CONVERSATION
life and a movie review
As much I love peace and quiet, I love chaos and craziness. Yeah, I'm nuts. You know the mad rush to get everyone dressed and in the car by a certain time on Sunday mornings for church? I love that. I've always loved that. It scares me, but maybe that's why I love it so much.
Our dryer busted, and thankfully we had our first fully 70 degree day this spring, simultaneously. So I was hanging laundry outside for the first time this year, just Tuesday. Oooh, it felt so lovely! The wind was vicious, whipping so hard I could barely stand straight. At one point, I stopped fighting it, and just threw my arms out, faced the wind and absorbed it. I giggled like a giddy school girl. It was thrilling and beautiful and...dangerous. And I loved it.There is so much in the world that tells us to be safe. They make safer cars, safer houses, no-slip shoes, you name it. And while I agree we cannot live recklessly or put other people in danger, this safety obsession is affecting our hearts. The world has forgotten how to live adventurously, even wild and dangerously. Why is it I find such pleasure in the Sunday morning rush, or in a vicously windy day? Because it's wild and adventurous!
There is so much in life to be excited about. God is just pouring love and blessing my socks off. He loves me and romances me. He's given me beautiful keys of healthy living and taught me how to keep my body vibrantly and exuberantly healthy. My family loves me. I have countless friends who are ever so dear to me, and several "adopted" siblings and families. I have people that love me for reasons I am yet to understand. I am part of a ministry that surprises me and blesses me every single day. Oh, dear Lord! I don't deserve such goodness.
So much has led up to this point. God has been preparing me, through the heartaches, uncertainties, frustrations, health mysteries, and journeys of faith, for this moment. Everything has been leading up to now. And now is when my resolve is tested, my courage tried. Will I be able to stand? Will I be strong enough? Well, probably not, because I am human. But it is because I am human that God is my strength. With Him, and only with Him, will I presevere and remain true to all He has taught me.
So much depends on now. The future, generations to come, the rest of my life, the lives of others, hearts and people are depending on me. So many watch to see my next move, as if in a game of chess where I am the piece that determines the rest of the game.
I've been given all the pieces of this puzzle, and I have one chance to put them together right. God does that sometimes...He hands us things which we never wished for, and that we do not know we are prepared for. I never wished to lead. I have always been a follower. Now, I am looked to as the leader. Yet, what they sometimes do not realize is that I am a leader that can go nowhere without my people around me. I am nothing without them. I was prepared for this, and never knew it. I'm still not sure how I feel about being a leader. Part of me is honored to have this opportunity, and the other part wants to shake my head and hide behind the nearest person. Such mixed emotions...wishing to follow, and knowing I must lead, at least for a while.
That God could make a leader out of me is an impossible thought. And apparently I have a penchant for believing in the impossible. All the goodness I now see around me is impossible. It's impossible that the people who have chosen to love me could ever find reason to. Impossible that the beauty I see is real. Impossible that every dream I've ever dreamt could really come true.
Yet that is what faith can do...
"It doesn't matter what you've heard
Impossible is not a word
Its just a reason for someone not to try
Everybody's scared to death
When they decide to take that step
Out on the water, but it'll be alright
I've seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn't ever end
Even when the sky is falling
I've seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That's what faith can do!"
And now, as I promised my dear Auntie Lisa, a movie review...my thoughts on the film "To Save a Life".
It was as good as I had expected, possibly better. I was impressed with the actors, and moreso with the fact that someone had chosen to make a movie that hit home on some very important issues of life. The message was clear---people are hurting, and we can help.
Growing up in a conservative Christian home, I had been told about the struggles many people go through...drugs, self-abuse, teen pregnancies, suicide, etc. But things like that hit a lot harder when they are presented in a way that is personal and real. These aren't just things that happen in a land far, far away. They happen here, now, in the next house, to the person at the next table and the person behind you at the checkout. All around, life is dark and bitter for so many people. And by one simple act of love, that life can suddenly take on a whole different color.
