Dare You To Move
"Dare You To Move"
Welcome to the planet
Welcome to existence
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next
What happens next
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before
Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistance
The tension is here
Tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before
Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened before
Lyrics derived from: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/switchfoot/dareyoutomove.html
This was the theme song for our YA Ministries Weekend 2005. Dare You To Move. Let me tell you, I don't think I have been this moved (no pun intended, honestly) in quite some time. North Central University's very own One Accord (if I had a link for them, I would offer it to you guys to sample thier music. They are INCREDIBLE.) was our worship band for the weekend, and honestly, if I closed my eyes, I could barely tell a difference between them and the real thing. It was just that good. Along with the great music, the great worship, and the awesome connectedness with God, was the message. Dare You To Move.
The three questions that we were asked to really ponder and pray over this weekend in light of this very powerful and moving theme song were the following:
* What are your fears?
* What are your dreams?
*What is your next movement?
Our speaker, we'll call him P.H. for short, is an assistant professor at the North Central, and a very good friend of my church's young adult ministries pastor. P.H. has a flare for random thought processing which definitely reflects in his speeches, but he always somehow ties all of his fleeting thoughts together to create one awesome, powerful, inspirational message. He reminded us of things that we tend to push to the side, of the things that somehow get lost in the madness that is our lives... the things that, more than anything, deserve our attention: Hurricane Katrina victims, Sudan, Jamaica... the places... the people who, more often than not, feel like all hope is lost. The people that so badly need to hear our Lord's message, because, even if we can't save them in this physical world... God can. And they need to know what God promises them beyond this life. And honestly, it wasn't totally about the lost souls out there either, but about the lost souls in that very room in which P.H. was speaking. We were encouraged to take stock of our lives, our fears, our hopes, our dreams, our realities.
I wish that I could eloquently express to you on paper how I'm feeling at this very moment, but this moment, even after having had a half a day to process all of this, is still beyond my concious mind. My soul, my spirit, my heart, and my subconcious mind are all still wrestling... processing. I wanted to at least just begin to share with you something about this weekend and about this new journey that I have found myself on: and not that it's even really a new journey, because... I've been on one for awhile now. It just keeps taking new shapes, and shifting, and... getting greater as time goes by: as circumstances are presented: as life pushes forward.
My hope, my prayer is that something here made sense. Even just a little bit. But if you can't really follow, if I've made it virtually impossible, just please take this with you for the time being until I gather my thoughts and emotions: Our God is a God of hope, of peace, and of promise. Jeremiah 29:11 states, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.'" So while I may not have my spritual and emotional ducks in a row as I sit and write this, I know one thing is for sure: no matter what conclusion I come to, as long as I'm walking with the Lord our God, I'm safe, and I'm loved. I'm promised a bright, prosperous future, and God will work through me to make sure that many, MANY others can someday be confident in the same.
posted by Stephanie @ 11:26 PM
10 Comments:
Great sum up, and yes, I did get what you were saying! Jeremiah 29:11 is probably my most favorite verses. Our complete trust should be in Him. He knows what's best for us all along the way, even through, and in many cases especially in, the trials.
May we be a light to those around us.
Great Post: Even though you may not have expressed your thoughts exactly how you wanted to, your spiritual renewal and passion comes through the words.
One thing that has been good for me to remember is that Jeremiah 29:11 isn't necessarily talking about our physical prospering or our physical hope and future, but rather our spiritual. It's a wonderful sister verse to Romans 8:28-29 where God promises that no matter what we go through here on this earth it is all designed to conform us to the image of Christ that we may bring glory to our creator. May we continue in good works out of a sense of gratitude and love for our redeemer!
xcwgoum
Stephanie - Your heart speaks through these words. How exciting the truth and wisdom that God revealed to you this weekend. I pray and hope that He grows within your heart such a desire to "move" in His will. I'm excited to see how He reveals this to you over the next few days, weeks, months, and years.
God is good (I tried to think of something else to say but this fit so perfectly - Steve be excited that you have captured so perfectly the excitement and heart of the rest of us and we keep using your catch pharse).
Stephanie - let the words and thoughts flow, even if they seem unconnected, God is good to speak through anything and I am encouraged by what He is showing you.
Amstaff- I'm glad my ramblings coagulated to make some sort of sensical thought! I love Jer 29:11 too! Love the promisse!
Luke- You're definitely right about it applying more to a spiritual purpose, but I kind of like applying it to my life here on earth as well: it's a good way to remind myself that God is my safety net - no matter how bad the circumstances.. God will always be with me: His plan for me will always - ALWAYS be greater; and that makes it a bit easier to let go of everything and give it to Him.
Duede... i guess I cant copyright it...
I have been thinking about Dare you to MOve a ton lately... mostly because Switchfoot released a new album and I cant stand it. I miss the lyrics of their previous stuff and I jyst havent fallen for the new stuff. Ive only gone through it 3 times so I havent lost hope...
Good post. Glad you had a good weekend
Stephanie: I agree 100%! It's a very encouraging thought. When I used the word "physical"...maybe "material" would've been a better term for what I was thinking. In the past I mistakenly took verses like that and told myself that God would bless me with "stuff"...that God would get me that nice car, or that good job...when in reality God is concerned with our heart and our attitude and our motives...not so much with our material circumstances. Steve can probably attest to this wonderfully after visiting Russia. I've been to Jamaica and Mexico on outreach/work teams and have seen first hand how little material things have to do with a heart of worship.
Does that make sense?
hrhlzef
It absolutely makes sense. The beauty of God is that he transcends all of the material stuff. He knows we need very little to survive, and absolutely nothing to bow down before Him and worship. And sometimes He brings us to that place for that very reason: to show us humility, to bring us to our knees with the knowledge that he is Awesome; and we are totally and completely unworthy. And that's when a true understanding - a better understanding, anyway, of Jer 29:11 can really be had.
Luke- I've yet to head out on a missions trip, but it is definitely a dream of mine that I hope will be realized by next year around this time. I've heard that I'll experience God unlike anything I've ever known up to this point. Can't WAIT.
wziti - New Italian radio station in town?
Not to be all so last Sunday, but my favorite Switchfoot song is "This is your Life." It is such an awesome song. We're going to play it along with a slideshow for the kids who are graduating this year. And I will be bawling, I can assure you.
Well I must admit. Since hitting the "next blog" link on my own blog. I discovered your awesome and intelligent ongoing insight/s. I frequently visit your blog and every time I do, I read about something/s that are of intrest and spiritual value to me, your hard work shows. It appears that you are well respected and loved. Heres my comment for you and your visitors, The quest for ultimate wisdom is stupid, The quest for ultimate devotion is everlasting life, thats a promise.
Wow Piston, I think you just made my day! Thank you for the kind, thoughtful words, and I'm glad you decided to say hi! Please, if there is something here that sparks your interest, feel free to comment and join in on our often random discussions! The more insights, the merrier!
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