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Okay, so I found this post in my draft section and thought I would go ahead and post it because it is still highly applicable. I changed it up a bit because when I wrote it I was in the depths of despair over wondering if I was going to have a job back in February of this year. I’ll go ahead and save you the emotional details and spoil the end of that story by telling you that, yes, I was laid off from my job shortly after. Anyway, I took out the stuff about the job to clean it up a bit. I’m very happily employed these days, so no use bringing up the bitter past! Now onto what I’ve been blabbering about…
I LOVE the songs that Daniel Lanois writes…like “The Maker” and “Save Me.” He definitely has made a career out of connecting his heart with his writing. I won’t go into all the people who have covered his songs, because this blog post would go for days. I was sitting at my computer the other day…thinking and wondering about the many things I often think and wonder about. No, I’m not going to divulge those details. Of course, those thoughts led to God and what direction He has me going in this life. I know…deep, right? Sometimes I’m good for such a thing. I felt like I was at a breaking point with several things when I heard the song, “The Maker” by Dave Matthews. The lyrics slapped me. It was exactly what I needed to hear at that exact moment. Lanois’ songs are poetically passionate and some are even deeply spiritual. He has been around for some time and has many rings on his song writing tree. I didn’t know a lot about him until recently, but now that I have done my research…I have a whole new appreciation! I thought “Falling at Your Feet” was pretty awesome lyric-wise and then I found this video on YouTube- Daniel and Bono performing the song and I thought it was pretty awesome.
Bono and Daniel Lanois—Falling at Your Feet
Every chip from every cup
Every promise given up
Every reason that’s not enough
Is falling, falling at your feet
Every band elastic limit
Every race when there’s nothing in it
Every winner that’s lost a ticket
Is falling, falling at your feet
I’ve come crawling, falling at your feet
Everyone who needs a friend
Every life that has no end
Every knee not ready to bend
Is falling, falling at your feet
I’ve come crawling, now I’m falling at your feet
All fall down (All the manic dazed faces that you pull)
All fall down (All the action is not under your control)
All fall down (The graffiti rolling down off of your tongue)
All fall down (And the compromise you make for some)
Every teenager with acne
Every face that’s spoiled by beauty
Every adult tamed by duty
They’re all falling at your feet
Every foot in every face
Every cop’s stop who finds the grace
Every prisoner in the maze
Every hand that needs an ace
Is falling, falling at your feet
I’ve come crawling, and I’m falling at your feet
(All fall down) All the books you never read
(All fall down) Just started
(All fall down) All the meals you rushed
(All fall down) Never tasted
Every eye closed by a bruise
Every player who just can’t lose
Every pop star howling abuse
Every drunk back on the booze
All falling at your feet
Oh I’m falling at your feet
(All fall down) All the information
(All fall down) All the big ideas
(All fall down) All the radio waves
(All fall down) Electronic seas
(All fall down) How to navigate
(All fall down) How to simply be
(All fall down) To know when to wait
(All fall down) This plain simplicity
(All fall down) In whom shall I trust
(All fall down) How might I be still
(All fall down) Teach me to surrender (All fall down) Not my will, thy will
From the mouth of Henry D. Thoreau…
“Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! “Still we live meanly, like ants; though the fable tells us that we were long ago changed into men; like pygmies we fight with cranes; it is error upon error, and clout upon clout, and our best virtue has for its occasion a superfluous and evitable wretchedness. Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest.
Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb nail. In the midst of this chopping sea of civilized life, such are the clouds and storms and quick-sands and thousand and one items to be allowed for, that a man has to live, if he would not founder and go to the bottom and not make his port at all, by dead reckoning, and he must be a great calculator indeed who succeeds. Simplify, simplify. Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one; instead of a hundred dishes, five; and reduce other things in proportion.” Henry D. Thoreau, Walden, Where I Lived, and What I Lived For, p. 56
What an excellent quote! Thoreau had his mind and heart in the right place. This life is not about material things and superficial relationships…its about loving others, building strong relationships, serving God and spreading His Word.
I’ve been feeling the call for a more simplistic life for quite a while now, especially after spending the last two weeks in Russia. It was great to spend the last two weeks without a cell phone, computer or ipod…it reminded me of life before these distractions. Don’t get me wrong, technology has a lot of benefits and I don’t want to necessarily give them up, but I do want to let go of some of my dependence on them. I have felt so distracted lately and have longed to live my life more simplistically. I’m tired of debt, junk and clutter. I just want to go to work and come home and not think about work. I want to spend time with the people I love and not feel rushed to be somewhere else all the time. I want to live my life not knowing or caring what is on t.v. I want more free time and clarity, so that I can study and live out God’s Word. I want to live out the rest of my years doing things that matter, instead of rushing through it all just to get to the end and wish I had taken it slower.
