Confessions of a SmileyFreak :)

Thought that I was all alone
Broken and afraid
But You were there with me
Yes, You were there with me

And I didn’t even know
That I had lost my way
But You were there with me
Yes, You were there with me

‘Til You opened up my eyes
I never knew
That I couldn’t ever make it
Without You

Even though the journey’s long
And I know the road is hard
Well, the One who’s gone before me
He will help me carry on
After all that I’ve been through
Now I realize the truth
That I must go through the valley
To stand upon the mountain of God

As I travel on the road
That You have lead me down
You are here with me
Yes, You are here with me
I have need for nothing more
Oh, now that I have found
That You are here with me
Yes, You are here with me

I confess from time to time
I lose my way
But You are always there
To bring me back again

Chorus

Sometimes I think of where it is I’ve come from
And the things I’ve left behind
But of all I’ve had, what I possessed
Nothing can quite compare
With what’s in front of me
With what’s in front of me

-Mountain of God by Third Day

There have been plenty of times in my life when I’ve felt “broken and afraid.” And even though I didn’t realize it at the time, God was there throughout the whole thing, because looking back I can see his big ol’ footsteps in the sand. He was there guiding me, carrying me. I know there were times when I was lost, and He was there, though I couldn’t feel Him.

I heard a sermon recently, and in it the speaker was talking about mountaintop experiences, and going through the valley after them. He explained that there were different ways of looking at a valley experience—you can be in the moment, looking at the valley, and wondering where the way is outta there, or you can look to that next mountaintop, and move toward it. It’s all a matter of attitude and perspective. We can choose to wallow in our pain, soak in our despair, or we can say, “This is hard, but things will be better. God will You help me?”

But still, so often when we are going through something, we’ll say, “If I only had this, things would be better.” I have been guilty of that myself. But slowly I’ve begun to realize that all of the things that I think I need are nothing, and that the only thing I need is God. He’s more than enough.

Jesus came and paved a way for us. It’s not the easiest road to walk sometimes, but ultimately through perseverance and faith, we’ll see that splendor in front of us. We’ll feel that grace and love and might live and in person. How awesome will that be? Won’t it make all of the struggles worth it?

I often times wonder exactly what your plan may be
What my future holds, and what You want from me
I don’t have the answers to the questions in my mind
But I have faith that through these trials
There’s a strength that I might find

So I wait and listen for the still small voice
The whisper that comes in the midst of all the noise

You have a plan for me
I don’t know what it is
Whatever I’m to be
I’m always to be His
And though the good times come and go
In You I’ll always know
That there is a way through
To everything that’s true

Where do you start when you can’t find the door?
Where do you go when you don’t know what you’re looking for?
Where do you begin
When all you see is the end
Of another day?

I’m not sure if I’m listening to You or me
Telling me who I’m to be
I don’t know if its Your guiding hand
I guess I just don’t understand
How you could choose me to be placed in front of the crowd

I feel so unworthy of this
So unsure of myself, so insecure
Knowing Your will for me
Fighting to keep from running away
From the battle inside my head

What am I to do, oh Lord?
Is it really me You want out there
Imperfect as I am?

I can never understand Your ways
I guess I have to trust You and obey
The things that you’d have for me to do.

It’s time for me to be brave
To put on my new face
And to begin this new calling
This new step of faith.

I know I have to do Your will
I know that sometimes I have to listen and be still
To hear the words you say to me
That I may do as You see.

Just guide me down this unknown path
For I can’t see yet where it leads.
Let me do what you ask of me
Protect me and fill all of my needs

bright lights
shine on my face
is it the light of forgiveness?
or the light of disgrace?

revelations
of things I’ve done
make me uncertain
if the battle is won

I don’t know
if I can grasp this
A million things I feel
infinate things I’ve missed

I’ve done all this before
ten-thousand times over again
it’s too much to understand
and not worth it to defend

who do I blame for this
does it belong to another?
ultimately it’s mine
I must own it, and recover.

When I’ve walked my final steps
and breathed my last
when my days on earth are gone
and my life is passed
will I have left behind a legacy
something for the future to see

what is my impact
did I change the world
did I make a difference
to one boy or girl

I hope that when
my days here are through
the Father says, “Well done!”
“My child, I love you.”

I keep this thing
locked in a chest
and it only comes out
on a sad occasion

I guard it well
never letting on it’s there
making the outside beautiful
as the storm rages
within its walls

I had never seen the David Crowder*Band in concert prior to this show. I must say I was very impressed. David has a way of getting an audience involved (and it didn’t hurt here in Abilene that he is a fellow Texan…we support our peeps. ). I had bought A Collision a couple of weeks prior to the concert, and thought it was a good record, but seeing them live, and being a part of a real worship experience was amazing. I loved the song You Are My Joy live and in person. It’s definitely a standout on the record, but live it’s one of those songs that just draws you in to worship.

After Crowder’s set, Tai Anderson, Third Day’s bassist, came out and spoke a little bit about his trip to Uganda earlier this year. Children there are being taken from their families in the middle of the night and forced into being soldiers in the country’s war. There are some villages where children treck each night to a place where they can sleep safely, without fear of being kidnapped. The story was really moving, and he talked about the work that World Vision is doing there in Uganda for these kids. The AIDS situation there is bad as well.

Then, Third Day came out and rocked the house! They opened the show with Tunnel off of their latest release Wherever You Are. I love that song, and I think that was a great way to open the show, as the white curtain fell down. Their stage lights and what-not were pretty amazing as well…I loved the flames during Consuming Fire! I also loved that they did my favorite song off of the latest record, I Can Feel It, and that they did Consuming Fire and Thief. I Saw the Light with the Crowder guys was off the hook! In fact, the whole acoustic set was pretty stellar.

Here’s the full set list, via the Third Day Blog:

Tunnel
Creed
I Got a Feelin’
I Can Feel It
Consuming Fire
Keep On Shinin’
Thief
I’ve Always Loved You (acoustic)
Your Love Oh Lord / Nothing but the Blood (acoustic)
I Saw the Light (w/ Crowder)
Blessed Assurance
You Are So Good to Me
I Believe
Show Me Your Glory
My Hope is You

***Encore***
Come Together
Cry Out to Jesus
God of Wonders

Overall, I think this was an excellent show, and if you have a chance to go, you should do it! Third Day does not disappoint, and neither does the David Crowder*Band!

I can’t wait to see Third Day again.

My pictures of the show on Flickr…