How God used the music of Chris Tomlin then and now

On the last post I mentioned that Boaz and I have "Our CD" instead of merely "our song." (insert the Taylor Swift song stuck into certain readers' heads and commence evil laughter!) 

I giggled to myself realizing that our CD was a Chris Tomlin CD because Chris and I go waaaay back. Like to 2002! (Some readers won't think that's way far back because they were on Noah's ark - but I digress...) 

The songs Forever, Not to Us, Wonderful Maker, Famous One, Enough, Holy is the Lord, and Take My Life were the soundtrack to my first few years of being Christian. The Rock - erm - rocked out to these songs and God spoke foundational Truths of His eternity, His sufficiency, His salvation, His holiness, His awesomeness as Creator etc. through these songs. Some friends that remember me from way the heck back in the day know that I would eek out and geek out about these songs :D 

Other notable songs include: Indescribable, How Great is Our God, Uncreated One, Amazing Grace (My chains are free), Over Me (on 
See the Morning - special edition), and OUR GOD!!!! :D :D :D I really like more, but God really really really (times a lot) taught me about Himself and used these songs to remind me of who He is when I was having hard times. I turned into one giant (5 foot tall) tear-drop when I would listen to these songs sometimes, especially if I was just allowing God to pick through all the pain in my heart and heal it. Oh man. I would cry. A lot. But in a good way. 

So, in a way, Chris Tomlin is sort of God and my artist because I would listen to his stuff to connect with God when I was feeling sad or needed to be reminded of Truth. These songs and CDs would supplement the reading of God's Word :) I already had quite a few of "our songs" with God before He brought Boaz into my life, so I suppose it's only fitting that Boaz and I have a Chris Tomlin CD as 'our CD' so we can worship the God who has used this artist's music to teach us stuff individually and who has brought us together for His purposes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Sing praise!
Sing praise! 

Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever! 

LUDICROUS SPEED! GO!

Boaz and I were having another 2 hour long conversation today after church and he said that we went from 0 - boyfriend in two dates and I laughed. 

That's not entirely accurate though. We became close over messaging through the online dating site. One reason I think we bonded there was that both of us knew the other was straight up about our faith.  On my online profile (that apparently he looked at quite frequently before pondering messaging me :) I was straight up that I wanted a strong Christian and I considered myself growing toward a strong Christian status. His profile indicated a similar sentiment - YAY! - 

Anyway, I honestly think one reason this whole relationship sort of happened at ludicrous speed was because of one word: Genuineness. 

Both of us just wanted to share who we were as the people God had made. That was really cool because I think we didn't as Boaz puts it, "Wear masks and need time to see through our walls." I was able to share what I was thinking aka "My heart" and he was able to share his heart right away. 

So was that a bad idea? I mean, we just met!! Well, it wasn't like we were sharing the deepest parts of ourselves initially. We just geeked out about school and such and I was able to tell him about my career shift and he was able to tell me about work and his degree program as well. It was a progression to discussing our church families and our faith which led into discussions of what God had taught us throughout our lives. 

Both of us say that we began falling for each other during the discussions of our faith journeys. I really liked that he was a solid Christian who wanted to be a good Godly dad to his son and a good Godly husband to whoever he would marry, and I think he liked that I was open and growing in my faith too. So knowing that we both liked each other made it easier to open up even more :) 

So yeah! That explains why to some people, this happened at... ludicrous speed! But with God driving this relationship, He sets the speed at just right for His purposes! :) YAY! :) I just have to keep praying for Boaz to listen to His instructions and lead accordingly :) 

Q and A About this Boaz Guy

What??????!!!!!!!???!! Katie met a Christian guy and is going out with him???? Yup. The Facebook (TwitFace) rumors are true, folks!

So what follows is a Q and A!!

Where did you meet this Boaz guy?

Sometimes we tell people we met online. Other times we tell people Light Rail. It all depends if the listener would get freaked out by the idea of dating on the Internets.

What's he like?

Like Boaz of course!!! No, he's a dork for sure. Totally not afraid to act goofy, but he's genuine about his faith and his life and his relationship with God. Oh, he's not bad looking either. Tall white guy - no like really really tall. Um - God snagged little me a 6 footer. How old is said fly white guy? Um... About 10 + years older.

What stuff does he do?

Well his main passion is singing in choir in his church and helping out with children's choir and children's ministry - SSSSSSQQQQQQQQUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!!!!!!! He has a nice singing voice :):):):):):):) Eeeeek! Oh and he pays the bills by working at a mortgage company.

So how long exactly have you known each other?

Three weeks. One thing is that we both were straight up with each other about our faith and life. Like we didn't play the "impress the other person" game. We have said, "This is who God made me and what He has taught me and what He is teaching me." And apparently we both dug what we saw!! Heeee heeeee!!!

