…around us are sent from Heaven above. So thank the LORD, oh thank the LORD for all His love.
I wish I could find a better one with lyrics, but this will do.
I went to tonight’s performance of Godspell at church and was struck by this song.
I’ve heard it three or so times before, but tonight it really stuck with me.
All good gifts are sent from Heaven.
Also Save The People.
Is it Thy will O Father that men shall toil for wrong? No! say Thy mountains, No! say Thy skies!
The people, Lord, the people! Not thrones and crowns, but men!
God save the people! For Thine they are! Thy children as Thy angels fair.
~*~
I just felt like that was kind of relevant.
And it’s not just gifts like your abilities and talents, though those are good too. It’s the basic things like having a roof over your head and a car to drive.
~*~
God does not make junk.
You are His masterpiece.
Is He makes everything glorious, and He made you, what does that make you? (David Crowder Band paraphrase)
GLORIOUS. And a masterpiece. Because God. Does not. Make. Junk.
I think it’s a wonderful idea, and although I’ve shared about the fact I was baptized, I didn’t go into that much detail.
Plus, there was another baptism that impacted me.
So, here we go.
(And this comes at an interesting time, because our pastor did a sermon on baptism last month, in addition to one on fasting and another on communion.)
My parents made a promise to God that they would raise me in the Christian faith, etc.
They wanted me (and my sister) to make the decision to be baptized personally.
They didn’t want to make the decision for us, to force it on us, if you will. They wanted it to be something that we wanted to do.
We believe that baptism (alone) does not save a person, but that it’s a public declaration of faith.
I’d seen a lot of baptisms, of both infants and adults, before I decided to do it for myself.
What was different about my baptism was that our youth pastor (at the time; he’s in Chicago now) interviewed me and my sister (and two of my best friends). Since I like to write, he suggested I write something. So I did. I wrote a poem about baptism. I still have it; one copy is in my senior portfolio.
Anyway.
I was baptized when I was about 17, before my senior year of high school.
Part of it was that I wanted the youth pastor to be the one to baptize me before he left, because I had such a bond with him, I guess…? (A little selfish, I know.)
But the other part was that I felt I was ready for it. Ready to make the decision for myself. Ready to publicly announce that yeah, I believe in Jesus and I want to live for Him.
So I was baptized one Sunday morning along with my sister, two best friends, two younger boys, and an adult guy from the church.
And it did change me.
For a while.
And then I did the cycle thing, where I started falling away a little.
That’s changing now.
Especially after last night.
But that’s a topic for later.
The point is, I was dedicated, grew up in the church, went through Confirmation, decided to be baptized, and it’s been changing my life ever since.
The other baptism I mentioned before was M’s.
She got it. She lived it. She loved it.
And that affected me.
One of the questions that impacted me after having nagged at M for so long to come to church with me was Who’s going to be in Heaven because of you?
That got me.
I’d been nagging M to come with me to church for…well, at least a year, I suppose, before she finally decided to get her mom to let her come. And they’ve been here ever since.
Something that sticks out for me during M’s Confirmation testimony (she got Confirmed the year after I did, in 9th grade, because she started the class our 8th grade year instead of our 7th) was the fact that she called me her guardian angel.
Now she’s mine.
M was baptized I think our 10 grade year, the year before I was. I think. I don’t remember the exact date for certain, but I’m pretty sure it was before I got baptized.
It was in a lake, behind the home of a couple from church.
M and at least one other person were baptized that day.
I remember that it impacted me, but I don’t think it was quite as big an impact as her calling me a guardian angel. Not to mention her mother got up in front of church one Sunday and thanked my parents for me, and I think she quoted one of the kids who’d gotten Confirmed with M, “Thanks for not letting us go to Hell.” Something like that. 😛
So. I don’t remember where I was going with this, but it ended up being basically that M had a huge impact on me. She loved Jesus with all her heart, and she lived out that faith.
And I want to be like she was.
Last night at a “concert” with a bunch of kids from the youth group and a few “random” people, I responded.
By the end, I was quite unhindered. I was closing my eyes, raising my arms (most of the way), silently praying for God to fill me with His light, His love, His…whatever He wanted me to have. Mostly the light idea. I was praying so.hard that He would help me be His light. Like M was.
And now that this post is over 1200 words long, and it’s nearly 10 pm, and I no longer know how to connect my points, I think I need to quit.
And go read Matthew 9 & 10. Which I meant to read earlier…
Okay, so the last two are more about God’s love. But really, God is love, right?
In fact, almost all of these songs will be played on my wedding day, if I have my way. 😉 The only exceptions are probably ZoeGirl and David Crowder Band.
I don’t think I’ve ever “been in love.”
