by | Life Application
A song came on the radio today that left me speechless. I know, that’s rare.
The lyrics start out like this:
I havent been to church since I don’t remember when
Things were goin’ great ‘til they fell apart again
So I listened to the preacher as he told me what to do
He said you can’t go hatin’ others who have done wrong to you
Sometimes we get angry, but we must not condemn
Let the good Lord do His job and you just pray for them
Sounds good at first glance eh? Read the rest:
I pray your brakes go out runnin’ down a hill
I pray a flowerpot falls from a window sill and knocks you in the head like I’d like to
I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls
I pray you’re flyin’ high when your engine stalls
I pray all your dreams never come true
Just know whereever you are honey, I pray for you
My question: Is Nashville seriously that desperate for artists?
by | Life Application
There’s this girl. She has this burning passion for life inside of her. Sometimes she wonders if others can see it. Sometimes she wonders why others can’t understand it when she explains it. Creativity fills her mind up so much that she often can’t get it all out before she forgets what she was thinking.
She lives in the city. Her loft apartment is filled with vibrant colors of yellows, oranges, reds, greens. She comes home everyday to one big open space. Black and white pictures of her family and friends adorn the red brick wall separating her kitchen and living area. She comes home from an amazingly fulfilling day at work and props her feet up on the coffee table with sushi in her lap.
It’s still daylight outside – time for a leisurely walk with her dog. The city surrounds her. Bookstores, coffee shops, bistros. Her choices are endless. Okay, maybe one Starbucks Frozen Mocha won’t hurt.
It’s time to end the day. Tomorrow will start again soon. As she tucks herself into bed she smiles at the beautiful photo of her mother staring back at her from the night stand. A wave of the homesick blues takes over her as she lies her head on the pillow.
Then I wake up.
As I spent the weekend in St.Louis I found myself thinking these thoughts over and over again. I have always dreamed of living the city life, yet I can’t imagine leaving the country life. As I stood in line for the Metro Link I thought to myself, I think I could do this. Sometimes I wonder if it’s just a dream or part of God’s plan.
I have never done things ordinary. As my best friend puts it, “Your circumstances have never been ordinary; they’ve always been extraordinary.” She’s right. So, here’s what I’m thinking: I could find my “spot” in the woods somewhere and just build a big metal building with my dream loft. It could be my city in the woods. I thank God for dreams and creativity. It keeps me going.
by | Faith Lived Out, Life Application
I have experienced many things this past weekend – more than I’ll probably remember to put in this blog. Isn’t that awesome? When you have so many blessings in three days that you’re not sure if you’ll remember to write them all down?
My amazing best friend Jammie gifted me with tickets to the Joyce Meyer Love Life ’10 Conference in St. Louis for my birthday. I expected to have a good time, but God went beyond my expectations. The Devil tried to play and he FAILED.
On the four hour road trip to St. Louis from Branson I had the opportunity to enjoy laughter and great conversation with a friend who at a point in our lives wondered if our friendship would survive. There was authentic, genuine, forgiving love in that car. I was reminded of how great God’s grace was and how blessed I am to have her in my life.
We arrived at the conference to learn that others from my hometown were there. What could have been awkward for me, God turned into wholeness and peace in my soul. The wife of one of the men who sexually abused me was sitting next to me. I could have made two choices: don’t make eye contact and avoid conversation, or embrace her and let her see Jesus in me. I chose the latter. I stood in the Edward Jones Dome with 17,000 women listening to Darlene Zschech praise God with her amazing voice and tears streamed down my face as I felt freedom – true freedom. At that moment I realized I was no longer tied down to my past.
Not only that, but the first night of the conference 2,143 women stood up and gave their lives to Christ. That’s more than the population of my hometown of 1200! I was seriously lucky enough to witness that. Joyce Meyer Ministries gave away a new van, a $20,000 home renovation, makeovers, gift cards, and more. Words cannot describe what I was blessed enough to experience. You must go next year and see for yourself.
Joyce brought conviction to me as she asked, “If you can’t overcome a piece of pie, how will you overcome the devil?” John Maxwell had me wondering if I should have worn a Depends. Natalie Grant brought me to a deeper level of praise than I had experienced in a long time. Dr. Caroline Leaf reminded me that I am in control of my brain.
A man standing on the street reminded me just how cruel the world could be. As he began speaking to me and Jammie, he couldn’t stop stuttering. Then he stopped and said, “Please don’t laugh at me.” No one was laughing. We had the privilege of praying with him and embracing him. As I walked back into the air conditioned hotel room he was still standing in the street. Oh how lucky I have it!
God has shown me lavish love lately. I haven’t deserved it, yet He’s given it to me anyway. Every good and perfect gift I got this weekend was made possible by my Father in Heaven, whom I am so grateful to know.
by | Faith Lived Out, Life Application
So, as an intern at Table Rock Freedom Center I still have the privilege of receiving weekly sessions with the director, who by the way, is one cool chick.
