You Might Enjoy

January 11, 2017

Since the middle of February I have been consciously collecting a list of things that will help me (or have prepared me to) DO this thing called BASKING that I've set out to do in the year ahead. If I'm honest, the occasional blue skies and the sun poking out from behind the clouds are my steadiest reminder, but there are things along the way that have done a lot of work too.

Here are some resources that have prepared me for 2017:

A sermon: The Glory of God in the Good Resolves of His People by John Piper - I'm not sure how many times I've listened to this sermon, but I've had it on my iPod for two whole years now. It's a theme that's on my mind often. I wrote about it here and it influenced the word I chose to focus on last year.

A book: Grace For the Good Girl by Emily P. Freeman - I've read Freeman's blog for YEARS. She writes the way I long to write, connecting her faith to the most ordinary of moments in her everyday life. I read this book a while ago, but it was in its pages that I finally GOT what it was for Jesus to be about His Father's business. This book made me DIG around in the Bible. It encouraged me to look to Christ's example as I sought to BE a Christian. This is NOT another women's book about "letting go and letting God". It will breathe TRUTH into your soul and it will  challenge you to stand firm.

Some prose that reads like a poem: Scrolling through instagram one day back in October, I came across these words by C.S. Lewis (it turns out they were taken from a section out of Mere Christianity). It goes like this:

NEARER

"If you want to get warm

             you must stand 

            near the fire: if

           you want to be 

               wet you must get 

           into the water.

             If you want joy, 

                    power, peace, eternal 

              life, you must get 

                  close to, or even into,

        the thing that 

 has them."

                         - C.S. Lewis

Here are some things that are keeping me focused in 2017:

A playlist: Bask 2017 - This won't be for everyone, but it's the kind of music that I can't help but be grateful to have in my life. These songs have been encouraging me and teaching me and challenging me for years. Hit shuffle and ENJOY!

A plan: Stay in the Gospels - In light of the task this word spurs me onto, I felt the best place to go was to the example of Jesus Christ, Himself. So, I've been spending time with Him in the Gospels. I started with John, then moved on to Mark, and I'm going to start Matthew today. I can't remember who said it, but a theologian of old encouraged every Christian to always have their thumb in the Gospels no matter what other Scripture they were focusing on. In different seasons, I've attempted to do that.

Resolves: Going for walks in silence. Keeping a list of prayer requests handy and going over it or checking back in with the people that have asked me to pray. Journaling out Scriptures and lessons and prayers and preaching the Word to myself. Staying in touch with friends and listening to the stories of grace that they have to share or the burdens of faith they are carrying.

Is there anything you would recommend to me? 

What are some things that have been pointing you to God lately? 

A Call To Rise

When I was 15, I attended a week long conference where I came face to face with the truth that I was created for the glory of God. I may have come to Christ at 9, but it wasn't until I was 15 that I FINALLY knew what being a Christian was all about. After years of searching for the answer to the "now what" questions that were constantly coming up in my mind, I had answers!

To this day, I can't help but wonder how many other people have those same questions going on in their heads. I'm always looking for ways to remind myself of the importance of the Gospel in my life so that I don't lose sight of what it means to be a Christian. Rap that is faithful to the Gospel has played a huge part in my fight against sin and complacency.

One of my most recent finds came in the form of a book that happens to be authored by one of my favorite rappers. By the time I finished chapter 6, I was telling anyone who would listen about this new book that I'd been reading. You see, most of my friends don't listen to rap, but if I could get them to read this book, they'd finally be able to come into contact with this man that has been a huge encouragement to me since his first record deal!

"Rise: Get Up and Live in God's Great Story" by Trip Lee is that book. It's a book that takes a place right alongside a handful of other books that have encouraged and challenged me to BE a Christian. It's a book about living the life I've been called to live as one of God's people. I had my pen out to mark and underline and star things constantly. I picked up this book right as I was getting to Ecclesiastes in my Bible reading plan and I paused "Rise" to go through the book of the Bible that plays a crucial role in helping readers understand what Trip is trying to communicate.

