White as Snow

This song really inspires me.  I’d really like to share it with you.  If you’ve never heard it before, it is “White As Snow” by Jon Foreman (the lead singer of Switchfoot).

Powerful, isn’t it?  To think that our God can cleanse our hearts no matter what we’ve done is amazing!  It’s such a beautiful and astonishing concept!  I mean, it doesn’t matter the sins you’ve indulged in.  It doesn’t matter about what you’ve done in the past.  God will wipe your slate clean.  He will make you white as snow!  Clean and fresh to start anew!

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

It’s just incredible to me that we have such a wonderful and powerful God who died on the cross to forgive us of our sins!  Surely we are not worthy of such forgiveness.  The truth is, we’re not!  Still, we are surrounded by a God who loves us so much that he has forgiven us!

Here’s a little piece of scripture that I’ve been reading over and over again.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowhip with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.  But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 1:5-2:2

That just blows my mind!  It’s just amazing that we are saved by the grace of God and forgiven of all of our sins!  It just leaves me at a loss of words!

Since I am at a loss, I’ll leave you with someone else’s words.  This is a short illustration by Boyd K. Packer of how God steps in to forgive us.  It goes on to show how we must still fulfill our part of the equation.

But as it always does, the day came, and the contract fell due. The debt had not been fully paid. His creditor appeared and demanded payment in full. Only then did he realize that his creditor not only had the power to repossess all that he owned, but the power to cast him into prison as well.

“I cannot pay you, for I have not the power to do so,” he confessed.

“Then,” said the creditor, “we will exercise the contract, take your possessions and you shall go to prison. You agreed to that. It was your choice. You singed the contract, and now it must be enforced.”

“Can you not extend the time or forgive the debt?” the debtor begged. “Arrange some way for me to keep what I have and not go to prison. Surely you believe in mercy? Will you not show mercy?”

The creditor replied, “Mercy is always one-sided. It would serve only you. If I show mercy to you, it will leave me under paid. Its is justice I demand. Do you believe in Justice?… It is justice that demands that you pay the contract or suffer the penalty,” the creditor replied. “That is the law. You have agreed to it and that is the way it must be. Mercy cannot rob justice.”

There they were: One meeting out justice, the other pleading for mercy. Neither could prevail except at the expense of the other.

“If you do not forgive the debt there will be no mercy,” the debtor pleaded.

“If I do, there will be no justice,” was the reply.

Both laws, it seemed, could not be served.  They are two eternal ideals that appear to contradict one another. Is there any way for justice to be fully served, and mercy also?

There is a way! The law of Justice can be fully satisfied and mercy can be fully extended – but it takes someone else. And so it happened this time.

The debtor had a friend.  He came to help… he wanted to help because he loved him. He stepped between them, faced the creditor, and made this offer.

“I will pay the debt if you will free the debtor from his contract so that he may keep his possessions and not go to prison.”

As the creditor was pondering the offer, the mediator added, “You demanded justice. Though he cannot pay you, I will do so. You will have been justly dealt with and can ask no more. It would not be just.”

And so the creditor agreed.

The mediator turned then to the debtor. “If I pay your debt, will you accept me as the creditor?”

“Oh yes, yes,” cried the debtor. “You saved me from prison and showed mercy to me.”

Then said the benefactor, “You will pay the debt to me and I will set the terms. It will not be easy, but it will be possible. I will provide a way.”

The debtor, in turn, had been extended mercy. Both laws stood fulfilled. Because there was a mediator, justice had claimed its full share, and mercy was satisfied” (Conference Report, Apr. 1977, 79-80; or Gospel Principles, 76-77).

God and Tea

God is a lot like tea.

Well, at least in this situation.

As I took my last sip of tea, I realized one of two things could happen.  Either I could get up, go to the kitchen, and get some more, or I could just wait until someone walked by so I could ask them to go get it for me.  I was thirsty, so I went and got it myself.  I filled my cup and within minutes it was empty again.  Luckily for me, the jug of tea was still sitting right in front of me.  Since I no longer had to actually do anything to get it, I indulged much easier and more often than before.

That was random, right?  Well, no.  It wasn’t.  Still wondering how this relates to God?  Allow me to explain myself.

