Whatever You’re Doing

Sanctus Real - Whatever You’re Doing
From the album We Need Each Other

It’s time for healing, time to move on,
it’s time to fix what’s been broken too long
Time to make right what has been wrong;
it’s time to find my way to where I belong

Chorus:
There’s a wave that’s crashing over me, and all I can do is surrender
Whatever You’re doing inside of me
It feels like chaos, but somehow there’s peace
And it’s hard to surrender to what I can’t see, but I’m giving in to something heavenly

Time for a milestone, time to begin again, re-evaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will or just climbing aimlessly over these hills?
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything – I surrender

Chorus:

Time to face up, clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out that I’ve wanted to say for so many years
Time to release all my held back tears

Whatever You’re doing inside of me
It feels like chaos, but I believe …
You’re up to something bigger than me
Larger than life, something heavenly

Whatever You’re doing inside of me
It feels like chaos, but now I can see
This is something bigger than me
Larger than life
Something heavenly, something heavenly

Time to face up, clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out

Today in worship...

I was overwhelmed today in worship. The thing that caught me off guard was the way it all hit me and what song prompted this. The hymn was written about 175 years ago by Edward Mote;

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

The message is so simple and is so where I'm at these days. I've been prompted by my daily Bible reading these past few months to re-examine the things in my life through the filter of am I trusting in Jesus or other stuff in the way I live my life. All other ground is sinking sand, save building on the hope of Christ.

Then the sermon containing Philipppians 1:6 "Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus."

Am I really confident that He'll complete it or am I still trying to force how I think things should be? Surrender, complete and unconditional surrender, that's what it takes. God is faithful. I am not. Solid ground or sinking sand? What's it going to be? I choose The Solid Rock.

Then to close with "From the Inside Out."

A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out Lord, my soul cries out

This song always gets me. But today. Boy I had a hard time containing myself. I just tried to tune out everybody else and sang this wholeheartedly like I never had before. I know I'm so flawed and have failed a thousand times a thousand. But there is no half-way with God. We either submit to Him and let Him consume us or we don't. His will above all esle, my purpose remains the art of losing myself in bringing Him praise. My purpose is not to live my life my way. But to let Him live through me in a way that brings glory and praise to Him. I just read earlier this week that it profits a man nothing to gain the whole world but lose his soul. But whoever loses his life for the sake of Christ will save it. I don't know what's next. But I guess I shouldn't be too concerned. I'm not driving anyway, And the One who is, knows where He's going.

Just words about words

When I'm working in a couple of applications at the same time or surfing on the web and I type but my cursor doesn't seem to be anywhere, where do all those letters or words go? I know I typed something. And sometimes they were log ins and passwords. Is somebody collecting all that somewhere? Does it all end up in a dead letter office somewhere?

Dead letters. Hmmm. Were they ever really alive?

I'm so glad I learned English as a child while my mind still had room to keep track of all the odd things in the language. Like the words to, too, two or do, dew, due. Or what about the word live. Casting Crowns played live in the house where I live. The word looks the same but I bet you read it two different ways in that sentence.

How did I ever learn which way to spell the "f" sound. The rough, fat philanthropist from Philadelphia had enough funds. How does somebody know when hot and cool mean the same thing or are opposites? Does every language have these kinds of issues?

Or what about when a word changes. My kid were reading an older book and it used the word "gay" as in happy, joyful. But somewhere it came to mean a person who is attracted to another person of the same sex. Oh, and what about the word marriage. It's defined as a legal union between a man and woman as husband and wife. You think I'll get stares from people if I announce that my parents have a gay marriage? Some people might think they are very progressive. That is until they find out I have a male father and a female mother and they are happy together as husband and wife. I guess I've just determined I'm all for gay marriage.

One Single Moment in Time

One event at a single moment in time can alter a life, impact the lives of countless people, change the course of the future.

My family spent this past weekend on a little get away to Oklahoma City. We just wanted to escape to someplace different. Besides shopping elbow to elbow with every Oklahoman in the state, we went to the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum. In the museum visitors walk through different "chapters" in the story ranging from the history of the site for the Alfred P. Murrah Building, the events on April 19,1995 when the bombing occurred and on through the stories of the victims, the families, the rescuers and others whose lives were impacted. It's a very moving exhibit.

