Sunday, December 30, 2012

LesMisLesMisLesMis

"There's a grief that cannot be spoken.
 There's a pain that goes on and on.
 Empty chairs at empty tables--
 Now my friends are dead and gone.
 Here, they talked of revolution.
 Here it was they lit the flame.
 Here it was they sang about 'tomorrow,'
 And tomorrow never came.
 From the table in the corner
 They could see a world reborn.
 And they rose with voices ringing.
 I can hear them now!
 The very words that they had sung
 Had become their last communion
 On the lonely barricade at dawn.
 Oh, my friends, my friends, forgive me!
 That I live and you are gone.
 There is a grief that cannot be spoken.
 There's a pain that goes on and on.
 Phantom faces at the window,
 Phantom shadows on the floor.
 Empty chairs at empty tables
 Where my friends will meet no more.
 Oh, my friends, my friends, don't ask me
 What your sacrifice was for.
 Empty chairs at empty tables
 Where my friends will meet no more...

...Do you hear the people sing,
Lost in the valley of the night?
It is a music of a people
Who are climbing to the light.
For the wretched of the earth
There is a flame that never dies.
Even the darkest night will end,
And the sun will rise!
They will live again in freedom
In the garden of the Lord
They will walk behind the plough-share
They will put away the sword.
The chain will be broken
And all men will have their reward.
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes!"

Seriously.So inspirational...the ending gave me goosebumps.
Can't wait to buy the soundtrack.And to buy the movie and watch it again...and again...and again...


Friday, December 28, 2012

Happeh, happeh, happeh..

"God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good,
He's so good to me."

Growing up in a church, I learned these words and the little tune that goes with them from a very early age, and I have always known they are true. But have you ever had a moment, with any song that you love, where, even though you know and understand what it means, it isn't until something happens that you really and truly are profoundly hit with how true and meaningful it really is?
You know, the Bible tells us that life will be hard and that we will struggle. It tells us that in every one of our lives, there are seasons that we go through and among those seasons are ones of sorrow, loneliness, etc. You probably know the old saying that there must be darkness so we can appreciate the light. And beyond all of this, the Lord promises in His word that if we remain close to Him and do His bidding in those times of struggle then we will be immeasurably blessed.
Like I said, I knew the words to that little Sunday school song, and I've known what they say for years of my life. But I never was truly rooted to the spot with their understanding and meaning until God specifically showed me what they mean in my own life. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. He's just so good like that :)

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."
John 16:33

"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end."
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever."
Psalms 146:5-6

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."
2 Corinthians 9:8

Thursday, December 27, 2012

There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes..

"There was a time when men were kind
 When their voices were soft
 And their words inviting.
 There was a time when love was blind
 And the world was a song,
 And the song was exciting.
 There was a time
 Then it all went wrong.
 I dreamed a dream in time gone by
 When hope was high
 And life worth living.
 I dreamed that love would never die.
 I dreamed that God would be forgiving.
 Then I was young and unafraid
 And dreams were made and used and wasted.
 There was no ransom to be paid,
 No song unsung, no wine untasted.
 But the tigers come at night
 With their voices, soft as thunder
 As they tear your hope apart,
 As they turn your dream to shame.
 He slept a summer by my side,
 He filled my days with endless wonder.
 He took my childhood in his stride,
 But he was gone when autumn came.
 And still I dream he'll come to me,
 That we will live the years together.
 But there are dreams that cannot be
 And there are storms we cannot weather.
 I had a dream my life would be
 So different from this hell I'm living.
 So different now from what it seemed.
 Now life has killed the dream I dreamed."

"Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people 
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Courfeyrac:
Then join in the fight
That will give you the right to be free!
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
So will you give all you can give
So that our banner may advance?
Some will fall and some will live.
Will you stand up and take your chance?
The blood of the martyrs
Will water the meadows of France!
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!"

"Suddenly I see, suddenly it starts.
 When two anxious hearts beat as one.
 Yesterday I was alone.
 Today you walk beside me.
 Something still unclear,
 Something not yet here has begun.
 Suddenly the world seems a different place,
 Somehow full of grace and delight.
 How was I to know that 
 So much love was held inside me?
 Something fresh and young,
 Something still unsung fills the night.
 How was I supposed to know at last
 That happiness can come so fast?
 Trusting me the way you do,
 I'm so afraid of failing you.
 Just a child who cannot know
 That danger follows where I go.
 There are shadows everywhere
 And memories I cannot share.
 Nevermore alone, nevermore apart.
 You have warmed my heart like the sun.
 You have brought the gift of
 Life and love so long denied me.
 Suddenly I see what I could not see.
 Something suddenly has begun."


BEST.MOVIE.EVER.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Loving London

I am your typical college student in that when I am doing homework, I spend half of my time going through my open Facebook page and Twitter feed.
This afternoon I was doing just that and saw that one of my friends shared a page on Facebook called Loving London (link below). I checked it out and I'm still reeling from everything I read and saw there.
It is a page created by a young woman who is giving birth to her son, London tomorrow, December 7, and he is also going to die tomorrow. On the page she shares their story--how she wasn't expected to get pregnant but did, and it was part way through her pregnancy that their son, still in the womb, was diagnosed with Anencephaly, which is fatal. In reading their story, I was amazingly touched at what she had to say--it reminded me of exactly the reasons why I am pro-life. She couldn't bring herself to terminate her pregnancy because even if her son does not live very long once he is born, he is living now inside her womb. He is growing, moving, and kicking even as she prepares for his death by filling out certificates and various things like that.
I have no children, I'm not married, and I have never been pregnant, so I absolutely cannot even begin to imagine the strength that these parents have to prepare for a young son's life, knowing that it may only last a couple of hours, or maybe even less. The love abounds on that Facebook page, and it brought me to tears.

It was just an amazing little (actually, it was pretty big) nudge at my heart. I've been going through quite a bit of difficult things lately and I've been so stressed and overwhelmed with all kinds of things, but this was a miraculous reminder that life is such a blessing, no matter what you face, or how long it lasts. Life is a miracle in itself, and we should have more of an awareness of that--we are all just walking and talking miracles, no matter how long we are here on earth.And just like the Facebook page Loving London, our lives abound with love and blessings from God, no matter what form they take. And London's life will be no different-it is and will be a miracle that is obviously already blessing people from all sorts of different places and locations, including his parents.

I don't even personally know these people, but their story has touched my heart so much that I have to share it with others. And I ask that you, like me, will pray for them tomorrow as London is delivered and takes his first and last breaths more than likely in a matter of hours. It is apparent that they are strong and courageous people just by being willing to share their story in the hopes that it will bless others, but they will need even more strength and comfort tomorrow, no matter how much they have prepared in the previous months.

Please take the time to look at this page, share some words of encouragement and prayers.

I hope it blesses you as much as it has me.


Saturday, December 1, 2012

I'll be home for Christmas!

"I'm dreaming tonight of a place I love
 Even more than I usually do.
 And although I know it's a long road back,
 I promise you...
 I'll be home for Christmas.
 You can count on me.
 Please have snow and mistletoe,
 And presents on the tree.
 Christmas Eve will find me
 Where the lovelight gleams.
 I'll be home for Christmas
 If only in my dreams."

Only 2 more weeks exactly.
I'm so excited!