I have been trying to explore what discipleship means in this day and age, what it means for me specifically. I'm the kind of person who starts by creating a foundation of understanding in how something is defined. Discipleship is defined not only as a follower of God, but also a supporter of, a devotee of, a witness to, and a student of God.
The last two definitions in particular resonate with where I am at. How can I keep my testimony relevant if I am not learning more and more about God? If I am not experiencing Him in fresh ways in my life? There are thousands of characteristics of God, if I am not learning about, experiencing, Him in new ways then it's because I'm not trying.
I have felt the pull to become a student in more than one ways these days, and this curriculum I'm finding is a lot like my Counselling studies, they need to be hands on, experiential. I need to be God's apprentice. Apprentice - to bind to a master artisan for instruction.
To me, discipleship has come to mean connecting with God, to understand Him better, which will lead me to receive His instruction better. But I think that's only a secondary benefit to knowing God, His ultimate heart is to connect with us for relationship sake. God is always trying to use new things to show us another side of Himself, to become intimate with us on a whole other level.
Take for instance, waltzing.
Waltzing?!?
Yes.
Waltzing.
Almost 3 years ago I was blessed with some newer friendships with women who experienced God tangibly, through very realistic visions. Back then I mentioned here some life changing moments they facilitated in my life, like this vision and this vision, God had been responding to my choice to seek Him out in new ways, showing me sides of Himself I longed to know better. Then suddenly, out of the blue, He chose to reveal a part of Himself that I hadn't even asked for.
Waltzing.
One day at Church, as I was worshiping, I began seeing my own version of a vision my friend had shared, Jesus sitting on His heavenly throne, being worshiped by a sea of thousands, I being just one of those. I was far, far away from Him but yet still so in awe of His glory I could feel it even there. Then, suddenly I saw Jesus walking through the crowd, right in front of me, making His way through them, towards me. I could touch His robe, I still remember what it felt like. He looked like the earthly version of Himself, not the heavenly one that glowed so brightly moments before. And then He took me in His arms and we started waltzing.
While perplexed, I let the moment happen and just savored it. These types of visions are few and far between for me, I had wished dozens of times the visions I heard from my friends were mine, and this was mine, so I basked in it. It didn't matter why.
But now, two years later, as I contemplated discipleship, this moment spontaneously came to mind and suddenly it did matter why. I am just the kind of person who sometimes gets burdened by the why, and when I do, I need to figure it out. So I examined why God could possibly have wanted to connect with me through dance.
I DO have a desire to dance, I love dancing and find myself constantly moving when the right rhythm comes along. But it isn't a huge part of my life, I can't even full on dance when no one is watching, never mind LIKE no one is watching. Unless I'm not alone. I suddenly have the freedom to dance if I am not the only one I know on the dance floor. Growing up Mennonite, dancing was not encouraged, and I danced maybe a handful of times by my grad. I never dated anyone who liked dancing, only had 2 friends for most of my young adult life who would go out dancing with me. There has been only one time I've even danced with a guy using more movement than just a mere sway.
This one time was with my guy friend, who happened to be gay, so he didn't just dance next to me, he danced with me, swinging me all around the dance floor and it gave me this inexplicable feeling, this wave of femininity washed over me. There is just this mysterious chemistry that happens when a man and a woman dances, I've seen it in others many times before, but never experienced myself. But because he was gay, he and I were able to simply embrace it without any burden of a deeper meaning. And now, married to a non-dancer, I have never felt that particular chemistry or particular femininity ever again.
Weird, right? No one else in my life has ever been able to give me that feeling in any other way. I don't know what it is about a twirling twosome that elicits a womanly essence . Maybe it's all the Disney princess movies? Yet I've seen it in little girls who haven't ever watched Disney.
Or maybe it's a desire God has planted in females for some reason.
I am inclined to believe the latter since a couple of times in the last 2 years God has taken me for a spin on the ballroom floor of my mind during worship at Church.
After examining the whole experience, I see now He was blessing me for pursuing Him in a brand new way. For opening my mind to who He is, not who I want Him to be. And I think He was redeeming my one encounter with femininity of that kind. If I had not been open to getting closer to God, connecting to Him in more and more intimate ways, I maybe would have just dismissed that first waltzing worship, maybe even been embarrassed by it, shut it down because I grew up with dancing as 'bad'. But it turns out, God is a complete gentleman who wants to embrace me as we glide around to beautiful music, in step together, like only dancing can do. He wanted to meet a need I didn't even know I had, a desire to dance, a desire for a different kind of intimacy between man & woman. And, in a brand new way He spoke to me the same ancient lesson.
Follow me.
And so I've added this to my growing list of lessons on the character of God. And my discipleship has grown ever stronger for it the last few years. Just a few weeks ago He showed me even more about the harmony of life with Him. Our life with Him a song, a dance. A song I can't get out of my head, or my heart, and I look forward to the many new verses I will discover until we finally dance again in person.
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Monday, June 8, 2015
Harmony
In my devotional I was readying in Colossians 1 about Jesus' role of bringing harmony to the universe, it's been His job from Genesis, through His time on earth, and through His second coming, perfect harmony being achieved with Him in eternity someday. That brought to mind something a friend once said, that God showed her all existence is like a song (she's a musician), and we talked about how even stars have been recorded as making a humming noise. So when I read that God showed me that all of creation is like one long song, every part of creation is a part of that song (or maybe even symphony!) a bar, a note, pitch, an instrument, every thing that it takes to play that song is a piece of creation. Even in nature, our instruments are created from inspiration of winds, reeds, beating rhythms, etc. And it's one language you will find in every culture, that has this inexplicable ability to move people more than just words alone, lyrics set to music have what my musician friend deems 'magic.' And so, when it comes to harmony in this world, my purpose, your purpose, everyone's purpose plays a part in bringing about that harmony, and so Jesus is even more intent on using His every resource to bring about His purpose for us, more intent than we are, because without our purpose being fulfilled ('our' being His children) then there isn't harmony with the purpose of all creation. I've discovered a new appreciation for His timing, because think of how important timing is to make music sound good, to sound in harmony, it takes each piece fulfilling it's purpose in PERFECT timing. But also each piece must be cooperative, must accept alignment, must choose unity. And when we achieve harmony in music, think of how beautiful it sounds.
God gave me a picture during our Friday morning prayer group a couple of weeks ago of a tuning fork, that the Holy Spirit works in us like a tuning fork, He reverberates within us and the closer we pay attention to His tune, the more we can feel when we are in alignment, in or out of tune. When we are out of tune it's like clashing off-key notes, it makes you cringe and recoil, you just know it's not right but even more than that it's painful to listen to. When we are in tune it's not only harmonious, it's peaceful, it's sweet-sounding, like a beautiful song you don't ever want to end. I've been trying to remember that when seeking God, when I need answers, I strike the tuning fork and wait for the vibrations to show me pain or peace. So when I read in my devotional last Thursday about Jesus' purpose as a harmony maker, it made SO MUCH SENSE!
