Erinnicole's Prayer: Jason Upton's "Poverty"

where will we turn when our world falls apart?

that question seems almost rhetorical. because it's like...if people, myself included, knew where to turn when their world is falling apart, wouldn't there be less heartache or depression? But it seems to me that the answer is, as it should be, simple. Turn to God when your world is falling apart. For me personally, it's a little easier said than done because i enjoy directions; i like specific "here is what you need to do to fix your problems" directions. and talking to God requires patience and listening which are two skills i have yet to conquer in any way... The song brought to my attention that God is as good as it gets. We spoke in my Theology class about how you can't get better than God; He is the Ultimate. If you can think of the GREATEST BEING IN THE WORLD, He is greater. Anything you can think of to try and match or beat God doesn't exist because God will top that because He is the Greatest there ever is, was, and will be. It was kind of a hard concept to fully grasp but it makes so much sense once it clicks. No Earthly possession or worry holds any weight in God's Kingdom, so God will help me through the problems i create for myself and into the Kingdom He has created for us all. It's a very comforting feeling.

Marie's Prayer: Jason Upton's "Poverty"

There's a brewing frustration and ageless temptation

This sentence really captures me right now. If you could put these words into a picture, I would think of them as a picture of me. This past year has been really stressful for me, luckily one of those stresses isn't cancer. (Thank you that was the worst waiting of my life.) But right now I kind of just feel angry. I feel like everyone is moving forward and I'm just standing right where I've always been. So I'm asking God today to help me let go of that anger and move on with my life, even if it's hard to resist old temptations.

Chris' prayer: Jason Upton's "Poverty"

There's a power in poverty that breaks principalities
And brings the authorities down to their knees

What is the "power in poverty" of which Upton speaks? In light of the recession that the United States, and in fact much of the world, is mired in, I find this song and this article from the New York Times, which I discovered yesterday via ThinkChristian.net, particularly poignant.

The principalities and authorities about which Upton speaks might be literal, but I wonder if they might be more personal. The principalities, instead of being a state or province, might better reflect our lives and the things we build around ourselves. The authority is, therefore, ourselves, the ones who do the building.

The power in poverty is an increased reliance on God. When we cannot maintain the things around us– when we can no longer afford to keep cable in our homes, or to eat out as much; or even worse, when we are struggling to meet our more basic needs– making the mortgage payment, affording to repair a cracked windshield, finding even the grocery bill painful– all that we can do is turn to our God. I know I can relate to this.

The struggle is in taking the power of poverty, our fuller reliance on God, and applying it to the areas of and times in our lives where we experience wealth.

iTunes | Lyrics

Megan's prayer: Jason Upton's "Poverty"

Christmas shopping has never been the most fun thing to do because I spend so much time stressing over what I should get everyone. Today’s song showed me that this worry is unnecessary.

“All of the treasures we’ve stored in our barns can’t buy the Kingdom of God.”

The media tells us that we must have the newest electronics, the most expensive cars, and name brand clothes if we want to be happy. The more that we buy, the happier we become. Although many people buy into that belief, I’m pretty sure that what I buy from Target and Best Buy this season for my family and friends will not lead them to lifelong happiness.

While rereading a homily from this past weekend, one phrase in particular caught my eye. The priest said “We are called to remember that the source of our joy is not what we’ve have, but what we have already been given—the presence of God with us.”

I wish that this holiday season I was able to wrap up God’s presence and give it to people. It truly would be the best present that someone could receive, but I’m not sure exactly how to go about doing that. Maybe I should check Ebay.