Praise You Forever

I wrote these lyrics for anyone who is hurting or in need of love. I feel that as a church we should come together and stand in the gap for those who are feeling put down. For those who feel as though no one really cares. We should lift these people up in prayer and encourage them with the word of God.

So if you are experiencing a hard time in your life, please take time to read over these lyrics.

Praise You Forever

Verse 1

Are you hurting?

In need of love?

Are you crying?

Are you broken up?

Is your life falling apart?

Are you stranded in the dark?

Jesus Christ will give you rest.

Chorus

I will sing in my weakness

I will dance in my sorrow

You will prove to me your power

And I will praise you forever

Verse 2

Are you lonely?

Are you depressed?

Are you struggling?

Are you stressed?

Is there no hope, at all?

Are you too far out to call?

Jesus Christ will give you rest.

Bridge

Jesus, move in me!

Move in my life!

Only you can make things right!

Verse 3

Are you better?

Can you feel it?

Jesus Christ is here!

He has done it!

Shout with laughter

Dance in splendor

Jesus has given you rest!

Here with me

Merry Christmas!

As my gift to you, I have written new lyrics!

I have really been tossing around in my heart this idea of God being with me and how I long to be with God. I have gotten to a place in my life where I am no longer satisfied with being in a room where God is, I desire to be there WITH God! It's like being in a room with the person you secretly love isn't as good as when you are there with them.

So, I have written this song inspired by that idea and by the words of Psalm 4.

I have written it to be sung for Children's worship and I love imagining a crowd full of kids passionately crying out to their Savior, declaring that He will always be with them!

Here With Me

You hear every word I say

You listen when I pray

You answer me in your ways

You’re here with me, with me

When I am lost and afraid

You soothe my fear away

When fighting in the fray

You’re here with me, with me

Chorus

You are great, oh God

You are love, oh God

I want more of you

More of who you are

You are strong, oh God

You are grace, oh God

You are here with me

And I am here with you

Bridge

At the end of the day

I will say

You are with me

For the rest of my days

I will say

You are here with me

Forever and always

I will say

You are here with me

My Desire

I hope you like these songs because they just keep coming to me!

This one is a bit faster in pace, think Hillsong's Desert Song.

How often do we think of God as our desire? Do we honestly crave Him and His presence? We should. We should hunger after God with such a passion that it is all consuming!

Are you in a place where you feel dry? Rejoice! You are hungry! Feed on the presence of God and drink in every moment of worship you get! You won't be dry or starved for long!

Are you in the wasteland or sorrow? Rejoice! A river of worship will wash away the desert and fill your life with a new growth! A season of light is approaching!

Are you weak and tired, ready to give in? Rejoice! God's strength is MAGNIFIED in our trials! Give Him glory and watch as he restores life into your tired bones and fills you with unspeakable gladness!

This is the anthem of the whole and healthy as well as the poor and struggling!

God is calling us all to feast on His love!

My Desire

Your face is all I seek

Your love is all I need

You are my

My Desire

Your fire makes me whole

Your peace, it stills my soul

You are my

My Desire

Pre-Chorus

No one

No one will take your place

You’ll have

You’ll have all my praise

Chorus

You’re my Lover, Redeemer

My strength and my shelter

Almighty forever

You are my desire

Bridge

I hunger and thirst for you

And you alone

My desire is only you

And you alone

Soul and Heart (New Song)

What is it to give ourselves completely to God?

I believe that when we have given everything we are to god we have given him our two most prized possessions: our Souls and Hearts.

In giving God our souls, we are telling God that we put our eternal destination in him and we put the very cores of our beings in His loving hands. We offer up everything about us, everything that makes us who we are. After all, you are a spirit - a soul - encased in a human body for your time on the earth.

In giving God our Hearts, we give him our lives. We say, "Live or die, I will follow - no, I will CHASE after you, God!" Whatever the outcome of our lives, we have given our earthen vessels (our bodies) to God as holy sacrifices, allowing him to use us for the good of His Kingdom!

Is this scary? Well, sure. At first. But once you mediate on it and think about what you've done, you realize that you have insured the best for yourself, because God always does what is right, and no matter what happens to you, you can be secure in knowing that it is in God's hands. You put it there.

So, read the lyrics of this new song I have written and if the words have been your prayer then rejoice! You are safe and secure in the loving arms of a gracious Father. Satan will bring lies and tough circumstances to make you doubt the security you have. DON'T LET HIM STEAL YOUR SAFETY! We are alive in Christ and dead elsewhere.

I hope you enjoy the lyrics that the Holy Spirit gave to me. These words have become my cry.