So then, I think, eternal life, that must be what perfect harmony is, because that is Jesus' end game, life with all of creation made new in His kingdom. So, why does it seem there is less and less harmony in the world, and not just in the world, in Churches even. Isn't that how music works, the more you work at it the closer you get to it sounding perfect? But God showed me through the tuning fork analogy, God is also the tuning fork, not just as the Holy Spirit inside each believer, but a cosmic tuning fork, and He has been slowly increasing how strong the tuning vibrations are, the stronger the vibrations the clearer it is who is in tune/alignment and who is out of tune/alignment. The vibrations are increasing in strength the closer to the end times, because before, and even now, it is easy for people to hide their misalignment with God, there are so many Christians who think they are following God, but are not, and a lot of us can't see the difference. So as the season draws nearer, there is actually less harmony as those who are out of tune are exposed, and they have a choice to make. We live in a world where there is the appearance of grey, but really all there is, is black and white. It is like salt and pepper thoroughly mixed together would appear grey, with maybe some spots more white or more black, but if you sifted them properly they would separate and there would only be white and black. God's tuning fork vibrations are sifting us to make it clear there is no grey. Those who are out of tune and want alignment with God will have choose to get into harmony. Some won't feel in tune with Him and in fact the true God's tune can sound harsh and sour, a sound that's painful for them to listen to, so they cringe and recoil. So they will choose discord. The vibrations are driving every human to either choose white or black, they shake the grey choices out of existence, and so we'll in fact see less and less harmony/peace/unity in the world as the grey becomes black, and the black becomes blacker. But we should also see some grey becoming white, and the white becoming whiter. The white WILL be more harmonious, there will be more unity and peace in the Churches that are in alignment with God.
I am so blessed that God keeps bringing these revelations to me when I'm intentional about spending time with Him, and confirms them through other things He's been showing me. Well this one keeps getting more and more confirmation. I went to a garage sale on Saturday, held by the woman who leads my Friday morning prayer group, she was selling books so I knew I had to get in on a deal on books she has previously read! One of those books I actually picked up for a friend, a take on postmodern evangelism for a friend struggling with being taught 'street-corner' evangelism, and it was equated to a dance, which she is a dancer! But I decided to flip through it first and in the introduction he wrote this: "The Gospel comes to you, not like a commercial, but like a song. It sneaks up on you and then sneaks inside of you. Somewhere in your journey through life, you begin to hear this song whose music captures your heart with its rhythm, melody, ambiance and glory, and you begin to move to its rhythm. Overtime your whole life begins to harmonize to the song...so you resonate with its tone and flow with its melody. The lyrics gradually convince you that the entire world was meant to share this song with its message, its joy and its dance. This is why you begin to feel the song and live by it." More Ready Than You Realize - Brian McLaren. Wow! And he wrote that in 2002! And God wasn't done yet! A song came on the radio yesterday that He touched me with a few weeks ago, I had heard it for the first time right after prayer group, a particularily touching time that spurred me on to seek more of God in a new way. Yesterday the words hit me in a new way...
Harmony. As I learn so much about His idea of harmony, I receive more and more of it flooding my life in beautiful, sweet-sounding ways. And I want to feel the song more and more, live by it, and dance in its joy!
God gave me a picture during our Friday morning prayer group a couple of weeks ago of a tuning fork, that the Holy Spirit works in us like a tuning fork, He reverberates within us and the closer we pay attention to His tune, the more we can feel when we are in alignment, in or out of tune. When we are out of tune it's like clashing off-key notes, it makes you cringe and recoil, you just know it's not right but even more than that it's painful to listen to. When we are in tune it's not only harmonious, it's peaceful, it's sweet-sounding, like a beautiful song you don't ever want to end. I've been trying to remember that when seeking God, when I need answers, I strike the tuning fork and wait for the vibrations to show me pain or peace. So when I read in my devotional last Thursday about Jesus' purpose as a harmony maker, it made SO MUCH SENSE!
So then, I think, eternal life, that must be what perfect harmony is, because that is Jesus' end game, life with all of creation made new in His kingdom. So, why does it seem there is less and less harmony in the world, and not just in the world, in Churches even. Isn't that how music works, the more you work at it the closer you get to it sounding perfect? But God showed me through the tuning fork analogy, God is also the tuning fork, not just as the Holy Spirit inside each believer, but a cosmic tuning fork, and He has been slowly increasing how strong the tuning vibrations are, the stronger the vibrations the clearer it is who is in tune/alignment and who is out of tune/alignment. The vibrations are increasing in strength the closer to the end times, because before, and even now, it is easy for people to hide their misalignment with God, there are so many Christians who think they are following God, but are not, and a lot of us can't see the difference. So as the season draws nearer, there is actually less harmony as those who are out of tune are exposed, and they have a choice to make. We live in a world where there is the appearance of grey, but really all there is, is black and white. It is like salt and pepper thoroughly mixed together would appear grey, with maybe some spots more white or more black, but if you sifted them properly they would separate and there would only be white and black. God's tuning fork vibrations are sifting us to make it clear there is no grey. Those who are out of tune and want alignment with God will have choose to get into harmony. Some won't feel in tune with Him and in fact the true God's tune can sound harsh and sour, a sound that's painful for them to listen to, so they cringe and recoil. So they will choose discord. The vibrations are driving every human to either choose white or black, they shake the grey choices out of existence, and so we'll in fact see less and less harmony/peace/unity in the world as the grey becomes black, and the black becomes blacker. But we should also see some grey becoming white, and the white becoming whiter. The white WILL be more harmonious, there will be more unity and peace in the Churches that are in alignment with God.
I am so blessed that God keeps bringing these revelations to me when I'm intentional about spending time with Him, and confirms them through other things He's been showing me. Well this one keeps getting more and more confirmation. I went to a garage sale on Saturday, held by the woman who leads my Friday morning prayer group, she was selling books so I knew I had to get in on a deal on books she has previously read! One of those books I actually picked up for a friend, a take on postmodern evangelism for a friend struggling with being taught 'street-corner' evangelism, and it was equated to a dance, which she is a dancer! But I decided to flip through it first and in the introduction he wrote this: "The Gospel comes to you, not like a commercial, but like a song. It sneaks up on you and then sneaks inside of you. Somewhere in your journey through life, you begin to hear this song whose music captures your heart with its rhythm, melody, ambiance and glory, and you begin to move to its rhythm. Overtime your whole life begins to harmonize to the song...so you resonate with its tone and flow with its melody. The lyrics gradually convince you that the entire world was meant to share this song with its message, its joy and its dance. This is why you begin to feel the song and live by it." More Ready Than You Realize - Brian McLaren. Wow! And he wrote that in 2002! And God wasn't done yet! A song came on the radio yesterday that He touched me with a few weeks ago, I had heard it for the first time right after prayer group, a particularily touching time that spurred me on to seek more of God in a new way. Yesterday the words hit me in a new way...