Outside where the Murrah building and street used to be is a field of chairs representing those whose lives were lost in the building and a reflecting pool which is flanked on each side by two "Gates of Time." The wall-like gate to the east bears the time 9:01, the moment before the bombing. To the west the time displayed is 9:03, the moment after the bombing.

9:02 - That is the moment in time that changed everything for so many people. I can't imagine what some of those people have gone through and still go through. The final chapter in the museum is "Hope."

Tonight and tomorrow we will celebrate a moment in time when everything changed for the entire world. The Hope of Nations came to us. The angels sang in a glorious choir, the stars even declared the event. In spite of the hustle and bustle of the "holiday season" we can't escape knowing that Christmas is really about is the birth of Jesus Christ.

Though that event, the birth of Emmanuel, God with us, has impacted the history of the world, we must each choose how it will impact our lives. The moment one kneels at the manger and accepts all Jesus offers in His coming will be one of those moments that will alter their life, can impact the lives of countless others, and might very well change the very course of history.

Please, take a moment and change everything.

Random stuff 12/19

I really, REALLY need to get my hair cut. I kind of like the way I look when it's at the current length. But it's so easy when it's short. No blow drying, no comb needed, less static electricity. Hmmmm. I wonder which will win out, my vanity or my laziness. I suppose, looking around at the tops of the heads of so many other men my age I should just be glad I have hair.

My teenage daughter is always saying, "SNAP!" What's up with that? Do you think Crackle and Pop feel left out?

If when you're at The Olive Garden you are supposed to be family, why do they make you pay for the meal? I guess I'd better bring my checkbook with me to my folks' for the Christmas Eve dinner. I just hope the service is good. I'd never hear the end of it if I stiffed my mom on the tip.

I feel very disenfranchised by Nyack College. When I was there we were the Fighting Parsons and purple and white were our colors. In 1998 they changed to the Purple Pride. That only lasted until 2004 when they became the Warriors and changed the colors to crimson with navy blue and gray accents. I'll NEVER wear anything that has the Nyack Warriors on it. YUCK! I am proud of and passionate about my perfect, precious, purple, Parsons. Bring 'em back!

Driving home yesterday the person on the radio said Christmas was right around the corner. Well, then I turned right, around the corner and it wasn't there. Just goes to show you can't believe everything you hear.

Should I be concerned that my 13 year-old was reciting complete scenes of dialogue from Finding Nemo (which we haven't watched in a long time) to me in the van yesterday yet can't remember his mother telling him to bring up his dirty laundry five minutes ago?

I think I would be fat if it weren't for the Internet. I used to spend my lunch hour eating. But now I have so much fun surfing and reading stuff that I forget to eat.

Misc Christmas Pics

Is it a sign?

I've just come off a really good week. Sure I still had all the normal everyday stuff going on like stressful deadlines at work and the evening family shuttle bus routes. But on the inside it's really been great. I started blogging my daily Bible reading journal and didn't miss a day. I also listened to K-LOVE all day at work in place of the normal news/talk station.

Anyway, early last week I was really praying about(hey, now don't snicker about this) my minivan. It's about 8 years old with 112,000 miles on it and is at that age where it seems every few months something else really needs to be fixed. We've thought about buying something else. But it really isn't in the budget. And a major repair bill wouldn't be fun to deal with either.

For about a month (okay, maybe longer) it's had this irritating light come on and stay on that says "service traction system" whenever a sharp turn is made. This also prompts the "ABS" light to come on. I'm sure (well, fairly sure. I'm no mechanic and I didn't learn a thing about cars in any of my New Testament Greek or world missions classes in college.) it really doesn't affect the driving or braking ability of the vehicle. And I've been driving on ice and snow without the aid of a traction control system in other vehicles for years.

Well, the "reminder" (That sounds so much nicer than "warning.) lights haven't come on again. I know it may seem silly. And I know God does really care about everything in our lives, even the little things. But do you think maybe Jesus healed my van? Sure, I know He can and we hear stories all the time about miracles like this that God does for missionaries when something breaks and stuff. I'm very torn between feeling like I'm somehow being disrespectful of God, thinking He would bother with such a trivial thing as healing my van, and being very convicted because I lack the level of faith to believe that He would do such a thing.