Chris' prayer: Kutless' "We Fall Down"

We lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus

Which crown am I laying at Jesus' feet tonight? Is it the same crown of thorns that He wore on the road to His crucifixion, representing all of the struggle, all of the pain, all of the suffering in my life? Or is it the crown of royalty, representing all of the bountiful gifts I've been given in my life, both physical and nonphysical? Am I not called to lay them both down? Which crown do I hold onto longer? Which crown do I freely give away?

Do I place everything that I have, all of my struggles, my fears, my failures, my pain, as well as my blessings, my successes, my gifts, at His feet? Do you?


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Erinnicole's Prayer: Kutless' "We Fall Down"

We fall down
We lay our crowns

Isn't it funny that even with the crowns that we apparently have, we still have to not just bow down but fall down in front of Jesus? I love that this song acknowledges that all of the things that God bestows upon us, makes us "princes and princesses", but still does not put us above Him. He will always be number One. I feel like it is easy to get carried away when an abundance of blessings happen, and often forget where, or Who, it came from. I know that I am "Daddy's little princess", since God is my father, but I still need to humble myself to ask for help. I love that.

Megan's prayer: Kutless' "We Fall Down"

Unlike most other girls, I don’t cry during movies. Neither The Notebook or Marley & Me moved me to the point of tears. Sure, they were sad and full of emotion, but they weren’t real. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams didn’t fall in love in real life, only to be broken apart by Rachel’s parents. Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston don’t own a dog together that causes them trouble. They were produced for my enjoyment, not to see if I would cry.

On the other hand, I tend to be rather emotional when it comes to real life situations. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition gets me almost every time. It’s about real people helping others in need. I also cry when I get hurt – either physically or emotionally. That hurting is real, it is in my life, I can feel it.

Today’s song draws upon that same emotion. The words of the song are powerful, are real.

We cry holy, holy, holy

This line is repeated over 10 times in the song. It is the main focus. We are not just saying “holy, holy, holy.” We aren’t whispering it, or shouting it. We are crying it. The holiness of the Jesus stirs emotions deep within us.

Marie's Prayer: Kutless' "We Fall Down"

To thee all the follies of sin I resent
My gracious redeemer

Lately I have been looking over the many things I do day to day and I realize how much sin is actually there. With my resolution to do the right thing I notice these things immediately and try not to get swept away by the familiarity of sin. I find myself crying out to God to help me with this because it is so hard to change routine. I just realized this, but look at the word follies. It makes it seem so silly, almost stupid. And isn't it? Isn't choosing to go against God silly and stupid? He's a GRACIOUS redeemer! He won't look at you and say "Oh well she did that before and said she was sorry, I don't know if I believe her this time." He doesn't do that. He ACTUALLY forgives you when you say you are sorry. How many people do you know do that? I don't know many, if I even know one, who truly forgives me each and every time I mess up. Truth be told, I mess up a whole lot. And I'm sorry about it. And God forgives and redeems. He frees me from it. It feels good to be free.

Catie's prayer: Kutless' "We Fall Down"

We fall down
We lay our crowns
At the feet of Jesus
The greatness of
Mercy and love
At the feet of Jesus

I think these few lines tell us so much about Christ and his love for us. So many times I forget that all the strength, courage, mercy I need, I can get at the foot of the cross. So many times I want to hide myself from God, hide what I've been doing from God but all God wants is for me to come to him so that he can pour down his mercy and love on me. He doesn't want to make us feel guilty, he wants us to feel loved and to know that we can start over again. God wants us to know that is love and mercy is always there, even when we might think othewise. Everything we could ever need we can get at the foot of the cross but we have to be the ones to go there and get it.

Erinnicole's Prayer: Big Daddy Weave's "Set Me Free"

You are the author and the finisher of the faith in me

The finisher, I understand. How could I ever dream to finish my faith without God? My earthly faith will never be finished; I will always learn how to be stronger because of His grace. But the "author" of my faith. I suppose it makes enough sense because God helps me and guides me, writes my story, so to speak. I can clearly see where God plays a hand in my faith. All the time! When I believe and trust in Him, wonderful things happen! He is completely the author of my faith....when it's good.

