BREATHE

John 15:1-7 , says, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  Remain in me, as I also remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. I was driving to my mom's house the other day; halfway there, I noticed that I'd been driving on "autopilot."  I had been trying to control the outcome of m y worries, cares, and plans  to such a degree that I allowed my body to drive without me. Very quickly, I brought my thoughts back to the wheel; I also thought about the passage above.  I get so wrapped up in the temporary cares, worries, and plan

But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding, Job 32:8. Mark Tyrell talks about an old l egend. According to the tale, Nasrudin was walking alone at night when he saw a group of people approaching in the far distance. Instantly, his imagination began to toy with him: "They are surely robbers!" he thought. "No, why just robbers? Murderers, cutthroats! About to set upon me, a lonely traveler, leave me for dead and steal all my possessions! How are my wife and children going to cope without me?!" Nasrudin's heart began to pound. His mouth became as dry as his palms became wet. He shook from head to toe and found himself breathing like an unfit man running to the finishing line of his first marathon. Having thoroughly terrified himself, he stumbled into a nearby graveyard and cowered shaking inside an open tomb, awaiting his fate.  Meanwhile, the harmless strangers, concerned by his dramatic behavio