LOVE THE AWESOME MAGIC OF SPACE!!! HELL YEAH!!!!

[spiderziege]

📏??

whats your go-to canvas size?

it used to be 2160x2700px for the longest time since i think thats the perfect size for posting on instagram? which doesnt even really make sense since i dont use instagram lol. now i usually start with an A4 canvas (2480x3508) and then just crop it once im done, so its different every time

[elvhendis]

Sometimes I flip my paintings so much that even the mirrored version starts to look normal and I don't see the issues anymore so I've started being really annoying to my friends by sending them my wips which enables me to look at the thumbnail while rotating my phone on it's head and boom new method of finding flaws enabled

[fieriframes]

[Could climb vertical walls as easily as any goat.]

[vohtaro]

jfc you couldn't even adjust the DM icons up when u placed that obnoxious taskbar on the bottom of the page and half-covered one of the icons?

[rulesforthedance]

Last night I had TWO of my recurring stress dreams, the Giant Fight With My Dad Where He Reveals He Never Loved Me dream and the Tiny Stunted Bearded Dragon I Keep Forgetting To Feed And Care For dream. The night before that I dreamed the plot of Arrival (2016) was happening irl and I was Amy Adams' character. BUT, I have never seen that movie, I have only read the wikipedia synopsis, so my dream was based on the wikipedia synopsis. And also everyone's shirts were made of transparent raincoat plastic.

[steverogersnotebook]

This little monkey is 16 today! I can't believe it.

Happy 16th Birthday A!!

[xscape]

Photo by Kyle Miller

[painted-bees]

A quick, sloppy little comic about Magritte

[OC's]

(image description under the cut)

[Image Description: It's a vertical comic strip of 14 panels arranged one under the other. The style is realistic, done with sketchy lines in a dark burgundy. It is not colored or shaded and there is no background. The comic features the interactions of a couple, Magritte (also called Margie) and Rafael (also called Raf). Magritte is a young woman, she is wearing a baggy armhole tank top with a tight fitting black top underneath, shorts and boots. She has a messy bun and a small messenger bag slung over her left shoulder. Rafael is her partner, wearing baggy pants, sneakers, fingerless gloves, V-neck t-shirt and an open button-up jacket with a hoodie and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair has short side with long top bangs and a short goatee.

 (First panel): There's only Magritte visible from the waist up. Off screen, Raf says to someone else: “Magritte has our tickets.” Magritte is excited, looking straight forward. Her left hand in on her bag's strap, her right hand rummaging inside her bag. Magritte says: "Yeah! Even made sure to put them in my wallet so that I wouldn't- uh..."

 (Second panel): She is beginning to look concerned, now with her face turned to her back, both left hand holding the lip to open the bag wider and her right hand still rummaging inside. Magritte says: "wouldn't forget.... Hang on, it's not on it's usual pocket. Haha." The last is a nervous laughter.

 (Third panel): Magritte is kneeling on the ground. Rafael is standing to the side and behind her, only his feet visible. Magritte looks frantic, searching inside her bag. Her right arm is forearm deep digging in her bag. Magritte says: "It's definitely here-! It's the one thing I never forget 'cus I never take it out of my bag!" Rafael says, firmly: "Margie, when you took it out to put the tickets in, did you put the wallet back in the bag?" The letters are bolded, with the word "back" underlined for emphasis. Magritte says: "Give me some credit, there's no way I'm that stupid." The last three words are underlined for emphasis.

 (Fourth panel):  The scene has changed and now Magritte and Rafael are in a car. We see them from the passenger's side. Rafael is driving, looking straight ahead at the road. Magritte is hunched forward, hugging herself with the left hand. Her right hand is holding her head. She is looking out the passenger window, avoiding Raf.

 (Fifth panel):  Rafael turns slightly to look at Magritte.

 (Sixth panel):  The point of view is now a side profile view from the drivers side. Rafael has his left arm leaning on the open window, his right hand on the wheel. Magritte is hunched over facing the passenger window. Rafael says: "I'm not mad at you, if that's what you're worried about." Magritte says: "I can literally feel your disappointment."

