Song Break Down- Anchor

This week I am going to write about "Anchor" by Colton Dixon. The song is great in getting it's message across that we all need an anchor to hold us through the storm. And a cool thing about this song is that it fits perfectly with Hebrews 6:19a which goes, "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul firm and secure." I don't know if that was Colton's intention to get the song to match so well with the verse or not.
In the first part of Hebrews 6:19a it talks about having hope. There is a line the song that specifically relates to hope. "This is my only hope/ that you'll never let me go." The hope in the verse is talking about having hope in something that is secure, like the anchor. In the song, it talks about how our only hope is that God will hold you and never let go of you. The use of the word "only" makes me think that up until this point you have tried other things to keep you in your place during the storm, but they let you keep floating and they didn't help. God is the only one who can hold us strong through the storm when we place our hope in him.
The next part talks about the anchor. Before I can go any father, I think it is important to think about what an anchor does. An anchor is something that you drop in the water to keep a ship in one place. The anchor is buried in the ground from the weight, and it is unmovable. If you think about God as our anchor, he is something that is unchanging, and he is there to keep you in place. He is always there for you and he is something you can always depend on and put your hope in.
The last part talks about the soul that is anchored. Like the ship, you need something to hold your soul in place, or else you can float away and crash into objects that will harm you. I love the bridge of the song which is "Save our soul, save our soul, save our soul." over and over again. It is a cry out to God that we do need an anchor, and we need the anchor to save us from the danger up ahead.
In the verse and in the song we can see how when we place our hope in God as our anchor, he is going to hold us through the storm. He is the one who is going to keep us from hitting dangerous objects or completely falling over a waterfall.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you so much for being our anchor through the storm. I place my hope in you first because I know that you will be there, secure and firm. Thank you for this song as a reminder that we always have someone to hold us through the storm. Amen.

Anchor Lyric Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0v2ewdh4Hs

Christians Can Have Fun

I don't know why we have this idea in our head, that Christians are no fun sticks in the mud.  I mean people can justify it by all the rules that Christians have to follow, like don't steal, or lie, or murder. The thing is these rules were put there to show us how much we need a Savior, not to make our lives dull. We should try to obey the laws, but God wants us to be happy and to have a little fun in our lives. Ecclesiastes 8:15 says, "So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun." God does want us to have fun and he isn't trying to work us to death. God gave us a day to rest during the week, and he gave us friends and family to hang out with. We do have to be careful and watch what we say and do, but going to a cafe with your friends isn't a sin. Watching a movie with your boyfriend isn't a sin, you just have to be aware of the temptations there. Having fun doesn't equate to sin, you just have to be careful of the temptations present. So I will keep this post short, so that you can go out there and have a little fun today, instead of just listening to me blab. Also, tomorrow is Sunday, and liked I talked about in my last post, take this day to relax and connect with God.

Dear Heavenly Father,
I have this crazy idea in my head of what a "Christian life" should look like. I pray that you help me break down those ideas, so that I can see you for you, and how much you love me and how you do want me to have fun and to be glad Lord. Thank you for your love everyday, and that the love you have will encourage me to go and have fun, while I work for you. 

Point of View

I am the one full of doubt.
I am the one who is shy.
I am the one who would rather
Go hide in the corner than talk to people.

Or at least that is what I thought.

It is funny
How you can go through life,
With an opinion of yourself,
That is totally different from
The people around you.

Not only that,
You walk through life,
With a view of yourself,
That is way different
Then the way God sees you.

God calls us his children.
God laid down his life for us.
God has forgiven us of our sins.
God loves us.
But we often forget all of that.

We shouldn't let our views
Affect the way that we think God sees us.
For all these traits were written in the Bible,
Never changing with time.
But we often based our view
on how we are perceived,
based off our ever changing emotions.

I am loved.
I am forgiven.
I am his child.
I am not forgotten

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your constant love, and for the fact that you don't change. when I am changing constantly, it is good to know that I have a rock to lean on. Thanks for being my rock. Amen.

Right Where I Need To Be/ God's Timing

So this post is a transition from what I have been talking about into a new series about God's Timing

This summer I came home, and I worked once again at the AMC down the street. And just like last year, God placed in my life another person that he would use to draw me closer to him. His name is Marcus. He is such a caring individual, and a great guy to be around. He is also completely insane, but that is what makes him so much fun to be with.

Once we started talking more, I found myself praying and reading my Bible more, because I knew that this was a gift from God. This is how I showed God my appreciation of what he had done in my life. There are times in life where you just need people to talk to you aren't like you. I tried to talk to my Christian friends about my struggles, and most of the times they are helpful, but sometimes they just don't know what to say. I come home and talk to people who aren't Christians, and we talk, and they listen, and they have the particular experiences to help me with what I am going through. Then I compare what they say to what the Bible says, and that ends up bringing me closer to God.

For example, one conversation Marcus and I had one day was about dating. Everyone at work wants to know who is dating, and they always find it surprising that I haven't even been on a date. And it isn't always easy to be single, especially when you go to a college, where some of your peers are already married, and you can't even get a date. Marcus and I were talking about this and all the drama, and he says to count myself lucky that I haven't had to go through all the drama in high school. Then he said something that blew my mind. He said that one day I would find a guy who appreciates me to date. Just to hear him say that is something I will never forget. On reflecting on what he said, I remember the Bible verses about being thankful in every situation, no matter if I am single or dating. It also reminded me of all the times in the Bible that mentioned God's perfect will for me, and I need to be patient for it to be fulfilled.

