Okay, so I don't really like putting lyrics into blog posts, because without music, the lyrics are kind of boring. But I'm going to be boring. Just read through the lyrics and maybe look up the song on YouTube.
Pay special attention to the chorus.
Overwhelm ~ Starfield
This is an invitation to overwhelm my heart
I'm asking you to meet me
I'm waiting here to start
My soul is like a desert
Thirsty for your rain
So open up the heavens
And fill me up again
I'm ready for my life to be consumed
Father here I am
Overwhelmed, Overwhelmed
Only your love can
Overwhelm, Overwhelm
Let your spirit fall
Overtaking all
Overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm me
Desperate for your presence
I long for you alone
So Dwell within me Jesus
This temple is your home
I'm ready for this life to be consumed
Father here I am
Overwhelmed, Overwhelmed
Only your love can
Overwhelm, Overwhelm
Let your spirit fall
Overtaking all
Overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm,
Overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm me
Father here I am
Overwhelm, Overwhelm
Only your love can
Overwhelm
Father here I am
Overwhelmed, Overwhelmed
Only your love can
Overwhelm, Overwhelm
Let your spirit fall
Overtake it all
Let your spirit fall
Overtake it all
Overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm,
Overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm, overwhelm me
~~~
Did you notice the line in the chorus that says "Only Your love can overwhelm me"? Well I was thinking about that while listening to this song the other day while simultaneously working on my 3-foot pile of homework. I thought, "Good golly goldfish, I'm overwhelmed!" when I saw my homework. Then I listened to this song and it dawned on me that if I focus solely on glorifying God with my best and give my troubles to Him, He will provide for me. Then the only thing I need to fear is His power and the only thing that will overwhelm me is His awesome and unfailing love.
When I feel over whelmed, I usually go to Proverbs, which is my go-to guide in the Bible when I'm having problems. Last year, during a very stressful group project, I found a couple verses that told me to rely on God to provide and everything will turn out all right. (My group ended up being one of two groups out of 10 to get a B. All else recieved much lower.)
Proverbs 16:3 ~ Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.
Proverbs 16:9 ~ In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.
Proverbs is SOOO full of wisdom for everyday life. If you look through my personal Bible, Proverbs is a mass of green and yellow highlighter mixed with splotches of pen and pencil notes (:
It's a great place to go when you're lost or need help.
If you ever feel overwhelmed,
1. Talk to God about it and let Him take away your stress & pain.
2. Walk away from whatever's stressing you out for a a while. Take a walk. Dance. Take a nap. Read. It helps.
3. Talk to someone who has gone through your situation before for advice. If you don't have someone, talk to me. (:
<3 Warrior
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Loving Your Enemies
This is a BIG one. Everyone knows to love their family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc. That's a given. The big problem is when it comes to loving your enemy. Loving the ones who hate you, wish you ill tidings, start rumors about you, make fun of you behind your back and in front of your face, insult your clothes, etc. It makes no sense in this modern world to love someone who treats you so badly. We've been told to hate them back and retaliate by the world. Jesus tells us otherwise.
Jesus tells us in Matthew (5:43-48) that we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Whew. What a task. But guess what? Jesus is no hypocrite. The Bible says that while we were sinners, we were God's enemies. He loved His enemies. He loved them SO MUCH that He sent His son to die for them. And Jesus did it without hesitation. He prayed for His enemies' souls while hanging on the very cross they had nailed Him to. Could you die for the ones who hate you and persecute you? and pray for them while they do so?
School's about to start and I just learned that one of my old best friends is going to be in the same program as me this year. I'm dreading every second of it. While we were friends, she abused our friendship, used me, and did all sorts of awful stuff. That was 5 years ago and from what I've heard from another friend of mine who went to school with her last year, she hasn't changed much.
Also in my program is a girl who used to be my worst enemy. 5 years ago to be exact. We hated each other. We both had the eye-for-an-eye philosophy when it came to each other. We both got hurt. Badly. Now, it's like it never happened. We never talk about the past. We aren't best best friends but we talk every now and then. I'm loving my used-to-be enemy (then again, now she's not a threat to me).
