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| | When you start doubting prayer, when you are in a rutt, etc... | [Mar. 5th, 2007|06:26 pm] |
I'm reading this book "Too Busy NOT to Pray" By Bill Hybels and there is this one part in the book that totally knocked me off my feet! We all go through periods in our walk where we're just not praying as much. Things are good, so we forget, or we start to doubt since our prayers have not been answered yet, or at all. Keep in mind that we must remain faithful. We do not know the reasons for everything. Sometimes its just not meant to happen that way, or it just isn't the right time.
Here is a section from the book that I thought was extremely powerful.
"I Kept On Praying"
Some years ago we had a baptism Sunday where many people publicly affirmed their decision to follow Christ. I thought my heart would explode for joy. Afterward, in the stairwell, I bumped into a woman who was crying. I couldn't understand how anyone could weep after such a celebration, so I stopped and asked her if she was all right.
"No," she said, "I'm struggling. My mother was baptized today."
THIS IS A PROBLEM? I thought.
"I prayed for her every day for twenty years," the woman said, and then she started crying again.
"You're going to have to help me understand this," I said.
"I'm crying," the woman replied, "because I came so close-SOCLOSE-to giving up on her. I mean, after five years I said, WHO NEEDS THIS? GOD ISN'T LISTENING. After ten years I said, WHY AM I WASTING MY BREATH? After fifteen years I said, THIS IS ABSURD. After nineteen years I said, I'M JUST A FOOL. But I guess I just kept praying, even though my faith was weak. I kept praying, and she gave her life to Christ, and she was baptized today."
The woman paused and looked me in the eye. "I will never doubt the power of prayer again," she said.
How powerful is that? It nearly brought me to tears. How often do we do this brothers and sisters? I know that I struggle with it sometimes. How silly is it that we remember the times when we don't get what we want from God, that we feel that he isn't listening, or that he won't answer our prayers. Why are we forgetting the MANY times he HAS answered our prayers? The list of answered prayers greatly out weights the list of unanswered prayers. While the answered prayers list may be shorted, many unanswered prayers have been erased because of what I have learned with time.
Check out the book, you can get it here, or borrow it from me when I'm done, or whoever borrows it from me is done.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0830819711?tag=beyfat-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0830819711&adid=032Y3ETSMM8EQ9S8Z0EY& | |
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| | What else is there to say other than God is good? | [Mar. 4th, 2007|05:03 pm] | Psalm 95 (NIV) 1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song. 3 For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; 7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care. | |
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| | Yay = ) | [Feb. 27th, 2007|05:46 pm] | God blessed me with a chorus today. I was just strumming some chords, and started to sing, and these were some of the first words that came out...and I'd like to share them with you = )
The chorus is in a 3/4 time signature...so if any of you swing dance, you should be able to figure it out. ONE two three ONE two three...
Oh God – M. Brandon Lee Tempo: 160 - 165 Verse: G, D, C, Asus2 e|--3--3-2--0-0--0-2--| B|--3--3-3--1-0--0-0--| G|-----2-2--0-0--2-2--| D|-----0-0--2-2--2-2--| A|--5-------3-3--0-0--| E|--3-----------------| Chorus: Em, C, G, D/sus4/sus2 e|--0—-0--3--2-3-0--| B|--0—-1--0--3-3-3--| G|--0—-0--0--2-2-2--| D|--2—-2--0--0-0-0--| A|--2—-3--2---------| E|--0-----3---------| (4/4 Verse) G, D, C, Asus2 (3/4 Chorus) Em C G D/sus4/2 Oh God, you reign on high Em C G D/sus4/2 My arms outstretched, up to the sky Em C G D/sus4/2 Oh God, you love me Em C G D/sus4/2 For your grace has set me free Em C G D/sus4/2 Oh God, we intertwine Em C G D/sus4/2 I am yours and you are mine Em C G D/sus4/2 Oh God, we cannot deny Em C G D/sus4/2 For your presence opens my eyes | |
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| God challenges us to be bold!| God challenges us to be bold! | [Feb. 1st, 2007|10:25 am] | This has really been on my heart this past week or two. I really do feel that God wants his children to be bold. Maybe it's just me, or maybe he's calling this generation, but I think we need to start breaking through our comfort zones, I think we need to ignore what the world tells us we can and cannot do, I think we need to ignore what is "cool" and "uncool." None of it matters, when God asks us to do something, you do it, and you do it with urgency. Why would you do it any other way? I don't really understand us humans with that...
But God definitely gave me a gift last night as I was driving (I tend to get a lot of thoughts while driving...which makes it hard for me to write lyrics with the whole...driving thing...and all haha.) The thought was this:
"The flame inside us will only be smothered if we keep it inside. We have to let the fire of God inside us free. It needs air so that it can breathe, so it can grow, so it can spread like a wildfire. This world is full of a lot of dead and dry leaves, leaves without life. If we were bold, and let the fire inside of us free, it could catch all of those leaves on fire, and change who they are, and send them to the sky."
I remember when I was struggling with talking about God or praying when I was out at the commons for "the 11th hour." I was really good as strategically pausing, or talking quieter when someone walked by. What's the point? WHAT DO I HAVE TO LOSE?! This is the struggles we have, but I'm personally getting tired of holding back. I want to be bold like Paul. He talks about being bold so much in Acts, (which is of course, God having perfect timing and having us read that right now!) and they were persecuted heavily! He was even stoned! And here I am worried that someone that walks by will THINK I'm weird. Wow...
