A Greater Story

Led down a road you shouldn’t have been taken
I wonder, what it would even be like, to be you
To walk a day in your shoes, feel what you feel
Thrown down, rejected, abandoned without a care

Maybe you’ve dug yourself deep, deep in hole
Maybe you haven’t seen the sun in years, and
Maybe you can’t remember what it might feel like
To have a shred of hope you could hold in your hand

Your eyes, tell a story far too deep and far too painful
Your mind, maybe it tortures you in the dark night
And maybe, even in the day, all seems pitch black
And all around you seems like a dungeon of dispair

Called worthless, shoved around and shoved down
Thrown out to rot, slowly fading from dirt to dust
No one knows your name or even cares about
Who you could have been or might have been

But there is a greater story, and there is truth

That you may have never heard in your time

There is a story of hope, healing, and freedom

There is a story of redemption and acceptance

And I could tell you till the words fall silent

But instead, I pray you experience it

It’s a love overwhelming, so consuming

A love that changes absolutely everything

A love from heaven above, from God, who loves you

A love that can’t be described with eloquent words

And i just have to tell you, that there is more for you

Because God created you with a plan for your life

And He is more than capable to change it all

He can pull you from the pit of despair

He can lift your head up, and give you hope

He can rescue you from the only life you’ve ever known

Joy and peace can surround your heart and life

So here is my prayer for you, my heart cries

Please, hand over your heart to the God who loves you

Because there is so much more to life that you can know

Be the Body

I've been wanting to write a blog on the body of Christ for a while. I probably could've wrote it a while ago, but I tend to procrastinate. Odd, because there probably would've been more passion behind this blog a few weeks ago, but as I sit here listening to the rain and thunder and watching the rain pour off the roof of the house next door, I can take a slightly different approach to this. 

The whole idea that I had before was to talk about how I was seeing the body operating within the church. When I first got the concept for a blog on the body, I was seeing a woman who had just lost her son (who was only in his late twenties), be loved on by many people, prayed for, and just held as she cried. At the same time, a friend of mine was diagnosed with RA and I was (and still am) wanting to be there in any way I can....from a really long hug, to a box of tissues, to helping with any simple task I can, to praying for healing. And all this got me thinking about what it really means to be the body of Christ. 

In the church I go to, I find it a little more difficult, since we are from so many different areas. To help my friend (mentioned above) with something as simple as doing a load of laundry, it would be a $15 and 4 hour task. It's not as simple as me driving across town. It's an hour drive. YET, a drive I'd be willing to make because THAT IS what I believe the body is all about-supporting each other when we've lost our strength, encouraging each other when we've lost our hope, standing with each other when life is difficult and we don't have answers, helping each other with daily tasks, and praying with each other AT ALL TIMES.

I titled this "Be the Body" because being the body isn't a selfish thing. Being the body" is NOT a "why aren't people doing these things for me?" question. Instead, it's a question that says, "Am I doing this for other people?" BEING the body involves actively DOING something. Kind of an oxymoron when you think about it, since "to be" is just to remain constant. But to BE the body, I totally believe it is constantly acting as Christ would toward one another. "

Today, and tomorrow, and throughout your life, I ask you to evaluate your life to see if you are being the body of Christ to the people you encounter. 

"You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply WITH ALL YOUR HEART." ~1 Peter 1:22 (NLT)

Prayer Makes ALL the Difference

So...this is more of a rambling on prayer. Not anything specific, but I've been in awe of how God works. And I've been in awe of how He chooses to bless far more than we can imagine. About a week ago, I was looking for cars online for a friend of mine. It was a random thing I just started doing as I was bored. I randomly started sending her links. Well, it just so happens that she contacted people about the links and the person who owned the first car (I had sent a link to) and her met up. So, I prayed for favor for my friend that morning. I thought it would be good to have favor in considering purchasing a car, but it was a quick prayer that I didn't think much of. Later, I found out that they'd talked the owner down and my friend ended up with money to spare when all was said and done. I prayed for favor, but I was thinking of just a good transaction\wisdom. I thought nothing of getting a better deal money wise. Cool. So much a God-thing...how it all worked out.

Tonight, I was driving home when I felt impressed to pray for protection. I try to remember to do so, but many times I don't even think about it. So, I prayed that God would protect me (as I was driving) and not even 5 minutes later, I looked to my right and saw a deer standing on the hill, just off the road. He turned his head and looked at me and that was that. I've had more incidents with deer being just on the side of the road (and not on the road) than I can count. Just a few seconds makes the difference on whether I hit them or not. And yet, one more time, I prayed for protection, and didn't come into contact with that deer.

GOD IS GOOD.

I don't know what all to say about prayer, but that it's so IMPORTANT. And I, personally, can be so quick to forget to pray over situations and people and even for safety. But I feel like the Lord's been reminding me and those around me to PRAY. When people frustrate us, when people hurt us, when people put us down or abuse us.....pray for them. When situations are difficult, pray that God would intervene instead of living our lives in frustration.

Anyway, I'm headed to bed. Comments welcome. :-)