Please pardon me while I vent a little....
I want to know where my life is going. I want God to break me already...kinda sick of waiting. I want school to be done. I'm sick of having bad days. I want to have good days. I don't want to be confused about what I want and need anymore. I want to be confident. I wish people weren't idiots. I wish that this world would just turn back to God. I'm sick of being safe all of the time. I want adventure. I want to live my own life. I want God to define me. I don't want to live life alone. I want to be successful, but at the same time I want to fail so I can get back up again and show the world what I'm capable of. I don't want to be torn down anymore. I want respect. I want love. I need love. I want the man that God has for me...now....I'm tired of waiting. I hate the phrase "patience is a virtue" because I personally think it's a load of crap. I want a different lifestyle. I don't want people to like me because of my voice....I hate that. I want people to like me for who I am. I don't want fame, stardom, to be in the spotlight...I want to leave a legacy. I'm sick of people judging me....baaah!
Ok...I'm done. Sorry if this seemed selfish. I needed to get it off my chest.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
~The Voice~
So I'm sitting here with guitar in hand and just playing around. Singing, doodling on the guitar and I'm loving it....a lot :) and for some odd reason I stopped and thought to myself "Wow. I'm playing the guitar and singing..."
This may sound completely weird and random, but I never actually stopped to think about how awesome it is to have that fantastic gift of music. I mean the way God designed us is phenominal. Like, vocal cords for instance; we use them every day to talk, sing, scream, make funny noises, etc...but HOW we talk, scream, and sing still blows my mind. I still can't fully comprehend the design of the voice and how we are able to make sound. The brain sends a signal to the throat, the vocal cords mesh with each other and air moves through. That's pretty much how we make sound; at least to my knowledge. I don't know all of the in-depth details of it all yet, but isn't that neat though? God created us in such a phenominal way that we are able to make sound with muscle and air.....I just love it.
Don't even get me started on singing....oh my goodness. I looked up some YouTube videos of people singing with a camera down their throat, showing the vocal cords in action. When I watched those videos I thought to myself "wow....what an incredible God". I mean the human body is so complex to us, but it's so simple to God...wow.
Anyway...my whole point in sharing this (other than the fact that I just couldn't contain myself) is that I take my gift for granted too often. I mean yeah I can sing and yeah I love singing for God, but I honestly don't appreciate my gift as much as I should. I hardly ever just thank God for the voice He's given me. I don't practice every day, I feel like I'm stuck in a musical rut BECAUSE I don't practice every day, sometimes I feel like I can sing anything but I honestly can't, and a lot of the time I let people's compliments get to my head so I trick myself into thinking that I don't need to perfect my craft.
Just because God has given me a voice and I can sing well, doesn't mean that I shouldn't try and learn more or further my gift. I need to continue to learn and to practice in order to give God my very best EVERY time I sing.
God has given everyone specific gifts and talents. We all take them for granted sometimes, but honestly we shouldn't because God could easily take our gifts away just to teach us to not take His gifts to us for granted.
God deserves our thanks, praise, adoration, worship, and our best :)
This may sound completely weird and random, but I never actually stopped to think about how awesome it is to have that fantastic gift of music. I mean the way God designed us is phenominal. Like, vocal cords for instance; we use them every day to talk, sing, scream, make funny noises, etc...but HOW we talk, scream, and sing still blows my mind. I still can't fully comprehend the design of the voice and how we are able to make sound. The brain sends a signal to the throat, the vocal cords mesh with each other and air moves through. That's pretty much how we make sound; at least to my knowledge. I don't know all of the in-depth details of it all yet, but isn't that neat though? God created us in such a phenominal way that we are able to make sound with muscle and air.....I just love it.
Don't even get me started on singing....oh my goodness. I looked up some YouTube videos of people singing with a camera down their throat, showing the vocal cords in action. When I watched those videos I thought to myself "wow....what an incredible God". I mean the human body is so complex to us, but it's so simple to God...wow.
Anyway...my whole point in sharing this (other than the fact that I just couldn't contain myself) is that I take my gift for granted too often. I mean yeah I can sing and yeah I love singing for God, but I honestly don't appreciate my gift as much as I should. I hardly ever just thank God for the voice He's given me. I don't practice every day, I feel like I'm stuck in a musical rut BECAUSE I don't practice every day, sometimes I feel like I can sing anything but I honestly can't, and a lot of the time I let people's compliments get to my head so I trick myself into thinking that I don't need to perfect my craft.
