Saturday, January 24, 2009

Voice of Truth (Casting Crowns)

I was in the other room, and my new friend Pandora was playing in the other room. A song came on called the Voice of Truth and got my attention so much that I had to drop what I was doing and come bookmark the song. Anyway, I thought since it struck me so much I might as well share! Here are the lyrics:

Oh,what I would do to have
the kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown
Where Jesus is,
And he's holding out his hand

But the waves are calling out my name
and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
time and time again
"Boy, you'll never win,
you'll never win."

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
the voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the voice of truth says "this is for my glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh, what I would do
to have the kind of strength it takes
To stand before a giant
with just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound
of a thousand warriors
shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out
my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
time and time again
"Boy you'll never win,
you'll never win."

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
the voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the voice of truth says "this is for my glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

But the stone was just the right size
to put the giant on the ground
and the waves they don't seem so high
from on top of them looking down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
when I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
singing over me

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says do not be afraid
And the voice of truth says this is for my glory
Out of all the voices calling out to me (calling out to me)
I will choose to listen and believe (I will choose to listen and believe)
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

I will listen and believe
I will listen and believe the voice of truth
I will listen and believe
'Cause Jesus you are the voice of truth
And I will listen to you.. oh you are

What amazing lyrics and so true in my life. When there are so many things pulling me in 20 different directions, Jesus tells us do NOT worry and do NOT be afraid. He is the voice of truth, and I need to pay more attention!

Hope everyone has a great weekend :)

Friday, January 9, 2009

Thoughts on The Shack

If you've read the book already, this image is already dancing in your mind, bringing back all sorts of memories! No spoilers though, so don't be afraid to read this... :)

I first heard of this book while reading someone's blog comments. Didn't think much of it, until I heard someone talking about in the context of "people are sending it back to CBD (Christian Book Distributors) saying it's heresy". Well naturally, that got me curious! As I heard from more and more people about the book (mostly loving it), I decided it was a must. On my way home from Christmas in North Carolina, I picked it up in the airport. They were offering a 50% back deal if you returned it when you got to another airport, but somehow I knew I wouldn't want to give the book up after I was done.

First I'll say, I really loved the book. It wasn't at all what I was expecting (not sure what I WAS expecting). It forces you to use your imagination and think outside the box. I really enjoyed that part about it - kind of an escape from reality of sorts. I took many things from the book but what seems to have laid itself upon my heart the deepest is regarding the nature of God.

I promised I wouldn't spoil the book so I can't really go farther on that thought except to say this: my prayer style has changed. TANGENT WARNING. Suddenly it doesn't feel "right" to ask God for anything. Including everything from the mundane all the way to biggest things we cry out to God for. I feel I need to be more responsible for my own actions and personality. One of my biggest pet peeves (warranted or not) is when people say things like "well how could it be wrong, that's the way God made me". ACK! I truly believe God made us in His perfect image, and then gave us freedom to make our choices, which is where we royally screwed up. The way we ARE is a direct result of not only our choices and actions but fortunatly or unfortunatly the result of our nurturing and generations before us. How does this relate to the book, well, instead of just asking God to change me, I feel I need to ask God to help me be 100% more aware of the Holy Spirit He gave me. He has already given me my answer, the opportunity to change, and it's up to me to use it and make the effort to do so.

Read it!! :) Regardless of it's controversial nature (for the record, I did not find it very controversial. Different yes, controversial? Nah) I think each person will take something entirely different from the book. I think it will indeed be very helpful to anyone who feels the need to get a clearer picture of God. I will probably read it again at some point and definitely recommend it. Maybe later (after the novelty of it has worn a bit) I will write a post with greater detail!

What did others take from the book that have read it?


Thursday, January 1, 2009

Another New Year...

The New Year comes with mixed emotions for me. So here is my little attempt at a year-end-review so I can remind myself of everything that happened! 2008 held many events that brought joy to my life...

1) Kelly being "done" with cancer (at least the chemo/radiation/surgery pa
rts).

2) My dad getting super healthy and running the Boston marathon.

3) My sis-in-law Jen Shomo (now Rothacker!) getting married, and being able to photograph her wedding.

4) My best friend Kerrie getting married and being privileged as her matron-of-honor.

5) My kittie!
6) Visiting my mom-mom and finding old pictures of my pappy during WWII. Also seeing some of my cousins for the first time in a very long time..


Other mention worthy moments are Jen & Beth coming to visit in February, and the whole Chewning fam coming up in August. Amy and Drew moving here in Feb (or March?). Re-siding our house (another blog, another time). 5 year college reunion. All my photography endeavors. 4th of July at the Richardson camp & Casey's wedding (seeing the whole fam together). North Conway with Paul for our 3 yr anniversary. Hanging out with Heather and PJ twice when they visited from TN.

And somehow, after all of this.. I still feel like 2008 was lacking on some level! You can see from above that I have many reasons to be joyful, and I certainly am. However "happy" isn't a word that I have found myself using on a regular basis. For the sake of my readers it's certainly best that I don't go into detail here but I will say this: I've found myself less understood than I want to be, less involved than I want to be, and less respected than I want to be. In a lifetime where I am using to being a person who is trusted, loved, and accepted for who I am, I feel like the winds have shifted. Then again, it's only at certain times and in certain places I feel that way, and the majority of people in my life have nothing to do with this!! So sorry for the downer moment - but It's on my mind as I look into a new year. This year holds many possibilities - many of which I am greatly anticipating. My personal resolution is to be less complacent, to take action, to not fear wearing my heart on my sleeve, and to trust God more and more to be the person He has created and called me to be. It is my duty to love and be loved, and in 2009 instead of surviving, I'm going to try thriving.