Soul and Heart

Lift my eyes to see you

In your glory

Lift my heart to hear you

All your stories

Your messages and psalms

Your melodies songs

Lift my hands to praise You

And You alone

Lift my soul to meet you

At Your throne

You love is my obsession

And I am Your possession (Lord)

Chorus

I want to be with You

In our secret place

I’m longing for your love

Your song, your sweet embrace

I want to be with You

Take me where you are

I am Yours forever

Soul and Heart

Bridge

Forever I am Yours, Lord

My heart and soul are Yours, Lord

Monolougue

I am auditioning for Huckleberry Finn in my school's upcoming performance of Tom Sawyer.

Here is the monologue I plan to use! :)

Huntin’

I’ll never forget the day Daddy took me huntin’! He went and bought me a brand new BB gun for the trip! It was just after he’d been rabbit huntin’ and he’d gotten a new rabbit’s foot for his lucky hat. He said he was sure to get something special this time!

He took me out to the woods with his buddies and we got out in the really tall grassy part. He said, “Son, stay right here and wait while we go up ahead and look for deer.” It was deer season. So I did. I waited. I sat there until I couldn’t see Daddy over the hill of tall grass. Then, all-of-a-sudden I saw a little baby deer, out there in the grass. His little white tail flutterin’ in the wind. So, I picked up my BB gun, and I cocked it, and I shot the baby deer. POW! (Face slowly changes from excited to frightened) But that little baby deer wasn’t a baby deer. It was Daddy’s lucky hat. And that little white tail was his new rabbit’s foot he put on it. Boy, I got a good lickin’ that night! Haha! Whew! (Pause) No, I don’t reckon I’ll ever forget my first time huntin’.

The Love Radiant King

Think about that title.

Imagine a King crowned with glory and beaming with light. But this light isn't just bright. No, it's more than that. This light is warm and inviting. In some strange, poetic way you can feel that this light that beams from Him is love. Pure love. Unshakable love.

The Lord our God is a loving God and we often forget that through the hard times. But don't you know that when the hard times come and we are broken, beaten and, put down that He is our Savior? He delivered us from all of that heart ache years ago! Over 2,000 years ago! He is just waiting for you to believe that and trust in Him that he might show up and abolish the struggles that have invaded you, His child.

These are some lyrics I wrote today, inspired by the words of Isaiah 9:2. I have an idea of the tune but no chords down yet. It just kind of flowed out of me and the poetry of it is awesome.

Isn't that kind of what love is? Poetic? Graceful and beautiful. Lovely and strong.

The Love Radiant King

Verse 1

Darkness that covered the nations

Despair that befell the world

Has been vanquished and defeated

For their light is the Risen Lord!

Shadows that blocked out the morning

Night that replaced the day

Has scattered and shattered for they have seen

That the Light has prepared the Way!

Chorus

You are! You were!

You, my God, will always be

Salvation and freedom

The Love Radiant King!

Verse 2

Death that crippled the Holy

Sorrow that quenched my song

Will never captivate me

For with the Risen is where I belong

Gloom that choked out the glory

Poverty that took our strength

Has been laid to rest never to awake

In the power of Jesus’ name!

Verse 3

Hatred that stomped out the joy

Discourse that threatened the peace

Will never return to the ones in Him

For their hope is in their King

The lonely and forgotten

The unworthy and ashamed

Are forgiven and risen with Christ

Their robes are made white again!

Bridge

Glory to the One

The One who reigns

Forever and ever

For always!

Glory to the Son

The Son of Man

Risen and Reigning

Once again

Staying Busy

Some people often like to think that their "staying busy". As if constantly having things to do is a good thing.

I'm definitely not one to just sit around or to encourage doing so. I keep myself very busy! I am currently cast in a One Act play and a duet with my friend Michael, I am auditioning for the musical with a monologue and a 16 bar piece that I am pulling from Heaven sometime soon, I am working at my church in the Children and Youth departments, and I am attempting to juggle school and chores along with all of that.

So why am I so against the idea of keeping busy?

I have a lot on my plate, but I have made a crucial decision with all of my activities: nothing will keep me from going to church or spending time in my Bible at night.

My Youth pastor, Jeff Patterson, told our worship team, "If the Devil can't make you bad, he make you busy." At first I honestly thought this was a nice little nugget of wisdom but didn't see how deeply it rang true in my life and probably everyone's lives.

Think about it, if you're so busy running around all of the time, then you probably aren't taking time out of the day to be with God. What a shame.

Sometimes I think it's an "out of sight, out of mind" thing. God isn't constantly in our faces saying, "HEY! Talk to me! I made you! All I want is a hello, or maybe a thank you!" And since God doesn't do that we don't see any real point in going to Him.... unless a problem occurs.

I'm not here to preach or accuse, or even force feed you my theories on a good Christian lifestyle. I simply want to offer some knowledge I have gained along this random walk and present it to you that you might read it, meditate on it , and use it to help analyze your Christian walk as critically as you analyze my grammar.

Destiny

You are not doomed to failure, you are destined for greatness!