Amen, Amen
I'm alive, I'm alive
Because He lives
Amen, Amen
Let my song join the one that never ends
Because He lives
Because He lives
I can face tomorrow
Because He lives
Every fear is gone
I know He holds my life my future in His hands
Matt Maher - Because He Lives (Amen) Lyrics | MetroLyrics
I'm alive, I'm alive
Because He lives
Amen, Amen
Let my song join the one that never ends
Because He lives
Because He lives
I can face tomorrow
Because He lives
Every fear is gone
I know He holds my life my future in His hands
Matt Maher - Because He Lives (Amen) Lyrics | MetroLyrics
Harmony. As I learn so much about His idea of harmony, I receive more and more of it flooding my life in beautiful, sweet-sounding ways. And I want to feel the song more and more, live by it, and dance in its joy!
Monday, October 21, 2013
Musical Monday
It has come in conversation several times in the last week about my eclectic taste in music, and while I have favorite genre's I probably have songs I really like in every genre.
There is pretty much 1 qualifier for music I like, it moves me; physically, or emotionally, or both.
When I listen to the radio in the car I will flip between about 9 regular stations in order to find a favorite, that allows for quite the interesting range of songs I will crank when they play.I get some looks for my choices, but the ears what the ears want :)
So, to prove my point, I figured I would document the songs I paused on while in the car this last week, not just the best song of 9 choices but the songs I just couldn't help but sing along to. A Lori 'mix tape' if you will.
(I linked youtube versions so you could hear if you are not familiar with....not condoning video content :)
Cruise - Florida Georgia Line ft. Nelly
Pay Phone - Maroon 5
Black Bird - Sarah Mclachlan
Rag Doll - Aerosmith
Mirrors - Justin Timberlake
1994 - Jason Aldean
I'm With You - Avril Lavigne
Two Princes - Spin Doctors
Little Bit of Everything - Keith Urban
Roar - Katy Perry
Hurts So Good - John Cougar Mellencamp
I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons
Wake Me Up - Avicii
Boys 'Round Here - Blake Shelton ft. Pistol Annies
Life is a Highway - Tom Cochrane
Your Love is My Drug - Ke$ha
This Is What It Feels Like - Armin Van Buuren ft. Trevor Guthrie
Faith - George Michael
I Go Blind - Hootie & The Blowfish
Trouble - Taylor Swift
Always - Bon Jovi
Some Nights - Fun
There is pretty much 1 qualifier for music I like, it moves me; physically, or emotionally, or both.
When I listen to the radio in the car I will flip between about 9 regular stations in order to find a favorite, that allows for quite the interesting range of songs I will crank when they play.I get some looks for my choices, but the ears what the ears want :)
So, to prove my point, I figured I would document the songs I paused on while in the car this last week, not just the best song of 9 choices but the songs I just couldn't help but sing along to. A Lori 'mix tape' if you will.
(I linked youtube versions so you could hear if you are not familiar with....not condoning video content :)
Cruise - Florida Georgia Line ft. Nelly
Pay Phone - Maroon 5
Black Bird - Sarah Mclachlan
Rag Doll - Aerosmith
Mirrors - Justin Timberlake
1994 - Jason Aldean
I'm With You - Avril Lavigne
Two Princes - Spin Doctors
Little Bit of Everything - Keith Urban
Roar - Katy Perry
Hurts So Good - John Cougar Mellencamp
I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons
Wake Me Up - Avicii
Boys 'Round Here - Blake Shelton ft. Pistol Annies
Life is a Highway - Tom Cochrane
Your Love is My Drug - Ke$ha
This Is What It Feels Like - Armin Van Buuren ft. Trevor Guthrie
Faith - George Michael
I Go Blind - Hootie & The Blowfish
Trouble - Taylor Swift
Always - Bon Jovi
Some Nights - Fun
Monday, June 10, 2013
Uncontainable
I have really been desperately trying to find my self-worth in the person God sees me as, His vision of me is as good as it will get and full of truth, full of grace, full of love. I want to know what He thinks of His creation, His daughter, His steward. I mentioned, a few posts back, a video about an encounter with God, asking Him two questions; How much do You love me? and What were You thinking when You created me?
To be honest, I wasn't sure I would have as clear or moving answer as the testimony in the video. After all, God was pursuing her to ask Him to answer those two questions, I was a copy-cat trying to recreate the experience for myself.
But, of course, God showed up in flying colours, literally and figuratively :)
First, How much do You love me? God celebrated me with proclaiming how much He anticipated the day I would Be. How He couldn't wait to spend time with me on earth, the person I would be He couldn't wait to be with. Wow.
Second, What were You thinking when You created me? The first thing He did was giggle and proclaim with a smile, "I'm going to need all my colours!" :) He gave me pictures of various types of sunrises/sunsets, He has given me this picture of how He sees me as a sunset before, but this time He was showing me the 'uncontainable' nature of the sun at horizon, how my vision of that was so narrow. 'All His colours' meant I had so many facets, so many sides to me...something I used to think was a detriment (good at a lot, great at nothing) but lately I've realized it's made me relatable to a lot of amazing people who enhance my life, and I enhance theirs. I see this now as something God designed me to be like on purpose! And I love that about myself now!
I've also been shown, through the words of others, how I shine His light profoundly in their life. He was showing me that as His sunset I am just dispersing His light. Like the song that was coming to mind, Indescribable (...Uncontainable), "Who imagined the sun and gives source to it's light."
Then He also equated creating me to my own paintings, tapping into that feeling I get when I get to bring into existence something I imagined. It's an amazing feeling and to feel that from Him about me...I started weeping. "Just like you can't stop fussing over your favorite creation, you just can't be done working with it because it's too wonderful a feeling, you never want to stop being connected to that piece, that's how I feel about you." and "Just like you give away your creations hoping that it will bring as much joy to others as it brings to you, that's how I feel, I want to give you to those who can appreciate you as much as I do." A little while later I saw Him dipping a paint brush into His heart to draw 'colours' from to paint me.
I couldn't have asked for a more tangible feeling that evening, to tie God's thoughts and feelings about me into something I have experienced with my hands, my head, my heart. I thought my eagerness to understand how God sees me would be quenched with an experience like that, but it was only an appetizer, only increasing my hunger for what He can show me about myself. Somehow I just know there is a much deeper well to draw from, because I know He wants me coming back for more :)
And I will.
To be honest, I wasn't sure I would have as clear or moving answer as the testimony in the video. After all, God was pursuing her to ask Him to answer those two questions, I was a copy-cat trying to recreate the experience for myself.