This kind of goes along with my whole "I only care what someone thinks about me if it's one of my friends" lifestyle. I'm going to need a lot of help from God and my friends to learn to love my ex-friend. It's going to take a lot of patience and love. I've never been quite good at forgiving and forgetting. I'm about to get a crash course in it. Keep me in your prayers.
So yeah, you're going to have lots of chances in your life to love an enemy. There are going to be times when you need to. Prepare yourself for when that time comes and know ahead of time that it's not going to be easy. I don't think it ever will be.
I love you guys :D
<3 Warrior
Jesus tells us in Matthew (5:43-48) that we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Whew. What a task. But guess what? Jesus is no hypocrite. The Bible says that while we were sinners, we were God's enemies. He loved His enemies. He loved them SO MUCH that He sent His son to die for them. And Jesus did it without hesitation. He prayed for His enemies' souls while hanging on the very cross they had nailed Him to. Could you die for the ones who hate you and persecute you? and pray for them while they do so?
School's about to start and I just learned that one of my old best friends is going to be in the same program as me this year. I'm dreading every second of it. While we were friends, she abused our friendship, used me, and did all sorts of awful stuff. That was 5 years ago and from what I've heard from another friend of mine who went to school with her last year, she hasn't changed much.
Also in my program is a girl who used to be my worst enemy. 5 years ago to be exact. We hated each other. We both had the eye-for-an-eye philosophy when it came to each other. We both got hurt. Badly. Now, it's like it never happened. We never talk about the past. We aren't best best friends but we talk every now and then. I'm loving my used-to-be enemy (then again, now she's not a threat to me).
This kind of goes along with my whole "I only care what someone thinks about me if it's one of my friends" lifestyle. I'm going to need a lot of help from God and my friends to learn to love my ex-friend. It's going to take a lot of patience and love. I've never been quite good at forgiving and forgetting. I'm about to get a crash course in it. Keep me in your prayers.
So yeah, you're going to have lots of chances in your life to love an enemy. There are going to be times when you need to. Prepare yourself for when that time comes and know ahead of time that it's not going to be easy. I don't think it ever will be.
I love you guys :D
<3 Warrior
Saturday, September 4, 2010
A Little Something About Myself/Friendship Advice
Hello faithful readers!
I am currently on vacation in The Sunshine State so I haven't really been able to blog. But I have something I need to say really quick.
I pride myself on not caring a single bit what anyone thinks of me. I wear jeans and a t-shirt year-round, never take off my sweatshirt in the winter, wear no make-up whatsoever, sing in public, the whole nine yards. When people say something mean about me, I shrug it off. It's only when they are mean to my friends when I get upset.
Yesterday I realized I have an edit to make to that. I can take anything from anyone EXCEPT my friends. My friends are the ones who should love me no matter what. If and when they say something rude to me or about me, I WILL get upset.
One of my very very very best friends is a coaster enthusiast and he's been slowly converting me into one. I called him last night to tell him about the shirt I had gotten at Busch Gardens Tampa. When I first told him, he was excited. But when I told him which shirt it was he said, "Oh that's stupid." You have no idea how much that upset me. I'm almost crying now, just thinking about it. It really hurt me for him to say that. I was SOOOO excited about that shirt and now I never want to wear it. Geez, now I AM crying.
So let this serve as a reminder for you to love your friends and support them in everything whether you love it too or not.
<3 Warrior
P.S. When I get home I have a bunch of devo's for you guys :D
I am currently on vacation in The Sunshine State so I haven't really been able to blog. But I have something I need to say really quick.
I pride myself on not caring a single bit what anyone thinks of me. I wear jeans and a t-shirt year-round, never take off my sweatshirt in the winter, wear no make-up whatsoever, sing in public, the whole nine yards. When people say something mean about me, I shrug it off. It's only when they are mean to my friends when I get upset.
