21st Century Proverbs

1. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.


2. Dear God, I have a problem, it's me.


3. Growing old is inevitable, growing UP is optional.


4. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open.


5. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.


6. You do the math. Count your blessings.


7. Faith is the ability to not panic.


8. Laugh every day, it's like inner jogging.


9. If you worry, don't pray. If you pray... don't worry.


10. As a child of God, prayer is kind of like calling home everyday.


11. Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape.


12. The most important things in your home are the people!


13. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still; God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot.


14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.


15. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.


16. We do not remember days, but moments. Life is moving too fast - so enjoy your precious moments.


17. Nothing is real to you until you experience it, otherwise it's just hearsay.


18. It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are done.


19. Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams you're seeking require courage and risk taking. Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck.


20. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

My Top 5 List - Praise and Worship Songs

I recently borrowed a book at the public library titled, The Book of Lists which for all purposes, gave me an inspiration for a new category of blog posts. This book by the way contains largely useless information. Don't spend too much time reading it.

So for my first list, here's my top 5 praise and worship songs. They are not listed in rank. I've chosen them for various reasons but the bottomline is that these songs have spoken to me with such deep profoundness. Hope you enjoy listening to them. What about you, what's on your list?

1. Who Am I - Casting Crowns



This song will humble any soul. Man is not mighty and in fact the Bible likens us to a vapor or to a grass that withers (Psalm 37:2). Still the Lord through His great mercy and unmeasurable love wanted to reconcile us back to Him. It is a love that we didn't deserve but He did it anyhow.

2. Your Name - Paul Baloche



I found myself including this song in multiple master songlists in my role as a worship leader at aLife. It speaks about an eternal truth - there is power in the name of Jesus. What an awesome confession of faith during worship!

3. You Never Let Go - Matt Redman



This is also a song that I found myself including in multiple worship songlists. The year 2008 was a difficult year for many, Christians included, because the economy was tanking. California was hard hit with the mortgage crisis. It was in this context, that I introduced this song to aLife and felt compelled to repeat it several times to comfort and encourage the people of God. I find this song comforting in my present situation because my mother was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. Like I said in the previous blog post, when the going gets tough our faith must get going.

4. You Are God Alone - Phillips, Craig, & Dean



I often think of this as a classic, a powerful song of confession that can be easily included in any worship master song list. I love the bridge, "You're unchangeable,You're unshakeable, You're unstopple, that's what You are". What an awesome declaration! Now that is giving God the honor that only He is entitled to have.

5. Amazed - Jared Anderson



Introduced to me by Anton (our worship ministry leader), I was amazed that despite the simplicity of the song, it speaks volumes. Music is the language of the soul and this one speaks out the wonder and awe that true followers of Jesus have for their Savior. Each time we sing this at church, you'll always see someone get all teary eyed.

Blessings!

On Trials and Problems

The key to overcoming trials and problems is to understand who God is and He has revealed his heart and His nature through His Word.

A popular saying goes like this : when the going gets tough, the tough will get going. But I say - when the going gets tough, my faith gets going!

• Do not tell God that your problem is big. Tell your problem how big your God is! Read Jeremiah 32:27.
• When it seems as if God doesn't make sense, trust Him anyway. How trustworthy is He? Read Isaiah 9:6, Revelation 19:11, Ephesians 3:18 and John 16:33.

Blessings!