Let your mind wander

There are some times where I thank God that no one can read my thoughts.
There are sometimes where I think...man...I wish I could read their thoughts.
And there are sometimes where I think, I wish other people could read their thoughts.

Kind of a roundabout way of explaining what I'm trying to say.
This past Sunday, I just looked around our (fairly) large auditorium at everbody worshiping their amazing God, and all of a sudden, all I could say to myself was, 'I wish I knew what they were thinking.' Because they probably had reason to lift their hands, to jump so high and to sing so loud. Sometimes they are just doing it for show, I know, but most of the folks there that day were lifting their hands in pure worship to their Father. In that moment I was struggling to accept that my worship was good enough. Everyone else around me seemed so much more...into it.

A lot of times when I'm praying...reading the bible...singing...just thinking...etc...I keep wondering if I'm doing it right. I've heard all the pastors pray time and time again, and my prayers are not as 'glorious' as theirs. Magnificent words just roll off their tongue, and in comparison, my prayers are more like a little kids English project. It only takes me 30 minutes to read the bible/meditate/etc. in the morning. But Dad does it for 2 hours. I raise my hands when I sing, but that Mrs. Smith, she dances in the aisles.
Does that mean my worship isn't good enough?

The truth is, there are three answers to this:
People worship God differently.
Just because they look more expressive doesn't mean they are worshipping God anymore sincerely. I've seen people stand there like stone statues and yet I know that in their heart they are truely meditating and soaking up the words of the songs. But the truth is, there is importance in being expressive, and we shouldn't feel constrained by what other people will think about us if we shout louder, or bow lower, or dance harder. However, just because we don't do that doesn't mean we are somehow 'worse worshippers'.
When we do this, we shouldn't feel discouraged if someone is worshiping 'better' then you, because, the truth is, they aren't. The truth is, God cares about the sincerity of our worship.

However, this is no excuse to sit there with your arms crossed, to have 5 minute prayers (or better yet, 30 second prayers) and to only read 1 verse a day or whatever it is). God loves hearing from his children, we show our love to him by being expressive, and we cannot grow in our relationship with God without reading his Word. But we don't need to be discouraged. We need to worship with our whole hearts.


I would reccomend reading these, because it shows how important expressiveness is in worship:
Growing in Physical Expressiveness
Expressing Love to God in Worship
When God Comes to Church

Cope

I notice in life a person always tends to do one of three things when they face a problem.
1. The person blames others, their self, or God and continues to bring up the problem for awhile.

2. The person tries to be optimistic and bottles up inside until they blow up.

3. The person faces the problem head on and realizes their mistakes.

The third one I mentioned is close on how we should deal with problems that occur. We need to first realize we are a wretch without God and so we need to ask God for help with are struggles by asking Him in prayer. We need to read the Bible so we can learn from are struggles and help us grow closer to God so we don't keep making the same mistakes. We need to realize that being a Christian we are united with Christ and should realize are worth in Him is priceless. It is also good to have fellowship with other Christians and to go to them at times with your struggles. For thoughs of us who are teens or younger we should always talk to are parents even though it can be difficult it is well worth it it.

So thoughs are my thoughts on cope-ing.

The house is on fire!

Sorry I have not been on for a while, I've had some distractions lately. On December 16th 2008 my house burnt to the ground. It was 2 a.m. and providentially both my parents and all 10 children (of which I am the oldest) escaped unscathed. Nothing else did. We lost everything and coincidentally, our insurance premiums were defaulted a month before due to financial difficulty. Yet through it all we saw and still see God's hand all over the situation. We watched from the neighbors house as all that my father, my brothers and I had built go up in smoke. My mother had had my 9th sibling only a few days before and the ninth was her due date.

The people in our community and surrounding area immediately rose up to help us and we were quickly outfitted with clothes and other immediate necessary needs and help overwhelmed us. An account was set up at the local bank and it currently has $15,000 of $20 and $30 donations from caring people all over the state and country. This is a testimony to community and family and most of all... God.

Worship Made Our Own.

Hey guys, Kassandra here =]

Happy New Year! I’ve been out of the loop for awhile. I got extremely sick, and that put me out of any social anything for weeks, which also meant no church. To be quite honest, I got to the point where I stopped going to church altogether for at least a month (maybe a month and a half).

I started feeling empty even when returned to church. The worship felt forced with me and everyone else in the room. I kept thinking a thought that’s been with me all my years of worship in a structured setting: Is worship meant to be in a structured setting, anyway?
Now, I know what you may be thinking, “There is NOTHING wrong with worshiping with fellow believers! That’s how it’s supposed to be! That’s how it’s going to be in heaven!”

Putting aside the deeper theological ideas that perhaps heaven isn’t anything like we expect it to be based off the Bible (for the Bible seems to most definitely be using metaphors to describe heaven, as it is something that we as humans cannot fully comprehend), you’ve got to realize that heaven is a perfect setting. We are able to worship as one in heaven because we won’t have the shackles that being human put upon us. We won’t be sinful, but rather “perfect” (and I use that word hesitantly) beings that will not have the usual distractions that we have on earth during worship.

How many times have you looked over while “worshiping” to see that no one is very into it? Do you become distraught?
If you were alone in your room, worshiping God Almighty, would you have anyone to look over at? Would you have anyone to cause you distress and, subsequently, distraction?

Now think again: How many times DO you just sit alone in your room and worship God Almighty? I think it would be safe to say that none of us do as often as we should, that’s certain.

While I’m not saying that worship in a church setting is bad, I think it is better to be a thing done alone, between us and God. I think a balance between the two is necessary to become as close to Christ our Lord as we can on this Earth.

With the New Year comes resolutions. I'm not a fan of them, because they end up being a list of rules that remind me of the Pharisees and empty promises/things to follow. Instead of giving yourself rules to go by, make your resolution something real. Try to spend adequate alone time with God not only praying, but worshiping, thanking, loving, praising…today.