But, of course, God showed up in flying colours, literally and figuratively :)
First, How much do You love me? God celebrated me with proclaiming how much He anticipated the day I would Be. How He couldn't wait to spend time with me on earth, the person I would be He couldn't wait to be with. Wow.
Second, What were You thinking when You created me? The first thing He did was giggle and proclaim with a smile, "I'm going to need all my colours!" :) He gave me pictures of various types of sunrises/sunsets, He has given me this picture of how He sees me as a sunset before, but this time He was showing me the 'uncontainable' nature of the sun at horizon, how my vision of that was so narrow. 'All His colours' meant I had so many facets, so many sides to me...something I used to think was a detriment (good at a lot, great at nothing) but lately I've realized it's made me relatable to a lot of amazing people who enhance my life, and I enhance theirs. I see this now as something God designed me to be like on purpose! And I love that about myself now!
I've also been shown, through the words of others, how I shine His light profoundly in their life. He was showing me that as His sunset I am just dispersing His light. Like the song that was coming to mind, Indescribable (...Uncontainable), "Who imagined the sun and gives source to it's light."
Then He also equated creating me to my own paintings, tapping into that feeling I get when I get to bring into existence something I imagined. It's an amazing feeling and to feel that from Him about me...I started weeping. "Just like you can't stop fussing over your favorite creation, you just can't be done working with it because it's too wonderful a feeling, you never want to stop being connected to that piece, that's how I feel about you." and "Just like you give away your creations hoping that it will bring as much joy to others as it brings to you, that's how I feel, I want to give you to those who can appreciate you as much as I do." A little while later I saw Him dipping a paint brush into His heart to draw 'colours' from to paint me.
I couldn't have asked for a more tangible feeling that evening, to tie God's thoughts and feelings about me into something I have experienced with my hands, my head, my heart. I thought my eagerness to understand how God sees me would be quenched with an experience like that, but it was only an appetizer, only increasing my hunger for what He can show me about myself. Somehow I just know there is a much deeper well to draw from, because I know He wants me coming back for more :)
And I will.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Musical Monday - What if God...
I've mentioned before that God speaks to me through the most interesting of songs, which I have shared here before.
Well, He's done it again.
But.
This one was different.
In a 'my heart is STILL racing' kinda different.
I spent the morning with God on a walk along the rivers at the Forks after I dropped Sean off for work at 8 am. I knew I wouldn't get to sleep in on my day off, even if I came home after the drop off, so I wanted to make the most of the stillness of the early morning. He works right near the Forks, which has been a favorite place, both for relaxation and meeting God, and I don't get many opportunities to walk in the rain, which I love, so I knew I had to take this walk. I didn't hear as much as I hoped in the hour.
But.
He was preparing my heart.
Then I met a dear friend for breakfast and chat. When I say dear friend, I feel like I can't possibly convey how special this friend is to me. I have begun to realize God has knit my soul with certain friends, like He did with David and Jonathan, but with others it has been a slower progression, partly because of my lack of understanding and partly because of less frequent interactions. But this soul tie has been so instant and deep it's been undeniably orchestrated. And as the relationship has unfolded it is obvious why, we are so knit together on so many levels. We can talk for eternity it seems, we got kicked out of the restaurant after 3 hours because they were too busy, and we weren't finished! I told her about my God mix tapes, she was telling me about seeing Jesus, especially the heavenly Jesus, not earthly Jesus...in ALL his splendid glory. We talked and talked and talked...so much shared and revealed and confirmed. Sigh :) Maybe another day I'll have more to share. But for now, I'm focusing on the mix tape.
So, after I dropped her off I had half an hour until Sean was off work, I parked in his company's lot and decided to turn on my worship playlist and spend some time getting into the presence of Jesus again. I had realized in our conversation that I needed much more solitude to get that FULL presence, which I hadn't received on my walk. I have spent time with Jesus in "our field" before, but what I have struggled with is actually looking into His eyes, I just can't bring myself to look into the eyes of my Lord. I can see His bright, playful smile but my eyes won't lift to meet His. My friend was describing looking into His eyes and I've been hoping I will be able to experience that as well, sooner than later! So anyway, the first worship song comes on.
Nothing.
The second song starts playing and I realize it's playing from 'All Songs' not my 'Worship' playlist.
But.
The song was, 'What If God Was One Of Us'. (I like this recent version best!)
I let it play because I love it and decided after I would switch back to my playlist.
I never got that far.
I was hit by a wave of emotion when I heard...
"If you were faced with him in all His glory
What would you ask if you had just one question"
Wow. His glory. Just like my friend was talking about.
And the question.
This reminded me of this video I watched a few month ago that had really moved me. It's quite long but SO worth watching. God asked Kim Walker of Jesus Culture to ask Him 2 questions, and it's a truly heart-moving encounter with God! The encounter part starts at about 26 min. but the first part is very interesting too :) So anyway, it is in fact my same dear friend that told me about this video, and we often talk about treasuring what we learned from what God showed Kim and applying it to how God sees us. We had just earlier mentioned it again.
So, my heart in those few words was immediately opened wide to Him and that's when I heard...
"If God had a face what would it look like
And would you want to see
If seeing meant that you would have to believe"
That's when I saw Him. Just like my friend had, in all His glory. The golden light from His face blinded me though, and I couldn't see any features. I could only see His body, robed, and His arms kept lifting to the music, like He was orchestrating or creating it! I began sobbing in convulsions - but just in my chest with tears rolling down my face.
I couldn't even hear the rest of the song, I was just so overcome.
Over.
Come.
It makes me want more yet I'm not sure I can handle more! An experience I won't forget any time soon. Hopefully never.
Well, He's done it again.
But.
This one was different.
In a 'my heart is STILL racing' kinda different.
I spent the morning with God on a walk along the rivers at the Forks after I dropped Sean off for work at 8 am. I knew I wouldn't get to sleep in on my day off, even if I came home after the drop off, so I wanted to make the most of the stillness of the early morning. He works right near the Forks, which has been a favorite place, both for relaxation and meeting God, and I don't get many opportunities to walk in the rain, which I love, so I knew I had to take this walk. I didn't hear as much as I hoped in the hour.
But.
He was preparing my heart.
Then I met a dear friend for breakfast and chat. When I say dear friend, I feel like I can't possibly convey how special this friend is to me. I have begun to realize God has knit my soul with certain friends, like He did with David and Jonathan, but with others it has been a slower progression, partly because of my lack of understanding and partly because of less frequent interactions. But this soul tie has been so instant and deep it's been undeniably orchestrated. And as the relationship has unfolded it is obvious why, we are so knit together on so many levels. We can talk for eternity it seems, we got kicked out of the restaurant after 3 hours because they were too busy, and we weren't finished! I told her about my God mix tapes, she was telling me about seeing Jesus, especially the heavenly Jesus, not earthly Jesus...in ALL his splendid glory. We talked and talked and talked...so much shared and revealed and confirmed. Sigh :) Maybe another day I'll have more to share. But for now, I'm focusing on the mix tape.
