Top 10 Reads for October '13

So I haven't done this in a while but I always enjoy compiling lists of awesome stuff.  This month I just really ran into a bunch of neat posts and sites and things so I thought I would combine them all and share them with you all.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do, and feel free to post your own links in the comment section!

OCTOBER 2013

1. Lyrical Life Lessons...from Hello Giggles  This is a post about the song "It's Time" by Imagine Dragons and how it applies to people in their 20's.  Since I am of that age group I not only found this post creative and intriguing, but it also inspired me to write my own post about this song..hopefully soon.  Great post though.
2. This image from Pinterest: 
   
3. 19 Reasons Why Being Single is Pretty Awesome: Buzzfeed - You gotta love BuzzFeed!  This is a hip and funny list of reasons to appreciate life as is.  Again, it goes along with #2 and my post from earlier this week.  I thought it was pretty true and funny!
4. Seth Godin: On Owning It - Super short and too the point encouraging piece on making your dreams come true.  Love it!
5. Single and Not Waiting by Converge- A friend of mine sent me this post and the next one (#3 on the list) the day after I posted "Single Ladies! It's October 2013!"   I thought she sent them to me as a follow up to my posts, but turns out she hadn't even seen mine!  I took that as one of those God threads where he ties things together without us realizing it.  :)  Gotta love him.  Anyhow this article has more great advice for single people and actually sounds like a rehash of mine, except maybe better. :)
6. GirlTalk:  A Woman to Follow- This one is really one of my favorites.  I haven't read anything else quite like it yet, but it is a post about female mentorship and what to look for in a mentor.  I really liked it because it pointed out that age, even spiritual age, has nothing to do with it.  I especially liked the line about looking for someone with "love for family and church."  That puts it into perspective for me.  Thanks GirlTalk.
7. Another Pin:
   
8. Twenty-Two - I swear I'm not trying to be lame or overpromote myself, but you know the times when you go back and read an old prayer journal entry and it helps redirect your life and remind you what's important.  Well that has happened to me lately with this post.  I have reread it a dozen times lately, checking myself to see if I am getting what I want out of this year of my life.
9. Following God and Farming: Storyline Blog- Exxcceellennt post on figuring out what to do vocationally with your life.  Donald Miller always gets it.
10. One Drop, a song by Plumb:

Hope you all enjoyed my list!  Here's to making November another great month! :) 

Everything You Need

I love you Lord,

Even if you're all I ever have.

The sweetest moment of my life was the first time I looked at this phrase and meant it with all my heart.  I had reached a total dependence on the God of my salvation.  How beautiful it is when we realize that this is all our hearts need.  Nothing else will do, nothing else will satisfy or last because Jesus and Jesus only satisfies our every hunger.  

In John 6:35 Jesus explains it this way:

"I am the bread of life.

He who comes to me will never go hungry,

and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

How wonderful it is to know that God created Jesus to fulfill our every hunger and desire.  He is the ultimate satisfaction despite what Satan tells you.  Many a young college student is tricked into believing that marriage is the ultimate fulfillment in life.  High School students fall for the lie that sex is what satisfies, and married couples sometimes hear Satan tell them they are missing out on a different life. 

Whatever your walk in life is, you can be sure of one thing.  Jesus Christ is all you will ever need to find joy, peace, and contentment for a lifetime and then some.  So turn to him for every weakness, every desire, every pain, hurt, and fear.  He promises he will be right there (John 6:37) and he will never turn you away.  

The more we depend on God the more fulfilled we will be.  This is the opposite of human nature, because human nature is to control.  But the Bible tells us the more we lay down at the feet of Jesus, the more he picks up and carries for us.  (1 Peter 5:7, Luke 9:23, Matthew 10:39, John 12:25)

The great apostle Paul put it this way:

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing

greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have

lost all things."