All in all, To Save a Life was a movie worth watching, but I'd say for anyone over 16. Fast forward through the first party scene (the only part, really, that I thought would have been better left out of the movie, though I understand their point and why they put it in.). The end was confusing, and I'm still not sure about it, but it worked, the story got told, and they all lived happily ever after. :)
Our dryer busted, and thankfully we had our first fully 70 degree day this spring, simultaneously. So I was hanging laundry outside for the first time this year, just Tuesday. Oooh, it felt so lovely! The wind was vicious, whipping so hard I could barely stand straight. At one point, I stopped fighting it, and just threw my arms out, faced the wind and absorbed it. I giggled like a giddy school girl. It was thrilling and beautiful and...dangerous. And I loved it.There is so much in the world that tells us to be safe. They make safer cars, safer houses, no-slip shoes, you name it. And while I agree we cannot live recklessly or put other people in danger, this safety obsession is affecting our hearts. The world has forgotten how to live adventurously, even wild and dangerously. Why is it I find such pleasure in the Sunday morning rush, or in a vicously windy day? Because it's wild and adventurous!
There is so much in life to be excited about. God is just pouring love and blessing my socks off. He loves me and romances me. He's given me beautiful keys of healthy living and taught me how to keep my body vibrantly and exuberantly healthy. My family loves me. I have countless friends who are ever so dear to me, and several "adopted" siblings and families. I have people that love me for reasons I am yet to understand. I am part of a ministry that surprises me and blesses me every single day. Oh, dear Lord! I don't deserve such goodness.
So much has led up to this point. God has been preparing me, through the heartaches, uncertainties, frustrations, health mysteries, and journeys of faith, for this moment. Everything has been leading up to now. And now is when my resolve is tested, my courage tried. Will I be able to stand? Will I be strong enough? Well, probably not, because I am human. But it is because I am human that God is my strength. With Him, and only with Him, will I presevere and remain true to all He has taught me.
So much depends on now. The future, generations to come, the rest of my life, the lives of others, hearts and people are depending on me. So many watch to see my next move, as if in a game of chess where I am the piece that determines the rest of the game.
I've been given all the pieces of this puzzle, and I have one chance to put them together right. God does that sometimes...He hands us things which we never wished for, and that we do not know we are prepared for. I never wished to lead. I have always been a follower. Now, I am looked to as the leader. Yet, what they sometimes do not realize is that I am a leader that can go nowhere without my people around me. I am nothing without them. I was prepared for this, and never knew it. I'm still not sure how I feel about being a leader. Part of me is honored to have this opportunity, and the other part wants to shake my head and hide behind the nearest person. Such mixed emotions...wishing to follow, and knowing I must lead, at least for a while.
That God could make a leader out of me is an impossible thought. And apparently I have a penchant for believing in the impossible. All the goodness I now see around me is impossible. It's impossible that the people who have chosen to love me could ever find reason to. Impossible that the beauty I see is real. Impossible that every dream I've ever dreamt could really come true.
Yet that is what faith can do...
"It doesn't matter what you've heard
Impossible is not a word
Its just a reason for someone not to try
Everybody's scared to death
When they decide to take that step
Out on the water, but it'll be alright
I've seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn't ever end
Even when the sky is falling
I've seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That's what faith can do!"
And now, as I promised my dear Auntie Lisa, a movie review...my thoughts on the film "To Save a Life".
It was as good as I had expected, possibly better. I was impressed with the actors, and moreso with the fact that someone had chosen to make a movie that hit home on some very important issues of life. The message was clear---people are hurting, and we can help.
Growing up in a conservative Christian home, I had been told about the struggles many people go through...drugs, self-abuse, teen pregnancies, suicide, etc. But things like that hit a lot harder when they are presented in a way that is personal and real. These aren't just things that happen in a land far, far away. They happen here, now, in the next house, to the person at the next table and the person behind you at the checkout. All around, life is dark and bitter for so many people. And by one simple act of love, that life can suddenly take on a whole different color.
All in all, To Save a Life was a movie worth watching, but I'd say for anyone over 16. Fast forward through the first party scene (the only part, really, that I thought would have been better left out of the movie, though I understand their point and why they put it in.). The end was confusing, and I'm still not sure about it, but it worked, the story got told, and they all lived happily ever after. :)
CONVERSATION
Chance?
**Beware: This post contains the rantings and ventings of a currently rather moody girl. This post may or may not make any sense at all, and the author shall not be held responsible for any maladies the reader experiences, including dizziness, nausea, loss of sight or speech, or migraine headaches. Thank you.**
Ok, this has been bugging me for a while now. I saw a church billboard just recently that took the saying “The family that prayer together stays together” and changed it into “The family that prays together has a better chance of staying together”.