So, after I dropped her off I had half an hour until Sean was off work, I parked in his company's lot and decided to turn on my worship playlist and spend some time getting into the presence of Jesus again. I had realized in our conversation that I needed much more solitude to get that FULL presence, which I hadn't received on my walk. I have spent time with Jesus in "our field" before, but what I have struggled with is actually looking into His eyes, I just can't bring myself to look into the eyes of my Lord. I can see His bright, playful smile but my eyes won't lift to meet His. My friend was describing looking into His eyes and I've been hoping I will be able to experience that as well, sooner than later! So anyway, the first worship song comes on.
Nothing.
The second song starts playing and I realize it's playing from 'All Songs' not my 'Worship' playlist.
But.
The song was, 'What If God Was One Of Us'. (I like this recent version best!)
I let it play because I love it and decided after I would switch back to my playlist.
I never got that far.
I was hit by a wave of emotion when I heard...
"If you were faced with him in all His glory
What would you ask if you had just one question"
Wow. His glory. Just like my friend was talking about.
And the question.
This reminded me of this video I watched a few month ago that had really moved me. It's quite long but SO worth watching. God asked Kim Walker of Jesus Culture to ask Him 2 questions, and it's a truly heart-moving encounter with God! The encounter part starts at about 26 min. but the first part is very interesting too :) So anyway, it is in fact my same dear friend that told me about this video, and we often talk about treasuring what we learned from what God showed Kim and applying it to how God sees us. We had just earlier mentioned it again.
So, my heart in those few words was immediately opened wide to Him and that's when I heard...
"If God had a face what would it look like
And would you want to see
If seeing meant that you would have to believe"
That's when I saw Him. Just like my friend had, in all His glory. The golden light from His face blinded me though, and I couldn't see any features. I could only see His body, robed, and His arms kept lifting to the music, like He was orchestrating or creating it! I began sobbing in convulsions - but just in my chest with tears rolling down my face.
I couldn't even hear the rest of the song, I was just so overcome.
Over.
Come.
It makes me want more yet I'm not sure I can handle more! An experience I won't forget any time soon. Hopefully never.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Musical Mondays
I am truly blessed to hear, and understand when, God is speaking to me.
I still find it a little hilarious though when he decides to speak to me through some 'unorthodox' songs on the radio, granted it is just parts of the song out of context, but still! I LOVE that he reaches out through my mundane every day with these messages!
Here's some of my latest 'mix-tape' from God :)
(video of song linked to each title, for reference in case you've never heard of these songs)
Let Me Love You
(from God's perspective)
I can see the pain behind your eyes
It's been there for quite a while
I just wanna be the one to remind you what it is to smile
I would like to show you what true love can really do...
Girl let me love you
And I will love you
Until you learn to love yourself
Girl let me love you
I know your trouble
Don't be afraid, girl let me help
Crazy Girl
(from God's perspective)
Crazy, girl, don't you know that I love you?
And I wouldn't dream of goin' nowhere
Silly woman, come here, let me hold you
Have I told you lately?
I love you like crazy, girl
Shameless - I used a cover version, not fond of the 2 well known versions :)
(from my perspective)
And I'm changing,
Swore I'd never compromise,
Oh, but you convinced me otherwise.
I'll do anything you need.
I have never let anything have this much control over me.
I've worked too hard to call my life my own.
And I've made myself a world, and it's worked so perfectly,
But it sure won't now, I can't refuse,
I've never had so much to lose.
Ohh I'm shameless...
I'm shameless.
I don't have the power now,
And I don't want it anyhow,
So I gotta let it go.
Wanted
(from God's perspective)
Put aside the math and the logic of it
You gotta know you're wanted too...
I wanna make you feel wanted
And I wanna call you mine
Wanna hold your hand forever
And never let you forget it
Yeah, I, I wanna make you feel wanted
Anyone can tell you you're pretty, yeah
And you get that all the time, I know you do
But your beauty's deeper than the make-up
And I wanna show you what I see tonight
I still find it a little hilarious though when he decides to speak to me through some 'unorthodox' songs on the radio, granted it is just parts of the song out of context, but still! I LOVE that he reaches out through my mundane every day with these messages!
Here's some of my latest 'mix-tape' from God :)
(video of song linked to each title, for reference in case you've never heard of these songs)
Let Me Love You
(from God's perspective)
I can see the pain behind your eyes
It's been there for quite a while
I just wanna be the one to remind you what it is to smile
I would like to show you what true love can really do...
Girl let me love you
And I will love you
Until you learn to love yourself
Girl let me love you
I know your trouble
Don't be afraid, girl let me help
Crazy Girl
(from God's perspective)
Crazy, girl, don't you know that I love you?
And I wouldn't dream of goin' nowhere
Silly woman, come here, let me hold you
Have I told you lately?
I love you like crazy, girl
Shameless - I used a cover version, not fond of the 2 well known versions :)
(from my perspective)
And I'm changing,
Swore I'd never compromise,
Oh, but you convinced me otherwise.
I'll do anything you need.
I have never let anything have this much control over me.
I've worked too hard to call my life my own.
And I've made myself a world, and it's worked so perfectly,
But it sure won't now, I can't refuse,
I've never had so much to lose.
Ohh I'm shameless...
I'm shameless.
I don't have the power now,
And I don't want it anyhow,
So I gotta let it go.
Wanted
(from God's perspective)
Put aside the math and the logic of it
You gotta know you're wanted too...
I wanna make you feel wanted
And I wanna call you mine
Wanna hold your hand forever
And never let you forget it
Yeah, I, I wanna make you feel wanted
Anyone can tell you you're pretty, yeah
And you get that all the time, I know you do
But your beauty's deeper than the make-up
And I wanna show you what I see tonight
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Music and Cats
I have posted these songs before, just about exactly 2 years ago, coming out of a spiritual winter. I'm needing these reminders again, turning up the heat before I get that cold again.
Apparently, "Albert
Anyway by Martina McBride and Desert Song by Hillsong. Here are some of they lyrics that meant the most to me, interwoven as I feel their messages ovelapped.
God is great, but sometimes life ain't good
When I pray it doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides
This is my prayer in the fire
And weakness or trial or pain
There is faith proved of more worth than gold
So refine me lord through the flames
You can chase a dream that seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway
This world's gone crazy and it's hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have reason to sing
I have a reason to worship
You can pour your soul out singing a song you believe in
That tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway
I will bring praise, I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice, I will declare
God is my victory and he is here
Apparently, "Albert
Anyway by Martina McBride and Desert Song by Hillsong. Here are some of they lyrics that meant the most to me, interwoven as I feel their messages ovelapped.
