God, You are... Love.

Ok, so first off, I haven't written in like two weeks. Between getting sick, doing make up work, doing normal work, mid terms, and worship stuff, it's been crazy. But that's no excuse because I also let my priorities get all out of whack. And that's why I'm thankful that the day I do decide to start again, the letter is "L." I know it's cliche to say that God is love, but it's also so true. It makes me think of those Facebook bumper stickers or MySpace layouts for those that are trying to make an impact with social networking. And all that is great, as long as you remember how true it is. 1 Corinthians 13 is the "Love Chapter." Love is this, love is that... but have you ever put "God" in place of "love?" It changes it completely. It shows me that when everything is great, God loves me. When everything is not so great, like now, God loves me. When I leave God and wander away, like recently, God still loves me. Just that little fact comforts me in the midst of life. Life is hard, and it only takes God's love for me to see the purpose and keep on going. God is love. Love is a noun and an action. We should have and show love, but also love people. Love God. Love yourself. We are commanded to do so by Love himself. So that being said, love is all you need!(:

God, You are... King.

To be honest I had to Google search for this letter. The first thing I thought of was "kind" and I was like, well that's not deep at all. So I decided to search the world wide web for another idea. The site I found was pretty cool. I guess they came up with "kind" first as well. But when I scrolled down, I found "King." And I was like, yes. That is it. Because while God is kind and caring and all that other girl scout stuff, He is King. King of the universe, King of all creation, King of my life... the list goes on. He has supreme authority over everyone and everything and all time. He dictates wheat happens. He know exactly what will happen. He makes things happen. He is King and in control.

God, You are... Jealous.

"He is jealous for me; loves like a hurricane. I am a tree bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy."

Jealous isn't always how we think of it. People are jealous when someone has something they want, when they lose something to someone else, when they wish they were like someone else, but that's not what God means. When pertaining to God jealous means that He wants our worship. And you might be like, well, that's not godly... to want to worship. However, it is. Because He deserves it. See we don't deserve anything we want. But He deserves our worship. He deserves us. He is jealous for us.

Songwriting?

Ok, recently I have noticed that everybody wants to be either a social worker, photographer, or songwriter when they grow up. This can't work. Yes, there are kids that need helped, a beautiful world that needs to be captured, and thoughts that need to be put to music. But, what about everything else? There are so many more jobs that need to be taken care of! I can't speak for the other two, but I know quite a bit about songwriting. So that's the one I'm going to talk about.
1) You are one in a million.
Do you know how many people out there write songs? I'll give you a hint... A LOT! And for you to think that YOU of all people deserve a record deal is pretty arrogant. I'm not saying that you aren't good at writing, just don't think for a minute that out of all the "songwriters" in the world, you are the one that's going to make it big. That's pure crazy talk.
2) Songwriting can't just begin a career.
There is a lot of work, a lot of reputation to create, and a lot of heartbreak involved. You can't just sign a paper and be famous. It doesn't work like that. You have to play for people, make demos, prove yourself. Even if it's in the Christian industry, those people still have a job to uphold and they can't just sign every artist, genuine or not, and expect to stay serious. You'll get rejected. You'll put yourself out there and feel like you just got punched in the face. It's life, you chose that path. Pick up the pieces and, if you're serious, try again.
3) God has to be involved.
Even if you're not a Christian and reading this, it doesn't mean that there suddenly is no God that's running the universe. Just because you specifically don't believe in Him doesn't mean that He's not there carrying out His sovereign plan for your life. If God wants you, as a Christian or non-Christian, to be a professional musician, it will happen. Without a doubt.

So, there you have it. You can't write a few verses, record it on your computer, post it on MySpace (or Facebook), and expect to be famous sometime within the next few weeks. I don't plan to be famous. I write as a hobby and a way to reach people through the medium I know best. Things won't always go your way, and it takes everything you have to not be discouraged and to trust God. But, you can trust Him. He'll lead you through and if songwriting isn't His plan for you, then there is something even bigger and better in store. Just wait and see what He's got planned. God never ceases to amaze the people that trust Him.

God, You are... Immutable.

Immutable basically just means unchanging or changeless. This is so true. I don't know about you, but I would NOT want a God that changes His mind every 5 minutes, like I do. That's one thing I don't get about that people that say that God is just like us. That's just a frightening thought! A God who changes His mind? What if He decides not to love us? Or that sending Jesus was a mistake? Or that one of the 10 commandments doesn't belong? And, if He changes all that, then He could hold us accountable to live up to all those changes. That's just terrifying. And that's why I'm thankful that God doesn't change. He can't change. It is completely against His character to change. People change. People let you down. But you know you can depend on God because of His wonderful immutability and the fact that He can never stop loving you. It goes against His nature.

