Things To Do with SWORD

Hello fellow reader!

For this week's post, I'd like to recommend a great place to go with your SWORD group here in Dallas. My husband and I love to discover places around Dallas and last week we found Klyde Warren Park, the new park downtown above a freeway. It was great! It had SWORD outing written all over it. As we strolled through the park, it just kept getting better and better. Good job Dallas!

Out in the park there are ping pong tables, foosball table, mini golf course, dog park, a really creative children's playground, chess table, food trucks, and a little more. There were families and people of all ages there. As we walked, we thought, "How cool would it be to come with our young adults group?!" Plans are definitely on the way. There's no entrance fee. You just have to pay parking. We went around 6:45pm and paid $2.50 for 2 hours for the parking spaces right across the park. If you go in the evening, you have to take your own paddles and ball if you want to play on the tables. Unless a really nice guy is there playing ping pong and offers to share his extras like he did with us. :)

I encourage you to visit the park and hope that you can go with your young adults. We will definitely share when our group is out there. For more park info, you can go to the park's website. http://www.klydewarrenpark.org/ and below are pics that my husband and I took.   

If God is a Deejay - Amena Brown

This is the first Amena Brown performance I ever saw and automatically I was intrigued by the way she expressed how she sees God working in her and our lives. Take a few minutes to listen. It's a 2 part video and in the second video the deejay is also her husband. Have a great week!

More than Music

Throughout the bible, we see how music has been a big part of God's children and their worship to God. Music has also been a big part of my life and walk with Christ.  Discovering albums and songs that stand out above others, lyrically and instrumentally, has always been a joy to this musical life. Therefore, on this blog there will often be music recommendations. It's a little disheartening to know that there are so many exceptional musicians out there singing about the God we believe in, yet, so many of my fellow believers have never even heard of their names. I want to help in a small way by letting young adults reading this blog know about all the great music out there. Come, listen, explore with me! If you also know of a good one, let me know.

Ok, so a while back I listened to a couple of songs by Rend Collective Experiment. Today actually, I discovered their new album "Campfire" on the Newreleasetuesday website (Christian music website). The name of the album caught my attention, being a huge camping and campfire fan. I thought to myself, Woh, will this make me feel like I am at a campfire worship?! It wasn't as outdoory rough sounding as I hoped, but hey, that was a little too hopeful. On the album, they cover a lot of worship songs, which I am only a fan of when done well and the songs have been made to fit the band's individual style. And yes, they've done it well and made the songs not only Rend Collective style, but you're now hearing familiar songs with a campfire feel. It's always a bonus when an album has a unique theme that transports you to places like to the outdoors where people are just singing worship all night long in front of a campfire.

If you watch the video below on the story about "Campfire," the band shares on the relations they found between a campfire and the church. When listening to the album and hearing their story behind it, you will hear sounds of community, honesty, and celebration. In the video, he makes a beautiful comparison of branches being together in the campfire, and how we weren't made to go through life and it's hardships alone or we become like a branch that is pulled out and becomes dry and cold.

Go ahead, sample a song here. You can listen to the entire album "Campfire" by Rend Collective on Spotify or purchase on iTunes or Amazon. The other video talks about their album story, to help you appreciate more of the music that worships and reminds us of God and his many blessings.

Spending Time with God

Spending quality time with God is vital in our christian walk.
It's not optional, it's necessary.

As a young adult, we see our lives fill up with activities. Wake up, rush to work or school, hit the gym, finish homework, do chores, and so on. Yes, we are busy people but we are also people depending and yearning for something more. Being still and personally seeking God fills our agendas better than any accomplished task. Without doing this, we find ourselves in an endless rat race wondering why although we are busy and active, we still feel lonely and genuinely unfulfilled.

But how do we make time to be with him? For some of us, this requires us to literally wake up earlier and spend quiet time with Him. For others, we set times or simply like to pause in between our daily activities to pray and meditate on God and his word. We read throughout the history of Jesus time on earth that he constantly and deliberately walked away to be alone with God. He made the time and knew how to leave things behind to spend necessary time with his Father.

I like to spend time watching the sunrise or sunset. I like to watch the work of art in the sky that God specifically designed for that specific moment for me to see and spend time contemplating the beauty of his work. How do you like to spend time with God? What are things you like to see him do daily? Don't be afraid to make time to be with him and to be in awe of the great God who longs to be with you.

"Galaxy Former"

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. - Romans 1:20

Stop and gaze at the beautiful star filled sky. Let God take your breath away by observing the work of his hands. Observe how he gracefully paints the hues as the sun sets and rises. God makes "ALL THINGS RIGHT." Just as Sarah Macintosh sings it in the following video. Listen to this song "Galaxy Former" from her latest album titled, "Current." And as always, please read the lyrics below along with it.




Beautifully known
Mystery made
Small and delicate
A galaxy former You’re
Brilliantly seen
Silently heard
Gentle and meek but the greatest protector its
You
Jesus my Savior its
You

Powerfully won
Gracefully held
Perfect provision
Of love given out by You
Peacefully kept
Wonderfully made
Sacrificed for me so I could fathered by
You
Jesus my Savior by
You

You make all things right
You make all things right
I am kept in the palm of Your hand
You make all things right

Impossibly close
Tenderly held
I am surrounded yes I am surrounded by
You

You Must Ask Yourself These Questions

For tonight's post, I paste a quote that I always enjoy when it randomly pops in my mind and it helps me appreciate well needed discipline in my life as to who the people are that I am allowing to shape and influence my life. Our friends and acquaintances play important roles in the person we daily develop into. The following words put so much of this into perspective.

Hope you enjoy it as well.

"You must constantly ask yourself these questions:

Who am I hanging around?
What are they doing to me?
What have they got me reading?
What have they got me saying?
Where do they have me going?
What do they have me thinking?
And most important,
what do they have me becoming?

Then ask yourself the big question:

Is that okay???

Your life does not get better by chance,
it gets better by change."

-Jim Rohn
1930-2009

G is for Great and for GUNGOR!

Being that I will God willing see GUNGOR this weekend (I capitalize the band's name out of excitement and because they are awesome or course,) I want to share one of their many good songs with all who have wisely tuned in to this blog today. On their latest album, GUNGOR has decided just to make whatever types of songs they wanted to make, instead of being directed by the style that made their previous album a big hit. Instead of simply aiming to make more hits, they have decided to just be led by the words and inspirations that came while working on the album.
The result is a combination of whimsical and mystical melodies painting pictures of God's creation and the story of his love. It's beautiful when God gives talent and it is used to tell about him in such a creative and well thought out manner. Listen to one or two songs for now and meditate on the glorious moments they sing about. Read lyrics along with song.

This one is called: Let there be.

Darkness hovering

Grasping everything it sees

void empty

Absent life and absent dream

Let there be

Angels toil and crack open scrolls of ancient dreams

Countless worlds of his

Brilliant stars and breath and stream

Let there be (light)

Where there is darkness

Let there be light

Where there is nothing

Let there be light

This one is my favorite on this album called: Every Breath

Every breath

Every moment life beats in my chest

Springs up from your hand

Creation resounds

With every color and every sound

Your love is calling

I will love you with all of my heart

I will love you with all of my mind

I’ll love you with all of my strength

Love you with everything

Every breath every moment life beats in my chest

Let my life praise you

I will love you with all of my heart

I will love you with all of my mind

I’ll love you with all of my strength

Love you with everything

(repeat)

Here I am Lord

All I am Lord

Here I am Lord

I am yours