hundred more years

so I'm stoked about the new Francesca Battistelli CD that is coming out in March. For some reason, I feel like she is writing songs about my life. I fell in love with her first CD, and many of the songs on there spoke EXACTLY to my life. God has definitely used her music as a ministry to me! Most recently I have gotten excited about her new album because she released a song off of it called "This is the Stuff". I just so dig the lyrics (not to mention the fun beat)! But the big thing is realizing that God will use anything for good...even the junk. Sometimes I can be frustrated with life, circumstances, stress...and I realize that this is what God is using to shape me. Some of her lyrics are:

"In the middle of my little mess

I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use"

I have felt this way so many times! Frustrated with "the stuff" in life...but really its not all that bad and God will do great things if I respond and grow through it...not just go through it. This year my challenge to myself is to embrace contentment. If we are content, we let God use our mess for great things.

As I think more about the music of Francesca Batistelli, I smile thinking about what songs she wrote and how she spoke to me. This may be cheesy, but really, her music impacted me so much in that season of life! (Mostly 2008-2009) Here are the tracks and what they meant to me:

Free to Be Me: I was going through the whole "identity" stage of thinking about life, where I fit in, what that season was supposed to be like. Free to be me is...well..reassurance that God created me how I am and has great plans to use me!

I'm Letting Go: I learned I needed to surrender my plans and dreams to God...all that I hoped for in life (marriage, children, white picket fence) trusting in Him to fulfill the desires in my heart.

Unpredictable: When I got into college, I had a picture of what things would be like and what God would do. I realized that I put God in my mind as being so predictable...like I was writing God's story, instead of He writing mine! I had to learn to let God be unpredictable :)

Blue Sky: This one was a "picker upper" for me on the album. I remember driving to work (only a 4 min drive) and I would blast this to put me in a good attitude and mindset so I could be ready to do what God was calling me to do that day.

Forever Love: It was a long song, written for God...and I realized that even a man will not be my "forever love" only God will be my forever love! I wanted to sing a love song about a guy and how we will be together forever...but I saw that God had this place in my heart.

Someday Soon: Quite possibly the song that gets me to smile the quickest and brings back so many memories. The song was about "someday soon" falling in love. She wrote this song before she was ever with anyone, but I found myself singing this song and thinking about my now husband-even though we werent even together yet. Sorry! I couldn't help it :) And now I looove singing this song and knowing this day has finally come!

It's Your Life: Pretty much the one phrase that sticks with me is " everyday the choices you make, say what you are and who your heart beats for". I realized that my life reflected what/who was first in it. You can't say God is #1, and make choices otherwise.

Time in Between: This blog is named after this song and it is because I thought it spoke deeply about this season of life I was in. I knew it was a season of transition and preparation for other great things God had for me. But I realized that every great thing has a "time in between" for the purpose of preparation.

So anyways...I think it is so awesome that God uses music to reach us, encourage us, and challenge us in our lives. He took me through that season, to be ready for this one. And now, God will teach me things in this season, to be ready for the next. How GREAT is our God!

new year, new blog!

a new blog is here! just need to fix up a few things.

...good thing I have a wonderful husband to help me out! :) to be continued!

Jan 5 2011

Thoughts from today:

IN OR OUT? My tendency with God is to either be in or out…its not that I’m going from wanting to be in or out…but rather, I feel like I am either “in or out” with Him. If I am making strides in life, being fulfilled in what I do, and seeing fruit=I’m in with Him. BUT, if I am lacking the emotional side of things, not enjoying where my life is, feeling blah=then I’m out with Him. I really struggle with this whole “in or out” thing with God. If I look at obedience, I see that no matter what I am trying to obey God. That isn’t really the issue because then I could say that I was in or “out” with God if I wasn’t obeying Him. But I am trying to. But right now, I feel like not much is going on with Him. Not much to talk about, not much to get excited about. (Bad right? I think so too..but I’m sharing some honest thoughts even though I know the right answer to say)

PROSPERITY GOSPEL: I don’t like the thought that believers have a right to the blessings of health and wealth and that we get it by confession of our faith in it. The whole “name it-claim it” thing bugs me. But there is a truth in prosperity with God. He WILL bless you if you follow Him and you CAN have the abundant life with Christ. He wants us to have the prosperous life…but it comes to us by our choice to have faith AND obey his commands. But there is undeniable interest in

GOOD ENOUGH?: I’ve had the attitude before of “I’m good enough for God.” Maybe I didn’t say it…but I thought it and I didn’t realize how I thought that way until a couple years into knowing God. Then I realized the depth of my sin and the shame that comes with it…then I fall into “I’m not good enough for God.” Once again…balance.

CHILDLIKE FAITH?: Have I lost this? Have I made things too complicated?