Allison's comments...

Finally! Lisa saved me from my blogging ignorance, and I have been released to publish on my own accord ( I was listed under Peter for some weird reason). I actually have my own blog...just could not figure out for the life of me how to use this one! sheesh!

I have been struggling with a bad attitude the past couple of days. It must be a pretty penetrating bad attitude, because it is coloring my dreams and impacting the way I think about class work and the purpose of being in college. It has been hard to pray, and I feel a greater pull toward the world and its pleasures. So I have been listening to hymns, reflecting on the lyrics, being reminded that there is a world beyond our own, or as Marcus says, alongside our own, that is filled with spiritual significance. As I was listening to "As I survey the Wondrous Cross" tonight, I was filled with appreciation for a Christ who resonates beyond my perceived reality and "does battle" with the principalities and powers FOR ME. Our Christ is Life. Our Christ feeds us and animates us and encourages us in our weaknesses, even as HE DOES BATTLE FOR US against the spiritual forces that try to take our joy and beat us to the ground, even attack our basic belief in the Power of the Cross.

As a sociology major, I am constantly confronted with the ideas (some very valid) that "man makes society, man makes religion, man makes god." It is easy to justify the "man makes religion" part, because it is true to a very great extent...but it becomes easier to say, then, that we have created "god" as well. Oh Lord Jesus...please deliver me from forgetting the Reality of the Cross, the Reality of the Spirit, the Reality of the Eternal Grace and Eternal Salvation you have created us to enjoy...beginning now. Thank you for Your Blood; thank you for your Resurrection Life that we have the honor to partake in TODAY! Lord you are Good! Lord, we Love You!

Please pray for me...
and thank you to those who have.

Be encouraged. Christ is Life.

allison

Im not peter anymore

I think I can actually post on this thing now...
I'm not Peter anymore, though I must admit, it was really interesting being, you know, him.
hehe.
getting serious...
pray that my brains don't fall out.
hours of work, no time awake.
love
al

A quote to probe your thinking

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Gil Bailie

John Eldridge shared this in "Wild at Heart" and I have no idea when/where Mr. Bailie, a catholic layman/author/lecturer, stated this, but I feel like it is fitting for the notion of championing each other on in our dreams and visions. I doubt that one's foremost dreams are full of dull and trite ambitions. As Christians, Christ should be the one that makes us come alive (does "Christ is life!!" echo with anyone?) and by way of our vibrant relationship with him can we understand what it is that empowers, energizes, and ultimately enables us to follow our dreams and visions.

Also, Eric and I shared an interest today in a pre-spring break get-together/dessert/prayer on Thursday Night 8:30ish ---- any takers?

Blessing

Blessed are all who fear the Lord,

who walk in his ways.

You will eat the fruit of your labor;

blessings and prosperity will be yours.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;

your sons will be like olive shoots around your table.

Thus is the man blessed who fears the Lord.

May the Lord bless you from Zion all the days of your life;

may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,

and may you live to see your children's children.

Peace be upon Israel.

Psalm 128

Fear the Lord, and may you be blessed today as you seek to bless and serve others!

Multi-faceted worship

Last Friday I had the oppurtunity to finally attend theMILL (New Life Church's college ministry here in the springs). I had been looking forward to it for some quite time as it had been weeks since I had actually had the chance to attend. One thing theMILL is known for is absolutely amazing worship times. Indeed it was no disappointment. "Small" and "intimate" are not words that describe worship times at theMILL. Rather, words like "rowdy" and "powerful" more appropriately characterize it.

I love how worship has many different dimensions to it.

Worship is indeed a gateway to taking us into the presence of God. No doubt there are days where my God time simply doesn't get started without sung worship streaming through my headphones.

Others, worship is a true manifestation of where our walk with Christ is on that given day... things he's shown us and us echoing back to Him the love He's poured on us. These are the days where it feels as though we simply can't contain the love that God has given us and we absolutely have to sit at His throne and worship, less we will explode. These days are especially great and I'm quite confident God is especially keen of us capitolizing on these days with song and dance.

But there's one element that I think is mis-interpreted quite frequently in the church and that is the idea that we are putting on a concert for God everytime we gather for worship. I don't think it's any secret that God loves music. Nearly every instance where heaven is mentioned in the bible a mentioning of trumpets and music follows shortly thereafter. Or how about David? The guy after God's own heart!... obsessed with song and dance for the Lord. He even devoted vast amounts of Israel's resources to having people that played music 24 hours a day in his tabernacle. So if it's no secret as to how much God loves music, why are we so hesitant to put song and dance on the top of our list of things to do really well? I for one want God to look down on our times worship and be captivated by the show we're putting on. That means giving all we have whether it be resources, time or just a completely devoted heart.

If you talk to any performing musician they will tell you that they feed off of the crowd. The better the crowd is into it, the better the artist is into it. We as worshippers have the most committed crown of all time: The God of the Ages! The crowd is waiting, and He wants the greatest encore ever! Let's give it to Him.

Thoughts

I am not a person particularly drawn to the "Native American" type paintings. But I was looking online for images that I needed for an art class, and I came across this one. I know that not all of you are artists or drawn to the visual arts, but if you can, appreciate this with me for a moment. I think that the first thing that catches my eye in this image is the sheer vibrancy and almost translucency of the colors in it. And everything is taking flight and soaring...the mountains are reaching and sloped towards the heavens, the eagle is soaring on the wind, and everything seems centered around the sun.

Poor explaination for such a profound image. But close your eyes and imagine for several seconds that you are this human...and everything in this painting is what you are experiencing...and you will find yourself surrounded not just by the awesome beauty of nature, but the powerful and overwhelming presence of God!

I think I understand why David focuses so much in the Psalms on nature praising the Lord and bringing glory to him. Isn't it amazing that the Lord created literally EVERYTHING to bring him praise and glory?! And the coolest thing about it is that our experience of those things can actually be a form of worship to our Lord!
I am in complete awe of who the Lord is as I stand on this rock surrounded with the power of his presence and might!

hmmm....

This is the waterfall that never falls....or does it?
Kudos to M.C. Escher!