Some of you may recall me talking about surrendering to God early on v. waiting until we come to the end our own strength. I discovered this song today via my Ginny Owens Pandora station. (Realizing recently I really like Third Day.) I appreciate how it talks about surrendering our failures and other "negative" things to God. I'd say more, but that would be silly since the lyrics speak for themselves.
December 10, 2010
December 7, 2010
Fears and Lies
This is a conversation I have been having with my friends for the past, oh, 6 months about fears and lies. I like the way the author puts it. The last line of the post reminds me of the Ginny Owen's song "Who are You Listening To?" In April and May I would put that song and "If You Want Me To" on repeat and lie in my living room playing spider solitaire. P.S. Despite investigating, I still haven't figured out how to add audio files to this blog.
This is your life,
And yet somehow,
They decide,
What you're about,
You learn your lines,
And take your cues,
But who are you listening to?
You change your clothes,
And how you speak,
You place your hope,
In what they think,
Before you know
There's no more you,
Who are you listening to-
Have you noticed how much you fear,
All the voices you choose to hear
Who are you listening to?
Who tells you what to do?
Who rules your thoughts at night?
Whose rules define your life?
Oh, you know it's up to you,
So who are you listening to
This is your life,
You have no choice,
You will rely
On someone's voice,
And it's all right
To question who,
Who are you listening to?
Do the words that you believe
Set your soul and spirit free
There's a quiet voice,
Whispering in your heart,
It's been there all along,
It believes in you,
It will tell the truth,
Can't you hear it call?
This is your life,
And yet somehow,
They decide,
What you're about,
You learn your lines,
And take your cues,
But who are you listening to?
You change your clothes,
And how you speak,
You place your hope,
In what they think,
Before you know
There's no more you,
Who are you listening to-
Have you noticed how much you fear,
All the voices you choose to hear
Who are you listening to?
Who tells you what to do?
Who rules your thoughts at night?
Whose rules define your life?
Oh, you know it's up to you,
So who are you listening to
This is your life,
You have no choice,
You will rely
On someone's voice,
And it's all right
To question who,
Who are you listening to?
Do the words that you believe
Set your soul and spirit free
There's a quiet voice,
Whispering in your heart,
It's been there all along,
It believes in you,
It will tell the truth,
Can't you hear it call?
December 6, 2010
God has "long arms."
I have so much that I'm surrendering to God these days: Edna at the convalescent center who's had a stroke, my consideration for a development job in Encino, the plight of human trafficking victims, my non-relationship, my relatives, trials happening to my friends, etc. I realized that this is no different than normal; I just care about these things more than I cared about things in the past. I have been encouraged with the phrase, "Is the arm of the Lord shortened that it cannot save?"
We see this first in the book of Numbers. God had just miraculously delivered the Israelites from Egypt and had provided manna for them in the wilderness. The Israelites began to complain, and then Moses took up their complaining. Among other things, they complained that they were sick of eating manna. (Keith Green has an amusing song about this.) So God said He would provide meat, which I think was quite generous. And Moses basically says, "Look God, there are a whole lotta people here. You just said that you are going to provide meat for them for a month. Might want to rethink that one. How are you going to pull that off?" God's response: "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Has the Lord's arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.'" Numbers 11:23
I find it rather embarrassing that this was Moses' response given the miracles he had witnessed. In the next chapter, it says that Moses was the most humble man on the face of the earth! I think this is why the Bible often reminds us to remember the great things that God has done for us. Are you going to believe circumstances or are you going to believe God? This is what I find myself asking often these days. Which is more trustworthy, Katie? Which is faithful? Which is true? Well, the answer is obvious.
The other example is in Isaiah, when he is talking about the judgment of Israel. It comes right after one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, all about God's chosen sacrifice being to care for the poor and seek justice.
"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy that it cannot hear." Isaiah 59:1 However, Israel's sins had separated them from God. Verse 15a-16 says, "Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him." This speaks to God's judgment of Israel, but also the coming of Messiah.
We see this first in the book of Numbers. God had just miraculously delivered the Israelites from Egypt and had provided manna for them in the wilderness. The Israelites began to complain, and then Moses took up their complaining. Among other things, they complained that they were sick of eating manna. (Keith Green has an amusing song about this.) So God said He would provide meat, which I think was quite generous. And Moses basically says, "Look God, there are a whole lotta people here. You just said that you are going to provide meat for them for a month. Might want to rethink that one. How are you going to pull that off?" God's response: "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Has the Lord's arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.'" Numbers 11:23
I find it rather embarrassing that this was Moses' response given the miracles he had witnessed. In the next chapter, it says that Moses was the most humble man on the face of the earth! I think this is why the Bible often reminds us to remember the great things that God has done for us. Are you going to believe circumstances or are you going to believe God? This is what I find myself asking often these days. Which is more trustworthy, Katie? Which is faithful? Which is true? Well, the answer is obvious.
The other example is in Isaiah, when he is talking about the judgment of Israel. It comes right after one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, all about God's chosen sacrifice being to care for the poor and seek justice.
"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy that it cannot hear." Isaiah 59:1 However, Israel's sins had separated them from God. Verse 15a-16 says, "Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him." This speaks to God's judgment of Israel, but also the coming of Messiah.
More decor pt. 3
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| Pretty much everything except the useless bench. Oh, and the blue lamp. |
Pretty much everything except the lamp and red wire dog.
Short lists
These are mildly interesting mostly because of what is NOT listed.
Favorite Christmas Carols
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
What Child is This
Unfinished Christmas Presents
Pop's
Grandma's
My Magazine Subscriptions (once I renew them)
National Geographic
House Beautiful
Countries I Have Visited
Mexico
Peru
South Korea
Britain
Ireland
Scotland
France
Italy
(Tokyo Airport)
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