So Small and Yet He is So Big....

So Small and Yet He is So Big!

     New Series Coming Soon! "So Small and Yet He is So Big"

  "Cause sometimes that mountain you've been climbing is just a grain of sand. What you've been up there searching for forever is in your hands. When you figure out love is all that matters after all... It sure makes everything else seem so small..."

~ "So Small" by Carrie Underwood

Ignite Winter Retreat - Tangled or Treat?

Next Wednesday I leave for a very exciting opportunity! The ICC IGNITE Winter Retreat! This is going to be such an amazing opportunity! In some ways I am the most excited that I have been in for ever, but in other ways I am about to come unglued. So many things to prepare and get ready!

To be honest I feel like Rapunzel off of Tangled when she was second guessing herself about leaving her mother. One moment she is so excited about leaving and then the next minute she was in tears about how bad she feels. I wonder if that is a coincidence? Probably not... I know that God gives us circumstances and situations in order to teach us, but sometimes it just seems like his timing is pretty lousy... "What are you trying to teach me Lord?!?" My prayer is that I and all the other students in ICC will have an amazing week! My prayer is also that we will all be calm and sweet to one another, as we all prepare and present...

 

Another exciting opportunity is for the creation of the new National Student Leadership Councel, which I have the privileged of being a member!  This group has already had the chance to work together in amazing ways! I look forward to our plans for Ignite!

Broken Hearts, Broken Lives

"My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever." Psalm 73:26

Sometimes we have hard weeks. This week was like that. My grandma was in the hospital this week and as I was walking through the hospital corridors, I saw so many broken and wounded bodies and lives.

But I wondered, how many of them also had broken hearts....


With the help of bible study, prayer, and all my people in ICC this year, I have truly begun to realize how little time we have here on earth. Yes, we do need to make the most of it and the people we are around and love, but more importantly is the matter of the heart. 

Last week my church once again had the amazing opportunity to "Love Loud" in the community. We gave millions of dollars and hours of time blessing people. We gave a free medical and dental clinic. Hundreds and hundreds of bodies were healed. 

But what about their hearts?


I pray that God blessed as many hearts as he did bodies, I'm sure that he did.
Here is a link to a video about a girl at my church who's body will never be mended but her heart certainley has been.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=189994707743433

The Three Arks

Did you know that around 20% of Americans surveyed believe that the Apollo moon landings were a hoax?  Yep, I worry about these folks, as well…and hello - don’t they ever watch Mythbusters???

Then there are those who believe that there is more to the story than just landing on the big rock in space, because maybe we weren’t the first to make contact with that dust ball!

No, not really, but it’s fun to imagine the scenario portrayed in Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon.  The idea here is that the Apollo mission was a secret investigation of something that crash landed, of course, where we can never view it from earth.

Get ready for the cinematic equivalent of a hard rock concert in 3-D.  New Transformers are introduced, Chicago is pretty much leveled, and Megan Fox is gone.  I know that you will miss her Academy Award caliber acting proficiency, but I’m sure in the midst of the “whoa!” factor in this movie from the special effects, you will survive.

And didja know that the Autobot ship that crashed into our moon is the Ark?  Apparently it was launched in an attempt to save the Autobot’s civilization. So where would one come up with the concept of building a craft that would contain the essential elements of life in case of a huge disaster?

I may be way off here, but my guess is the idea of the Ark in the movie came from…the Ark in the Bible.  You know, the one built by Noah per God’s instructions to save humanity from the worldwide flood.

Of course, there are some who believe that the record of Noah and the Great Flood are a myth like the moon landings.  But could someone explain to me why there is a crash landed vessel on top of a mountain in Turkey, and why there are over 500 separate ancient accounts of a worldwide deluge from every corner of the planet?

And beside that fact, we have this certain and concerning warning from Jesus Christ Himself:

“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.  In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes” (Matthew 24:37-39).