Yesterday I realized I have an edit to make to that. I can take anything from anyone EXCEPT my friends. My friends are the ones who should love me no matter what. If and when they say something rude to me or about me, I WILL get upset.
One of my very very very best friends is a coaster enthusiast and he's been slowly converting me into one. I called him last night to tell him about the shirt I had gotten at Busch Gardens Tampa. When I first told him, he was excited. But when I told him which shirt it was he said, "Oh that's stupid." You have no idea how much that upset me. I'm almost crying now, just thinking about it. It really hurt me for him to say that. I was SOOOO excited about that shirt and now I never want to wear it. Geez, now I AM crying.
So let this serve as a reminder for you to love your friends and support them in everything whether you love it too or not.
<3 Warrior
P.S. When I get home I have a bunch of devo's for you guys :D
Saturday, August 28, 2010
You Are Beautiful (no matter what they sayyyy...)
Okay so a good friend of mine sent me a word document full of quotes the other day and one really stood out.
"If you made a gift for your best friend, then gave it to her and her reply was, 'Ew this is so ugly,' you would be killed inside, right? After all that hard work, and time spent on it, she hates it. Imagine how God feels when you call yourself ugly."
Isn't that... just... EPIC? I had never thought about it that way. I mean, I knew I was made in God's image, but I had never thought that when I was calling myself fat and ugly (as I do very often), I was offending God.
While flipping through one of Paul's letters today, I noticed that he was quoting a ton of Old Testament verses. One of them was talking about beauty, so I looked up the original verse in Psalms. The verse was Psalms 45:11 and it reads, "The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord."
OMIGOLDFISH GOD THINKS I'M PRETTY!!! Ahahaha, isn't that cool? It reminds me of how my Daddy always answers the phone when I call by saying, "Mi hija bonita quien yo amo muchisimo muchisimo muchisimo" meaning, "my beautiful daughter who I love so much so much so much."
God loves you. He made you. God is incapable of screwing up. Everything He makes and has made is beautiful. YOU are beautiful.
Never forget that :D
<3 Warrior
"If you made a gift for your best friend, then gave it to her and her reply was, 'Ew this is so ugly,' you would be killed inside, right? After all that hard work, and time spent on it, she hates it. Imagine how God feels when you call yourself ugly."
Isn't that... just... EPIC? I had never thought about it that way. I mean, I knew I was made in God's image, but I had never thought that when I was calling myself fat and ugly (as I do very often), I was offending God.
While flipping through one of Paul's letters today, I noticed that he was quoting a ton of Old Testament verses. One of them was talking about beauty, so I looked up the original verse in Psalms. The verse was Psalms 45:11 and it reads, "The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord."
OMIGOLDFISH GOD THINKS I'M PRETTY!!! Ahahaha, isn't that cool? It reminds me of how my Daddy always answers the phone when I call by saying, "Mi hija bonita quien yo amo muchisimo muchisimo muchisimo" meaning, "my beautiful daughter who I love so much so much so much."
God loves you. He made you. God is incapable of screwing up. Everything He makes and has made is beautiful. YOU are beautiful.
Never forget that :D
<3 Warrior
When Friends Lead You Astray
Totally had a God moment this morning (or afternoon seeing as I woke up at 11:30). I opened my Bible to somewhere in Leviticus and then flipped through it, looking for something to stand out. The first thing to do so was a heading that said "Worshipping Other Gods" and I thought "Hmm, there's been a lot of that lately." So I read it. It's all of Deuteronomy 13, so obviously it's too long for me to type here. But here's a link so you don't have to go search the house for your Bible.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+13&version=NIV
While I was reading it, I realized it wasn't just about worshipping other gods. It was about what to do to/how to treat someone who has tried to turn you away from God.
Now before you freak out because you think I'm trying to tell you to slaughter anyone who tells you not to believe in God, 1) that's a little sketch 2) God doesn't want us to kill people 3) there would be very very few people left if we all did that.
