Lady Gaga...

...random I know.

But after her "shocking" arrival at the Grammy's last night I couldn't stop thinking about the platform she has created for herself and wondering how she got there. (for those who missed it she was encased in what looked like an egg?)

Note: I'm not promoting that one should or should not support Lady Gaga and her theatrics. I'm just sharing a few opinions of my own :)

When Lady first stepped onto the scene I did find her quite odd...but it was just too easy to pick up on the new tunes and dance around all silly-like with my roommates. Therefore, a few of Lady's songs became fairly popular. I don't even know how it happened but one day I decided to count the number of songs that I knew of hers...and found it alarmingly high. I had no idea I'd slipped into the craze! But she seemed to be EVERYWHERE. I mean...in the past 2 years alone she's had 6 number 1 hit songs. I think it started off as a joke to sing her songs...but either way...they seeped in and were on repeat in my head.

I never found her music to be moral, that's for sure and I was always taken aback by the latest music videos...not being able to watch them without thinking something seems completely wrong and then realizing I just shouldn't watch her videos because they have no fruit, no light, no life coming from them. I can't necessarily deny the artistry she carries...however I admit it's definitely a bit off.

I don't think anyone would be shocked by 'Christian groups' calling her crazy or protesting her in every way. But the thought of that actually started to make me sad and I felt convicted of my own judgments towards her. I watched an interview she had with Barbara Walters...and for some reason when you see a person's childhood photos they become all the more real to you. And it hit me: She doesn't know Jesus. I know...that's apparent...but how many times have I skimmed over the fact and had negative thoughts towards who she is.

I think you can tell by now but the Lord actually started giving me this big heart for Lady Gaga (formally known as 'Stefanie Joanne Angelina Germanotta'). God actually gave her this wonderful, amazing talent. He gave her a voice and an ability to be creative...she just isn't necessarily using it to give glory to His name, but why would she. She doesn't know Jesus.

While speaking with Barbara Walters she said she wants to be a teacher to her young fans who felt just like she felt when she was younger. She wants to free her fans to be fearless and help them know that they have their own place in the world. On an interview I watched with Cooper Anderson on 60 minutes, I watched as she told fans at one of her concerts to let go of all insecurities and reject anyone and anything that's ever made them feel like they don't belong. Then she yelled for them to free themselves of those things. Her fans were sobbing. I mean breaking down, tears and snot everywhere. My heart broke.

They're all looking for something more. What's so sad is it's the enemy who's blinding people to Truth. Our society is more humanistic than ever and Lady Gaga's answer to feeling rejection is how to empower yourself and how to overcome obstacles by rising up in strength.

If I were to sit and listen to someone tell me they had a dream to set people free from past insecurities, I'd think they were on a pretty good path. But it's where we tell them to get healing from and draw strength from that lies a big issue. How many of us have/have had insecurities or issues of rejection from our younger years. The feeling of being left out and not belonging. I know I had some super awkward years and I just wanted validation that I wasn't a big weirdo. Thankfully I had a community around me who accepted me and pointed me to Jesus and I found my belonging in Him. But what about people who aren't as fortunate to hear about Jesus and His extravagant Love? We're all looking for healing. We're all looking for a place to belong. We all want to be loved. And what's happened is Satan has twisted the minds of so many to believe that God either doesn't exist or is mean and judgmental. And now a lot of times a second thought isn't given to God or Jesus because it's all about ME! As someone said today in our Prayer Room set, Satan has blindfolded people and then set them into confusion. So it doesn't look like anyone is worshipping the devil or anything...it just looks like a world of worship to me, myself, and I.

Humanism.

It's a stronghold we must pray is broken. It's an area where we must EXALT the name of JESUS. It's time to press in. Lady Gaga went to a Manhattan private school, Convent of the Sacred Heart. I bet she heard about God. I bet she was rejected for being maybe a little bit weird. It's been brought to my attention recently that in this world of music...a lot of the music and musicians that have brought a 'new song' forth have been rejected by the church. Ouch. So where do they turn?

The reason I'm even writing this is because we have to know what we're up against. Yes, our God is greater and higher than any other and He wins. But it's a time where we need to be on our knees crying out for our generation whose role models are Lady Gaga, Eminem, Ke$ha, Lil' Wayne, Drake...and I don't know, whoever else is mainstream popular right now. We need to be praying for Divine strategies and most of all we need to be a LIGHT in the darkness. We have to tell people about Jesus. They need to know the truth. It's not fair that so many have been blindfolded to the incomprehensible love and goodness of our God.

