Have you ever noticed how there is a song for every mood that you are in. That when you are having a rough day a song can come on and make it all so much better. Or that when you need to be cheered up or need a good cry there is a song for that. (okay I just thought of the iPhone commercials where they say "there's an app. for that.") But it is so true. There is a song that goes with each day. Music is the language of the world. And it is a great way to worship the awesome God who gave us music to begin with. It is a chance for you to pour out your soul in such a beautiful way.
What brought on this blog you might ask. Well lately God has been using music in my life to encourage me or to show me that someone else has gone through what I am going through. Like a couple of post ago I talked about Tenth Avenue North's song "Healing Begins" and how it described what was happening in my life at that moment as well.
Then I went to a concert last Thursday and The Wrecking sang this song about coming back to God. That is exactly what this year has been for me. A chance for me to come back to God and to begin a stronger relationship with him than I have ever had.
Then there was yesterday it had been a rough morning and since we are testing they are doing the schedule backwards the last three days. So I did not have any students for about an hour so I just put some music on and it just made my day so much better.
Finally for my reading the Bible in a year I have been in Psalms and almost every Psalm has a song that came from it. So as I read through the Psalms I begin to sing all of these songs. But to think that these are songs that people in the old testament sang is pretty cool.
So I am going to end this blog with a question and I hope that you will answer it. What is a song that is speaking to you right now?
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Lost
If you are a Lost fan than you know that the series finally was on Sunday. That is right there will be no more Lost episodes. I have really enjoyed the show as you get to watch these people face challenges and see how it defines the person that later become. There are so many things that you could take away from Lost and apply them to Christianity. But today I want to share a quote from the last episode that has been on my mind. In the show there is this guy named Hurley who is hilarious and has the biggest heart out of all of the characters. He is sitting in the car with Sayid who was a torturer in the Iraqi Republican Guard. Hurley looks at Sayid and tells him "Man I think you are a good guy, people have been telling you for a long time that you are not and you believe them. No one can tell you who you are, only you can do that." Wow. That is so true for so many people in the world today. We let other people tell us who we are suppose to be or what is going to become of us, when we are the ones who get to decide that. We care so much about what people think about us that we are willing to become what they think we are just to fit their image. Why not break free of that bondage. Throw it all away and stand up for yourself. Tell yourself that you can be anything you want to be. People do not define who we are but for some reason we let them. And this goes both ways. Not only do we let people define who we are but we also try and define who they are. You see this in the class room all the time. Teachers will tell their students that they will never pass their class so the student stops trying and does not pass the class. I wish I could say that I did not care about how people viewed me or what they thought about me but then I would be lying. How great would it be if we could just rest in the fact that we are daughters and sons of the King of Kings and that he thinks that we are beautiful. That his opinion is the only one that matters. So let's try and follow Hurley's advice and not believe what others think about us (unless it is good).
Hope you are having a great week.
Days until the end of school 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hope you are having a great week.
Days until the end of school 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
The Color White
Maybe God is trying to tell me something about sin. It has been coming up a lot lately for me.
Today I wore a white skirt to school. And by the end of the day an analogy had presented itself to me. If you have ever worn something that is white you will understand completely what I am talking about. White attracts disasters. You either spill something on yourself, or find the streaks of color that you have no idea where they came from. But white does not hind stains at all. And that made me think about how we are washed white by the blood of Christ but that when we sin those sins must stand out to God like ketchup on a white skirt. Even though we feel like we are doing a great job hiding our sins from others and even from God this is never the case. Yes we could go our whole lives without someone know what we have done but God knows. The whiteness does not hide our sins but makes them stand out until they are dealt with. Then Christ comes in with some Shout and scrubs the stain away. We are made white again until the next disaster comes. And just like disasters are attracted to white, Satan is too. He sees when we are close to God and he does not like it. He tries his hardest to get us dirty, like a child or a sibling who wants nothing more than to throw you in that big mud puddle.
Well that is my analogy of my white skirt. I did not spill ketchup on it today but did find some random streaks of color that I have no clue where they came from.
I hope you are having a wonderful week. And if you are a teacher, just remember the end is near!!!!!
Today I wore a white skirt to school. And by the end of the day an analogy had presented itself to me. If you have ever worn something that is white you will understand completely what I am talking about. White attracts disasters. You either spill something on yourself, or find the streaks of color that you have no idea where they came from. But white does not hind stains at all. And that made me think about how we are washed white by the blood of Christ but that when we sin those sins must stand out to God like ketchup on a white skirt. Even though we feel like we are doing a great job hiding our sins from others and even from God this is never the case. Yes we could go our whole lives without someone know what we have done but God knows. The whiteness does not hide our sins but makes them stand out until they are dealt with. Then Christ comes in with some Shout and scrubs the stain away. We are made white again until the next disaster comes. And just like disasters are attracted to white, Satan is too. He sees when we are close to God and he does not like it. He tries his hardest to get us dirty, like a child or a sibling who wants nothing more than to throw you in that big mud puddle.