Think about it this way.  Let’s say God is the tea in this situation.  Sometimes we may seem reluctant to search for God.  Instead of seeking him, we will wait for him to come to us.  ”You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)  When we seek him we can place God right before us just as I did with the tea.  With God before us, we can indulge in his love as our hearts desire, and our hearts sure do desire it.  See, when we place him before us, we are not distracted by everything else.  God is right there and will never leave you.  This is told to us in Deuteronomy (4:31).  ”For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.”

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; Knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

Do not let your thirst for God run out.  Don’t let your cup run dry; instead, let it overflow with love!  It is said in Deuteronomy (4:29) “But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.”  Search for God with everything you have!  All your heart and all your soul!

“Know that when you seek anything of your own, you will never find God, because you do not seek God purely. You are seeking something along with God, and you are acting just as if you were to make a candle out of God in order to look for something with it. Once one finds the things one is looking for, one throws the candle away. This is what you are doing.” -Meister Eckhart

Bona Fide Praise

My God.  You are amazing.

Isn’t it amazing how you can just feel him all around you when you’re screaming your lungs out with a hundred other kids in a tiny room?  Oh, how I love it.

We had Charge United tonight.  Charge is just a time when all of the youth get’s together to worship and learn about God.  Charge United is when all three campus’s of our church get together to worship and learn.  There’s just something about being all closed in with a hundred or so other kids all worshiping our lord and savior together; however, alone at the same time.  Alone in the sense that it’s just a time where we can be one on one with God and just do nothing else but praise him; yet together in the fact that we are all just singing, dancing, doing whatever together and just praising his name.  There’s just something amazing about being a part of that.

The thing I love about worship, though, is that it is so much more than just singing!  It’s about praising God in everything that you do, be it playing the kazoo or break dancing.  Worship is found in anything you do in glorification of God.  There is a great passage in Psalms that helps illustrate it.  ”Praise the Lord.  Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.  Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.  Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with the tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with the resounding cymbals.  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord.” (Psalm 150)  See, there is such a long list of how we can worship, and those are merely a few examples.  We are basically told to praise wherever you are however you can.  I love the beginning and end to that passage.  ”Praise the Lord.”  The repetition emphasizes the fact that God doesn’t care where or how you praise him, just that you praise him.

While physical worship is great, there is also a more deeper spiritual form worship.  ”Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)  God loves you and he wants you.  As the passage stated, “give your bodies as living sacrifices.”  My understanding is that if we put all aside and focus only on God, forgetting the sins of the body, and living only for God we will please him.  Our act of worship is just living for him!  How great is that?  A constant worship.  A never ending love for our Lord and savior.  I can’t think of a better way to worship other than just living for God.

In John, Jesus talks of how the Father seeks our true worship by saying “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth,  for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” (John 4:23)  We are the true worshipers.  After standing in that crowd of over a hundred kids that I spoke of earlier, I can not say any different.  We are to worship the Father in spirit and in truth, and I know that we did tonight.  Hopefully we wont let it stop as we exit the door.

I pray that we do not let worship die down in our hearts.  It is such a vital part in each and every one of our relationships with God.  I pray that we are also not limited by the traditional forms of worship and that we can worship in every way we can with everything we have.  I pray that we can just be lost in the splendor of our Lord as we worship.  Most of all, as said in Psalms 150, I pray that we simply “Praise the Lord.”

“When I worship, I would rather my heart be without words than my words be without heart.” -Lamar Boschman

The Power of Perception

Today has been kind of rough on me.  I awoke this morning with less than 6 hours of sleep under my eyes.  It just so happened to be the first day back to school.  When I got to school I struggled with something as simple as getting my van’s door shut.  It seems that the freezing cold temperatures like to hold the hinge in my door open when I get out.  After slamming it over and over again, eventually it finally clicked shut.  As I walked into the cafeteria I slightly bumped into a girl on accident.  She seemed to be quite angry about it but i shrugged it off and walked on.  As I got in line for breakfast I realized that I was not only standing in front of, but was also behind some of the most annoying people I knew.  As vulgarities flew from their mouths all I could think of was “why do I have to be right here, right now?” “why can’t I be at home in my warm bed?”