So all that being said...this is a huge prayer need. This is what my team will be facing as we head to the Ivy Leagues in 3 weeks. We've been crying out for 5 months for Jesus to be exalted over Harvard...a school created to send out ministers and missionaries. Humanism is creeping in. We want to show people truth. Lead them to Jesus. He's better than anything else. He created us for His glory. He wants to set His children free from this bondage and confusion. There's just no hope without Jesus. But that's the good thing...there is hope. He loves us so much.

As written on Harvard's Emerson Hall: "What is man that Thou art mindful of Him?" -Psalm 8:4

Jesus, I exalt You.

(Oh, and add Lady Gaga to your prayer list too!)

Be Quiet and Listen

With this post I wish I could express just how amazing GOD is. However, that is nearly impossible because He is unexplainable, He is better than words, and more so He goes beyond all comprehension. So anything I have to say about Him pales in comparison to the greatness of all that our God is.

Knowing all of this, I wish I was better at LISTENING to Him. I get so caught up in myself a lot of days that I realize I've gone through the motions again, not paying attention to where the Lord wanted to take me, who He wanted me to talk to, or what He wanted to say to me.

If you're like me, you may sometimes doubt the faithfulness of God. I think in my heart I always know He'll come through, but my head has the hardest time wrapping itself around the idea...I guess that's why we're called to live by faith, eh?

I'm learning when I feel that little nudge in me to say something to someone or hold my tongue or whatever it is the Spirit may be prompting me to do...I just need to do it. Even if I'm wrong and I go out of my way to say something nice to someone, they'll still be blessed and the Lord still sees the willingness of my heart to serve Him through something so small. It seems unfathomable to me that I can see the faithfulness of God in my life...and the next day doubt that He'll show up again...even though HE SHOWS UP EVERY SINGLE TIME!

"The world is not moved by love or actions that are of human creation. And the church is not empowered to live differently from any other gathering of people without the Holy Spirit. But when believers live in the power of the Spirit, the evidence in their lives is supernatural. The church cannot help but be different, and the world cannot help but notice." (Francis Chan, Forgotten God)

I went to one of my favorite Nashville coffee spots tonight with two great friends of mine. We'd been enjoying ourselves talking and pretending that we were in Greece and playing dumb games when a guy walks over to our table. I scanned our area and noticed we had already taken our coffee cups back, so he didn't work there and wasn't coming to clear off our table. I figured this would be one of those typical 'random guy talks to random girl' moments...we'd all be a little weirded out and then laugh about it later. He introduced himself, complemented my headband and I made a comparison of our hippie looks for the evening (since he donned a bandanna across his forehead.) Well, for whatever reason my hippie comment led him into telling his life story to us. Usually by this point I've written the guy off wishing he'd hurry up and leave so we could get back to enjoying ourselves. Since he didn't give off the "creeper" vibe, I kept getting the feeling that we needed to hear him out (which I found out later we'd all had the same prompting). We became actively engaged in his story and I realized that this was one of those times that I needed to seek the Lord for wisdom in how to respond. He was wrapping up when my heart started beating faster and faster (a sign that usually shows me I'm about to talk and I'm super nervous to do so). I kept praying for the Lord to guide me and when he finished I told him I was a Christian and wasn't sure if he believed in God or not, but that God wanted him to know He had a plan for his life and that He's given our friend a great set of talents that are to be shared with others. He'd also mentioned that he had been really sick lately and he then let us pray for him, for healing and blessing and more revelation of God in his life. I can't even remember the words spoken, but the feeling of allowing God working through us was awweeessome.

That's how we're supposed to live, Christians. I have no idea if I'll ever see this guy again, I have no idea if he's healed physically, I have no idea if the impact I felt from our encounter felt the same way to him...but I do know that God showed me that's what we need to do and how we're supposed to live. It doesn't matter if we feel dumb, and the worst someone can do is tell us no we can't speak to them (and that's ok!). But who doesn't want to hear that there's hope? Because there is, THERE IS HOPE! "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" (Romans 15:13).

So my challenge to you and to myself is get out of our boxes. Get to know someone new, buy a meal for someone, leave unexpected gifts for people, pray for a random person on the street, etc. ("Do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but whatever is given to you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit" --Mark 13:11)

We need to WAKE UP! Wake up to what we're called to do and how we're supposed to live while we're in this world. Share the love of God to someone who may not know about His love, or to someone who needs to be reminded...which, yep, that about accounts for every person in this world.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Francis Chan (again taken from his book Forgotten God). He was talking about the disciples after they had received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). He says, "The Spirit led the first Christians to do unexplainable things, to live lives that didn't make sense to the culture around them, and ultimately to spread the story of God's grace around the world."

I want to live like that. So who's with me?