Catie's prayer: Cheer Up Charlie's "Only One"

Cause you live in repetition

I live in repetition it feels like. While my days are very different, they are very much routine at the same time. I know there is more to life than this. God doesn't want us to be in a routine, he wants us to go out of our way, out of our comfort zones, out of ourselves to live for him. But repetition can be comfortable, we like our comfort zones, we like the familiar. However, we can't reach for more, if we continue to settle.

Chris' prayer: Cheer Up Charlie's "Only One"

I love the intro to this song. It seemingly has nothing at all to do with the song, just a kid strumming a guitar and making up words as he goes. Even the melody stands in stark contrast to the sound which directly follows it. But it reminds me so much of my own life and how I often live my life.

Many times, I feel like such a child in my faith. Like I should be more mature, or more responsible, like I should have mastered some of the same old sins I struggle with. I keep forgetting how to get past them, much the way the child in the song forgets the words to the song he has just come up with.

This song is not much of a happy one at all, reminding me again and again of my failures. And, despite its seeming innocence, the introduction, in its own way, does the same thing.


iTunes | Lyrics

Katie's prayer: Cheer Up Charlie's "Only One"

And when the day is done, there is only one there is only one

There is so much going on in my life right now, so many things demanding my attention. School, friends, lifeteen, FOCUS, the ever approaching graduation, people constantly questioning me about my plans for next year, the stress that comes with all of this, I could go on and on for days. It's so easy for me to get caught up in these various things and how I want them to turn out. Not that trying to figure out my life and what I want for my life is wrong. Where it becomes wrong is where I'm so caught up in what I want, that I don't stop and consider what God wants for me.

At the end of the day I need to remind myself, there is only one thing that matters in this life - God. If I put my trust in HIM, everything else will fall into place. I won't have to worry about next year, graduation, anything, God will provide, it's way past time for me to fully realize how true this is.

Megan's prayer: Cheer Up Charlie's "Only One"

Before the song even starts, before the singers from Cheer Up Charlie even sing their first lines, there is a child singing “listen to God, listen to God everyday.” I absolutely fell in love with this part of the song. It is so simple, so pure and innocent.

I’ve been around little kids quite often this semester since a lot of my classes require classroom experience. Even though I am supposed to be the one teaching them, I have learned a lot from them this semester. The most recently was when I was working with a boy in 3rd grade. We had just finished reading a story about a skunk. At the end, I asked him what he learned from the story. He told me that “I learned that animals and people are beautiful no matter what they smell like or look like. What matters is how they treat other people.” I was floored. From a simple story about a skunk, he was able to gain so much insight into what is important in life.

Maybe I should start thinking more like a child. Maybe this simple and innocent view is the key to happiness. Instead of over analyzing things or making life more difficult that it should be, I should focus on the simple things in life.

Jen's prayer: Cheer Up Charlie's "Only One"

You do it again, You do it again
Save face, butcher grace but your fine with it...

Your fine with it living in your blatant deceit
You’ve taken grace and bleed it dry with every lie you breathe
And so you breathe and so you breathe and so you bleed
How are you fine with the lie you are leading
Its only time, this isn’t right
To act like grace can be changed to fit your lie, to fit your lie

I think one of the hardest things for Christians is knowing the power of grace and abusing it. We think that knowing that Jesus will forgive us for anything is an excuse for us to go out and sin... "we take grace and bleed it dry with every lie" because in the end we can ask for forgiveness and start over again. After all, grace is about receiving forgiveness when we don't deserve it.

I feel like this song is talking about those who abuse grace and I know this is something I'm guilty of doing. I'll tell myself it's no big deal if I cave in just this once because God's got my back and will forgive me when I feel guilty later on and ask Him to forgive me. It took many years for me to realize I have to change my ways and truly feel convicted of that sin in order to be redeemed of my ways. Jesus knows when I'm truly wanting forgiveness from a sin. His grace is an amazing gift and definitely not something I should take lightly.