Praise be to God

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 (New International Version)

The God of All Comfort

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

Betty Crocker

Let's take a step away from all the deep thinking going on in this blog for just a moment. . .

Now, as many North American families do, at our house we have a traditional microwave food cover.
We also have our microwave functioning as a convection oven.
... This is when the not-so-serious side of the blog is coming into the picture.

Now we, and when I say we, I do mean my very own personal live-in Betty Crocker (my mother), we have had many "close" calls with forgetting to take the food cover out of the microwave while it is in oven "mode".

Tonight, however, it was a different story... A very different story.

Reveal To Me

How can it be,
that we can no longer see
what it means to be
truly faithful to thee?

All we want is not what we need.
I need more room to breathe.
Don't tell me you do not believe
Reveal to me the light unseen.




We fight, so hard, for happiness in this world.
Do we ever truly reach it?
Do we ever reach the summit?

Lead Me

Lead Me To The Cross - Hillsong
Savior I come
Quiet my soul remember
Redemptions hill
Where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost

Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Lead me, lead me to the cross

You were as I
Tempted and trialed
You are
Te word became flesh
Bore my sin and death
Now you're risen

To your heart
To your heart
Lead me to your heart
Lead me to your heart

A Pearl

A Pearl Of The Christian Faith

This blog is going to be considerably shorter, hopefully short but sweet. Hopefully. 

I am far from being a polished pearl that reflects the Christian faith. However, I do strive for it daily. 

You see, my name, Meagan Kristina, means "a pearl of the Christian faith." 

Bit of a standard to live up to, you say? Perhaps. I have taken to looking at it more as a goal to continuously strive for. 

Sometimes the meanings of our names truly do reflect who we are, sometimes they don't. They can reflect who we don't want to be or who we should be. 

What does your name meaning reflect?

How do you let it hold you back?

We live in a world where we are held back by the "impossible". 

We let ourselves sit back and live in fear by small things. 

Allow yourself to dream of the possibilities. 

Use your name meaning as a basis, a starting point, if so relevant, but no matter what, don't let it be a hindrance and hold you back from achieving what God has planned for you. 

Just think of Job in the Old Testament. His name now means "persecuted" because of all the trials he went through, yet through all, he continued to strive for God.  

Ironically, as I am finishing up this blog, I am looking for a picture of "broken chains" to add into this post. I have Leeland (a wonderful Christian band) playing on my laptop and as I am scrolling through pictures on Google, I hear the words being sang:

You’ve stolen my heart 

Yes, You have! 

You’ve stolen my heart 

Yes, You have! 

You’ve wiped away the stains 

And broke away the chains 

Yes, You have!! 

Today, let God break away the chains you are allowing to hold you back. 

(And no, I didn't find a picture of broken chains that portrayed what I was looking for)

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Yes-You-Have-lyrics-Leeland/C4776F75BEEB2F7C482571E1000F380C

Shock Points

As mentioned in the  last post, God has been slowly returning to my life. 

Through shock points, He has been jolting me out of my Humanistic lifestyle to return to chasing more fervently after Him. 

In the past couple of months, I have begun, trying to, regularly attend a youth group/church. The youth pastor there, Jesse, always has me leaving thinking about how after all my blaming of God this past year for leaving me, it was never the truth. God was and is always by my side, although He may be silent. 

A few weeks ago, I went for lunch with Jesse. Through this, God spoke through him to give me the initial wake-up "shock point". I had been talking to Jesse about how I felt so void, so empty, like my soul and heart was a dark abyss that I couldn't gain entrance into. I told him how I felt I was living a facade and that God was no longer around. I couldn't feel God! I then went on to describe a situation where God had blessed me, obliviously missing the connection. Jesse simply showed me that, on one hand, I was saying how God wasn't there, I couldn't feel him, yet on the other hand, I still was aware that in some areas He was making my life come together still. 

Amid the broken pieces, God still was there, gluing some back together. 

I found myself dumbstruck. How could I miss the obvious signs?? I was still alive. I was still here. I was still fighting for air, scraping away the walls of my facade. 

Shock points are a strange thing. They were introduced to me a couple of weeks ago. At youth group, we were all presented with a piece of paper explaining shock points and shock boxes. We were then all given a large box to take home with us called our "Shock Box". In them, we put representations of the shock points in our life. Whether its cards, encouragements, or the odd sentimentals we collect from the people we love the most, these things that show us that God is with us go into that box. 

Currently, I'm digging through MY shock box, finding things that truly do represent the good times of shock points in my life. I can find bus passes, airplane tickets, notes from friends, even a bouncy ball. What is in there physically does not matter so much as what it represents. 

As my youth pastor showed me, shock points are moments in time that God brings us back into alignment with Him. 

We all easily forget the things God is doing for us "behind the scenes". He really is bringing us forward, and even sometimes carrying us when we are too weak to walk. 

What shock points have you been missing lately?

I miss a lot of shock points, only to have them arise later. I always feel like they are there, wagging their finger at me kindly, teasingly, saying, "hello silly! We've been here the whole time!"

If only we can turn our eyes away from this temporary world, we can be shown the shock points that God provides. 

I was so lost a few months ago, a few weeks ago, and up to a few days ago. Each day I feel better. Each day, as I read my brother's spiritual journey on His blog, I am inspired. Each day, I feel as though the shock points are helping me. 