Well that is my analogy of my white skirt. I did not spill ketchup on it today but did find some random streaks of color that I have no clue where they came from.
I hope you are having a wonderful week. And if you are a teacher, just remember the end is near!!!!!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Prayer in School
Wow what a day. So I wrote about hearing God speaking to me on Saturday. Well it happened it again today. I went in to Mrs. Swain's room to ask her if I could borrow her TV for a TV show tonight. I was in there and she told me that I should talk to this one student. He just found out at lunch that his grandmother has cancer. Nanci said that I should talk to him since I had just lost a grandparent as well. Well we begin talking about how hard it is to think of someone you love not being there anymore. And then how things are once they are gone. I was talking to him about the three years when Papa was in and out of the hospital and he shared with me about how his grandmother has always been there for him. That is when I felt this tug in me to ask the boy if I could pray for him and his grandmother. And so I asked and he said that would be fine. So Nanci, the student and I all gathered around and I prayed for this boy and his grandmother. It was so awesome that I could sit down with this person who I have never met and share this part of my life with him that is so difficult for me to talk about. Even though it has been almost two years since I lost my granddad. And then to be able to just ask if I could pray for him. It was a great feeling. Knowing that God just used me. And the best part about it is that I was in a place where God knew I could be used. It has been a while since my walk has been strong enough for God to use me. Wow. God is GREAT!!! Understatement I know but there are no words to describe him. So if you could just be praying for this student and his grandmother as the future is going to be a little rough. That God would draw them to him and that the time they have left together would be blessed and cherished by all. Hope you are having a wonderful week.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Letting Go and Growing Up...
Wow what a weekend. There is no other way to describe it. Let's start with a verse that kind of inspired it all.
James 5:16
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."
If you keep up with my posting you will have read the post "Horde or Forest Guard?" Where I talked about wearing our sins on the outside for all the world to see. Well I had a chance to go home this weekend to see my parents. And I was telling my Dad about the blog and we talked about James 5:16 a little bit. About how we are called to share our sins with one another. Well Saturday night I sit down to read my bible and God just grabbed my heart. He told me you need to confess your sins to your parents. And I was like yeah right these are my parents we are talking about. They punish you when you do something wrong. Well I try to continue reading and God just pushed harder and harder, so I finally pray that he will give me strength to do this to share my sins with my parents. I have never felt God speak to me so clearly. So I went in and had a wonderful conversation with my parents. Then my dad prayer for us just like James talks about "and pray for each other so that you may be healed." And I felt like this weight had been lifted. I was able to go back and read my bible and actually concentrate on it.
Then to make it ever more real. On Sunday we sang Amazing Grace (My Chains are gone) and to sing those words. "My chains are gone, I've been set free." It was real to me. I had finally laid my chains down at the foot of the Father. I had finally let go and was ready to continue growing in my walk with Christ.
And then the icing to the cake came when I was driving home on Monday. Tenth Avenue North was on Air 1 talking about their new song "Healing Begins" and it was a perfect description of what had happened just a few nights ago. The words to the song are:
"So you thought you had to keep this up, all the work that you do. So we think that you're good and you can't believe it's not enough. All the walls you built up are just glass on the outside so let 'em fall down.There's freedom waiting in the sound when you let your walls fall to the ground. We're here now. This is where the healing begins, oh This is where the healing starts. When you come to where you're broken within, the light meets the dark. The light meets the dark. Afraid to let your secrets out, everything that you hide can come crashing through the door now. But too scared to face all your fear, so you hide but you find that the shame won't disappear. So let it fall down. There's freedom waiting in the sound, when you let your walls fall to the ground. We're here now. We're here now, oh This is where the healing begins, oh This is where the healing starts. When you come to where you're broken within, the light meets the dark. The light meets the dark. Sparks will fly as grace collides with the dark inside of us. So please don't fight this coming light. Let this blood come cover us, his blood can cover us. This is where the healing begins, oh This is where the healing starts. When you come to where you're broken within The light meets the dark The light meets the dark."
The song talks about the walls that you build up so that people can't see what is in our hearts. Until we knock those walls down we are not free. Those sins that we hide are holding us captive. And when we knock down those walls we are free and can start healing from the scars that the chains have formed. I think the line that gets me the most and where it says, "too scared to face all your fear, so you hide but you find that the shame won't disappear." We are scared to open that door for others. So instead we hide and that shame of what we have done sticks with us and will not go away. So let break down the walls. And feel that brokenness inside so that we can begin to heal. It is terrifying I know to become transparent to a person. What if they reject you or judge you for what you have done. But God calls us to do it. And then if you are the one they decide to open up to you are suppose to pray for them. Pray that God will send that healing for them. That the chains that have held them captive for so long will be broken and the wounds will begin to heal.
