After a Brief Hiatus...

Yesterday, I was able to accompany some friends to Radnor Lake, a beautiful place to enjoy God's creation here in Nashville. While we were walking, our "tour guide", John--appropriately deemed, Mr. REI--did an excellent job at pointing out wildlife, trees, and other especially beautiful parts of our Father's handiwork that we often take for granted.

We, as a group, were encouraged, on more than one occasion, to either close our eyes and/or be silent for several minutes as we either stayed still and looked around us or simply closed our eyes and listened to the noises that filled the air. During one of these times, I found myself sitting on the ground, eyes closed, listening to all the noises around me. I heard several birds chirpping, a fish jump in the water, dragonflies buzzing, and even Austin--9 mos. old and the youngest member of our group--crying for his mom. As I heard all these different sounds, I was reminded of the fact that each one was coming from one of God's many creations. Each one, in its own way, became extraordinarily beautiful. I was reminded of the lyrics to an old song:

All creatures of our God and King,
Lift up your voice, and with us sing.
Oh, praise Him! Alleluia!

How neat it was to realize that the noises I was hearing were really cries of praise to my Father! It seemed to give Lk 19:40 all the more meaning in my mind...that if we, as disciples, are silent, the very stones will cry out! What a privilege we have to worship our Creator! May we not neglect this and, in doing so, give way for another to complete such an honorable task.

As we continued walking, I was talking with Tierra, one of the teenagers with us, about the power of God that was made so evident by the flood damage that still remains in so many areas. We both seemed amazed at the number of trees--huge, massive, hundreds-of-years-old trees--that were basically uprooted and ended up laying across the road. There was damage to the pavement like I've never seen before--sinkholes that probably 4+ fully grown men could stand in. Again, I was reminded of God's power. He commanded, and the winds, rains, and trees obeyed. It was that simple. There were so many thoughts that I had trouble articulating, but as I shared what I could with Tierra, she alluded to the movie 2012. While I haven't seen it, I've gathered some of the basic storyline from things I've heard. If I'm not mistaken, it's basically a high-tech, sci-fi prediction of how the world will end. At one point Tierra said, "I think God will prove all those people wrong...and I'm gonna laugh!" I was so glad to hear her say such a thing! She's right; the world, as we know it, will end, but nobody knows the time, and I'm absolutely positive that Hollywood will be proven incorrect. I mean, really, you don't want to mess with the power of God!

after an incredibly long few days...

I'm way too tired to comment in depth, but I wanted to jot down some thoughts/quotes/paraphrases I've come across recently. I will elaborate more later....or you can give me your feedback. That'd be nice!

• There are many layers in the Christian's life. Don't get the add-ons confused with the basic core.
• "I gotta run, but I gotta keep lookin' up. That's hard."--AK
• I've been so diligent with my physical exercise. Am I as dedicated to my time in the Word? How's my stride when I run that race?
• Do I really believe that the Bible is God's spoken word?

Exhausted. Bed. Sleep.

Sister Sarah?

I recently had a really neat conversation about God's provision with a friend who made the comment, "I just don't get God's favor! I mean, I'm a punk..." To him, I replied, "You're His child." That's when my friend, shaking his head, looked up at me and said, "Not just child...co-heir with Christ....brothers!"

We continued to rejoice about the provisions God had made in my friend's life, but I left that conversation, continuing to think about the concept of not just being God's child...but Christ's sibling. About an hour later, I was doing part of a Bible study and I came across Hb 2:10-11. "...From one Father...He is not ashamed to call [us] brethren..." Again, mind blown. I looked up other verses that have this same heir in them. I found Rm 8:16,17. "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him."

Co-heir. Sibling. If you know me well at all, you know I have two brothers. I love them dearly, and I'm honored to say we have fairly decent relationships. I see them differently than I see the rest of the world. For instance, my youngest brother and I can have conversations that I can't have with the rest of the world. Around my brothers, I can totally be myself. If I'm angry, I tell them. (Although, they usually know it before I say anything.) There have been times that I've been upset and could only talk to one of my brothers. That's just how it is. To add to this, my brothers and I look a lot alike. I realize that this is not the case with all siblings, but it's working to make my point, so bear with me!

I think about the aforementioned qualities in relation to Christ. Scripture tells us that He and I are from the same Father. I'm His sister! Maybe I'm weird, but this absolutely blows my mind! It's incredible. I have a special bond with Christ that I don't have with the world. I can go to Him, in honesty and vulnerability, and spill my heart out to Him. He'll listen. He'll care. He'll protect me and love me. He's my brother! About looking like Him...oh, that I may resemble the face of Christ!

This is a high blessing, but it's also a high calling! One day, we, as believers, will be glorified with Christ. Amazing. First, however, we must follow His example of suffering.

Ancient Hymn?

I was recently reminded of a song that I heard for the first time several months ago. This time when I heard it, I pretty much fell in love with the lyrics. I've literally listened to the same track on the CD in my car about 10 times in the past 24 hours. The song is "Merciful God", a song we sometimes sing at my church. Take a look, for yourself, at these lyrics, and let me know what you think:

Merciful God, oh, abounding in love, faithful to all who draw near You;Hearing the cries of the humble in heart, showing the Cross they may cling to. Helpless I come, broken in sin, found at the feet of Your mercy.Father, forgive; May my sin be remembered no more.