But what about the struggles? Does He write those too? Does He write the moments when I can't find Him, or when I feel so alone? When I first read that, I immediately disagreed. There is no way God would write Himself out of my life for certain parts. For the times when I can't seem to keep a handle on my faith. But maybe, there is logic to it. Perhaps, God writes in the struggles to teach me. Or maybe, so that when He writes the good things, I am more aware of them and can praise Him to the fullest of my ability. I don't know the reason, but I am thankful for the chance to be able to recognize a real difference from times in my life when I am hurting and times when I can see God, so I pray in thanksgiving that God is the one who gives me even those moments. The moments that bring my closer to God.

Chris' prayer: Big Daddy Weave's "Set Me Free"

The fruitful labor of my sin

I love Fuji apples. They are, far and away, my favorite apple, and most likely my favorite fruit. I love the texture, the crunchiness, the gradient of color from a very light green to pink, the perfect small-but-not-too-small size, and most of all, how sweet they are. I also love how they can be found at a restaurant I frequent- St. Louis Bread Co. They are the perfect side to the sandwiches of which I'm fond.

Once in awhile, though, Bread Co. just doesn't have good Fuji apples. They might be mushy, or a bit too sour for my taste. Something is just not right about them. They are just not good.

Today, God reminds me that my sin can be as fruitful as my works. If I'm not careful about the decisions I make, or how much attention I pay them, or if the reason I'm making those decisions is not pure, the results of my actions won't always be positive. I can end up producing bad apples. Each bad apple has a consequence. Each bad apple inhibits the growth of love and encourages death and decay. I must be careful that the fruitful labor of my sin does not bring me to my own death and destruction.


iTunes | Lyrics

Marie's Prayer: Big Daddy Weave's "Set Me Free"

You gave your life for me that day
So freedom I could know

It's awe-inspiring to think that someone would sacrifice so much for me. I still grapple with the idea of not being worth it. I don't know why I always come back to that one thing. I find it hard to think that anyone would do something that big for me. But God is always there, giving Himself for me. The other part of this is freedom. We hear about our freedom all the time, but we usually find ourselves trapped. This is coincidentally because of the choices we make. I find myself choosing the wrong thing in my attempts at freedom and am trapped by the choice. I am trying this new thing now, inspired by my friend, to always try to do the right thing no matter what. It's going to be hard for me, not going to lie, but right now I'm just handling it day by day.

Megan's prayer: Big Daddy Weave's "Set Me Free"

Most of the time when I sing along with songs it is with what I assume are the lyrics. Normally I am pretty close, but occasionally people will call me out on it. But even that embarrassment doesn’t inspire me to actually look up lyrics or stop singing my own version – I just hope that people stop listening so intently to the words I am saying.

Today’s song, and the assumed lyrics I sang, made an impact on my life over the summer. Shortly after having this song suggested by a friend, I found myself listening to it more and more often.

The “lyrics” that stuck with me were

Set me free
From this LIE that I’ve been living (Actual: From this LIFE that I've been living)

At the time, I did feel like I was living a lie in my life. I was still enrolled at the University of Dayton, but I was not truly happy there. I had done everything possible to convince my family and friends that I enjoyed it, but was still unable to convince myself. My assumed lyrics were a constant prayer – I wanted God’s help in finding a way to set me free from the unhappiness, from the lies I had been trying to pass as reality.

I finally realized it was okay to admit that I wasn’t happy at UD, and admitting that to myself and to my family was a huge relief. I was able to transfer back home and finally attend a college where I can truly say I am happy.

I’m reminded today that it’s okay to show others your true feelings, your vulnerability. It’s only in finally admitting them that we can change.

Catie's prayer: Big Daddy Weave's "Set Me Free"

Set me free
From the chains that bound me to my sin

When I hear this line about chains I think of Jacob Marley from A Christmas Carol. In the movie, Jacob is forced to wander the earth after he dies wearing the chains that he had linked together with all the bad things he had done in his life. Sometimes I feel weighed down in my sin like that, like my sin is holding me back from being better, doing better, loving better.

