|
MusicBooksGod
|
read my profile
sign my guestbook
Name: MusicBooksGod
Gender: Female
Interests: The Bible, Vocal music (and music in general), Opera, Musicals, C.S. Lewis, Mercedes Lackey, Elizabeth Moon, Acappella
Expertise: Giving back scratches. Listening. Singing. Being weird in a good way.
Occupation: Other
Message: message meEmail: email me
Member Since:
5/13/2004
|
|
| So, I've been trying to pray more often lately. As in, at least once a day. Yeah I know, it's pretty pathetic for a girl who grew up in church. But the thing is, I've always secretly wondered what good praying did. Most of the time, the results aren't tangible. I mean, it's not like God comes down after you pray and says, "Verily, and it shall be so," and then *poof* whatever it is happens.
Plus, there's the whole, "not my will, but thy will" issue. What's the use of praying for something you're not even sure is what you should be praying for? Case in point: praying for someone who has been sick all their life, and has been recently pronounced terminal, to get better.
Disclaimer: I'm not saying you shouldn't pray for sick people to get better. I'm not saying that you shouldn't pray for the miracle required in certain cases. I am saying that, in SOME cases, these prayers are more about the person who is praying them and less about the object of the prayer. Further Disclaimer: that still doesn't mean the prayer is invalid.
But to get back to the topic at hand, I've been trying to pray at least once a day lately. Just to see what would happen. Mostly, I pray about how my day will go- the standard "Please bless everyone I work with, let us focus, get things done, and have some fun doing it."
Sometimes, I forget. But I've noticed something. On the days I forget to pray before going to work, I am more tired, more easily irritated, and less likely to interact well with the customers (by which I mean, making the effort to be engaging and friendly, rather than just doing the bare minimum of what I consider to be "good service"). On the days I remember, I have more energy, I smile more, and sometimes it's like there's this small bubbling up of good humor in my thoughts and attitudes.
I've heard that prayer is more about communication than it is about what God can do for you. I will be the first to admit that I'm not the greatest at communicating, even with the people I love. Ask my family. I sometimes go months without talking to them, certainly weeks. Long distance friends are the same. Even on the internet, I tend to read something, remark on it, and then go my way without the slightest desire to engage in debate on the subject or get down to the nitty gritty about what people actually think. I don't know why I'm this way, I just know that I am. I suspect that, to a great extent, it comes back to my own personal problem with selfishness.
BUT.
I am learning.
I am learning that communication builds trust. It builds good will. It builds attraction (not necessarily amorous) and devotion.
In other words, it is essential to a real relationship. God and I have been acquainted for a long time. It's time (and more than time) to build a relationship. | | |
| I've been thinking a lot about who I am lately, and... I really don't know. In some ways, I'm the same person I was three years ago, when I graduated from college with a degree I really didn't know what to do with, and married the man I still love.
When we got married, the plan was to move to North Carolina, where he had a job all lined up, and I'd work on setting up a vocal studio. But plans fall through. The job disappeared about a week before the wedding. We were still in Arkansas with nowhere to live and no jobs and about to spend all our saved money on a wedding (which was beautiful, and actually quite cheap- barely over a thousand dollars). So we played catch up. We scrambled around to find an apartment and I left applications around town before driving off on a short honeymoon. When we got back, we both had jobs. I would work at the local Hallmark store as a gift-wrapper, and hubby started working at the local Maytag plant, a job which lasted all of two days. Thus began the game of catch-up which we've been playing ever since.
Now here I am, three years later, and what do I have to show for any of it? We're still playing catch-up. My degree is still not earning it's price-tag. I just feel like I've been marking time while everyone else around me is moving forward, moving on with their lives.
Do I regret it? No. And yes. It's become obvious that some changes need to be made. But I don't know which changes to make- which of the available options to pursue. I believe that, once having made a decision, you shouldn't turn back on it. So that ups the stakes whichever way I choose to go.
I'm not asking for advice, though I wouldn't turn away any prayers you might offer on my behalf. | | |
| Troublesome times are here,
Filling men's hearts with fear,
Freedom we all hold dear now is at stake.
Humbling your heart to God
saves from the chast'ning rod,
homeward we then will trod, Christians awake!
It seems to me that "popular" hymns/church songs nowadays lack a certain depth to them. They speak of everlasting love, praise, and adoration, but there's very little meat to them. Nothing to help the average Christian in their daily walk; no exhortation, no warnings, no reminders. They're pretty and fun to sing. On rare occasions, you may even find yourself truly worshipping while singing them, and that is no bad thing. But... I have a mind. And it's engaged even while singing. You have to understand- I graduated with a music degree. For my attention to be caught during a song service, the words have to mean something and actually change every so often. Mindless repetition is not my idea of worship.