God is great, but sometimes life ain't good
When I pray it doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides
This is my prayer in the fire
And weakness or trial or pain
There is faith proved of more worth than gold
So refine me lord through the flames
You can chase a dream that seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway
This world's gone crazy and it's hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have reason to sing
I have a reason to worship
You can pour your soul out singing a song you believe in
That tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway
I will bring praise, I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice, I will declare
God is my victory and he is here
Monday, January 14, 2013
Musical Monday
I grew up somewhat resenting singing hymns when there were songs so much more upbeat and feeling like I was actually praising God. Then I just happened to spend a lot of time in Churches that sang modern worship music (or I wasn't in Church at all), and so I didn't realize one day how I had grown out of the immature point of view. Sure, I enjoyed hymns with a makeover, but sometime this last year I noticed how much I really love when we sing hymns, even just as they are. Now they feel nostalgic (especially when we seemed to sing a lot of them at the time of my mom's heart attack), but I started connecting with the words on such a deep level.
Yesterday was an all hymns Sunday, and I just wanted to share the phrases that especially stir my heart, that make my soul sing.
What ever my lot you have taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus....
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow.
Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.
Jesus paid it all
All to him I owe.
Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art....
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:
Yesterday was an all hymns Sunday, and I just wanted to share the phrases that especially stir my heart, that make my soul sing.
What ever my lot you have taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus....
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow.
Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.
Jesus paid it all
All to him I owe.
Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art....
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:
Then sings my soul...How great thou art!
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
after all this time love
It's still hard to get enough
From the very first time I thought you were the one
Who'd make all of my dreams come true
I still do
... I'm never gonna stop feeling like this
Like the first time that I fell for you
I still do.
Happy Nine Years babe!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Musical Mondays
Yesterday we sang a song in Church we've sung before, although it was sung in a slightly new way. We were hosting Jodi King for our worship yesterday, she used to go to the same Church as our pastor 19 years ago. I heard her first at The Lighthouse when we were checking it out because of friends who went there and loved her voice then. She's since been on the radio on the pop charts, I've heard this one I like in particular, and a few others.
I don't know if it was her, or just my mood that morning, but I felt this verse of Nothing But The Blood (Matt Redmans updated version) much more deeply.
Your blood speaks a better word
Than all the empty claims I’ve heard upon this earth
Speaks righteousness for me
And stands in my defense
Jesus it’s Your blood
I've heard a lot of 'supposed tos' in my day.
About my ex.
About bad jobs.
About love.
About motherhood.
Most of them are empty claims.
Nothing has spoken any redemption or hope into my life like the blood of Jesus.
I don't know if it was her, or just my mood that morning, but I felt this verse of Nothing But The Blood (Matt Redmans updated version) much more deeply.
Your blood speaks a better word
Than all the empty claims I’ve heard upon this earth
Speaks righteousness for me
And stands in my defense
Jesus it’s Your blood
I've heard a lot of 'supposed tos' in my day.
About my ex.
About bad jobs.
About love.
About motherhood.
Most of them are empty claims.
Nothing has spoken any redemption or hope into my life like the blood of Jesus.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Like Johnny & June
One of our favorite love songs is a little one hit wonder by Heidi Newfield - Johnny & June, based on of course, the love story of Johnny & June Cash.
Here are just some of the lyrics that really hit home with us.
I wanna love like Johnny & June
Rings of fire burnin' with you
I wanna walk the line walk the line
Till the end of time
I wanna love love ya that much
Cash it all in give it all up
And when you're gone i wanna go too
Like Johnny & June
I wanna hold you baby right or wrong
Build a world around a country song
Pray a sweet prayer follow you there
Down in history
More than life itself no one else
This endless promise
They don't make love like that anymore
Is that too much to be askin' for?
And when we're gone there'll be no tears to cry
Only memories of our lives
They'll remember remember
A love like that
Looking back at the eight years we've already had, rings of fire and all, I know our love is that kind of love that will last, going down in history. Happy Anniversary Sean, I love you!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Musical Mondays
One of my 'new' favorite songs (actually heard it first last July) by one of my 'new' favorite groups (introduced to them early last year) and it touches on what's been talked about at Church lately, as well as my own thoughts rumbling through my brain recently....related post to come :)
Plastic Jesus
Bouncin' on the dashboard
Boppin' to the beat
To every bump in the road
Every hole in the street
Bought him at the Walmart
Got 'em on sale
The last one sittin' there dusty on the shelf
It's just a tiny figurine....
But are we missin' what it means....
We got crosses on our necks
Bibles in hand
When the sun comes out
We make our own plans
We pull him out when we need him
Put him back when we're done
Ain't no way to treat god's only son....
If we only wanna hear him
When his words will please us
Then we might as well be prayin' to a
Plastic Jesus
Ol' Miss Jackson
At the end of the block
She built her life
Upon that rock
Everyday of the week
She walks that walk
And when she goes to speak
The spirit talks
It does us some good to heed that warning
It ain't just about Sunday morning
Lord, knows we'd be better off
If we could just surrender all....
We got crosses on our necks
Bibles in hand
When the sun comes out
We make our own plans
We pull him out when we need him
Put him back when we're done
Ain't no way to treat god's only son....
If we only wanna hear him
When his words will please us
Then we might as well be prayin' to a
Plastic Jesus
~High Valley
Monday, January 24, 2011
Musical Mondays - S.O.S.....pads
This isn't my traditional Musical Monday, the lyrics don't really have anything to do with my post other than S.O.S. is not just the name of one of my favorite ABBA songs, but also a cleansing utensil I used this weekend to tackle some cleaning!
So why am I talking about dance music and cleaning??
I find it so much more fun to clean if I am blaring dance music (of which ABBA is a large portion of my dance play list), but I am also finding it much more fun to clean now that I'm utelizing Fly Lady tactics on my own terms! This weekend alone I accomplished 3 full and 2 half FL tactics, 1 I could skip because it was still good from last time, laundry and dishes, and Sean cleaned all the floors upstairs. The time it took....an hour!
I first tried Fly Lady just about a year ago and at first really went for it all gung-ho, however as I started flying through some of the tips and tricks and zone cleaning I found some of it just didn't apply to me, and during those days I didn't have anything to do because it wasn't on the agenda according to the website, well I lost momentum and interest and eventually stopped altogether. I didn't lose the desire to keep my house mostly clean and tidy with little effort, I just lost the mojo I had when I first absorbed all the tips/tricks for maximizing clean and minimizing time spent.
Well, revisiting my desire to be a good steward of my home I headed back to the Fly Lady website and decided to go for it again. This time, I went through the whole list of tips, zones, etc. and made a list of all the things I could/wanted to impliment, plus a few of my own, I grouped them into 28 activities and placed them each in their own day in my Outlook calendar, and then made them all repeat on that day of the month every month. Since not every month has the same amount of days I get a break from a daily task 2-3 days of the month most months, but each daily task isn't that overwhelming, it's anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes a day....that's it! And as the Fly Lady says, if you miss a day, don't sweat it, you will get the exact same reminder in a month :)
Then I also decided to add in a thorough deep clean of at least one room per month, based on the 'deep clean' tips I've been finding on another blog I follow, Time Warp Wife, such as 28 Step to a Deep Cleaned Bedroom. She also has a post for kitchens and bathrooms.
