Answering the call....

Music has always spoken into my life at the hardest and toughest of times.

It's helped me calm my fears.

It's spoken Truth into uncertainty.

I've driven with my radio blasting, and my hair blowing in the wind...rapping and dancing.

And I've sat in my van sobbing over how lyrics have perfectly expressed the words on my heart.

The Lord has used music to strengthen my faith, and armed me for the daily battle.

I love to blast my KLOVE radio station, and ask the Lord to really speak to me.

Boy, did he ever with this song....

I feel like I could have written this song. It speaks the words on my heart. It shouts the truth of what I want from my life.

The first time I heard it while driving in my van, it was like an arrow to my heart.

I had a hard ugly cry.

Then, I went home and looked up the lyrics and cried some more.

I want to live like that...and give it all I have.

So that everything I say and do...points to you.....

(Tears stream down my face). Yes, Lord.....

If love is who I am...then this is where I stand.

Recklessly abandoned, never holding back...I want to live like that.

Wow....ok....done.

That's it....that's the call.

I heard it loud and clear, Lord.

No more "I wonder if they will think this is weird".

No more "it's not my place to say this".

No more "that person may find it weird, and wonder why I'm helping them".

It's not about who I am...it's about who God is...and what I am called to do.

It's all about you, Lord. It's all for you. It's about a love far greater than I can return. It's about a love that I can't selfishly keep for myself. It's about sharing Christ with everyone.

It's about being the hands, feets, eyes, ears, and mouth of Christ..in ALL THINGS.

Do I live like your love is true? Is there evidence that I've been changed, when they see me do they see you?

It's about basing my worth not on my productivity, my financial success, or who I am in this world but on the fact that i'm loved by God.

It's about sharing that love. It's so simple...and yet so far from what our world looks like.

I want to show the world the love you gave to me.

Lately, I feel the Lord has been asking me to show His Love to others.

The Lord showed me that I was walking through life with blinders on. I was like a horse...I only looked straight forward at my thing to do list. I didn't notice the young mom who could use a hand or the teenager who just needed to hear something nice said to them.

In my own attempt to be productive, I was missing all these people who God placed in my life to love and to be Christ to.

And I...I was selfishly hiding my light under a bushel basket.

I was going to bed every night from "taking care of business" and yet I had never asked the Lord what His "thing to do" list for me looked like.

When I sat down one night to do my bible study, I decided to ask God what he wanted from me.

I felt like He said to me...I just want you to notice more. I want you to share you...with everyone.

Let me give you...eyes to see...what I see.

As I drove back from bible study one Sunday, I asked the Lord to help me use my time in the van for His Glory. ( I oftened call girlfriends and family to "catch up" during my ride home)

I prayed, "Lord, what do you want from me? Who should I call?" The Lord placed the name of this person so crystal clear. I repeated the name out loud and said, "Ok, Lord". I called and the number went to voicemail. "Huh?" I thought. "Why tell me to call someone who wasn't even going to be available?"

She called back right away. The conversation started like this "Why are you calling me? Be honest." "Ok...well, I asked the Lord who I should call tonight and He said you." She burst into tears. "I've been sitting here crying for a while....feeling so alone. I'm just so upset. I told the Lord that if He really loved me...prove it. Have someone call me...and then the phone rang."

Just confirmation for both of us.

Confirmation that the same God that spoke to the Apostles is speaking to us today.

The same God who we celebrate as we placed ornaments on our Jessie Tree in Advent hasn't stopped talking to us.

The same God that spoke through Abraham, Isaiah, and John the Baptist to herald the news of the Christ Child wishes to speak to you.

Our God is personal, and He hears you.

God listens to you.

Soak that in.

The God of the Universe makes time for you. He treasures you. He longs to be with you.

However, he also asks us to share His love with others.

I want to show the world the love you gave to me.

It's so simple.

A soft smile. A helping hand. A word of encouragement when it's so easy to be negative.

It's making a phone call and really listening.

Have you asked the Lord what He wants from you?....and listened?

Are you heeding the call?