I can honestly say I haven't been much of a Christian music junkie since junior high or even elementary school. Of course, I listen to it off and on, and during college I found a few bands in which I took particular interest, but to turn on the radio and listen to a Christian radio station...that just isn't me. Or maybe I should say wasn't me. Something changed in my life this year. God began to call me out on areas of my life that needed work. One of those things being the music I listen to day in and day out.
For the month of February I challenged myself to only listen to Christian music (when I was in charge of the radio dial or music selection). Though I fought many temptations to turn to a secular song selection during those 28 days, I was amazed at my transformed attitude and view of life throughout each day. Rather than humming pointless tunes, and often times less than wholesome lyrics, my mind was filled each day with promises and reminders of how great God is. February came and went, and I decided to continue this challenge through March adding in one day a week when I could choose any music I wanted.
As Easter approached, I was amazed at how many songs spoke of the sacrifice Christ suffered for our atonement. I have fallen in love with these songs and the reminder they give. I've cried to a few of them, and I've shared lyrics with struggling friends. I've even used them as witnessing tools to explain the gift God freely gave us. Here's a few of my favorites that played on repeat today.
Glorious Day (Casting Crowns)
Christ is Risen (Matt Maher)
I Will Rise (Chris Tomlin)
Christ is risen from the dead.It is a glorious day, and because of his sacrifice we should rise and proclaim HIS name among the nations.
HE LIVES and HE LOVES!!
Now April is nearly over, and I can honestly say, 95% of the time, I choose Christian music on my own without giving it a second thought.
Many times recently I've been put in my place and forced to give thanks to God for the blessings He has poured out on my life. For far too long I had become complacent in my faith. I continued my church attendance (when I'm in town on the weekend), read my Bible (if I didn't fall asleep at night first), and I'd say a prayer here or there as it was convenient. For so long, things have been going well for me, and I seemed to "forget" that I still needed to build and develop my relationship with Christ.
Through multiple situations recently, I've been reminded of my need for Jesus in my life, and my life that was going okay has gotten so much better! Jesus doesn't need me to accept Him as my Savior; rather the opposite is true, and I should be grateful that He ACCEPTS me. I am so thankful that even when I become complacent, God never leaves my side, and He never gives up on me. Even when I don't think I need Him, He is there watching out for me.
Let me share with you just a few of the praises God has given me in just the last month.
Money/job for the summer: You see, I had been praying about traveling to Peru for the month of July for a while, but I never dreamed it would be a reality. Not knowing, yet, whether or not I will have a teaching job next year, the responsible side of me felt that I should stay in the States and work for the summer. However, God kept saying, "Go to Peru." I tried to pass it off as a crazy idea, but when the director of LYNC (the summer program I work for) was able to negotiate a salary comparable to what I make in a normal summer working full-time, I knew it was God preparing the path for my return to Peru.
A traffic warning vs a ticket: A few weeks ago I was pulled over by a state police for going 12 over (57 in a 45 m.p.h. zone). I knew for sure I was toast. As I gave the officer my license and registration, I panicked thinking the price of a ticket may interfere with my ability to buy a ticket to return to Peru. I prayed that the cost for a speeding ticket would not interfere with this, and when the officer returned, he let me off with a warning. I was shocked and so thankful to Jesus for yet again preparing the path for my return to Peru.
Cheap flight ticket: I've been watching flight prices since January waiting for the price to drop. Unfortunately, the rise in gas prices has caused major inflation in the airline industry. When I saw that the cheapest tickets were still over $1000, I was once again unsure whether returning to Peru was the right thing to do. Then one night I came across a website that sells cheaper tickets to "youth" 25 years of age and younger. I found a round-trip flight for $665...only $17 more than what I paid last year. I knew this was a God thing. I prayed about Peru for another week, and later bought my ticket certain that God had again prepared the path before me. (I just checked flight prices again out of curiosity...they are up $100 from just last Saturday.)
These are only a few things God has done in the last month that have drawn me back to Him. While I never technically "walked away" my relationship with Him was lacking. However, He never left my side, and He continued to pour into my life revealing His plan for me one day at a time. While I'm still unsure what my life will bring come August, I know that God is in control, and He is preparing the way. I am in complete awe of my Father in Heaven, and I am falling more in love with Him each moment.
