Since I also have been writing songs for the past half of my life, I thought I would post some up here. Only when it is the appropriate occassion of course.
This song is called "Pity Party Kick-off" - and yes, it is supposed to be satirical. It makes me laugh at myself when I like to grumble in my little closet of doom and gloom. If performed, it would be accompanied by a 300 year-old violin that is out of tune with itself, and the occasional scrape of nails on a blackboard choked with chalk. Enjoy.
It's like lemonade that's only sour
Being sweaty and nasty without a shower
It's like being stuck in traffic during rush hour
And being in a house without power
Turn the lights off
Bring the thunderclouds on
It's my pity-party kick-off
Anybody wanna come?
We'll drink from our tears
Hey maybe this one will last for years
But let's not be optimistic
Cause it's the law of physics
That what goes up must come down
It's the story of my life I've found
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
NOTHING/EVERYTHING
I am Nothing.
Easy to say, hard to believe.
I have no part or share in my salvation.
I cannot fulfill anything on my own.
I am of no matter or significance.
I have no value, worth, or meaning.
God is Everything.
Easy to say, hard to believe.
He contains the entirety of the universe.
He is a great deal, something extremely important.
Nothing finds its ultimate fulfillment in Everything.
Eternity will never outlive Everything and everything that Everything lives and stands for.
Everything cannot help but encompass and surround Nothing.
Therefore, Nothing now becomes Something through the grace of having Everything present in its life.
Easy to say, hard to believe.
I have no part or share in my salvation.
I cannot fulfill anything on my own.
I am of no matter or significance.
I have no value, worth, or meaning.
God is Everything.
Easy to say, hard to believe.
He contains the entirety of the universe.
He is a great deal, something extremely important.
Nothing finds its ultimate fulfillment in Everything.
Eternity will never outlive Everything and everything that Everything lives and stands for.
Everything cannot help but encompass and surround Nothing.
Therefore, Nothing now becomes Something through the grace of having Everything present in its life.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Stagnation = Gross; Separation; Illusion
According to dictionary.com, the word "stagnation" has several meanings. The first is, "having stopped, as by ceasing to run or flow"; another is, "a foulness or staleness, as one emanating from a standing pool of water". Another appropriate definition is: "a failure to develop, progress, or advance."
When I think of the word, "stagnation", I typically think of stagnant water - and how gross that is so I usually quit thinking about it after a few seconds. But today I have forced myself to maintain my thoughts on that unpleasant subject. What causes the stagnation? If it is a ceasing to flow, then what causes that cease?
The most common way for water to stop flowing is for something to be blocking its passage. Because of the blockage, the water loses its movement and energy and therefore starts building up bacteria that creates that nasty odor. Yay, Biology.
So how does this apply to life, you say? I have been experiencing what I believe to be stagnation in my life for some time now. I haven't had anything new and exciting pop up, or experienced some recent trauma, so what is the Lord doing with my life? I know that I'm a Christian, but I don't necessarily have a burning fire about to explode inside me 24/7. I'm in a second-semester slump where I don't really want to keep doing school, but I don't really want to go back home either because I will miss all the people from college. I go to church and listen to the messages, but none of them really move and change me. I want to be revitalized in my calling but I don't know how.
When you feel such a sort of separation from God, your first instinct should be to ask the question, "What is causing this stagnation?" Is there some build-up in my life (SIN) that is keeping me at a distance from my Lord? For sin is what caused the gap in the first place.
In my case, I do not believe there is one (or many) overarching sins that are bringing down my relationship with my Father. So why do I still feel like the Lord's not actively involved in my life everyday? Why do I feel as though I'm getting older but not growing?
I believe that every child of God goes through times like these. The thought to maintain during these times is that stagnation is an illusion. The Lord has promised that he will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
One of my favorite passages from any of the Chronicles of Narnia books is from The Horse and His Boy. Aslan is conversing with Shasta for the first time, and the boy is telling Aslan how it was so terrible to meet so many lions along his journey - and Aslan tells Shasta that there was only one lion. Shasta asks, "How do you know?". Aslan replies, "I was the lion. I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the horses new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you."
Even though it seems like God is not involved or at work in our lives at times, He always is there, even if it is in the sneakiest of ways - or we are just blind to it all. :)
Yesterday I was taking a nap outside and I happened to get a slight sunburn on the caput longum and caput laterae in the tricipitus brachii area of my left arm. Yes, specifics are important (and apparently so is Biology today). Someone asked me if I had put on sunscreen before, and I said no. The sun wasn't too hot, and I rarely ever burn, and I'm pretty sure I've never actually owned sunscreen in my life before. Anyways, (this is going somewhere, trust me), what was interesting was that I never really felt the sun on that certain area of my arm, or anywhere on my body really. It wasn't like I was constantly feeling the sun schorching and searing my skin over a 40-minute time period.
