A series of typhoons hit the Philippines lately. The worst one, Typhoon Ondoy hit the area where my uncle lives. Honestly, I didn't know Ondoy would be that bad. It was worse than Hurricane Katrina, and we know what that did to New Orleans. I remember upon hearing the news that I laughed and I jumped in victory. But that was a terrible thing to do. You see, I said that it's not my battle to win, but God's battle, against the demons surrounding my uncle. But I didn't think that this would happen. I saw the YouTube videos, and some of them can get really distressing. It's just so sad. It's a horrible thing to happen to the Philippines. And just a couple of months ago, the Missions Team and I, we walked down the same streets. In one of the YouTube videos, I recognized a school sign. And I thought...we were parked at that exact same corner only a few months ago.
You can check out the videos if you want, just look up "Typhoon Ondoy" and don't fret when the tears start to fall. When they showed one of the videos in church, I was bawling. Everyone thought that I was really touched by the video...but wrong reason. I cried because I mistreated my uncle, that his house was flooded and his cars sunk underneath probably floods up to four to five feet high.
10.09.2009
Some Thoughts
This month's been a rush. The Youth Band is now complete and *officially* plays for Youth Nite every Friday. Two other dudes lead most of the time (cause they choose really low/high tenor-ish songs...) and whenever they choose an alto song, I have to lead...but it sucks, cause I don't always know the song...or like, my voice is relatively low for a girl...I'm working on that.
Anyway. I've been thinking while knitting, and yes, it's the middle of the night. But a couple of days ago, we were talking about advocates in school, and how an advocate is someone who defends someone or something else. My mom had jury duty...and I sort of strung the two ideas together. It's strange isn't it, that even when you're a vile evil dude, someone will still love you and stay with you. It really is strange, and it makes you think how really everyone out there is loved in some way or another. And...another thing I keep thinking about, is my one crazy thing, where when you take a picture, and the light bounces back into the camera, you don't know what's gonna happen next. I was looking at some of my elementary school class pictures a few years ago, and I just thought of the topic, and I decided I'd write about it for English class. This was seventh grade, two years ago, and up to know, the thought hasn't left my head. When I looked at the pictures, I was really...well, cute, but I was really innocent. I didn't know that someday my mind would become as polluted with corruption as it is now, nor did I know that I would become an aspiring poet, an aspiring novelist...and neither did I know that suddenly things could go horribly wrong. I was emo for about half of seventh grade. And I consider myself to be a normally happy person, so that's just a drastic change for me.
My point is that at some point, we all were innocent. We weren't born into this world knowing about the dangers of sex, drugs, and all that other crap people get themselves into. And maybe it's for a reason, you know? Maybe God thought that it would be better that way, because when you're that young, you deserve a little freedom. Before a kid turns about 9 or 10 years of age, they get a little taste of the life Adam and Eve had before the serpent tricked them. Sure there are the few that are unfortunate and have unloving parents and such, but at least, when you're that age, you don't get tempted. And at that age, you don't knowthat you can seriously hurt yourself by doing things that "feel good". At that age, you only knew that if you wanted something, then you'd have to ask for it. Maybe that's the point God's trying to teach, when he says we need to have the faith of a young child.
Anyway, that's just a creative thought...
I saw Fame, the new movie a few weeks ago. It's about aspiring performing artists who have to audition to get into this one school in New York. And it's amazing, these kids' passion. They do anything to achieve their dreams and goals. Some drop out of school, some would go behind their boyfriend's back. Some even go behind their parents' backs. Some take careers early, and end up getting expelled because they can't maintain a GPA. And some are rejected...and they feel horrible to the point that they feel the need to commit suicide. Luckily his friends stop him. Anyway. After seeing this movie, I had that draining feeling. I felt worthless, because I was never passionate about anything, and I felt like I couldn't do anything, like I had no purpose.
Two days after, one of the Youth Leaders called me and told me that they wanted me to exhort the coming Friday. And this was the day before, so I slept on it. Sometime right before I fell asleep, I thought of this experience. And the verse I used was Jeremiah 1:5 - "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." It's funny, because, when I fell asleep, I only knew about the part which said that God formed us in the womb, and already he had a plan set out for us. But when I read the part that said that he will make us a prophet to the nations, I was just like "Dang." God is speaking to me. We don't have to feel worthless, we don't have to feel like we have no purpose, because God already gave us a purpose, which is to serve him and be a priest, a saint, a prophet for him. And that doesn't mean that we have to be as rigid as a board when serving him. I think it means that we're simply called to be like little angels teaching people about God and showing them the way.
There's this song called "We Are the Body" by Casting Crowns, I believe. And it's got this one line that goes "If we are the body, why isn't his love not showing them there is a way." We're the body of Christ. We're called to spread God's love. In fact, we can't do it alone. "14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. " From 1Corinthians12:14-16. If we don't do our part as the church of God, as his body, then the whole church would lose one purpose. And if the whole church would lose one purpose if you don't do the job you're meant to do, then it goes to show that you do have a purpose.
