Airplanes

Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky
Are like shooting stars
I could really use a wish right now.

On the way to CCT just now, I heard the song with these lyrics for the first time. I'd seen the lyrics posted on a multitude of statuses on Facebook over the past few weeks, but I truly had never heard the recorded version. A lucky guess led me to find that Hayley Williams is the voice behind the words; each repetition of the four lines were a breath of fresh air from the lengthy rapped majority of the song. But then I got to thinking...

I don't need to pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars even though I could really use a wish right now. I've got something that rings with far more truth than a silver 757 with a blinking light that only pretends to be a star moving across the sky. I've got Someone that can grant me more than a wish, a wish that comes with a catch and a clause saying that I can't tell anyone or it won't come true. I don't have 3000 feet of cold, polluted air between me and my Dream-Giver.

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" Psalm 8: 3-4

You could say that I've got my lucky stars to thank for the Someone I have, but then I'd beg to differ. I have no fortunate orbs of hot gas to praise for the relationship I have with a true Light to the world. I have only He Himself to thank time and time again for the sacrifice He made and the love He has for me. His love is unlike any other's; it is unending and unconditional. It is everlasting and enticing. He wants to draw us near to Him.

Next time you look up at the sky, really look. You might see a shooting star; isn't it beautiful? Maybe it was an airplane; isn't the mind God gave us --the mind with the capacity to create such a marvel-- incredible?

He named each star as He set it in place. He knows every detail about that star: it's temperature, age, distance from earth, and the precise moment at which you'll look at it. It's the same with me and with you. He knows every detail about us: how many hairs are on our head, the speed at which thoughts race through our minds, our exact age down to the millisecond, and exactly where you're sitting and what you're doing right now. That amazes me.

As far as wishes go, I will agree that it is fun to have an image or a thought in mind when you blow out the candles atop a birthday cake (whether they number five or nineteen) and it's a familiar scene in our favorite movies when the main character closes their eyes tight and ties all her hopes and dreams to the bright light flashing across the sky. That's great, really, but is it real?

Psalm 37:4 says "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Guess what? That means He knows what they are. He knows every dream, goal, hope and wish that you have for today, tomorrow, and beyond. He knows the ones you had yesterday. He knows the ones you had when you were six. He knows them and He placed them in your heart --the special place that should be reserved for Him-- so that He can safeguard them and form them and see them through.

Romans 8:26-28 tells us that the Spirit helps us and intercedes for us, going for the Lord on our behalf when we do not know what to think or pray. The One who knows us best also knows how to pray for us best and prepare for us best. All things work for the good of His will and purpose which is exciting in itself.

What's exciting to me is that it's okay to have dreams! It's okay to have high hopes and wishes! God has them too! He has so many plans and dreams for this world that He is absolutely eager to see come to life, and He want's us to help Him.

He doesn't need us to, for He could certainly do it on His own, but we should feel honored that He wants our help. Us! Lowly, sinful, unclean us. He has chosen us, gifted us, to live with Him in eternity should we love Him and trust Him, beliving in Him and inviting Him into our hearts.

Our God is so good! I could go on forever. And I will :)
That is the only plan I have right now: to sing His praises, do His work, and stand in awe of Him forever! That plan sounds good to me.

Beautiful, Beautiful

Don't take for granted who you are. We spend years of our lives trying to be someone else. We envy the way someone dresses, are jealous of the attention someone recieves; we want to become the center of attention as easily as the girl two seats away from us. We wish we walked differently, talked differently, dress, acted, ate, sang differently.

But then, don't we admire the people we do because they are unlike anyone else? It's their originality that makes such an impact. It's the things that make them unique that we all chase after so badly.

Don't you know that no one else talks the way you do? No one smiles with the same intensity and no one's eyes blink in the same pattern. No one has the same fingerprints, morning bedhead, or itunes library as you. No one dots their i's or crosses their t's the same as you. You are uniquely you.

No one's silent laugh of amusement is the same as yours. No one walks across hot concrete, wades through cool water, or takes the stage the same way you do. The way you count out change or determine your left from your right is wholly yours. The path of where you look for your missing keys and the time you take to choose your words are unlike anyone else's. What hurts your feelings and what cheers you up, they're yours, too. You are uniquely you.

The way you unconsciously twist your hair and the self-made song you tap your fingernails to are yours as well. The strength with which you love, the gravity with which you believe, the lengths to which you trust; all those are yours. The qualities in yourself that you're thinking of right now? Yes, those are yours too.

I'm not sure where this came from, but it was something that appealed to me. Something sparked inside that I wanted to put into words. I am uniquely me. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Yet I don't give my Creator enough thanks and praise for that as He deserves.

So, here is my thank you. Thank You, Lord, for the way You have created me. Thank You for all Your unique creations in this world. Thank You for the ones I've met and those I haven't. Thank You for putting up with us when we criticise Your work, and please forgive us for doing it. You remind us of Your brilliance and creativity in everything we come across. Thank you so much!

And to anyone who reads this, never ever forget that you are uniquely you. He made you the way you are for a reason, and He loves you just as you are!

Primavera

Well, it's here, isn't it? Summer is kicking it up in full swing. Spring Show has come and gone, having spun a whirlwind of drama around itself, but the means to an end with money for summer and next semester is complete. Ten days of a garage sale, with one on either side of the permit for prep and take-down, have been completed which is a major relief and weight off my shoulders. Looks like I've got today and tomorrow to wrap up a few things here then it's off to Central!

Friday is going to be a long day. A good day, but a long day. I'm not too fond of long car rides, let alone drives, but I think Ill manage. My iPod is updated with some new music, a sermon series a few friends just rave about, and both oldies and goodies (if you could consider 'N SYNC, Backstreet Boys, and the old country greats "oldies"). Ill be leaving bright and early, but the sooner the better, you know? I want plenty of time to take my time on the road and to be able to stop when I need to. Guess that's just the routine. I've made the drive 4 times now, there and back and there and back, but all four times I was with Claire. Little Miss will be in Cali still so I guess it's just me, myself, and my iPod.

Footloose starts Monday and I'm sooooooo excited. I miss performing so much. It will be a blast to be in rehearsals again, learning routines and what not. I know this show like the back of my hand but still! I was on the tech end of it last time; now I get to be in it. Plus, I'll be around a crew of new fantastic friends (some I have yet to meet even) which will just add to the fun.

Guess this was just a quick update, sort of a check point about where I am. Now it's off to Walmart and to pack; if I'm planning to head out on Friday there's a few things I should probably get done first :)

Summer 2010? Yes, please!
Song of the day: "Primavera" by Ludovico Einaudi
{A little ironic for a post about summer to have a song about spring :) Enjoy! }