Now, I've been going for almost a whole month strong, rarely have I missed a task, and those that I have are usually because that spot was just recently done before I implimented these tactics. I am really, really stoked about this method and my clean and tidy house that is getting easier and easier to maintain by the day....I am so excited I DO feel like dancing!
So why am I talking about dance music and cleaning??
I find it so much more fun to clean if I am blaring dance music (of which ABBA is a large portion of my dance play list), but I am also finding it much more fun to clean now that I'm utelizing Fly Lady tactics on my own terms! This weekend alone I accomplished 3 full and 2 half FL tactics, 1 I could skip because it was still good from last time, laundry and dishes, and Sean cleaned all the floors upstairs. The time it took....an hour!
I first tried Fly Lady just about a year ago and at first really went for it all gung-ho, however as I started flying through some of the tips and tricks and zone cleaning I found some of it just didn't apply to me, and during those days I didn't have anything to do because it wasn't on the agenda according to the website, well I lost momentum and interest and eventually stopped altogether. I didn't lose the desire to keep my house mostly clean and tidy with little effort, I just lost the mojo I had when I first absorbed all the tips/tricks for maximizing clean and minimizing time spent.
Then I also decided to add in a thorough deep clean of at least one room per month, based on the 'deep clean' tips I've been finding on another blog I follow, Time Warp Wife, such as 28 Step to a Deep Cleaned Bedroom. She also has a post for kitchens and bathrooms.
Now, I've been going for almost a whole month strong, rarely have I missed a task, and those that I have are usually because that spot was just recently done before I implimented these tactics. I am really, really stoked about this method and my clean and tidy house that is getting easier and easier to maintain by the day....I am so excited I DO feel like dancing!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Musical Mondays - Let Them Be Little
I can remember when you fit in the palm of my hand
Felt so good in it, no bigger than a minute
How it amazes me, you're changing with every blink
Faster than a flower blooms they grow up all too soon
So let them be little 'cause they're only that way for a while
Give them hope, give them praise, give them love every day
Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle
Oh just let them be little ~Lonestar
I recently received the FIRST school picture of Brooklynn and preschool picture of Avery and I just couldn't help but compare them to their itsy bitsy days and it brings this song to mind. Here's a side-by-side comparison of the oldest 3, including Landon, since Teigon, the 4th, is STILL little (thank goodness!), oh how they grow TOO FAST!
Love you to ITSY BITSY bits!
Felt so good in it, no bigger than a minute
How it amazes me, you're changing with every blink
Faster than a flower blooms they grow up all too soon
So let them be little 'cause they're only that way for a while
Give them hope, give them praise, give them love every day
Let them cry, let them giggle, let them sleep in the middle
Oh just let them be little ~Lonestar
I recently received the FIRST school picture of Brooklynn and preschool picture of Avery and I just couldn't help but compare them to their itsy bitsy days and it brings this song to mind. Here's a side-by-side comparison of the oldest 3, including Landon, since Teigon, the 4th, is STILL little (thank goodness!), oh how they grow TOO FAST!
Love you to ITSY BITSY bits!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Musical Mondays - Shiny Happy People
shine
make ´em wonder what you´ve got
make ´em wish that they were not
on the outside looking bored
shine
let it shine before all men
let´em see good works, and then
let ´em glorify the Lord
Immediately God tied the message to something in my everyday life as a visual and it really hit home.
make ´em wonder what you´ve got
make ´em wish that they were not
on the outside looking bored
shine
let it shine before all men
let´em see good works, and then
let ´em glorify the Lord
~Newsboys
This is the jist of the message our pastor had for us a few months ago....right before I took my hiatus....and now I'm finally sharing the impacting insight with you!
SHINE!
Immediately God tied the message to something in my everyday life as a visual and it really hit home.
I will preface this tale with the fact I am an self-admitted geek :) I like sci-fi and gaming, just to name a few of my geeky qualities. The hubby and I play an online fantasy, role-playing computer game, with elves, and orcs and stuff, kinda like playing a Lord of the Rings game I guess.
ANYWAY.
In our game, Everquest, they have randomly placed 'shinies', as they are affectionally known as, strewn across the grounds of the lands we travel, and if you pick up these shinies you get a collectible item. One shiny isn't all that special of an interaction, it's usually a pretty item but doesn't do much other than hold the prospect of becoming more if collected with other shinies. A complete collection of many shinies is the highly lucrative goal that has players pursuing shinies with a passion, producing highly valuable items that are useful to the players in the game.
Now you are probably wondering what the heck that has to do with shining God's light.
Well, as my pastor said, your light shining in the small things during the daily grind of every day life may not impact people hugely all at once, it often shows in ways that don't seem to benefit anyone.
BUT.
Collectively, being able to experience your shinyiness again and again WILL become an invaluable part of their life.
So you don't have to shine the brightest, or the biggest, or the hottest to make an impact. Just be a shiny.
ANYWAY.
In our game, Everquest, they have randomly placed 'shinies', as they are affectionally known as, strewn across the grounds of the lands we travel, and if you pick up these shinies you get a collectible item. One shiny isn't all that special of an interaction, it's usually a pretty item but doesn't do much other than hold the prospect of becoming more if collected with other shinies. A complete collection of many shinies is the highly lucrative goal that has players pursuing shinies with a passion, producing highly valuable items that are useful to the players in the game.
Well, as my pastor said, your light shining in the small things during the daily grind of every day life may not impact people hugely all at once, it often shows in ways that don't seem to benefit anyone.
BUT.
Collectively, being able to experience your shinyiness again and again WILL become an invaluable part of their life.
So you don't have to shine the brightest, or the biggest, or the hottest to make an impact. Just be a shiny.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Musical Mondays
Two songs that have recently meant a lot to me, about finding a way through the toughest season in life. I believe my winter has turned to spring with the help of these songs (and some really great people :).
The songs are Anyway by Martina McBride and Desert Song by Hillsong. Here are some of they lyrics that meant the most to me, interwoven as I feel their messages ovelapped.
God is great, but sometimes life ain't goodWhen I pray it doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides
This is my prayer in the fire
And weakness or trial or pain
There is faith proved of more worth than gold
So refine me lord through the flames
You can chase a dream that seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway
This world's gone crazy and it's hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have reason to sing
I have a reason to worship
You can pour your soul out singing a song you believe in
That tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway
I will bring praise, I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice, I will declare
God is my victory and he is here
The songs are Anyway by Martina McBride and Desert Song by Hillsong. Here are some of they lyrics that meant the most to me, interwoven as I feel their messages ovelapped.
