"Only a Life Lived for Others is a Life Worthwhile"

Life is so fragile. Just found out that one of my friend's Phil, his good friend, Alex Bain, passed away on Christmas morning. He was only 20. I think he accidently choked on something. As my friend, Allie, put it, we have to accept that God knows what's best, as hard as it is to accept. (which can be said for almost any circumstance in life) This just makes me think how you never know how much time you have left on this earth, only God knows. It gives a whole new meaning to the verse from Colossians 4:5, "Make the most of every opportunity," because you never know if it'll be your last. On Alex's facebook page he said that, "Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile." Also, he said, "I Love You....because I will never find a reason not to.....doesn't matter who you are....or what you did..." This speaks so much of Jesus' love for humanity-He loves everyone no matter who you are or what you did. And He'll never find a reason not to love you. If only we all could live like that, imagine how much more fulfilling life would be. That we would truly love people for just being children of God and we wouldn't look at reasons or excuses not to love them. But, we love people simply because they are God's creation, made in His image and created for a purpose. Whether we have twenty years or eighty years in this life, God has a specific plan and purpose for each and every person's life. Therefore, we need to stop sitting around and waiting for life to happen, we have to get up and make life happen. Every day is filled with new opportunities to touch someone's life, no matter how small or silly the thought or action may be. In a few years from now, or even a few weeks or days, we should look back on how we've lived and ask ourselves, "How have I lived for myself?" and then ask, "How have I lived for others?" and lastly, "How have I lived for Jesus?" Hopefully, there's a longer list for the last two questions if you've truly grasped the gospel message. Jesus came to this earth to serve and not to be served. He came to heal the sick, to cure the brokenhearted, to forgive sins. He lived a life that was completely selfless and was always caring and loving towards everyone the same, even the lowest of the low. What if we began to live like Jesus did? What if we were to seek the lost, talk to the outcast, care for those in need? As Jesus' followers, He calls us to live like Him and not waste our lives. I pray that He would use me and you for His glory and divine purpose. That we would try to understand what our purpose is and wholeheartedly go after it. I pray He would help me live a life for others because that's how Jesus lived His life. That I would not waste any opportunity I am given in life. So as for now, while I am still in this flesh and blood, I will serve others and Jesus the best way I know how, until I am reunited with my Savior for eternity.

~Becca~

Jesus, all I have is You

"All I Have"

What have I in this life 

But the love in your eyes

This empty world will one day fade 

Only Your truth will remain

Jesus, all I have is You

You're the Hope I'm holding to

I might weep but still my faith rests in You

As the Heavens hold the skies

It's Your hand that holds my life

And Your love will lead me on 

When all else is gone

The lyrics to this one particular worship song have been the primary reoccuring theme for my summer.  I first heard it when my friend, Jenn, played it for me one night in June. Ever since, the words have stuck with me and seem to repeatedly and surprisingly fit perfectly into what I have been going through or learning. It has been a whirlwind of a summer to say the least. It has mainly been filled with various trips, including: young life camp, youth group trip to the Outer Banks, missions trip to Haiti, a wedding in Virginia, family trip to Cedar Point, and still to come...Niagra Falls and a trip to Iowa. Amid all these trips has been quite a few learning experiences. 

Firstly, this song talks about how this world is empty and temporary, whereas, the Truth of Jesus Christ is eternal and will always remain in your life. As I'm beginning to experience more and more, with having to say goodbye to close friends going off to college, the things of this world will never stay the same, things are constantly changing. We, as human beings, are not designed to do the same thing with the same people day in and day out. God created us to have relationships with different people at different points in our life. He also called us to preach His Word and spread the gospel, wherever we are. If we move, or go off to college, that is just one more missions field that we have the priveledge of reaching. I don't know about you, but I sometimes like things to stay the same, it's easier that way. But, this life is not meant to be easy. If it was, then why would we need a Savior? We need Jesus because we cannot get through life without Him. Therefore, we should want to know him because he wants to earnestly know us. Which requires time. And, I will confess, I am not the greatest at spending as much time as I would like with Jesus, but I am learning. I encourage to seek Him wholeheartedly and know that He is the only thing in life that will not fade away. 

The lyric, "And You're love will lead me on, when all else is gone," has been a big part of what I have been learning this summer. It is a great and demanding challenge. To trust that Jesus will lead me when everything else I've ever known is gone. Starting college, I am becoming for the first time really independent. But, in a way, since I am becoming independent in a physical sense, I need to become all the more dependent on the God of the universe to carry me through this new beginning of my life. I am starting to realize more and more that if I lose everything and am left with only Jesus, then that is enough. I am learning to find my greatest fulfillment in Jesus and not through other things, such as friendships, family, or temporary satisfactions. To be completely and wholeheartedly satisfied in Jesus is my goal and will continue to be my goal every single day until I see Him face to face.  

