Awestruck

A purple sky to close the day

I wade the surf where dolphins play

The taste of salt, the dance of waves

And my soul wells up with hallelujahs

A lightning flash, my pounding heart

A breaching whale, a shooting star

Give testimony that you are

And my soul wells up with hallelujahs

When I was at home last weekend, my mom suggested that I start listening to Chris Rice. My previous impression of him came from his "What if cartoons got saved" song, which was pretty goofy. But, taking to my mom's advice, I started listening to some of his stuff, and now I'm really into it.

This week has been a little stressful, but listening to "Hallelujahs" has brought me peace. My situation is so small, so minute when compared to the big picture. And even though my stress is miniscule when put in perspective, God still cares: He still intervenes, providing for my every need and giving me peace.

The song "Hallelujahs" reminds me of God's sovereignty. The creation - especially the sea and stars - has always filled me with awe. I can't even express that feeling with words, but Chris Rice did well to say "my soul wells up with hallelujahs!" It's like there's something bursting out of me: feelings of love and awe for my Maker. Reverence.

~Libza

Song of the day: "Hallelujahs" - Chris Rice (DUH)

First blog picture ever! This is a big step for me.

"Since we tend to become like what we worship, and since we were created in the image of God, the commandment not to worship 'any other gods but me' is not an expression of the jealousy of God for God's sake, but for ours."

This is a quote from The Cruelty of Heresy, by C.F. Allison, which I'm reading for Church History I. I really liked that point, so I thought I'd share it with "y'all." Lata gata.

~Lib

Song of the day: "Be My Escape" - Relient K

The Cult of Baal

The Old Testament often speaks of Baal. I don't know about you, but I never understood exactly what that meant. Baal's obviously a false god, but why did Israel to turn from the LORD to "Baal"? A sermon I heard over the summer shed some light on that question.

In Numbers 22, the kings of Mideon and Moab consulted Balaam for divination. After conversing with the LORD, Balaam could not curse the Israelites as the kings wanted him to. When he opened his mouth to curse Israel, he spoke a blessing on them. This didn't go over too well with the kings, so Balaam lost his job. But Numbers 31:15-16 suggests that Balaam devised another method of corrupting God's people...

(Numbers 25) "The men of Israel began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices of their gods. ...And the LORD's anger burned against them."

What happens when good is mixed with evil? Corruption. This compromise displeased the LORD and led to His righteous judgment. He called His people to be holy: "other." Israel was to be different than her neighbors...set apart for the LORD.

Most Christians today are surrounded by the world: unlike the Israelites, we don't all physically live together and avoid contact with our idolatrous neighbors. Rather, we find ourselves surrounded by a culture that is permeated with subtly enticing forms of idolatry, such as materialism. This problem may seem slight, but the LORD is a jealous God. We should take seriously what He said to Israel: "I will pronounce my judgments on my people because of their wickedness in foresaking me...and in worshiping what their hands have made." (Jeremiah 1:16)

As believers, we are to be holy as He is holy. I know that my heart - and I suspect yours too - is prone to wander from the Father. But it is in Him, and only in Him, that we have any hope of change. After all, God is in the business of changing hearts.

The point is: God wants us to be different. Avoid compromise and its resulting corruption; then, like a city on a hill, your light will shine brightly.

Peace out, y'all.

~Lib-B

Song of the day: "May Your Wonders Never Cease" - Third Day

What an amazing summer!

Every year when we first get back to school, the obvious question is "How was your summer?" After answering that question a couple times it starts to get old, so in previous years I usually replied with a quick and appropriate "good." But this year those four letters fall short.

G-O-O-D doesn't express the joy of starting new relationships and watching them grow. It omits answered prayers and the thrill of novel experiences.

To start off with, lifeguarding was my favorite job ever. I spent all day everyday with my coworkers, Becky and Scott. The three of us were inseparable. Though somewhat different, we had a lot in common, and I enjoyed our conversations. Also, the kids looked up to us a lot, which made our job easier and lots of fun. But my favorite part of work was building relationships with Scott and Becky...hearing about their pasts, their families, their dreams, their troubles...and sharing mine with them. I already miss our lifeguard trio.