It feels so wonderful to have a fresh perspective on things and I pray that I keep my mind and heart clear so that I don’t lose it. God is so good!
Man, this song says it all…this is exactly how it should be done. No pushing or pulling done from either side.
“It Just Comes Natural” by George Strait
Sun shines, Clouds rain
Train Whistles blow and Guitars Play
Preachers Preach, Farmers Plow
Wishes go up and the World goes round
And I love you, It just comes Natural
It just comes Natural
Seasons Change, Rivers Wind
Tumble Weeds roll and the Stars shine
Wind Howls, dawn breaks
Cowboys riding’ time slips away
And I love you, It just comes Natural
It’s what I was born to do
Don’t have to think it through
Baby, it’s so easy loving you
It just comes Natural
It’s what I was born to do
Don’t have to think it Through
Baby it’s so easy loving you
Fire burns, Waves Crash
Seeds grow and good things last
Ships sail, Dreams fly
Night falls and Full moons rise
And I love you, It just comes Natural
And I love you, It just comes Natural
It just comes Natural
It just comes Natural
A friend told me a great story about cheating on a diet and how it sometimes felt like an “out of body experience.”
I’m thinking that at least 80% of my decision-making, in general, falls under that “out of body experience” category. My mind and actions are working together in the beginning of the whole process and I’m thinking, okay, we’re on the same wavelength and have a course of action…we’re on a roll! Well, before you know it, my “actions” forsake the whole plan and instead run ahead on a completely different route. I can see the whole thing happening from behind and I am usually thinking…”what on earth just happened?” and “that wasn’t part of the plan!”
I’m just saying, you can’t throw trust your actions as far as you can throw them!
God is big. I am small.
Nuff said.
This is Oswald Chambers’ (My Utmost for His Highest) devo entry for today:
THE WORSHIP OF THE WORK
“Labourers together with God.” 1 Corinthians 3:9 Beware of any work for God which enables you to evade concentration on Him. A great many Christian workers worship their work. The one concern of a worker should be concentration on God, and this will mean that all the other margins of life, mental, moral and spiritual, are free with the freedom of a child, a worshipping child, not a wayward child. A worker without this solemn dominant note of concentration on God is apt to get his work on his neck; there is no margin of body, mind or spirit free, consequently he becomes spent out and crushed. There is no freedom, no delight in life; nerves, mind and heart are so crushingly burdened that God’s blessing cannot rest. But the other side is just as true – when once the concentration is on God, all the margins of life are free and under the dominance of God alone. There is no responsibility on you for the work; the only responsibility you have is to keep in living constant touch with God, and to see that you allow nothing to hinder your co-operation with Him. The freedom after sanctification is the freedom of a child, the things that used to keep the life pinned down are gone. But be careful to remember that you are freed for one thing only – to be absolutely devoted to your co-Worker. We have no right to judge where we should be put, or to have preconceived notions as to what God is fitting us for. God engineers everything; wherever He puts us our one great aim is to pour out a whole-hearted devotion to Him in that particular work. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.”
I thought this was a great reminder to refocus our lives on Godly things as we welcome in the new year. Life isn’t about personal ambition, possessions, or accomplishments. It’s about living and breathing God to everyone that we meet and building relationships that bring us closer to one another. I’ve really been focusing on simplicity over the last couple of weeks and this devo entry just hits it home with the reminder of what life is and isn’t about. It’s so easy to get so caught up in earthly timelines, which never leave anyone feeling adequate. It’s impossible for everyone to fit the same timeline, because God has a unique plan for each and every one of us. Adequacy should come from living according to God’s plan for us and not our own. It appears that I need to be reminded of that ever single day! Anyway, here is the devo…
Don’t Settle for Happiness; Aim for Joy2008/12/29“Whatever happens, dear brothers and sisters, may the Lord give you joy …” Philippians 3:1 (NLT)
*** *** *** ***
A man once told me that he’d broken up with his fiancé because she didn’t make him happy enough. Mind you, he was happy with her; she just didn’t make him as happy as he felt a future wife should.
What this man told me gives memorable insight into how some people view happiness: They believe happiness is dependent upon the people, the things, and the circumstances that surrounded them.
Yet, the Bible says don’t settle for happiness; aim for joy.
Joy comes from within; joy is not dependent upon the people in your life, or the possessions you accumulate, or what’s happening at this point in your life.
God says you’ll find joy, when you trust that he’s in control and working to use the good – and the bad – of your life for a greater purpose.
The apostle Paul understood this, writing about joy while in prison, chained to a guard, alone in a foreign city: “Whatever happens, dear brothers and sisters, may the Lord give you joy …” (Philippians 3:1 NLT).
