When I Get Distracted.

Life is messy. Life is hard. Life is distracting.

I get distracted so often, and this song always pulls me back into focus. Our pastor had a great message today on Romans 8, and that no matter what... no matter the hardships or the suffering, God is there. He wants to comfort us and bring us into His arms, and He wants to make us His own.

All my delight is in You, Lord.



I will live to bring Him praise.

Everything I Need.

This song is absolutely amazing, and I love it so much...

How He Loves Us.

By far one of my favorite songs right now... It's so powerful, and so wonderful. I love my Jesus more and more every day. He is infinitely good to me, and I don't deserve it at all.

He is jealous for me
Love's like a hurricane,
I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of
His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
and I realize just how beautiful You are and how great your affections are for me.

Oh, how He loves us so
Oh, how He loves us
How He loves us so.
(x2)

Yeah, He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves.
(x2)

We are His portion and
He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption
by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking
So heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss and my heart turns
violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way


He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us
Oh, how He loves us
OH, how He loves

There Will Be a Day.

I know this is my second post of the day and my like, millionth in the past few days, but this song is absolutely amazing. God is so, so good.

There Will Be a Day: Jeremy Camp

I try to hold on to this life with everything I have

But I feel the weight of what it brings, and the hurt that tries to grab

That many trials that seem to never end, His word declares this truth:

That we will enter in this rest with wonders anew

But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings

That there will be a place with no more suffering

There will be a day with no more tears

No more pain, and no more fears

There will be a day when the burdens of this place

Will be no more, we'll see Jesus face to face

But until that day, we'll hold on to You always

I know the journey seems so long

You feel like you're walking on your own

But there has never been a step

Where you've walked out all alone

Troubled soul don't lose your heart

Cause joy and peace He brings

And the beauty that's in store

Outweighs the hurt of life's sting

There will be a day with no more tears

No more pain, and no more fears

There will be a day when the burdens of this place

Will be no more, we'll see Jesus face to face

But until that day, we'll hold on to You always

I can't wait until that day where the very One

I've lived for always will wipe away the sorrow that I've faced

To touch the scars that rescued me from a life of shame and misery

Oh this is why, this is why I sing

There will be a day with no more tears

No more pain, and no more fears

There will be a day when the burdens of this place

Will be no more, we'll see Jesus face to face

But until that day, we'll hold on to You always

There will be a day with no more tears

No more pain, and no more fears

There will be a day when the burdens of this place

Will be no more, we'll see Jesus face to face

But until that day, we'll hold on to You always

There will be a day He will wipe away the tears

He will wipe away the tears

He will wipe away the tears

There will be a day

Beautiful the Blood.

Thank you Jesus, for Your Sacrifice.

I never knew
Death could be so sweet
I never knew
Surrender could feel so free
I never seen
Such meekness in majesty
That the blood of Jesus
Was bled for me

And now I sing
Freedom for all my days
It's only by
The power of the cross
I'm raised
The King of Glory
Rescued me

How beautiful the blood flow
How merciful the love show
The King glory poured out
Victorious, I'm weeping

Never knew through these nails
Would love unfold
And never knew these wounds
Would heal my soul
I've never seen
Such beauty and sorrow meet
The blood of Jesus
Was bled for me

And now I sing
Freedom for all my days
It's only by
The power of the cross
I'm raised
The King of Glory
Rescued me

[Repeat Chorus]

Now I'll sing
Freedom for all my days
It's only by
The power of the cross
I'm raised
The King of Glory
Rescued me

[Repeat Chorus]

How beautiful you are
How merciful you are
How glorious you are
Christ the Savior
How beautiful you are
How merciful you are
How glorious you are
Christ the Savior

Going Through the Motions.

Amazing song by Matthew West. Very moving.

This might hurt, it's not safe
But I know that I've gotta make a change
I don't care if I break,
At least I'll be feeling something
'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

No regrets, not this time
I'm gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love make me whole
I think I'm finally feeling something
'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of this life

'Cause I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

take me all the way (take me all the way)
take me all the way ('cause I don't wanna go through the motions)
take me all the way (I know I'm finally feeling something real)
take me all the way

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

take me all the way (take me all the way)
take me all the way (I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go)
take me all the way (through the motions)
take me all the way

I don't wanna go through the motions

Shout of the King.

