“Time for surrender
Spread out your open hands
And He will raise you up
Confessing all that’s broken
And watch the healing come
Spread out your open hands
Admit you’ve held them shut
Be swept away by this”
- “Swept Away” by Flyleaf
It’s amazing how fast time goes by. It seems like yesterday I was just in high school… or even younger than that. I kind of miss the days when things were easier. I miss being that naive little kid when everything and everyone seemed good. Now it’s so different. We judge people by the way the look or how much money they have. It’s so hard for us to look beyond that and just get to know them. I know that I do it. It’s hard not to since we seem to be raised in that way because of our society.
I have spent most of my life so far saying that I have believed in God. I think that so many people say that they do… but do we say it because it sounds good or because it’s true. There is so many, including me at some point, who say that they believe in God but they definitely don’t live their life for him. They pray for him when times are hard but turn their back on him when they are fine and happy. I know that I have done it before. I did it a lot because I cared too much about what people thought about me… but the truth is that should not matter. I should care more about what God thinks about me… because in the end his judgment is what really matters.
I really feel like while in some parts of my life I have been slightly selfless… there is so much of my life where I have been completely selfish. I didn’t realize how much until recently. There are so many people in this world that have so much less than me but we ignore all of that. We act like they don’t exist so we can make our self feel better in the end. I really want to do more with my life… I want to share God’s love with anyone I can.
Well, I guess I am done for now. Bye!
God?
I was reading this and realized what a great point he made… and the song definitely hits the nail on the head. It’s crazy how we all think of God now. What has made us this way?
I got the new Regina Spektor record a few weeks ago. If you haven’t heard her, she’s fantastic. She has a very unique approach to her songwriting. But anyways, she has a song called Laughing With… here’s the lyrics below. (I may post the song on my blog later if you would like.) It just got me thinking about a lot of what I hear around the various cultures I get to see in my life. Don’t get your guard up if you don’t believe in God… I’m not here to tell you what to think. If anything I just want help people actually think every once in awhile. I am merely observing and questioning.
LAUGHING WITH - Regina Spektor
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’re starving or freezing or so very poorNo one laughs at God when the doctor calls
After some routine tests
No one’s laughing at God
when it’s gotten real late
And their kid’s not back from that party yetNo one laughs at God when their airplane
Starts to uncontrollably shake
No one’s laughing at God
When they see the one they love hand in hand
with someone else and they hope that they’re mistaken
No one laughs at God when the cops knock on their door
And they say “We’ve got some bad news, sir,”
No one’s laughing at God
When there’s a famine, fire or floodBut God can be funny
At a cocktail party while listening to a good God-themed joke or
When the crazies say he hates us
and they get so red in the head
You think that they’re about to choke
God can be funny
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie
Who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa ClausGod can be so hilarious
Ha ha, ha haNo one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
when they’ve lost all they got
And they don’t know what forNo one laughs at God on the day they realize
that the last sight they’ll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes
No one’s laughing at God
When they’re saying their goodbyesBut God can be funny
At a cocktail party while listening to a good God-themed joke or
When the crazies say he hates us and they get so red in the head
you think that they’re about to choke
God can be funny
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie
Who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilariousNo one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
(repeat)
No one’s laughing at God in a hospital
No one’s laughing at God in a warNo one’s laughing at God
When they’re starving or freezing or so very poorNo one’s laughing at God
(repeat)
We’re all “laughing with God”
We’ve made God a household name. And at the end of the day I don’t know whether to smile or weep. For the most part, everyone “knows” God. He’s our buddy when we feel like it. But what happened to fearing Him. What happened to the irreverent God that the Saints laid their lives for. Have we somehow stripped God of his power?
We’ve turned God into a joke, or a place for temporary comfort when we’ve got no where else to go. But is there anyone left who fears, and trusts?
People on the Indonesian island of Bali believe there are gods in everything, even the pieces of garbage on the street. They show respect to all the gods out of fear, because they believe that their gods are more powerful than themselves, and no one wants a god angry with them. Around the world, America is known as a “Christian” nation… In this “Christian” nation we’ve been taught that God is the God of grace, and unconditional love. While that message may remain true, we’ve been left with an image of God as a pacifist, sissy creator who is there to give us hand outs and “attaboys.” I feel like the Christian church as a whole has lost a true image of the God of the Bible.
Does anyone still believe in God? And I don’t mean the idea of God… I mean does anyone still believe in GOD?
It’s been a good week. Went to see A Christmas Carol in 3D earlier this week… and the awesome thing is the glasses…lol. The glasses looked like old 80’s glasses… so yeah. The movie was great by the way.
So, I got a new tattoo on Saturday. I really like it.
I started thinking about the words that I got tattooed and what it means to me. I didn’t realize how much love has really got me through. Without God’s love, or my family’s I would probably not be where I am right now. I have had a few problems with depression and they really helped me through it. My husband has really been there for me lately… even through the crazy Navy times. He has been great.
