bamboosong

I’m moving!!!

Lori Jo — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 08:48:41 +0000

Blogs that is. Time to say goodbye to bamboosong…

So, please get ready update your blog feed reader or links :]

When I first started blogging, it wasn't available and I just checked randomly today and it was!

I am ready for a fresh start, a new "place" and needed to change something, since I can't actually move into a new place, or start a new school…this is my way of changing things up a bit! It'll be a little slow transitioning old stuff, and organizing new categories, but I've got a new blog home! Now to just pack up and move the stuff that needs to come along!

One thing that is changing is I will be joining a new small group in a few weeks! I'm hoping to be in RD this year. {Relational Development}

Faith & Risk

Lori Jo — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:34:00 +0000

Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ

Hebrews 11:33, 34

. . . Who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong

Is faith a risk? Of course. But failing to step out in faith is to risk missing real life. I have been challenged by the following thought from an unknown author.

Risk

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out for another is to risk involvement.

To place our ideas, our dreams, before a crowd is to risk their loss.

To love is to risk not being loved in return.

To live is to risk dying.

To hope is to risk despair.

To try is to risk failure.

Risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love . . . live. Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave; he has forfeited freedom.

What a privilege for us to be able to walk by faith in God Himself, armed with all the promises of His Word. I suppose we all desire the security of the solid tree trunk, but the fruit is out on the limb. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The timid soul asks, "What do I stand to lose if I do it?" The fruit-bearing Christians asks, "What do I stand to lose if I don't do it?" Real life is lived on the cutting edge.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, help me stand up for what is right, to reach out and love others, and to dare to believe.

quotes – today

Lori Jo — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:15:53 +0000

Great quotes of the day:

From Erwin Lutzer's How to Have a Whole Heart in a Broken World:

Lutzer, Quoting C.S. Lewis: "The ultimate purpose of God in all His work is to increase joy." C.S. Lewis

"Joy is the ointment that can heal a fractured heart. Christ gives it to those who draw their spiritual strength from Him."

"But the better we are friends with Christ, the easier it will be to love God's difficult children."

"If our Lord seems distant, it's not because He is trying to play hide-and-seek. He's waiting for us to make some hard choices that will make friendship with Him a priority."

"We will never spend quality time with Christ unless we resist the other voices that call to us, begging for attention and involvement."

Lutzer, after a lengthy quote from Hudson Taylor: "Rest in the sufficient Saviour" Instead of trying so hard, just rest in him.

To abide = To dwell in Christ

"In the manner that Christ did nothing apart from the strength of His Father, so we can do NOTHING apart from Him. The same dependece, faith and humility that characterized Christ must be ours as well."

…That your joy may be full…John 15:11

You make known to me the path of life;in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11

ESV Study Bible says:
Ps. 16:11 path of life. A master metaphor of the Bible: the covenant provides a “path” by which one walks to life in all its fullness (Prov. 5:6; 6:23; 10:17; 12:28; 15:24; Matt. 7:14); this is what the Lord makes known to his followers. To enjoy God's presence, or his face, is the fruition of the covenant (cf. Ex. 33:14–15; Num. 6:24–26). The word pleasures is related to “pleasant places” (Ps. 16:6); the pleasure that he has begun in this life will continue into its fullness in the world to come

We The Redeemed – Jill McCloughry – Hillsong

Lori Jo — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 23:59:02 +0000

Verse 1:

There is nothing like Your love

No exchange for all You gave

To be welcomed into life

So I can know the love it takes

Verse 2:

Now forever to be loved

To walk with You for all my days

There’s no greater love than this

You are the Author and the Way

Pre-Chorus:

This is the sound of the redeemed

Rising up to praise the King

Our hope is in You

This is the sound of the redeemed

Rising up to praise the King

Chorus:

Singing glorious, glorious One You have saved us

Honor and Power and Praise to the Savior.

You are the Answer, You are the Answer

Verse 3:

You come with power come with fire

As we lift Your name on high

And join with all the saints to sing

In bringing Honor to the King.

Bridge:

We the redeemed

Hear us singing

You are Holy

have your way – britt nicole

Lori Jo — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:24:24 +0000

Feels like I’ve been here forever,
Why can’t you just intervene?
Do you see the tears keep falling?
And I’m falling apart at the seems.
But you never said the road would be easy,
But you said that you would never leave.
And you never promised that this life wasn’t hard,
But you promised you’d take care of me.

So I’ll stop searching for the answers,
I’ll stop praying for an escape,
And I`ll trust you, God, with where I am,
And believe that you will have your way.
Just have your way.
Just have your way.

When my friends and my family have left me,
And i feel so ashamed and so cold.
Remind me that you take broken things
And turn them into gold.

Even if my dreams have died,
And even if I don’t survive,
I’ll still worship you with all my life.
My life.
Whoa-oh..