So like I said WOW what a weekend. My healing is beginning. What do you need to reveal to someone today? Whose healing do you need to be praying for? I hope that you can find the courage and the desire to do both of these. Trust me the freedom the song talks about is an amazing feeling!!! Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!!
James 5:16
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."
If you keep up with my posting you will have read the post "Horde or Forest Guard?" Where I talked about wearing our sins on the outside for all the world to see. Well I had a chance to go home this weekend to see my parents. And I was telling my Dad about the blog and we talked about James 5:16 a little bit. About how we are called to share our sins with one another. Well Saturday night I sit down to read my bible and God just grabbed my heart. He told me you need to confess your sins to your parents. And I was like yeah right these are my parents we are talking about. They punish you when you do something wrong. Well I try to continue reading and God just pushed harder and harder, so I finally pray that he will give me strength to do this to share my sins with my parents. I have never felt God speak to me so clearly. So I went in and had a wonderful conversation with my parents. Then my dad prayer for us just like James talks about "and pray for each other so that you may be healed." And I felt like this weight had been lifted. I was able to go back and read my bible and actually concentrate on it.
Then to make it ever more real. On Sunday we sang Amazing Grace (My Chains are gone) and to sing those words. "My chains are gone, I've been set free." It was real to me. I had finally laid my chains down at the foot of the Father. I had finally let go and was ready to continue growing in my walk with Christ.
And then the icing to the cake came when I was driving home on Monday. Tenth Avenue North was on Air 1 talking about their new song "Healing Begins" and it was a perfect description of what had happened just a few nights ago. The words to the song are:
"So you thought you had to keep this up, all the work that you do. So we think that you're good and you can't believe it's not enough. All the walls you built up are just glass on the outside so let 'em fall down.There's freedom waiting in the sound when you let your walls fall to the ground. We're here now. This is where the healing begins, oh This is where the healing starts. When you come to where you're broken within, the light meets the dark. The light meets the dark. Afraid to let your secrets out, everything that you hide can come crashing through the door now. But too scared to face all your fear, so you hide but you find that the shame won't disappear. So let it fall down. There's freedom waiting in the sound, when you let your walls fall to the ground. We're here now. We're here now, oh This is where the healing begins, oh This is where the healing starts. When you come to where you're broken within, the light meets the dark. The light meets the dark. Sparks will fly as grace collides with the dark inside of us. So please don't fight this coming light. Let this blood come cover us, his blood can cover us. This is where the healing begins, oh This is where the healing starts. When you come to where you're broken within The light meets the dark The light meets the dark."
The song talks about the walls that you build up so that people can't see what is in our hearts. Until we knock those walls down we are not free. Those sins that we hide are holding us captive. And when we knock down those walls we are free and can start healing from the scars that the chains have formed. I think the line that gets me the most and where it says, "too scared to face all your fear, so you hide but you find that the shame won't disappear." We are scared to open that door for others. So instead we hide and that shame of what we have done sticks with us and will not go away. So let break down the walls. And feel that brokenness inside so that we can begin to heal. It is terrifying I know to become transparent to a person. What if they reject you or judge you for what you have done. But God calls us to do it. And then if you are the one they decide to open up to you are suppose to pray for them. Pray that God will send that healing for them. That the chains that have held them captive for so long will be broken and the wounds will begin to heal.
So like I said WOW what a weekend. My healing is beginning. What do you need to reveal to someone today? Whose healing do you need to be praying for? I hope that you can find the courage and the desire to do both of these. Trust me the freedom the song talks about is an amazing feeling!!! Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Are you Horde or Forest Guard?
I just finished reading a book that a friend had given to me. So I have had a chance to get back to reading some of the books that I got for my birthday. If you have ever talked to me about reading you would know that my favorite author is Ted DeKker. He is a Christian fiction writer who lives in Austin, Texas. I have been reading his serious called the Lost Books which tie into his circle trilogy books, Black, Red and White.
In these stories there is two types of people who are fighting over "The Other World". These two groups are the horde and the forest guard. Both believe that the other one is diseased. The Forest Guard are followers of Elyon the creator of other world. The Horde are ones who have chosen not to follow Elyon but instead Teelah the creature of darkness. Sound like something you know. The point I want to make is that the difference between the two is obvious. If you do not bath in the lake of Elyon then your skin begins to rot and crack open. What if your sins were displayed on your skin? Should you not be able to tell the difference between believers and non believers just as easily as between Horde and Forest Guard? Should we not stand out from the world? Yet we have a tendency to blend into the world. To cover ourselves with morst (the cream the Horde uses to sooth their pain) so that we can blend in because if we stand out we might be persecuted or made fun of. So if someone was to look at your life today could they tell if you were Horde or Forest Guard? Or are you a Forest Guard covered with morst?
