Archive for December, 2009

I came home tonight from the Christmas concert and felt an overwhelming urge to get alone with God.  I went to my room, shut the door, grabbed my iPod, shut off the lights, and sat in a chair.  Sitting in my empty room, I immediately started to think about my fiancé’s grandpa, who is very sick.  I remember  a day, when I was sitting in his house talking to him, and he asked me “Aaron, if there was anything between myself and God, surely He would reveal it to me.”  He continued, “How do I know that I am right with God?”

As I sat across the room from this man that was fighting for his life, my heart sank in my chest.  At that moment, reality grasped my heart.  Every good sermon, every vain word, and every empty message could not provide me with the words to give peace to a man staring death in the face.  With tears in my eyes, I must be honest — I did not have an answer.  I can’t even imagine what it feels like to be in his shoes, pondering eternity, having questions in his mind:  ”Is God real?  What happens to me when I leave this world?  Where do I go?  What is waiting for me on the other side?”  I have found that most of us will live our lives and never ponder eternity. 

Tonight, as I write this blog, my heart breaks inside me.  The revelation that life is short and fragile has gripped me.  One day, I will die.  One day, everything that I have known as reality will change.  One day, “I will leave these shores and leave it all behind”.  I am baffled that we live our lives like we will be able to escape death.  We find it foolish to even think or talk about this day.  As I think about the end of my life, I feel an overwhelming feeling of weakness.  I can’t escape it, talk my way out of it, run away from it, or control it.  Life is but a vapor!  Life is fragile, short, and unpredictable.  As all these emotions and thoughts begin to overtake me, I find myself saying one thing — Jesus.  I don’t know what else to say, but the name of Jesus.  Words cannot explain what is happening inside me; I just keep repeating His name.  In some weird way, just by saying the name of my Savior, I am expressing all the fear, doubt, and anxiety that is filling my heart.  It is like He can sense everything I can’t put into words.  It is like He knows and understands the whirlwind that is happening inside me, and by speaking His name, I am letting Him know that I trust Him.  Though I can’t see Him, I trust Him.  I trust that when I am too weak to save myself, He will save me.  When I don’t know the future and fear fills my heart, He will hold my hand and walk with me. 

So, tonight, I write this blog to tell you — don’t let life slip through your fingers.  Live a full life!!  Dedicate your life to knowing God.  Search for Him like a hidden treasure.  Don’t lose hope or faith, but continue in your walk.  Do not let anything stand between you and the only One who can save you.  He is near — just speak His name and He will come running!!

THIS BABY MADE THE ANGELS SING!

When I was a kid, we never had cable; we had an antenna.  One of the biggest problems with having an antenna was that you could be tuned in to your favorite show, and the wind would blow a cloud over your house and the TV would be ridden with static.  It has to be one of the most irritating sounds ever.  When you hear static, it is usually interrupting something that you would rather be hearing, like your favorite song, or talking to someone on the phone. And, the thing about static is that when it comes across your speakers, the sound is not only offensive to your ears, but it’s so much louder than what you would normally be hearing.

Static is caused by something obstructing “communication” between one device or another, or a weak signal.  Webster’s says that static is, “noise produced in a radio or television receiver by atmospheric or various natural or man-made electrical disturbances; also : the electrical disturbances producing this noise.”

I think a lot of us could complain of not being able to hear God.  We say offhandedly, like something that we’ve given up on,  that we want to do God’s will, and yet we don’t even take the time to listen in, to tune into the voice of God.  We have all this static in our lives.  We have busy lives, and we often have things filling our minds that aren’t wholesome. There are tons of things that obstruct communication to and from God.  

But, I want you to realize, walking away from your computer screen, that God can be heard.  If you’re having a hard time hearing Him, you might have to remove some of those things that cause static in your life — maybe for a season, maybe forever. Maybe the music that you’re listening to, maybe some of your friends, maybe even some activity that you’re involved in.

Jason Hood said something pretty profound last night at the service.  He said that if you’re giving something, it’s lost to you.  If you’re giving your attention to something, it’s lost to something else.  If you’re giving God your attention, your attention will be lost to something else. It’s well worth the losing, if you’re losing it to gain so much more.