Take that in.

Breathe those encouraging words in like a fresh breath of ocean air.

Feels good.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

-Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

God has plans - HUGE plans - that will blow you away! These plans will plow over any dreams you have ever had. These plans will lift you up, make you feel good, anchor you in something and someone greater than yourself, set you on the highest pedestal of love and honor, bring a smile to your face, and just basically wrap you in the arms of your Father in Heaven.

But that verse never said that all of his plans would be plans you enjoy.

True, you will not be harmed, but your feelings might get hurt. Your faith may be shaken. Your finances may go to pot and you may end up on the street. I can assure you that when you follow Christ you take on a life that is constantly - CONSTANTLY - being toyed with by the enemy.

But from this struggle comes HOPE and a FUTURE! We are like gold purified through flames (tell me you haven't heard that before). Flowers can't bloom without suffering torrents of rain. You can't find true love without getting hurt first. You can't be whole without first be empty or broken.

You might be thinking. "how could a LOVING God be so cruel to me? Why must I endure all of this hardship?"

That is the classic complaint and America's greatest problem with God. He isn't fair enough. He isn't politically correct enough.

God is a jealous God! And He has a right to be! He desires and deserves all of your praise and then some! You can't be saved without first being lost. So look at your past. What did He do for you? What did He drag you out of? What did he wipe away? Aren't you glad it's blood-bought and over with? Then praise him! That's the whole point.

"How could he be so cruel?"

He understands that most people will only love on him when the going gets rough. So He allows the going to get rough that you might get down with the enemy and fight for your life and then come crawling back to God - all beaten and bruised - to say, "I NEED YOU! I CANNOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU! THERE IS NO POINT TO LIFE WITHOUT YOU! I GIVE YOU THE PRAISE BECAUSE I LOVE YOU AND I NEED YOU AND I NEVER WANT TO BE WITHOUT YOU!"

Then....

Like the first chirps of a blue bird back from his winter hiatus.

God shows up and your problems quickly slither into the shadows of the world!

In order to get the good things God has for you, you must endure the attacks of the enemy and you must worship God through it all. It will be hard and difficult and you may have moments of such terrible weakness that it is physically exhausting.

But you will not be harmed, and if you can make it and keep the faith then God will bestow upon you the blessings of a bright future and hope for greater things!

Tacky/Cheesy Infomercial About Home Security

It's 12:43 AM and you are sound asleep in your cozy warm bed. Suddenly the gritty sound of glass breaking rings through the house. But you don't hear it because you are asleep. The burglars waltz in and steal your valuables (I can just picture these gross guys dressed in black dancing around your living-room and gracefully picking up your DVD player). You wake up at the regular time to the surprising bareness of your living-room's entertainment center.

"Why did this happen?!"

Because you didn't have security.

Many Christians keep Jesus in their hearts but forget to lock him in there or get some security. So, the devil and his minions easily walk up and take him out of the average Christian's heart and replace Jesus with something sick and disgusting like baked beans or a Sponge Bob Marathon. Ugh. What do we do to keep Jesus in and that other junk out? We get security!

"How?"

I'm glad you asked.

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)

Yes sir, the verse above is very much the truth and if you don't get some security that "someone" will be you.

First and foremost you need the HOLY SPIRIT!!! He comes free of charge and he will help you out a TON! He's like that alarm that goes off when the devil is about to break in and do something stupid. Also he will help you talk to God, teach you a bizarre new language and even give you multiple gifts that will be discussed at a later time.

Next you'll need a Bible. This may cost as little as $10 or as much as $130. Thank God for options. However this piece of the security bundle does you NOTHING unless you READ IT! Hopefully some of it will stick in your mind and you will be able to use it to thwart the devil's attacks. The devil may be out for blood but if you throw him scripture to chew on he'll leave pretty quickly!

Last, you need to pray. Often. This will cost you some time. For many of you that is a pretty large price tag but you have to make it happen. Spending time with God is key in making sure that he sticks around. Not that he'll leave you but he likes to hear from you and if you neglect to talk with him you might forget about him and... well you know. Sad.

So, now that you have security let's watch what happens the next time the burglars come around.

It's 12:43 AM and you are sound asleep in your cozy warm bed. Suddenly the gritty sound of glass breaking rings through the house. But you don't hear it because you are asleep. The burglars waltz in like they have done so many times before. Suddenly a loud, annoying alarm begins to blare and the burglars freak out. They head out the back door but it is too late! Some red-headed lady with thick, black glasses and a perfect smile worked the night-shift and called in some help. Now the SWAT team is taking down your grimy intruders and you can sleep soundly. Ah.

Life, Love, and Letting Go - Part 3

This the last part in my mini-series. I hope that you enjoy this and that these three posts have impacted your life in some way.