But nevertheless, it was there wasn't it? The sun didn't just come out one second, zap my tricep, and then disappear again, did it? No, of course not. The sun was there the whole time, shining brightly and doing its thing, and I was well unaware of the affect it was having on my arm. I actually didn't even realize that I had the burn until a friend pointed it out to me. And sure enough, it was significantly hotter and pinker than the rest of my skin. I would've taken a picture of it, but it's kinda hard to angle a camera at that part of your arm, you know? Oh the troubles I go through.
Anyways, the point of this analogy is to show that even though we may not feel it, God is constantly working in us, to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). He may be starting a fire in a way such that we won't begin to feel the heat until it has already ignited and takes hold of our very being.
Sanctus Real has a song called, "Whatever You're Doing", and the title implies that the author doesn't really know what God is doing in his life, but as the chorus says: "It's hard to surrender to what I can't see / But I'm giving into something Heavenly." Most of the time we cannot understand what God has in store for us, and we never fully will until we reach paradise.
Stagnation occuring in water is simply gross. Stagnation can also be misread as a separation from God which is caused by our sin. If it is neither of these two areas, stagnation is an illusion. The Lord will never leave you nor forsake you, and the Holy Spirit is and will always be at work within you. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 says, "And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."
And with that, I'll leave you to your work, Lord Jesus!
When I think of the word, "stagnation", I typically think of stagnant water - and how gross that is so I usually quit thinking about it after a few seconds. But today I have forced myself to maintain my thoughts on that unpleasant subject. What causes the stagnation? If it is a ceasing to flow, then what causes that cease?
The most common way for water to stop flowing is for something to be blocking its passage. Because of the blockage, the water loses its movement and energy and therefore starts building up bacteria that creates that nasty odor. Yay, Biology.
So how does this apply to life, you say? I have been experiencing what I believe to be stagnation in my life for some time now. I haven't had anything new and exciting pop up, or experienced some recent trauma, so what is the Lord doing with my life? I know that I'm a Christian, but I don't necessarily have a burning fire about to explode inside me 24/7. I'm in a second-semester slump where I don't really want to keep doing school, but I don't really want to go back home either because I will miss all the people from college. I go to church and listen to the messages, but none of them really move and change me. I want to be revitalized in my calling but I don't know how.
When you feel such a sort of separation from God, your first instinct should be to ask the question, "What is causing this stagnation?" Is there some build-up in my life (SIN) that is keeping me at a distance from my Lord? For sin is what caused the gap in the first place.
In my case, I do not believe there is one (or many) overarching sins that are bringing down my relationship with my Father. So why do I still feel like the Lord's not actively involved in my life everyday? Why do I feel as though I'm getting older but not growing?
I believe that every child of God goes through times like these. The thought to maintain during these times is that stagnation is an illusion. The Lord has promised that he will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
One of my favorite passages from any of the Chronicles of Narnia books is from The Horse and His Boy. Aslan is conversing with Shasta for the first time, and the boy is telling Aslan how it was so terrible to meet so many lions along his journey - and Aslan tells Shasta that there was only one lion. Shasta asks, "How do you know?". Aslan replies, "I was the lion. I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the horses new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you."
Even though it seems like God is not involved or at work in our lives at times, He always is there, even if it is in the sneakiest of ways - or we are just blind to it all. :)
Yesterday I was taking a nap outside and I happened to get a slight sunburn on the caput longum and caput laterae in the tricipitus brachii area of my left arm. Yes, specifics are important (and apparently so is Biology today). Someone asked me if I had put on sunscreen before, and I said no. The sun wasn't too hot, and I rarely ever burn, and I'm pretty sure I've never actually owned sunscreen in my life before. Anyways, (this is going somewhere, trust me), what was interesting was that I never really felt the sun on that certain area of my arm, or anywhere on my body really. It wasn't like I was constantly feeling the sun schorching and searing my skin over a 40-minute time period.
But nevertheless, it was there wasn't it? The sun didn't just come out one second, zap my tricep, and then disappear again, did it? No, of course not. The sun was there the whole time, shining brightly and doing its thing, and I was well unaware of the affect it was having on my arm. I actually didn't even realize that I had the burn until a friend pointed it out to me. And sure enough, it was significantly hotter and pinker than the rest of my skin. I would've taken a picture of it, but it's kinda hard to angle a camera at that part of your arm, you know? Oh the troubles I go through.
Anyways, the point of this analogy is to show that even though we may not feel it, God is constantly working in us, to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). He may be starting a fire in a way such that we won't begin to feel the heat until it has already ignited and takes hold of our very being.
Sanctus Real has a song called, "Whatever You're Doing", and the title implies that the author doesn't really know what God is doing in his life, but as the chorus says: "It's hard to surrender to what I can't see / But I'm giving into something Heavenly." Most of the time we cannot understand what God has in store for us, and we never fully will until we reach paradise.
Stagnation occuring in water is simply gross. Stagnation can also be misread as a separation from God which is caused by our sin. If it is neither of these two areas, stagnation is an illusion. The Lord will never leave you nor forsake you, and the Holy Spirit is and will always be at work within you. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 says, "And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."
And with that, I'll leave you to your work, Lord Jesus!
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