London Bridge is Falling Down

I love music. I’m always singing (or humming if there’s anyone nearby) and during the middle of the day when I’m working and the middle of the night when I’m supposed to be sleeping I find myself longing to play my violin. God gave us the gift of music, and like pretty much everything else, it is to be used for His glory and praise.  Some people are not gifted musically, and that’s ok. In Psalms it says to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. I not a very good singer, so playing my instrument beautifully is something that brings overflowing joy to my life as a way to worship my God.

This week, I was temporarily deprived of that pleasure. Working here at camp, every evening before the service, the staff present a musical special. I haven’t been able to participate in it for the past few years due to my work schedule during the evenings working in the kitchen, but this year I get to accompany two songs!  I was so excited, so nervous, and just a bit stressed (I got the music two days before the first performance, which was only going to be for staff, but still…) I spent all of my break Saturday and Sunday practicing, which amounted to over six hours of practice. I was transposing a piece, learning to read Bass clef, and play in B Major (which is a REALLY bad key for strings). It was so hard, but I was able to play it beautifully after all that time. I’m finally tuning up to play with the counselors for the first time and….

SNAP!

My bridge collapsed. And as a result, my sound post (what makes the instrument actually make sound) fell over. My violin was suddenly unplayable, I’m in the middle of the desert, and I have no earthly idea how I was going to get this fixed.

But, as a result, I got to see how God provides, even before my need could be known.  A week before I left, some dear friends of mine gave me $100, to be used however I saw fit. I was planning on putting it on my scholarship account, since I was planning on using it for school anyway, but I held off and just stuck it in my violin case and forgot to turn it in.  Well, now I had an expensive repair that was paid for! But where to get it fixed? I looked into shipping it back to the guy I normally go to for repairs, but after calculating all the shipping… It was going to be pushing $200, plus a $50 repair, and plus about 2 weeks of time.  I really couldn’t afford that, but God is faithful. I was able to find a violin repair shop that was near where one of the resident staff had to make a stop on Tuesday.

I’m still waiting on it to be finished (apparently they needed to order parts…), but God has provided exceeding abundantly above that I could ask or think, or even before I could ask or think. 

Getting ready for this summer, this promise is going to be big for me. I will need strength I do not have, wisdom I do not understand, love I do not possess, and patience with those who are “unpatientable” (as well as protection from those who dislike those of us who make up words…). : )

It is because of Him that I can play a violin, and because of Him, I can serve Him with it this summer.

Because of Him,

Missa

On The Road Again

Tomorrow, I am leaving. I'm going to spend an entire summer serving God at a summer camp in California. This will be my third summer, and I cannot wait to get on the road again.

And so, as most good things do, my blogging must come to an end... well at least it must suffer a significant decline in how often I post.  I'm hoping to post an update every other week, but that might be wishful thinking.

Because of Him,
Missa

Blame Game

I can't help it. I was just made like this. I'm just being me! I'm not going to be something I'm not just to make people like me!

So, I've heard this a lot lately - I call it Disney Channel theology... It's an excuse for Christians to be lazy and not deal with sin in their life.  I've also heard a lot of "I was just raised that way". There is a grain a truth to that one, Proverbs does say to train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Here's the thing, though, God gave everyone different circumstances, but only one Truth.

Now, I'm not saying life's not hard... I'm saying there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation provide a way for you to escape that ye may be able to bear it.

Actually, I'm not saying that - God did in 1 Corinthians 10:13

We say all the time that God can forgive everyone everything they've ever done.  He is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse from all unrighteousness! AMEN!

And now that we're saved, our life does not dramatically change. I am not saying that you must be good to keep your salvation, but why must we all be victims and live our life using the past as a shield? Maybe you didn't grow up in a good home, maybe you didn't have the best parents, maybe you grew up in the perfect environment to make you into a wonderful example of God's grace!

No one can claim ignorance of truth based on their past if they are saved. If you can read this post, you have access to Truth. The Bible is available free on the internet. Google it.

Maybe it's not so much that we don't have access to Truth, as that we don't want to be humble and change our ways.  It's humbling to get saved, but let's be honest, it's easier to be humble in the privacy of your own heart with a God who you cannot physically see, then to radically change the way you are living in the full view of those who know you the best. The mocking. The questions. The persona you have built up and display whenever someone is looking must be crumbled down because you have admitted that you can't do it yourself. That kind of humility is really hard.