I know you will
I won’t forget
You love me
Have your way

oceans will part

Lori Jo — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 02:59:20 +0000

if my heart has grown cold
There Your love will unfold
As You open my eyes to the work of Your hand
When I’m blind to my way
There Your Spirit will pray
As You open my eyes to the work of Your hand
As You open my eyes to the work of Your hand

Oceans will part
Nations come
At the whisper of Your call
Hope will rise
Glory shown
In my life
Your will be done

Present suffering may pass
Lord Your mercy will last
As You open my eyes to the work of Your hand
And my heart will find praise
I’ll delight in Your way
As You open my eyes to the work of Your hand
As You open my eyes to the work of Your hand

learning to fall

Lori Jo — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:51:06 +0000

I’ve heard it said a million times
that I should hold on tight to Jesus
But I took this road so far from Home
and distance came between us
When I walked away
I knew one day I’d need your grace

So now you’ll find me on my knees surrendering
‘Cause I know that I’m really not so strong
And now, done fighting for control
Lord you can have this life that I’ve been holding for so long
I’m learning to fall

You ran so fast to rescue me
While I was barely breathing
You picked me up, You touched my face
and I began to see more clearly
Though I’m such a disgrace You still forgave
And your love remains

So now you’ll find me on my knees surrendering
‘Cause I know that I’m really no so strong
And now, done fighting for control
Lord you can have this life that I’ve been holding for so long
I’m learning to fall

Take me as an offering
I surrender everything
No more living without You

exposing my soul…sharing one of my songs!

Lori Jo — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:48:40 +0000

here you go. *gulp*

this is far from perfect…but the sooner i share it the sooner you get to hear it and yeah…

here it is:

you are all i need by Lori Jo [lj raw]

you can also check the song out on reverbnation.com/lorijomusic

just imagine it with a cello and a better piano player, i’m stuck with the one that i have…hehe. and you know, better equipment than just garageband…imagine the potential!

Trust. Am I secure in my identity in Christ?

Lori Jo — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:53:00 +0000

Trying to Control Others

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

When a person’s self-worth or success hinges on the achievement of a goal which can be blocked or which is uncertain or impossible, how will he respond to those who frustrate his goals? Often he will attempt to control or manipulate the people or circumstances who stand between him and his success.

For example, a pastor’s goal is to have the finest youth ministry in the community. But one of his board members blocks his goal by insisting that a music ministry is more important. Every attempt by the pastor to hire a youth pastor is vetoed by the influential board member who wants to hire a music director first. The pastor wrongly perceives that his sense of worth and success in ministry is on the line. So he shifts into a power mode to push the stumbling block out of the way. He looks for a way to change the opposition’s mind or remove him from the board because he believes that his success in ministry is dependent on reaching his goal of a great youth ministry.

A mother believes that her self-worth is dependent on her children behaving in a certain way. Her goal is to raise perfect little Christians who will become pastors or missionaries. But as the children reach their teen years and begin to express their independence, their behavior doesn’t always match their mother’s ideal. So instead of helping them grow through adolescence and releasing them into adulthood, she tries to control them.

It is not hard to understand why people try to control others. They believe that their worth is dependent on other people and circumstances. This is a false belief as evidenced by the fact that the most insecure people you will ever meet are manipulators and controllers of others. But people who are secure in their identity in Christ don’t need to control others. Their goal is to be the leader, spouse, parent or employee that God wants them to be because nothing can keep them from being what God wants them to be but themselves.

Prayer:

Lord, I affirm that my worth is based on my relationship with You and that I am free to become the person You want me to be.

From Neil Anderson – Daily in Christ

“Your Name is glorious because…”

Lori Jo — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 01:55:56 +0000

last night in between the corporate worship sets, we met in our small groups and then come back to worship corporately before we leave. I usually have a pretty good idea of the flow and transitions of the songs etc. like this:

1. Glory to God Forever – Beeching & Fee

2. Holy is the Lord – Tomlin

3. You'll Come – Fraser

message

4. Tear Down the Walls [Your Name is glorious + For all your sons and daughters..]

challenge+prayer

5. How great thou art[Then sings my soul]/how great is our God

That was the plan. Not much changed in the structure, but rather it was added upon. read Psalm 93 at the beginning, pray here, etc.

I try to be listening as I plan, to see where God wants us to go, and to keep that as the priority and focus. Sometimes it's easier than other times. This week I didn't have any troubles planning the music as I had sat in on the rehearsal and had a pretty good idea of the focus-theme.

We had a full band, and it was fun to rejoice with all the instruments, and to not be behind the keyboard, as I had been the past 3 weeks. I was really pleased with the first part of our corporate worship time. In our small groups we talked about worship, and what we had learned and experienced on Sunday at church. Besides getting really excited about our conversation…which as you can see from my last post 'faster' worship excites me, i am super super passionate about it!! Towards the end of our conversation my heart started pounding and I felt like God prompted me, impressed on my heart and put the thought into my mind, to ask the college group to stand up and speak 'Your name is glorious because…' or "God is glorious because_____" Totally out of nowhere. It was really cool, several people stood up and gave glory to God and then together we sang "Your name is glorious, glorious, your love is changing us, calling us to worship in spirit and in truth…" That was a really powerful moment; a great reminder why we do this, any of this.

All for God's glory and honor and praise.

Soli Deo Gloria.