Just because God has given me a voice and I can sing well, doesn't mean that I shouldn't try and learn more or further my gift. I need to continue to learn and to practice in order to give God my very best EVERY time I sing.
God has given everyone specific gifts and talents. We all take them for granted sometimes, but honestly we shouldn't because God could easily take our gifts away just to teach us to not take His gifts to us for granted.
God deserves our thanks, praise, adoration, worship, and our best :)
Monday, December 14, 2009
Chat Room Conversations
A lot of people don't know this about me, but I kind of have a unique little ministry that I do in my spare time. I have Yahoo messenger and sometimes I like to go into the "Christian" chat rooms to see what kind of conversation goes on.
There have been many interesting topics brought up and I found myself really getting defensive of God's Word at times. I had some support from people in the chat room, but a bunch of people kept questioning God's Word and how it's true.
The main subject that is talked about in those rooms is the value of The Bible and whether or not the Bible is indeed true in every aspect. It's really amazing to see what people type up in these chat rooms and at the same time it's really sad that they don't believe that God's Word is true. The Bible even proves it's inerrancy in Romans 3:3-4, "What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written:"So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge." Whatever God says is true, it's true. No questions asked.
The Bible is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God…”). I use this as a defense all of the time, but people get smart and ask questions like "well how do you know that statement is true?" and all I can say is that I know that it is true because I believe in God's Word and I believe that He inspired the words of the Bible. In all reality, if one does not believe that the Bible is true in the first place then it is pointless to argue whether it is true or not.
I also sometimes answer back...."well how do you know that what Mohamed said was true?"
and they answer "because he wrote the Quran"....and I get all like "OHHH....hmmm.....". Then they just tell me to shut up, but anyway that's not the point, the point is that there are tons and tons of people in this world who do NOT believe that the Bible is true. They don't even believe that it is historically accurate (which by the way has been proven. Some archaeologists found the pieces of chariots and armor in the Red Sea, but that's another blog for another time).
Friends who are in Christ, you really do need to know what you believe and WHY you believe it because you WILL be tested and called out on it by this world. Even though people ask a bunch of questions and get mean about the subject of God, just keep in mind that they may never have heard of the Truth and that they are completely blind to what you are saying. One other thing that may be helpful is talking like a normal person. Don't get all preachy on people unless it's necessary. I have found that if you get preachy on people, they instantly get turned off to what you are trying to share. I'm not saying that you should water down the Gospel....I'm just saying that you should try and relate to where they're coming from before you preach "fire and brimstone".
There have been many interesting topics brought up and I found myself really getting defensive of God's Word at times. I had some support from people in the chat room, but a bunch of people kept questioning God's Word and how it's true.
The main subject that is talked about in those rooms is the value of The Bible and whether or not the Bible is indeed true in every aspect. It's really amazing to see what people type up in these chat rooms and at the same time it's really sad that they don't believe that God's Word is true. The Bible even proves it's inerrancy in Romans 3:3-4, "What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written:"So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge." Whatever God says is true, it's true. No questions asked.
The Bible is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God…”). I use this as a defense all of the time, but people get smart and ask questions like "well how do you know that statement is true?" and all I can say is that I know that it is true because I believe in God's Word and I believe that He inspired the words of the Bible. In all reality, if one does not believe that the Bible is true in the first place then it is pointless to argue whether it is true or not.
I also sometimes answer back...."well how do you know that what Mohamed said was true?"
and they answer "because he wrote the Quran"....and I get all like "OHHH....hmmm.....". Then they just tell me to shut up, but anyway that's not the point, the point is that there are tons and tons of people in this world who do NOT believe that the Bible is true. They don't even believe that it is historically accurate (which by the way has been proven. Some archaeologists found the pieces of chariots and armor in the Red Sea, but that's another blog for another time).
