vitality31's Xanga

Flying North in October

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:03:24 GMT

In two days, I'll be flying into Colorado Springs, Colorado. What fun!! I'm flying up there to spend five glorious days with two of my dearest friends on this planet. :) I've never been very far west and I've never seen real mountains here in the states (I saw some doozies in Brazil and Germany) but here in the US? Nada. The Ozarks are big in my mind, so I'm anxious to see the snow-topped mountains that hover over the city.

I'm looking forward to the fun I'll have with my two girl friends....the laughing, the crying, the heart-to-heart chats, the late nights, the sight-seeing, and the shopping! :) It's going to be wonderful. So I'm Colorado bound! I read the other day that the temperature there is quite different than my southern home here in the Bible belt. Dry cold? *blank look* Very little humidity? Is this heaven? *tilts head* Possible snow in October?? Unheard of. *throws her coat in the suitcase* I think I'm about ready...

Closed-toe shoes. Check. No flipflops allowed.
Coat. Check.
Long sleeved shirts. Check.
Scarf. Check.
Gloves. Check.
Hat. Check.
Socks. Check.
A few tshirts for those wonderful moments of warmness. Check.

What else? Hmm.... OH!

Plane ticket. Check! Can't forget that!!

Alrighty then. Colorado, here I come. *waves* Wish me well as I fly north. :)

5 Ways to Get Closer to God

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:57:53 GMT

"Five Ways to Get Closer to God" by Rebecca St. James

1. DIG INTO THE BIBLE

“That’s our instruction Book for life, His Love Letter to us,” Rebecca says. “Every day when we’re on the tour we have devotions. It’s a challenge to find time to be in the Bible, but it is a very big deal to me. So every day, whether it be backstage before I go on, in the motor home on the way to a concert, or here in the hotel room I set aside the time to feed my soul with God’s Word.”

Can’t understand your Bible? Too many “thee’s” and “thou’s”? Rebecca says, “I encourage people to read The Message Bible, besides whatever translation they usually read. It’s like a paraphrase, but it’s very easy to understand. A kind of ‘in your face’ message.” So find time to read your Bible, even if it’s just five minutes. “If we’re committed to living God’s way,” Rebecca continues, “we’ve got to be digging in the Bible, because otherwise we don’t know how to live.” God’s Word can change your life!

2. PRAY

“Never stop praying,” Rebecca emphasizes. “Realize the awesome fact that we get to talk to the Creator of the world! You know, that He listens to us and He speaks to us, and that prayer is a massively powerful thing.” Prayer is a huge part of Rebecca’s life, the easiest of the five steps for her. “I pray before everything: interviews, going on stage, writing, entering the studio, everything. And I always pray at the beginning of the day to commit the day to God. I try to be conscious of Him and offer up prayers, praises, or prayers for other people throughout the day.”

Rebecca and her family have seen amazing miracles happen through their prayers since coming to America from Australia in 1991. “I’ve seen how powerful God is,” she says, her voice filled with awe. Believing prayer should be a non-stop thing, she explains, “We must foster a lifestyle which encourages praying continually for other people, and praying that we’ll have Jesus’ heart and Jesus’ attitude. Continually keeping that line of communication open. Being more God conscious than self conscious. We need to keep that conversation going.”

3. GRAB ALL THE CHRISTIAN FRIENDS YOU CAN

“We can’t stand alone,” Rebecca says. “We need people in our lives who are going to challenge us and ask us how our walk with God is going.” On the road for weeks at a time, she keeps in touch with a few close Christian friends by e-mail or phone. Like Karleen, her friend back home in Nashville. “It’s so cool,” Rebecca shares, “She’ll talk about something God’s doing in her life, and I’ll talk about something He’s doing in mine. And there’s encouragement and accountability in that relationship. We’ll pray together and talk about different things. I always have a friend on the road with me, too. God is really showing me that I need that. Missing my friends is the hardest part of what I do.”

Rebecca also travels with her parents, siblings, and various cousins when she’s on the road. “My relationship with my parents is wonderful; there’s such a friendship there,” Rebecca says warmly. “I feel like I can talk about anything with my parents. Especially my mom. My mom and I are really close. And my dad too, but it’s a different relationship with Dad. Just a wonderful relationship with both of them. We talk about a lot of different stuff; we can really open up. They give me advice and wisdom. Without my family I would just go crazy!”

Rebecca talks about the importance of having close Christian friends in her song “Side by Side” (the remix version): Friendship is just a massive thing, because you need those people around you. Especially in today’s age to keep you accountable, to lead people, to be there, to lift you up in prayer. We can stand together. We are our brother’s keeper. *

4. GET RID OF THE JUNK IN YOUR LIFE

Watch what you feed your soul. “If there are things we’re watching, reading, or listening to, putting in our minds that we know God doesn’t want, we’ve got to get rid of them,” Rebecca warns. “We can’t let them hang around or they’ll hurt our relationship with God.” Rebecca doesn’t buy secular music or go to secular concerts. “I mean, not that the music in itself is bad,” she explains, “but the lyrics. It’s the message of the song that I just don’t want to get in my head. I want to fill my mind with things that are going to help me. That’s why I listen to Christian music.”