Hope that you are having a wonderful week!!!
In these stories there is two types of people who are fighting over "The Other World". These two groups are the horde and the forest guard. Both believe that the other one is diseased. The Forest Guard are followers of Elyon the creator of other world. The Horde are ones who have chosen not to follow Elyon but instead Teelah the creature of darkness. Sound like something you know. The point I want to make is that the difference between the two is obvious. If you do not bath in the lake of Elyon then your skin begins to rot and crack open. What if your sins were displayed on your skin? Should you not be able to tell the difference between believers and non believers just as easily as between Horde and Forest Guard? Should we not stand out from the world? Yet we have a tendency to blend into the world. To cover ourselves with morst (the cream the Horde uses to sooth their pain) so that we can blend in because if we stand out we might be persecuted or made fun of. So if someone was to look at your life today could they tell if you were Horde or Forest Guard? Or are you a Forest Guard covered with morst?
Hope that you are having a wonderful week!!!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Where are we going??
This past weekend I was very fortunate enough to receive a lovely visit from my parents. They got to meet the LHS math department on Saturday for lunch at this GREAT Italian food restaurant. Then they were lucky enough to get to experience a Levelland prom. And let me tell you it is crazy here. They have people bring lawn chairs so they can sit and watch the kids walk in. And some of the people do not even have students still going to LHS. Then on Sunday they were able to go to church with me before having to head back to Dublin.
This is where the title comes in. We had a guest pastor on Sunday. His name was Stephen and he is a pastor at a huge church in London. He has started Clarion Missions. The sermon title was "Unchanging Gospel, Changing World." He talked about how the gospel has been the same but that the way that we present it to people should change. I would not share the gospel the same way with someone from Texas as I would with someone from Jordan. We need to make the gospel relate to them. He used Paul as an example, when he was in Athens he went around the town studying their ideals and culture and then he came to them and said "I see you have even an alter to an unknown god. I am going to tell you about him and how he lives today." (I paraphrased that) He made God relate to them where they were at.
Another point he made is that we, my generation, struggle with become absorbed into the world today. We are beginning to look more and more like the world and stand out less and less. In Sunday school we read a verse from Hebrews about being an alien in this world. That is true we are not of this world and when you hear the word alien you think of a green creature or something like that. If an alien, a green one, was standing in a crowd how easy would it be to point him out. So why are we not the same as that alien. We should not camouflage ourselves to blend in but we should dare to stand out. For others to see that there is something that is different in us. That we have a love like no other and a Father who is watching over us.
Lastly, he talked about going. We need to reach out to this lost and dying world. We should not be afraid to leave everything we know behind and step out on faith. When God calls us to go are we will to do so or do we have something holding us back. There are so many places that Christians are persecuted for their faith and we sit here in American and become comfortable. We need to GO!! We need to not be afraid to share our faith to be placed outside our comfort zone. So my question to you today is Where are you going? Who are you trying to bring the gospel to in this ever changing world?
This is where the title comes in. We had a guest pastor on Sunday. His name was Stephen and he is a pastor at a huge church in London. He has started Clarion Missions. The sermon title was "Unchanging Gospel, Changing World." He talked about how the gospel has been the same but that the way that we present it to people should change. I would not share the gospel the same way with someone from Texas as I would with someone from Jordan. We need to make the gospel relate to them. He used Paul as an example, when he was in Athens he went around the town studying their ideals and culture and then he came to them and said "I see you have even an alter to an unknown god. I am going to tell you about him and how he lives today." (I paraphrased that) He made God relate to them where they were at.
Another point he made is that we, my generation, struggle with become absorbed into the world today. We are beginning to look more and more like the world and stand out less and less. In Sunday school we read a verse from Hebrews about being an alien in this world. That is true we are not of this world and when you hear the word alien you think of a green creature or something like that. If an alien, a green one, was standing in a crowd how easy would it be to point him out. So why are we not the same as that alien. We should not camouflage ourselves to blend in but we should dare to stand out. For others to see that there is something that is different in us. That we have a love like no other and a Father who is watching over us.
Lastly, he talked about going. We need to reach out to this lost and dying world. We should not be afraid to leave everything we know behind and step out on faith. When God calls us to go are we will to do so or do we have something holding us back. There are so many places that Christians are persecuted for their faith and we sit here in American and become comfortable. We need to GO!! We need to not be afraid to share our faith to be placed outside our comfort zone. So my question to you today is Where are you going? Who are you trying to bring the gospel to in this ever changing world?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)