College (Part 2)

Prayer works!

After posting about my troubles with finding the right College, things became so much clearer to me!

I am pretty dead set on Graphic Design now. I absolutely love to do it, and I am figuring out what to do with it as well as what I'll want to learn about Graphic Design in order to do the things I see God planning for me. (:

I still am not sure which college to go to, but I have more hope knowing that I will go into Graphic Design. I almost want to get started right away!

As far as colleges go, I still would love to go to a Christian college, so I opened up my options a bit. I'm re-thinking going to my sister's college, because as long as she knows it was my own choice because of the college itself, I will survive seeing her every once in a while. After two years of college, I know she'll change enough to make her survivable around, and at some point, we need to grow together, right?

I'm also keeping open the other Christian college open as an option, since a couple of my friends are going there, and I am going to look for even more colleges to possibly attend. I'm not as afraid as I was before because I know that God is in charge of the world, not me!! If I go to a college that isn't Christian, I will still be on God's side.

I will keep praying and I hope you pray that wherever I go is where God leads me to go, and whatever I do is what God wants me to do.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside still waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." (Psalm 23)

Music

One of the biggest questions Christians have been asking in regards to how much we are "In the world," is what types of music can we listen to?

It has split churches before (the Church of Christ doesn't believe in instrumental music), and it can create rifts in between relationships. Some get "persecuted" by their peers or even by adults because of types of music they listen to.

I would like to propose that what type of music you listen to does not matter. It does not matter whether music is A capella or screamo; music is music.

No, what truly matters is the message.

The message comes from the whole entire musical picture that the piece presents. It involves the words, the tone of the music, and how it affects your feelings. Usually, you can tell what the message is by the lyrics, but sometimes you need to make a personal judgement on how it affects you.

It can change with some people how music affects you. For example, I am really weak when it comes to "secular"(or "worldy") music, but my best friend does good enough with it that songs without a bad lyrical message, she can listen to without being drawn away from God. For her, it's a party mood, or it's just an innocent having fun mood with an interesting beat; but sometimes for me, it can bring back inappropriate thoughts, which can build up inside me and cause me to sin. So test yourself and make sure that what you are listening to isn't taking you away from Christ.

Now, if the message has nothing to do with Christ, then what is it about? Is it about you? Is it about loving a boy or a girl? Is it about partying when the sun goes down?

"Sin" is a part of our nature, not an act, and the middle of sin is "I". When the world revolves around you, your desires, what you want, and when you want it, that is when sin occurs. Adam and Eve fell because they thought they could do things better than their own Creator, not because they ate an apple that God didn't want them to eat. Be careful and always purge yourself of any sign of selfishness that puts you in God's throne; and that will be the determining factor for the music you choose to listen to.

As disciples of Christ, our biggest goal is to become more "Christ-like" every day. As we work towards that goal, all the other problems we face get solved. If you ask, "Well what about how we should worship?", the answer would be, "How Jesus worshiped." And if you ask, "but how should we treat sinners?", the answer is always, "How Jesus treated them." And so this is why we wear the W.W.J.D. (What Would Jesus Do?) bracelets, because all of our questions are answered by how Jesus dealt with things and acted towards people. Keep all of this in mind when you are choosing your music too. "What would Jesus be listening to? Would he smile at me and sing along, or would he look at me with sad eyes full of love as he hangs on the cross? Would he be ashamed of me in front of the Father?" (No pressure, if he's accepting, you don't need to doubt it; but you do need to make a choice.)

Music has a big influence on how you treat people and on how others see you. I know I get made fun of for avoiding what we call secular music, but somewhere in their brains, they begin to understand that I do this for God, and not just because "it's a sin." Listening to music really isn't a sin. "Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean'." (Matt. 15:10b-11) But how far are you willing to follow Jesus? Will you settle for following with only half of your life, or will you give it your all?

I strongly believe that Jesus calls us to give it our all, or he will deny that he ever knew you (Matt. 7:21-23). Even Paul (in Galatians 2:11-14) rebuked Peter, one of the Apostles, for being two-faced. It may be impossible to truly mimic what Christ does, but that can’t stop us from trying our best!!!

So if you want to be true about your faith, be careful about what you are listening to. Be sure that nothing turns you away from God even for a moment, and love Him with all of your heart(emotion), soul(decision maker), mind(thinker), and strength(body).

~♥

Addison Road - "My Story"

Recently, my preacher gave me this CD by a band named Addison Road. Unlike other CD's, in this one, I loved every single song! Usually I find one that I just don't understand or don't like, but this one has just been wonderful altogether!

As I listened to the songs, I read the lyrics they provided, and one song really stuck out to me; it's called "My Story" (the album being called Stories), and here are the lyrics to it:

My Story

This is not another song about the reasons I am stressed

This is not a melody to get the feeling off my chest

This is not a pop song written for the radio

These are just my thoughts and what I'm praying for

If this is my story, if this is my song

Then I want to be a part of something beautiful

If this is my journey, then show me your road

Wherever you lead me in this world I want to go

There's just too many times I only think of me

'Cause I get so consumed with my opportunities

When my last breath brings me to the feet of God

I want to hear him say I lived for his glory

If this is my story, if this is my song

Then I want to be a part of something beautiful

If this is my journey, then show me the road

Wherever you lead me in this world, I want to go

Colors paint the evening sky

The sun is shining, giving light

Stars light up the atmosphere

But we're the reason God came here

We are his story, we are his song

A beautiful melody that shows the world his love

When we're on this journey, when we're on this road

We are a part of the greatest story ever told

(copyright 2010 Simple Tense Songs / Inthecity Songs (ASCAP)

and Regisfunk Music (BMI) admin. by Simpleville Music, Inc.)

Today is a beautiful Fall day; seeing it makes me wonder how we are more special and beautiful than all of the world God created.

Remember that our lives are a part of a wonderful plan that he's got for us; live it for our LORD!

I hope this made your day like it made mine. :)

(You can listen to the song here too!)