I know now why cats need 9 lives...

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I'm actually really hoping for a situation where I can use that line...... ( evil laughter optional )

The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. Psalm 145:8


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No great spiritual lesson here....just thinking that if someone analyses my DNA..it will have some traces of Bucky.

Hiding place

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Think everyone wishes they have a secret hiding place when trouble, pain or sorrow comes....or maybe even when life/work gets too tough or seemingly hopeless.
( Erm, no. The office toilet is where you to escape to when you want to catch some shut eye...not the best place to go to escape from your problems-unless of course when they are of the bowel movement sort )

Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble, thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Psalm 32:7

Sing to the Lord, sons

Stumbled on this song " Fearless " by a christian band, Building 429. Why 429? Apparently, they got this name from Ephesians 4:29.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

I'm guessing the word "Building" means that they are constantly working on this verse in their lives. Building a life that epitomizes a life that ministers to others through their songs, through what comes out of their voices and lifestyles.
Anyway, when I first heard this song I wasn't too impress. ( like it matters )
I was more impress by their music video which is pretty well thought out, directed and produced. But, as always with many songs, this one just keeps playing in my head right now. The lyrics are pretty straight forward, about "being fearless before a crowd and speak God's truth. "

The two missionaries featured in the video, is actually a team that documents a "reality show" about their mission trips. Here is a brief description of what they actually do from their website:

" Travel the Road, the groundbreaking reality television series that documents the adventurous lives of young missionaries Tim Scott and Will Decker over 18-months, through 25 countries, across 40,000 miles is a unique look into the world of frontline mission work.

The journey is filled with danger, excitement, adventure and epic triumph as Tim and Will undertake unbelievable expeditions into the most remote areas of the world to bring the gospel. From the deserts of Ethiopia to the island villages of Papua New Guinea they travel from country to country with one backpack, a change of clothes, and a message of hope that pushes them deeper into the unknown.

The journey is a landmark television debut of reality programming with a purpose."

" Fearless " Building 429

No I don’t understand
And I can’t comprehend
This power that draws me to you
But I know for the cross
I’ll consider it all lost
In an effort to tell of the truth

That the world may know
That the world may know
You have been heaven sent to us

(Chorus)
I’ll be fearless for You
I’ll be fearless for You
Take me I’m Yours
I’ll be fearless for You

All the times that I’ve failed
When my doubt has prevailed
These are the moments I’m giving to you
Cause I can’t be ashamed
No I can’t fear the pain
When it comes time to be living proof

So the world may see
That the captives are free
‘Cause you have been heaven sent to us

(Chorus)

Unwilling to bend
Unwilling to break
And Headstrong I’ll stand
No matter what it takes

A sample of the music video of the song "Fearless" can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY1Vs9uP1IY&search=building%20429

Link to Travel The Road:
http://www.traveltheroad.com

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For those who are uncomfortable with a "christian reality show" and the fact that it seems to glamorize an important and sacred work ( missions actually starts with wherever we are right now anyway).
Just have this to say for whatever its worth: Don't mistake the form for substance. Anything done to honour God will always be honoured back by the Lord. Its the disposition of heart that is always always the most important.

"...for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." Samuel 15:7

Sing to the Lord, daughters

Think women often write and relate to God from a very different perspective than men.
Poetic, deep and very often vulnerable....

At first, I thought that this song "Held",though musically pleasing to the ears, is very fluffy. But after having a look at the lyrics, I change my mind totally. It is really a very deep and beautiful song that speaks about pain in a fallen & sinful world.
The idea that God inflicts pain on us sometimes cause He loves us, is humanly difficult to understand at times, even to us His children. But we learn. We trust.
Cause He, the lover of our souls and the bearer of our sorrows, promised that He will never leave nor forsake us.

"But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men."
Lamentations 3:32-33

".....for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
Hebrews 13:5

" Held " Natalie Grant

Two months is too little.
They let him go.
They had no sudden healing.
To think that providence would
Take a child from his mother while she prays
Is appalling.

Who told us we'd be rescued?
What has changed and why should we be saved from nightmares?
We're asking why this happens
To us who have died to live?
It's unfair.

Chorus:
This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive.
This is what it is to be loved.
And to know that the promise was
When everything fell we'd be held.

This hand is bitterness.
We want to taste it, let the hatred know our sorrow.
The wise hands opens slowly to lilies of the valley and tomorrow.

(Chorus)
This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive.
This is what it is to be loved.
And to know that the promise was
When everything fell we'd be held.

Bridge:
If hope is born of suffering.
If this is only the beginning.
Can we not wait for one hour watching for our Savior?

(Chorus)
This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive.
This is what it is to be loved.
And to know that the promise was
When everything fell we'd be held.

A sample of the song "Held" can be heard here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m8qVfClv6Q&search=natalie%20grant

( "Held" is orignally written by a woman call Christa Wells, who wrote the song in a response to the loss of two loved ones. )

" Forgiven" by Thomas Blackshear II