The Words I Would Say

Wow, so I didn't follow through very well. It's been about 3 months since I've posted. A lot has happened since then. I feel like I've really grown in my walk with God. This past summer I was able to attend the camp that I used to attend in high school. The camp is called "Student Life" and I feel it has made a large impact on my life ( www.studentlifecamp.com .) The biggest impact it has made lately is showing me that God is calling me to the mission field. I guess I should clarify that, I don't mean I feel like I'm supposed to dedicate my entire life to being a "missionary" (I think we are all called to live a life of evangelism. Not necessarily going out as a "missionary," but showing Christ's love through our actions. Who knows where God may lead me though.) I saw a video for Servant Life which is an organization started by Student Life ( www.servantlife.com .) I would love to share the story of all the events that led to this so feel free to ask me but basically I felt through several events that God wants me to spend some time in South Africa next summer. I've never felt Him tell me something this strong and so clearly in my life. Not even when I was trying to decide whether to go to Haven High School or Central Christian High School and I prayed for God to show me a direction. The next day the assistant principal called and said someone had offered to help pay for my tuition to Central Christian (it was basically a last minute deal and my parents hadn't planned on me going there nor having to pay the several thousand dollar tuition.) I though that it was pretty obvious God was telling me something there. But with South Africa, it is even more clear. I am VERY excited and anxious, but it's not until next summer and I have a lot of growing and planning to do before then.

So that is one big thing that has happened. Another is my brother is currently in Afghanistan. He will be over there for six months. Please keep him and our family in your prayers as well as all of the military personnel and their families.

Well, the Cardinals made the playoffs. Good news right? Wrong. They got swept in the first round by the Dodgers. Pathetic. The season was looking so promising, but they fell apart. Oh well, there is always next year. Football season has started and the Cowboys aren't looking too hot. Hopefully they can pull it together. I'm more excited for basketball season though. I've got two reasons for that. Reason 1:Rock Chalk Jayhawk and Reason 2: Dallas Mavericks. The Jayhawks are looking as good as ever. I can't wait to see how things pan out. I don't know that this season will be the same though. A great friend and co-worker of mine passed away earlier this year after a short and vicious battle with cancer. We always watched the games together when they were on during our shift at work. When the games weren't on when we were working, we talked KU basketball. I think about him often and I definitely will even more with the season starting. I know he is in a better place now. As far as the Mavericks go, they basically revamped their roster so I'm anxious to see how that all falls together.

There is a fairly new song on the radio by a group called Sidewalk Prophets. It is called "The Words I would say." A friend told me about this song a while back and I had heard clips of it, but never the whole song. This morning while driving home from work I finally heard the whole thing. It almost brought tears to my eyes. Before I go any further, here are the lyrics.

Three in the morning,
And I'm still awake,
So I picked up a pen and a page,
And I started writing,
Just what I'd say,
If we were face to face,
I'd tell you just what you mean to me,
I'd tell you these simple truths,

Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say,

Last time we spoke,
You said you were hurting,
And I felt your pain in my heart,
I want to tell you,
That I keep on praying,
Love will find you where you are,
I know cause I've already been there,
So please hear these simple truths,

Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say,

From one simple life to another,
I will say,
Come find peace in the Father,

Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
Thank God for each day,
His love will find a way,
These are the words I would say

This song hit me so hard. I thought of everyone out there that is hurting and desperate. This is EXACTLY what I want to say to them. BE STRONG IN THE LORD and NEVER GIVE UP HOPE! GOD'S GOT HIS HAND ON YOU SO DON'T LIVE IN FEAR! Just to know that there are MILLIONS of people out there who don't know this simple truth breaks my heart. To know that they are hurting so much and they don't know why.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says
5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

We have no reason to be scared because God has his hand on us. We just need to trust in Him and He will direct our paths. There is no reason to be scared because we know that in the end, we will have no pain, no sorrow, no sickness. We have everything to look forward to.

Earlier I mentioned my co-worker who passed away this year. His name is Gary. We never really talked much about anything other than work and KU athletics. As many good conversations as we had, I regret one thing. We never really talked about Christ. We had a few quick mentions of Him here and there, but nothing long and serious like I would like to have done. When he passed away I was obviously sad because he wasn't around any more. But even more, I didn't know if he was saved. At his funeral the minister read a piece of paper that was given to him by Gary's wife. On this paper was a scripture that Gary had quoted not long before he passed.
Philippians 1:21
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

I can't even describe the joy this brought to my heart. To know that Gary was a believer and that he was in a better place was an amazing feeling.

I was thinking about this verse earlier this morning and how it goes along with that song. I feel that the song is saying, "Live your life for Christ and you will have no worries." Yes we all know as Christians there are trials and pain. But our time on earth is short and as Paul says in that verse, "to die is gain." If we are living a life for Christ on earth, even if it is full of persecution and pain, we will only gain our treasures in Heaven. I guess what I'm trying to say is all three of these, the song and the two verses, are saying to live a life that just screams "I'm a Christian!" They are saying, "everything is going to be okay. God will take care of you." I hope this all makes sense because sometimes I feel like I just ramble. :)
I want to sign off with something I recently heard on the radio and some of you may have seen on my facebook page. I heard it on klove radio ( www.klove.com ) and it was a woman talking about a sermon she had recently heard. In the sermon the minister asked a simple question that I hope everyone will stop and ask themselves. The question is, "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would they have enough evidence to prosecute you?"

I could only hope to get the death sentence, because "to live is Christ, and to die is gain."