Matthew 18:8 reads, "If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled and lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire." Meaning if someone or something is causing you to sin or to turn away from God, get rid of them/it! I know from experience that it's hard and that you WILL be judged and you WILL be persecuted.
Two years ago I had a Facebook account without the approval of my parents. I cussed, gossiped, started rumors, et cetera on it, while simultaneously dishonoring my parents. What a mess! After a retreat entitled "Image Is Everything" with my church, I realized that I was made in God's image and that I wasn't reflecting that in my life. So the night I got back from the retreat, I disconnected my Facebook account without a moment of hesitation and stayed off of the computer for about 2 months. I was persecuted by my own friends for a long time and still am to this day. They demand why I disconnected it and my reply has always been, "It was tearing me away from God." And you can guess how they took that. Yeah, not very well.
Basically, by cutting myself off from a medium with which I was being "evil," I was cutting off the part of me that was diseased. I was slaughtering the part of me that was trying and succeeding in getting me to sin and turn away from God. In my case, it wasn't just my friends leading me astray, it was myself as well.
I was reading Psalm 119, the longest book of the Bible, the other night and I noticed that the whole Psalm is praising God's law and declaring the author's undying love for it. He says, "I hate double-minded people, but I love your law. You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in Your word. Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God!" (Psalm 119:113-115) He is telling God that he loves His commands more than anything else, and is telling all of the "evil-doers" around him to get away so he can love his God more passionately. Do you need to do that? Maybe it's time to "yell" at the "evil-doers" around you to get away so that you can love and follow your awesome God with your whole life. I've found with experience that the best way to do it is through a note. Tell them about God's love for them and why it is you find it hard to stay friends with them and be a true follower of Christ at the same time. If you feel led to do so, try it. I felt pushed by God to write a friend of mine a note that ended our friendship, and it all worked out for the better.
So, yes. I know breaking off from your best friend is hard. I know that breaking addictions is hard. I know that breaking a habit is hard. I know that believing is extremely hard. I've had to go through all of these myself. When you go through these things, you just have to remember that God is with you and will never leave you and that whatever doesn't kill you can only make you stronger. (:
Have faith and stay strong. It might be tough at times, but I believe in you.
If you're a girl and under the age of 20-ish, I totally without a doubt suggest you find and purchase the book "Lies Young Women Believe and the Truth that Sets them Free" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Dannah Gresh. It's an amazing book and is a great help for when you don't understand what to believe.
I also suggest reading the Bible. (: When you're worrying about not being able to hear God speaking to you, pick it up. Read it. HEY! You just read God's letter to you.
Keep faith. Keep heart.
Pray for my friend ~Anonymous~.
<3 Warrior
A post note made on 11.26.10: I actually just stopped talking to my best friend of one year. I realized a couple weeks ago that the first and only time I ever talked to him about God was on November 14, 2009, the first day we started talking. And I never mentioned Him to him again. Ever. So I stopped talking to him. Not like ignoring him, but just not talking to him. I haven't spoken to him in about a week or more, and it's an amazing feeling. Like I'm not being held down or hidden. I'm not hiding my love for God from my friends anymore, because all of them want to hear it or don't yell at me for trying to tell them about God. I regret a lot of the time I spent with my friend, because it was wasted time that I could have used to glorify God more. But now I know that God was teaching me a lesson on friendship and love and evangelism. It makes me love Him so much. I really want to give Him a huge hug right now. I can't wait to get to heaven so I can thank Him in person for all of the crap I've gone through in my life. Because I know He was with me and never left me. Ever.
Post-post note made on 4.23.11: Check out my post http://thisismyriflethisoneismine.blogspot.com/2011/01/this-past-week.html to hear about how I followed my own advice and wrote a note to one of my bestest friends ever that was leading me astray! God WILL bring good out of it! I promise!
Another verse to consider: Romans 16: 17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+13&version=NIV
While I was reading it, I realized it wasn't just about worshipping other gods. It was about what to do to/how to treat someone who has tried to turn you away from God.