God, You are... Holy.

Holy, Holy, Holy
Holy is the Lord
Cry Holy
O, Holy Night
Holy God
Holy Fire

So many songs have been written about the holiness of God. Last year in my doctrine class we talked about the attributes of God. After all was said and done, we came to the conclusion that while all of God's characteristics are necessary, they all stem from His holiness. Holy is defined as: "specially recognized as or declared sacred by religious use or authority; consecrated." And God is sacred. He is our authority. It should be our goal to not just be "godly," but to have all of the traits that make up God, starting with his holiness. And that is what I want to do with my life. I don't want to be a "holy roller" that no one likes or a "Bible thumper" that everyone makes fun of; I want to live for Christ and show it with the way I live.
Romans 12:1: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship."

God, You are... Glory.

To tell the truth I've been having a bad last week or so. First off, I'm sick. That goes away; I'll be ok. But then it seems like I've been making all the wrong choices. I don't say the right things, do the right things, act the right way... nothing. And I know that I'm making bad choices. I just can't stop. There's the verse that says "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23 I believe? 6:23? I could look it up but then I'd lose my train of thought. Anyways, my point is that God is glory and we can't match up to Him. Ever. I had a bad week, but it will get better. If I look to God I, myself, will get better. But I will never be glory. I will never be perfect. I will always be human. I can strive to be godly, but I can never be God. That's all I have for today so, peace.

God, You are... Faithful.

"If we are faithless, he remains faithful"
-2 Timothy 2:13

God is always there for you. Unlike people who will leave, disown, and persecute you, you can always have faith in God. He will never leave you. People say when you can't turn to anyone else, turn to God. And I find that so incorrect because we should turn to God even when we can turn to other people. I want to be closer to God. I want to depend on His faithfulness. There's that old hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness." I hate hymns. But each time I hear this song and I listen to the words and decipher what they are saying, I am reminded how great and faithful our God really is. We can ALWAYS depend on Him.

God, You are... Everything.

Now, I by NO means am making a pantheistic statement here. Pantheism is when one believes that God is everything and everything is God... meaning EVERYTHING. Like this chair I'm sitting on, that tree, my cat, and even yourself. So. There's my disclaimer. Don't take me out of context.
Anyways...
What I'm meaning is that God is everything to me. He is my life, or should be. It reminds me of that song "Everything" by Lifehouse. It's a beautiful song and I'll post the lyrics at the end of this. Actually, I'm just not going to say anything else because the song says it all. Enjoy!

Find Me Here
Speak To Me
I want to feel you
I need to hear you
You are the light
That's leading me
To the place where I find peace again.

You are the strength, that keeps me walking.
You are the hope, that keeps me trusting.
You are the light to my soul.
You are my purpose...you're everything.

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

You calm the storms, and you give me rest.
You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.
You steal my heart, and you take my breath away.
Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Cause you're all I want, You're all I need
You're everything,everything
You're all I want your all I need
You're everything, everything.
You're all I want you're all I need.
You're everything, everything
You're all I want you're all I need, you're everything, everything.

And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Click here to listen.

God, You are... Demanding.

We tend to think of demanding as a bad word with negative connotations. But in this case, that couldn't be farther from the truth. God demands our whole hearts, minds, and souls. He demands that we live for Him and do everything for His glory. He demands our time, money, and service. He demands that we sacrifice. And ironically, if you do turn all those things over and live for Him, you're so much better off. God demands that we stop demanding our lives. He wants all of it. And I want to give Him my whole life. I want to lose control and give Him what he demands. Easier said than done, I know. But that is my goal. And I hope that through this "God, You Are" challenge and getting rid of some bad habits I can achieve that goal.

God, You are... Comforting.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."
-2 Corinthians 1:3-4

And that's just it. We are to comfort, because God is comforting. We are to be like Him in any way, shape, or form, and just comforting people when they're down is a great place to start. Sometimes it's really hard to look to God when you're down. It doesn't even matter how severe it is. You could just be sick. Or upset that a friend is upset. Or someone may have genuinely wronged you. Or you could be having work troubles;) And it's times like that when we can't depend on ourselves that we have to look to God. It's extremely difficult, but relieving. You lose all your pride, but you also gain so much trust in God. Being comforted is bittersweet because you are basically saying that no, you can't handle it all on your own. You need someone. And that someone is God. I will strive to find my comfort and solace in God, and in turn point others that direction.