Well if this song isn't convicting... I don't know what is. God deserves my praise, even when I am going through the darkest of moments.

----------------------------



I give You praise for You deserve it
I give You praise for what You've done
I give You praise for You are able
I give You praise 'til I overcome

I give You praise when the sun is shining
I give You praise in the dark of night
I give You praise when the battle rages
I give You praise 'til it works out right

The shout of the King is among us
God lives here in our praises
The shout of the King is among us
Praise Him praise Him
Praise Him in everything

Heaven opens as we sing Your praise
Angels join us as we praise Your name

Speak Through Me.

Tonight while writing a paper, I started listening to a new album by one of my favorite bands, Green River Ordinance. I knew that they were Christians, but had never heard an actual Christian song by them until I came across the song "Speak Through Me." GRO isn't a well-known band at all, but this song is absolutely incredible and SO powerful. Here are the lyrics:

Holding on to all you gave to me
Times I feel the furthest from complete
In the echoes of your confidence
Remind me of the consequences you undo

So here I stand today
Open eyes and open praise for you
You were there when everything came down
I owe you all my heart
My God

So I hear the people talk
Their voices so unclear
But I keep you in my head, keep you in my eyes
Where there's nothing left to fear

In the echoes of your confidence
Remind me of the consequences you undo
So here I stand today
Open eyes and open praise for you
You were there when everything came down
I owe you all my heart
My God

So speak through me
So loud and so clear
I want to feel you here


---------------------

Um, wow. That's all I have to say. This song feels as though it was written specifically for my prayer and praise to God. This is so much of how I have been feeling about everything lately. I have screwed up so many times, been so broken beyond what I thought could be repaired, and God lifted me up from the mire. He is still in the process of lifting me and rescuing me, but I know that He's doing it. I am moved to tears because of this realization and reality. I really do owe Him everything, and I want Him to be near me always and I want to feel Him here.

I get so discouraged and downtrodden so many times because often it feels as though God is silent and so distant. Right now is completely different, though. I should be writing my paper, but I can sense God's presence SO strongly. I know that He is speaking to me through this song, and I cannot keep quiet about what He is saying to me. He wants me to know that it's okay, that everything is going to be alright, and that He's right here with me to bring me through.

I am constantly amazed and astounded at the God that I serve. I can never thank Him enough for what He has done for me. I love Him with every breath of my being, and I long to serve Him with everything that I have. I owe Him that.

Oh God, you are more wonderful than I could ever imagine.

You Are Everything

This song is amazing.... So needed. Mm.. God needs to not only be something in my life, but He needs to be EVERYTHING.




You Are Everything
By: Phil Wickham


Jesus, You're my everything
And my heart beats for you
Filled with power and mystery
Lord, I thirst for you
You are everything
You are everything

Lord, You are beautiful
Awesome and wonderful
I give You all of my life
Lord, You're the song I sing
Perfect in everything
I give You all of my life
For You are everything

You're the stone I rest upon
I find peace in You
I love You, Lord with all my heart
I place my hope in You
For You are everything
You are everything

Lord, You are beautiful
Awesome and wonderful
I give You all of my life
Lord, You're the song I sing
Perfect in everything
I give You all of my life
For You are everything

Here Master, in this Quiet Place

This is an awesome song that I really need to memorize so I can sing it to myself during the times that I doubt God and what He can do.

------

Here Master, in this quiet place, where anyone may kneel.
I also come to ask for grace, believing You can heal.

If pain of body, stress of mind destoys my inward peace,
in prayer for others may I find the secret of release.

If self upon the sickness feeds and turns my life to gall,
let me not brood upon my needs, but simply tell You all.

You never said, "you ask to much" to any troubled soul.
I long to feel Your healing touch, will You not make me whole?

But if the thing I most desire is not Your way for me,
may faith, when tested in the fire, prove its integrity.

Of all my prayers, may this be chief till faith is fully grown.
Lord disbelieve my unbelief and claim me as Your own.

Falling in Love

This is a song by the band Falling Up (Thanks for introducing me to them, Roger) and it's AMAZING. It can be taken from the earthly perspective, but it's supposed to be about our relationship with Christ. It's convicting because I wonder how many times I actually think of God this way.....

