Recently I have been thinking about what I stand for. What motivates me to be outside myself? Most of the answers I found are shallow answers that scare me. I am trying to find that thing that really motivates me to stand.
The church I go to has some pretty awesome and radical outreaches going on right now. I am trying to decide if I my place is in one of those ministries or if there is another outlet. I do know that I felt most alive when I went with a group in Sacramento to feed homeless down by the river. There was something really raw and real about it. I have been to homeless shelters, but meeting someone where they are.
Do you have something that you stand for? I would love to hear what motivates you.
In the meantime here is my new theme song. Performed and written by Idina Menzel:
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When you ask me, who I am
What is my vision? And do I have a plan?
Where is my strength? Have I nothing to say?
I hear the words in my head, but I push them away.
‘Cause I stand for the power to change,
I live for the perfect day.
I love till it hurts like crazy,
I hope for a hero to save me.
I stand for the strange and lonely,
I believe there’s a better place.
I don’t know if the sky is heaven,
But I pray anyway.
And I don’t know
What tomorrow brings
The road less traveled
Will it set us free?
Cause we are taking it slow,
These tiny legacies.
I don’t try and change the world;
But what will you make of me?
‘Cause I stand for the power to change,
I live for the perfect day.
I love till it hurts like crazy,
I hope for a hero to save me.
I stand for the strange and lonely,
I believe there’s a better place.
I don’t know if the sky is heaven,
But I pray anyway.
With the slightest of breezes
We fall just like leaves
As the rain washes us from the ground
We forget who we are
We can’t see in the dark
And we quickly get lost in the crowd
‘Cause I stand for the power to change,
I live for the perfect day.
I love till it hurts like crazy,
I hope for a hero to save me.
‘Cause I stand for the power to change,
I live for the perfect day.
I love till it hurts like crazy,
I hope for a hero to save me.
I stand for the strange and lonely,
I believe there’s a better place.
I don’t know if the sky is heaven,
But I pray anyway.
Technorati Tags: Social Justice, Idina Menzel, Homeless
Steve
July 8, 2008
Encouraging others to live the powerful, individual, God breathed lives they were created to live. It’s a standard best described by Saint Irenaeus – “The glory of God is man fully alive.”
It’s best lived this way:
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
- Howard Thurman
Steph
July 24, 2008
Good question. I find that what motivates me changes from year to year. Sometimes it’s a godlier focus, sometimes not so much. I think the time I felt the most motivated was when I was leading worship for a children’s ministry. Those were good times.
Julie Fidler
July 26, 2008
Loving the least of these. It goes beyond “servant evangelism” and handing out spring water in the park on a hot day, or giving out free turkeys on Thanksgiving, though both things are good and important. That’s why I think the book I’m writing is important – because Christians don’t know how to reach out to the mentally ill, and yet they MUST.
I wish our church had an outreach to prostitutes, because I’ve always had a heart for them. Most of them have been sexually abused and do what they do because they ran away from home. That’s one group I’d love to work with.