Friends who are in Christ, you really do need to know what you believe and WHY you believe it because you WILL be tested and called out on it by this world. Even though people ask a bunch of questions and get mean about the subject of God, just keep in mind that they may never have heard of the Truth and that they are completely blind to what you are saying. One other thing that may be helpful is talking like a normal person. Don't get all preachy on people unless it's necessary. I have found that if you get preachy on people, they instantly get turned off to what you are trying to share. I'm not saying that you should water down the Gospel....I'm just saying that you should try and relate to where they're coming from before you preach "fire and brimstone".
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Too Miraculous NOT to Share
Ok so I've been sick since Tuesday December 1st and it's been a real pain.
I ran a fever of around 102 and had to sing at a concert. Singing with a fever is the worst feeling in the world.
Ever since that night my health deteriorated and kept going downhill. I started getting intense migraines, abdominal pains, hoarseness, fatigue, drowsiness, and just all kinds of crap. I just kept to myself a lot because I didn't know what I had and I didn't want to spread the "love".
It wasn't until a few days into my "sick week" that I realized that all of this was just my body finally reacting to all of the stress that had happened this semester.
The most painful thing about being sick was not being able to talk or sing. I love talking to people and I love making music (i.e. song-writing, singing, etc). To not be able to do that really hurt me a lot and it was frustrating to not know the reason why God was bringing this about. I mean I know that nothing bad comes from God, but He was definitely teaching me something.
I was talking to my friend, Jessica,last night about this stuff going on in my life and she told me that maybe God was wanting me to glorify Him in other ways instead of singing. Like, He has taken away that ability for a short time to see how I could depend on Him and trust in Him and glorify Him in some other way.
When she said that I was kinda mad; I'm not gonna lie. I mean I know what God has called me to do and that is to spread His love through conversation and music, but at the same time.....I knew she was right. I am supposed to give glory to God in all aspects of life; not just one.
So I kept that in mind the rest of the night and I got the chance to hang out with a friend, Savannah Harrell, for awhile. We watched Footloose and ate popcorn. It was a great time and just being with one of my friends was great. I didn't have to talk really at all.
Through that time God showed me that quality time is another way I can show His love to other people. Spending time with people shows them that you care about them and that you value them in such a way that they can't deny the truth of you wanting to be with them. Sometimes you don't even have to talk, but just be there and have fun :)
With all of that said....today, as a lot of people know, is my birthday and when I woke up this morning....I got my voice back!!!! :-) I was sooooo very happy to get it back this morning. I can talk, I can sing, I can make weird noises like I used to....and it's just sooooo good to have a voice again. I know that I still need to be cautious about my voice though....because I just got it back and I still have to sing for voice juries, but I am just really excited to know a God who really does miraculous things such as this. I didn't expect to have a voice until like next week, but He was gracious enough to give it back to me.
I just wanted to share that story with you because I just couldn't keep it inside :) The whole point of this little chapter in my life is that God will pretty much do whatever it takes to teach you something that you may never have known. I have only known that music is the main way to communicate His love to people, but He has shown me that quality time with people is another way.
Take time to listen to what God may be saying in your own life. Do NOT focus too much on the negative because it will do nothing but hurt you. Instead, focus on what God may be teaching you in times of what seems to be darkness, turmoil, trouble, trials, etc.
I ran a fever of around 102 and had to sing at a concert. Singing with a fever is the worst feeling in the world.
Ever since that night my health deteriorated and kept going downhill. I started getting intense migraines, abdominal pains, hoarseness, fatigue, drowsiness, and just all kinds of crap. I just kept to myself a lot because I didn't know what I had and I didn't want to spread the "love".
It wasn't until a few days into my "sick week" that I realized that all of this was just my body finally reacting to all of the stress that had happened this semester.
The most painful thing about being sick was not being able to talk or sing. I love talking to people and I love making music (i.e. song-writing, singing, etc). To not be able to do that really hurt me a lot and it was frustrating to not know the reason why God was bringing this about. I mean I know that nothing bad comes from God, but He was definitely teaching me something.
I was talking to my friend, Jessica,last night about this stuff going on in my life and she told me that maybe God was wanting me to glorify Him in other ways instead of singing. Like, He has taken away that ability for a short time to see how I could depend on Him and trust in Him and glorify Him in some other way.
When she said that I was kinda mad; I'm not gonna lie. I mean I know what God has called me to do and that is to spread His love through conversation and music, but at the same time.....I knew she was right. I am supposed to give glory to God in all aspects of life; not just one.
