"Come be the fire inside of me until You and I are One.. I don't want to talk about You like You're not in the room.. wanna look right at You.. wanna sing right to You.." (Jesus Culture, You Won't Relent)
Sometimes everything in life seems relentless (Dictionary.com defines this as:
re·lent·less –adjective "that does not relent; unyieldingly severe, strict, or harsh; unrelenting: a relentless enemy"). There are moments when I wonder how I will get out from the stress of everything that is pulling at me, demanding my attention. Even when I close my eyes at night, my mind is still going. At moments, the only peace I find is being asleep, and then even my dreams are demanding of me. How does that happen? And how do I deal with it??
There is this song from Jesus Culture called "You Won't Relent". (Follow link to hear it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC0WoJfYA2E). It has been playing itself through my mind lately. I've realized that peace can be found in God, even in the middle all that life presents each moment. I know this isn't a new-found concept. However, I also have realized that the choice is up to me whether I have that peace or not- because it is there for the taking.. however, I need to take time with my Lord if I'm going to have that peace. Not because He necessarily "withholds" it until we 'earn it' or anything like that.. but it's in knowing Him, understanding His character and seeing things from His perspective that bring true peace and understanding. Knowing Someone is literally always "there" for me, and cares, and knows what I'll have to face today and tomorrow.. can really ease a burden.
So.. relent: to His unending Love and unconditional acceptance of who you are right now.
:)
~Alicia
Monday, August 30, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Today's the Day
It's FINALLY Thursday!! We are starting the 5th season of FireChoir today!! If it's not obvious, let me just make it very clear: I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!! This is going to be a great season, I am already feeling it!
We have around 42 people signed up for the season, and many former members won't sign up until the night of rehearsal. So it will be interesting to see how many people we have in the next 2-3 weeks of rehearsals. No matter what, it will be a fun, exciting 14 weeks!
Please keep the leadership and choir in your prayers as we go through this season, especially for opportunities to get to know the choir members better and really invest in their lives. We all love music, but we are interested in people as well! We want to see great things come from this time of 'fellowship' per se, and see lives transformed even in small ways. :)
So.. 18 hours to go...!
Hugs and Blessings to all :)
~Alicia
We have around 42 people signed up for the season, and many former members won't sign up until the night of rehearsal. So it will be interesting to see how many people we have in the next 2-3 weeks of rehearsals. No matter what, it will be a fun, exciting 14 weeks!
Please keep the leadership and choir in your prayers as we go through this season, especially for opportunities to get to know the choir members better and really invest in their lives. We all love music, but we are interested in people as well! We want to see great things come from this time of 'fellowship' per se, and see lives transformed even in small ways. :)
So.. 18 hours to go...!
Hugs and Blessings to all :)
~Alicia
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Learning, Cleaning and Painting..And traveling: oh my!
Well, here it is already August. Hard to believe that time can go by so quickly sometimes. The past few weeks have been filled with many things:
LEARNING: Since the missionaries that I work with were preparing to go to America for a year of Furlough and fundraising, I've spent the last 3 months learning what I could to be able to take their places this fall and spring for FireChoir. Thankfully, I am not alone in this- I am working with a Dutch guy who will be directing the choir- my main functions will be administration: aka, making sure everything keeps running! We work well together, so I'm looking forward to this season. We've also formed a leadership team to help out as well, so this season is looking great already!
CLEANING AND PAINTING: By the time my Mom and I arrived in Netherlands, my Dad had found a place for us to live in, and moved a lot of their things into it. However, one thing that is unique about moving in and out of places here is that when someone leaves the place they were living in: when they move out, they take all the light fixtures and carpet and anything else that they put into the place.. It can come across as wasteful, but the idea is that everyone has a choice in making their home "theirs" without having to remove other things in the mean time. Simply a different way of thinking :)
So, we've been doing a lot of cleaning and painting. Some flooring is in and most of the painting is done. We would have probably been done by now, except for a change in plans. Just before I left the end of April, my maternal Grandmother was diagnosed with colon cancer. What a shock to find out 4 days before leaving. Thankfully my Mom's sister and husband were available to come stay with her for awhile, and we left April 27th. I never for one moment thought that I would not see her again.
But God often has other things lined up that we cannot see. On July 21st, my last Grandmother went to be with Jesus at 6:25 in the morning. My Mom had gotten back to see her just 12 hours before, and was with her as she took her last breath. What a blessing that God orchestrated that timing. :)
We were all back for the funeral, and I was able to see several friends and enjoy some time with them, in spite of why I was around. This was an unexpected blessing as well :)
And now, here I am in Netherlands once again, getting over JetLag! I'm not a fan.. haha. If you ever wonder what it's like: it's similar to taking cold medicine that is meant to make you sleepy, and then deciding to stay awake.. yikes! :)
And now, it's time to do some grocery shopping.. Thankfully the store is only a 5 minute walk from my house, so I can get there without a car or bus! :)
Blessings all... :)
~A
LEARNING: Since the missionaries that I work with were preparing to go to America for a year of Furlough and fundraising, I've spent the last 3 months learning what I could to be able to take their places this fall and spring for FireChoir. Thankfully, I am not alone in this- I am working with a Dutch guy who will be directing the choir- my main functions will be administration: aka, making sure everything keeps running! We work well together, so I'm looking forward to this season. We've also formed a leadership team to help out as well, so this season is looking great already!
CLEANING AND PAINTING: By the time my Mom and I arrived in Netherlands, my Dad had found a place for us to live in, and moved a lot of their things into it. However, one thing that is unique about moving in and out of places here is that when someone leaves the place they were living in: when they move out, they take all the light fixtures and carpet and anything else that they put into the place.. It can come across as wasteful, but the idea is that everyone has a choice in making their home "theirs" without having to remove other things in the mean time. Simply a different way of thinking :)
So, we've been doing a lot of cleaning and painting. Some flooring is in and most of the painting is done. We would have probably been done by now, except for a change in plans. Just before I left the end of April, my maternal Grandmother was diagnosed with colon cancer. What a shock to find out 4 days before leaving. Thankfully my Mom's sister and husband were available to come stay with her for awhile, and we left April 27th. I never for one moment thought that I would not see her again.
But God often has other things lined up that we cannot see. On July 21st, my last Grandmother went to be with Jesus at 6:25 in the morning. My Mom had gotten back to see her just 12 hours before, and was with her as she took her last breath. What a blessing that God orchestrated that timing. :)
We were all back for the funeral, and I was able to see several friends and enjoy some time with them, in spite of why I was around. This was an unexpected blessing as well :)
And now, here I am in Netherlands once again, getting over JetLag! I'm not a fan.. haha. If you ever wonder what it's like: it's similar to taking cold medicine that is meant to make you sleepy, and then deciding to stay awake.. yikes! :)
And now, it's time to do some grocery shopping.. Thankfully the store is only a 5 minute walk from my house, so I can get there without a car or bus! :)
Blessings all... :)
~A
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