A Love Offering

"Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me."

Psalm 119:115

The funny thing about God is that he takes the complicated and makes them look simple. I consistently find that it's like Him to have layers for everything. How simple is this template for life, but when you think about the actual application of this statement, it's pretty deep. May my sole purpose in life be to praise God- that's everything I say, think, do, breath, make, eat, love, EVERYTHING that I am and want to be...may it all praise God. May the only thing that sustains me be His word- food, shelter, safety, companionship...may it all be sustained by God's law. Just how much that short sentence encompasses is mind boggling, yet it still feels very simple because in the end, that is the purpose of life. It's that simple- to live to praise God and have his law sustain you.

I want my life to be that. I want to live my life within this simplicity but allow the complexity of what it means to flourish in all parts of who I am. May I live solely to praise God and may His word be the only thing that sustains me.

God has been just blessing my life this past week. miracles upon miracles. 4 times this week I should have not been able to turn in late course work but it wasn't the case. In one instance I had a response paper I was suppose to turn in 24hrs in advanced and I never did. When my professor confronted me about it, I could have lied, he even set me up with some good excuses but i just told him the simple truth, "Professor, I just didn't do it...". My professor responded by offering to let me reschedule my response paper for another day...What??

God is good. God is SO good.

"I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth"

Psalm 121:1&2

I really like finding verses from songs in the psalms. It's such a beautiful book and there's soo many prayers and praises in it. I've decided that Godly art comes in the form of the psalms. All the emotions that we go through- pain, sorrow, joy, awe, lament, etc. should be acknowledged because we live a world with all those emotions...they're real. But beyond all that, we should still remember that God is sovereign in all things.

I'm thinking of starting a project where have a photograph for all my favorite psalms. We'll see how it turns out, but I'll keep you posted on any photos I complete. If it does become a project, i'll call it The Art of Psalms

Speaking about art, I'm going to put up Sufjan Steven's You are the Blood again. I didn't completely get the song at first but recently I finally understood. If you don't know Sufjan, I highly encourage you to Google him. He is a fine example of an artist who is Christian admits a sea of Christian artists.

"You are electricity, you're light. You are Sound, itself, and you are flight"

The thing about art for Christ followers is that it becomes a form of worship. You are encountering God and making a beautiful offering for Him. You want to show your reverend, awe, and praise in your own creation. It kind of reminds me of the crowns the saints have in Revelations that they place at the feet of God in his presence. We do the same thing- your creation of something beautiful you give back to God and lay it at his feet. He deserves the best in all that you do.

Art is used as a way to express the place you encounter God. I think Sufjan encounters God in music, in sound- from the chaotic to the beautiful. After all, God created sound! He created all kinds of music, just look at nature. Listen to the birds of the air, the bees of the field, the swoosh of the sea. What a symphony!

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

"May those who love you be secure.

May there be peace within your walls

and security within your citadels."

For the sake of my brothers and friends,

I will say, "Peace be within you."

Psalm 122:6-8

Peace be within you ^_^

Tabitha