So I kept that in mind the rest of the night and I got the chance to hang out with a friend, Savannah Harrell, for awhile. We watched Footloose and ate popcorn. It was a great time and just being with one of my friends was great. I didn't have to talk really at all.
Through that time God showed me that quality time is another way I can show His love to other people. Spending time with people shows them that you care about them and that you value them in such a way that they can't deny the truth of you wanting to be with them. Sometimes you don't even have to talk, but just be there and have fun :)
With all of that said....today, as a lot of people know, is my birthday and when I woke up this morning....I got my voice back!!!! :-) I was sooooo very happy to get it back this morning. I can talk, I can sing, I can make weird noises like I used to....and it's just sooooo good to have a voice again. I know that I still need to be cautious about my voice though....because I just got it back and I still have to sing for voice juries, but I am just really excited to know a God who really does miraculous things such as this. I didn't expect to have a voice until like next week, but He was gracious enough to give it back to me.
I just wanted to share that story with you because I just couldn't keep it inside :) The whole point of this little chapter in my life is that God will pretty much do whatever it takes to teach you something that you may never have known. I have only known that music is the main way to communicate His love to people, but He has shown me that quality time with people is another way.
Take time to listen to what God may be saying in your own life. Do NOT focus too much on the negative because it will do nothing but hurt you. Instead, focus on what God may be teaching you in times of what seems to be darkness, turmoil, trouble, trials, etc.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Revelation Song
Many church congregations know of the song "Revelation Song". It's become quite popular among churches, youth events, worship services, etc....but does everyone really understand the meaning behind the song? Here's a look at the lyrics:
Revelation Song
by Jennie Lee Riddle
Worthy is the Lamb
Who was slain
Holy Holy is He
Sing a new song
To Him who sits on
Heaven's mercy seat
Worthy is the Lamb
Who was slain
Holy Holy is He
Sing a new song
To Him who sits on
Heaven's mercy seat
Holy holy holy
Is the Lord, God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You
Clothed in rainbows
of living color
Flashes of lightening
Rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor
Strength and glory
And power be to You
The only wise King
(chorus)
Filled with wonder
Awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your name
Jesus Your name is power
Breath and living water
Such a marv'lous mystery yeah
(chorus)
This song was taken from the Word of God. In Revelation 4:8, "Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
What is so neat to me about this song is that it is a clear picture of what we, as believers, have to look forward to. We're going to see God "clothed in rainbows of living color". We are going to see Him in all of His glory.
This was also foreseen in the Old Testament in Isaiah 6, "They were calling out to each other: Holy, holy, holy! The Lord Almighty is holy! His glory fills the world."
The promise of Christ's 2nd Coming was prophesied in both the Old and New Testament.
To know that all of God's children are going to partake in singing "Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty. Who was and is and is to come" to The Creator forever and ever, just blows my mind. I will finally get to see His face and just physically be with Him.
Revelation Song
by Jennie Lee Riddle
Worthy is the Lamb
Who was slain
Holy Holy is He
Sing a new song
To Him who sits on
Heaven's mercy seat
Worthy is the Lamb
Who was slain
Holy Holy is He
Sing a new song
To Him who sits on
Heaven's mercy seat
Holy holy holy
Is the Lord, God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You
Clothed in rainbows
of living color
Flashes of lightening
Rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor
Strength and glory
And power be to You
The only wise King
(chorus)
Filled with wonder
Awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your name
Jesus Your name is power
Breath and living water
Such a marv'lous mystery yeah
(chorus)
This song was taken from the Word of God. In Revelation 4:8, "Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
What is so neat to me about this song is that it is a clear picture of what we, as believers, have to look forward to. We're going to see God "clothed in rainbows of living color". We are going to see Him in all of His glory.
This was also foreseen in the Old Testament in Isaiah 6, "They were calling out to each other: Holy, holy, holy! The Lord Almighty is holy! His glory fills the world."
The promise of Christ's 2nd Coming was prophesied in both the Old and New Testament.
To know that all of God's children are going to partake in singing "Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty. Who was and is and is to come" to The Creator forever and ever, just blows my mind. I will finally get to see His face and just physically be with Him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)