As the day went on, it seemed to get worse.  My lack of sleep had caught up to me and I felt like nothing could make it worse.  A teacher really frustrated me when I was told I turned in the wrong book when in fact the book I turned in had been sitting in my locker the entire year and had never been taken out.  When I was told to find it, I nearly flipped out.  Next, in Youth Leadership class we were told to come up with a solution to our seating problem.  Basically, we had to do it on our own.  With lot’s of arguing and frustration going on between the class, I stepped up to try to get some organization.  Still people just didn’t really give a crap and it really made me angry.

I left school and headed over to House Blend with a good friend.  As he caught up with a friend for a few moments, I really got to thinking about some things.  All sorts of thoughts filled with jealousy, anger, and insignificance flooded my mind.  Finally, I headed home feeling a little more incomplete than I did that morning.

Here I am now, typing away all of my worries, hoping somehow it will change something.  The truth is, my day really wasn’t all that bad.  At least, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I made it seem.  Here, let me try this again.  Only this time, I’ll try it from a different angle.

I woke up this morning and realize how lucky I am to even be alive.  I praised God for all of the blessings he’s bestowed upon me.  I lied in my warm bed and thought of just how lucky I am to even wake up in a home, nonetheless a bed.  It just so happened to be the first day of school.  I was relieved that I have had such a long break to recharge my batteries.  I drove to school just like every other day.  Sure there were a few problems with my van, but they were nothing new and I knew I could overcome them.  I walked into the cafeteria and smelt the oh so interesting smell of school breakfast.  It didn’t bother me too much though.  I was just happy to have something to eat.  I sat down and began talking to my friends and thought of how lucky I am to have them.

After breakfast, I went to homeroom.  In homeroom I encouraged a friend to visit the youth group tomorrow.  I was ecstatic when she was interested in coming.  First period came around and I talked to one of my teachers for a minute or two.  It was encouraging to see her appreciation that I had been there to help with things over the past semester. ( I just happen to be a student aid first period)

As the day progressed, I continued to catch up with my friends whom I had not heard from in over two weeks.  I was glad that we finally caught up.  Choir rolled around and I was encouraged to be a part of such a large group of amazing people.  As I helped file the old Christmas music away, I really felt needed.  The next period we had a sub and really didn’t do very much.  During that time a few of us began talking about church and God.  I was glad to hear a few other people join in with us.  I never expected them to at all.

After seventh period I got to talk to a few friends and a teacher about what had just taken place in the classroom.  It really helped me cool down and get back in a positive state of mind.  Once school was out I headed down to House Blend with one of my best friends and ordered my favorite sandwich, the Grown Up Grilled Cheese!  After we finished up at HB I dropped my friend off.  On the way back we discussed some of the problems that i’d been thinking about lately.  It really helped me out to be able to finally get it all out.  So, here I am at home now.

See, the second version of my day was much better, wasn’t it?  The strange thing about it is that it was much harder to write than the first.  The main thing I changed was my perception of the day I had just been through.  Carlos Castaneda once said, “The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.”  The point I’m trying to make here is that we all have the power to sway how our day is going.  I’ve realized this on many occasions, yet I still let myself go through days in horrendous moods.

“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord is the One who goes before you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)

God is with us throughout all situations and he will lead us into the light no matter the situation.  As it is said in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge him, And he will make your paths straight.”, God will be with us in all walks of life.  Not just the good, but also the bad.  We just need to seek and trust him with everything we have.  As long as we can do that, we will be able to keep a better perspective on the days ahead.

Where’s the Love?

How come we don’t say I love you enough?

‘Til it’s too late, it’s not too late

Those lines are from Kris Allen’s latest song “Live Like We’re Dying.”  They’re so true!  Be honest, how many times have you muttered the words “I Love You” out of your mouth in the past week?! (If you’re married or in a long serious relationship, you don’t count! But I still love you! ;p)  Probably not to many times, if at all.  Sure, a lot of you tell your family that you love them, but that’s about it.  Of course, most people have a close bond with their family and it may seem a little easier.