I know I can trust in You to come and set me free

This is the part I know, but I don't always remember. I forget that God's love is bigger than my sin, that he has already set me free and that sin has already been conquered. We can all be set free from our sin, all we have to do is ask for forgiveness and trust that God will take the chains away.

Erinnicole's Prayer: Pillar's "Frontline"

It's not like I'm walking alone
Into the valley of shadow of death

Even being in a Catholic school, I often feel so alone in my faith. I love being places like life teen and retreats, especially huge ones like Stuebenville Conference because I know I'm not alone. I have a bunch of people who truly just get it. When I am there, I become selfish, though. I don't want to leave because I love belonging and being understood. But I know that the whole point of being a tool of God's hand is to let Him use me for people that don't know Him. But it so much easier to help people who already get it - to just remind them! I, like pretty much everyone, just don't deal with rejection well and rarely do I find people that fully embrace Jesus on the first try. More often, people don't give faith a try at all. But this kind of thing, this song, reminds me that I am not doing this alone. There are a lot of Christians out there and they understand and the real idea is for all of us to come together and save the world as one. I don't know where I got this idea that it is me versus the world, but I never honestly considered until just this moment that this idea I have is so the opposite of what God meant when He gave me fellow believers. He wasn't really saying, "take notes"...more-or-less, He was saying, "ALL of you, help Me out!" I feel like I truly am understanding something for the first time.

you forgot what this is for

I guess I couldn't really forget if I never really understood...but my prayer is that I remember. This is for Him.

Marie's Prayer: Pillar's "Frontline"

'cause it's only begun

I love this line because, as a writer, I begin things all the time. I'm constantly finding new ways to start things. But it's really hard for me to finish them. I must've started at least twenty stories and have only finished one. That's something I need to work on. I need to finish things I start and not give up on them. As you may have noticed I'm not the best at posting every day and this really struck me. I am going to try really super hard from now on to keep up and finish what I start. Because not everything is easy at first, but it's only the beginning.

Chris' prayer: Pillar's "Frontline"

When it's over, we can say, "Well done"
But not yet, 'cause it's only begun

I must confess. I do not understand the question "Are you saved?" I have been asked numerous times in my life if I'm saved, and I really don't know how to answer that question. I know what the asker wants to hear, and I know what he or she is actually asking me, but I still don't know how to answer the question.

For me, salvation seems to be something more of a work in progress. I can accept Jesus Christ into my life one day, only to deny Him the next. And I have. The question "Are you saved?" seems to imply to me the end of the journey. Rob Beckley sings here that it is anything but. Instead, it is the beginning of the spiritual journey, one that will include many battles, many successes, and many failures. Hopefully, one day, I'll be able to hear Christ tell me, "Well done."


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Catie's prayer: Pillar's "Frontline"

We've got to lead the way!
We've got to lead the way!

Leading. I think leading is one of those things people either love doing or hate doing. When it comes to faith it can be very difficult to be a leader just because it's hard when everyone is looking to you to see where to go, what they need to be doing, etc. The thing is, if we aren't the ones to step up to lead the way, who is? We can't expect that someone else will just lead so we can just sit back and not do anything. If we want change, we have to be the ones to change it. No one is going to do it for us. We have to be willing to step up, even when we are on the frontlines, even if we're scared. With God on our side we don't have to be afraid to be on the frontlines because he is always with us. What more could we ask for from our God?

Megan's prayer: Pillar's "Frontline"

In yesterday’s gospel, we saw Jesus going out and gathering some of his apostles. He drew them away from their boats, away from their families, to come and follow him. Jesus didn’t just want people to passively sit there and watch him… he wanted people to get up, to follow him, to spread the Good News. He wanted people to actively live for him, not just be bystanders.

Today’s song seems to convey a similar feeling to me.

We live our lives on the frontlines

Just as Jesus wanted active followers in his time, God is calling us to do the same now. We cannot just sit around, hoping others find Christ, we need to be out there sharing his love and leading others to him.

At last night’s lifenight, we only had a dozen teens show up, which is far from being considered a “great” turnout. This is not the first time we have seen numbers low, and in fact we have talked about ways to bring more teens in, but so far it has all seemed to be talk. Maybe something like today’s song will serve as a much needed reminder: we have to live our lives on the frontlines… we have to actively go out and find teens to come share in the lifenights, and not just hope that by some miracle they start showing up more often.