As Trip says on page 48, "There are really only two ways to respond to Jesus: you can deny yourself and follow Him, or you can deny Him and follow yourself." That's the kind of hard-hitting truth that Trip has been weaving into his songs. I'm excited to be able to say that he is just as faithful to God's Word in this book!

I will say that I feel careful discernment is needed in chapters 12 and 14. I would love to sit down with Trip to chat about them. My concern is that these chapters hold implications on music and living as a Christian in a culture that is anti-Christian that could lead some people to compromise. I know that is not his intent at all, but I still feel that these chapters could be taken the wrong way.

Overall, I'm excited to get this book into people's hands. It will lead you to take stock of your life. It will answers the questions that you may not have even realized that you have. Whether you call yourself a Christian or not, you've got a life to live. This book is all about living a life that counts. Pick it up, read it, discuss it, and most importantly: rise!

God has called you to Himself and into His story. We're meant to live for His glory and Trip Lee has used a pen to join God in declaring this truth.

Click HERE to get your copy! 

For more from Trip Lee, click HERE. Since no post is really complete without a little music, here's "Real Vision" which happens to be one of my favorite songs and a great intro to Trip Lee for those of you who've been wondering about this talk about rap:

*I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through BookLook Bloggers. All thoughts are my own honest opinion.

One Hundred

Can I just be honest for a minute? I've been a little bit stressed lately. The house is turned UPSIDE down and nothing is where it belongs which makes cleaning a hastle. The renovation projects are at a stand still. The PRESSING thing is finishing up this english class and THEN continuing the work on the house.

You know how it is? You keep getting distracted from the things you NEED to do by everything else that's begging for your attention.

The key to getting out of the rut is simply working on stuff. Write the papers (check), edit the papers (check), prepare the papers to be presented in speech form (not check)... :)

This song by KB (in the video above) has been repeating itself in my brain!!!

The messy house with its renovation projects, the english class, the college degree - they're all just opportunities for me to give my all and in so doing be a testimony of the all that God is for and to me!

Stress is real, but then, so is the call to give it all to Him.

He prepared the work for me to do. I do it through Him and by His strength and for His glory.

Sometimes I do it poorly, but I fight the monsters of stress, procrastination, and perfection with that truth.

Now, I can thank Reach Records for another anthem to assist me in that fight!

What are you finding yourself stressing over lately?

What's your strategy to fight the stress and get stuff done? 

Hitting Shuffle

Amy inspired yet ANOTHER post when she hit shuffle on her ipod and listed the first 15 songs to play on her blog earlier this week. I told her I would do it too, so here you go, Amy! :) 

First 10 Songs after hitting shuffle:

*Mayhem's Life by Skrip

*Greater Than We Can Imagine by Sovereign Grace Music

* Know Me by Trip Lee

*Devil by High Society

*Call Me Back pt. 2 by PRo (now Derek Minor) (ps...This has inspired SOOO many voicemails between my brother and I - [or is it, me? You get the idea!])

*Love Is A Beautiful Thing by Group 1 Crew

*Behold the Christ by Trip Lee 

*Illogical by Skrip

*Robot by Trip Lee

*Open Your Eyes by Andrew Belle

BONUS Round:

*Undeniable by Mat Kearney

*Go Buck by FLAME (one of my favorite concert songs!)

*Hollywood by Tedashii

*APB by Lecrae

*More Than Useless by Relient K (This one reminds me of high school)

What songs come on when you put your ipod on shuffle? 

On My One One Six

Today happens to be Jan. 16. My guess is that unless it's your birthday, anniversary, or the birthday of someone you love, there is nothing that makes today's date different than any other day. 