Each week I sit down and talk about what I worked on the past week and what I want to improve on for the upcoming week. Last week’s topic was my priorities. I explained to Kim that I wasn’t sure if God was coming first. When I’m trying to process things out, instead of talking about them one on one, I write them out, then we discuss what I have written.
So, here’s some questions she asked me to answer:
- If you’re putting God first in your life what does that look like?
- Are you doing what is necessary to put Him first?
- If so, what would He say?
I have reflected on this over the last week and here’s the conclusion I have come to:
I don’t always put God first in my life, but I’m trying. Everyday I mess up, but everyday I grow one step closer to Him. I have been beating myself up lately thinking I wasn’t doing things the right way in the way I should seek a relationship with Him. But I think I’ve been looking at it the wrong way. How I seek God isn’t how everyone else does.
I try to start every morning off with Him, whether that’s reading the Bible, journaling, or simply praying. Some mornings I wake up with the intention to read His Word, journal and pray. But I find myself cozying up to the pillows, praying to Him for people, places, and things as I drift back and forth into consciousness between the snooze button. Guess what? That’s okay. It’s okay!
Step One For Me: Stop being so hard on myself.
What does the necessary in question two look like? There’s not a handbook. What’s necessary for me is to go to Him with EVERYTHING. Necessary is making sure I talk to him everyday, whether that’s in the shower, driving to class, playing the guitar, or simply playing a game of Sorry with friends. I talk to him all the time – that is necessary for me. What’s necessary for me is not spending a disciplined one hour every morning diligently praying, although I love it when He calls me to do so.
Step Two: I don’t have to be like everyone else.
What would God say?
I love you Sundi Jo. I love you with an everlasting love. You are not perfect, therefore you need me. Apart from me, you can do nothing. I will give you the strength you need for ALL things. Continue to trust me. Continue to talk to me, even when you’re mad – even when you aren’t making sense. I can make sense of everything you think. Fix your thoughts on me. Don’t give up. Continue to follow in obedience. Take one step at a time. Take one day at a time. I am sanctifying you. I love you when you’re happy, mad, sad, angry and overjoyed. Watch your pride and do everything possible to stay humble. Stay in my Word. Don’t try to make sense of it all at once – I will give you what you need when you need it. Did I mention I love you?
by | Life Application
So, I’m going to be blogging more in depth about the Joyce Meyer Conference, but for now here’s what I’ve got to say:
AWESOME!
God showed his favor to me in more ways than one. My family has looked at me with the “deer in headlights” look many times as I have mentioned the word Twitter. “What is that?” I would try to explain it to them, but it was like speaking a foreign language.
This weekend my amazing friend Jammie brought me to the Joyce Meyer Love Life ’10 Conference in St. Louis. It was amazing to say the least – more details to come.
As I sat there and tweeted the conference I knew Jammie, a common Facebooker, but nothing more, thought I was crazy. I was right. She was wondering how I could possibly be getting anything out of the conference because as she puts it, “I wouldn’t get my eyes off the Blackberry.” Her opinion soon changed.
My tweets paid off. We both got the opportunity to hang with some amazing Social Media peeps from Joyce Meyer Ministries. Not only that, but I got some cool gifts to go with it, as if watching one type away on the Ipad, one with his eyes fixed on Hootsuite, and one filling up memory card after memory card with pictures wasn’t enough. I was in Social Media heaven! Another cool point – these were really some Jesus lovin’ people!
The moral of the story? Never underestimate the power of a tweet.
Register now for next years 2011 Love Life Women’s Conference – you don’t want to miss it!
For recent tweets on the Joyce Meyer Conference click here.
by | Life Application
Today I witnessed customer service at its finest. I swear drama never stops finding me. I get a phone call from my mom this morning to say that I needed to go with her to the hospital to pick up three children whose mother was in the emergency room. This lady was a complete stranger and I’m going to pick up her children?
The short version of the story: It was a sister of a friend of the family. She was vacationing in Branson with just she and her three children. My mother gets a frantic phone call and offers to go pick up the children.
Now comes the cool part. We show up at the ER to find the resort manager herself and another employee stretched out on the floor with three car seats, a baby, a two year old, a one year old, and Sonic breakfast. I bet this is not what they had planned for their day. She held two small kids who she didn’t know from Adam in her lap while the other sweet woman rocked the precious baby girl. Then they jumped in my lap. We got along well, being as though we act about the same age. I got an excuse to watch cartoons today!
What inspired me the most though was the willingness of these employees to go above and beyond the call of duty. They didn’t have to take care of those children, but they chose to. They didn’t have to stop by and spend their own money to buy breakfast for three hungry children, but they did. That’s customer service.
For anyone planning a trip to Branson I recommend Wyndham-Branson at the Falls. Though I have never stayed at their resort, I believe they have their priorities in line regarding the safety and well being of their customers. If they are willing to spend four hours with three strange children, can you imagine what the complimentary breakfast is like?
Stop by Wyndham-Branson at the Falls and tell Becky Guthrie, the resort manager, that she and her employees are some pretty awesome servants!