But I can't leave out another group that has been an amazing addition to my life: Real Life. (Well, some people who I met through Real Life) Anywho... It all started with Carner's graduation party, from which our little group blossomed. Brandon, Jared, Lindsey, and I started playing tennis doubles; Shawn and Lindsay occasionally graced us with their presence as well. For a while there, we were on the every night plan for hanging out. Tennis, swimming, stargazing on Carner's trampoline, riding in Shawn's car with the windows down while signing along with the music, line-dancing, talking around the fire for hours, watching the shortest fireworks display ever, playing cornhole, being a Sound of Music dork with Carner and a bunch of random old ladies, Steak 'n Shake, one looong bike ride, the Chipotle picnic... The list goes on, but unfortunately this summer is drawing to a close.

I hope we pick up the pace and end the summer with a bang before Carner, Shawn, and I head back to school. But whatever happens, I am so thankful for God's provision. He knows what His children need, and He faithfully provides. So...

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways ackowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

~Lib Master G

Song of the day: "Draw Me Close" - Kutless

Sayonara Thumbnail!

Some of you might remember December of 2003 (first semester sophomore year), when my toenail was injured. It was huge and real bloody...an all-around disgusting sight. Over Thanksgiving break, I dropped a piece of firewood on my toe as I was walking barefoot on our brick porch. That was the most painful experience of my life thus far: when I think of it, I cringe. The only good thing that came out of that incident was leaving my toenail in Jon Roth's campus mailbox, and even that probably wasn't worth the pain.

You're probably saying to yourself, "who cares?" Well, it happened again! While lifeguarding at the lake, I was helping kids get out of their canoe and all of the sudden another canoe smacked into them, smashing my thumb between the canoe and the dock. The hilarious part was that I forgot all about it, and a couple days later when my thumbnail was throbbing and swollen, I had no clue why. Silly Libby. But after living with my swollen, fluid-filled thumbnail for about a week, the whole incident came back to me. Obviously, this injury came no where close to matching the pain of that horrible day in December, 2003. But now I'm losing my thumbnail, so it couldn't've been too wimpy. Aight, I'm out for the night. Catch y'all lata.

~Libyo

Song of the day: "Where Zero Meets Fifteen" - Five Iron Frenzy

I went to a bar with my mom!

My 4th of July weekend was spent in Port Clinton, Ohio, with my mom (b/c my dad and brothers were fishing in Canada). Port Clinton is a little town near the Lake Erie islands, Sandusky, and the infamous Cedar Point. We visited Middle Bass Island, swam, sampled the better part of 30 popcorn flavors at the amazing Great Lakes Popcorn Co. and even sipped margaritas together one evening. It was a relaxing weekend, and the idea of coming home to work on Tuesday was a major bummer.

Monday night we were too tired to go see fireworks, but as I sat at the computer replying to an email I couldn't help but go outside: there were four loud firework displays near our house. The trees were blocking our view, so my mom and I went up to the high school (higher elevation) to check out the fireworks. It was amazing. We stood at the top of the football stadium and marvelled at the 20 different firework displays that surrounded us. We thought that Geauga Lake's were the best, but Solon and Twinsburg were also very good.

Last night was like the cherry on top of a good weekend. Jen Allison was in town for a long weekend (studying at Johns Hopkins for the summer), so Amy, Andrea, and I met at her house in Grove City and the four of us went out to dinner. We sat in Rachels (the restaurant) for three hours, talking, planning, and reminiscing. I always love spending time with the girls. :)

Brian, Joe, and I had a great time cruising around Bainbridge this evening. I love each of my brothers so much! I'm stoked for Sunday, when the three of us will spend the day playing golf together.

~Libbz

Song of the day: "Holy Is the Lord" - Andrew Peterson (City On a Hill)