I’ve had crushes, but crushes are crushes. They’re not necessarily equal to love.
Love is a choice you make, not just an emotion you feel.
I have to choose each and every day whether to love or hate people, and it is reflected in my actions.
This month’s topic at church has been love—hence the post.
I’ve been reading The O’Malley Chronicles lately, a series about seven people who became family in an orphanage when they were young. They each have jobs that revolve around helping others: a hostage negotiator, a US Marshal, a medical examiner/forensic pathologist, a firefighter, a Red Cross counselor, and an EMT are the main focus of the six books. The series revolves around them dealing with the youngest of the group, a pediatrician, giving them not-so-happy news. But through this bad news, and help from significant others (an FBI agent, a woman involved in politics, another Marshal, another firefighter, another firefighter, and nurse, respectively, plus another doctor for the pediatrician).
The reason I bring it up in connection to love is because of the significant others, and the faith journeys, kind of. The significant others begin as friends, are all believers, and help the O’Malleys through both the family and work-related stuff while answering questions about faith and such. Somewhere along the way, they fall in love, and by the end of the series, each O’Malley is either engaged or married.
The love stories are intriguing to me. They don’t take very long to develop. They fall in love within weeks or months of first encounters, with the exception of the ME and the Marshal. It takes her a little longer to come around. I think that might be my favorite of the stories.
Kate & Dave’s story starts during a hostage situation; Marcus & Shari’s at an event that puts her in danger; Lisa & Quinn’s in intertwining work issues; Jack & Cassie’s when she comes back to work in the middle of a dangerous case; Rachel & Cole’s around a case and faith; and Stephen & Meghan’s when he goes off to “find himself.”
I’ve read the series several times (three, at least, probably), have finished it again.
There’s something I’ve been pondering this latest read-through: the pace.
They “fall in love” within months.
To me, it seems way too fast.
But then, they’re spending practically all day every day together because of circumstances.
I love reading through conversations between Kate & Dave, Marcus & Shari, Lisa & Quinn, because they are the couples who spend a lot of time together because of protection issues. They spend a lot of time talking about faith, and about life in general.
That’s what I want.
I want that person with whom I can talk about anything, any time. The big stuff, and the little stuff.
I had that in a good friend from high school, the one guy I had a crush on.
But he’s practically engaged, and was always more of a brother, so I guess I’m on the lookout for someone else. 😛
If you want to go back to my letter to my prince entry, you’ll find that I said “I want to meet you NOW (soon), and spend the rest of my college years (and life in general) getting to know you.”
This is true.
I want to meet my future husband now, spend time together and with friends, get to know him.
I want it to be a process, to take my time and not rush into anything; I don’t want to feel pressured to be more than just friends at first.
I found out recently that my cousin is getting married this summer.
I’m so. Excited. I met her fiancé at Christmas, and I liked him quite a bit; he’s a nice guy.
This’ll be the first wedding I’ve been to in probably five years. I’m excited to get to go to a wedding (granted, it’s a four-hour drive to get there, but…).
I’m excited for my cousin.
She’s the last one on Mom’s side… until my sister or I get married. Which is a ways off.
So. That’ll be a fun weekend. 🙂
Love is something that stands the test of time.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking. Love keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. ~1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is a many splendored thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love! ~Moulin Rouge
If you follow me on Twitter (@respectivating!), you’ll probably have noticed [this].
I heard “Better is One Day” on the radio on my way home from class this afternoon, and figured it would make a good Flawless Friday post.
Flawless Friday!
So anyway, I heard the song, and I thought to myself, “How lovely is Your dwelling place?” Aren’t our bodies God’s dwelling place?
Because… you know, our bodies are temples (my body is a temple of the holy spirit), and stuff.
Right?
So if that’s true, and WE are God’s dwelling place…
That would mean that WE ARE LOVELY.
I sent this photo to Caitlin for Operation Beautiful a week or two ago, and though it hasn’t been posted on OB yet (which I’m totally cool with; takes time!), I figured I’d share it here.
It’s lyrics from a song we sometimes sing at church.
Operation Beautiful = 🙂
Actually, two songs, one of which we don’t sing at church…
Anyway. I stuck this in one of the bathrooms at church a couple of weeks ago, because we were singing “As it is in Heaven” (the “good” lyrics) and …I felt like it. 🙂
Because if we’re created by God, in His image, and He calls everything “good,” then it follows that we must fit in the “good” category, right?
Something to think about…
EDIT (Mar 1 ’11): Uhm, the lyrics to Eric Stark’s song are actually “You make everything beautiful; all You have made You call good” but I decided to change them for the purpose of the note. Same goes for DCB’s song—I kept the idea, but put it in question form. Thought I should clarify. 🙂