If you go up to a smoker and tell him to quit because it is slowly killing him, the smoker usually will laugh and shrug off your caring comment without any conviction whatsoever. So why should Pastors get away with simply telling people that they should just stop sinning?

Don't get me wrong, I am NOT promoting sin or smoking but I am trying to make a point, so hang with me. :)

No smoker quits "cold-turkey", or right away. It is a process that is slow, long, and painful. Smokers get so caught up in the "habit" of smoking that breaking that habit is extremely hard and most of them start on the Journey of Stopping and fail due to discouraging/negative thoughts like "I can't do this."

Similarly, many sins can become so habitual that they are hard to conquer. But isn't it kind of necessary? Think about it, when you sin you feel the rush of rebelling and it feels good, almost like an accomplishment, for a few short seconds. Then the reality of your recently committed sin smacks you like a heavy weight champion and you're floored by the weight of your misstep.

Oops.

Romans 6:19 (MESSAGE) says it pretty well.

"...You can readily recall, can't you, how at one time the more you did just what you felt like doing—not caring about others, not caring about God—the worse your life became and the less freedom you had? And how much different is it now as you live in God's freedom, your lives healed and expansive in holiness?"

Okay, so on one hand we have a carefree lifestyle where anything goes and on the other hand we have a life of rules and standards that are very high set and seem almost impossible to the poor newbie. BUT! The lifestyle that has no worries or rules slowly suffocates you like a boa and the one with strict rules and high standards becomes easier and more free as time passes. Which one do you choose?

I understand more than most that breaking old habits and tough sins is like a bed of roses, sounds easy until you get deeper in and realize the thorns HURT! But fear not, there is a bonus to the harsh struggle of overcoming sin, you get to live the life that GOD wants you to live. That's right he has a blue-print of your future and although you begun to deviate from the plan, He is ready to tear down the hunk-of-junk you built and rebuild you a mansion that he will be more than happy to abide within!

"But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master."

Romans 6:22-23

Life, Love, and Letting Go - Part 2

One could talk about the love between a man and a woman, or the love between man and God, but I want to talk about the love between man and his neighbor.

"Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other."

-John 13:34-35

This passage introduces what is known as the 11 Commandment. Jesus gives us the simple task of loving one another... no, I take that back, it's the difficult task of loving one another. Why is so hard? Ask yourself.

Why don't I get along with everybody around me?

Why do I see people as people and not potential children of God?

Have I missed opportunities to witness to someone because I didn't like them?

The reason why is it so hard to get along with or even love our neighbors is because we humans have the natural ability to blow up the smallest situations into World War III. Take this for example:

You lend your neighbor a hammer so he can help his wife hang shelves and pictures as they remodel their living room. He keeps the hammer for a week or so and you wonder where it is. You ask him what happened and he claims it is lost and he is looking for it. Really, he accidentally threw it away with the packaging for his new shelves and it is now sitting in a smelly junk yard outside of town. You scream and yell and before you know it you're filing for a ridiculous lawsuit of $30 to replace the hammer.

I am not saying that you should go over and kiss your neighbor and I am surely not promoting creepers, but I am saying that it wouldn't hurt to give your neighbor a complement or get to know them beyond their imperfections. Trust me it isn't easy, I have been in situations where I was hurt or disgusted by a person and I lost the opportunity to witness to them. Don't miss the chance to change someone's life.

Who knows? You might get the next Billy Graham saved!

Someday soon I will post the third part to this series "Letting Go"

Life, Love, and Letting Go - Part 1

Conflict is a struggle. Good versus bad. Right against wrong. Hero fighting villain. But why does it have to play into our lives? Why must we endure the negative effects of conflict? Why does God allow us to go through the many hardships of life?

First, let me say that I know that life is NOT a bed of roses. It has never been one for me and I doubt it ever will... so long as I live on earth. However, I do know that there are moments of sweet serenity that I spend with God and these short moments get me through my stressful days. Life is often like a roller coaster that never ends. There are high points of joy and excitement, rises of anxiety, falls of fear, and low points of sorrow or disappointment. One can really enjoy life or one can really hate it. Whether or not you enjoy life is up to you.

Some people enjoy life but never look to the true life or the eternal life. I believe in watching what I do on earth that I might join my Father and my Savior in Heaven for eternity. I have had to sacrifice of myself (such as my time, energy, or sinful interests) to be sure of this future unity and I will sacrifice more for him in the years to come. Jesus spoke in Matthew 19:29 about this sacrifice.

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life."

This doesn't mean that the only way to heaven is by leaving your family and children, but it gives an example. To follow God is to lay down your earthen life and all the things you wanted to do to take up the cross of Christ and follow in His plan for your life. At first it sounds like a bummer, but if you stick to his plan you will find that it is much greater than your wildest scheme!

I will talk about Love in my next post and you can make a guess about the subject of the post to follow that one!