Is that not the most discouraging thing ever written? I mean, seriously…we are now leaving the idea of families staying together up to pure chance? Even with prayer?
This just makes me downright mad. Why leave it up to chance? Why is it okay for a good family to just be a chance? We’re leaving strong marriages and good families up to LUCK?
My dad always likes to say “Luck is where opportunity and preparation meet.” So if you are prepared and the opportunity comes knocking, consider yourself lucky. But you won’t be lucky if the opportunity comes and you are not prepared.
Same thing goes. Good marriages and good families don’t happen by chance. People don’t stay together by chance. Relationships don’t work out by chance.
You make it work!
Have we become such a passive, churchy, conservative people that we have forgotten how to fight?
We are told by the “good Christians” to be like Jesus, and then given a picture of Jesus, the quiet preacher, the guy that held babies and lambs, so passive and gentle. That’s the Lamb part of Jesus. But what they don’t tell you is that Jesus has another side. He is the Lamb…but He’s also the Lion. He’s the passionate, dangerous, fearsome lover and bold leader! He is the God that works the impossible! He is the Warrior, the Bravest Heart of them all!
Okay, so we’ve got the passive Lamb part down.
Now who’s going to be the Lion?
Who will shun the idea that true love and family and marriage and life and everything good and wonderful only happens by chance? Who will stand and fight?
Bad times come. We live in a fallen world. Life will not be perfect. We carry our past, the past actions and choices of our families, and anything else bad and discouraging the world tacks to our shoulders with us the rest of our lives.
But we can choose to be better. We choose to be one step better than the generation before us. And we choose to prepare the next generation to be one step better than us.
We choose to make marriage work and to make it be for life.
We choose to forgive.
We choose to show grace to those who have stumbled, and to move on.
We choose to not leave our families up to chance, but to fight and to triumph!
Ok, this has been bugging me for a while now. I saw a church billboard just recently that took the saying “The family that prayer together stays together” and changed it into “The family that prays together has a better chance of staying together”.
Is that not the most discouraging thing ever written? I mean, seriously…we are now leaving the idea of families staying together up to pure chance? Even with prayer?
This just makes me downright mad. Why leave it up to chance? Why is it okay for a good family to just be a chance? We’re leaving strong marriages and good families up to LUCK?
My dad always likes to say “Luck is where opportunity and preparation meet.” So if you are prepared and the opportunity comes knocking, consider yourself lucky. But you won’t be lucky if the opportunity comes and you are not prepared.
Same thing goes. Good marriages and good families don’t happen by chance. People don’t stay together by chance. Relationships don’t work out by chance.
You make it work!
Have we become such a passive, churchy, conservative people that we have forgotten how to fight?
We are told by the “good Christians” to be like Jesus, and then given a picture of Jesus, the quiet preacher, the guy that held babies and lambs, so passive and gentle. That’s the Lamb part of Jesus. But what they don’t tell you is that Jesus has another side. He is the Lamb…but He’s also the Lion. He’s the passionate, dangerous, fearsome lover and bold leader! He is the God that works the impossible! He is the Warrior, the Bravest Heart of them all!
Okay, so we’ve got the passive Lamb part down.
Now who’s going to be the Lion?
Who will shun the idea that true love and family and marriage and life and everything good and wonderful only happens by chance? Who will stand and fight?
Bad times come. We live in a fallen world. Life will not be perfect. We carry our past, the past actions and choices of our families, and anything else bad and discouraging the world tacks to our shoulders with us the rest of our lives.
But we can choose to be better. We choose to be one step better than the generation before us. And we choose to prepare the next generation to be one step better than us.
We choose to make marriage work and to make it be for life.
We choose to forgive.
We choose to show grace to those who have stumbled, and to move on.
We choose to not leave our families up to chance, but to fight and to triumph!
CONVERSATION
a little design...
So...while listening to this song by Rebecca St. James, and having a rare evening with nothing pressing to do, and feeling the urge to do some graphic design with good ol' Adobe Photoshop....I came up with this. I'd been thinking about doing something along this line with this song for a while, and this was the fruit of that thought. The pictures I had put together last year, so I just added the words. Ta da! :D
CONVERSATION
The Joy of Waiting
I never understood it. I heard people talk about “joyfully waiting”, or being content in waiting, and I always wanted it. I strove to be happy while waiting, but it never lasted. I could usually pull it off for a day or two, but then I’d be right back to my impatient grumbling and worrying. It sounded ridiculous! I nearly had myself convinced that people who said they were content waiting were making it up. How could it be possible? I couldn’t understand it and I couldn’t reach it. I began to figure I’d forever be impatient and discontent.
