"hallelujah -God is near!"

i think i need to put this on my wall in big letters so i see it first thing every morning when i wake up. or better yet, i should attach a stick to my head and hang the statement from it like a carrot in front of a horse. it's the truth and it's revolutionary! knowing that God is near should affect every word i say, every thought i think, every note i write, every smile i give or don't give. God is near -and that changes everything. hallelujah!

today at church, pastor marc choi from new york was visiting. he said, "we need to be an ugly church." it's true -rather than getting all beautiful before we head off to church, we need to be real and transparent in our brokenness. but like lizzie and i were saying at starbucks tonight, we also need to live in hope as people who are being rebuilt. we need to be vulnerable in our weaknesses, but also show others the strength we have in Jesus. we are broken just like everyone else -but we have found hope and must live so that others want what we have. broken people loved by God loving broken people with God's love.

in his song, "remedy," david crowder says,
"where there is pain, let us bring grace.
where there is suffering, bring serenity.
for those afraid, let us be brave.
where there is misery, let us bring relief.
let us bring the remedy,
surely we can change...something."

donald miller says, "we are called to hold our hands against the wounds of a broken world, to stop the bleeding."

in her account of a young girl struggling to find hope, jamie tworkowski says, "we are only asked to love, to offer hope to the many hopeless. we don't get to choose all the endings, but we are asked to play the rescuers. we won't solve all mysteries and our hearts will certainly break in such a vulnerable life, but it is the best way. we were made to be lovers bold in broken places, pouring ourselves out again and again until we're called home."

it's easy to be hopeful and zealous sitting in my apartment dreaming of revolutions of love sweeping the world. the hard part is walking out my door tomorrow morning and walking the streets with that same hope and zeal. God help us.

He is near -hallelujah!