Least I seem to be poking only at those of you with "a past", in the negative sense of the word, let me just say, I have seen kids from excellent families go bad. I have seen kids with every excuse in the book faithfully choose His way. Anyone can blame someone else for their shortcomings. It takes guts to allow God's truth to penetrate your life.

And about just being yourself, go for it. You are a beautiful example of God's creativeness, He made you the way you are. Just remember: in Christ you are a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)


Because of Him,
Missa

Job Requirements

Well, as most college students do at some time or another, I am looking for a job. I really don't know why I'm doing it now... I leave in less then two weeks to spend all summer at camp, but that's neither here nor there.

One of my favorite hobbies is photography. I was glancing on Craiglist for photographer jobs, and picked out the one that I had to have. It's for a photographer for a luxury car lot. Seriously, whoever wrote this is hilarious! A few highlights include:

Must have reliable transportation to work, we don't care if your mom has to drive you and pick you up. We hope she doesn't have to, let the woman have her own life, but hey, whatever gets you here.

Then send us your resume! We love simple and easy to read one pagers! Pack that thing with everything, we don't care if the font size has to be 5 and margins are zero to fit it all in on one page! Word, .txt, .pdf, whatever you have, send it over! Ever put a hyperlink in a resume? Yeah, some of you have. Some weird ones too! But we like that crazy stuff. Send it! We love resumes tailored to fit the position we are describing. Does that describe your resume? It should! Did I say spell check it? I'll say it again, spell check it. 

Must love cars, LOVE them, think about them constantly, OBSESS.
 
Must be familiar with digital cameras, we'll show you how to take our style of photos, if you can hold a camera still long enough to take a clear photo, you are good.
 
Must be able to drive a manual transmission, a M-DCT, a Doppelkupplung, a semi-sequential manual gearbox, an automated manual, an F1, a Geartronic, Steptronic, Touchshift, Sportshift, Tiptronic, S-tronic and R-tronic transmissions and know what cars they are in. Don't know how to drive stick? Learn!

Sadly, I have less then no clue how to drive a stick, and like I said, I'm leaving soon, sooooooooo. Well, I'll have a pity party later, after I get a life and friends to invite to the party. :)

Requirement. That's a big word... that I can spell without spell check (you'd be surprise with how far that will get you in the office world). A requirement is something that eliminates people, it gives a standard, it's an expectation.

Thinking about our walk with Christ, what are His requirements? Actually, He gave them to us in one simple verse (I love conciseness!):

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8

He has outlined a very simple plan for us to follow. Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God.... Easy stuff, right?  What does that actually mean, though? These are three attributes of God; goals we must strive to in our Christian life.  Prior to verse 8, Micah 6 asks if God is pleased by a myriad of different sacrifices. The point of the passage is that it's better to do right, then to offer sacrifices (or ask forgiveness in our case) later.

To be continued....

Because of Him,
Missa

Solo

This morning my college had a final chapel service.  Instead of a challenge, we were given the tremendous privilege of hearing the ministry team's program before they leave to travel the south/mid-west this summer. I had been hearing the practices every Tuesday evening for several months now. I had heard the good, the bad, and the ugly.

This morning it was beautiful.  This morning God was glorified. The songs were tastefully arranged in an order that flowed delightfully from one piece to the next. The topics of the individual pieces were designed to focus on the majesty of God.

Soli Deo gloria.

For the glory of God alone.

Tonight, my college put on a fine arts concert. A thought-provoking drama interwoven with music about a holocaust survivor.  The violinist made wood sing, and the monologue style drama was put to splendid effect.

Soli Deo gloria.

For the glory of God alone.

He is the only One worthy of praise for either musical event.

That might seem kinda nervy for me to say that. Those musicians put in a lot of practice.  They worked hard, and yet I say that God alone gets the glory for the produce of their effort?

Yep.

This is how I look at it:

He gave life to the violinist.
He gave her the ability to think and learn.
He provided a way for her take violin lessons
He gave her the tenacity to continue to work hard throughout the years
He provided a way for her to go to college to learn even more
He gave her the memory capacity to be able to memorize a monologue that was over an hour long in addition to memorizing several violin pieces.
He provided the facility for the performance to take place in.

And that's nowhere near all the providence that He habitually continually provides. Plus all the things that happened in the composer's life, the orchestra who accompanied the violinist, every single individual who was in the choir, in the life of the person who was controlling the lights.... do you see my point?

I live my life because of Him, but really everything is because of Him. He is in complete control of all our life circumstances, and He brings all things to His own glory.