Now before you freak out because you think I'm trying to tell you to slaughter anyone who tells you not to believe in God, 1) that's a little sketch 2) God doesn't want us to kill people 3) there would be very very few people left if we all did that.
Matthew 18:8 reads, "If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled and lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire." Meaning if someone or something is causing you to sin or to turn away from God, get rid of them/it! I know from experience that it's hard and that you WILL be judged and you WILL be persecuted.
Two years ago I had a Facebook account without the approval of my parents. I cussed, gossiped, started rumors, et cetera on it, while simultaneously dishonoring my parents. What a mess! After a retreat entitled "Image Is Everything" with my church, I realized that I was made in God's image and that I wasn't reflecting that in my life. So the night I got back from the retreat, I disconnected my Facebook account without a moment of hesitation and stayed off of the computer for about 2 months. I was persecuted by my own friends for a long time and still am to this day. They demand why I disconnected it and my reply has always been, "It was tearing me away from God." And you can guess how they took that. Yeah, not very well.
Basically, by cutting myself off from a medium with which I was being "evil," I was cutting off the part of me that was diseased. I was slaughtering the part of me that was trying and succeeding in getting me to sin and turn away from God. In my case, it wasn't just my friends leading me astray, it was myself as well.
I was reading Psalm 119, the longest book of the Bible, the other night and I noticed that the whole Psalm is praising God's law and declaring the author's undying love for it. He says, "I hate double-minded people, but I love your law. You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in Your word. Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God!" (Psalm 119:113-115) He is telling God that he loves His commands more than anything else, and is telling all of the "evil-doers" around him to get away so he can love his God more passionately. Do you need to do that? Maybe it's time to "yell" at the "evil-doers" around you to get away so that you can love and follow your awesome God with your whole life. I've found with experience that the best way to do it is through a note. Tell them about God's love for them and why it is you find it hard to stay friends with them and be a true follower of Christ at the same time. If you feel led to do so, try it. I felt pushed by God to write a friend of mine a note that ended our friendship, and it all worked out for the better.
So, yes. I know breaking off from your best friend is hard. I know that breaking addictions is hard. I know that breaking a habit is hard. I know that believing is extremely hard. I've had to go through all of these myself. When you go through these things, you just have to remember that God is with you and will never leave you and that whatever doesn't kill you can only make you stronger. (:
Have faith and stay strong. It might be tough at times, but I believe in you.
If you're a girl and under the age of 20-ish, I totally without a doubt suggest you find and purchase the book "Lies Young Women Believe and the Truth that Sets them Free" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Dannah Gresh. It's an amazing book and is a great help for when you don't understand what to believe.
I also suggest reading the Bible. (: When you're worrying about not being able to hear God speaking to you, pick it up. Read it. HEY! You just read God's letter to you.
Keep faith. Keep heart.
Pray for my friend ~Anonymous~.
<3 Warrior
A post note made on 11.26.10: I actually just stopped talking to my best friend of one year. I realized a couple weeks ago that the first and only time I ever talked to him about God was on November 14, 2009, the first day we started talking. And I never mentioned Him to him again. Ever. So I stopped talking to him. Not like ignoring him, but just not talking to him. I haven't spoken to him in about a week or more, and it's an amazing feeling. Like I'm not being held down or hidden. I'm not hiding my love for God from my friends anymore, because all of them want to hear it or don't yell at me for trying to tell them about God. I regret a lot of the time I spent with my friend, because it was wasted time that I could have used to glorify God more. But now I know that God was teaching me a lesson on friendship and love and evangelism. It makes me love Him so much. I really want to give Him a huge hug right now. I can't wait to get to heaven so I can thank Him in person for all of the crap I've gone through in my life. Because I know He was with me and never left me. Ever.
Post-post note made on 4.23.11: Check out my post http://thisismyriflethisoneismine.blogspot.com/2011/01/this-past-week.html to hear about how I followed my own advice and wrote a note to one of my bestest friends ever that was leading me astray! God WILL bring good out of it! I promise!
Another verse to consider: Romans 16: 17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)