Todays Christian Message Brought to you by Taylor Swift and One Direction

I know what you're thinking...she needs to get out of the house more.... and you would be right. But, first let me explain why I even know who those people are to begin with...You see, every day at 4 pm my kids start melting down. I suppose it's a long day and they are ready for Dad to be home, ready to eat supper and mostly I think it's just become habit and we would hate to break routine. Anyway, at a crucial time when I also am ready for Dad to be home and trying to make supper, the dreaded 4 o'clock hour has been known to make or break my day. I have come up with a few remedies, one of which is to crank some music and have a dance party in the kitchen while I make supper. It's pretty awesome watching my littles attempt to dance by running in circles or bending down and shaking their butts. Plus as they laugh at my INCREDIBLE dance moves, I get an extra endorphin boost from doing physical exercise to get me through the rest of the hour. I found the Kidz Bop station on Pandora to be one of the best for these awesome 4 o'clock parties, and then often download a few of the kids' favorites so we don't have to rely on Pandora, which is why Taylor Swift and One Direction have made their way onto my playlists.

So now that my musical reputation is back in-line (or ruined forever...) we can get to the heart of this message. We had few laughs at the retreat I was recently on because right after the theme song for the retreat, being caught up in the prayer of the moment, I would forget to turn off the music and immediately after the theme song, on came the very upbeat "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction. Great for dancing in the kitchen, not so great in the chapel for prayer. Or so I thought. Except today, I let the song play since I was home with my kids and not in the chapel, and I actually listened to the words for the first time. I wished I had let it play through on the retreat.
If we listen to the lyrics as how our God feels about us, it's a great reminder: He's crazy about us!
How perfect for Lent when we focus so much on our sin and trying to make ourselves better, to hear Him tell us we are beautiful even though we can't see it. That we "light up His world like nobody else"
"If only you saw what I can see,
You'll understand why I want you so desperately,
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe,
You don't know, oh oh,
You don't know you're beautiful"
We could all do better to see ourselves how He sees us, not as we do, not as the rest of the world does. Lenten sacrifices and taking a good look at ourselves to try to rid sin from our lives are great things, but we can't focus only on the bad. See the beauty of YOU that God created, of Jesus living in you, of one person that God wants so desperately. Don't believe me? Just look at the cross. He wants you that desperately that He got up there for you, because He sees your beauty even when you don't.




Ok, so if One Direction has something to share, we have to give Taylor Swift a chance, too... are you still with me? The second song in line on the playlist: Shake it Off. Again, great for dancing with toddlers...and to my surprise, great advice for our Christian journey.
"I stay up too late, got nothing in my brain
That's what people say, that's what people say
I go on too many dates, but I can't make 'em stay
At least that's what people say, that's what people say

But I keep cruising, can't stop, won't stop moving
It's like I got this music in my body and it's gonna be alright

'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off"

Here's what happens: We come home from a retreat full of fire for Christ and wanting to put it into action. Or we slowly grow more and more in holiness with daily prayer and reflection. And then, something happens to completely deflate our sails. We encounter resistance when trying to work with people at our church. Our friends or family aren't at the same place and can't relate or support our newfound faith. Most often, new struggles pop up in our life as the devil's desperate attempts to keep us away from God. Maybe you're struggling with your Lenten sacrifices or a specific sin. Maybe you're discouraged by the people or events in your life right now. Good news: Taylor's got your back. She's so right. That stuff is all going to happen, we can't let it consume us or discourage us, we just have to keep going and "shake it off". You know the "music" you have with you all the time, the Holy Spirit, and it's reminding you "it's going to be alright." So just keep cruising.

I hope this was funny to those of you without toddlers, I sometimes think my sense of humor has changed considerably since I rarely talk to someone older than 5. ;)

Prayers for you all that you can see yourself today the way your Father sees you, and cruise past the devils attempts to separate you from that incredible love!