Merciful God, oh, abounding in love, faithful through times we have failed You.Selfish in thought and uncaring in deed, foolish in word and ungrateful.Spirit of God, conquer our hearts, with love that flows from forgiveness.Cause us to yield and return to the mercy of God.

Merciful God, oh, abounding in love, faithful to keep us from falling.Guiding our ways with Your fatherly heart, growing our faith with each testing.God speed the day struggles will end; Faultless we’ll gaze on Your glory.Then we will stand overwhelmed by the mercy of God.

This afternoon, I decided to look up the lyrics to find out who wrote them. I didn't know what to expect. It has an old hymn feel to it (by the way, it was written in 2006!!), but it wouldn't have suprised me to find it written by someone in our congregation. What I didn't expect, though, was to find it written by Keith and Kristyn Getty. My dad introduced me to these guys, and they are brilliant. They have written some stuff that I've been familiar with. In fact, other artists have been known to record their work, but I haven't been aware of the original writers. They are described as modern hymn writers, and I would not be quick to argue that point. God is really using them to write some incredible stuff!

I couldn't find the full version of this song, but I did find this. I look forward to finding, learning, and singing more of their songs.

I have friends who are all about the instrumentation of a piece of music, but to me, there is nothing better than a song loaded with rich, deep, Gospel-centered text. That's what Mr. and Mrs. Getty are giving us, and to them, I am incredibly appreciative!

By the way, thanks, Dad. They're awesome! :)

This flower, I give to you

A friend of mine went out of town for a few days, and she asked me to get her mail while she was gone. While I was in her neighborhood today, I decided to go running around her subdivision instead of the park, for a change in scenery during exercise always makes it go faster...not to mention how seeing new places is one of my favorite things to do! I had begun trekking down a particular street that runs along one of the rivers that flooded. With nearly every home on both sides of the street being flooded, the entire street has had a distinct, dense blanket of moldy smelling air for about a month now. Although the smell has gotten less offensive, it is still noticable. I was running along, thinking about the families that own these homes, the children that grew up there, the tennis players whose courts were destroyed, the possessions lost, the lives affected, when all of a sudden, this floral scent is filling my nostrils. It only lasted a few seconds, and then it was gone--back to the damp, moldy, outdoorish smell. I looked around, realizing I had passed a magnolia tree. How awesome! Amidst a mile's worth of yucky odors, the fruit of this tree gave off such a pleasant aroma. Is that not how we should be as believers? Is that not what we are called to be as God's children? At this point, I was tired, sweaty, and feeling like I wasn't sure if I could make it the whole mile, but my thoughts changed. I no longer saw the negative things that were left from the flood. I no longer saw the destruction. I saw grace. I remembered that no one, at least on that street, had experienced death. I was counting my blessings for having not been affected to that extent. I was thankful for my friend and her son whose home is up a hill and wasn't affected at all by the flood waters. Two passages came to mind as I made my way back to my friend's house.

From Corinthians 2:14-16,

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life...

And from Ephesians 5:1,2

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

Corinthians talks about us, as believers, being that aroma to the world. This is only because of Christ living in us. Ephesians talks about Christ, Himself, being a sweet aroma. It only makes sense for Him to the true Source of any sweet fragrance we know.

Flexibility=Friendship

I had the most fun today that I've had in a long time. It wasn't planned, it wasn't expensive, nor was it expected. Today, I sat in the grass and made a new friend. We talked "business". We laughed. We joked. We talked about the day of the Lord's return. We were swarmed with flying insects and ants. Honesty was appreciated. Fears were shared. Prior appointments were missed. The conversation that was probably meant to last a few minutes turned into about an hour and a half. We were flexible.

Flexibility--it's amazing what God does when I let go, make myself flexible to His plans, if you will, and watch Him work. Yes, schedules are good, but ministry is better. Set times for group Bible study are necessary, but oh, the joy that comes from unhurried, laid back, chill time with fellow sisters in Christ! Date books are quite handy, but what a priviledge to clear a calendar and watch how God plans the day. Barlines give great structure to a piece of music, but the beauty that bursts forth when the heavenly Orchestrator conducts the piece is amazing!

I had my day planned. I had eaten lunch and exercised. I was going to finish watching a television show about the toxins in food (yes, I'm a nerd), read a little bit, take my time showering, and venture out to an fun, music-filled evening with some friends. I was checking my email and watching my food toxins program when there was a knock on my door. The above activities ensued (paragraph 1), thus changing my entire afternoon plans. I was left with 10 mintues of unwatched toxin-ology, no C.S. Lewis, and 20 minutes to shower, get dressed and head to the concert across town. Was I frustrated? No. It was pure bliss. I was flexible. I didn't let my thwarted plans ruin my day. I had so much fun. Really. God knew exactly what He was doing, and I enjoyed watching Him work.