But that was me talking.
I understand it now.
There was a reason I couldn’t find happiness in waiting. It was simply because I was not waiting for the right things. Ever since my heart began to grow in the knowledge of things like faith and love, I’d been dodging doctrine and chasing after stories that weren’t mine.
Imagine my shock when I figured out that my story was as simple getting my heart and mind in line with God, growing in doctrine and faith, and waiting for God to show me my love story!
Peace is found, not in getting to where you think you need to be, but rather looking at each step, focusing only on that single step, and then taking the next one, and (get this!) ENJOYING each step as you take it!
Joy comes when we know what to wait for. When you find out really what God wants you to wait for, waiting becomes so much easier. When you believe that God has shown you what He wants for you, and you know that it will all turn out right and beautiful in the end…oh, what sweet satisfaction!!
God does nothing haphazardly. His purpose is right and perfect. He is not the author of confusion or discontent. Being aware of His voice and heeding it can bring only the purest of happiness!
Waiting is good for us. It teaches us what is right and what is wrong. As Michael Phillips aptly put, “In all His purposes for the world, The Creator allows time to accomplish them. Whether it be in an individual heart, in the relationships of a family, or in the history of a nation, time teaches, time heals, time strengthens, time deepens roots and gives perspective. For time is an essential element of growth and a necessary catalyst for the development of maturity and wisdom.”
I know now what it means to find unbridled joy in waiting for something you know is God’s plan. I understand it. Life makes sense. God makes sense. Even I sorta make sense!
Thank you, Sweet Jesus!
Don’t be afraid of time and of waiting. You are in the right way. Be confident that God is making everything beautiful, even if you can’t see it right now. Waiting makes everything better, deeper, and sweeter.
But that was me talking.
I understand it now.
There was a reason I couldn’t find happiness in waiting. It was simply because I was not waiting for the right things. Ever since my heart began to grow in the knowledge of things like faith and love, I’d been dodging doctrine and chasing after stories that weren’t mine.
Imagine my shock when I figured out that my story was as simple getting my heart and mind in line with God, growing in doctrine and faith, and waiting for God to show me my love story!
Peace is found, not in getting to where you think you need to be, but rather looking at each step, focusing only on that single step, and then taking the next one, and (get this!) ENJOYING each step as you take it!
Joy comes when we know what to wait for. When you find out really what God wants you to wait for, waiting becomes so much easier. When you believe that God has shown you what He wants for you, and you know that it will all turn out right and beautiful in the end…oh, what sweet satisfaction!!
God does nothing haphazardly. His purpose is right and perfect. He is not the author of confusion or discontent. Being aware of His voice and heeding it can bring only the purest of happiness!
Waiting is good for us. It teaches us what is right and what is wrong. As Michael Phillips aptly put, “In all His purposes for the world, The Creator allows time to accomplish them. Whether it be in an individual heart, in the relationships of a family, or in the history of a nation, time teaches, time heals, time strengthens, time deepens roots and gives perspective. For time is an essential element of growth and a necessary catalyst for the development of maturity and wisdom.”
I know now what it means to find unbridled joy in waiting for something you know is God’s plan. I understand it. Life makes sense. God makes sense. Even I sorta make sense!
Thank you, Sweet Jesus!
Don’t be afraid of time and of waiting. You are in the right way. Be confident that God is making everything beautiful, even if you can’t see it right now. Waiting makes everything better, deeper, and sweeter.
CONVERSATION
Springness
I went out with my camera the other day and spent some time with the crocuses and pussywillows! :D The lighting was so perfect and everything was so pretty!!!
CONVERSATION
A Heart Full of God
A heart full of God
Is all I have to give
Every single day I live
I feel so small and weak
And ever more so unworthy
Even with my heart embraced
By the one to whom I pray
A heart full of God
What more could I want?
And yet I feel as though I can’t
Deserve the answer to my dreams
Even when its smiling at me
Is there not more?
Can’t I be sure?
A heart full of God
I know its enough
He fills my heart with oh so much!
