What does my symphony sound like?

Part of a blog by James Barnett:

Then I started thinking about the implications of this unveiled pursuit. Sure it has it’s luster and seems great, but perhaps the more intriguing philosophy is that “Spoken love is like a symphony playing in the desert.” Isn’t this the realchallenge? The challenge to speak love, create love, & show love when it is not acknowledged? Not even heard?

I can’t help but think back to all the times in history when extremists for love were killed because of their zealous nature for justice. Ask Martin Luther King Jr. if the citizens of Memphis liked his symphony. Ask Mother Teresa if the world truly understood the God behind her motivation. Ask Stephen the apostle, who was stoned to death, if the people of Jerusalem dug the song he was singing.

Folks, I’m not so sure our symphony is a popular one. It won’t end up on the billboard top ten and it won’t be played on a stage in Central Park. It will be a lullaby sung within the hearts of the poor. It will be cried out by those who hunger and thirst for what is right. No, it may not be a popular song, but it will be a good one.

The Lord, our Shepherd.

I am so thankful that we can find so much comfort and restoration in the Lord. He is soo good!

Ezekial 34: 11-34

¹¹ “‘For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. ¹² As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. ¹³ I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. ¹⁴ I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. ¹⁶I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

¹⁷ “‘As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats. ¹⁸ Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? ¹⁹ Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

²⁰ “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, ²² I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another.²³ I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken.

²⁵ “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety. ²⁶ I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing.^{a]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[a]} I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. ²⁷ The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them. ²⁸ They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. ²⁹ I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. ³⁰ Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them and that they, the Israelites, are my people, declares the Sovereign LORD. ³¹ You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign LORD.’”

Oh, Jeremiah 33 too!

When I say "I am a Christian"

When I say I am a Christian by Maya Angelou

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'."
I'm whispering "I was lost,
Now I'm found and forgiven."

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
And need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
But, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel t he sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
Who received God's good grace, somehow!

Letters to God - Three Things I learned

Today I am starting a blog. A for real blog.

This morning, at 4 AM, I watched the movie, "Letters to God." It was about an 11 year old boy battling cancer. and he wrote letters to God. Letters were his way of praying, giving EVERYTHING to God. It broke my heart as I was reminded of some pretty important things that I have learned, but seem to forget.

Lesson number 1: What Would Jesus Do? I wear a WWJD bracelet everyday. But why? To show people that I'm a Christian? Would it really take that for someone to know? Tyler, the main character, asks his mother, "What if they make fun of me? Oh yeah," he says, "I will do what Jesus would do." This boy was battling cancer and getting teased for having no hair and for writing letters to God, and all he cared about was showing love to his classmates that they may know truth through him. I need to ask myself, What Would Jesus Do? in my every decisions. My desire needs to be to show love to others that they may know truth.

Lesson number 2: I have been hand-picked by God for every situation I face. God has a plan for me and knows what I'm going through and how it is going to turn out. He has a purpose for it. I need to learn to be content with who I am and where I am; God is real big and has a real big plan.

Lesson number 3: "You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a leter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 - What do people see when the look at me? Do they see Christ?

Other than really enjoying the freshmen in Herriott hall, and loving Emily Pomasl for bringing me food once again on my shift, I am waiting for midnight when my 17 hour work day will come to an end.