I'm forgiven...

Beautiful song by Sanctus Real - "Forgiven"

Volcanoes!!!

Have I ever mentioned my fascination of volcanoes?!?! Seriously...I find them so intriguing and want to learn more about them!

Also, thought one of the comments was funny...I would with my sense of humor :) "it's quite ironic to say "the lava is so cool"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HURs_JxnKdg

Sermons from Mars Hill Church

I received a tip from a friend last semester to watch some sermons from Mars Hill Church(in Seattle, oops - i wrote Minneapolis before but that was incorrect!) and have finally gotten around to it. I would highly recommend it. They are phenomenal and truly preach from the Gospel.

A few quotes that have really inspired me:

"You need to distinguish between temptation and sin, they're two totally different things. If you don't get this distinction, satan will absolutely destroy your conscience. Temptation is when we are presented with an opportunity to sin. Sin is when we act on it."

"He lived the life we couldn't live, He died the death we should have died, He rose to give forgiveness, grace, and mercy that we didn't deserve. There is no one like Jesus, no one."

-both quotes are from Mark Driscoll in his Sermon "How Human was Jesus?" in the Vintage Jesus series.

http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/vintagejesus

"I am a Christian"

"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 the 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"

- Maya Angelou

Prayer

Pray for yourself, pray for others, pray for the grace of God, pray for forgiveness, pray for kindness, pray for strength, pray with others, pray alone, pray at night, pray during the day. Just pray - glorify God.

A faithful example...

So I just found a quote as a friends facebook status and I really like it.

"True spirituality is not based upon religious observance, but upon illuminating the darkest places with the power of your faithful example."

faithful example....those are the powerful words. Illuminating those dark places with a faithful example is something I pray I can do - that Christ uses me to speak to others. Being a faithful, however, example is SO much harder to do than it sounds. It perfectly fits with the quote "Easier said than done" because truly being a Christ example is difficult. This reminds me a lot of last weeks sermon. Being a Christ example is stepping across boundary lines and the exact opposite of a stepladder mentality - going higher at the expense of others. We all have this stepladder mentality but we need to trust in God enough to let go of it. Eventually we get so high that it isn't possible to see others as Jesus does. I dare you to ask yourself...how high on the stepladder are you? It's a difficult task to come down but through Christ is possible. I found it really encouraging that even our pastor fully admitted to a stepladder mentality. It's not just something that we are faced with everyday - but all the time. Knowing that others are trying to embrace the same mindset as I am is encouraging.

Needtobreath

I want to write a TON write now but should put my writing towards my paper due tomorrow. However, I am going to the Needtobreathe concert tomorrow night and have been listening to their songs. I absolutely love their music. I would even consider them in my top 5 bands. I have been listening to this song Garden and really thinking about the spiritual meaning that they connect to it. I wanted to post it with an intro from them at a radio station. The beginning explains the story behind it and its beautiful. I love the way music and faith comes together!