so…..HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

 

Thanksgiving.
AKA Black Friday Eve.
AKA Turkey Day!
AKA Mad Food to celebrate the Pilgrims and the Indians
AKA The calm before the storm of the Europeans taking over land that didn’t belong to them and ultimately almost wiping out an entire people group.

 

Le sigh.  Oh, America.  The beautiful.

Real Quick

Before we get started,

SHOUT OUT TO MARQUIESE AT BEST BUY (sorry if I spelled your name wrong).  

In a squad full of geeks, he was chosen to help me buy a new TV during their pre-black Friday sale.  If you know me…you’ll know this is not an easy task for one person to handle.

But Marquiese.  MY BOY MARQUIESE?!

He was a STAR! So, I told him I would give him  shout out in my blog!  Here you go, my new friend!   I’m thankful for you… you and my new Roku TV. WHAT UP!? #integrity.

(He’s working Black Friday if ya’ll wanna go shake his hand, by the way!)

Okay, now on to the blog.

I’m thankful for…

The dust has settled since the elections, so I thought it’d be a fine time for me to blog about… MUSIC! (you thought I was gonna say President Trump right? GOT YA!)

Oh wow, I just realized that last sentence is a real thing. Oh my. This is real.

 

Anyways. Right. Music!

If you haven’t noticed, the sub title of my Monzi blog is “MJ.JESUS.ROOTS” (see here for that explanation).

Music has played such a huge part of my life that I needed to include it somewhere in my 3 words to describe myself.  Now, I know what you’re thinking…

Music is important to me too!
I loooove music!
Beibz is BAE!
Chingy doeee!!
WhatchutalkinboutMonzi!? Etc.  

Yes, Cleetus. I know. You like music.  I get it. Most people do. But there’s something different about people who are true music lovers versus the layman music listener.  It’s hard to explain…but let me try!

Music listeners listen to music for fun!  It’s a pastime or even hobby.  But for a music lover, it’s like… music just gets into the core of your being and just does something! It starts shaking everything up but calming everything down all at the same time. When people sing or play or spit or scat– you more than just listen.  You dissect it.  You try to interpret it! For the music lover…  music isn’t just a thing in life.  It’s a companion you can’t live without!  Music is a passion.  And our love for it is something divinely placed  in us because it’s something the Lord uses to make us tick.

 

Like I said: If you’re a music lover… you get this.  If you’re not: You think I’m crazy.  I get it.  But you’re still reading my blog Judgey McJudgerson!  So fools on you!

With that being said… in the spirit of giving thanks, I’m giving thanks for music!

ahhh…MUSIC.

I think it’s so wonderful that God chose music to be a way in which we can worship Him! Obviously music isn’t the only way we can or should worship God (Relax Pastor!  My doctrine isn’t that spotty!)  Buuuut, I just love that we can set a part time to solely focus on Him by worshiping Him through music!

Think about it: Most people, at least, like music. Am I right?!  And God created all things and ways in which we can glorify Him.   If he wanted, he could have said “stepping on nails is the way I want you to worship.  Good day…I SAID, GOOD DAY!”

But He didn’t.  God chose to use something that people enjoy to worship Him because he enjoys us and wants us to enjoy Him!  What a God we serve?!

Let’s Get Serious

God has used worship in my life in ways I can’t even describe.  Well, that’s a lie.  I can describe it.  That’s why I’m writing about it. Ooooh, Silly Rabbit.

Seriously though, I’ve been through some really rough patches.  Like.. really rough.   But each time my heart was broken, God would meet me in worship to remind me I was loved by Him.  Each time I was discouraged, just the right song would come on during prayer to remind me He would never leave me.  Each time I was depressed beyond any sign of hope, the Lord would swoop in with a chorus I’d probably heard a million times.  But in this instance, He would illuminate one word or verse or lyric with a resounding “I am your rescue and joy in this despair.”

You see, in my darkest times of sorrow, I did the only thing I knew how to… worship God through music.  And I’m so thankful that worship is ALL. ABOUT. GOD. Always.  In worship, my focus was purely on Who God was/is.  He was able to meet me where I was in that moment.  Suddenly,  everything I was going through just faded away and I was able to rejoice in Him for so much more!

I’m thankful to God for being so merciful-that even in the moments of His glory, he still graces me with His presence.  How selfless of God to initiate a deeper relationship with us even when we’re glorifying Him!  He’s so personal and knows when He reveals Himself, our natural response is change in our lives.  It may be or the better or it may be for the worse depending on how we choose to respond.  But no matter what,  no one  goes unchanged after a meeting with the Living God.

And thus,  God revealed Himself to me through music.  He knew me better than I knew myself and was/is so intentional with Holy Spirit to use music as an avenue for peace, healing, freedom and love in my life.

Like I said, God created everything!  Think about it: He could say “WORSHIP ME. ON THE NAILS. GOOD DAY. AND I WILL NEVER MAKE CONTACT WITH YOU EVAAAA!! PEACE & PAIN HOMIES!”

But He doesn’t.
He loves us.
He gets joy from us.
He wants to be with us.

And while worship is NEVER about us, he still relentlessly draws us closer to Him by it.  He rips through the lies we’ve been told, He shines through the darkness found in the depths of our hearts, and he destroys the hurt and pain surrounding our being.  Our Father even went so far as sending His one and only Son to DIE so we could be in relationship with Him.

Quite literally, anything that could be getting in the way of  a life fully surrendered to the Lord doesn’t stand a chance! We have a Mighty, Powerful God fighting for us!

We are so treasured.  We are so precious.  We are so loved.

And sometimes I forget (more than I’m willing to admit)  I am so loved.  Because of this truth, I am forever grateful that God has revealed this remarkable, beautiful (and at times scary) love to me through His Word and through His gift of music.  He knows what makes me tick.  He is what makes me tick; and I’m so overwhelmed with gratitude knowing that my Father loves me so insanely much that he uses the thing I love most in the world to capture my heart so I can glorify Him!

WOW!

Attitude of Gratitude

Thank You, Lord! Thank You for being so intentional with me and everyone you call “yours.”  Thank You for loving me so much that I can’t even fathom it.  Thank You for Your grace when I’m afraid to just embrace that same unfathomable love.  Thank You for Your Son and the scandalous price He paid so I could be with You for eternity.

And thank You for music. While it’s not on the same playing field as the rest… I thank You for such a wonderful gift used ultimately for Your honor and glory!

You are simply perfect in all of Your ways. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving…and until next time,