                                                        Philippians 3:7-8

So what can you give to God today?  What have you been holding on to so tightly that the satisfaction of Jesus can't get past?  Why are you afraid of laying it down, has Jesus' promises not been made clear to you?  What are you going to do today as a first step to laying down that burden in order to pick up Christ?

Homesick, Contentment, and Fulfillment

Music: Cannons by Phil Wickham

“The moon and the stars declare who you are..”

The past few weeks leading up to Spring Break my heart was extremely heavy. It longed for the country and nature and home. I was tired of all the concrete and lights and sidewalks, I wanted to be somewhere free and unrestricted. I wanted to see my mom and dad and little brother. I picture myself in the

front yard of my house just sitting there looking at the stars in amazement like I have so many times before. I remembered

laying on the trampoline with my Dad and talking about how big the universe is and how small Earth is. I wanted to see all my best friends, my family, my cat. The problem was I couldn’t go home. I had something school or activity-related every single weekend until a month after Spring Break.

One day my mom called me and she was even angry at me for not coming home in so long. I think she was just missing me like I was them, but either way it still made me even more homesick and lonely. I developed bitterness towards the city and where I was at. I began telling people how much I hated the city and how I couldn’t wait to graduate and leave this place. My heart just hurt for the place I called home.

Then came Spring Break. I went on a retreat to Colorado. Fresh air, springs, mountains, hiking trails, relaxed people, God, God, and God. What a refreshing time for my soul. God taught me so much my soul was overwhelmed with his goodness. Throughout everything he gave me a spirit of contentment and fulfillment. When I came back to Norman I felt so refreshed and full. I was happy to see this city. I felt like I had a big family here with all my friends from the BSU. I prayed for the city as soon as we pulled up, my heart had finally been moved so I could love this place too. I was completely fine with being there because i knew God had a purpose and a reason for placing me here at this time.

Next comes the best part—because we got home very late and I got zero work done over the break, I had previously planned on sleeping in Saturday morning, and then getting everything done around the apartment throughout the rest of the weekend. Mom and asked me one last time to come home, both of us knowing it probably wouldn’t happen. But before bed I prayed if it was God’s will he would help me get everything done earlier and give me time to go home.

The next morning I woke up after 10 wonderful hours of sleep, I had an extended quiet time, did my laundry and did as much of everything else as I could. By 2 o’clock I had checked off everything on my list, my roommates were still not home, and I was out of things to do. I took this as my sign. J So I through a couple things in a bag and hopped in my car for a surprise visit home!

On the way there I prayed adamantly that God would give me good strong QUALITY time with every person I encountered. I wanted to show everyone how much I loved and missed them, I wanted to show them that God cared for them as much as I did, and I wanted to show them how joyful I was to be there. I prayed that my focus would be on them, the people, and not just getting my errands and chores done.

Not surprisingly, God gave me what I asked for. He gave me lots and lots of wonderful sweet quality time with my parents, friends, and brother. Everyone I really cared about I got to talk to one-on-one and show them God’s love. It was the perfect end to a refreshing Spring Break. Just living and being with the ones I cherish the most. My spirit was overflowed with joy and happiness. My soul got to exhale even more that last 24 hours of my break.

I say this not to show you how blessed I am, or how great my Spring Break is, I show you this because it gives us insight to God’s heart. Remember the first of the story when I was longing for home and nature, I was unhappy where I was, I wasn’t letting God fill me, and my attitude began to show that? Sometimes we get that way about having a boyfriend or husband. We are unhappy, anxious, and impatient. The devil snatches us up by stealing our contentment. When we are not 100% relying on God it is easy to long for things we don’t have and belly-ache about the present setting. Again, this is a trick of the devil! God has a purpose for every time of our life and we are to fully take and grasp every second of it.

Ecclesiastes 5:7 says “Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.” Complaining about being single and constantly day dreaming about having a boyfriend or husband is meaningless. God says to focus on him. Keep HIM at the center of your thoughts and stop focusing on what isn’t yours. Matthew 22:37-38 “Jesus replied, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and the greatest commandment.”

