What Work Must be Done?

For the past couple of days, I have been striving hard at fighting something I usually give in to.....

My sin.

The message on Sunday was all about sin. Super convicting, yet completely refreshing. I loved being able to bring my sin before the Lord and say, "Lord, I can't fight this without you."

Because I can't.

I realize that all this time I have been trying to fight this junk all by myself, when the Creator of the universe is right there beside me to help when I'm falling. He always wants that relationship with us. He always wants to intervene and help wash the sin out. But a lot of times, we are convinced that we are strong enough to fight these urges on our own. It's a thought that provokes us all to shut off our souls to what the Lord truly wants for our lives. I think we are all on the same level in most respects, we just go about things in very different ways. Sue may sin "in an entirely different way" than Jack. We all hold our conviction on different levels, and that's where things can get dangerous. We start to think one sin is worse than another, which is not true, I believe. All sin is evil, therefore don't commit evil.

That's that.

It is a simple concept, yet a devastatingly challenging practice. All this week I have been making my best attempts at firing back against these issues, and I'm truly starting to realize just how true it is that the Lord has his hand in mine to guide me.

On the home front, we are almost done editing the drums for our cd. We have a title, which I will tell everyone once we figure out if it's permanent. I think the music will sound great, and I feel good because my very good friend and I are producing it together. I love that. I love being able to share in a production like this with an awesome person. I'm learning so much from him. It goes way beyond music. Nonetheless, we are keeping busy, trying to always be productive, and I think it's super fun and exciting to see what we can do with the gifts the Lord has bestowed upon us. The gift of laughter. Hands, feet, legs, arms.....and everything else we never notice. Overall, this week is going well. I'm headed back to work next week, which I am super excited for! I love my job. It's so awesome, and I am so thankful I was given the opportunity to be there. Anyway, this is all for now.

P.S. If you haven't heard of the band I posted the album art for, you should check them out, they rock!

Partnership

Today was a beautiful day.

It all started with God's word. Today's message was aimed at the idea of partnership. When choosing people to be in partnership with, you have to consider a few things. One of these few things is dependability. Having a dependable person in your life is key to keeping in touch with them at all times, no matter what. I have many friends that I am not always thankful enough for who seriously are dependable. They are there no matter what. I love each and every one of them for that. Dependability was the asset in partnership that caught my attention the most. I don't feel like I am always 100% dependable, and I wish I could be there, but God knows I need a lot of work.

After hearing the word, I went to pick up Alex and go to practice. We stopped at Taco Bell (of course) on the way. Order as follows: Two nacho cheese chalupas (chicken, no lettuce or tomato), crunchy taco (no lettuce, instead of beef, add chicken) and a Diet Pepsi. Great meal. After this smorgasbord, we headed to the music room, and dished out some awesome tunes. But seriously, everything sounded a lot more tight today, with very little timing issues. Our music came together really solid today, and I was really feeling it. After practice, Alex, Andrew and I had some awesome burgers my dad made.

Funny story.

My dad had only made 2 extra burgers, so I had to make my own. Basically, I threw the burger on the grill and let it sit. I flipped it a couple times, to get it fully cooked. Then, suddenly, it came to my mind to start slapping the burger, no apparent reason for this. After slapping it repeatedly, the patty completely fell apart, leaving me thwarted and grumpily heading to the freezer to grab another patty. Enough tomfoolery, it was time for me to take on the real man's job......the perfect meat. So I again set to work cooking my burger. This time, the tide flowed in my favor, and the burger came out just right. Alex, Andrew and I enjoyed our burgers whilst talking gleefully about the day's outings and what we would do that night.

Liz called and we all decided to head to Starbuck's. Yes! Got to see my love. So we headed down to Starbuck's, where every resident of Garden Grove seemed to be hanging out. We sat for a short time, then drove down to the Block, where we finally realized it was Sunday, and everything was closed for the night. Feeling defeated, it was time for Liz to go home, so we took her home, then drove over to my house. As it got later, we all felt a bit weary, so we drove Alex home, and arrived back at our own homes. I am now sitting here, ready to finish up this entry. I want to thank God for teaching me amazing things every day about how I need to improve and become a better person. I also want to thank Him for all of the beautiful partnerships He's rooted in my life. Without my friends, I wouldn't know what I needed to do to become a better person. I love them all very much, and can't wait to meet more along the way. Ultimately, my friends are amazing, each and every one of them.

Blue, Pinstripes and Science

So as of right now, I am reading through the book of Job, and I came across something super awesome. When Elihu is trying to speak some sense into Job about his discourse, he explains how God's work is very apparent in nature, since He controls all of the goings on in nature. He goes on about how "He says to the snow, 'fall on the Earth,' and to the rain shower, 'be a mighty downpour' (Job 37:6)." Elihu also says that "The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen" (Job 37:10). The reason this is so awesome to me, is because I always seem to be faced with the question, "does science disprove God?" I will have to argue not. I believe that science is the most attainable knowledge to man. I do not think man can comprehend beyond science. And if man cannot comprehend beyond science, how much less can he comprehend God? Furthermore, I believe God has used science to relate to us on a level.

Right?

So anyway, God gives us these awesome examples of his powers, such as freezing the waters, or telling the rain to be a heavy downpour in order that we may see an inkling of what He truly is. Science is the only true way we can even begin to understand God's power. We can't possibly completely comprehend the beauty, the wrath, the justice, the mercy, the compassion, that God holds. I love that about our Lord. He is above all else, above all comprehension. I have always found a great peace in that.

Praise the Lord for all the great work He does in all our lives. I know I am forever indebted to Him.

Sea Salt Ice Cream

So I am pretty excited for a few reasons. Number one, I found out that I am now permanent at the BGC site I am currently working at. I love it there. The people are amazing, the kids are the best, and everyone just seems to get along so well. I thank the Lord for putting so many awesome people in my life each and every day. I feel like this is an opportunity to seriously serve people and not think about myself at all. Cause it's all about the kids. I am very joyful for this opportunity.

Secondly, Led to Victory (our band), has begun the recording process and has finished all drum tracking. All that's left to do with drums is editing, which is saying a lot. Then, we're going in to do the guitars and bass, and last, but not least, vocals. I am super excited to see where this music is going to go, cause I love all the guys in the band. They are my brothers. I will be posting more about the band business in the weeks to come, and we should have some shows pretty soon.

Lastly, I had a great dinner with a very good friend of mine. Her boyfriend is a member of a fairly established band, and he really gave me insight to what the music community should look like. He inspired me with how humble and down to earth he was. He gave me some faith in the music industry, that not everybody in a band has to act high and mighty. I am so happy for my friend, she's super excited to be with him. She has grown so much stronger over the years, and I really admire her for that. I truly look up to her in that respect. They seem so perfect for one another! I cannot wait to see and hear what the future holds for them.

Other than all these awesome things, I know God is at work always, and I have to stop straying from Him all the time, cause He loves me.....just like He loves us all!