You Are More by Tenth Avenue North with Lyrics in HD
You Are More sung by Tenth Avenue North with Lyrics in HD. A really great song with some phenomenal lyrics, well worth a listen, as usual I own no rights to …
You Are More sung by Tenth Avenue North with Lyrics in HD. A really great song with some phenomenal lyrics, well worth a listen, as usual I own no rights to …
Stained Glass Masquerade- Casting Crowns
Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn.
There is a person
wanting for love.
there is a brokenness
From wrongful love.
There is a depth
of longing
of searching
of fear
There is confusion, hurt and tears
There are scars,
Seen or not,
There are nets in which lies are taught
There are many, many ways
That people refuse to listen or stay
When you change location a lot,
You have opportunities everywhere,
Whether you see it or not.
There is an importance to life
There are people hurting all around
Circumstances in life
Define
Refine
Inspect
Tear away.
Human reactions
Form habits
Develop thick skin
dull the pain
Hide away
Run away
Go far away
Don’t learn at all
What it means to stay.
It is a human tendency
To not want change
But also to get bored
One does not want
Their contained ideals
To end up a futile goal,
A fruitless task.
one wants the box of ideals
To be
something attainable,
something real.
One tires of being told they are wrong.
They grasp tightly onto that box.
The edges are sharp,
It cuts their hands, their arms
They shift it to the side,
On their hip,
It cuts there too
They cry at night,
Not knowing what to do.
They hold the box
Even more tightly
all while unaware
That Pandora’s box
is where they decided
to place their care.
be at peace, rest in the love and assurance of Christ
Hey!
I am so excited about an upcoming change in my college studies!!
I want to tell people about it!!
I’m not sure who follows me, but here it is.
I am done wrestling with myself over whether or not to be a teacher.
I love to teach people. Sometimes it sounds like preaching, but I promise it is just meant to help someone along the way. I am so grateful to have loving support all around me! Last semester, I did not have the due diligence to get my work done for Graphic Design. I loved learning about it, I just noticed it wasn’t what I was shaped to do. I will always appreciate the aesthetics of design, but I recognize that I am not cut out for the job of design. It will remain a healthy hobby for me, but I cannot see myself forming it as a career. It was just too much effort to put myself out there, only to be taken aback because I truly wasn’t listening. I am stubborn, I know it. I thought since eighth grade that that was what I wanted to be. I came to the realization that art was my release, not my passion. Does that make sense? I need art to let go of stressors, and I am not willing to give that up. If I am given too strict of guidelines about my art, it is no longer healthy for me. My perfectionism kicks in. I get so obsessed with the criteria and criticism that I can no longer perform well. I realized I wasn’t meant to be a performer. I do not like the spotlight for long, it makes me insecure. I wrestled a whole lot with giving up that eighth grade dream, and at the end of Christmas break, I thought I had found what I wanted to do. I changed my major to Communications: Public Relations, but even that didn’t sit right with me. I again, did not want to be that consumed by my work. With that major, I could pour my heart into a story, and still not receive what I would think I deserved. It would hurt me, of course, unintentionally.
It all boiled down to this: I wanted to reach people, but not through the news. I want to talk to people, I want to be able to serve. In the public arena, it is a bit too much pressure on me to have a spotless reputation. Propriety takes the place of self confidence and identity. I started to observe myself. weird concept right?
I looked at my past relationships [disclaimer: not just romantic ones] and reflected on where I was most at peace. I discovered that I was most at peace when the spotlight was on the sustainer of my life: Christ. I saw that the best times for me in my relationship with God was when I was serving, especially with children around age 5. I adore how beautiful they are, and enjoy sitting quietly with them. The more I looked into the words I wrote, the more I saw what I was meant to do. I was molded to teach. God called me to reach out to all of His wonderful creation, and in particular to serve the parents of these children by giving of my time and energy to show them Christ’s love.
I called upon the people who knew me well, because I let them get to know me; asking their opinion. It is a huge responsibility to put yourself in that position, and I wanted to know if they agreed with my self observation. I wanted to know what they thought about the change, so I could keep myself accountable to outside perspectives. I can have an inner dialogue; but if I don’t check myself with others who truly knew me in good and bad times, then I am liable to deception. I am very skilled at lying to myself, and in that light, I wanted as much informed input from others about it.
After two weeks of reaching out about this, I settled my mind about it. I arranged meetings with people on my campus who were involved in that department. After all of this, I decided to accept my calling as a teacher, and in particular an Early Childhood Education major. In order to keep the balance that I desire, I decided to add on a Christian Studies minor, so that self-reflection was about the Holy Spirit dwelling in me, not the lies that are spread by the deceiver.
I am now in the town in which I spent my last years in high school, to visit with those who mean so much to me. I do not take this decision lightly, and am aware of the struggles I will face.
However, I want to share with you the awesome timing of God. My university, just this past year, expanded the education department by separating Elementary Education from Early Childhood! I know myself enough to understand I would not enjoy Elementary Education as much as Early Childhood. If I am not peaceful in what my occupation is, then I am hindering God’s plan. I want to get out of His way, because His way is just and right. His agenda is so much more important than my whims. I love to share what it is He has done for me, it is so amazing to just sit at the Savior’s feet!
I hope and pray that this finds you well,
Peace be with you,
Alyssa May
2 Corinthians 5:11-20
Blaise Pascal
“There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus”
Are we putting ourselves in the place of God?
Do we know what it means to have a relationship with Christ?
Do we struggle with God for control of our life?
Bad decisions reflect our internal wellbeing.