He suggested there are two keys to transforming mere happiness into a deeply-felt, ever-present joy:First, live each day by grace. Grace means you don’t have to earn God’s love or his approval. And here’s some joyful news: If you don’t have to earn God’s love, then you don’t have to earn anyone else’s love.
God offers his love unconditionally, and you can joyfully live in that grace everyday, all day long. Understanding this drains the tension from your life: you can make mistakes and know that you’re still loved by God, who desires a relationship with you over any rules or rituals.
The man who broke up with his fiancé appears to have had difficulty in understanding grace. His love came with conditions – “As long as you make me happy, I’ll love you” – and that means he probably assumes the love he receives from others is conditional too. How can anyone experience joy when they live each day thinking they have to earn love?
Second, stay focused on what’s really important. There are a lot of little things that can steal your joy – but only if you let them. Jesus taught this: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21 NIV).
My sister, Chaundel, thought about this Bible passage when she learned her house in Maryville, California, was under 9 feet of water. While she and her husband, Tom, were out to dinner, the local levy broke and flooded the area. Even in her grief, she joked, “We drove our Chevy to the levy, and the levy was dry.”
Looking back on that time, Chaundel says, “God taught us that such a loss really makes you think about what’s important and what’s going to last. Our possessions were wiped out in a matter of minutes, but the important thing is that we were alive and well. Within a year, our house was rebuilt, but we could have never replaced each other.”
Happiness is overrated. On the other hand, joy is often forgotten. Yet, joy will stabilize your life as you embrace grace and focus on the things that are truly important, moving a bad hair day down the list and relationships up to the top. No matter what happens, may God give you joy.
Just a Moment
by Max Lucado
It all happened in a moment, a most remarkable moment.
As moments go, that one appeared no different than any other. If you could somehow pick it up off the timeline and examine it, it would look exactly like the ones that have passed while you have read these words. It came and it went. It was preceded and succeeded by others just like it. It was one of the countless moments that have marked time since eternity became measurable.
But in reality, that particular moment was like none other. For through that segment of time a spectacular thing occurred. God became a man. While the creatures of earth walked unaware, Divinity arrived. Heaven opened herself and placed her most precious one in a human womb.
The omnipotent, in one instant, made himself breakable. He who had been spirit became pierceable. He who was larger than the universe became an embryo. And he who sustains the world with a word chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of a young girl.
God as a fetus. Holiness sleeping in a womb. The creator of life being created.
God was given eyebrows, elbows, two kidneys, and a spleen. He stretched against the walls and floated in the amniotic fluids of his mother.
God had come near.
He came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant girl and a sleepy carpenter. The hands that first held him were unmanicured, calloused, and dirty.
For thirty-three years he would feel everything you and I have ever felt. He felt weak. He grew weary. He was afraid of failure. He was susceptible to wooing women. He got colds, burped, and had body odor. His feelings got hurt. His feet got tired. And his head ached.
To think of Jesus in such a light is—well, it seems almost irreverent, doesn’t it? It’s not something we like to do; it’s uncomfortable. It is much easier to keep the humanity out of the incarnation. Clean the manure from around the manger. Wipe the sweat out of his eyes. Pretend he never snored or blew his nose or hit his thumb with a hammer.
He’s easier to stomach that way. There is something about keeping him divine that keeps him distant, packaged, predictable.
But don’t do it. For heaven’s sake, don’t. Let him be as human as he intended to be. Let him into the mire and muck of our world. For only if we let him in can he pull us out.
It all happened in a moment. In one moment … a most remarkable moment. The Word became flesh.
There will be another. The world will see another instantaneous transformation. You see, in becoming man, God made it possible for man to see God. When Jesus went home he left the back door open. As a result, “we will all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” (1 Corinthians 15:51–52)
The first moment of transformation went unnoticed by the world. But you can bet your sweet September that the second one won’t. The next time you use the phrase “just a moment, … ” remember that’s all the time it will take to change this world.
From
God Came Near
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006) Max Lucado
God is love and love is from God. I truly believe that God’s intentions for the heart were to act as a captor for love and then as a messenger of love to the spirit…where it receives nourishment for growth.
I wanted to share the the words to a song written by Buddy Greene (who is flippin’ awesome!) I think it is an awesome way to define what love should be like between a man and his wife and parents and their children…they should reflect the same qualities as your relationship with God.
It warms my heart to think that I already have a “love that’ll last all day” with God. I look forward to finding it’s reflection in a love here on earth.