There are a growing number of people who are coming to see the significance of the numbers 116...I've talked about the guys that got this started a lot on this blog. They have become some "big" names in Christian Hip Hop. Inspired by the men behind Cross Movement Records, men like FLAME, Lecrae, Tedashii, Sho Baraka, and Trip Lee along with DJ Official, Ben Washer, BJ Thompson, and so many others got together to produce music that communicated the gospel that had saved them. 
They valued quality beats just as much as they were passionate about delivering quality lyrics. 
They have influenced others in the industry as well as those on the other side of the booth. They have gone their own ways, created new record labels, signed new artists, and committed to ministering life-on-life in their own churches. 
The backbone behind what they men have come to love is the God that loved them first. By His mercy and grace, God brought them to SEE the truth of His Word and the meaning of the good news. 
Each man has his own story and yet each man has one thing in common and that is that the Word of God that brought Him from death to life. 
Romans 1:16 is the tie that binds them first to God and then to each other. The words of Romans 1:16 gives them purpose while they here on this earth. 
Today, we can all come together to celebrate the work that our God has done and is doing! Today, we can exhort one another to remember the mission. 
And with that, here's a little video of what very well may be my favorite song of 2013...

If you like this song, get the whole album FREE by CLICKING HERE! 

He's given us something to say. His Word is there for us to DRINK. Having tasted living water, 

we OVERFLOW what we now know. Overflowing, the Word brings LIFE to those who hear.

A Testimony pt. 4

What does all of that have to do with my present condition? A LOT

This morning as I was journaling, a particular song came to my mind. It is a song by Lecrae called "Breathing to Death". It basically summed up exactly how I've been feeling lately. As I listened to it, I began to thank God for the men involved with Reach Records once again. They live lives and make music that are consistently Biblical. Even with growing popularity, they continue to press on toward maturity in Christ. They continue to be unashamed of the Gospel and clearly speak it and sing it and live it wherever God sends them because they know that it is the power of God for salvation.

I have been following Reach Records since they first began. When I made the switch from my "old music" to "Jesus music", it was hard. The Christian music industry was certainly big, but it was terrible. I couldn't find anything that sounded even remotely like what I listened to. The music wasn't good and the lyrics really weren't much better. So many songs had me wondering whether the artists were singing about God or their latest lover. Enter, the Christian Hip Hop movement. Prior to Christ, I listened to it all country, rock, pop, R & B, etc with the exception of raunchy rap. So, when I came across all these Christians who were rapping the Gospel I was pretty excited. The beats were really good, the styles varied, and there was a lot of talent. The music AND the lyrics were quality, I found GOLD! One problem, this wasn't my kind of music. I was a thirteen year old white girl from hicktown.

I quickly realized it was either this or the latest "Christian" boy band, Brittney Spears wannabe, whiner.....Don't get me wrong, there are some others in the Christian music industry that I enjoy every now and then. For the most part though, I have found the Christian music industry to be in a pitiful state.

So, I bought some cds. I grew to love the Christian Hip Hop movement. Somehow, this white girl from hicktown had no trouble understanding the lyrics that were being rapped extremely fast. The movement has grown. There have been some counterfeits. So far, Reach Records (and the artists involved) have remained faithful to Christ. New projects are coming out all of the time and each one seems better than the last.

Many times throughout the day lyrics will pop into my head. I'll read a Bible verse and think, "Oh, this is where so and so got the idea for their song ______." OR I'll hear a Bible verse in a song and pretty soon it's in my head to stay. OR I'll be struggling with something and relate to a song that serves as a prayer to God and find myself built up by a brother in Christ who faced it to and found God to be faithful.

In short, my journey toward being obedient to my God and my mom in the area of music was not easy. I still have to explain to people why I don't listen to certain music and why a now 20 year old white girl who still lives in hicktown listens to rap. I sort of kind of enjoy the shocked faces now.

Today I was tempted to despair. Thanks to the victory found in obeying God with music that honors Him, I am built up in Him by it. Through these last months the music I listen to has not proved to be a single hinderance to me. Rather, it has exhorted me and encouraged me toward righteousness. Even if I threw my Bible in the closet, the Words and truths found in it would be impossible to get away from. Over the last eleven years they have been written on my heart and mind through my time spent in God's Word and also through the music that has filled my speakers and headphones.

