Beautiful Song

Last Sunday, our minister and a member of the choir did a beautiful rendition of Allison Krauss' Down in the River to Pray.  After they got done, everyone gave them a large round of applause.  The song is so beautiful that I wanted to share the original.

The Apostle's Creed Part 1

Today in church, our pastor talked about The Apostle's Creed, more specifically, the first line of the creed:I believe in God, the Father Almighty.  He talked about who God is and how do we believe in God, as individuals.  What does it take to believe in God?  His question is a valid one for Christians as we try to lead a Christian life.  My answer is this: I believe in God because I have felt his prescence in my life.  I have talked to him.  It is my faith that makes me believe.  I have seen things that I know occurred because I prayed for them.  A non-believer may say it must be coincidence, but to me, I know it's not. Faith plays a major role in believing.  One cannot see the physical prescence of wind.  It doesn't have a form. Yet we know the wind blows because we feel the air on our face, we see tree branches move, etc.  However, if we needed to see wind in a visual form, we wouldn't be able to show it because air itself is invisible.  

God is not a biological God.  He's not male or female, but he reveals himself to us in a fatherly form, at least to me.  I fully understand if someone wants to view God in another form, especially if they didn't know their father or didn't have a good fatherly figure in growing up.  Our pastor explained that although a woman has eggs, it takes a male to fertilize the egg, therefore, many people view God in the fatherly role.  I see his point in that.  If someone wants to view God as something other than a father, especially if they've had a bad experience, I am fine with that, as long as they come to know God.  I look forward to his series of sermons as we explore each line in the Apostle Creed.  It definitely made me think today.

Important News

I had planned on posting more this week, but I have been busy.  Between getting materials ready for school and other miscellanous stuff, I had an important project.  That project in question, is the self-publication of my first poetry book entitled: Along Life's Path:Experiences Through Poetry.  The 71-page book is a collection of my poetry taken from parts of my life.  I'm going through Lulu.com to make the book and it will be sold on their site only since I couldn't justify getting the ISBN number since this book will be a small audience. The book isn't up for sale yet because I want to get a copy of the book to make sure the quality is to my liking.  Once I feel comfortable, I will open it up for sale to the public.  I don't plan to make any money on this book, in fact, when I tell fellow church members about the book, I plan on taking orders and just charge an extra amount which I plan to give a good amount back to the church as a donation to either the youth group or seed money for next years VBS.  

This is truly an exciting time and I can't wait to get my copy.

Reading the Bible in a Year:Part 1

Becky and I have decided to try and read the Bible in 365 days with the of the The Grand Sweep series.  Each day, you read a certain number of chapters in the Bible and answer questions about what you read.  I won't blog about this every day, but I will pick out a selection.  Today I will start at the beginning with Genesis 1.  The question that was asked was:
How will my attitude toward the environment be affected if I seriously believe in God as 
Creator?

My answer is: I consider every living thing and the land itself a miracle in itself, created by God.  He is the maker of all things and all things that he creates are miracles in my eyes.  

I do try to be aware of the environment wherever I can.  I'm always in awe of the beauty of nature and all the creatures God has created.  I don't like it when I see trash on the side of a road or people dumping into lakes and streams.  You would think people would be more considerate and consider who created those things we take for granted.  I'm not an environmentalist, but I do have respect what we have been given.  

How to Wash a Cat

As an owner of 5 cats, I don't suggest you do what is shown in the film unless you are a brave soul.  However, if you are foolhardy, watch ahead and enjoy!

Listening and Speaking

Temptation whispers sweet promises
with the cost of a simple lie.

Her seductive voice speaks softly -
“Say it and all will be yours.”
For a brief moment, my mind
wants to follow her siren’s song.

My heart’s voice -
cries out “No!”
inside this mortal shell.

The Holy Spirit shines its light,
exposing the sin into my eyes.
The conscience cries out for mercy;
an inner turmoil shakes my soul.

Her cold whispers cease their murmur;
while God’s love comforts me once more.

Thoughts on Prayer

I've been reading from various sources about prayer and how it's used to communicate with God.  It's amazing based on what I read how most people use it almost like a laundry list of requests to the Lord for him to intervene.  Granted, we do pray to God to help us with our daily lives and everyone should pray, but prayer shouldn't be just requests in my opinion.  In all reality, God knows what we are going to ask for anyway if you think about it.  Anyway, people should also take the opportunity to praise God for all the things he has done for us and for others.  People should glorify him in prayer as well.  

I know when I pray, I always try to glorify God in some fashion that comes from my own feelings.  Glorifying should not be just to "kiss up" to the Lord.  It should come from the heart.  An example would be: "Oh wondeful father who grants us eternal life..." My praises come from things I feel.  For example, I always thank the Lord for giving us such a beautiful world that we live in because I'm always in awe of nature and all its beauty daily.  There are other things I praise God for, but this is just an example.  

Then there is the requests themselves.  Prayer is for anything you are asking for.  I try not to be petty in what I ask, but we are all human and it's easy to fall into that.  The Lord listens to whatever we ask for and determines what we need.  Like I said earlier, he knows what we are going to ask for anyway, so it's okay to pray for anything, for God will answer in his own way and his own time table.  I admit I ask for petty things, but I try not to.  I do ask for things like helping those in need, in harm's way, those are dealing with illness, etc. because I do care for them.  Once I pray, I feel like a burden has been lifted.  I don't feel like prayer as a chore, because to me, it isn't.  It's more like a session talking to God and it's always a great feeling when someone listens to your problems and needs.

Thank you Lord

Thank you Lord,
for night’s sparkling stars,
dawn’s promising sunrise,
and day’s warming rays.

Thank you Lord,
for a nose to smell your garden creations,
a mouth to sing your heavenly praises,
ears to hear your guiding voice,
hands to write your glowing tributes,
and eyes to see your wondrous miracles.

Thank you Lord,
for listening to my prayers,
comforting my heart in times of need,
humbling me when I do wrong,
and teaching me wisdom every day.

Thank you Lord,
for inviting me to your table,
accepting me with all my faults,
giving me eternal life,
and forgiving me of all my sins.

Thank you.

Final Day of Vacation Bible School

Well, Vacation Bible School is over for another year.  The theme of the night was God is in Charge.  Our schedule was abbrieviated due to the kids had to put on a presentation for their parents, so everything was rushed.  The kids all wanted to see the ending of Chaddar's Wild West Adventure, so that went really well.  We had some storms in the area last night and attendance was down by a few.  I hope that was the reason for the decline.  I thought VBS was organized very well so, I don't think it was that.  I think the staff was glad to get it done because how many times can you hear the children's songs before it's burned into your brain? :)  

Fourth Day of Vacation Bible School

Last night's theme was God Is Awesome and the kids for the most part seemed to understand what we were trying to teach them.  Of course, the younger ones wanted to see the new installment of Chaddar's Wild West Theatre, but we also talked about how Jesus died for our sins and what we needed to do to have our sins forgiven.  I was surprised how the little ones payed close attention.  It gave me a warm feeling inside that the kids listened to such an important message.  Did we reach someone who will become a Christian?  Only time will tell, but I know at least some that listened.  We wrap things up tonight and the parents are invited for the grand finale, so it should be interesting.