:)

Have a Little Faith in Me

My most recent song fascination has been the song, "Have a Little Faith in Me," by John Hiatt. Here are the lyrics:

When the road gets dark
And you can no longer see
Just let my love throw a spark
And have a little faith in me

And when the tears you cry
Are all you can believe
Just give these loving arms a try
And have a little faith in me

Chorus:
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me

When your secret heart
Cannot speak so easily
Come here darlin
From a whisper start
To have a little faith in me

And when your backs against the wall
Just turn around and you will see
I will catch, I will catch your fall
Just have a little faith in me


It speaks a lot more than I ever realized; and, it could possibly have two different interpretations from the lyrics. I think that this song was meant to be sung from a guys perspective towards a girl, but it also could mean, and how I see the lyrics now, as God wanting you to have faith in him. Looking at the verses, God fulfills all our desperations and heartaches. When we're in the dark and cannot see, he gives us light. When our eyes are filled with tears, we know we have his loving arms to turn to. When our heart's lost for words, you know you can always pray to him. When you feel like there's no way out or no one to catch you, God is there. All you have to do is have a little faith in him. But what's faith? Faith, as I have heard it defined, is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see. Even though we can't see God, we have faith in knowing he is still there with us. In the movie, "A Walk to Remember," they phrased it as, "It's like the wind, you can't see it, but you can feel it and you know it's there." As Christians, faith is inevitable and essential. We don't need to have proof that Jesus is real because we put our entire faith into the Bible. And ultimately, if we put all our trust and faith in our Savior, then in return we will no longer worry about what lies ahead, for God has our futures set and He is always in control.

"And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." ~Romans 8:28~

praise you in this storm

This past week has been one of the toughest weeks I have had to go through in a long time. It just hits you like a smack in the face and no one could have ever been ready for it. But, nobody ever expects to go through life without feeling some sort of heartbreak or have to go through some sort of suffering. I guess I haven't really had to experience this kind of suffering before in my life because nothing like this has ever really happened to me. In just a matter of seconds, some news you recieve could change your future forever, that's a scary thought. My friend says bad things happen to you in three's and that's exactly the number of things that happened to me and people around me this week. In an instant, a dear friend from our church passed away from cancer, a friend found out she's moving in a matter of three months, and another friends' parents are moving away which means my friends home is no longer in Ohio. All this news was extremely hard to hear at once and I wasn't sure how to handle it. My first thought was to ask God, "why?" Why do these things have to happen this way? Why can't You fix this hurt? Why do people have to move away? Asking all these questions, I knew that I knew the answers but still felt angry and upset that I had to question the reason behind everything. I know that God has a plan and he knew this would happen from the beginning and "He works everything together for good, who are called according to His purpose." Life is hard, but I know I need to still trust that He knows what's best for me and for all of us. Even though, at first, we might not think this is what's best for us at this time, God knows exactly what we can handle and He wouldn't have it happen unless He didn't think we were strong enough to handle it. My thoughts and feelings about this whole thing are evidently seen in one of my favorite Casting Crown songs entitled, "Praise You in this Storm."


I was sure by now,God, that You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone
how can I carry on if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away

I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

all i need

So this past weekend my church hosted a concert for Bethany Dillon to perform as well as PW Gopal. If you havent heard of Bethany Dillon, she's originally from Ohio and has been writing songs since her early teenage years and has used her talent to as of now have three cd's and have two of her songs be in well-known movies in the theatre. Being at the concert, it was awesome to see not only her singing her songs for us, but for the main reason she writes her songs, and that's for Jesus. By the end of the night, she had asked everyone in the audience to sing worship songs along with her. As I closed my eyes and began to sing, I heard all these voices around me and it was so amazing to experience the body of Christ coming together. At first, we came to hear a singer perform, but then left worshipping our Lord and Savior. One of the reasons I look up to Bethany Dillon so much is because she can speak of her faith and struggles so well through her songs and has a real heart for serving our God. She humbles herself by making her concert not about her, but about Jesus and honoring HIS name. One of my favorite songs of hers is entitled, "All I Need," and after hearing her sing it and listening to it again, I feel like this song is where I am at this point in my life, trying to realize my need needs to be found in Jesus, and Jesus alone. Here are the lyrics:

When the day is done
And there's no one else around
While I'm lying here in bed
You're in my heart, You're in my head
You're all I need, You're all I need
There are a million voices Calling out my name
But You're the One I want to hear
So make the others disappear