My class has recently begun doing research for a nonfiction writing assignment. Each child was permitted to choose a topic of interest from our science and social studies lessons this year. They were then to take what we had learned already and develop it to another level of understanding through questioning and research. One of my students chose to research the sun, and one question she asked was, "Does the sun make sound?" First of all, I was surprised that a third grader had thought of such a question, and then I got really excited to share some of my knowledge with this child and the rest of the class.
You see, at the beginning of the month I attended a Louie Giglio (I just love his name!) event in Ft. Wayne. I haven't stopped thinking of his message and God's splendor since that night. Louie spoke about the universe praising God, and he shared clips of the universe and noises that surround us, noises that God created to praise Him. He shared Psalm 150 which begins with, "Praise the Lord". This chapter also ends by declaring, "Praise the Lord." Louie Giglio went on to share various objects in space (the sun, stars, pulsars, etc.) and zoomed in on their sounds for all to hear. I had never even considered that such objects would dare make a sound. What a concept! Next, Mr. Giglio moved on to items on earth (whales, wind, etc.). Finally, he spoke about how all creation cries out to God, but somehow humanity, one of God's most prized creations has failed to seriously praise him. We praise him shyly (if at all), and give him hardly the credit that He deserves. Our praise has become less than joyful; most of the time it is simply noise in God's ear as we sing with still faces in a routine-like fashion.
To close out the message, Louie put all of the sounds he had shared together in one glorious blend of praise. He allowed them to play and as the crowd fell to complete silence, Chris Tomlin faded in playing How Great is Our God. The blend of the sounds was incredible. Tears flooded my eyes as I realized how "in tune" creation was with Christ, yet how "out of tune" humanity seems to be. It breaks my heart to ponder the complacency of today's church. I want to be part of the change the church needs. I hope my praise to God is not simply noise to His ears.
Now back to the top...
It was because of this night with Louie Giglio that I knew that the sun makes sound as it burns. I was able to share the noise of the sun with my students, and we discussed other objects in the universe that make sound. I had a great time with my class listening to sounds of the universe for about 10 minutes. They were amazed, and I was filled with joy as one child asked, "Miss O'Connor, how is that even possible?" My answer: "God can do all things. He created the universe, and he made the sound to give him something to listen to." My students sat in silence for a moment before one child shouted out, "That's so cool!!" My heart immediately smiled :)
I haven't been able to find any youtube videos from the specific night I attended this fantastic event, but I found a similar version of the first part of the sermon. Listen if you wish.
A few months back I walked into our local Family Christian Bookstore in search of a Spanish/English Bible with the KJV in Spanish and NIV in the English translation. I found exactly what I was looking for but not before came across the bestsellers shelf. One copy of Crazy Love was standing on this shelf among other bestsellers, and I couldn't help but gravitate towards it. This seems insignificant, but might I add that friends had told me to read this book long ago. For so long I had avoided this book because I was afraid it might convict me and cause me to have to change my lifestyle. However, this cold, snowy day, in early 2011, God spoke to me and clearly told me to buy this book. Knowing it would put me over my budget for the week, I hesitated, yet I found myself moments later in the check-out line with this book and a Spanish KJV/English NIV Bible in hand.
You see, I'm cool with God. I love Jesus with my whole heart, but living incomplete abandonmentof self, can be a scary thought for this girl that likes to have everything under control. I like to convince myself that God is in control of my life, but often times I find myself worrying, stressed out, and clinging to MY LIFE while God is pushed to the backseat.
Currently, I'm about 3/4 of the way through the book, and I could not be more pleased with this purchase. It has made me think, and it has convicted me, but most importantly, it has developed within me a burning to desire to love God and know Him more. Many times throughout the book, I have had to stop right where I am, put the book down and pray. It has helped me to see more clearly my areas of weakness, but also it has shown me many of my strengths.
Something that stuck out to me tonight as I read was the word obsessed. Am I obsessed with Jesus, the Creator of the universe who loves me with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love? Francis Chan goes on to say that being obsessed with Christ means we hold NOTHING back...love others despite their flaws...take risks for Him...give Him the credit for all of our accomplishments...give to the poor even in tough times...sacrifice...serve.
And in the end...Being a Christian isn't about a list of do's and don'ts. It's about it's about falling in love with God. It's about living in reckless abandonment to him, because when you fall in love with someone, you become obsessed, and EVERYTHING CHANGES.
