part 2, as promised, my commentary on united we stand...

(thanks, kor, for your comments on part one.  indeed, it is not easy to make the choice to glorify God in all things.  but yes, it is so worth it.  i love you too!)

track 8: "There is no one else for me, none but Jesus.  Crucified to set me free.  Now i live to bring him praise."  is there anyone else for you?  anyone else who is more deserving of your time, your attention, your love.  the answer is clearly a resounding NO.  yet we often live as though Jesus is just another small part of our lives, much like school or work or (gasp) church.  Jesus shouldn't be just an important part of our lives, he should BE our life.  the only thing that truly matters, the only one we could never be without.  because, quite frankly, if it weren't for God's grace, we would be destroyed.

track 10: "i know that you're alive, you came to fix my broken life.  and i'll sing to glorify the holy name of Jesus Christ."  this tells me two things very clearly.  1. my life without Christ is broken.  no matter what i do or how hard i try, it will always be broken.  i cannot fix it myself.  and 2. Jesus CAN fix it, and he will and does when i surrender to Him.  and therefore i can and will praise him with my whole (pun intended) life.

track 10 continued: "fire fall down.  fire fall down, on us we pray (repeat again and again)  its easy to say these words, but do we mean them?  do we really understand the implications of what we're asking?  fire burns things. (duh) consumes them, actually.  and physical fire burns everything, good and bad.  not much can withstand fire.  but spiritual fire is meant to burn away those things not pleasing to God (see track 6/7).  its meant to change us.  burns leave scars.  and while God's fire will not leave a physical scar on your body, it should leave a visible change in your life.  to be in the presence of God and not be changed is like sitting at an all-you-can-eat buffet and starve to death.  ( like that?  i just made it up right now.)  so if you aren't willing to get "burned," stay away from the fire.

that's all for today.  i'd love to know what you're thinking about all this....

are you ready?

i'm really tired of seeing the same old crap in my life and in the lives of those (Christians) around me.  can we please get serious??

my new favorite cd is the new hillsong united, united we stand.  pretty much every song is not only bringing glory to God, but it also challenges the listeners.  they are a sermon in their own right.  here are a few examples:

track 2: "...the time has come to stand for what we believe in.  and i, for one, am gonna give my praise to you..."  ladies and gentlemen, it IS time to stand for what you believe in.  and if you believe in Jesus Christ, then STAND for him for a change.

track 3: "...Jesus we're living for your name, we'll never be ashamed of you..."  Jesus says that if we are ashamed of him before men, he will return the favor when we stand before God.  but if we publicly live for him then he will publicly commend us before God.  (see Luke 9 and 12)

track 5:  "...my purpose remains, the art of losing myself in bringing you praise...my heart and my soul, i give you control.  consume me from the inside out.  ... everlasting, your light will shine when all else fades.  never-ending, your glory goes beyong all things.  and the cry of my heart is to bring you praise from the inside out of my soul, cries out from the inside out..."  this is one of my favorites on the cd.  i want everything in me to be consumed with Christ.  he is the only everlasting, never-ending, unchanging Savior of my soul.

track 6/7 "...in my life be lifted high.  in my world be lifted high.  in my love be lifted high..."  i find this one the most challenging.  basically, i'm saying to God that i want him to be lifted high/praised/glorified in absolutely every part of my life.  is that true for you?  is God being lifted high in your THOUGTHS, your WORDS, your ACTIONS, your MUSIC choices, your TV choices, your MOVIE choices, in your ATTITUDE, in your CLOTHING, etc... the bigger question is - do you want him to be lifted high, and are you willing to let go of the unpleasing in order to accomplish that?  in my life... can you imagine what would happen in you personally if you made this committment?  (and in your family, in your school, on your whatever team, etc) and what would happen in crossfire, in our church as a whole for that matter,  if we ALL made this committment and REALLY lived it?  i'm very sure that we would no longer see the same crap and half-hearted spirituality.  we might actually see people who are not afraid to live for God, to worship him, or to share him.  we might see our friends and family get saved because of the way we live out our faith.  i don't know about you, but i'm ready for "something different" to happen in my life...

there are plenty others (the cd has 17 tracks) but i'll let you think about those for now.  if you haven't already, i strongly encourage you to get a hold of this cd, and then let its message get a hold of you.   more tomorrow...

verizon=stupid!

so today i took aedan outside to sit on the swing in the front yard.  i set my cell phone on the swing and went to get the mail.  i returned to find the dog sitting right next to my phone.  i told him to move, and as he did so, my phone fell off the back of the swing, right into a puddle.  needless to say, it no longer works.  so i go online to find a new phone since i am due for an upgrade anyway.  but one cannot do this without being logged into one's account.  and as it has been many many months since i have used this, i do not remember the password.  however, the website offers to send you a temporary password as a text message.  this obviously poses a problem, since i cannot get text messages with a broken phone.  so i do the next logical thing and call the 800 number i was given after several failed attempts to remember my password.  the kind lady informed me that the only thing she could do was put a text message block on my cell phone and then after 24 hours they would send me a letter with a temporary password that i could use to access my account.  this letter will take 3 to 5 business days to get to me.  or i could just go to a verizon store and get a new phone there.  so here are my choices: wait a week for a new password to come in the mail, then wait more days/weeks for my new phone to come.  this choice costs no money, as online rebates are instant so you don't actually have to pay for the phone.  whereas, in choice b, i go to the store, pay money, wait months for my mail in rebate, but walk out with a new phone.  great options, huh? oh wait, my phone is working again!!!  now i have to call the lady and have her send the text message before it stops.

edit:: it shut off before i could talk to anyone and i can't get it to turn on again.  so i am officially phone-less for an undetermined amount of time.  boo.

i am ridiculously and pathetically out of shape.  i should exercise.  but realistically, i won't.  because i'm cool like that.

edit:: i actually did it!  i exercised today.  pretty amazing, i know.  also the most interesting thing i did all day.  i am so dull.