So Be Quiet Now & Rest

Man, watch this video and then come back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymfh6RJezQ4&feature=player_embedded

Alright, so now that we’ve watched that. I know there have been a few of these videos going around recently and their epic feel infuses emotions in us that we might not feel any other way. But the words that these people are speaking, the words that are the truth that I have had the privilege to know from an early age, I want to believe it is the truth of these words that bring me the emotion I am feeling right now. So many people never get to hear the wonderful news of God and Jesus Christ their whole lives. It is our job to spread this story. Those who do not know it are not to blame, their blood is on our hands! And yet they will still suffer by our selfishness if we do not wake up and tell everyone!

The problem is, the people here do not want to hear. It’s like we cannot talk about religion at all without there being some type of discourse. Why? Because, everyone automatically gets defensive of their beliefs. Why? Because throughout the past we as humans have ridiculed and discredited each others faith until we can no longer be civil enough to talk about how much it means to us publicly. What a fail.

I am so bad about spreading my faith. Mostly, that’s because the people I am around/in contact with most of the time are not receptive to my beliefs and faith, or are of a different religion. You can’t really go around preaching your beliefs if someone already has their own. I am glad that my friends of different religions at least believe in something. In America most of the people I know don’t believe in anything or they say they believe but are not even trying to live the right way. I am not perfect, but I am at least trying.

Ezekiel 3:4-5

And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.

For thou [art] not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, [but] to the house of Israel;

Last night at church EJ read this after a sermon that was about telling people when they are in the wrong because their blood is on our hands if they are not aware that they are. The way that the message was said kind of hit me like a ton of bricks because I don’t feel like it’s my job to tell people when they are wrong. That’s what I think mostly gives Christians a bad name. Because we go around and tell others that they’re doing wrong when it is something that we used to do. But EJ said that if we give them book, verse and line then we have nothing to be ashamed of. I agree.

I think on the whole, people don’t understand that humans are capable of change. Most people think “you’ll always be what you always were.” Not true though. EJ also said that he dares people to try and live in sin after their saved, because he doesn’t think they can do it. Not if they’re truly saved. I also think that’s true. Had the opportunity to drink the other day and didn’t. Didn’t even want to when I was there. God has truly worked me over.

Yesterday was Easter. I think that a lot of people forget what Easter truly is. It’s the day of jubilation because death could not hold down Jesus in His perfection! Amen for that!

I asked my manager when Easter became about candy and little springtime creatures and he said because we corrupt everything. Amen. That’s the truth if I ever heard it. Sad that we do that.

Anyways, this has been really disjointed. I am super stressed this week but what I really wanted to get to is this:

We are all raised with religious views, they are ingrained in us whether it’s Atheism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, or any of the numerous others. It’s hard to see outside of our boxes and think about other religions. But I am leaning towards thinking that it’s hard to even want to hear about another religion because we personally know the truth of the one that we believe in. I can’t even consider another religion being correct because I already know without a shadow of a doubt who Jesus is, what He’s done for me and how great my God is, always has been, and always will be. I will not denounce them for anyone or anything. So I guess the next question is how do you relate to others who don’t feel the same if God is the center of your life? I don’t know. I am working on that.

I am sad that so many people don’t know about Jesus, or do, and don’t believe in Him, don’t believe that He was what the bible says He was. I am trying to come to grips with the fact that some of my closest friends don’t believe in Him but it just breaks my heart for them and for Jesus, because Jesus died for them and they denounce His name! Sadness. Whether it is something I will be able to overcome is a big question. I just want everyone to love my savior, my God. As the video says, “I owe Him.”

Every since spring break when my schedule got all whacked out I haven’t been posting much. See, my posting time is MWF, 8-11am before classes and work and during spring break I just slept during that time. Since then I feel like I haven’t been around much those times because I’ve been doing events for work and also, been coming to school right before my first class so I could sleep longer. Lazy Lisa.

All well, I am here now. And I’ve been made to read a good book called “Man’s Quest For God” by Abraham Heschel, so some of that is about to come out of my fingertips in a minute.

I graduate in 40 days, go to Paris in 47, and spend almost two entire weeks over there. I am so nervous but so stinken’ excited I can’t even… There is so much to do. I’ve never flown. Etc, Etc. Plus I need to find a money tree because I am broke and need spending money. Anyone? Know where to find one?

