Our All

Sometimes we may sing or pray about giving God our all. But, do we realize what that really means or are we simply mouthing words that sound good? Giving our all, everything. But do we realize exactly what that means?
There is often one or more areas that we are hesitant to give up, consciously or subconsciously. That one thing that God must give us if we are to love and serve Him - maybe it is a good, reliable job, a spouse, children, or living near one's family. But is our love supposed to be conditional? No! God never signed a contract that grants us our hearts desire if we simply love and obey Him. This is one thing I did not like about the Christian movie, "Facing the Giants". They seemed to portray Christianity as obeying God, and then He will help you to win that football game, bless you with kids, a new car, etc. God does bless us when we obey Him, but we need to be careful that we aren't preaching a false prosperity gospel. He may choose to bless us by giving us our hearts desire. Or, He may replace that with something that is even better for us in the long-run. The truth is that we need to give Yahweh our hopes, our dreams, our desires.
So if we give Christ our all, does that mean our hopes and desires are gone for good once we give them to Him to be filled? No, that is the beauty of it. He sometimes fills our cups with something different than we requested. Other times, He fulfills our desires and fills our cups with exactly what we wanted. There is no secret formula, no password or particular way you must live your life in order to receive exactly the blessing you want from Yahweh. The key is that we give the cup of our lives to Him instead of trying to fill it ourselves. We may make our requests known, but in the end we should be rejoicing in what He has given us no matter what the outcome. Let us praise Yahweh for the good gifts He has given us, whether or not they were what we had desired.
Suffering is not always punishment. Certainly, the Lord will rebuke us and we may experience suffering because of that. Yet we shouldn't be quick to assume that all suffering is a punishment. Sometimes it is simply the refiner's fire that we are being passed through so that our dross may burn away. Nor should we seek to write off all suffering as refinement. The first thing to do is to search our lives and our hearts to see if there is some area that we are not obeying the Lord in. If there is sin, then repent of it, turn away from it, and replace it. But as I said, suffering is not always the direct result of a particular sin, but can be part of our sanctification process. Is is the valley that is the place of vision.
We think it is tough to give up everything that we hold near and dear. But what did Christ do for us? He gave up heaven to be a man. He experienced our pains and our weaknesses firsthand. He didn't have to, we certainly didn't deserve it. Yet, Christ loved us so much that He became man for us. We reviled Him, spit on Him, mocked Him...before we love Him, He gave His all for us. Everything. God held nothing back, but sent His own Son - His Son to die for us. He gave up everything - can we do the same for Him? Can we give up everything during our short time on this earth, in order that He may be glorified?

Countdown to Awesome

Kevin Swanson, an OPC pastor, is a high octane speaker , a second generation homeschooler, published author, radio personality and director of Generations with Vision, which has a daily radio program heard around the world.

Dr. Gary North - A nationally known speaker on so many topics, will bring us the topic: "College- Running the Gauntlet."

Dr. David Menton from Answers in Genesis, a retired pathologist who will be speaking on the human body and related topics of Creation

Pastor Nathan Trice as our keynote speaker.

And finally, Michael Card, singer- songwriter and Bible teacher will address the area of Christians and the Arts.

Can you say epic?

El Shaddai/I Will Heal Their Land

I'm closing this series about some of the music I listen to with my all-time favorite artist, Michael Card.

And now our God will dwell with them

The new Jerusalem
And He himself will walk with them
The new Jerusalem
And God Himself will wipe the tears
From every weeping eye
No death, no pain, no mourning cry
And every tear made dry

I'm not certain which should be the title for today's music. I know I heard El Shaddai many times, probably on the radio, years and years ago though I never knew the name of the musician or any of his other works. When I first heard of Michael Card recently, it was through lyrics from I Will Heal Their Land posted on a friend's status on Facebook. Now here's the shocking part, so brace yourselves. I looked up the song and I didn't like it at all. Yup, you read that right. Now after listening to quite a wide range of Michael Card, I realize that it was certainly not the best song to start by which to be introduced to Michael Card. So I wrote him off as in artist I didn't like (though thankfully my mind was changed later!). I can't clearly recall exactly what changed my mind, though I imagine it was probably back when I wrote on the names of God and a friend posted the lyrics to El Shaddai (Hey, at least it gives me someone to blame! ;) ). At least that is the clearest turning point in my mind that I recall. From there, I looked up more of his music and absolutely fell in love. His music simply can not be topped. He is one of the few artists with solid, biblical lyrics. The beauty of his lyrics overcomes anything lacking in the music. If you haven't heard of Michael Card, don't wait another second to listen to his music. Or if you're like me, and didn't enjoy his music previously, I encourage you to give him a second chance. You'll be glad you did.