God is good, isn't He? Who knew that one little decision all those years ago would be so encouraging to me today? He did!

A Testimony pt. 3

So, that was the introduction. This post is really about living set apart by the grace of God and more specifically in the area of music.

After my parents got saved and began to grow towards maturity in Christ, my mom made the rule that we were no longer "allowed" to listen to any music that was not explicitly Christian. She set a good example. On car rides we no longer scanned through the channels listening for a song that we knew. I should note, in our home, we love music. There has always been some sort of tape/cd/radio player in the kitchen where we spend a lot of our time. There is always singing, humming, whistling,and even some dancing going on in our home. Making the switch from the music we knew and loved was not easy for me and I'm sure it was not easy for her either. But, we did it. That is one area where we stood by our conviction and have continued to do so.

This conviction is based on numerous Biblical principles:

One of the most obvious is that in 1 Corinthians 10:31 it says, "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." In 1 Corinthians 6:12-13 and 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 we are reminded that all things are lawful, but not all things edify and that we ought not be slaves of anything or seek our own good, but rather the good of our neighbor. In short, music is one of those "whatever we do's". It can certainly enslave us and it can certainly be used for the good or evil of our neighbor. If it doesn't glorify God, we have no business with it. If it doesn't glorify God is is not going to be for the good of our neighbor.

Another obvious principle that applies to music comes from Proverbs 13:20, we are reminded that a companion of fools is quickly destroyed. The book of Proverbs lays down the truth about the wise man and the foolish man. Godly men and women and godless men and women. Through this book of wisdom, we are reminded to pursue wisdom and seek after understanding. Our companions are often people, but they are also the books, movies, music, magazines, blogs, etc that surround us. We like them because of how we think and we continue to grow more like them in our thinking as we spend more time being influenced by them. So, if the music we listen to does not speak words of wisdom, it is folly and will only lead to more foolishness. As God's people we are to seek His truth, what better way to be built up in it than use music as a tool for communicating it and being reminded of that truth which our lives are built upon.

Now, those are the main reasons why I personally have continued to be very selective about the music that I listen to. Yes, there are still songs that need to be weeded out of my life. I have lyrics to countless foolish songs memorized. They still come to my mind at times. I am not perfect, but I think it is safe to say that in this area of my life, the Spirit has the upper hand.

A Testimony pt. 2

Through it all I have been looking at convictions vs. preferences. A conviction is something that we know we ought to do. We joyfully live by our convictions by the grace of God for the glory of His name, living set apart in holiness in a world full of sin. While we should continually being growing toward maturity, convictions shouldn't change too much. Preferences on the other hand are things we do simply because they are "lawful" and we enjoy them. They do change with time and that is okay.

Those who know me, know that my life does look different. I thank God for the ways that He has made me and continues to bring me toward the righteousness that is mine in Jesus. I say it again, I live set apart by His grace alone. Without His grace I would turn back to my old ways in a heartbeat. In order to press on, I have to continue seeking that grace which comes through fellowship with God and being taught by His Word.

I have to admit, most of my struggles lately are a result of neglecting my soul. No matter what is going on around me or in the lives of those people I love most, my soul should be secure in God. My struggles are proof that I am weak. That there is no good in me apart from Christ.

A Testimony pt. 1

Get ready for a long post.....Actually, I'm going to break it down and schedule some posts for you because it turned out way too long!

The last few months have been very dark for me. I have been up and down, back and forth. Struggling with my sin, my God, and the people around me.

I have been reminded that it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

That God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him.

That in the presence of God there is fullness of joy.

That my soul ought not be downcast, but rather, should hope in God!
Again.
That trials and struggles build up God's people in godliness.

That Jesus Christ labored on my behalf, that He prayed for me, and that He goes on interceding for me. That as a child of God, God labors for me.

Even so, the struggle continues. I am surrounded by truth, the foundation of my life is truth, the basis of my identity is truth. God is faithful. Here I am fighting the good fight of faith, even in the face of what seems like failure after failure.