My Man, Chuck

I love Charles Spurgeon. I often read his stuff and find myself jumping up and down shoutin' "Hallelujah!" by the time I'm done. This, written about Jesus, is no exception:

He is divine to me, if He be human to all the world beside. He has done that for me which none but a God could do. He has subdued my stubborn will, melted a heart of adamant, opened gates of brass, and snapped bars of iron. He hath turned for me my mourning into laughter, and my desolation into joy; He hath led my captivity captive, and made my heart rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Let others think as they will of Him, to me He must be the only begotten of the Father: blessed be His name.

Word up, Chuck. Word up.

A Headline Worthy of Mention

I couldn't help but chuckle when I read this article. I haven't laughed this hard in a while. Kids these days just don't appreciate art when it comes to their class and croaks out a song for 'em. I mean, c'mon. What are they so afraid of?

If You're Barbadian, Please Stand Up

I just checked the Stat Counter and saw that someone from Barbados has been to my site. Wow. How a Barbadian ever stumbled upon my site is beyond me. Guess I better start writing in, um, well, English.

Patty Griffin- Up To The Mountain

You may recognize this song from Wednesday night's American Idol. It was performed by Kelly Clarkson and Jeff Beck, but originally written by Patty Griffin. I prefer her version so that's the one I'm sharing. I wish I could find a better video of it, but this is all You Tube has to offer. I hope you enjoy the song as much as I do. These are some great, great lyrics.

I went up to the mountain
Because you asked me to
Up over the clouds
To where the sky was blue
I could see all around me
Everywhere
I could see all around me
Everywhere

Sometimes I feel like
I've never been nothing but tired
And I'll be working
Till the day I expire
Sometimes I lay down
No more can I do
But then I go on again
Because you ask me to

Some days I look down
Afraid I will fall
And though the sun shines
I see nothing at all
Then I hear your sweet voice, oh
Oh, come and then go, come and then go
Telling me softly
You love me so

The peaceful valley
Just over the mountain
The peaceful valley
Few come to know
I may never get there
Ever in this lifetime
But sooner or later
It's there I will go
Sooner or later
It's there I will go

God Vs. Sleep

"Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."--Ephes. 5:14 (NIV)

Sleep. That's really where my greatest battle lies. I love to sleep. I'm not a morning person by nature. Before kids, I could, and often would, sleep til noon and love every second of that pure, blissful laziness. Ever since I had kids, however, it seems that I can never get enough of it. Like I am constantly chasing after some unattainable dream of, well, sweet dreams. I'm lucky if I can manage to steal 4 hours of unbroken, uninterrupted sleep these days.

The world will tell you that a good night's sleep needs to be a top priority. But at what expense? Studies tell us that the reason we're so stressed, so tired, so anxious, so...whatever...is because Americans just aren't getting enough sleep. But the Bible has some pretty interesting things to say about sleep. Like this one:

So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing?
How long before you get out of bed?
A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,
sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?
Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life,
poverty your permanent houseguest!--Proverbs 6:9-11 (Msg)

Sound harsh? It's kind of offensive at first glance, isn't it? Trust me, no one hates this verse more than I do! But does God hate sleep? Does He hate me because I love to sleep? No!!! Look at this:

Don't you know he enjoys
giving rest to those he loves?--Psalm 127:2 (Msg)

God is so good, and He wants us to get our proper rest. I think it's more a question of what am I putting first, God or sleep? What has a higher priority in my life? I tend to think that if only I could get enough sleep, then I could wake up early, then I could make some time in the morning for prayer and Bible study, then my whole day will be perfect, etc., etc. See where my emphasis lies? The sleep part of the equation. I have to have these perfect conditions in order to make God a priority in my life. And sleep typically comes first for me. I lay my little head down on my little pillow and bow down to my little sleep god. I forget about that whole "seek ye first" thing where Jesus said that all our other needs, absolutely everything else--food, clothing, shelter, and yes, even sleep--would be added to our lives if we are seeking Him first.

I'm afraid this isn't a very popular idea, especially considering how incredibly busy we are these days. But no matter how much I think I need sleep, or even deserve it--how much more do I need God?

My baby boy woke me up the other morning at 4 am. So we sat up together and watched a little Joyce Meyer. And lo and behold, her whole segment was about making time with God a priority in your life. So after it was over and I got my son back to sleep, I was literally faced with the dilemma of either going back to sleep or staying up to spend some much needed prayer time. I took a hard look at what I really wanted to do. My tired mind, body, and eyes were telling me, "Go back to bed!!" While my beat-up heart and my broken spirit were hungry and thirsty for the love, the joy, the peace, the patience, the kindness, the goodness, the gentleness, and the self-control that my day requires, and that, without His help, I frankly just don't have.

Let the words of King David ring true in your heart, as they have been in mine lately, and be challenged to renew your commitment to making God your number one priority. It is a sacrifice, but one that you can be sure He will bless in more ways than you can even begin to imagine.

He swore an oath to the Lord
and made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
"I will not enter my house
or go to my bed--
I will allow no sleep to my eyes,
no slumber to my eyelids,
till I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob."--Psalm 132:2-5 (NIV)

Cool Quote

Found this amazing quote by C.S. Lewis, my favorite writer ever, and it seemed to echo what I was trying to say in my last post. He, of course, says it much more eloquently than I.

"But if you are a poor creature—poisoned by a wretched upbringing in some house full of vulgar jealousies and senseless quarrels—saddled, by no choice of your own, with some loathsome sexual perversion—nagged day in and day out by an inferiority complex that makes you snap at your best friends—do not despair. He knows all about it. You are one of the poor whom he blessed. He knows what a wretched machine you are trying to drive. Keep on. Do what you can. One day (perhaps in another world, but perhaps far sooner than that) he will fling it on the scrapheap and give you a new one. And then you may astonish us all—not least yourself: for you have learned your driving in a hard school. (Some of the last will be first and some of the first will be last.)"--C.S. Lewis

I'm reminded me of the time I met Douglas Gresham, C.S. Lewis' stepson. I was a complete basket case. A nervous wreck. I was at some Narnia promo thing, in line to talk to him and get his autograph. I tried desperately to calm myself down whilst I waited. I took deep breaths. Prayed. But nothing helped. By the time I got to him, my voice started quivering, my knees shaking. I mumbled a few things, and something about, "I can't wait to meet C.S. in heaven." He just kind of stared blankly at me, his mouth slightly open, and nodded. I'm sure I came across to him as nothing less than a psychopath. As soon as I got his autograph, I turned and left...and started crying. I kid you not.

Oh well, I hope you enjoy the quote as much as I did.

Object Lesson

Apparently, one of my weaknesses is not knowing how to use the same font throughout an entire text. I copied and pasted this post from another source of mine, and I obviously had some trouble with the font. I tried fixing the blasted thing several times, and I just could not get it to cooperate. So instead of wasting my time trying to fix it, I'm boasting in my ineptitude. I'M BOASTING!!!!!!