 (Seventh panel): Back to the passengers side, Rafael is looking at the road. Magritte is frustrated, no longer leaning her head against her right hand and instead her hand is palm upwards. Rafael says: "Well, yes. It is a disappointing situation, but-" Magritte interrupts: "You'd think I'd be able to do the one thing I was asked to do-! That I'd at least learn from the last billion times I forgot shit. Rafael says, quieter: “that's not where I was going with this...”

(Eighth panel):  Magritte has her right hand holding her face with the palm on her cheek, left hand placing the tips of her fingers on her left temple and eye brows. She is frustrated and angry. Magritte says: "It's not like I've got anything more important rattling around in my brain.  But, for some reason, if it's not my music, or like.... food or something, then it's just not a priority. I can't make myself care enough to make it a priority!"

(Ninth panel): She now has both hands in front of her, elbows bent, finger extended in a vague hand gesture as if there was something in front of her. Magritte says: "I'm an adult in my 20s and I still manage my responsibilities like a child. I'd be more dependable if I could just stop and think for a second, but I'd probably forget to even breathe if it weren't for the..."

 (Tenth panel): Her frustrated expression turned to confusion. Her hands are still in the air in the same position as before. Magritte says:"... why are we parked?" Her noticing this stopped her rant.

(Eleventh panel): Magritte straightens up and faces the window entirely, left hand crossed over her body to lean on the car door. Rafael, off screen: "Margie." Magritte says: "Oh." Magritte's inner thoughts are written around her. "He stopped the car to scold me. No, not ‘scold’. Don't be a child about this. He's disappointed and just needs to make sure you understand so you can do better next ti-"

 (Twelfth panel): Magritte is still looking out the window, but now with a shocked expression. Rafael reached with his right hand, and its now resting gently on her upper back. Rafael interrupts her inner monologue with "I need you to stop repeating the shit your parents and teachers and such yelled at you growing up. They were wrong, and nothing you just said makes sense."

 (Thirteenth panel):  The perspective switches back to the driver's side profile. Rafael says: "A poor memory isn't synonymous with poor priorities. Nor does it speak to a lack of maturity. The priority was there, we just have to build a better habit of checking things before we leave the apartment. Both of us. It's gonna take time. You afford everyone else a ton of patience, all the time. Can you please afford some for yourself? The situation sucks, we were both looking forward to this. But it's not the end of the world. We didn't forget things on purpose. So let's take it easy and try to end the day on a good note. Alright?" Magritte says: "Okay... c-can we um...."

 (Fourteenth panel): Magritte has turned to face Rafael and her eyes are filled with tears and they're running down her cheeks.  Rafael looks startled, lifting his arm off Magritte's back. Magritte says: "Can we get some ice cream on the way back?" Rafael says: "O-of course!" End of description.]

This description was written and provided by Hiwi.

[rwimages]

Fine Art Prints | Framed Pictures | Canvas | Metal | Acrylic | Wood | Large Wall Decor Art | Fine Art Photography Museum Gallery Quality | Fast & Secure Worldwide Shipping | Home and Office Interior Design Art | Residential, Hospitality, Healthcare, Commercial, Corporate, Luxury Interior Designer Art Source | Stock Photography Licensing | All Photos @ Robert Wojtowicz / RWIMAGES.COM Top Quality Archival Prints - Classic Silver Halide and High End Fine Art Giclée Photo Paper Prints including True Fine Art Matte, Fine Art Baryta and Watercolor 100% Cotton Fibre Acid Free Archival Giclée Photo Prints, Luster, Glossy and Metallic Classic Silver Halide Photo Prints plus Ready to Hang Wall Decor Art: Traditional Matted and Framed Paper Prints, Framed Canvas and Acrylic Prints or unframed Stretched Fine Art Canvas Prints, HD Aluminum Metal Prints, Fine Art Face-Mounted Fine Art Acrylic Prints - Extra Large Wall Art - Custom cropped print sizes including square and panoramic formats - Home and Corporate Office Decor Art, Fine Art Photo Gallery, Stock Photos (Licensing and Instant Digital Downloads )