Falling in Love
By: Falling Up



You are my one true love
You are the voice that is so sweet
In everything I do, you bring the best out of me
You are my wings to fly
You are the wind beneath them
I miss you every night, when I close my eyes
You put your feelings down
You stopped your tears you brought me love
You held to my heart
You held with hope to have me near
Sometimes I close my eyes
Sometimes I let my hunger rise
I think of all You are, You are the love of my life

(chorus)
All of my dreams and my passions
Are in Your hands

You reached me in my need
Your rhythm flows under my skin
I need you desperately,
A sweet healing that will begin
You are my one true love
You are the voice that is so sweet
In everything I do, you bring the best out of me
My everything is you
The very motions that I move
And everything with richness
The richness of the peace you bring

Always, always you are with me
You are the love of my life
He comes to find you on your knees

Empty Me

Last night I put the song "Empty Me" by Jeremy Camp into my blog. But I didn't really think about the words too much. I didn't let them sink in, so I want to do that now.

Empty Me
By: Jeremy Camp

Holy Fire burn away,
my desire for anything
that is not of you and is of me.
I want more of you and less of me.

Holy Fire burn away,
my desire for anything
that is not of you and is of me,
I want more of you and less of me, yeah.
Empty me,
Empty me, yeah,
Fill, won't you fill me,
with you, with you, yeah.

Holy Fire, burn away,
my desire for anything
that is not of you and is of me.
I want more of you and less of me, yeah.
Empty me,
Empty me, yeah.
Fill, won't you fill me, with you, with you, empty me now.

Well won't you empty me, well won't you empty me now. repeat x2
I want more, I want more, I want more of you, Jesus.
I want more, I want more, oh.
Thank you, Jesus.
Thank you, Jesus, oh yeah,
Thank you, Jesus, yeah.
Holy Fire, Holy Fire, Holy Fire, Holy Fire.

------

Let me start with the first line: "Holy Fire, burn away my desire for anything that is not of you and is of me, I want more of you and less of me." Is that really my prayer and my cry? Do I really have a desire for God to take away anything that's not of Him? Or do I enjoy my sin and my selfishness too much? I think many times we like to sing the 'pretty' words of a praise song, but we don't actually mean what we're saying. Because it would be pretty big and pretty deep if we did mean them. This request of God should not be taken lightly. This is because in order to be filled with Himself, He has to 'burn away' those things that are not of Him. And I don't know about anyone else, but getting burned HURTS. It's not a pleasant experience.

However, this reminds me of the verse that talks about us being like gold refined in the fire. Yes, it's going to hurt to be molded and shaped by God. But it is absolutely essential in order to become more like Him and His Son. No, it's not fun. Yes it will hurt. But it is worth it in order to become less like ourselves and more like our Savior, who gave Himself up for us when we were still His enemies.

The other part of the song goes, "Empty me, Empty me... Fill, won't you fill me with You, with You..." Our prayer needs to be that we are emptied. Completely emptied of ourselves. Our sin, our selfishness, our ungodly desires. God wants to fill us with His love, compassion, righteousness, and many more things in order to make us more like Him. But here's the thing: we have to be willing to allow this to happen. Oh, we may sing the words all the time, but I don't think that we mean it nearly as much as we sing it.

I was encouraged by my friend Danielle yesterday while we were in a meeting for the women's ministry exec team on campus. We were sharing prayer requests, and she talked about how her desire was for God not only to mold her and shape her, but to absolutely BREAK her. Now that's a really bold prayer. Not many people are willing to be broken by God, because this would mean extreme heartache and pain. But Danielle's willingness is such a challenge to me to look within myself and see if I have the same willingness to pray that prayer.

And my question to everyone who may read this is that very thing. Are you willing? Are you willing to take that step of faith to be broken by God and be completely emptied of yourself? It may be one of the hardest things in the world to do, but we must be broken at some point in order to become more like God and His Son, and to grow in our faith. So what is it going to be? Are we going to remain stagnant and 'comfortable' in our faith? Or are we willing to become uncomfortable as God shows us the things He wants to change in us, and even go through some pain as we go through the process of transformation?

Hm... That's just some food for thought. It's definitely a question that I have to constantly ask myself as well. And at this point, as much as I'd like to say that I'm willing to be broken by God, I'm really not 100% sure if that's true.