And every day, I remember to EMBRACE my Lord. 

I had fallen far, yet He still redeems, He still rescues, He still picks us up and carries us home when we're in trouble. 

God will always be there, holding our hand, no matter how far we are tugging, no matter how invisible His hold seems, He hasn't let us go. He is right there beside us, tugging us gently back, closer to Him, through the shock points in life. 

Embrace

I took some time today to reflect back on a few videos I had made for my old school last year. 

I had produced these videos as part of a segment for our weekly Chapel. 

The theme of these videos was "Embrace" and looking back over them really brought back a fresh perspective. 

You see, in the video, I ask my fellow students "What does it mean to spiritually embrace those around you?" Along with "What does it mean to embrace your heavenly father?" 

I had many good answers, but one that really hit me, tonight especially, came from a young man with maturity beyond his years. He spoke of how embracing your heavenly father doesn't just mean to worship and praise Him, it doesn't just mean to pray to Him when you need him. It doesn't even mean thanking Him. While it does mean those things mentioned above, he pointed the "shock point" as my youth pastor would call it. Now, as obvious as it may sound, it really hit a nerve with me, a good nerve, a shock nerve. 

So, what DOES it mean to embrace your Heavenly Father, you ask??

Not just praying, thanking, praising, or worshipping Him in Church, but worshipping Him by HOW we live our life. Not hiding away our light, not shying away from Him. 

Embracing God doesn't just mean being thankful, nor does it mean just standing aside and let others walk past you unaware of His presence in your life. Embracing God means being proud to stand on the rooftops and scream His name, His glory, His love and how He embraces you. 

This hit my "shock point" and it is definitely something that is going into my shock box. (See my  next blog  for more on shock points/boxes). 

I hope and pray that all of you will live your lives through embracing God. 

Today I had a chance to witness to a new friend at my new public school. I felt, for the first time in a long time, that I was embracing God, sharing His glory and place in my life with someone. 

What will you do to embrace God this week?

How Far We Fall

How far we fall when we don't set our eyes to a stronger place than our mind's desire. 

How far we fall when we let the world consume our souls. 

How far we fall when we let depression seep into our corners of our heart and mind. 

How far we fall when we forget whom we belong to. 

How far have I come..?

It seems in the course of a year and a half, my life has brought me epic highs and astounding lows. 

From screaming out my Lord's name on the top of a mountain I had just climbed in Lima, Peru to screaming it out in vain and frustrating in the depths of my room. 

How weak am I that I don't want to take the step forward to pray more, to grow closer to God. How humanistic. 

To slide so far away. 

I am no Daniel, nor David, Ruth, Esther, or Mary. I am me, and I am far weaker than I tell others. 

I am not perfect and I have failed. 

I've gone, for just over a year now, feeling nothing. Emptiness, utter hollowness. 

The dark abyss of my soul overwhelms. 

For there is now nowhere to turn but to Him. 

And there is nowhere else to look, but Up. 

I'm out of excuses. Out of time perhaps. This can't just wait until next month when I feel like smiling, it can't wait until I feel like being social, it can't wait until I'm perfect. It starts now. 

I am a failure, I am human, and I am HIS. 

2 Corinthians 12:9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness " Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

I Will Wait

I will wait here,
Mending the dreams I have broken.
I will wait here,
Stringing the words left unspoken.
I will wait here,
Following your every move.
I will wait here,
Until I hear the truth from you.

I will wait here,
Recalculating these days.
I will wait here,
Rewording every last phrase.
I will wait here,
Because I told you forever.
I will wait here,
I promised you my forever. 

I Will Wait. Copyright 2009 by Meagan Ritz. All rights reserved.

You've Kept Me Awake

It’s been all night that you’ve kept me awake. I’ve been writing to meet this deadline. I am swallowed alive in this heartache. I won’t follow and live this lie. 
I don’t want to lose out on you, But I won’t be used for another escapade. I’m locked inside a dysphoric truth, And you’re keeping me awake.
I’m trying to look forward and focus now, But traveling further is hurting me more. You can’t complete me, I know it somehow, To sacrifice dreams left ashore. 



Is this the end? Through thick and thin just doesn’t mean the same. Is this the end? Till death do us part gets lost in facades.
Love eternally is what I need. Love eternally is what I cry for. The end is coming, I can feel it in the air. The end is coming, I can hear it screaming with the wind.
Come and reveal yourself to me Lord. Scrape away the scars of the world. Come and wrap your grace around me. Show me the truth in love, eternally. 

Copyright 2009 by Meagan Ritz

Against the Grain

Against The Grain - City and Colour

You need not to climb mountaintops,
You need not to cross the sea,
You need not to find a cure for everything that makes you weak.
You need not to reach for the stars when life becomes so dark,
And when the wind does blow against the grain,
You must follow your heart,
You must follow your heart.

When all your friends have come and gone,
And the sun no longer shines,
And the happiness for which you long is washed away like an ocean's tide,
When all the hard times outweigh the good,
And all your words are misunderstood,
When the day seems lost from the stars
You must follow your heart,
You must follow your heart.

If you feel you've paid the price,
And your wounds should cease to heal
And everything you love in life spins like a winding wheel.
If you should wake to find you're abandoned,
And the road you've traveled leads to a dead-end
When death creeps in to play it's part,
You must follow your heart,
You must follow your heart.