“I love you” is such a powerful phrase.  It’s just three simple words.  I. Love. You.  Just say it out loud!  It just makes you smile, doesn’t it?  These three words are so vital to us as human beings.  When someone tells me “I love you” I’m just filled with joy and warmth.  When I say I love you I feel so much more connected and in tune with that person and  I know that they know how much I really care.

This short phrase shouldn’t be taken lightly, though!  It is a sign of compassion, care, and love!  In John 13: 34 Jesus says “A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ”  Seems pretty simple to me.  Love everyone!  I think it’s about time we started showing it!

Kris Allen is right.  We don’t say I love you enough!  In fact, while I was perusing google to figure out what song the line was from, a post from a New York News Blog “The Village Voice” came up.  It was entitled “People Don’t Say I Love You Enough.”  Here’s a little excerpt from the article.

I hear all kinds of trivial utterances all day–”Whatever!”; “Duh”; “Newsflash”–but I never seem to hear those three precious words, “I love you.” Is it that hard to break down one’s walls of cynicism and actually say them to someone? To anyone?

It doesn’t get much more real than that!  Of course, reading on I realized that he was a non-believer and literally used God’s name in vein in the next sentence.  (As side note, i don’t particularly recommend that you visit the site.  I will link it for reference though.) There’s just so much irony in the fact that I, a Christian, am using his post in order to prove my point on a Christian subject.  But that’s beyond the point!  What i’m trying to say here is that it’s a real problem.  People just don’t say “I love you” anymore!

As much of a problem the lack of saying “I love you” is, I think there is an even bigger problem in the lack of meaning we place in it.  Those three words do get thrown around a lot, just not in the right way.  I get so sick of walking down the hallways at school and hearing “I love you” every three steps from some gooshy couple.  That’s a whole separate thing entirely though.  That shallow use of the phrase is not at all what i’m talking about.  I’m talking about real meaning.  We just don’t really show it enough.  This passage hits the nail on the head.  ”Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth” 1 John 3: 18.  So don’t just say it, mean it and show it!

We were all put on this earth to love one another and to love God!  Why don’t we start really showing it?!  I’ll challenge you today to just tell someone you love them!  Go out on a branch and just say it!  If they look confused or ask why you said it, tell them how much you love them as a person, how you are so very glad that they are in your life, and how you just wanted to let them know!

Oh, and I love you! =)

“What most people need to learn in life is how to love people and use things instead of using people and loving things.” -Unknown Author

The “Time” Dilema

Here it is.  The last week of my break is here.  The students of my high school have had an entire two weeks away from our favorite brick building.  What a great breather it has been!  Surely over the course of the past eighteen days I’ve accomplished quite a lot!  Unfortunately, I haven’t.  I’ll admit it! I’ve wasted so much time doing everything but what I’ve needed to do.  I’m still not entirely sure why, either.

Here, let’s see exactly what I meant to accomplish.

• Finish “Do Hard Things” (which is excellent btw.  Check it out)
• Clean my room
• Practice my speed reading class stuff every night
• Learn my FX music
• Learn You Are My Joy for youth band
• Find a job

Now, here’s what I did do during my break.

• Went to the movies.. A lot
• Played video games.. A lot
• Hung out with friends.. A lot
• Messed around on Facebook.. A lot
• Watched TV.. A lot
• Wasted time.. A lot

So basically, I did a lot of nothing.  I’ve had so much opportunity in the past few weeks to accomplish all of those goals and then some; yet, I didn’t.

There are so many distractions in each and every one of our lives.  Even now I keep tabbing over to Facebook to see if I have any new notifications.  Every time my phone goes off I check it and I’m instantly distracted for minutes at a time.  While minutes may not seem very important, just think of what you can accomplish in one minute.  My point is that everywhere we turn, something is distracting us.  We teenagers know that all to well.

Think of what would happen if we eliminated our distractions.  Imagine a world with no Facebook, no twitter, no cellphone, no internet.  (Trust me, it’s hard to think of for me too.)  Granted, yes you could argue that without some of these even less could be accomplished, but I don’t think that’s the case at all.  In fact, I’d argue that more would come out of it rather than less.