God calls us to be bold, to get outside of our comfort zones, to follow him, to do things against the grain. If all of his children decided to be bold, (more) miracles would happen! Imagine the things that would take place! How beautiful that would be! | |
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| | Some awesome lyrics! | [Jan. 23rd, 2007|10:47 am] | grav·i·ty (grv-t) n.
-The natural force of attraction between any two massive bodies, which is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
-Grave consequence; seriousness or importance
-Solemnity or dignity of manner.
Oh! Gravity - Switchfoot
There's a fracture in the color bar
In the backseat of a parked car
By the liquor store where the streetlight
Keep you company 'til the next night
In the same town, there's the same scar
In the same glow of the liquor store
By the freeway, where the headlight
Keep her company 'til the next night
Oh! Gravity.
Why can't we seem to keep it together?
Sons of my enemies,
Why can't we seem to keep it together?
In the back room of the Pentagon
There's a thin man with a line drawn
With a red jaw and a red bite
Watch the headline on the next night
Oh! Gravity.
Why can't we seem to keep it together?
Sons of my enemies,
Why can't we seem to keep it together?
Why this tragedy?
Why can't we seem to keep it together?
Oh! Gravity.
Why can't we seem to keep it together?
In the fallout, the fallout
We found out the hype won't get you through
We're connected, connected
I meant it, the hype won't get you through
Oh! Gravity.
Why can't we seem to keep it together?
Oh! Gravity.
Why can't we seem to put it together?
Why this tragedy?
Why can't we seem to keep it together?
Oh! Gravity.
Why can't we seem to keep it together?
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la lets put it together.
Oh! Gravity is a song that I can relate to a lot, and I think it's extremely well put together (being all happy go lucky and talking about all of this...it's kind of sarcastic). it's about a well known law of physics. The question is this: If in the physical world things naturally move closer together, why are we falling apart? War and rumors of war, divorce, hatred, violence, and everything else on the evening news seems to contradict gravity. In my personal life it has all been about the people in my life pushing each other or even me away. My family has been quite exceptional at this. I find that a lot of the time, we push away the people that we really need in our lives because we're afraid of something. I've pushed people away in the past that really wanted to care for me, that really wanted to get to know me. I was afraid of them knowing the scars that I had, I was afraid of building a friendship and to have them leave. I already had (and still do to an extent) some abandonment issues. I had my father cheat on my mother, them get a divorce, I had many instances where my father didn't want me and would kick me out, lived in a car and my mom didn't want to come pick me up so I can sleep inside, I've been kicked out by my uncle, I've pretty much had a family that had disowned me, I had friends that ditched me. Why do we do this? We need each other. I find that at least in my family, when you're the person that is trying to bring healing towards everyone, to be a person of peace among a chaotic environment, you lose. Most people don't want to face their own problems in this society, (why do you think people are alcoholics or taking drugs? Numbing the pain won't fix the problem...) There is also a lack of grace. We all mess up, we all hurt each other, even if it's not intentional, but God has had so much grace on us, why can't we have grace for each other? I still struggle with this.
This is not to say that it's bad to be cautious of opening up to others, to not push some people away. I do believe there an exception to every situation. I wouldn't encourage a person to become best friends with an alcoholic/drug addict that beats his wife. I would however say in that situation that everyone needs love. What I really mean is that there are great people out there that we push away, and sometimes we really need those people in our lives. I find that I push my best friend Nick away now and then, and it's when he's calling me out and helping me become a better person. We need to work past this shell we have, this self defense. It all takes time though, and not everyone is in the same place as others.
I just think it's silly how us humans, the most advance creature in this world is breaking the laws of physics...we're completely illogical most of the time.
So, for this song I say:
Oh! Gravity.
Why can't we seem to keep it together?
Oh! Gravity.
Why can't we seem to put it together?
Why this tragedy?
Why can't we seem to keep it together?
Oh! Gravity.
Why can't we seem to keep it together?
Much like Oh! Gravity, this is somewhat in the same vein.
Push me Away - Kutless
You tell me it's nothing but I see it's something in your eyes
A fear is there
You say you don't need me, don't try to deceive me
By pulling the wool over my eyes
There's nothing wrong with needing help sometimes
What are friendships for
Now please
[CHORUS:]
Don't push me away condemn your pride
Sometimes we all need a hand to get by
Don't push me away condemn your pride
When tears start to fall then with you I will cry
No one is perfect, it just isn't worth it to stand on your own
Though fear is there
Don't be ashamed to ask me to help you
To deal with the thoughts, spinning your head
There's nothing wrong with needing help sometimes
What are friendships for
Now please
[BRIDGE:]
You can lean on me
Stand by my side, we will fight
We are much stronger as one
This really touches well on the fact that we push each other away when we go through hard times. My father always had a strong face and would never admit that he was struggling or needed help. I think this is just foolish because we all need each other in this life.
It also is really hard for a person that really cares for another to know that something is making someone really sad and you can't help them out because they won't let anyone in.
I also think this really applies to the body of the Church nowadays. We're really doing a good job of working against each other. If we only worked together, helped each other out, we could move mountains. We are the body not only as a Church, but Christians. If your foot is cut and bleeding, do you ignore it? No. Our hearts as Christians should pull us towards helping one another. We should have compassion, and that means that we should feel that we would do everything we can to take away that pain.
So that's just my current favorite picks that are on the same topic. I'll post more in a seperate entry since they're not on the same sort of subject. Hope everyone is enjoying the snow! Let's start putting the body back together now....
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