When I got back from Colorado and my heart was fully relying on God, I was completely content with not going home. I was happy wherever God placed me, even in the city. Only when I found complete contentment in the Lord Jesus Christ was I able to go home. God isn’t going to give you the man of your dreams until you are completely content with being single and living for God. This is something I feel strongly about. He wants us to learn to be completely dependent and completely satisfied with him alone before he gives us what our heart truly desires. In Philippians 4:12 Paul says he learned the secret of being content in every situation. The secret is contentment! Not false contentment, but true 100% satisfaction with God alone.

The white board above my desk in my room at my apartment says, “I love you God. Even if you’re all I ever have.” This is a lifelong commitment, but it has taught me so much. If I can’t honestly read those words and mean them, I know I’m not living completely for God.

So trust God with your heart and he will give you what you need.

Music: Rock & Rap

Welcome to MEDIA MONTH!!! We are going to start of with Music Week. This week we are going to examine all different types of music and how they relate to our relationship with God. :)

Today we are going to look at a few popular Rock and Rap songs and examine the lyrics and what the message being sent really is. I think we all struggle with understanding what we are actually supporting through the media. We tend to just agree with whatever is catchy or entertaining, but this is one of the devil’s tactics he uses to separate us from God.

This first song my roommate enlightened me on. It came out in the 90’s so some of you may or may not remember it. This song is also pretty deep about what it is saying, so I would recommend the 16+ crowd to check out this one, and the next ones are more for everyone.

Before last night, if I would have heard this song on the radio I probably would have turned it up and sang along with the chorus, thinking nothing other than, “gee, this was such a happy song.” But when my roommate showed me the lyrics, I was appalled. Check this out.

First verse:

“She says she lives for me.” [You should NEVER live for someone else. That leads to a path of destruction and depression.]

“She goes down on me.”

“chop another line..” [cocaine line]

Chorus:

“I want something else to get me through this.” [as in a drug]

Verse 2:

“I was taking sips of it to my nose” [snorting some kind of drug]

“Doing Crystal meth will lift you up until you break.”

“Then I bumped up and took the hit that I was given.”

“The place where I fell asleep inside of you.” [probably referring to sex.]

Verse 3:

There’s too much to type everything in the 3^rd verse, but I think if you listen you read along with the video you discovered quite a few things.

“We tripped on the urge to feel alive, but now I’m struggling to survive.”

“Nothing is all right.”

When you receive the full context of the song it breaks your heart. This is a genuinely sad song about the misery a couple finds in living. They are searching for something to make them feel better like drugs or sex, but the last verse says nothing helps and nothing is alright. How heart-retching is that? And I always thought it was a happy song..In 1997 that song went to #4 in the U.S. billboards, #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks list, and was a top 40 hit in the U.K. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-Charmed_Life#Charts]

Now for a recent rap hit. “No Hands” by Waka Flocka Flame. I’m not going to say anything about it, just watch the video and ignore the catchy tune, just read the words and think about this.

DISCLAIMER: I am by NO means promoting this music or these lyrics. I am not encouraging cuss words or anything about this music. This is strictly for learning purposes and revealing how much we let the media influence us indirectly.

THIS IS WHAT WE ARE PUTTING IN OUR MIND EVERYDAY! Even if you don’t listen to it, the chances are you are around people who do. Think of this as the equivalent to reading a page with these lyrics in it. Add whatever other music you listen to and think about how many words you have put in your head in one day. If you made a book of these lyrics, I doubt you would sit down and read it.

My excuse was always that I was listening to it for the "beat." Even though we know that's a lie, if I did listen to it for the beat, the lyrics are still going into my head subconsciously. Think of the impact that is having on your thought life, your spiritual life, your actual life.

Come back tomorrow and we will take a closer look at Country music! :)