There's a lot of negativism about Christianity in the world right now. People think badly of us if we say anything other than "God is love." Yeah, God is love. But guess what love without discipline gets you? Exactly where we are today. God does not change. He is still the same God who ordered the wholesale massacre of the Canaanites back in Joshua's day. He is still the God who sold His people into slavery time and time again, trying to get His message across. Do you honestly think we'll be spared? If you can't reconcile the God of the old testament with the God of the new... maybe you should read your Bible again.
The verses above seem very apt to me right now. Our country is in a very delicate state right now, and it could go in many different directions from here. So it's time to wake up and pay attention. | | |
| So. I have been gone for... quite some time. Even before I "left," my updates were sporadic at best. Maybe I'll be more consistent now. I don't know.
Anyway, this is where I am now. I have caught the writing bug, badly. Or should I say, goodly? Who can tell? The point is that I'm writing. I've joined an online writing group, not having found an actual one in my area. It's going well, so far- I submit something every two weeks on average. Sometimes less, if I'm blocked on something. Most of what I submit is very rough, even if the prose isn't bad- rough on consistency, on character building, on... so many things. But I'm really, really liking it, even though there are areas I need to improve in. I've always liked stories, whatever form they were in- now I'm a storyteller!
Another new development- Hubby got laid off last Wednesday. He is currently looking for a new job, but... pickings are slim. He has applied for unemployment, but it will not come close to replacing his paycheck, which is what we were using to pay the bills. My paychecks were merely feeding us- a bad part about having two part-time jobs, one of which is inconsistent (my students). It's irksome that this happened right at the point where bills were being paid consistently on time- for some reason, something always happens at that point which messes up the equilibrium. I can't even tell you how many times I've spoken to family members in the last year, saying, "Oh, we're finally on budget!", or "Maybe we'll be able to start saving soon!" Arg. I wonder if this is a problem afflicting most people, or just our little family? It's not like we're extravagant- we don't even get T.V. for crying out loud. Just rent, power, phone/internet, and loans. Oh, and cells. I suppose you could call cell-phones extravagant (I know I would have several years ago). Anyway, even cutting out cells and phone/internet (they come bundled), my paychecks would not cover what was left. I'm also thinking about looking for a different job, but I honestly don't know where to look.
I'm feeling increasingly lonely here. I have no friends (except for Hubby), and I say that with complete honesty. Friends are people who actually know you, who understand you, who want to spend time with you. Part of that is my fault- it's hard for me to open up to people. I'm more inclined to show them only a few aspects of my personality in the beginning, and then it gets harder to really be all of myself around them as our acquaintance progresses. My first part time job (the consistent one) just had an overhaul of employees, so now there are fewer people who are even close to knowing me there. I find myself checking the Xanga frontpage excessively when I'm online; xanga, and my writing group forum, and the other forum I'm a member of. I'm just starved for interaction of some sort- even if what they say makes me angry (which is often the case, lately, at least for xanga).
It's not all bad, though- I've got a niece on the way, should be here in a few days in fact. I just got back from a trip to see them, actually, said trip having been planned months ago surrounding a wedding taking place in the same area. One way or another, I believe God will take care of us. Will it require our participation? Most likely. Will it require some sacrifice? Probably. At this point, I almost wish the hammer would fall already, so the dread would stop eating me alive. I can deal with things when they happen- it's the anticipation which kills me. At the same time, I'm really hoping that the hammer decides NOT to fall. But I don't know which would be better for me as a person or a christian. | | |
| Recent happenings in my life:
The book is still not finished, though almost constantly being worked on, in my head if nowhere else.
Sallie Mae is increasingly annoying and aggressive. But I'm going to put a spoke in their wheel! ha ha ha! ... not really, but it felt good to say it.
Hubby's been sick the last couple of days, and I think he just passed it on to me.
I have a three day weekend! Whee!
The local branch of Goody's went out of business, and we bought one of their three table displays. Hubby now has a new computer desk, we have a coffee table, and a set of shelves made it into our bedroom where we're making good use of it to hold excess clothing. Now if we could only find the money for a couch...
My oldest sister is coming for a visit at the end of April. I am taking time off work for this event, and I'm looking forward to it every day.
If everything goes well, and nothing drastic happens, we're going to be paying all of our bills on time by the end of the month. Little to nothing left over, of course, but it's a big step in the right direction! ... *sigh* nevermind...
*Sigh* My house is a mess.
And on that note... time to go do something productive. | | |
|
