"Fix You" by Coldplay
When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse
And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone, but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
Tears stream down on your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down on your face
And I...
Tears stream down on your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down on your face
And I...
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
Ever lost something that just can't be replaced? I've been there. I've lost many battles in my life.
A promise broken.
A commitment unfulfilled.
An obligation pushed aside.
Trust shattered.
A friendship jeopardized.
And those are just a few.
When you are young, you are invincible. You know everything. Alcohol won't cause bad decisions. Cars don't drive fast enough to kill you. Smoking isn't the cause of throat cancer. Boys don't break hearts and they always respect you. Somewhere along the path, you realize you didn't know it all. Mistake after mistake, tear after tear, you yearn for something truthful. You search for a light at the end of the tunnel. The one that is sure to guide you home.
Despite many cheek-drenching moments in my life, amidst all the despair, all the pain...there has always been a Light. That place where I am accepted unconditionally. Where my latest betrayal didn't matter. Where who I was made to be is more important than who I just pretended to be. It's a Light...that always leads me home...always ignites my bones...always fixes me.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
"The Real Deal"...New Look. New Blog. New Purpose.
“Grace abounds in contemporary movies, books, novels, films and music. If God is not in the whirlwind, He may be in a Woody Allen film, or a Bruce Springsteen concert. Most people understand imagery and symbol better than doctrine and dogma. Images touch hearts and awaken imaginations. One theologian suggested that Springsteen's 'Tunnel of Love' album, in which he symbolically sings of sin, death, despair and redemption, is more important for Catholics than the Pope's last visit when he spoke of morality only in doctrinal propositions.”
― Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out
Up until this point, my blog has been pretty straight forward. Basically, I would read or hear a scripture pertaining to something in my life that I have dealt with or found appealing at the time, and express what I felt the quote and/or scripture meant to me in my life. In the past few weeks, I've struggled with my blog. I debated whether to change it up or leave it be. Usually, if I'm debating in my mind about it for that long, its time for a change, kind of like a facelift. I tend to be a creature of habit, but I get bored after a while. At this point in my life, I feel most drawn to the people who really are like me. The ones who don't or try to seem as if they have it all together. The ones not afraid to admit the cheese is falling off their cracker. The friends that have real life issues. Real life problems. And real "what if's" that need answers. The ones that won't just say, "I'll pray about that," but, "How can I help?" I mean, isn't that what being a disciple is all about? Isn't that what people are really looking for?
After today, my blog will have a new look and a new purpose. "The Real Deal," will be the new title. The purpose has the same basic goal, to lead people to Christ, but in a completely different way...through secular movies, music, books, etc. The problem with religion is it tends to think God is confined to Christian music, the bible, sermons and things of the like. That's simply not true. No wonder so many people would rather slit their wrists than become a Christian. A lot of churches convince them, "if it's not within these four walls, it's not of God!" Before you write me off as a Christian who's fallen off her rocker, think back to Jesus' example. He was found in some of the most "unreligious" places. Eating with a tax collector, gettin' down on the dance floor at a party (yes, with wine!), conversing with a prostitute (I can't imagine what kind of rumors came out of that story). Despite the religious people of that time who deemed him blasphemous, he carried on day by day, showing others God is by no means confined to the Temple. He is alive, well and active outside those walls. In fact, I would be so bold to say you might have a better chance of finding Him out on the street than in some of these churches.
Now is the time. People need real people. They aren't looking for those who have the nicely pressed collars around their neck or the "holier than thou's" that are afraid to seem normal, frightful that if they don't seem to have it all together, they will receive some kind of demerit. They are looking for God to be here among us, in the movie they saw, in the song that just came on the radio, in the sunset they just witnessed that seemed almost as if God himself painted it. This blog will be written for them. It is not for the super-religious. It is not for those who refuse to see God in our culture today. It is not for the people who have never been in a valley. It is for the ones who can admit they aren't perfect. It is for those who have tried and tried and still don't seem to "get it." It is for those who for the millionth time are trying to start over. It is for the people who aren't afraid of seeing God from a different angle. It is for the people who swear they have felt the love of God while listening to a Bruce Springsteen song. It is for people like me.
If we would pull ourselves away from the four walls of a church. If we could put down the spiritual book we feel obligated to read every morning because we are afraid it will be our only "spiritual medicine" for the day. If we would open our minds and hearts to see the beauty in a sunset, the lyrics in a song, the character in a movie, I believe we could experience a side of God we've never seen before.
― Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out
Up until this point, my blog has been pretty straight forward. Basically, I would read or hear a scripture pertaining to something in my life that I have dealt with or found appealing at the time, and express what I felt the quote and/or scripture meant to me in my life. In the past few weeks, I've struggled with my blog. I debated whether to change it up or leave it be. Usually, if I'm debating in my mind about it for that long, its time for a change, kind of like a facelift. I tend to be a creature of habit, but I get bored after a while. At this point in my life, I feel most drawn to the people who really are like me. The ones who don't or try to seem as if they have it all together. The ones not afraid to admit the cheese is falling off their cracker. The friends that have real life issues. Real life problems. And real "what if's" that need answers. The ones that won't just say, "I'll pray about that," but, "How can I help?" I mean, isn't that what being a disciple is all about? Isn't that what people are really looking for?
After today, my blog will have a new look and a new purpose. "The Real Deal," will be the new title. The purpose has the same basic goal, to lead people to Christ, but in a completely different way...through secular movies, music, books, etc. The problem with religion is it tends to think God is confined to Christian music, the bible, sermons and things of the like. That's simply not true. No wonder so many people would rather slit their wrists than become a Christian. A lot of churches convince them, "if it's not within these four walls, it's not of God!" Before you write me off as a Christian who's fallen off her rocker, think back to Jesus' example. He was found in some of the most "unreligious" places. Eating with a tax collector, gettin' down on the dance floor at a party (yes, with wine!), conversing with a prostitute (I can't imagine what kind of rumors came out of that story). Despite the religious people of that time who deemed him blasphemous, he carried on day by day, showing others God is by no means confined to the Temple. He is alive, well and active outside those walls. In fact, I would be so bold to say you might have a better chance of finding Him out on the street than in some of these churches. 
Now is the time. People need real people. They aren't looking for those who have the nicely pressed collars around their neck or the "holier than thou's" that are afraid to seem normal, frightful that if they don't seem to have it all together, they will receive some kind of demerit. They are looking for God to be here among us, in the movie they saw, in the song that just came on the radio, in the sunset they just witnessed that seemed almost as if God himself painted it. This blog will be written for them. It is not for the super-religious. It is not for those who refuse to see God in our culture today. It is not for the people who have never been in a valley. It is for the ones who can admit they aren't perfect. It is for those who have tried and tried and still don't seem to "get it." It is for those who for the millionth time are trying to start over. It is for the people who aren't afraid of seeing God from a different angle. It is for the people who swear they have felt the love of God while listening to a Bruce Springsteen song. It is for people like me. If we would pull ourselves away from the four walls of a church. If we could put down the spiritual book we feel obligated to read every morning because we are afraid it will be our only "spiritual medicine" for the day. If we would open our minds and hearts to see the beauty in a sunset, the lyrics in a song, the character in a movie, I believe we could experience a side of God we've never seen before.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)