Dr. McKnight told about when he was very physically ill and mad at God: “I know You are doing this to me, but I am not giving You control”
his youth pastor came into the room right as he was telling God this, and was used by God to reach out to Dr. McKnight, to get him to start thinking: “maybe there is hope for my life”
“If you come to Christ, please don’t alienate your unchurched friends.”
maintain those relationships, they will challenge you and help you have an important testimony in them.
II Corinthians 5:11-20
examine these questions:
1. What does our life look like before Christ?
“I still haven’t found what I’m looking for!” -U2
the Bible calls us walking dead people who consume others so they can continue walking” no wonder zombie shows resonate so well with us!
Ephesians 2: 1-3
before we are reconciled with God, we are leaving a “trail of destruction behind us everywhere”
We tell God that He is insufficient, that His sacrifice is not enough to save us from our self-destruction.
Relient K’s album “The Anatomy of the Tongue” illustrates this concept within the chorus:
“Renew the pride, extract the hate
Bring the color back into my cheeks
‘Cuz my flesh is wrong
And my spirit’s weak”
These statements are fundamentally sound and pivotal to the reconciliation attitude that is required to start understanding our relationship with God.
2. What did God do to reconcile with us?
II Corinthians 5:17:
“…One has died for all…”
II Corinthians 5:21
“for our sake, He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Romans 5:6-11
He paid the debt we endlessly build up throughout our lives.
3. How can we be in Christ?
Repent: to repent does not just mean you are sorry for what you did. It is more about agreeing that you are in conflict with God. In order for there to be reconciliation, there had to be a conflict. The only thing to bring to God is sin. you need to let self-righteousness go, and humble yourself at the feet of the cross.
“This is all my righteousness, nothing but the blood of Jesus” Hymn by Robert Lowry
“I believe the seat is sturdy, and I show my faith in that by sitting down.”
Do you believe in Christ?
“This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.”
Our sin exchanged for Christ’s righteousness.
God has already done it all for you!
4. How does this change us?
Pour out our lives for Christ
be that ambassador for Christ, tap into the Holy Spirit to strengthen you and keep you in the right mind.
Have you been changed?
Are you worshipping self?
Are you seeking forgiveness without giving up control of your life to God?
Learn to abide in Christ, [see John 15: 4]
Be filled with His peace and love through the Holy Spirit.
[1 Corinthians 7:17] about resting in your place where God calls you. :)
The nations groaned
the people of Israel wept,
Crying out for the long-promised Messiah
Mary groaned, on the back of a donkey
As Joseph wept, for having to travel so far
The babe was born, crying out to God.
And so He grew,
The King of Kings,
born in a manger,
raised in a shanty
And He left His parents’ home
When God said “it’s time to roam”
Christ found 12 men
Fishermen, tax collectors, a Jew,
many different walks of life
He told them “follow me”
They left their nets, their families,
yes, even their financial security.
Christ came to remind everyone,
To demonstrate what love truly is.
He reached out to the children of this world
The untouchables, the forgotten and the least.
In the best display of love,
He cried out to God
As He was being crucified, tortured to death
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Three days later, to prove to the world He was and is God.
He rose from the grave
He is no longer dead
He is perfect, and perfection never dies.
But no human can ever be perfect,
“All have sinned” (Romans 3:23)
All are broken and fall into satan’s clutches
We need healing!
We cannot reach out to others
when we are bound by our sin,
when we are separated from the loving Creator!
If Christianity is a crutch,
then we all need crutches
so we can stand through
the storms of this broken world.
He looks to you now.
Christ, your Savior, Redeemer and Friend.
“No greater love than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
His eyes are filled with compassionate tears.
While you surround yourself by chains, fire and fears.
He wants to wrap His arms around you;
but He is perfect,
and when the imperfect and perfect collide,
Something beautiful happens.
True love, undying love, powerful love
Envelops all your scars,
Seeps into every crack of your brokenness.
The tears and the healing will hurt,
But ultimately, it is necessary.
Once you see the healed portions,
you can more deeply understand
your inherent need
for a healer, a savior, a redeemer and friend.
Your pain is not the end.
Infuse.
Interlock.
Let God into every area so that no matter where you turn, it will be His light that can always burn.
Why do we live in a world so consumed by titles?
Everyone is reaching for some label to paste on their bodies;
Some paint their skin
Some scrape their arms
Just to see the blood flowing
To try to understand
Why they feel so empty.
Others feel the need to instruct
everyone in the way they think is right.
Still others say
“abandon all new things
go to this place
don’t forget from where you have come
This land is your home
This family is your identity
What you do defines you
What you say defines you”
There are so many different strings
wrapped around the separate hearts
of the world, pulling all in every different direction.
And the devil sits back on his haunches,
And laughs in malice, hatred and scorn
Because he is the one pulling all of the heart strings
he wraps them into webs of deceit, trickery and lies
Until man believes there is nothing he can do
But lie on the ground and be picked apart by
the ravenous, vulturous demons.
But this suffering is not and was not
what is or was intended for you, for us, for the world.
The Son of the Creator left His heavenly realm
So that the world would no longer
be blinded by these whims.
He came and lived a perfect life
as a humble, obedient servant
The Lord of the Universe did this!
He walked with the broken,
He ate with sinners,
Preached to the lost,
And reached out to the broken,
To the lost sheep
To the ones who couldn’t
See, walk, hear, or respond.
He cuts the bindings
And wants us to be willingly, wholly devoted to Him.
Let go, He says,
My grace, mercy and love is enough for you.
Amen.