There’s a reason that our Savior specifically referenced Noah when painting a picture of His return for us.  Noah lived in a time when everyone turned their backs on God and decided that the summation of existence could be found in pleasure and violence.  Jesus also lived in a time like that, and *shocker* - so do we.

And as well, the people in Noah’s day went from denial to destruction in no time flat…and it will be the same when Jesus returns to claim back this planet from the ultimate Decepticons - Satan and his army of demons.

So how should we respond to Jesus’ forewarning?  He tells us in no uncertain terms:

“So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.  You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected” (Matthew 24:42; 44).

I know that the Bible clearly teaches that no one will know exactly when Jesus will return, but don’t let that fact lull you into a season of complacency when it comes to living your faith out loud!  The gospel message is the “Ark” in our day and age.  When people respond to Jesus’ offer of forgiveness and salvation, it is as though they are stepping into a place of refuge from the coming judgment and preserving God’s civilization for the new heaven and new earth.

Noah was ridiculed and laughed at for living THE Cause in his day, but I’m sure thankful that he didn’t waver one inch from his calling - aren’t you? Otherwise we definitely wouldn’t be here.

And there will be those who are grateful to you in the future because you stayed the course in a wicked and cynical generation.  Like Noah, you are God’s rescue plan in your corner of the world, but instead of constructing an Ark with hammer and nails, you are using THE Cause circle of praying, pursuing and persuading to liberate your friends.

Noah was an amazing “transformer” back in his day…what kind will you be?

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain

 Recently I have been reading a book by Oliver Sacks, on "Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain". I've been reading this book in preparation for my hope and desire to study music therapy. This book tries to explain music affects the body and the different reactions the body has to it.

    " Listening to music is not just auditory  and emotional, it is motoric as well: 'We listen to music with our muscles. We keep time to music, involuntarily, even if we are not consciously attending to it, and our faces and postures mirror the 'narrative' of the melody, and thoughts and feelings it provokes."

I have been so completely absorbed with what this book is saying! Later on, the book talks about a man who had an "out of body" experience, he was standing at a phone booth and was struck by lightning. He died essentially, but was brought back and recovered months later. But what was so fascinating about this story and incredibly amazing was that before this man's accident, he really had no love for music, but after his recovery, he felt this overwhelming need and desire to play and listen to classical piano music. He even taught himself to play. He is now an aspiring composer.

The power of music. Can it be explained by some scientific definition or phenomena? Maybe. But to me it is the power of God in us that makes us grab on to something. One thing that this book is correct on, music and the love for it is inside everyone, it just takes something to spark it. Even if it takes a near death experience.

Leadership

"God was using the loneliness to teach me complete dependence upon Him. I could no longer look to people for my confidence I had no choice but to find my courage and hope in Him. This kind of total dependence on the Lord was preparing me to become more effective for His kingdom. I was gaining the inward strength of character I would need to become a leader for Him. A true leader must have the backbone to stand alone, even when the crowd wants to take the easy road home. A true leader cannot be dependent on on companionship for his or her security, but must learn to trust in God alone." - Leslie Ludy

Reflections of a Meager Musician

The Sound of music. Recently I was practicing my viola and the absolute beauty of it just seemed to wash over me. I really feel like that I have taken the past couple of years of being a musician for granted. When God gives you a joy and desire to create music you should hold it dear to your soul. Often times life seems to rush by and you forget the simple things that used to mean so much to you. Music has the ability to love, heal, hurt and forgive. Universally it is used all around the world. I wish that people felt the same way about salvation. This morning in my reading or Know What You Believe (Little), chapter seven laid out the path of salvation so clearly that I wanted to just dash out and find someway to publish it to the whole world! But then I thought, it is published to the world, it's been that way for over 2,000 years. They have access to it, they just have rejected it. So as I go about my day I pray that God will help me to not take for granted my life, my faith or my music and cherish His unfailing provision.

"I came all this way for a reason. Today is the day of salvation. Trust Jesus to save you. Then be sincere as God knows a pretender."
Kirk Cameron