Conversations

***Due to "technical difficulties", something happened to the original "Conversations" post. Your mind has not been messed with, this is simply the replacement post***

Sara Groves is another one of those artists that I discovered through my friends. After hearing her mentioned several time through Facebook, I decided to check her out. Handy enough for me, one of my brothers owned her album "Conversations".

Remind me of this with every decision.

Generations will reap what I sow.
I can pass on a curse or a blessing
to those I will never know.

I was listening to Sara Groves before Michael Card, Andrew Peterson, Red Mountain Church. She was probably one of the first "Contemporary Christian" artists I listened to regularly.

This is my anthem, this is my song
The theme of the stories I’ve heard for so long
God has been faithful, He will be again
His loving compassion, it knows no end
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful, He’s always been faithful
He’s always been faithful to me.

I can't recall what originally drew me to continue listening to Sara Groves. What draws me back is the quiet, meditative lyrics and gentle acoustic background. Though I haven't listened to much outside of "Conversations", the album is just that - it feels like a conversation with Sara Groves, and often times she hits the nail right on the head as to how I feel.

The Stairway

The flight of stairs climbs higher and higher, or at least so I think, since the exact height is only know by the maker of these stairs. The light in my hand directs my path, but the complete journey is hidden in a mist that sometimes swirls around my feet, and at other times it parts enough to allow me to see many steps ahead. Tightly I cling to the hand that gently leads me upwards. I know the destination, where these stairs will end won't come as a surprise. It is simply the path I will travel that is hidden.

As I step onto the stair that marks my twentieth birthday, I glance back to gaze at where I've been. I ponder these past years and whether they were spent wisely.

I am surprised to see high-school graduation already four years behind me. Four years sounds like a long time until I start looking back at what has happened during that time. Four years just about takes us back to the start of my family's adoption journey. Wow...four years. Sounds like a long time until I glance over at my almost-three-year-old sister and remember, just as if it were yesterday, walking into that room to see and hold her for the first time. I remember the tears as I was at last able to hold a little baby in my arms, knowing that she was my sister and no one could change that. I remember the heartache from different situations that fell through. The disappointments. The waiting. The trusting. It wasn't easy, but God was faithful and He continues to be.

I peer back even further to my early teens. I was a different person then. When I read my journal entries I laugh. Though I enjoyed being the age I was, I looked forward to being 18, 19, and 20 because surely I would be married by then and have my own children. I would be well on my way to visiting all the states. I would be travelling the world, taking trips to Great Britain, Australia, Africa, and who knows where else. I would be a budding actress, a well-known seamstress, or a famous basketball star. My dreams were big and nothing seemed impossible.

I draw my gaze back to the steps that now surround me. I look at the person God has changed me into and feel a wave of thankfulness for His strong hand constantly leading me higher and higher. I still want to travel the world, to get married and have children. But those things are no longer as important to me as they once were. More than anything else, I just want to serve Christ and work to spread the kingdom wherever He places me. I want to be willing to go to Africa or Asheville in order to spread the gospel and make disciples of all nations. I want to see Christ glorified.

I finally turn to gaze forward into the midst. I still can't see where this mighty Hand is leading me, but this I know - wherever I may go, whatever I may become, all the glory goes to Him. May His name be exalted in all the earth!

An Alphabet of Thanksgiving

Adoption - Both physical and spiritual. I am grateful to God for choosing me to be a part of His family, and for the siblings He has choosen to be a part of my earthly family. Thank you God for adoption!

Brothers - I am thankful for the godly example my brothers set for me. There are always there to help me when I need manly strength. They are extremely generous and lavish gifts upon me and my siblings whatever the occasion. Thank you God for brothers!

