Being a musician, I love just about any kind of music. However, if I could only listen to one musician for the rest of my life, I would have a very hard time choosing between Alison Krauss and Yo Yo Ma.
So...guess what I found on YouTube the other day? Oh yes. Alison Krauss singing a beautiful and not-so-familiar Christmas song to Yo Yo Ma's gorgeous cello accompaniment.
It's like musical cheesecake.
Not only is the musicianship brilliant, but the lyrics of the song portray the birth of Jesus so beautifully.
How beautiful that a God gave up perfection to come down to our crazy, messy, and sad world just to show us that He loves us.
I love Christmas time. It is just so exciting. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!
Sometimes God does funny things. He really threw something at me the other day while I was driving.
I was listening to the radio, and the song "Light Up the Sky" by The Afters came on. One of the band members explained that the song was talking about how God sent a pillar of fire to the Israelites while they were wandering in the desert.
Do you ever just picture yourself in someone else's shoes, and it kind of just shocks you?
Maybe I just have a really good imagination, but I was imagining I was an Israelite during that time. I imagined myself exhausted because I was walking through the desert (one of the few things I haven ever had the desire to do). I imagined it starting to get dark and feeling worried because the pillar of clouds that was guiding us would no longer be visible.
I can hear myself going, "God...um, should we stop now? Because we can't really see where you want us to go...and I'm kinda tired anyway...the desert is really big, in case you haven't noticed...some of the kids could wander off..."
And then, out of nowhere, this giant pillar of fire comes down. I picture it kinda like "The Prince of Egypt" portrays it. Random thought, I wonder if it was hot? I've heard the desert gets cold at night. I wonder if it provided some heat, or if it was so hot they just had to stay away from it.
But more than just the cool image in my head, it made my realize something. That, and this is the point of the song. It made me realize that God is always there. And not only is He always there, He will ALWAYS show you where He wants you to go. He doesn't leave us high and dry! Even when my circumstances feel like He has. No, He has some awesome cool plan, and He will show it to us (even if it is just one step at a time). We don't have to play hide-and-seek in the dark, He will shoot down some cool fire show, send someone to encourage us down a particular path, or just give us a peace.
My fire pillar has been an incredible peace, in spite of crazy circumstances. That doesn't mean that pain from the circumstances isn't still there, because it is. But, I don't have to be afraid.
Paul said, "For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba! Father!'" (Romans 8:15 NASB).
This song inspired all of that. I hope you like it too!
Four months ago, yesterday, G.I. Joe and I were married. I can't believe it has already been four months! It seems like four weeks.
Ever since I moved here after our wedding, we have been searching for a church. We have visited so many in the area, and liked and disliked different aspects of all of them.
A few weeks ago, G.I. Joe's commander was telling us about the church he and his wife had been visiting. So we checked it out this past Sunday. I must say we were very impressed.
The church building itself took up several blocks downtown. We went to the contemporary service and really enjoyed it. The musicians were very talented and sincere. The pastor who spoke was not the senior pastor of the church, but did a very good job. Everyone was so friendly to us. I was so excited to discover in the bulletin there is a ladies Bible study every Wednesday, starting in two weeks, for 30 weeks!
G.I. Joe and I really enjoyed the service and were VERY excited about all of the different ministries we saw offered.
Then it got better.
Last night, G.I. Joe and I were just chilling at the house talking about his deployment. I asked him, "What happens if my car breaks down while you're gone?" G.I. Joe got sad because he hates the thought that he can't be right there to take care of me. He told me that we would sign up for Triple A and find some good towing services.
As we were talking, we saw a car pull up and two people get out. They started walking toward our door. We looked at each other, but neither of us recognized them.
There was a man and a woman at the door. They introduced themselves and explained they were from the church we had visited! We invited them in, and they proceeded to tell us all about their church and ask us if we had any questions. We had put on the card we filled out that G.I. Joe was in the Army. The woman looked at me and said, "We have all kinds of ministries for military wives, including a class for women to help them cope with deployment." Then the man said, "It seems like everything breaks down when your husband is gone. We have a ministry to help you when your fridge breaks down, the washer stops working, or if your car breaks down on the side of the road."
I looked at G.I. Joe, and he looked as shocked as I did.
I cried a little.
It is amazing how God can answer prayers, even little ones like that.
Needless to say, G.I. Joe and I are planning on joining this church. We are so excited. I already have two classes I am going to get involved in, and the children's minister is supposed to contact me soon about getting me in as a volunteer in the children's ministry (something I really enjoy).
God works in mysterious ways. Maybe not on our time frame, but He always has perfect timing.
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