Anyways, back to this book:

I am just going to put some of my favorite lines from the book so far here. I feel the need to say that this book has already changed my way of thinking about prayer and I am only 50 something pages in. It’s resounding truth is astonishing to me, that I never figured this out on my own. And I am going to try to change the way that I pray, so that it is real. Because Heschel is right, “The purpose of prayer is to be brought to His attention, to be listened to, to be understood by Him; not to know Him, but to be known to Him.”

Basically what this means is that we aren’t talking to God to try to find out more about Him when we pray. He’s not speaking right back to us in a literal way so it can’t be a discussion of words, of solidity. No, prayer is for us to open ourselves up to Him, to give Him all of us so that we may be known to Him. For me, God already knows me inside and out. But when I speak to Him I am at the forefront of His thoughts, of His desires. When I speak to Him I become available to Him, not the other way around. God is always available to us. We just have to bring Him in. Pull ourselves towards His magnificence by latching on with our words and allowing our souls to climb onto the ladder our words create, stepping towards Him in all of His glory. That, my friends, is prayer. It is sad that we never hear about prayer in this way, but that it is mostly a means of bringing your troubles to God. Well, pardon moi but I will delight in the richness of my blessings with God as well. I will tell Him about my desires, about my hopes, about my loves. I will tell Him how great He is, how I can’t wait to worship Him for eternity in Heaven. I will share my pains as well, but not so much in begging for guidance, but just in simple acknowledgement that I accept those pains because of my blessings, and that I know they strengthen me. Prayer is so much more than a source of comfort when the light has dimmed, it is where we allow the face of God to kiss our souls.

So without further ado, words of the great Abraham Heschel. I hope they change your mindset about some things like they transformed mine.

“[Prayer] is not a relationship between person and person, between subject and subject, but an endeavor to become the object of His thought.”

“Prayer without kavanah is like a body without a soul.”
(Kavanah means inner participation, just as a reference).

“Prayer is not thinking. To the thinker, God is an object; to the man who prays, He is the subject.”

“It takes two things to make prayer come to pass: a person and a word… A word detached from the person is numb; a person detached from the word is illiterate. The very essence of prayer is in a blending of the two.”

“Words have ceased to be commitments. Our sensitivity to their power is being constantly reduced. And bitter is the fate of those who forfeit completely the sense for their weight, for words when abused take vengeance on the abusers. Indeed, there can be no prayer without a sense for dignity of words, without a degree of deference to what they stand for.”

^^^^ To me this is all about how people today have ceased to care for or take their commitments seriously. People don’t understand what it means to say your word and then hold to it anymore. It breaks my heart. I am of course guilty of doing this same thing - breaking promises and the like. But now I try my hardest not to. I am past the adolescent stage of not caring whether my commitments were upheld, because I care about the people that I make them to. If we could all uphold our word all of the time… my how things would be different.

But as Heschel says, “We shall never be able to understand that the spirit is revealed in the form of words, unless we discover the vital truth that speech has power, thatwords are commitments.”

Heschel says, “Everyone feels the binding force of the uttered word, the reality of an oath, of a vow, of a promise. In making a pledge, in giving a word of honor, in uttering an oath or in entering an oral agreement, man learns to understand that the word is stronger than the will, that a word given exists independently and regardless of its relation and pertinence to him.”

^^^^ How true that is. I know that when I promise something I feel it become a solid thing inside of me. Word becomes real when we make an oath or a testament.

____________________________________________________

So that’s what really hit home for me so far. More to come as I continue reading.

Let us all just remember that “We do not refuse to pray; we abstain from it. We constantly pour out inner light away from Him, setting up the thick screen of self between Him and us, adding more shadows to the darkness that already hovers between Him and our wayward reason.”

I am so guilty of this. But when I realize this…

“To pray is to take notice of the wonder, to regain a sense of the mystery that animates all beings, the divine margin in all attainments. Prayer is our humble answer to the inconceivable surprise of living.”

I feel I might be able to figure everything out after all, or at least enough of it to get by. Thank God for that!