You are all I need when I'm surrounded
You are all I need if I'm by myself
You fill me when I'm empty
There is nothing else You're all I need

When the morning comes
And Your mercy is renewed
There's a fire in my bones
I'm not afraid to go alone
You're all I need You're all I need
The sun on my face I hear You whisper loud
You're still the God that opens seas
Every flower, even me
You're all I need You're all I need

I'm drawn to everything that You do
Nothing compares with You

This song best describes how we, as Christians, have the great privelage to know that Jesus is all we need in this life and he will fill us when we're empty and he'll be right by our side when we're feeling alone. And when there are so many other voices calling out to us, telling us this or that, or what to do, we realize God's voice is the only voice that matters. As broken people in a fallen world, we have a need to feel whole and to feel loved, which is sometimes hard to find. The good news is, God offers us his Son so He can fill that emptiness, brokenness, and that all encompassing need. And nothing and noone else can satisfy that need except Jesus.

..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.

my trip to Haiti

I went on my first missions trip this past summer to Haiti. It was such an eye opening experience, I wish you all could have seen it. Before, whenever I saw pictures or videos of third world countries and kids who needed to be loved or fed, yeah I felt sympathy for them and wanted to help them but I don't think I ever really understood the seriousness of it. I would go to Christian concerts and they would tell the audience all about these countries who need our help or our financail support and we maybe feel compelled in the back of our mind to take action but never follow through with it. Now, after being there and actually seeing their faces in real life and getting to know the people of Haiti, I have grown to love them as brothers and sisters in Christ and realize that it's up to us to make a difference. We can sit back and watch that video talking about what we can do to help, and we can feel sorry for them but what are you actually doing to put that feeling into a reality? As Americans we are so blessed with everything we have, the least we can do is use what we have been given by the Lord and give it back to Him by helping those less fortunate than us. Even now, I still find myself wondering what more I could do.

Above all, seeing the people worship the Lord like they did down there was the most beautiful thing I experienced there. They were so real and genuinely filled with joy about Christ, even in the midst of pain, heartache, and poverty. It was truly incredible to see them so on fire for their King. How passionate and on fire are some of us about worshipping and thanking our Father who gave us everything we have? Sometimes we're so caught up in the busyness of our life we forget to take a moment and thank God, me included. I find it harder for us to develop a deep and meaningful time consuming relationship with Jesus because we have so much other "stuff of life" that gets in the way.

The point I'm trying to get across is: if God is calling you to sponser that little child you see at Christian concerts, make it happen, if He's calling you to something bigger like a missions trip, then by all means, try to make it possible for you to go...God put us in this world so we can develop a relationship with Him but also help out those in need and who need to also hear about the Gospel. I'm not saying you can't be a missionary in your own town, because we can preach the Gospel to anyone in our daily lives, what's a struggle is to get past that barrier and be bold in your decision to be a disciple for Christ. Here's a paper I wrote for English class about Haiti, which is the best way for me to describe it all (it also had to be in all one-syllable words):

One trip: one truth
There's a far land that lies close to the sea. I could not have ever known such a place could change me, but it did. With me was my mom, my dad, my sis, and four friends from our church. When I took my first glance at the place which would be our home for the next eight days, I felt shock and knew this view would open my eyes to real life and not just still frames. Trash laid in the street while all these feet walked on by. As the group drove on the torn roads, each eye drew to mine and I could not help but feel out of place. Still, all I thought was how they must live their lives day to day and how it is not the same as ours.
I taught grown kids from a youth group how to play chords and strum six strings. We taught them new praise songs in their own words as well as in ours. Each one had such a strong want to learn and made the most out of their time with us. All the guys and girls were so warm and fun to hang out with. Each day was spent to pass on our skills to them so they can keep on with what we taught them, which can then be used to give praise to the Lord. Our group too would share in their form of praise through song, dance, and games. As each day passed, we grew to love each one of them plus share in the love of Christ.
Our last night came to a close and, slow to say our byes, we told them we’d hope to come back and see them next year. With few hours left, I stared in the eyes of one whose heart is torn in two. Not able to speak his words, all I could do was hold his hand and pray he’d find peace and hope for the days in front. As tears rolled down each face, I did not know one heart could feel this way. We all did not want this time to ever fade and knew it took a lot more than just fate to bring us here. They taught me key ways of life: to live for God day by day, to have joy with your life, to not fret on small things, and to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind. Now, I do not look at the world as I once did, I don’t think one still could. Even though what I saw, heard, and felt might not be known to the rest of the world, I will do my best to show them through words, songs, and speech. I will look back at the time spent, the tears cried, the shared laughs, the songs filled with joy, each face still in my thoughts, and think how I could not have been any other place at that brief glimpse in time.