Psalm 34
I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.
Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

DISCLAIMER: This is not to say that you shouldn't encourage people by complimenting them and telling them that they did a good job! We need to encourage people, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.

God alone is worthy of praise. This is a song one of my college professors wrote:

For Your justice soars like mountains
And Your love flows as the sea
And like waves your mercy rises
And rushes over me.
Who can fully grasp Your wisdom?
Who can fathom all your grace?
But my heart responds in worship:
I sing Your praise
I sing Your praise
For You alone are God.

Because of Him,
Missa

Waste Not, Want Now

*In TV announcer voice* Has this ever happened to you? You go to work. You come home to check your bank account and... NO ONE put any money in your account!  How can this be? You just put in your 9 to 5. Doesn't the boss understand the concept of instant gratification?!

And about this time they run an ad for a some make money at home scam.

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind getting paid everyday. I was blessed to have a job that I got paid every week, but still it would be nice have the money instantly. It's not like I would spend it right away, but there's something comforting about it. Like someone still knows and cares that you totally just killed yourself for the benefit of the company.

Then again getting paid immediately is often accompanied with a nice little piece of pink paper...

Sometimes our Christian life feels the same way... There are days when I'm so tired of doing the right thing. Now I don't mean doing the right thing for the wrong reason... just consistently serving God.  Just plain old spiritual burnout.  I want my reward now!  Why can't God give us some little nod or like some token of acknowledgement like an extra hundred bucks or something.

Why, when I witness to someone, why don't they get saved when I'm talking to them?  Why does that loved one still reject Him after I've prayed for them for years?

Does anyone care that I'm here in the back corner of the church washing windows?

Maybe we don't really mean it when we say we want to be rewarded now, but some days it would be nice to have just one person say thank you.

But, even though no one else notices, God truly does. And I think He knew how easy it is to burn out, because there's quite a few verses talking about it:

(1 Corinthians 15:58) ...Therefore my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
(2 Thessalonians 3:13) But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.
(Galatians 6:9) And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 

And there are more. God has promised in Galatians 6 that we will reap what we sow, but, as with plants, we don't reap the fruits of our labor until after we have put a whole lot of work and patience into it.

So, even though our rewards are not meted out fast food style, God's pretty good at keeping an accurate record of what we are doing.

Because of Him,
Missa

What's That Mean?

Definitions are such important things. If words didn't have a meaning, or if their meaning changed every time they were spoke, what would be the point of language? This God-given gift to man would be a worthless mumbo-jumbo of sounds.

When I was a kid, my sister and I really wanted to be sophisticated grown ups.  We thought that sophisticated meant refined, elegant, and grown up. My mom asked us what we meant by that, and then looked it up in the dictionary. Well the verb sophisticate has a pretty bad meaning :

Sophisticate

Transitive verb

1: to alter deceptively; especially : adulterate

2: to deprive of genuineness, naturalness, or simplicity; especially : to deprive of naïveté and make worldly-wise : disillusion

3: to make complicated or complex 

(www.mirriam-webster.com)

 

Yes, it does kinda mean grown up, but not in a good way. 

Here's the thing though, most people, if you ask them, agree with my original definition of the word. Obviously, something has happened. A culture has re-defined a word. It wasn't until I had personally seen what the true meaning was that I changed how I spoke. 

So definitions really do change your view of things. 

I learned a new definition. 

How do you define the word "blessing"? A blessing is something God gives to me because He loves me.  Blessings are good things, like a new car, a job, a boyfriend/girlfriend, etc. Anything bad is from Satan. Am I right?  

As my science teacher used to say "EL WRONGO!"

Actually you only need the first half of that definition. A blessing is something God gives to me because He loves me. Blessings are good things. 

And Who defines the word good?  So, I gave it away. God is good. He is the essence of goodness. He defines what is good in my life. God is putting things in my life to cause me to grow. Sometimes that means He gives me things I like, Miracle Grow for the healthy Christian. Sometimes He prunes me in ways I don't particularly like.  Really? I needed to loose my job now? 

If you've ever tended a rose bush, you understand that both fertilizer and pruning are necessary. That is what makes it bloom into the best rose bush it can possibly be. I'm sure the plant does not particularly enjoy the pruning times, but it is necessary.  It is even more beautiful for the pain.

So maybe that should be our definition of blessing.  That which is the absolute best for me, because He loves me. 

And it's so much easier to "bless them which curse you" when it doesn't necessarily mean that they'll win the lottery. :)

Because of Him,

Missa