Thursday, October 29, 2009

Stay With Me - by Barlow Girl

STAY WITH ME - by Barlow Girl
(Listen to the song or be encouraged by Barlow Girl's intro to the song)

Hopeless, getting through this night
And life is not dying in this fight
I'm begging you to deliver me
Confused why you won't take this pain from me

My steps never felt so hard
The end never look so far but
If you won't take me out
Then please take me through this

Stay with me so I won't leave
And make me see that this is not forever
'Cause all I need is your love pulling me

What is the reason for this night
Is hope found in fullness with no light
Does strength grow in our greatest fears
God I pray something good will come from this pain

With you here I know
I don't go alone
I am yours and so
Through the fire I'll go

Monday, October 19, 2009

The Art of Doing Nothing

It rained for days. Cold, wet rain. A gray, gloomy sky that made you want to put the lights on during the day. The kind of "rain wave" that makes you appreciate the sunshine. But even the cold rain cloud has a silver lining...

This past weekend was going to be crazy, hectic. Caleb's soccer season is winding down and he was scheduled to play a double header on both Saturday and Sunday (seems a little much for intramural, 2nd grade soccer, but that's another story).Our church's AWANA program was also beginning on Sunday night at 5:30pm and we weren't sure whether we were even going to be able to get there on time with the soccer games. I didn't even tell you about Friday night, but you get the picture. Busy, busy, busy!

I was already feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, so I was NOT looking forward to the weekend of running from here to there. Then, came the blessing. In a cold, wet noreaster (make it 2 in a row) that decided to descend on us at the end of last week, the soccer games were rescheduled and we were left with a completely open Saturday. As much as I hated being chilled to the bone, it was a small price to pay for a Saturday to do nothing. We ate breakfast at 11am. We had a soft pretzel for lunch at 2pm. And dinner was cheap chinese from the grocery store. We stayed in our PJs most of the day. We snuggled under blankets, we watched a movie, we did nothing productive and it was WONDERFUL!

Never underestimate the power of downtime. No responsibilites, no commitments to be somewhere, no one counting on us to do anything. And it was just what I needed. I felt refreshed, relaxed, and reconnected with my family again. Okay so just like the "Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" we actually did some things, but it was all by our choosing.

Thank you, God, that because of the rain we had a day off...so we could prepare ourselves for the 2 double headers Caleb's going to have this weekend instead.

"What If?" from the album BRAVE by Nichole Nordeman

What if you're right?
And he was just another nice guy
What if you're right?
What if it's true?
They say the cross will only make a fool of you
And what if it's true?

What if he takes his place in history
With all the prophets and the kings
Who taught us love and came in peace
But then the story ends
What then?

But what if you're wrong?
What if there's more?
What if there's hope you never dreamed of hoping for?
What if you jump?
And just close your eyes?
What if the arms that catch you, catch you by surprise?
What if He's more than enough?
What if it's love?

What if you dig
Way down deeper than your simple-minded friends
What if you dig?
What if you find
A thousand more unanswered questions down inside
That's all you find?

What if you pick apart the logic
And begin to poke the holes
What if the crown of thorns is no more
Than folklore that must be told and retold?

You've been running as fast as you can
You've been looking for a place you can land for so long
But what if you're wrong?

What if you jump?
And just close your eyes?
What if the arms that catch you, catch you by surprise?
What if He's more than enough?
What if it's love?

(LISTEN)
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