Building 429 - Where I Belong - Lyrics

"Welcome Home"

This video is a song that I feel I connect very well with, especially today. Today, January 23rd, 2012 my precious, only sibling's birthday, was also the day where there was severe destruction from a tornado in the city of Center Point, where we grew up and spent the first 20+ years of our life. The sites that were hit were right in the center of the area that we frequented so often, where we went to the grocery store,  the fast food restaurant where I worked my senior year of high school,  the bank where I went to cash my checks, where we went to get a bite to eat, much of that is destroyed now. The school where we went the elementary, junior high and high school, located all together, the elementary only a few feet from the rest of the school has now most likely changed forever. When I'd heard that they were tearing down our high school, Erwin High School, and rebuilding a high school called Center Point High, it was very sad to me. We've only been gone since 1997, 15 years. I wanted to be able to take my children on day trips at some point and just show them where I grew up. Now, I'm afraid that I'll never get that opportunity, or it will be so radically different, there wont be much that I even remember being there.

Then I remember, all of this, is not our final home. Even where we live now, is not our 'home'. This is just a place we are passing through, just as we didn't stay in Center Point forever, we wont stay here forever. We must remember that tornado and other weather disasters, economic collapse, war, the wicked getting away from justice without consequence, the innocence of our children being taken away, our children and loved ones dying, none of this was the plan. This was never how He planned it for us. Sin caused all disorder and chaos on this earth.  So we cannot expect to find heaven on earth. He gives us His word to assure us, to guide us, to comfort us, to reprimand us, to love us, to bless us.  He even tells us this life will be difficult,

John 16:33

New International Version (NIV)

³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

but we believers have everlasting Hope! This isnt it! Not even close! I just love this song, particularly the part that says, "Take this world and give me Jesus...." because afterall, He's really all we need.

Yesterday the message pastor Chris delivered was about anger. He said something profound that really spoke to my spirit of a quote that one of his church leaders has spoken to him before. He said, "the man on his face will never fall. He can only go up". Pastor Chris was discussing how we are the cause of the anger, not the traffic, the failing economy, the miserable job, etc, but 'I' am responsible for it. He talked about daily dying to ourselves, our flesh, and the world and just surrendering it all back to Him, just as we did when we first became a follower of Christ. That really stuck with me. I agreed with him that many times, once we become a believer, we slowly, and sometimes, unaware, allow the control of our lives to be pulled back from Him, and we begin to try and live our ways, behind the label of a Christian. I think he included himself in this, as we all should be. We must, DAILY, take up our cross and follow Him. We must surrender, daily, our families, our children, our jobs, our marriages, our homes, our finances, our relationships, our health, our future, everything, both big and small and just remind Him, as well as ourselves that He is who we desire to follow and have in control, as things in this world are so out of control. I love the saying, " I do not know what my future holds, but I know who holds my future." That's it. If we give Him all fo us daily, and we humble ourselves, on our faces, just showing Him that He is Lord, the rest of the day, no matter what comes, can only go 'up'. So, I was challenged, and I hope to start out my days everyday that way, acknowledging that I serve a risen King, a Lord that loves me more than I can ever understand this side of eternity, a God that is more merciful and gracious than any of us deserve, a Father that sent His only Son, and had to turn His back away from Him has He hung on the cross, to finish what was the plan of hope to redeem us, a friend that was both fully God and fully man that can understand everything and anything I've ever been through or will ever go through. I dont wanna ever lose sight of who He truely is to me. So until I am 'home'. I say, '....take this world and give me Jesus."

He is faithful.

Mika