A Moment of Honesty

Happy Thursday! Over the past few weeks, my Thursday posts have become a place for me to really get on my “soap box” and talk about the issues that have been on my mind and heart. I tend to be a very passionate person, and I often have an opinion about many of the issues I come into contact with from day to day, so I have really enjoyed being able to share those with you, and hopefully inspire you to really look at them differently. And for the time being, I will continue to do that whenever I have something to say. Hopefully you—my lovely readers—enjoy reading those kinds of posts.

This Isn't Love

Can I ask a serious question this morning? I’m hoping it’s not too early for what I have to say, because I have been thinking about this a lot in my life, and I am sure there are some people who need to hear it. I know I need to hear it, and I’m the one writing it. I just hope people will take the time to open their hearts to what I have to say instead of shutting them down with the familiar “Everything is fine just the way that it is” and “I’m fine, I don’t need to change.” I just recently read a book that I know is going to stick with me for quite some time, and when it doesn’t anymore I am going to read it again so that it does. This book, this fictional story at that, has taught me more about loving others and living my life than many sermons and Bible lessons ever have. So I’m working on an a series about not living with “shut down” hearts, and I think this is my first step, though this one is more my own and has a lot less to do with what I read about in that book (the review of which will come at some point, when I’ve finally stopped being behind on all my reviews).

It's Not About Me?

 Do you ever make everything—or even just one particular thing—all about you? And then because of your selfishness you say or do something that hurts someone else…and you feel terrible? Please tell me it’s not just me. I’ve been doing this far too often recently and it’s been making me wonder, “Am I really this selfish?” Do I really care that much more about myself than about others around me? I suppose one could argue that since I am taking the time to ask myself these questions, then I must not be totally selfish, otherwise I wouldn’t care at all. But still, my actions haunt me.

Stealing Time

 If you have followed my blog with any degree of regularity over the past few years, I’m sure you have noticed the ebb and flow of my dedication to it. Some months—or years—I have posted regularly, and kept up with my reading, writing, and linkups, while others I have let it fall to the wayside and have done well to post at all. Mostly, this is because I have been in college (and technically I still am once summer break is over, I have one year left), but it is also because I haven’t been very faithful to use the gifts and talents that God has given me. I have quite a few hobbies, and while it is difficult to devote a decent amount of time to all of them on a regular basis, more lately, I have found myself completely neglecting to devote any time to them at all. The way this blog has gone over the past year or so in particular is an example of this.

 However, God has been tugging at my heart lately, reminding me of all of the things that He has created in me a love to pursue. More importantly, He has been gently nudging me to take a good look at how I choose to spend my time. Actually, He has been instructing me to take stock of my life and how I live it for quite some time now, but I have been a lot slower to listen. Why? Because I’m comfortable. Because I like spending my time however I like. Because I don’t necessarily enjoy being convicted. While all of those statements remain true today, I can’t actually let them govern my life. There is always going to be something I need to work on. And change is never going to be something I really enjoy. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, my life isn’t my own. I know that. Besides, God’s plans always turn out to be even bigger than my dreams (which is a topic I want to cover again, more in depth, on another day), so deep down I know that my best option is always to respond to God’s gentle prodding.

14 Days of Love: Day Four

He said, “I’ve been where you’ve been before.

Down every hallway’s a slamming door.

No way out, no one to come and save me.

Wasting the life that the Good Lord gave me

 

Then somebody said what I’m saying to you,

Opened my eyes and told me the truth.”

They said, “Just a little faith it’s all get better.”

So I followed that preacher man down to the river and now I’m changed

And now I’m stronger

 

There must’ve been something in the water

Oh, there must’ve been something in the water

 

Well, I heard what he said and I went on my way

Didn’t think about it for a couple of days

Then it hit me like lightning late one night

I was all out of hope and all out of fight

 

Couldn’t fight back the tears so I fell on my knees

Saying, “God, if you’re there come and rescue me.”

Felt love pouring down from above

Got washed in the water, washed in the blood and now I’m changed

And now I’m stronger

 

There must be something in the water

Oh, there must be something in the water

 

And now I’m singing along to amazing grace

Can’t nobody wipe this smile off my face

Got joy in my heart, angels on my said

Thank God Almighty, I way the light

Gonna look ahead, no turning back

Live every day, give it all that I have

Trust in someone bigger than me

Ever since the day that I believed I am changed

And now I’m stronger

 

There must be something in the water (amazing grace)

Oh, there must be something in the water (how sweet the sound)

Oh, there must be something in the water (that saved a wretch)

Oh, there must be something in the water (like me)

 

I am changed (I once was lost)

Stronger (but now I’m found)

(was blind but now I see)

 

                If you cannot tell by now, these are the lyrics to one of my favorite songs. In case you haven’t heard it, it is called Something in the Water and it is by Carrie Underwood. I cannot get enough of it. Not only is the music of the song wonderful, the lyrics are perfect. Go ahead, skim them again. Don’t they just bless you? “I am changed. Stronger.” Can’t we all say that God has done that for us? He turns us into new creatures, and then He strengthens us for what that ‘new life’ with Him entails. And I just love how Carrie slipped Amazing Grace in the end like that. She really does have a gift.

                I think the main reason I love this song is because it is so true. There really is “something in the water”, as I can testify. Although God changed me, not the water, He made the water, and He obviously thought baptism was a big part of the process or He wouldn’t have commanded us to do it. All I’m trying to say is, God saved me all those years ago and sent me to the water where I came up healed, and He can do that for you too, if He hasn’t already. That is what Something in the Water means to me. What does it mean to you?

                Check out Sarah and Allie's day four!

 

All credit for the above photo and lyrics go to Carrie Underwood and her producers. No copyright intended.

Mysterious Ways

                God works in mysterious ways, doesn’t He? The funny thing is, no matter how mysterious or strange His ways may seem, they always work out better than we could have ever imagined. Every time I turn around, I find that something has changed for the better, or I have changed for the better, all because of something working out exactly the way God wanted it to. Ironically, I find myself praising Him and telling Him how amazing and smart I think he is, even though during the hard time, while He was molding me and shaping me, I was complaining about how much I hated my situation.

                But wait, that’s not even the best part. The best thing is that He keeps on working! He keeps on molding me, all through my complaining and whining, while I roll my eyes and tell Him what a horrible father I think He’s being. He. Still. Keeps. Working. On. Me. My protests don’t halt His hands for even a millisecond. He knows that in the end I’ll realize just how perfectly His plan has been unfolding, and that the hardest parts were when He did His best work.

                He really is the perfect Father, even though sometimes it sure doesn’t seem that way. And I know, no matter how much I hate the situations He puts me in, I know I wouldn’t have it any other way.