Today’s Reading: Psalm 149:3-4a (NIV)
“Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp. For the Lord takes delight in his people…”
Last night, a dear friend told me to turn down the lights, put on a song that I can slow dance to, with no words, and to dance with God. Sounds crazy, right? So, how is one supposed to dance with God? Some people do not even know how to dance! Others may wonder how it’s all supposed to work without having a tangible object in their arms. (Why do you think so many people used to imagine a lover instead of the mop they were holding!?) PLUS…what if one’s roommate walked into the room, in this middle of you randomly dancing with some invisible person?!?! I am almost sure that you have concluded that my friend is crazy! Or maybe you are still curious…
This Psalm, quoted above, tells us to praise God with dancing! Whenever I hear the word “dance,” I think back to my high school dances that I went to…Christmas dance, prom, etc. I always hated the slow songs, because at that point in time, I would head for the nearest wall and watch all the high school sweethearts move out onto the floor to embrace each other and dance. I remember in middle school, the couples would definitely keep the twelve inches between them, but by high school, there was no such thing as distance between couples. Haha. As the song went on, some couples would rest their head on each other’s shoulders, or perhaps give them a kiss. At some dances, I wondered if they were ever going to get to the Electric Slide! (which has always been a personal favorite!)
So, if you are curious whether I actually put on a song, and slow danced with God…All I’m going to say, is sometimes, you have to be crazy and take delight in God. Dancing with God was a little awkward at first (as if we were in middle school), but as the song of life went on, it got better and more relaxed. Sure, there are times, when I prefer doing the Electric Slide with God. BUT, the intimacy God is willing to share with each one of us is better than any prom!
God is waiting for you out on the dance floor. Sure, it may seem a little crazy, but that longing you have inside for an intimate relationship with your Creator is satisfied once you step out onto that dance floor. Allowing Him to guide each step, breaking the 12-inch rule, and resting your head on His shoulder…May you take delight in God with every song…
“And it’s crazy when love gets a hold of you…you really don’t know love at all until it’s makin’ you do, something crazy!” -Steven Curtis Chapman, song: Something Crazy
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© Copyright 2010, Samantha Fomera
All rights reserved
Articles may not be printed in any “for profit” publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Come Chat
Today’s Reading: Luke 6:17-19 (NIV, emphasis mine)
“He [Jesus] went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.”
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I usually hang out at the PSU (the student union on MSU’s campus). Often, I’ll stop in and annoy my campus pastor, who makes his home in the PSU on those days. Today, I decided that I would not be annoying, so I stayed away the best I could. I pulled out my journal and I wrote. After a while, a random thought/concern crossed my mind, so I sent my pastor a text. Instead of texting back a normal response, like “ok” or “:-)” he replied with, “Come chat.”
Now, I am certainly not saying that my campus pastor is Jesus. BUT…he did remind me of what Jesus does each and every moment. Jesus says, “Here I am. Come chat. Come spend time with Me. Come be healed.” We need to chat with Him. We too need to be healed. Healed of the hatred we store in our hearts. To be healed of the pain we have when we try to live without a relationship with Him. By having this relationship with Him, we are changed. We begin to be able to see the good in this world, in the midst of the pain.
I could have stayed right where I was. I could have ignored my pastor’s text and never talked about my concern. I could have stayed at my own table, in my own little world, and never received the advice that I got from the conversation. I was presented with a choice. We all are presented with a choice. We can choose to answer God’s call to “Come chat” with Him. All we have to do is walk across the room, dust off our Bibles, spend a bit of time with God, and let Him take our breath away with His words.
What are you going to choose now that you have the message, “Come chat”???
________________________________
© Copyright 2010, Samantha Fomera
All rights reserved
Articles may not be printed in any “for profit” publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles.
“He [Jesus] went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.”
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I usually hang out at the PSU (the student union on MSU’s campus). Often, I’ll stop in and annoy my campus pastor, who makes his home in the PSU on those days. Today, I decided that I would not be annoying, so I stayed away the best I could. I pulled out my journal and I wrote. After a while, a random thought/concern crossed my mind, so I sent my pastor a text. Instead of texting back a normal response, like “ok” or “:-)” he replied with, “Come chat.”
Now, I am certainly not saying that my campus pastor is Jesus. BUT…he did remind me of what Jesus does each and every moment. Jesus says, “Here I am. Come chat. Come spend time with Me. Come be healed.” We need to chat with Him. We too need to be healed. Healed of the hatred we store in our hearts. To be healed of the pain we have when we try to live without a relationship with Him. By having this relationship with Him, we are changed. We begin to be able to see the good in this world, in the midst of the pain.
I could have stayed right where I was. I could have ignored my pastor’s text and never talked about my concern. I could have stayed at my own table, in my own little world, and never received the advice that I got from the conversation. I was presented with a choice. We all are presented with a choice. We can choose to answer God’s call to “Come chat” with Him. All we have to do is walk across the room, dust off our Bibles, spend a bit of time with God, and let Him take our breath away with His words.
What are you going to choose now that you have the message, “Come chat”???
________________________________
© Copyright 2010, Samantha Fomera
All rights reserved
Articles may not be printed in any “for profit” publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles.
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