It is still what I want. Thank goodness.

have freedom in your arms
gaze at the stars
sit there and have silence be enough conversation for the both of us.
play.
fear that you’ll always be here
be loved.
grow my soul with good fertilizer and inspiration.
be accepted
be better than you ever expected
feel happier than anyone else but you
make you the best you can be
be the one you could spend your life with, and never get bored
live where music is communication
be your dream come true
run through streams barefoot because its summer…and i don’t care if it hurts
be your musical fancy
be your muse
be the words you speak when you speak of love
              and the sights you encounter on your world trip of beauty
be the one you call when you have nothing to say
have everything to say back
hope for you and this time not to  get let down
skate on a pond at midnight
chase fireflies around the bend
get laughed at cause I’m just that stupid.
act like an idiot in front of every single “cool” kid
               and honestly not care,
               but laugh at them, because they think they’re the  ones being real.
honestly and completely adore life.

stuff happens.
people die.
the circle begins again.
live it up.
live for Jesus.
but don’t be scared of wasting your life.
you won’t.
be good.
be bad.
live on the edge.
but don’t cross the lines.
or do.
your choice.
choices are tricky.
they can be yours.
but others can make them for you.
if you let them.
don’t regret.
never regret.
make music so loudly that the whole world can hum along to your song.
feel it flowing.
be in love with anything.
with life.
with Jesus.
with another person.
love.
sometimes its all that keeps us going.
see and be seen.
hear and really listen.
read and fully understand.
don’t take things back.
give everything you’ve got. (what were you gonna do with it anyways?)
take chances.
drive with the windows down.
be caring.
be chill.
be completely fine with what you were given.
go to parties.
talk to random people.
jump out at kiddos and tell them they are buying a yearbook.
don’t lie for no good reason.
make it count.
pick up a musical instrument.
learn how to play it.
be happy.
let your hair down.
face your fears.
sing in front of a crowd.
get good friends.
stand up.
eat ice cream.
stand out.
be you.
be good.
live.

is so diverse. So crazy how different people and cultures are. But we are so interconnected. Twitter alone, but the entire internet… We can be friends.

Amazing.

I am frustrated right now. Must remember that this doesn’t matter at all in the scheme of things. Must. Remember. But darn if it ain’t hard. Just upsets me when you make someone a priority and they just let you be whatever.

Idk, just ticked off.

Blah. Let us not rant about insignificance.

In the meantime, watch this… Fall in love.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=iv&v=mJ_fkw5j-t0&annotation_id=annotation_918434&src_vid=jzF_y039slk

…Heaven give us roots and wings and lead us home.

Today is a glorious morning, and as I walked up the many steps that I must climb to get to school, all I could think about was how in Hocus Pocus Winnie throws open the window and says “Oh look, another glorious morning! It makes mesick!” It made me chuckle quite a bit but also very sad.Why? Just because some people really do wake up and hate life. Some people have very good reasons to hate life but others are just stuck in a rut that they can’t remember how they got into. That is the kind of depression that is truly a tragedy because it afflicts so many in places where they ought not to feel that way.

I truly believe that if everyone believed in God and loved Him as they should, there would never be depression. How could we allow ourselves to become so down if we have the joy of God and the love of Jesus Christ in our hearts? Impossible. Even now, when I get upset, down, anything like that, I stress out for a bit, true, but after a while I remember God. I remember His promise and I remember Christ’s ultimate sacrifice for me, for all of us. And then I sit there in wonder and praise of a God that I know will always take care of me. There is no doubt, no question, no fear of the future and no regret of the past. We are forgiven. That is the hardest part for a lot of people, I think - myself included. I can’t fathom how I could be forgiven for my disgusting sin, but then I remember that I can’t fathom anything about God. He is so big, so great, so uncomprehendable that to try is an insult to His grace. So I just believe. We just believe. We should alljust believe.

One day we all will sing:

It’s your love that we adore,
it’s like a sea without a shore,
we’re lost in you, we’re lost in you.

I kind of did something I shouldn’t have.
I mean, depending on who you ask gives me the whether or not I should have done it opinion. lol.
All well. It’s really not that bad. :D
I am a happy camper.

I have been spending wayyy too much money recently.
I need to stop that.

I also have so much to do for school I am going a little bit crazy.
I have to set my schedule for this summer and next fall Monday. I have no clue. lol.

My regular blogging time has been overtaken by work, and life. But never fear, next week it will be back to normal. :D