Wintry Mix and "Why Pay Your Money?"

Why is it that it never snows or sleets or whatever when I actually want it to? The day before the ski trip it had to snow . . . Oh well, it is giving me an opportunity to post, which is something that I haven't done in a while. So, let's see. What's new around here . . . Well, apparently I have a crush on this college guy(that was for you, Elimelech). Oh, yeah, I'm in Region Band. Should be lots of fun. There's actually a somewhat funny story involving me being in Region, but I won't bore you guys with that. I stumbled across this song from a link on a blog that some of y'all all familiar with, the quaker blog. Though I have never heard this song, and am therefore not condoning it, the lyrics made me think alot. It is called, "Why Pay your Money?"

I made my money and I took it to the driving-fast man
I said I would like to be driving just as fast as I can
I need some speed and I need to be bad
I need to win respect that I never had
Why pay your money for what does not satisfy?

I took my new car and I drove it to the looking-good man
I said “please make me more attractive than the person I am”
He sold me some muscles and he shaved down my nose
Then got me fitted in some really neat clothes
Why pay your money for what does not satisfy?

Now I am driving, I’m finally arriving
Now I am looking really very good
Now I am wondering what else to be buying

I took what I had left and I gave it to the happiness man
I said I would like to be happy, as happy as I can
He said, “boy, why did you come to me last?”
Then he just smiled and he handed it back
And he said
“Why pay your money for what does not satisfy?”
Satisfy

If We Are The Body

It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in trying to fade into the faces
The girls teasing laughter is
carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know

Chorus:
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way

A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat and quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances
Tells him that his chances are better out on the road

Chorus

Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the body of Christ

Chorus

Jesus is the way



I love this song. It is so convicting. I thought about getting it as a ringtone for my phone, but I figured that I didn't want to spend the money for a ringtone I would only be able to use away from BJ. Anyways, it kinda goes along with Jigger's post on hospitality.

Pennsylvania Trip

I spent the last week staying at my grandparents house in Pennsylvania. Actually it is more than a house. It is former funeral home coverted in to a bed-and-breakfast. Which is ironic in itself. Anyways, it is in a village called Numidia. The village consists mostly of 1 main street. It is a slower atmosphere than Greenville. It's very relaxing. My granparents attend a small baptist church(a little less conservative than us). They were putting together an "orchestra" to play along with congregational sing for their Christmas Eve candlelight service. My grandma volunteered my sister and I. The "orchestra" ended up consisting of an oboe, a bassoon, a guitar, a tenor sax, a mandolin, a piano, an organ, synthesized strings and brass, a trap set, and on 1 song a flute. But the funny thing was, it didn't sound that bad. Except the drums(but that was because of the drummer). Also while we were in Pennsylvania, we went to see Sight and Sound. It is the "Christian Broadway." We went to see a Christmas show. They put on these huge, elaborate shows. Their theatre seats 2000+. We were walking in the lobby before the show, fighting through the crowds, when we heard, "Batdorfs!" We turned to look, and who did we see? Mr. and Mrs. Nic and their kids. Anyways, that's about all I have time for at the moment.

The Spirit-Controlled Life

I know this is way before my 2 week normal posting time. I just re-discovered this. It is something that a friend of mine sent me and I really appreciated. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The Spirit-Controlled Life

It’s quiet. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming.
In a few moments, the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calmness of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.
For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I am free to choose. And so I choose.

I choose love . . . no occasion justifies hatred; no justice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I choose joy . . . I will invite my God to be the Lord of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical.

I choose peace . . .

I choose patience . . . I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complaining that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray.

I choose kindness . . . I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. I will be kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And I will be kind to the unkind, for such is how God treated me.

I choose goodness . . . I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I boast. I will confess before I will accuse.

I choose faithfulness . . . Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word; my loved ones will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their parents will not come home.

I choose gentleness . . . Nothing is won by force. If I raise my voice, may it only be in praise. If I clench my fist, may it only be in prayer. If I make a demand, may it only be of myself. I choose to be gentle.

I choose self-control . . . I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will not rule the eternal rule my present world. I choose self control.

~~~~LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL~~~~
To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail I will seek His grace.
And the when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

A Lighter Subject

Well, as has been pointed to me, I am past my "post by" date. So here goes nothing . . . I noticed while looking at my last couple of posts, that they have taken a rather serious note. Not that there is a problem with that, I just thought that I would use this one to catch y'all up on my life. Over Thanksgiving break, I went to Florida to visit my relatives. On the bright side, I got to meet my new aunt. On the not-so-bright side, my step cousin was sick, so I didn't get to meet him. :( Also on that same side, my non-step cousin becomes more of a punk every time I see him. Anyways, apparently the popular thing to do at the moment is to post about friends, so I'll follow the tradition. Over the last couple of months, my friend groups have grown alot. To those of you who I didn't know very well and now do (of the people who will be reading this, mostly figureskater and elimelech), I have really enjoyed getting to know you guys better. I totally had you guys pegged as alot different then you actually are. Shows that you really can't judge a book by its cover. To those of you who I already knew well, it has been a fun semester. Hopefully next one will be even better. We definitely need to have a few more parties. I know, next one is at my house . . . Oh yeah guys, check out randomoboe's blog. She actually posted.

Shadow of the Almighty

Well guys, I have decided to keep with the tradition of posting about every 2 weeks. This gives me another couple of day, but I figure I might as well do it while I have time. A couple of days ago I started reading Shadow of the Almighty, The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot. For those of you who have not read it, you must. I have been so challenged by Elliot's devotion to God. Most of the book is portions of letters he wrote or sections of his journals. One of the main things that has challenged me is Elliot's prayer life. These are his words, "I lack the fervency, vitality, life in prayer which I long for. I know that many consider it fanaticism when they hear anything which does not conform to the conventional, sleep-inducing euligies so often rising from Laodicean lips; but I know too that these same people can acquiescently tolerate sin in their lives and in the church without so much as tilting one hair of their eyebrows. Cold prayers, like cold suitors, are seldom effective in their aims." This comes from a man who prayed more then I could imagine praying, and yet he realized that he was lacking. It is easy to become complacent about our prayer lives. We think that as long as we are praying more than just for meals or at school, we are doing well. That is not true, and thinking that keeps us from a deeper relationship with God. Think about it this way, we have the the opportunity to commune with our Creator and Savior, and often all we say to Him is "Please be with _______ and ______ and help us to have a good day." We were created for a better relationship than that.

Golden Park

Today was one of those days that turns out totally different then you expected. I went in to it expecting to be hanging out with a huge group all day, andI ended up being with a couple of people all day. Not that there is anything wrong with small groups. Actually, part of it was nice because I got to hang out with a friend of mine who got saved this week. It was encouraging to see how much she has changed. Along this same line, the same girl has shown me how important it is to watch what I do and say. She is a year younger then me and very impressionable. She is beginning to copy some things that I do. Which is very sobering. It scares me alot. Okay, so that wasn't where I was intending to go with this post. What I was originally heading for was that I learned how easy it is to exclude people from things. Not that anyone was excluding me. I actually left the group at the beginning, but I felt very left out when I finally found them later. I'm not saying that anyone did the wrong thing, it's just very easy to forget about people when they aren't there. So this is kinda a challenge for those of you who hang out with me at school. There are some girls that hang out with us and eat lunch with us every day, and yet they never feel totally included, especially by the guys in the group. I don't tend to think of our group as "cliquish," but often we only hang out with the people that we know well or are comfortable with. That's not right. I just wanted to challenge you to try to include everyone.