Shout to the North

Shout To The North

Men of faith rise up and sing
Of the great and glorious King
You are strong when you feel weak
In your brokeness complete

Shout to the North and the South
Sing to the East and the West
Jesus is saviour to all
Lord of heaven and earth

Rise up women of the truth
Stand and sing to broken hearts
Who can know the healing power
Of our awesome King of love

We've been through fire we've been
through rain
We've been refined by the power of his name
We've fallen deeper in love with you
You've burned the truth on our lips

Rise up church with broken wings
Fill this place with songs again
Of our God who reigns on high
By His grace again we'll fly


This was one of the many songs we sung in VBS last week. I really love the words.

WOW!

This is such a touching story!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4MxOpgaI6Y

Harmonik
Sometimes what makes a talented act seem incredible is a touching story. Take the Miami-based band Harmonik, for instance. The members had a noble plan for their potential prize money: to bring the money back home to rebuild their native country, Haiti, where they'd lost friends and loved ones. Their "Hallelujah" was a way for them to express themselves, starting off slow but engaging the full crowd to clap along. While much of the Orlando auditions relied on spectacle Tuesday night, Harmonik let their music set a more somber, yet uplifting, tone.

Consumed

According to Dictionary.com-
con·sum·er   [kuhn-soo-mer]
–noun
1.a person or thing that consumes.
2.Economics . a person or organization that uses a commodity or service.
3.Ecology . an organism, usually an animal, that feeds on plants or other animals.


con·sume   [kuhn-soom] Show IPA verb, -sumed, -sum·ing.
–verb (used with object)
1.to destroy or expend by use; use up.
2.to eat or drink up; devour.
3.to destroy, as by decomposition or burning: Fire consumed the forest.
4.to spend (money, time, etc.) wastefully.
5.to absorb; engross: consumed with curiosity.
verb (used without object)
6.to undergo destruction; waste away.
7.to use or use up consumer goods.

How scary is it that the society we live in is known as a consumer society or a destroying society? How is it that we can spend $4 for a Starbucks, yet we don't have enough money to help our fellow man, not as fortunate as us? How is it that we spend hours on Facebook instead of doing homework, yet we expect A's?

This subject has become very real to me this quarter. My grades stood in the way of me getting into the classes I wanted. My friendships all stood on the rocks. My relationship with God was sinking. My siblings and I weren't getting along the greatest. My busy schedule kept me from doing anything with care or passion. My life was pulling me is so many directions. You know there is a problem when you feel like a stranger in your own home, when you don't care much about anything, when your feeling lost in the daily routine. This is exactly where I was less than a month ago, everything on the rocks... unsure of everything.

Our pastor this summer is talking about James and, although I was unsure in my faith, I started having convictions about the whole matter of consumerism and materialism.

I was really convicted about the amount of time I spent on facebook, I realized that was the root of some of my problems, too much time talking to my friends so they annoyed me, not enough time with my siblings, time avoiding homework and other things etc. etc. I deleted my facebook in order to get rid of the problem. It didn't become real to me how big a problem this was until now 2 weeks later I find myself still typing in the "Fa" for facebook when I get on the computer just out of habit and I cannot find anything to do with my life with out it. I am totally lost!! So facebook is not bad, in fact I think its really great, but for me it was an unneeded wast of time.

Because, surprisingly, to myself I have lived two weeks without it! Somehow I found this verse "It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:8)" and it was a great reminder of who God is and what he does. I am still working on this issue, but through God's grace it is defiantly better. I just wanted to challenge you about the common issue of consumerism, it gets into our lives and eats away at the root.

Happy Fathers Day!

The Perfect Father
"I love you because you're my father,
But you're really so much more;
You're a guide and a companion;
You and I have great rapport.
You pay attention to me;
You listen to what I say.
You pass on words of wisdom,
Helping me along the way.
Whenever I'm in trouble,
You always have a plan.
You are the perfect father,
And I'm your biggest fan!"
By Karl and Joanna Fuchs

I Love you Daddy!

Test!

I have been told blogger is working, but the last several post I have posted not only do not post they also don't save so If this works then I will re-post my old posts several of my old ones.

Fishing

So back to last weeks post: We went fishing a few weekends ago with friends and we caught several fish, all of which we threw back into the water. If you have ever done this, you would know that first you must take the hook and line out of the fish's mouth.I wouldn't say that the fish exactly enjoys this process, but it is necessary in order for him to live freely. I think this relates a lot to our christian life. For instance, we often have things that bother us and cause us pain, like a hook in our mouth. These things often hurt us, but when God tries to pull them out we cringe and it becomes even more painful for a short time. We need God to remove these things in order to live, but we do not like the pain we have to go through.