Well... it's Sunday. The last day of the weekend. The time to prepare for the week ahead. Tonight, I have so many random thoughts running through my head, and I really need to put them somewhere else other than scrambling through my thought processes. So, get ready - here it goes...
1. The passing of Whitney Houston breaks my heart and leaves a certain sadness. The funeral was on tv yesterday, and every other channel is playing some sort of tribute to Whitney. You know you have certain people or specific songs or smells associated with big moments in your life - well Whitney Houston and her music is very much associated with my adolescence. I remember hearing the controversy behind her film - The Bodyguard. I remember the first time I heard her duet with Mariah Carey - When You Believe. Her voice left everyone speechless and was such an incredible gift. I read in a book once that anything good in a person is evidence of God's image that we were created in, and I think that people, like Whitney Houston, who have such incredible gifts of music, grace or kindness have a little more of that evidence of Him in them and end up leaving this world far before we would like simply because they are not fit for it.
2. This morning's message at church was on depending on God to use your weaknesses instead of relying on your own strengths. This is a lesson that has been hard for me to process in the past and one that I continue to learn day by day. I am infinitely aware of weaknesses and God's power on a daily basis at work, but for some reason I seem to leave out some areas of my life when I consider how powerful God is in my life. *A HA MOMENT* I have recently been very convicted for the care I take of my personal temple - my body. This is the area that seems most daunting for me as it is an area in which I have consistently struggled. It is a self-control issue, and biblical self-control is turning every struggle over to God. This is something I cannot do on my own; therefore, I require God's power and discipline. Wow, this is so incredibly freeing for me. I feel strongly that this an area of worship for me that I am neglecting, and I have worried about it immensely. However, it is not through my own power or for my own glory, but through His power and for His glory will I take better care of my body.
3. Also this morning, we talked about living a good story. I think about the life Whitney Houston lived - one of incredible success but marred by horrific struggles and a tragic finality. I don't want a boring story, but at the same time I want my exciting story to be for something bigger than myself and my tiny part of the world. I want it to matter. Now I know there will be failures and tragedies along the way, but through every failure, a lesson learned and through every tragedy, grace to fight another day. I want this story and this life to bring glory to God.
1. The passing of Whitney Houston breaks my heart and leaves a certain sadness. The funeral was on tv yesterday, and every other channel is playing some sort of tribute to Whitney. You know you have certain people or specific songs or smells associated with big moments in your life - well Whitney Houston and her music is very much associated with my adolescence. I remember hearing the controversy behind her film - The Bodyguard. I remember the first time I heard her duet with Mariah Carey - When You Believe. Her voice left everyone speechless and was such an incredible gift. I read in a book once that anything good in a person is evidence of God's image that we were created in, and I think that people, like Whitney Houston, who have such incredible gifts of music, grace or kindness have a little more of that evidence of Him in them and end up leaving this world far before we would like simply because they are not fit for it.
2. This morning's message at church was on depending on God to use your weaknesses instead of relying on your own strengths. This is a lesson that has been hard for me to process in the past and one that I continue to learn day by day. I am infinitely aware of weaknesses and God's power on a daily basis at work, but for some reason I seem to leave out some areas of my life when I consider how powerful God is in my life. *A HA MOMENT* I have recently been very convicted for the care I take of my personal temple - my body. This is the area that seems most daunting for me as it is an area in which I have consistently struggled. It is a self-control issue, and biblical self-control is turning every struggle over to God. This is something I cannot do on my own; therefore, I require God's power and discipline. Wow, this is so incredibly freeing for me. I feel strongly that this an area of worship for me that I am neglecting, and I have worried about it immensely. However, it is not through my own power or for my own glory, but through His power and for His glory will I take better care of my body.
3. Also this morning, we talked about living a good story. I think about the life Whitney Houston lived - one of incredible success but marred by horrific struggles and a tragic finality. I don't want a boring story, but at the same time I want my exciting story to be for something bigger than myself and my tiny part of the world. I want it to matter. Now I know there will be failures and tragedies along the way, but through every failure, a lesson learned and through every tragedy, grace to fight another day. I want this story and this life to bring glory to God.