I probably spend hours a day on Facebook alone.  I know, I’m addicted! Regardless, we all have a Facebook addiction to some extent.  Don’t try to hide it! Anyway, I can think of a myriad of ways I could spend those hours doing something more productive.  For starters, I could use that time to read my Bible, something I really struggle with.

You see, it’s all about making the time to do what you really need to do. In Ephesians 5:15-16 The Bible states, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”   You can’t read that statement and still try to defend the wasting of time.  Heck, I don’t know how it happens, but we all know it does.  The thing is,  right there It states that we should be “making the most of our time.”  It’s not like I just made it up.  It’s straight from The Word Of God!

So, obviously our time is very important.  Still, we treat it as if it’s not.  How many times have you used the phrase, “I just didn’t find time for it”?  I hear it all the time.  I try not to, but I say it from time to time.  The truth is, it’s not that you didn’t find time.  It’s that you didn’t make time.  In fact, you probably didn’t even try to look for time.

If you haven’t read the parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), I challenge you to.  Basically, it describes three servants who are entrusted with money by their master.  Two invest wisely in them and one hides his and plays it safe.  When the master returns, two of the men have doubled their money and the master rewards them with giving each charge over many things.  When the third man brings his money to his master, his master is disgusted in the servant’s laziness and lack of wisdom.  The point of the parable is that God offers you so many wonderful recourses, time being one of them, and you are expected to use them wisely in fruitful ways.

I know many of you don’t believe in new years resolutions, so let’s call this a life resolution.  Resolve to use your time more wisely.  Resolve to think carefully about how you spend your time.  Resolve to change your everyday pattern of wasting time day in and day out.  But most of all, resolve to use your time for God instead of yourself.

Irrevocable Identity’s meaning. (To me at least)

So, it’s the new year.  Same me, just a few days older.  With the new year comes new things.  You happen to be reading my first “new thing.”  This is my blog.  I have entitled it “Irrevocable Identity,” as you have probably noticed.  You may wonder why, or you may not.  It really doesn’t matter, though; because I intend to tell you.

Now, I’m sure you could look up the definition of these two words on your own and not have a single problem; however, that might take a bit of your time, eh?  Don’t you fret, I’ll just do it for you!

Irrevocable –adjective

not to be revoked or recalled; unable to be repealed or annulled; unalterable Taken from Dictionary.com

So, basically It just means unchangeable, constant, fixed.  Whatever word suits you best.

Identity –noun, plural -ties.

the condition of being oneself or itself, and not another Taken from Dictionary.com

And with Identity, it means just being who you are and no one else.

So if we put these two words together it would add up to mean “unchangeable personality/ character.”  The thing is, there is more to it than that.  My “Irrevocable Identity” is through God.  So, what I’m saying is that my character, my personality, my identity is completely unchangeable when it comes to my worship and my faith in God.

I’m sure many of you have heard this quote, but if you haven’t, then here’s a little food for thought.

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.

-C.S. Lewis

As C.S. Lewis states, “by it (Christianity) I see everything else.”  God opens my eyes each and every day, and through him I see a whole new horizon.  You see, we as Christians are called to live a Christlike life.  Each and every one of us are.  If God is not a core part of each and every one of our identities, then are we really living a Christlike life?

An identity may be seen as something that sets you apart from the rest.  Maybe it consists of your weird personality, or your quick wit.  Perhaps it consists more of something deeper to you like a caring heart or your vehement will.  Perchance it’s something more physical like your crazy haircut or the clothes you wear.  That’s not how I see it.  To me, identity consists of my relationship to my everlasting God, and it is unchangeable, it is certain, and it is Irrevocable!

Incredible Potential

Throughout this trip (Winter Xtreme Confrence), I’ve thought about a lot. One thing that has really come to my mind is how we react with people or perhaps the lack-thereof. In our day and age who needs real life confrontation when we can hide behind a wall in your little bubble. All we seem to know is selective confrontation. Sure, we’ll talk to our friends and family but then we scramble. Why are we so afraid to be real with people? I bet you have a friend on Facebook, Twitter, or even on your phone that you’ve never met in real life; yet, you’ll message to your hearts desire as long as they can’t see you. Don’t lie, we all do. So, why are we so excited to talk to a stranger through impersonal means, but not personally? Could it be that we’re afraid of what they think? Maybe we don’t want to be rejected? Perhaps we don’t even know how to anymore? Sure, all of those reasons sound about right. The thing is, they’re stupid reasons.