And, it turns out, God really was speaking to me. Our lesson for that night was Gideon. How he was too scared to participate in the war, so he hid from God. Gideon was from the weakest tribe, and his family line was the weakest in that weak tribe. So, naturally, he thought he couldn't do it. But God chose him. Once God chooses you, you can't back down. (Look at Jonah, or Moses. They tried.) On the bright side, once God chooses you, you can't fail either.
God loves us, and so he chooses us. He made us the way we are because he loves us. But when he made us, he made an entire plan for us. Therefore we have a purpose.
And because God loves us, we have a purpose.
Anyway. I've been thinking while knitting, and yes, it's the middle of the night. But a couple of days ago, we were talking about advocates in school, and how an advocate is someone who defends someone or something else. My mom had jury duty...and I sort of strung the two ideas together. It's strange isn't it, that even when you're a vile evil dude, someone will still love you and stay with you. It really is strange, and it makes you think how really everyone out there is loved in some way or another. And...another thing I keep thinking about, is my one crazy thing, where when you take a picture, and the light bounces back into the camera, you don't know what's gonna happen next. I was looking at some of my elementary school class pictures a few years ago, and I just thought of the topic, and I decided I'd write about it for English class. This was seventh grade, two years ago, and up to know, the thought hasn't left my head. When I looked at the pictures, I was really...well, cute, but I was really innocent. I didn't know that someday my mind would become as polluted with corruption as it is now, nor did I know that I would become an aspiring poet, an aspiring novelist...and neither did I know that suddenly things could go horribly wrong. I was emo for about half of seventh grade. And I consider myself to be a normally happy person, so that's just a drastic change for me.
My point is that at some point, we all were innocent. We weren't born into this world knowing about the dangers of sex, drugs, and all that other crap people get themselves into. And maybe it's for a reason, you know? Maybe God thought that it would be better that way, because when you're that young, you deserve a little freedom. Before a kid turns about 9 or 10 years of age, they get a little taste of the life Adam and Eve had before the serpent tricked them. Sure there are the few that are unfortunate and have unloving parents and such, but at least, when you're that age, you don't get tempted. And at that age, you don't knowthat you can seriously hurt yourself by doing things that "feel good". At that age, you only knew that if you wanted something, then you'd have to ask for it. Maybe that's the point God's trying to teach, when he says we need to have the faith of a young child.
Anyway, that's just a creative thought...
I saw Fame, the new movie a few weeks ago. It's about aspiring performing artists who have to audition to get into this one school in New York. And it's amazing, these kids' passion. They do anything to achieve their dreams and goals. Some drop out of school, some would go behind their boyfriend's back. Some even go behind their parents' backs. Some take careers early, and end up getting expelled because they can't maintain a GPA. And some are rejected...and they feel horrible to the point that they feel the need to commit suicide. Luckily his friends stop him. Anyway. After seeing this movie, I had that draining feeling. I felt worthless, because I was never passionate about anything, and I felt like I couldn't do anything, like I had no purpose.
Two days after, one of the Youth Leaders called me and told me that they wanted me to exhort the coming Friday. And this was the day before, so I slept on it. Sometime right before I fell asleep, I thought of this experience. And the verse I used was Jeremiah 1:5 - "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." It's funny, because, when I fell asleep, I only knew about the part which said that God formed us in the womb, and already he had a plan set out for us. But when I read the part that said that he will make us a prophet to the nations, I was just like "Dang." God is speaking to me. We don't have to feel worthless, we don't have to feel like we have no purpose, because God already gave us a purpose, which is to serve him and be a priest, a saint, a prophet for him. And that doesn't mean that we have to be as rigid as a board when serving him. I think it means that we're simply called to be like little angels teaching people about God and showing them the way.
There's this song called "We Are the Body" by Casting Crowns, I believe. And it's got this one line that goes "If we are the body, why isn't his love not showing them there is a way." We're the body of Christ. We're called to spread God's love. In fact, we can't do it alone. "14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. " From 1Corinthians12:14-16. If we don't do our part as the church of God, as his body, then the whole church would lose one purpose. And if the whole church would lose one purpose if you don't do the job you're meant to do, then it goes to show that you do have a purpose.
And, it turns out, God really was speaking to me. Our lesson for that night was Gideon. How he was too scared to participate in the war, so he hid from God. Gideon was from the weakest tribe, and his family line was the weakest in that weak tribe. So, naturally, he thought he couldn't do it. But God chose him. Once God chooses you, you can't back down. (Look at Jonah, or Moses. They tried.) On the bright side, once God chooses you, you can't fail either.
God loves us, and so he chooses us. He made us the way we are because he loves us. But when he made us, he made an entire plan for us. Therefore we have a purpose.
And because God loves us, we have a purpose.
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