Now to explain how God's timing fits into this. We had actually met last summer at work, and for the life of me, I can not remember him. Then this summer he comes up to me, and asked if I worked last summer. I said yes, and then we just started talking.  God has been working on this relationship since last summer, and he was waiting for the right time for it to begin to bloom. It reminds me of Ecclesiastes 3, which talks about how there is a time for everything under the sun. Last summer it was Adam who I talked to at work and hung out with outside of work. But God knew that Adam wouldn't return to AMC the following summer. So he started my relationship with Marcus because he knew that I would be drained from the school year, and I needed someone just to talk to and hang out with. God knew the character of Marcus and made our friendship bloom when the time was right.

It is amazing to think about how God knows everything that is going to happen, and that he is working it for the good of those who follow him. It is also important to realize that when God says wait, that something even better is coming later. God has everything under control even when we don't.

Dear Heavenly Father
Thank you for you timing and having me right where I need to be. Thank you for placing Marcus in my life, and I pray that you will bless him this upcoming school year and that you will draw him close so he can know you and your love.  Thank you for watching over me and orchestrating everything in my best interest. Amen. 

Right Where I Need To Be-Part 3

Last semester when I was registering for classes, I had a complication which caused me to take a class during the summer. Now typically school during summer is a very depressing idea, but I don't think I would have wanted to take it at any other time. The class was called Diversity and Inequality. For most of the papers, we had to talk to people who were diverse. Growing up in a very diverse community, I was able to call my old high school friends and ask them the questions for the paper. The beautiful thing about this is that we were able to catch up after a year of college. It was interesting to see what they were doing in college and to hear about all the experiences that they had.

Another thing is that I was able to talk about what I was learning at where I worked. Getting other people's opinion on certain topics was interesting. One part of the class is to look at diversity and inequality from a Christian point of view. It was interesting to discuss these views with people from my work because not all of them are Christian. I feel like sometimes at Dordt, you tend to get one view on something, but with where I work, you got all these different points of view, and it creates great discussing. That is one thing I miss when I come to Dordt is all the discussions.

Lastly, after taking this class, I realized that I want to do an Independent Study for my honors college about this topic. I have room in my schedule, and I will have the whole semester to work on it. I am so glad that I took this course over the summer.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the schools that we have to  help us gain knowledge. Help me in all my studies, and to use them to further the Kingdom of God. Amen. 

Right Where I Need To Be- Part 2

So this summer I was volunteering at my old church production crew. In July, I got one Sunday off from working, so I went to the service of my church I go to while in Denver. That week they were preaching on Samson. The next week I was back  volunteering and the topic of the sermon was also on Samson. Within a week I heard two sermons on Samson.

The first sermon was about how Samson continually fell into lustful desires. These lustful thoughts led him to sleep with many woman who were intent to destroy his strength. We talked about how after one time of making that mistake that Samson would have learned his lesson. But he didn't. He kept sleeping with woman and walking on the edge of the line, until on night one of his mistresses cut off his hair, leaving him weak and defenseless.

The second sermon talked about how strong Samson actually was. He was able to defeat 100 men with the jawbone of a donkey. He ripped a lion apart with his bare hands. The pastor talked about how strong Samson was, and how the favor of God was on Samson, giving him the ability to do these amazing feats.

Now we listen to a story like this, and believe that it is just a story. Not many of us and tare a lion apart. We also may not struggle with lustful desires, so we sit there with the attitude that it doesn't matter to us. The thing is that while you may not fit that story in every detail, that story does apply to many of us. I know for me it does. One gift that God gave me is that I am a good listener and I have a big heart for people and their situations. I may not be defeat hundreds of people, but I am giving people a place to go to where they are broken, and they just need someone to vent to.

And just like Samson, I do have a sin in my life that I repeatedly do, and I never learn my lesson. For me, I lie to my parents when it comes to hanging out with guys. I either lie about who I am with or what I am doing. Last summer, I got busted about a lie that I told about who I was hanging out with. I felt so bad because I let them down and broke their trust. I thought I had learned my lesson, but than just yesterday, I lied to my mom about what movie me and a friend were going to see. Just like Samson, I kept participating in the same sin in my life, either though I should have learned my lesson.

I know God arranged my schedule because I did need to listen to those sermons. Now that I have realized I am like Samson, I can reflect on what I am doing, and what Samson did to grow closer to God. I know that I am not going to be perfect because there is sin, but I can now reflect on the root of my sin and why I do it. I can than work on changing my habits so that I sin less. I don't want my sin to destroy me, so I need to get it in check now. It is not going to be easy, but with God's help I can change it. I want to stop telling lies to my parents so they can trust me, because they deserve better than that, and I can use the gifts God gave me to their fullest potential.

Dear Heavenly Father,
I admit that I am broken and full of sins, yet I recognize that you have given me great gifts. Help me to turn away from my sinful desires and to your grace, so that I may be able to live the plan you have for me. Please forgive me for all the lies I have told and all the deceit I have caused. Lord help me to be truthful and honest, especially to my parents.