Music isn’t the only junk we have to watch out for. Rebecca goes on to say, “I heard once that Billy Graham was asked if he could do anything over again in his life, what would it be? He said he would watch less television. And that’s Billy Graham!” Rebecca laughs. “So I just think we can live without television. There’s always something else we can do that would be more encouraging for ourselves or other people.”

As Rebecca sings in this chorus: We don’t need it, ‘cause God has given us our needs. We don’t want it; shouldn’t He be our priority? We don’t need it; Jesus said to leave it all behind. Let’s keep our eyes on things above, ‘cause we don’t need to want to need it. **

5. GET INVOLVED IN CHURCH

Find a Bible based church where you’ll grow and get fed spiritually. “For us it is a challenge to get to church because we’re out on the road so much,” Rebecca laments. “But when we’re home we definitely go out of our way to be in church. Sometimes we’ll be on one side of America Saturday, and we’ll catch the midnight flight, or the five or six AM flight, on Sunday morning to get back for church. It’s a real important thing for us. I wish we could be at church more.”

Rebecca and her crew occasionally attend a local church in whatever town they’re performing. Other Sundays they have their own church services, since their team consists of as many as 24 people. “This is probably the hardest step for me,” she admits, “just because of the lifestyle we live. You know, out on the road, in a different town every day. But we truly try so hard to be back with our church family as much as we can.”

Being in fellowship is a great way to learn to share God’s light and His Love with the people around you. So, if you’re tired of the ups and downs of your spiritual life, and you want a deeper Christian walk, take Rebecca’s advice: “The Christian life might not be the easiest one, but it’s the best one. It’s the most wonderful one. And it only gets better as we daily pursue God with a passion. God will use us to make a difference.”

Tears of the Saints

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:01:07 GMT

I have loved the song "Tears of the Saints" by Leeland ever since I first heard it. The words capture the heart of God, in my opinion. Looking around at the world we live in and seeing so many millions far away from Christ, it brings tears to the eyes of God...and to His saints. When will we have a burden for the lost? When will we cry? There is no anguish, no mourning, no weeping from the people of God anymore concerning sin and hellfire. I hope as you watch this video, you will actually SEE what God sees....and shed tears....as His saints should. And not only cry and mourn over the desperation and darkness, but get up and do something about it. That is the scaredcall from God Almighty to ALL His followers.

Clear The Stage

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:43:50 GMT

Love is... Christ is... Am I?

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:53:28 GMT

I'm baaaaaaack! Woooo. Okay, so where do I begin? I'm engaged.....I'm planning an April 17, 2010 wedding....I'm singing, I'm writing, I'm traveling, I'm speaking, I'm growing. A lot has happened. But I'll make a "me" post later. Right now, something else is on my mind.

Not along ago, at Bible study, one of the men of our Church brought out a very interesting view of 1 Corinthians 13 – “The Love Chapter” as it is most commonly referred to. He said, “anytime you see the word love or charity, place Christ’s name there and read through it again. After you finish, place your own name in the place of love.” It struck a chord with me and reminded me of Amy Carmichael’s “Calvary Love” quotations. We are to love with the same love as Jesus Himself. We are to live as He lived, talk as He talked, go as He went, and love as He loves.

Let us love….

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Charity never faileth:

Love is patient. Christ is patient. …Am I patient?

Love is kind. Christ is kind. …Am I kind?

Love does not envy. Christ does not envy. …Do I envy?

Love is not proud. Christ is not proud. …Am I proud?

Love is not arrogant. Christ is not arrogant. …Am I arrogant?

Love is not hateful. Christ is not hateful. …Am I hateful?

Love is not selfish. Christ is not selfish. …Am I selfish?

Love is not easily angered. Christ is not easily angered. …Am I easily angered?

Love does not keep a record of wrongs. Christ does not keep a record of wrongs. …Do I keep a record of wrong?

Love finds no joy in sin. Christ finds no joy in sin. …Do I find joy in sin?

Love delights in the truth. Christ delights in the truth. …Do I delight in the truth?

Love can bear anything. Christ can bear anything. …Can I bear anything?

Love never loses faith. Christ never loses faith. …Do I lose faith?

Love is always hopeful. Christ is always hopeful. …Am I always hopeful?

Love endures all things. Christ endures all things. …Do I endure all things?

Love never fails. Christ never fails. …Do I fail?

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, Doesn’t revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. Love never dies.
– From The Message Bible

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].
– From The Amplified Bible

Am I a Soldier of the Cross?

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:31:38 GMT

Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His Name?

Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?

Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?

Sure I must fight if I would reign;
Increase my courage, Lord.
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy Word.

Thy saints in all this glorious war
Shall conquer, though they die;
They see the triumph from afar,
By faith’s discerning eye.

When that illustrious day shall rise,
And all Thy armies shine
In robes of victory through the skies,
The glory shall be Thine.