God is great, but sometimes life ain't goodWhen I pray it doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides
This is my prayer in the fire
And weakness or trial or pain
There is faith proved of more worth than gold
So refine me lord through the flames
You can chase a dream that seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway
This world's gone crazy and it's hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have reason to sing
I have a reason to worship
You can pour your soul out singing a song you believe in
That tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway
I will bring praise, I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice, I will declare
God is my victory and he is here
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Love
9 years ago we fell in love fast, you seemed to good to be true, but you weren't.
Now you’re my whole life, now you’re my whole world....
We’ve come so far since that day....I thought I loved you then
7 years ago we were married, we promised to fight for love, we believed love will win
Now you’re my whole life, now you’re my whole world....
We’ve come so far since that day....I thought I loved you then
We've seen for better and worse, what we can't see is what the future holds for us
But I also can’t see how I’m ever gonna love you more....but I’ve said that before
You're still my whole life, you’re still my whole world....
Well look back some day at this moment that we’re in
and I'll look at you and say and I thought I loved you then
I love you Sean!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Musical Mondays - Here By The Water
Here By The Water (click this link to listen to)
Soft field of clover
Moon shining over the valley
Joining the song of the river
To the great giver of the great good
As it enfolds me
Somehow it holds me together
And I realize I've been singing
Still it comes ringing
Clearer than clear
And here by the water
I'll build an altar to praise Him
Out of the stones that I've found here
I'll set them down here
Rough as they are
Knowing You can make them holy
Knowing You can make them holy
Knowing You can make them holy
I think how a yearning
Has kept on returning to move me
Down roads I'd never have chosen
Half the time frozen
Too numb to feel
I know it was stormy
I hope it was for me learning
Blood on the road wasn't mine though
Someone that I know
Has walked here before
And here by the water
I'll build an altar to praise Him
Out of the stones that I've found here - what stones have I been given to create my alter?
I'll set them down here - will I lay them down when and where He asks me to?
Rough as they are - will I let myself give even my rough stones?
Knowing You can make them holy - I need to know God can make whatever I bring holy
Knowing You can make them holy - I need to realize by knowing God I'm becoming more holy
Knowing You can make them holy
~Steve Bell
Soft field of clover
Moon shining over the valley
Joining the song of the river
To the great giver of the great good
As it enfolds me
Somehow it holds me together
And I realize I've been singing
Still it comes ringing
Clearer than clear
And here by the water
I'll build an altar to praise Him
Out of the stones that I've found here
I'll set them down here
Rough as they are
Knowing You can make them holy
Knowing You can make them holy
Knowing You can make them holy
I think how a yearning
Has kept on returning to move me
Down roads I'd never have chosen
Half the time frozen
Too numb to feel
I know it was stormy
I hope it was for me learning
Blood on the road wasn't mine though
Someone that I know
Has walked here before
And here by the water
I'll build an altar to praise Him
Out of the stones that I've found here - what stones have I been given to create my alter?
I'll set them down here - will I lay them down when and where He asks me to?
Rough as they are - will I let myself give even my rough stones?
Knowing You can make them holy - I need to know God can make whatever I bring holy
Knowing You can make them holy - I need to realize by knowing God I'm becoming more holy
Knowing You can make them holy
~Steve Bell
Monday, July 13, 2009
Musical Monday - a song for Sean
Your love, your love, it’s unconditional
When my world falls apart
Your love, your love, is unconditional
Your in my heart
I turned against my only friend
Betrayed myself in the end
I lost my way
With all the lies that you’d been fed
You saw me cry and hang my head
And you said to me
There’s no need for apologies
I came to feel and not defend
To find a means to an end
It’s your love
You gave me strength and eyes to see
The man(woman) that I was meant to be
And now I can see
There’s no need for apologies
And you keep on reaching out
No matter how far away
And you know I’ll scream and shout
But you keep on reaching out to save me
~Simon Collins
When my world falls apart
Your love, your love, is unconditional
Your in my heart
I turned against my only friend
Betrayed myself in the end
I lost my way
With all the lies that you’d been fed
You saw me cry and hang my head
And you said to me
There’s no need for apologies
I came to feel and not defend
To find a means to an end
It’s your love
You gave me strength and eyes to see
The man(woman) that I was meant to be
And now I can see
There’s no need for apologies
And you keep on reaching out
No matter how far away
And you know I’ll scream and shout
But you keep on reaching out to save me
~Simon Collins
Monday, July 6, 2009
Musical Mondays - Tribute to Faithfulness
This is a song Sean and I love, it has a message that isn't often heard today, how you can't find anything of more value than you already have with your spouse. I love it even more than Sean brought this song to my attention, now how can I not want to honour a hubby like that!
Go on and cry,
Tears are sure good to heal it.
I don't need to ask why
You're feeling that pain that you're feeling.
There's only one reason you'd be here tonight,
He's up to his old tricks again.
But you're such a treasure,It doesn't seem right.
Don't know what comes over him.
It's like taken the bus,
With a cadillac parked in the driveway,
Or a thousand miles down a dirt road,
When theres a new four lane highway.
It's like blowing off Christmas with Mama,
To have a drink with a stranger.
Why crawl through a trench with the devil,
When you could fly with an angel?
Why you stay with him,
Girl, I just don't understand.
He's out searchin' for silver,
Ignorin that gold on your hand.
For the love of a woman he's throwin' away,
Most men would pay any price.
Should the eyes of temptation stare me in the face,
I'd never need to think twice.
It's like taken the bus,
With a cadillac parked in the driveway,
Or a thousand miles down a dirt road,
When theres a new four lane highway.
It's like blowing off Christmas with Mama,
To have a drink with a stranger.
Why crawl through a trench with the devil,
When you could fly with an angel?
~Ray Scott
Go on and cry,
Tears are sure good to heal it.
I don't need to ask why
You're feeling that pain that you're feeling.
There's only one reason you'd be here tonight,
He's up to his old tricks again.
But you're such a treasure,It doesn't seem right.
Don't know what comes over him.
It's like taken the bus,
With a cadillac parked in the driveway,
Or a thousand miles down a dirt road,
When theres a new four lane highway.
It's like blowing off Christmas with Mama,
To have a drink with a stranger.
Why crawl through a trench with the devil,
When you could fly with an angel?
Why you stay with him,
Girl, I just don't understand.
He's out searchin' for silver,
Ignorin that gold on your hand.
For the love of a woman he's throwin' away,
Most men would pay any price.
Should the eyes of temptation stare me in the face,
I'd never need to think twice.
It's like taken the bus,
With a cadillac parked in the driveway,
Or a thousand miles down a dirt road,
When theres a new four lane highway.
It's like blowing off Christmas with Mama,
To have a drink with a stranger.
Why crawl through a trench with the devil,
When you could fly with an angel?
~Ray Scott
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