Moving Forward... and... How do you worship?

My life has been crazy... And while I have wanted to blog, there just doesn't seem to be enough time to say what all that I want to say. At the same time, I have decided to shut down my myspace account. I don't use it, so why have all of that information out there? I do think the site is great to find new musicians, but I can do that without being a member... So, as I prepare to shut down, I thought I would share a few blogs that I wrote once upon a time. I may take time to post new stuff in between, but I plan to be more consistent in posting over the next few weeks.

A handful of you have read these, but most have not. They have been hidden from public eyes for quite some time.
Here is the first installment...

posted October 20, 2006:

A week ago I met a woman, who came into the bookstore where I work, and I talked to her for a bit. She told my co-worker and I about her sister and brother-in-law. She said that whenever she dates someone new, her brother-in-law will ask, "Does he know about you?" In this, he was referring to her style of worship; an aspect that intrigues her brother-in-law and leads him to believe that whoever she dates must accept her style of worship. Is the lady crazy? No, she's is just a very open worshipper, not your traditional stand in one place, act solemn, type of worshipper.

The Sunday before this encounter, my Waco pastor preached on worship and the different types that exist. It was such an interesting sermon, I must recant it before I reach my point. If you are an Antiocher, I hope you enjoy this, even if you've heard it already!

Praise and Worship:

Praise. Defined as "active, demonstrative."

Psalm 71:8 – "My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all the day long."

Psalm 34:1-3 – "I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together."

Jimmy said that what we talk about excitedly is what we praise. We began to praise God. It was amazing.

2 Samuel 6:16-23 talks about how David danced before the Lord. He was active, demonstrating his love for God and yet his wife, Michal, despised him. In the end, it was David who was blessed and Michal who was cursed (she had no children).

Worship. Defined as bowing low.
Jimmy defined it as laying out in humility before God, standing in awe of Him. It allows us to draw near and be intimate. It must be experience to be fully understood. It is a holy love. It must be focused, an undistracted devotion.

Forms of Praise and Worship:

Clap.

Psalm 47:1 – "Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy."

Shout.

Revelations 5:11-13 – "Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:

'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!'

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:

'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever.' "

Proclaim – Sing.

1 Chronicles 16:23 – "Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day."

Dance.

Psalm 149: 3 – "Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp."

Stand in awe.

Psalm 33:8 – "Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him."

Kneel, bow.

Psalm 95: 6 – "Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker…"

Be Still.

Psalm 46:10 – " 'Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.' "

Meditate, repent, bow.

So what did I do during this time? Between each form that was defined, it was then expressed. I praised, I sang, I danced, I was still.


I sometimes wonder if the people I love and the friends that are closest to my heart "know me." Like the woman at the bookstore- do those who know my style of worship wonder as her brother-in-law did. Do you know how I worship? Shouldn't you? It is such an integral part of my life, but unless you attend church with me or unless you have shared a quiet time with me.. I don't think you could fully understand the depth of my worship. It can be private, it can be vocal, it can be portrayed in my everyday life.

Lately, in my daily life, I feel like God is calling me to "be still." I am constantly busy and consumed with other things, but he tugs at my heart just to sit and say hi to him. To take out time to devote to him in the midst of everything, to just breathe.

When I am at church or listening to some great worship music.. I want to dance. Whether it's twirling around my room or dancing at church. Do you know that I love to dance at church? That Sunday was amazing. Bri and Amy B and I ran to the front and danced. The freedom I felt is what I grew up with. I've always seen this form of worship as normal, excepted, encouraged. If you don't agree with it, I won't say your wrong, but I just don't understand you. Oh the joy of dancing before my God :)

So here is another part of me. It is a small view into my life of worship. I don't want you to think that Jimmy taught me how to worship, he is a great pastor, but this is what I've grown up doing. He simply took what I do and put the terms and verses all into one sermon. He combined the entirety of my worship, into a simple sermon, one that I wished to share with you. It is simple but there it is.

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There is the post.
It's funny sometimes the forgotten past can make you question your present. I forgot about that day of dancing with Bri and Amy, and I don't remember the last time I danced in church.. I've always heard that God is creative in how he speaks to you. Tonight... well tonight he used my own words to speak to me. To call me back into His heart of worship. Whether by dancing, or clapping, or singing, worship is somewhat absent in my life.

So here is my question. How do you worship? Or do you? And when you are worshipping, is it God you praise, or the world?

We go together, like a wink and a smile ;)

Do you ever miss the anticipation of signing online? The waiting as AOL dialed up and the little man ran across the screen, till he met up with his friends.. The final connection and those sweet words... "you've got mail"... just before the ding of an IM from a friend who has seen your name and is anxious to talk to you. Quite honestly, I had the entire..song?.. no, it wasn't a song :) but the sound of the dial up, memorized and I knew just when it was finally connecting.

Isn't it funny to think that the simple act of signing online will be completely foreign to our kids? I know I'm only 23, but these ideas are intriguing to me. By the time my kids are my age, they probably won't even call it the Internet anymore, it will have evolved into something new and different. Or at least they will be connected at every moment of the day. We're already moving into a world of Web 3.0, what's next? That idea is intriguing to me as well. What will our world truly evolve in to?

If you know me at all, you know my slight obsession with "You've Got Mail." I've decided to indulge myself tonight, which explains my thought process. Every time I watch it, I remember something new that I love about it. Criticize if you want, but the lines are clever and the story line is simple but sweet. It's one of the few movies that makes me want things like a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils. Blake definitely proved how amazing he is the other day with a simple text.. after saying that I was close to crying, he responded with "don't cry shopgirl." It's just the simple thoughts, gestures and such that I love. Or my sister, buying me "Ballet Shoes" for Christmas. She's awesome. Last thing - this movie has one of the best soundtracks. Just so you know :)

Well, I'm a bit tired and in need of finishing a few things before I head off to bed. I hope you are all doing lovely and if you are in need of something to cheer you up, check out the movie. If nothing else, the shots of NYC are fantastic.

Love God.
Love people.