Church - God has provided a means of gathering together as a community to worship Him. Thank you God for giving us church!

Daddies - Especially my daddy. He has such a servants heart. He spends much time taking us places we want to go, without murmuring one word of complaint. He'll take time to wash dishes just because. I love my daddy and am so grateful for him. Thank you God for daddies!

Evangelism - God uses us to spread His Kingdom. He gives us this opportunity to spread His love to others. What an immense gift and charge for us. Thank you God for using us for evangelism!

Family - both my amazing family and my family in Christ. My blood family is such a blessing to me, they are crazy and awesome. I love my family so much and am thankful God has given them to me. My brothers and sisters in Christ, you encourage me, cause me to think, and are simply fun to be around. I love you all! Thank you God for the gift of family.
Grace - where would I be without it? Thank you God for grace.

Hospitals - I've seen more of the hospital in the past year than I ever wanted to see. However, I am vastly thankful for the high quality care that my baby brother has received. Without good hospital care, he wouldn't be here. Thank you God for hospitals.

Investment - I have been given the opportunity to work in the lives of those around me, to invest in them and really make a difference in their lives. Thank you God for this gift of investment.

Joy - With the absence of joy, our lives would be very glum indeed. Thank you God for giving us reasons to be joyful.

Knowledge - most particularly, knowledge of God. He has given us His word so that we can know and learn about Him. Thank you God for this knowledge.

Laughter - I love laughter. Because of God's precious gifts to my family, my house is filled with laughter. Thank you God for laughter.

Mothers - in particular, my mother. She is the strongest, godliness woman I know. No one I know would do the things she has done. She is willing to do crazy things for God without worrying what others might think. Thank you God so much for my mother.

Night - without darkness, how could we be thankful for the light? Thank you God for darkness and that it is temporary.

Orchids - just one of the many flowers God has blessed us with. Thank you God for all flowers, including orchids.

Peace - God gives us the gift of peace that surpasses all understanding. Thank you God for giving us your peace in the midst of the fiercest storms.

Quips - because who doesn't like a good one? ;)

Reformation - the reformers risked their lives for the cause of Christ. Where would we be without them? Thank you God for the reformers and the Reformation.

Sisters - I am so thankful for my two sisters. Jen and I have our differences - a lot - but I wouldn't exchange it for anything. I love to see Janae grow from a tiny baby into a little lady. When she begs for her Bible story, it makes me smile and my heart glad. She loves to pray for her family and is careful not to leave herself out. I love my sisters so much. Thank you God for sisters.

TULIP - the easiest way to explain Calvinism. ;)

Unity - that even in the midst of our differences, we can unite together for Christ and the Kingdom.

Valiant - thank you God for valiant people fighting for your Kingdom.

Winter - as with night, if it wasn't for winter we wouldn't appreciate the new life and warmth of spring. Thank you God for winter.

Xmas - the celebration of the incarnation of God. Thank you God for sending us your son!

Yahweh - I am thankful that Yahweh choose me to be his child, that He is my God, and that He has given me the privilege to serve Him with my life, my all. Thank you, Yahweh, for making me your child.

Zoology - because I couldn't think of anything else... ;)

If I Get Murdered in the City...

We're walkin' in to the fields.
We're walkin in to the forest.
The moon is before us.
Up above
We're holdin' hands in the rain
S-sayin' words like I love you
D-d-d'you love me? Yeah...

If you live in the Charlotte area, you've most likely heard of the Avett Brothers. Once again, I was familiar with the name due to seeing it mentioned on Facebook (see a pattern here?). How I actually started listening to them was through my oldest brother. I think it was the Second Gleam from which he played a few songs for me that he thought I'd enjoy. He was quite right!

So you want to be in love like the movies
But in the movies they're not in love at all
And with a twinkle in their eyes
They're just saying their lines
So we can't be in love like the movies

The Avett Brothers have an interesting mix of music that can be folksy or rock. I don't usually listen to genres like rock, but the Avett Brothers have a unique sound that I don't mind listening to. From Kick-Drum Heart to Love Like the Movies, I have to admit they have some great tunes. They are originally from Concord, so it's like supporting local talent. ;)