Does he know you're on the autism spectrum?

Yup. He digs and understands thar part of me too!! And I know he's a giant dork. It's great!!!!

What sort of accountability do you both have?

Glad you asked, Summitview peeps!!! I have my Christian friends at Hope Crossing, current and former Summirviewers! On his side he has his choir / Bible study group at his church.

First date?

Starbucks and noodles and co.

Second Date:

Mimi's Cafe!

Do you guys have 'your song' yet???

Um no - maybe? Possibly it's Gangham Style. We did walk Gangham Style across a Light Rail bridge on the first date. Yes, Boaz started it!!!!

Oh, but we have our CD!!!! Burning Lights CD!!! IT WAS SO AWESOME to genuinely worship TOGETHER with that CD and - AAAAAAGH HOW COOL IS THAT?????????????? Worshiping our Creator on the second date!!!!!!

Anything else?

Um no. Oh wait yes! He scored mega awesome Ye Olde Blogger's Mom points by waiting with me at Mimi's Cafe for Access A Ride!! Like Mom thought that was awesome!! And shows his Godly manly character that I had told her about.

How can your Christian friends be praying for you two??

Also glad you asked! That we'd learn how to support each other in school and work. Oh yes, he's going to school to be a counselor. :) um, also just that we'd continue keeping God first, that God would use our (eeek) story to tell others about Himself and ultimately share His Gospel, that I would learn how to support Boaz and Boaz would learn more how to lead like Christ leads the church. He's doing a good job with that by the way I'd you were wondering!!!

Thanks for reading :)

SURPRISE!

Ok, blogsphere! Seems as if I pulled an OOC (Out of Character) move by totally leaving everyone on a cliffhanger on my last post! 

We-ell...... 

A really awesome Christian guy has entered my life and we are on the path to becoming more than friends :) 

That's right! 

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!! I met Boaz (not his real name), about a month ago and we really connected talking about school (he's going for elementary ed and I'm of course going to paralegal school) and our faiths since both of us are involved at our respective churches. 

Last Saturday I went on a first date to Starbucks / Noodles and Co. 

This week Boaz suggested we could go to a nice restaraunt like Mimi's Cafe. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Stuff I dig about Boaz: 

1. He gets so excited talking about being involved in children's ministry and the worship band he's in and he wants to worship God with all his heart and teach the next generation to as well! 

2. I've shared how God has used hard things in my life to teach me about Himself and Boaz shared some things along those lines and he was understanding of how those things have affected my life and walk with God and I was also vice versa with him. And he told me he was looking forward to encouraging me in my faith and told me how much I had encouraged him. 

3. When he began the "I think I like you more than a friend" talk, he asked me what I thought that would look like and we both agreed that the male led which was why Boaz was the one to initiate the, "Wanna go to Starbucks / Noodles as our first - date?" And I was like, HECK YEAH! 

4. He's just a Godly guy and that is cool! 

5. He's also really hilarious and we laugh about stuff like movies we like and just random dorky stuff. 

6. He gets that I'm on the autism spectrum :) and still likes me :) 

7. He's understanding with how I will have to go and help Mom in the middle of our conversation and is cool with calling me back or having the first date not go too long in the evening so my mom wouldn't worry about that. He understands that she is protective and he accommodates accordingly. 

Well..... more on this later and in more up and coming posts! 

Surprise! :) 

Ruth and I are having tea in Heaven!

Ok, I am having tea with Ruth in Heaven! :) Yup. Ruth in the story of Ruth and Boaz. Maybe she and I can compare tans as she worked in the fields all day and I - well, I was born with a tan :D 

Hee hee! 

But seriously, I do relate to Ruth because she took care of her mother in law, and I take care of my mother. Ok, I have never gleaned in a field, but there was one time when I had a job and Mom didn't (when I was in Denver in 06) and I helped her with groceries and stuff. I also helped her emotionally because she was devastated about her job situation. 

I also relate to Ruth because I have somehow trusted God is good in the mist of an environment that would say otherwise. 

Ruth was in Moab where the culture revolved around the Moabite theology rather than the theology of Israel. God probably had to do a bit of a worldview switch-a-roo in her brain for her to say to Naomi, "Your God will be my God."  For me, I have grown up in the United States where the worldview is increasingly secular humanist. 

