Easier To Swallow

To put words to the actions that describe how I live, I’d have to tell you that I live with the “Eat the fish spit out the bones” mentality. I’m constantly searching for truth. A friend of mine made a statement the other day, “The search for the truth will always lead us back to Jesus.” I think he was right in more ways than one: the truth will lead us to Jesus; and if we search correctly, our attitude will be that of Christ Jesus. We’ve taken several van rides to youth rallies, camps, and areawide devos in the last two years since I’ve been here. I can just about tell you who is going to be the speaker at each event, depending on where we travel. Fortunately, we are blessed to hear great messages that “step on our toes,” uplift us, and challenge us. Unfortunately, there are some speakers that mostly just step and talk down to our students. “Why do we have to go listen to that person speak?” and “I don’t like him, the way he talks” are two responses I hear when I announce travel plans for events with certain speakers. My response? “I know you may not like to listen to the person speak, but find just one good thing, that is all I ask. Find one good and true thing the preacher says and take it home with you. Tune out all the other stuff and focus in on the truth. Eat the fish, spit out the bones.” Here are the song lyrics to “Head Over Feet”, by Alanis Morissette: “I had no choice but to hear you, You stated your case time and again, I thought about it, You treat me like I'm a princess, I'm not used to liking that, You ask how my day was, Your love is thick and it swallowed me whole, You're so much braver than I gave you credit for, That's not lip service, You are the bearer of unconditional things, You held your breath and the door for me, Thanks for your patience, You're the best listener that I've ever met, You're my best friend, Best friend with benefits, What took me so long, I've never felt this healthy before, I've never wanted something rational, I am aware now, I am aware now, You've already won me over in spite of me, And don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet, Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are, I couldn't help it, It's all your fault”. Re-read her words again, and pretend that she wrote the song to God as a thank you. I want God’s love to swallow me whole...to heal me and make me feel healthy again...I want him to be my best friend with the benefits of Jesus’ blood...God made his case time and time again and He has won me over in spite me and how I run away...I am aware now of his plan for my life…I’ve fallen head over feet. (copied from "Steve's Weekly Bulletin Article" 11/14/04)