Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Capture the Moment

“The path of right-living people is level. The Leveler evens the road for the right-living. We're in no hurry, God. We're content to linger in the path sign-posted with your decisions. Who you are and what you've done are all we'll ever want. Through the night my soul longs for you. Deep from within me my spirit reaches out to you. When your decisions are on public display, everyone learns how to live right. If the wicked are shown grace, they don't seem to get it. In the land of right living, they persist in wrong living, blind to the splendor of God.” Isaiah 26:7-9 [The Message]

I went to a worship concert the other night, featuring Daniel Bashta and Jason Morant, two very talents musicians. I was expecting God to show up and create an amazing atmosphere of people who are in love with and on fire for Him; I wasn’t disappointed! It took me a little bit to let go of everything, get in the right frame of mind, and worship Him with open abandon… and adoration. But once I did, whew, it was like a rock concert in Heaven! Everyone was jumping up and down, singing at the top of our lungs! I would have been completely content to continue like that for hours more. How awesome would be to capture a moment like that and sell it in a bottle? Well, guess what my friends, you ARE that “bottle”, that is, if you think of yourself as a light instead.

Matthew 5:14-16 says, "Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. [Message translation]”

Friday, May 16, 2008

Friday Funk

I'm in a super weird funk. There's really no reason why. I have ever reason to be completely normal as nothing is wrong... but here I sit, in this strange stupor, not sure how to pull myself out. What's a girl to do? I even had plans tonight to go to WorkPlay and see my friends, White Oaks play. But I'm not feeling it. PJs and a movie sound about right. What's wrong with me?

Anyway, I don't update here enough. I need to work on that. *note to self* I got in touch with an old friend from college this week. It was really good to see her! Though, we didn't have the chance to do a real catch up, merely the cliff note version. I also found some more friends from high school on Facebook. Why am I talking about this? If I have any readers left, you don't care about that.

So, work has been super slow this week and I've been able to do a lot of editing on my book! Yeah! I've worked on 11 of 12 chapters. The end is near. Well, at least, the first round of edits. That counts for something, right? My good friend has become my editor as well, which is quite fun, I must say. I also asked another friend to help me on the "final" edit. I want everything "just so". I have a vision of what I want this book to look like. It's slowly coming to fuition.

I'm more excited about what God's going to do with it. I know He's got big plans... dontcha, God? I really want this to be all about Him. I'm just the vessel here, people. Though, it's been such a blessing to see how FAITHFUL He's been in my life over the years. Sure stuff has happened all along, but He's always got me in the palm of his hands. (My imagination immediately thought of GI-NOR-MIS hands.)

I hope you are enjoying this Friday. What's God up to in your life? Comments are welcome.

Be encouraged, friends.

Friday, May 9, 2008

It's Not About Me

Have you ever listened to Toby Keith’s, "I Wanna Talk About Me"? It’s a great sing-along-in-the-car song. I got to thinking about the lyrics today. While they are funny, I couldn’t help but notice the correlation between them and my relationship with God. We like to talk about ourselves, human nature I suppose. But, how often do we vent to God, then not wait and listen for His side of the conversation? Sure, we can come to Him with anything, that’ll never change. But like my mom says, "God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason." Next time you’re in His presence, try listening before you speak.