Throughout the entirety of Winter Extreme, everyone from Lacy from Flyleaf to the camp pastor Johny Hunt nailed hard on something. Something as simple as sharing our God with everyone. Their stories were incredible. Ergan Caner, who was once a muslim and now a firm believer in Christ, told of how one boy in his school cared enough to bring him to the light of God. Just one boy. He went on to emphasize how important it is to share our gospel to everyone and how just one person reaching out to another can change lives.

Alright so you can probably see where I’m going with this but bear with me for another minute. With us on this trip, among others, was a boy named Louis. He thought it would be funny to say hi and various other things to people as we passed. While it may not have been necessarily sincere, he wasn’t rude about it. Still, I was surprised by the way people just walked right by him as if there were not a thing standing there. That troubled me. There were some who responded though, and when they did you could hear the sincerity and happiness in their hearts.

See, these people who responded to Louis brought a smile to my face. Just something as simple as being real with someone we’d never met before just brought joy to our hearts. Obviously people have a strong effect on people. Crazy, isn’t it? Now, what if we used our effect to lead people to our Christ, Lord, and Savior? We have the potential! Why not use it?!

So I challenge you. Be like Louis! Break free from behind your wall! Burst out of your bubble of security! Don’t worry about what people will think of you! We’re talking about their eternity here! I challenge you! Talk to your neighbor you’ve never met! Say hi to that guy in front of you in line! Ask the lady whose been working at a register in McDonald’s for the past 12 hours how her day has gone! You might just be surprised the responses you’ll get back. Your little seed could spark a conversation that could save a life!

Live your life as a Christian. Don’t be selfish. Don’t let your pride get in the way of someone elses salvation and eternity.

I’ll leave you with this to think about: If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to put you in jail?

Good God, Can You Still Get Us Home?

“Good God, if your song leaves our lips
If your work leaves our hands
Then we will be wonders and vagabonds”

I keep singing those lines over and over again in my head. They mean so much to me. If you don’t know where they come from, they’re the first few lines of the Underoath song, “Too Bright To See, Too Loud To Hear.” The band wrote the song to describe their frustration to being put down for being a Christian band. The song explains that if they were to change who they are and take God out of their music, they would just be empty and desolate.

I realize how true this is in my own life. How much of the day am I just a wanderer? Do I really put God into everything and every part of my life? Heck, do I even put God into everything in my every day life? The answer is no. I walk around desolate as a vagabond, not really sharing this amazing God who I know and love.

Thankfully, I know I’m changing. As days pass I’m growing closer and closer to our amazing God. I pray that not only do I grow closer to God, but also share his glory with everyone I come in contact with. I’m beginning to realize that it’s not just about me. It’s amazing that I’ve truly found God, but I want to strive to share him instead of keeping to myself.

I sit here thinking of all the mistakes I’ve made and all of the times that I’ve screwed up. I realize that I don’t spend my time 100% for God and I’m willing to change. I see how my priorities are stacked completely wrong and I’m ready to rearrange them with God on top.

In exactly two weeks I’m finally getting baptized. Honestly, I’m not sure how I’ve managed to go so long without it, but I’m glad that I am now. I could have been baptized years ago as I was the son of a pastor (same father, he’s just no longer a pastor). It just seems to me like it should have happened a long time ago just because, yet I’m so happy that it didn’t until now. It means so much more to me to know that I was able to wait until I really meant it and understood what it meant.

I’m still not really sure why I wrote this. I just randomly felt like sharing what was going through my head at the moment. I’m glad I did though. Anyway, if I tagged you it’s just a way to show how you’ve helped mold me and my life in a positive way and how much I appreciate you! =) And if i didn’t tag you, please don’t be offended. I ran out of spaces to tag people with less than half tagged. =( If you’re even reading this know that you are near and dear to my heart and I still love you! =D

“You said there was nothing left down here
Well I roamed around the wasteland
And I swear I found something
I found hope, I found God
I found the dreams of the believers
The dreams of the believers

Oh, God! Save us all “
-Underoath