Megan's prayer: Jars of Clay's "Redemption"

I've very stubborn. I like being right, I like to do things my way. I have a hard time putting aside my pride and letting someone else lead, letting someone else be right. I tend to break away from that, and still choose to go my way. Not the most attractive of qualities, but I'm just hard headed.

We're way gone, be gone, looking for our own way

Sometimes I get lucky, and taking my own way leads me to new adventures, leads me closer to God or to others. Sometimes my own way ends up being the perfect choice for me.

And sometimes it ends up being a horrible and lonely choice. Others don't follow because they don't understand my reason for choosing that path. They think I'm wrong and have chosen instead the seemingly "right" way. Instead of choosing a path that would lead me closer to others and to God, I have chosen to go in the wrong direction.

Couldn't find a common ending

I hate that second scenario. I pray that someday, and someday soon, I can swallow my pride. I pray that instead of choosing the way that seems right to me, I can instead focus on what path is right for others. The path that will lead me closer to my friends, to my family, to my God.

Erinnicole's Prayer: Jars of Clay's "Redemption"

It was hidden in the landscape
Of loss and love and fire and rain

The part of these words that truly spoke to me was more a "revisit" of something that already spoke to me. I heard a friend of mine giving a talk one time to a group of Confirmandi and she said, "People always say they 'Found Jesus', but I have news for you guys...Jesus isn't hiding. He isn't some hidden treasure; He is always there." That was really powerful because it told me that I don't have to find Him, I just have to see Him, to accept Him.
The other part was that I would miss something that was hidden. I am very aware of details around me but sometimes I miss the most obvious things and I often feel like a lot of things are tricks. I guess thats a form of paranoia, but I'm not certain. I never feel that something can be easy and correct at the same time. If something comes easily, I must not be doing it right. So I think I would most often avoid the road that looks easy to get to Jesus. The one that says, "Just come, Erinnicole, it's this way." My prayer is to see the hidden.

Chris' prayer: Jars of Clay's "Redemption"

Like any story retold
Couldn't find a common ending
We're way gone, be gone, looking for our own way

These lines seem to mirror, for me, the divisions we have among different denominations of Christianity. Across cyberspace you will find all kinds of mud slung at and about Catholicism, taking my denomination for instance. This has ceased to surprise me. What will never cease to surprise me is who is sometimes doing the mudslinging- other Christians.

It would seem to me that Christianity in general has enough mud slung at it. We have enough enemies. Why do we feel the need to fight with each other, calling each other names and damning each other to hell?

Why do we spend all of our time looking for our own way instead of seeking out redemption?


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Megan's prayer: Audio Adrenaline's "Get Down"

Being sick is not fun. Especially when it’s throwing up sick. Or when you have such an intense pain in your stomach that it hurts to both stand up and lay down. Even the joy of missing school to stay at home sick has been lost because now it is just a hassle to try to make up everything that is missed. Being sick is just not fun.

But when you are surrounded by people who care, suddenly being sick isn’t quite as bad. Whether it’s someone who sits with you all day, or brings you soup or Sprite, or even just an extra phone call or text message, it is nice to feel that extra love. Almost makes being sick enjoyable.

God is always there for us. He is there during our happy times and during our “alright” times. Most importantly he is there for us when we most need him. When we need his strength, his comfort.

In your weakness, he is stronger.

Erinnicole's Prayer: Audio Adrenaline's "Get Down"

I get down and he lifts me up

There are so many things connected with getting up. Rising above, overcoming (virtually the same thing), a literal falling and getting back up, persevering, etc. I am extremely uncoordinated, so I am really used to the idea of falling and getting back up. More-or-less, I am like toodlers, in the way that when they fall, they either look around in a confused manner or just get up and keep going like nothing happened. I never stay down for long simply because I have things to do. In the same way, when I get down emotionally, I know that I have more things to live for than whatever is upsetting me. God has given me the grace and the helping hand to get back up and rise again. And we all know that Jesus is quite an expert on rising!