God, help me end this nagging doubt
That my within is not without
Tell me I’m worthy of a love all my own
Real true love I’ve never known
A heart full of God
A heart filled with loved
A heart that knows the meaning of
What it means to really see
What it means to really be
A heart full of song
This special song
Say it isn’t a dream
Say that I am worthy…
(Inspired by/partially to the tune of “A Heart Full of Love” from Les Miserables)
By Hannah McMichael
April 6, 2011
Is all I have to give
Every single day I live
I feel so small and weak
And ever more so unworthy
Even with my heart embraced
By the one to whom I pray
A heart full of God
What more could I want?
And yet I feel as though I can’t
Deserve the answer to my dreams
Even when its smiling at me
Is there not more?
Can’t I be sure?
A heart full of God
I know its enough
He fills my heart with oh so much!
God, help me end this nagging doubt
That my within is not without
Tell me I’m worthy of a love all my own
Real true love I’ve never known
A heart full of God
A heart filled with loved
A heart that knows the meaning of
What it means to really see
What it means to really be
A heart full of song
This special song
Say it isn’t a dream
Say that I am worthy…
(Inspired by/partially to the tune of “A Heart Full of Love” from Les Miserables)
By Hannah McMichael
April 6, 2011
CONVERSATION
Impossible
People will say that its not worth the fight
And everyone argues if its wrong or right.
The conclusion they come to, with apathy say,
Killing your heart is the easiest way.
But I refuse to submit to their plan,
My Lord and Creator tells me I can…
Go ahead
Take that chance
Believe in every impossible
Reach out far
Have this dance
Look for the unimaginable
Believe in the impossible.
I dream lofty dreams, and it scares me sometimes
I can’t fathom how my heart could be so alive
I still battle with doubt that my dreams will come true
Crying and praying like humans do
But God still tell me to dream
As impossible as it seems…
Go ahead
Take that chance
Believe in every impossible
Reach out far
Have this dance
Look for the unimaginable
Believe in the impossible.
By Hannah McMichael
April 3, 2011
And everyone argues if its wrong or right.
The conclusion they come to, with apathy say,
Killing your heart is the easiest way.
But I refuse to submit to their plan,
My Lord and Creator tells me I can…
Go ahead
Take that chance
Believe in every impossible
Reach out far
Have this dance
Look for the unimaginable
Believe in the impossible.
I dream lofty dreams, and it scares me sometimes
I can’t fathom how my heart could be so alive
I still battle with doubt that my dreams will come true
Crying and praying like humans do
But God still tell me to dream
As impossible as it seems…
Go ahead
Take that chance
Believe in every impossible
Reach out far
Have this dance
Look for the unimaginable
Believe in the impossible.
By Hannah McMichael
April 3, 2011
CONVERSATION
Let The People Praise You
Let the people praise You
Let the people say You are God, You are God
Let the people praise You
Let them cry out, saying “Great is our God!”
Every breathing thing, come praise the Lord
Father, bind our hearts to Your precious Word
With Your praise in our mouths and a two-edged sword
In our hands…
Let the people praise Your
Let them praise Your name with a dance
Let the people praise You
Every breath, every day, every chance!
Great is our Lord, and greatly to be praised
In Your beautiful presence, hearts and hands are upraised
From the depths to the heights, listen as the whole world says
You’re our God…
Let the people praise You
Let the people say You are God, You are God
Let the people praise You
Let the people say “Great is our God! Our God!”
By Hannah McMichael
April 2, 2011
Inspired by Psalms 145, 148, 149 and 150
Let the people say You are God, You are God
Let the people praise You
Let them cry out, saying “Great is our God!”
Every breathing thing, come praise the Lord
Father, bind our hearts to Your precious Word
With Your praise in our mouths and a two-edged sword
In our hands…
Let the people praise Your
Let them praise Your name with a dance
Let the people praise You
Every breath, every day, every chance!
Great is our Lord, and greatly to be praised
In Your beautiful presence, hearts and hands are upraised
From the depths to the heights, listen as the whole world says
You’re our God…
Let the people praise You
Let the people say You are God, You are God
Let the people praise You
Let the people say “Great is our God! Our God!”
By Hannah McMichael
April 2, 2011
Inspired by Psalms 145, 148, 149 and 150
CONVERSATION
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Anne smiled and said, "My idea of good company, Mr. Elliot, is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company." "You are mistaken," said he gently, "that is not good company, that is the best..."
-Jane Austen,
Persuasion
-Jane Austen,
Persuasion
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