Here is the song I spoke of…
A LOVE THAT’LL LAST ALL DAY
lyrics and music by Buddy GreeneNow I need a love that’ll last all day
So this morning when I bowed my head to pray
I gave myself to the Author of love, the One who said,”Love one another”
And I asked Him to give me His love so I could love my sister and brother
And since I know His will is to love this world
Through every man and woman, every boy and girl
I can rest assured He will answer me when I pray
With a love that’ll last, a love that’ll last all dayNow I’ve got a wife and she needs my love
An encouraging word with a kiss and a little hug
So she can give herself to the Author of love, the One who said, ‘Love one another’
And He is ready to give her His love, so she can be a good wife and mother
Because she knows His will is to love this world
Through every man and woman, every boy and girl
And she can rest assured He will answer her when she prays
With a love that’ll last, a love that’ll last all dayWe’ve got a little girl and she needs to see
The love of Jesus in her mother and me
So on the day when she meets the Author of love, the One who said, “Love one another”
She’ll be willing to receive His love and learn to love her sister and brother
And she will find His will is to love this world
Through every man and woman, every boy and girl
And you can rest assured, He will answer her when she prays
With a love that’ll last, a love that’ll last all day
I got a pretty sweet tag from Holly that I have to live up to, I suppose. I’m sure many could argue that this list could be much longer than seven things. Of course, I could think of a million…that is, until I had to write down seven after being tagged. Okay, let’s give it a try.
My seven random/weird things:
1. I’m a word hater. No, I don’t hate all words, but there is one specific word that makes me want to hurl. The “M” word. Nope. Not going to say what the word is, because I don’t even want to type it out I dislike it that much. I cringe and maybe even throw up a little inside when I hear it. Don’t misunderstand…I am a word nerd at heart, but there are always a few words that make you wish they didn’t exist. I’m just saying, synonyms are always an option!
2. I have an obsession with locking doors. Seriously, I grew up in the ghetto and it was a way of life. I think our apartment was broken into at least twice a month, so there was a small victory in knowing that the locked door made it more of a challenge! I lock the door when I come in and when I leave the house and car. I have to check it before I go to bed, or else I lay here and wonder if it is locked. Some might call it an “OCD” thing…I’m just chalkin’ it up to growin’ up in da hizood!
3. Okay, strangely enough (this one is for you Holly!) I follow the same teeth brushing regimen as Holly. I always brush my teeth, tongue, and lips. I can’t stand the feeling of flaky lips. I love chapstick, but sometimes it just doesn’t do the trick. So, kudos to you Holly for thinking the same! 
4. I giggle when I am extremely tired. Okay, so I tend to laugh and giggle a lot in general, but we’re not talking about the “usual” stuff, we’re talking random. I don’t laugh like a hyena or anything, (okay, okay…on a rare occasion!) but I do get kind giggle uncontrollably in a lack of energy kind of way. I try to not let it get to that point, but you know how it goes with sleep. Sometimes you get it, sometimes you don’t.
5. Okay, here is another vocabulary entry (I’m seeing a pattern). I usually wake up with a random vocabulary word stuck in my head. It could be anything from a simple every day word, or one of those “super cali fragil istic expi ali docious” kind of words. They get stuck in my head like those songs that VH1 calls “earwigs.” I love to learn new words and have even gone so far as making up fun sentence games with the “Word of the Day” e-mails. Um, right…I meant to say that someone else I know does this. NEXT!
6. Let’s see…I love the smell of vintage books. I have several old books that I collected in the U.K. and I LOVE the smell of them. No, I don’t walk around smelling them all day and I don’t wear black market “old book smell” perfume. I love the smell because it reminds me of how old they are and it is exciting to think about how far they have come. It’s fun to think about how many people have read them and enjoyed the stories they hold within. Well, I guess that makes me a book-nerd then too! I ain’t too proud to say it!
7. I have an obsession with office supplies. I could probably drop more money in a visit to Staples or Office Depot than I would in Target or Walmart. I don’t know what it is, but I love it. I love finding that perfect pen…you know, the one that you have to hide from clepto co-workers. I love post-it notes in bright colors and weird shapes. There is a long, sad, trail of calendars and day-timers. Don’t worry, I won’t ever take it too far. I just avoid going to that section in the store. I know my limits and I try to not even get close to the line. I try not to look when the shiny new office supplies catalog shows up at work. I try to not hold on to the label maker at work…okay, so I may hang on to it for long spans of time. They’re too fun to give up!
Okay, I don’t know if I like this whole “just lay it out there” method of displaying my weird habits. One might think this entry should have been named “You might be a weirdo if..” or “You know you need therapy if…”
I suppose I’ll just bank on whoever I tag next has even more weird habits. Speaking of “tag!” I’m new to the tagging business, so I don’t know the proper etiquette yet. I guess I will just add a couple of names hope they happen to read my blog. Tracy and Katie…you’ve just been tagged!
