Sweet Victory

February 6, 2015

There’s nothing like a good song to lift my spirits. Music is a very powerful thing, and to me… it’s how my heart worships. It’s the strongest way my spirit connects with God.

Now, if I were to tell you that hip hop is my favorite genre of music, you might think I’m crazy; but there is some seriously good Christian hip hop out there, and it’s a beautiful thing!

There’s one song in particular that I’ve been listening to (on repeat) for the past several weeks. It comes from the album Riseby Trip Lee (whose concert I just attended last night, and it was AWESOME!!). The song is called Sweet Victory.

Solitude or Loneliness?

February 28, 2014

Whether in a crowd or alone, married or single, young or old – everyone experiences loneliness from time to time. It’s okay to admit it. I mean, who among us hasn’t felt this way before? It sounds so negative (and it feels that way sometimes!), but I am here to say that I believe loneliness is something positive that God uses to knock on our door.

It’s natural for us to want to fill the gap that loneliness creates. The question is, are we filling it with the RIGHT things? We pursue relationships, wealth, fame, busyness, shopping :) , etc. While these may help alleviate the feeling for a while, avoidance is not healthy. Deep down, we know that nothing can fill the void within us permanently, except the One who made us, as the quote above says.

Is Christmas Ruined?

January 25, 2013

Hurricane Sandy, turmoil in Egypt, Newtown, CT, a murdered church member. All these tragedies and disasters are playing out and wreaking havoc on our countries, communities and hearts. The question “Why?” is ever present in our heavy hearts and troubled minds.

Why does God allow for these events to occur? Why so close to Christmas? Christmas is a time we are supposed to be joyous and celebrate his birth and coming. How does He expect us to be able to bask in the joy of His birth when we are surrounded by all of these horrendous events?

When I began to wonder why God would allow these traumatic events to happen around Christmas and dampen everyone’s spirits, I realized I had fallen into the trap of forgetting what Christmas is actually about. Distracted by the worldly aspects of Christmas, I saw these happenings detracting from the spirit of Christmas and the joy of the season. I soon realized though that I was mistaken and had just become too comfortable in going through the motions of Christmas. Not only had I become too comfortable going through the motions of Christmas, I realized that it had seeped into other parts of my life as well.

The First Gift Jesus Brought into the World

January 15, 2013

That’s it. It’s officially over. It’s time to go back to normalcy. I hereby decree that as of this past weekend “the Christmas season” has now officially ended. What started back in late November and stuck around through the early days of January, is over and done with as of this past weekend.

(fyi, in case you’re wondering, to me the official end of the Christmas season is whatever day we decide to take down our Christmas tree and decorations. That happened this past weekend. Therefore I decree that the Christmas season ended this past weekend. You see how that works?)

The festivities and celebrations of Christmas and New Year are done. Life is back to normal. It’s the middle of January. No sign of the holidays remains except for the few stragglers out there who still haven’t taken down their Christmas lights (not that anyone has noticed or anything). Other than that, it’s pretty much over.

But wait a minute, wasn’t there more to Christmas than just the lights and the presents? Wasn’t there something else we were celebrating and getting all excited about? Or rather, wasn’t there some-ONE else we were celebrating and getting excited about?

Oh yeah! I remember…BABY JESUS!

Who are you travelling with this Christmas?

December 28, 2012

Christmas is full of journeys....

Each year Christmas is a journey for me. Each year, I travel with a different character. One year, it was with Zacharias, on a personal journey from doubt to faith. Another year, I made the long trek with the wise men, seeking and depending on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, in their case through a star. Yet another year, I travelled with my dear St. Joseph, moving from fear and challenged to put faith into action. And I simply can’t tell you how many times, I have sat with St. Mary, shared in her awe when the angel appeared, persevered with her through that rough terrain as she prepared to give birth to the Saviour, and rejoiced in awe with her as she worshipped the Baby King.

This year, I travel with her in a brand new way.

Perfect Timing

December 27, 2012

In the midst of the Christmas festivities, a time where we are preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ, I find myself surrounded by tragedy, grief, and loss. Lost jobs, terminally ill loved ones, war, and, as anyone with a television set knows, slaughtered children for no apparent reason. It’s supposed to be Christmas; my favorite time of year!

The irony and sacrilege seem almost unbearable. What perfect timing, isn’t it?

In the midst of this moment of sarcasm, I recalled a quiet time I had many months ago. It came from Esther 3:1-13 from a Bible Study excerpt I was following by Beth Moore. Esther was a young, Jewish woman who miraculously became the chosen Queen of Persia. Persia was home to many Jews, but they were technically the foreigners. Esther had been cautioned not to reveal her true heritage because there was an evil man with power in the kingdom who hated God’s people.

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