- Isaac Watts

Engaged!

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:15:33 GMT

I...am...engaged!! Oh my goodness! Last week, my Godly, handsome court-ee proposed to me and asked me to spend the rest of my life serving Christ with him. Ever since then, Great is Thy Faithfulness has been playing in my head.

I don't have time for a long entry but I will say - WAIT. God has only the very best for you. And wow....the wait is worth it.

So I'm a Quote person....

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:46:13 GMT

*sigh* I so need to post more. I guess the reason I haven't is 1) I have a life. Sorry if that was too harsh. I DO love writing...but I can't seem to make my way to Xanga every day or every other day to post and post and post. I have a pretty busy life at the moment. *sighs again* Bear with me, my loving audience of ....one or two. :)

ANYWAY, here is a topic. QUOTES! I am a self-admitted quote fanatic! **I'm admitting it right now** I love great, inspiring quotes from saints in the past and present. I love being inspired. I love being encouraged. I love setting my sights on eternal things instead of having them locked on this miserable culture I presently live in. Not to brag in the slightest, but my chief goal is to be the best Christian I can be for the glory of Christ. I don't want to just exist, I want to LIVE. Not "live" by getting drunk on weekends or having one romantic fling after the next, but live in a such a way that the light of Christ shines in my eyes and His love pours through my skin. That's real living. I could go on and on about this subject, that you will soon see is a very big passion of mine, but I'll save it for another post. So I suppose, for now, I will share with you lovely readers some of my favorite quotes that push me towards my Savior. Who knows? Maybe they will inspire you as well. :)

We are made for larger ends than earth can compass. O let us be true to our exalted destiny! - Catherine Booth

...Those who catch the vision are ready to follow the Lamb wherever He leads, and as they follow, in this spirit of joyful adventure, their path becomes clear before them and they are given power to fulfill their high calling. They are those who have the courage to break through conventionalities, who care not at all what the world thinks of them, because they are entirely taken up with the tremendous reality of Christ. - Bishop Bardley

Comrades, let us be resolute. Let us, by whatever name we are called, be Soldiers, Nazarites, Priests. Some will praise us, some will blame us; let us not care too much about either praise or blame. Let us live looking up, looking on, standing true by the grace of Him who has called us. - Amy Carmichael

The greatest old or new testament saints were on a level hat is quite within our reach. The same spiritual power that enabled them to become our spiritual heroes, is also available to us. - Edward Meyrick Goulburn

Carnal Christians profess Christ as their Redeemer, but their actions and decisions are for the sake of their own interests and for who they are in themselves, rather than for God's interests and for who He is. Their minds are still the workshops of the devil, for he can persuade countless numbers of professing Christians to try and be Christians without Christ. - Ian Thomas

Tell me in the light of the Cross, isn't it a scandal that you and I live today as we do? - Alan Redpath

There are some who would have Christ cheap. They would have Him without the Cross. But the price will not come down. - Samuel Rutherford

“You cannot love without risk of pain. In fact, love at its highest looks and feels like a bloodied cross.” - Dr. Andrew Selle

Hodu la' Adonai ki tov

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 20:08:03 GMT

Hodu la' Adonai ki tov. Ki le'olam chasdo.
Hodu la' Adonai ki tov. Ki le'olam chasdo.

Give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. For His everlasting Grace.
Give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. For His everlasting Grace.

Let us give thanks where it is due this Thanksgiving season....and always.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Random blurps

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:13:27 GMT

For some reason, my blogability has been on the down low lately. Ever have that itch to write but when you sit yourself in front of the computer screen, your mind goes blank and all you can think of to say is, "Umm...I'm doing fine! And...umm...hope you're all doing well! *pause* How are the Cowboys doing this season?" - My current state of mind. I can say that I am anticipating Christmas. *pops in Christmas CD and pulls out a Christmas book* I guess, due to my lack of eloquent writing, I'll make random new blurps.

* I refuse to rant and rave over the elections, so I'll just say that I'm saddened, let down, and hoping the next four years will pass by quickly with little damage to our country. God is still in control, no matter who sits in the Oval Office in Washington.

* Gas prices are going down!!! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

* My friends John and Stephanie got married a week ago today. *happy sigh* I'm so happy for them and I loved watching God work in and through their relationship and union. My sis, Melody, was the maid of honor and she...looked...beautiful! *picture below*

* Last Saturday, on the opening day of deer season, and my first time hunting, and I got a deer. Woohooo! *yet again, picture below*

* I am currently working hard on my book. Y'all pray for me! It's coming along and I am so very, very, very, very excited about it. My little post last month with a sneak peak of one of the chapters got zero comments which proves that it is a rather uncomfortable subject matter that goes contrary to the flesh. But we need a serious shot of radical Christianity that does more than talk the talk, but actually walk the walk. I've changed the title three times already and it is currently a blank at the moment so....who knows what it will be named? :D

Hope everyone is having a marvelous November. Enjoy your weekend!