How You Live

This past weekend I went on a scrapbooking weekend to a cottage at the Christian Reformed Conference Grounds with my sister and her family/friends. I always look so forward to it because it’s such a RELAXING weekend, with nothing on the to-do list, but “maybe” scrapbook. I actually scrapbooked more than I thought I would – but I also ran, crocheted, soaked in the beautiful weather, streamed a LOT of college basketball, read a lot of scripture, and watched the gorgeous sunsets/sunrises. It seems like a lot, but really, all those things are things I LOVE to do. This weekend couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. It was truly refreshing.

As we were scrapbooking, we had a Point of Grace cd playing the song “How You Live” came on. If you at all listen to Christian radio, this song I’m sure is very familiar to you. But the more I listened to it, the more the words were sinking in. There were so many lines in this song that really made me reflect on life, who God is, and what God wants for our lives. Please read the lyrics below (I decided to not download the song b/c I think sometimes just reading the words lets them soak in a little more):

Wake up to the sunlight with your windows open
Don’t hold in your anger or leave things unspoken
Wear your red dress, use your good dishes
Make a big mess and make lots of wishes
And have what you want
But want what you have
And don’t spend your life looking back

Turn up the music, turn it up loud
Take a few chances, let it all out
‘Cause you won’t regret it
Looking back from where you have been
‘Cause it’s not who you knew
And it’s not what you did, it’s how you live

So, go to the ballgames and go to the ballet
And go see your folks more than just on the holidays
Kiss all your children, dance with your wife
Tell your husband you love him every night
Don’t run from the truth
‘Cause you can’t get away, oh no
Just face it and you’ll be okay

Turn up the music, turn it up loud
Take a few chances and let it all out
‘Cause you won’t regret it
Looking back from where you have been
‘Cause it’s not who you knew
And it’s not what you did, it’s how you live

Oh, wherever you are and wherever you’ve been
Now is the time to begin
So, give to the needy and pray for the grieving
Even when you don’t think that you can
‘Cause all that you do is bound to come back to you
So, think of your fellow man
And make peace with God
And make peace with yourself, oh yeah
‘Cause in the end there’s nobody else

Turn up the music, turn it up loud
Take a few chances and let it all out
‘Cause you won’t regret it
Looking back from where you have been
‘Cause it’s not who you knew
And it’s not what you did, it’s how you live
‘Cause it’s not who you knew
And it’s not what you did, it’s how you live

I love the line – But want what you have – I thought that was a very clever way of saying “be content.”

How many chances do we miss because of fear? On Sunday we went to a church called The Edge that meets on the grounds of the campground. The sermon just so happened to be on the subject of fear. The pastor talked about Gideon and how he was going to take I think like 32,000 men to war but then he asked anyone who had fear, to just go home. He was left with 10,000. How many of us are stopped dead in our tracks because of fear? I can be stopped in my tracks by the fear of the unknown. But I will say God has definitely grown us in that area and we are WAY more accepting of situations that come our way. Yes fear still happens and it will come like a storm sometimes, but we just have to remember who we have our trust in – the ALMIGHTY God. Sometimes we just need to take a chance.

Do you ever think about how you live? Do you ever look at the day that has just gone by and ask “where did it go?” I sure do! When I wonder where the day went, it says that I haven’t put much thought into what God was doing. I was just going through my mundane tasks of the day. I feel like a day would stick out more to me if I spent more of it reflecting and truly thinking about what I’m doing. And you are probably thinking, who has time to just sit, think, and reflect? Well, where are our minds? Are they focused on WHO we are serving or are they focused on WHAT we are serving (job, successful, boss, etc.). If I truly keep my focus on Christ, I feel like I can sit back and say “this is how God worked through today…” and not wonder where it went or what I did.

Because truly it’s about how I live.