..take my hand..

This is one of my favorite songs and tonight I finally began to really dig deeper into the words and understand it and how it applies to me and can apply to all of us. It's really simple truths that I need to live by. Jesus offers us his hand and if we choose to accept it, we can be with Him forever. I have struggled with truly needing Christ and find myself relying on other people to satisfy that need, whether it be going to my best friend for advice or comfort or my parents to talk about things. I need to realize that, yes, these people will be there for me, but God's the one who I need to come to first and who truly hears my prayers. Sometimes I feel alone or unhappy about certain things in my life and it's been a struggle for me lately but this song reminds me that I am never alone with Jesus and he will always and forever be there when I need to call out to Him and He loves me unconditionally. At the end of the song, Shawn McDonald, who wrote and performs the song, asks if God will change him and make him new from the inside out. In a way, I feel like a lot of us have that same desire, a desire to be changed from the inside out and to be made new. We yearn for a change in appearance or more importantly a change of the heart, mind, and soul. Thankfully, Jesus can and will answer your prayer for renewal and change to be more like Him. It's simple, all we have to do is take His hand...


Take my hand to the promise land
And on You I want to stand
‘Cause I cannot do it on my own
You're what I need and I need to be
Right by Your side ‘cause I cannot hide
Lord, I know that I need You
Na na na na na na na na na, I need You
Na na na na na na na na na, I need You

Without You I'm so alone I am weak but You are strong
You pick me up when I'm falling down
And I am crying Out to You inside of my heart
I need You, Lord, oh so, for the part
I want You to have my life, Jesus

I fall to my knees And I'm begging You, please, oh, Lord
Won't You change me
Make me new from the inside out
I want to shout out Your name



On another personal note, tonight I went to a girls youth conference called Revolve Tour with my youth group. My parents were hesitant to let me go because I have been sick for a while, but I convinced them that I had been feeling better and they eventually gave in. I'm glad they did because it was great to experience the Revolve Tour, even if it was for a couple hours. Natalie Grant played and her songs were moving and touching as usual. But, the main part of the conference is tomorrow when they have speakers and singers all day. I had originally only planned to go for the one night of it and not go the next day since my parents thought I had to get better. But, being me and wanting to always ask for more, I really wanted to go to the next day of it, but my parents still didn't give in. I, at first, felt bitter towards them and wished I could decide things on my own since I am an adult now. And my selfishness got in the way of obeying them and failing to see the good side of me not going. There was another girl in the youth group who realized she wanted to go now and she wouldn't have gone tomorrow, but since I had my ticket from tonight, this will allow her to go. I realized that this is probably how it was supposed to happen and that she's supposed to go and I hope she grows in her faith because of it. So, a simple lesson I learned tonight is that, yes, parents sometimes do know what's best for you, and to put my selfishness aside and put others before myself and accept that everything happens for a reason, and the reason tonight was to not think of only me but to put others needs before my own.