Ruth probably also heard much of Naomi's moaning and groaning on their way back to Bethlehem. Ruth probably had to remind herself that, "Yeah, my husband died. Yeah Naomi's husband died, and my brother in law died, and we don't have food again, but the God of Israel is real and good." She made a choice amid hearing Naomi's lamenting to see God is good. Yeah, that was me. Even though my development wasn't perfect, even though Mom wasn't as well off as she would've liked, even though it was hard to see God during the events of the Columbine shooting and the September 11 attacks, even though the culture was saying that Christianity is narrow-minded, even through the deaths of my grandpa and uncle, even though the economy tanked affecting my post-graduation job prospects, God gave me the grace or - well - something - to believe He was real and He was good. Sometimes it was a hard fight to believe. Sometimes I didn't believe He was good. That's when I wouldn't handle things very well. Yet, like Ruth, I somehow still kept on believing God was real.  

Ruth found Boaz on the threshing floor and uncovered his poor old toe-goo infested knobbly feet as a way of introduction. They had the, "I think you're neat, I just uncovered your feet, and as my kinsman-redeemer, God will have my economic situation beat!" Boaz scratched his old head and said, "Ok. I think you're pretty awesome too, young lady. God loves ya, so do I!" 

As of this entry, I have not yet found my "Boaz." But I - FOUND MY GLORIOUS BOAZ WHICH IS JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've knelt at His nail-scarred feet crying trusting Him for healing from my past. I've danced with Him (think dance parties in my room post-quiet time) and had giggles and cries and arguments with Him (Yeah, those arguments generally didn't last long). :) :) So like Ruth, I have found my Boaz and realized He was for me and all I had to do was ask Him to save me! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) 

Ok - just - a - little - excited - whew! :D heee heeee! 

But seriously, that is AWESOME that God had worked out Ruth's story so one day I could resonate with it. Ruth probably thought a lot of her life was crappy and wondered, "Why me, God?" I've thought that plenty of times. "Why is my life looking like this so far? I know You have a plan for the hard stuff in my life, but I want to know what it is." But maybe like Ruth, someone else could be encouraged by my life to see God's soveriegnty even though hard times and God's real provision even when the situation looked hopeless and praise Him because of it. 

Ultimately, Ruth's story points to Christ, and thanks to God's grace, my life points to Christ as well. 

Waiting and Hanging on tight

Ye Olde Blogger may be in for a good significant life change! I can't be more specific (which is uncharacteristic of me) but revealing what it is would distract from the focus of this post.

Anyway, knowing a good life change that changes A LOT of my life is coming is sorta like getting ready to go tubing. It's exciting because you're doing something friends say is fun, but you look at the rushing waters and rapids of the Boulder Creek (or Poudre River or other body of water) and think, "Oh -my-gosh!!! What am I getting myself into??? Yes, I have gone tubing if you were wondering :)

The little girl about to go tubing in the rushing white-capped waters of the Boulder Creek on a sunny day with her Father has a moment of fear.

"Daddy! Daddy, the water's going fast! Daddy, the water's cold!"

"I know, princess, but your brothers and sisters have a lot of fun tubing! You see and learn about the river like this!"

"Daddy, what if I fall? What if I don't like the water? What if my tube pops? Daddy, I'm scared!!"

"Princess, you will be in Daddy's inner tube on Daddy's lap and He will be with you all the way. He will put you in the tube at exactly the right time." The little girl nods. The waters look less scary. And she clings to her Daddy's hand and waits. The fear leaves and the excited anticipation returns. "Princess, do you trust me?"

"Yes, Daddy. I trust You."

That's how I'm feeling right now :) praying, reading the Bible, and listening to awesome worship songs is how I am holding on to my Father's hand as I wait for a pending exciting somewhat scary adventure to begin!!

When hope drops the ball

Well, the Broncos lost today :(

 That was dissapointing to a lot of people because we were expected to win. It was especially dissapointing to Mom because she had some disspointment during her caregiving duties with my aunt and grandma earlier today.

For me, the Broncos loss was a bit dissapointing and my friend and I texted back and forth about it for a few minutes after the game. For Mom, she just had a bad day afterward.

More of her hope was in having a good caregiving experience in the morning and in the Broncos winning than anything else. So when those didn't work out, she was in a bad mood.

I could say that my hope wasn't in these things, so that didn't bother me as much. Yet, a lot of times my hope is in my mom's mood. When hope - like the Broncos today - drops the ball and makes Mom upset, it can make me upset because my hope can be in whether Mom has a good day. If she has a good day, I feel good because I did enough to make her happy. If she  has a bad day or if her attitude doesn't recover from events outside of her control, I feel bad like I haven't done enough to counterbalance whatever dissapointments she faces out there.

In small dissapointments such as the Broncos losing or in larger dissapointments, I  have to remember that my main hope should be in God and not in these temporary things: games, caregiving going well or badly, how Mom feels, and other things. Circumstances will always drop the ball, but God never will.