Hey, listen in on a portion of the conversation that Jason and I had last week on Facebook regarding this song:

 Jason Hood    ” Charlotte…so I have totally been listening to Elvis..Here is one for you to ponder on…What about that Song, “Why cant everyday be like Christmas?” He says, Why cant that feeling go on endlessly. Well Christmas is about Christ, and everyday we are to be like Christ, its up to us to put on Christ, living eveyrday as he would, if we would do more of that then just maybe…everyday would be like Christmas!”

Charlotte Chandler   “ Amen to that, Jason! If, we as Christians, would focus on the peace, joy and love often spoken of at Christmas time, wouldn’t it feel more like that all the time. A time for giving, instead of receiving. We take all those practices and pour them into one day, when actually it should be a lifestyle. Yes, Jason, we should celebrate Christmas all year long! Hey, write a blog post.”

I hope you can join us tomorrow night 7pm @ Hillside!!  Remember in our weakness He is made strong!!

Weak                                                                                             .

This feeling we all have at some point in our life.  A sense of not having strength; whether that be physically, mentally, emotionally, or morally.  Some thought that you are lacking in life and all those who oppose you are standing back, rejoicing in your falling down.  I have been feeling this way for the past month or two now — weak.  And not just weak, but useless, inadequate, and unstable.  I have felt as though I’ve been letting, not only myself down, but God.  I was beginning to feel restless with these feelings, as though…

“I’m just broke and can never be fixed.”

All these feelings and thoughts led me to start searching for things in scripture about weakness; this one spoke straight to my heart…

⁹For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. – 2 Corinthians 13:9

I never think of life this way, but I was meant to feel weak and inferior.  Not so that I would fall and never get back up, or feel as though I couldn’t accomplish in this life.  But I was made weak so that I would begin to fully rely on God and pray for His complete, healing restoration in my life where I needed it the most.

Joanna Reyburn is one of my favorite worship leaders. She sings as a worship leader at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. When I feel depressed, down or just need to be lifted up, I always just sit in the car or at home and put some of her songs on.  It’s like David playing the harp for Saul; she just relaxes me. I encourage you to check out her website and her worship sets from the prayer room. Below is a link to some of her music from the IHOP prayer room, and there are countless other songs as well as songs from the IHOP Student Awakening that is going on right now.  Other people’s songs and sermons are also on her website.

Joanna Reyburn.com

We showed this video during Hillside one Thursday night.  Tears filled my eyes as I watched it.  God does not care what you have done, He does not care who you have become!!!  He simply wants you to come home!!

Someone asked a question the other day on my blog post if I was going to continue with the article about having a “white” Christmas.  With looking into it a little further, I found this info at http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/snow.shtml : 

“The reason that we think of Snow and Ice at Christmas is portably down to the Victorians! Although Christmas was taken over from the Pagan winter solstice festivals in Europe, it was the Victorians who gave us our ‘traditional’ Christmas in Europe and the U.S.A. At the start of the Victorian era, (1837) Britain was in a mini ice age that was from about 1550 to 1850. During this time, in London, a winter fair was held on the frozen River Thames!

One of the main reasons that the Victorians put Snow and Christmas together was the book ‘A Christmas Carol’ written in 1843 by Charles Dickens.  When Charles Dickens was a child, Britain had very heavy snow falls around Christmas, so when he wrote ‘A Christmas Carol’ he put lots of snow and ice in it! He also put snow at Christmas in some of his other books like ‘The Pickwick Papers’. Charles Dickens’ books were very popular (and still are!) so when the Victorians read the books, they thought of snow and Christmas together!

Another connection between snow and Christmas is the Song ‘I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas’ It was first recorded, in 1942, by Bing Crosby and came from a film called ‘Holiday Inn’, set in the snowy countryside of Vermont, U.S.A in December (there is a 75% chance of it snowing on Christmas Day in Vermont!). Irving Berlin wrote ‘I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas’ and it only took only 18 minutes to record! The original version sung by Bing Crosby has sold at least 30 million copies. The song has also been recorded by many other people and groups and it has sold over 100 million copies in single versions (by all artists that have done it!). Until 1997, Bing Crosby’s recording of ‘White Christmas’ was the top selling single of all time!”

So, there’s just some trivia information that can go along with the millions of other things that occupy our mind space.  See ya Thursday!