Summer Lights Tour

This past Friday I took a friend to the Summer Lights concert tour in Charlotte, NC.  We had an awesome time worshiping with each artist. Let’s see, there was Jimi Cravity, Meredith Andrews, Natalie Grant, Jeremy Camp, and Mercy Me.  And the whole show was wonderful.

Let’s be honest, I wasn’t expecting much.  I knew some of the artists from the radio, but… I have this natural skepticism towards Christian music, and I’m not sure why.  I listen to it, and there are only a few songs that bother me because their theology is way off, but… anyhow I was blessed Friday night, beyond my expectations, with a night of worship, singing praises to God, lifting my hands, tears pouring down my face over half the songs…

The songs that made me cry had to do with being broken and waiting on God’s Hand to move, but then trusting that He is enough even if His hand did not move to rescue us out of our circumstances. It’s a message that I have been wrestling with, and needed to hear once again. 

So… I’ve screwed up some things in my life pretty well, now. So I’ve been stuck in a job that’s not going anywhere, kicked out of grad school, unsure where life is taking me, getting ditched by the guy I was hoping to date… It’s uncomfortable, and I want out.  God knows I want out. I’ve fasted and prayed, and continue to do so, holding on to God’s promises, especially Jeremiah 29:11, that God has plans to prosper me and not to harm me, to give me a hope and a future. 

I know I may have to suffer the consequences of my actions for a long time.

I also know change is inevitable.

The concert. It was so encouraging, singing along, meditating on the words of each song. 

The tagline for the concert was, Escape the Ordinary.  So I of course had to weigh in, could a concert of praise and worship really allow one to escape the ordinary for a night?  And my answer…

The songs forced me to wrestle with God’s Sovereignty, while encouraging me of his faithful presence. They helped change my perspective.  They didn’t make my problems disappear, but they did alter how I perceived them, even just for those few hours.

I wasn’t just encouraged by the music Friday night. My soul was ministered to and fed by a deep sense of worship and awe of my creator, sustainer, Father, lover of my soul.

For a little over four hours Friday night, in the sticky humid summer heat, I did escape the ordinary.  And I was encouraged to help deal with the ordinary problems that seem insurmountable in this moment.

Can a concert really change your life? 

Did this concert change my life?  Well, it definitely challenged me to consider God’s faithfulness to me in all of my circumstances, and it pushed me to trust God’s provision for me.

I’m trying to decide, when I look back on my life, if I would point to this concert as a pivotal moment.  And… if the goal was to help me worship in all of life’s circumstances, yes, this concert pointed me there. I didn’t learn new truths, I was reminded of God’s faithfulness. I needed to hear it sung over me.

I don’t think it’s a bad thing to “escape the ordinary”. Thank God for the Summer Lights tour.  

Introduction to the Miraculous in the Mundane

I’ve been feeling very torn lately, about how I should view and operate in life. I want to see God do big things in my life. I want to see Him more mountains, and I’ve got a lot of mountains to move. But I also want to find contentment with the ordinary. To see His providential hand at work across my life as well. Am I called to live an extraordinary life, or a “normal” life? If I settle for normal, am I missing out on experiencing God’s blessings? Or, if I’m always waiting on the next big move of God in my life, am I missing out on His orchestrating the ordinary together for me. 

Maybe there is truth in all of what I just wrote. I used to think God’s will was very particular, and if I didn’t get it right I would miss out on blessings He had in store for me.  Now, I think God’s will is more flexible, and I don’t fear missing it the way I did in the past. I trust His Sovereign Hand in all the details, but I think there’s freedom in what I explore in my life. I figure, He’ll still teach me what I need to learn and help grow me in how I need to grow, but He can use multiple ways to do that for me. I don’t feel boxed in anymore.

But I think my vision needs to be checked.

I don’t want to settle for an ordinary life, I mean, who does?  It sounds so… well, boring.

And yet, God is at work in ordinary ways and processes all around me.

Maybe what I need is help in seeing the miraculous in the mundane.

So that’s what this blog is going to explore. I’ve let go of a lot of my big dreams, but now I’m not sure what to do with the life I have. I don’t want to waste it, which is what I fear I am doing. But I’m not sure what I’m meant to pursue, either. I have responsibilities that keep me grounded for the time being, but should I be planning for the next big thing?  Is it wrong to want more, to want to see God move in big ways, to want to step out in faith and see where He takes me? 

I feel boxed in, and I’m pretty sure that’s not how God wants us to live, feeling boxed in. Part of this is more because of bad choices I’ve made, that now I’m reaping the consequences for, which means my reality sucks.

But there are relationships that bring me hope, and people who speak encouragement to me in my struggles, people that want to see me grow as well.

I’m unsure of what I could really accomplish. I’m scared to step out in faith to pursue my dreams only to have them fall apart in front of me again. But, living in fear is not really what God has called me to, either.

So, you can understand my dilemma, how I can feel torn by what I’m experiencing, unsure what to pursue or anticipate or strive towards, what to pray for God to do in me and for me and through me, and I need a greater perspective of it all. So I’m going to explore this all with you, and see hopefully where God leads me, and have my faith muscles strengthened after all. I hope that maybe you can identify with the struggles I face and can be encouraged through my walk of faith as well. 

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12