Hey Everyone!
Sara from Inhabited here! Well, there’s been so much happening lately and it’s so important that a little email just wouldn’t do! so, i wrote you guys a letter! i literally wanted to send you all a copy, but my web designer said i couldn’t put it in this email, so you have to click on this link to read the letter! It should answer a lot of the questions we’ve been getting! hope you check it out!
Sara Delight*
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE LETTER!!!!!!!!
yeah, we had a great time this weekend at Winter Jam, Lakeview! was a blast! You can check out the video where Cameron, who we met at the camp, jams with inhabited! he’s a cool cat!
-sara delight*
ok, so here i am in the middle of nowhere, in a town in Texas i’ve never heard of nor been to… sitting in a room where the heater is BLASTING because it is so DANG cold outside…we came to a camp this weekend and it was amazing! HAD A BLAST! it was a lot of fun until everyone left… yes, everyone is gone now…why are you still there you ask…well bet you couldn’t guess…that blasted van…or maybe its the drivers…that would be Marcus today…:) we got it stuck in the mud…but just about freezing mud its so cold…so i came back to the cabin after being out there trying to help for about an hour…i thought i was gonna freeze…man, im glad im a GIRL! 
boys always have to take care of stuff like this, GOD BLESS ‘em:) so thought i’d upload these pics for you so u could be a part of all of the fun!
PS. IM ADDING A LIL VID HERE IN ABOUT 10 mins…part 1 cuz we just got stuck…part 2 later…getting unstuck
Where is God?
Where is God? What part does God really play in our lives? Yes, we have our “holy” music, our “holy” buildings, our “holy” sacraments. Oh, and we mustn’t forget our “holy” days. The day we show our religious devotion, and walk out the door to leave that which is “holy” behind.
We “seek” God once a week. We sing to Him and follow another’s lead. We repeat another’s prayer, and kneel in hopes someone will recognize our piety. We follow. We listen to another’s voice. We read the words placed on a screen, and watch some skits that help us understand. Our stomachs growl and we stare at our watches, in hopes the preacher will notice our boredom
so we can be first in line to eat. We teach our children to bless their food with their cute rhymes, never too long.
Yes, we have religion and then we have our lives. We have our special days set aside for God and the rest belong to us. But what happened to the days of old when men put their faces to the floor? They wanted to know God for themselves, but could they? In hopes to reach Him they would climb the highest mountain. Anything to be closer to where He may be…They wanted to
talk to God. They wanted to pray for their families, their friends, their
nations. They were desperate for revival, and wouldn’t leave until they met with Him. They wanted to hear His voice for themselves. There was no futile distraction that could knock them off course. There was no man’s voice that could not stop them, or suppress their passion. Their heart was set. They would seek and find.
But who are we? What have we become? What do we really seek? A holy day once a week, where we can put our soul at ease for the sins we have committed. It’s as if we drag ourselves out of bed, feeling we are doing God some service as we sit and listen to someone talk about this God that once moved among people’s lives. We give some of our money to contain Him. Don’t offend me or I will find another building where I will never have to think about my sin, my motives, my life. Don’t you dare say my lifestyle is wrong
or I will take my money elsewhere! Ah, yes, we will give to that poor
missionary. We send them to do what we won’t. We let them speak what we fear to. We send them to stand w here we would break. We send them to reach the un-reached and tell of this “great hope”, our “blessed savior”…still, do we care to?
How much time have we spent this week seeking? Oh, no, we have no time, or do we? We pour out our time as water onto the desert sand, it is consumed with endless hours spent on our couches staring at a box. It houses our dreams, our fantasies. We watch and listen to the people tell us we need more… Buy their product, and it will make us feel alive. We will live happier, more comfortably. We look, we buy, but in time the new always wears out, we need something more. Again the cycle repeats and we go along for
another empty ride aboard the carousel of greed.
We continue…we stare. Look at all the beautiful people, the rich, the
celebrated, and we long for what they have. Then we sit and wonder why their lives crumble, and their “perfect” marriages fail? Their families are broken just like ours.
We continue…we watch. We are mesmerized as the created take the throne of the Creator. We will create better than God, we will endure pain, cut and reconstruct our bodies to be “beautiful”. Then we will be lovely, we will be pretty, we will be wanted… we will rise above God and form life and destroy those who have no voice, those “unwanted” lives He gave to us…we will fix this mess our Creator has made…
We continue…we stare…we are entertained. They shake their fist at God, and curse Him. We pay…we want more…entertain us more…we too join in this folly. We work harder to buy more things to find the life they sell…in hopes to find what “Christianity” promised, but never gave us.
We continue…going to church EVERY SINGLE SUNDAY… but why? Do we really believe…we turn up the music, drowned out our fears that maybe “the way, the truth, and the life” isn’t true after all…what if we are wrong?…So, what are we really seeking??? Have we ever experienced God beyond the four walls of
our church? Do we really seek Him? Yes, we need that source of
accountability and fellowship, but have we replaced a relationship with God for ceremony and missed what its all about? The freedom…the peace…breathing in and knowing you have purpose… “abundant life”…Our silence tells the truth…
Do we even know…time ticks, our lives fade, we must stop…we must THINK…how did twelve change the world yet our churches are full and “Christianity” has become more of a joke than anything. How can this be? How come the world runs from the church instead of to it? How come they refuse to listen to us? How have we lost our power? How did we lose our respect? How were the days lost when people esteemed the church as a refuge, a safe place? Was it that
our hands reached out to others and began to take? Was it greed? Lust for power? Religious pride and arrogance? Was it that we condemned others while our words dripped with hypocrisy? Selling truth for personal gain? Was it that we loved the applause of man rather than pleasing God? What was it?
Where is God? Does He play a part of our lives beyond the day we set aside for Him in our week? Does He exist beyond the pages of that dusty book that sits on our shelves? What do we believe? And do we really know this Jesus? Does He really step into our lives and make a difference? What do our lives
speak beyond our t-shirts and stickers and all the noise we make?
Mankind is in great need, far greater than at any other time in history. The church is in need! We are in need! We must cry out to God for mercy and change! We must “humble ourselves, and pray, and turn from our wicked ways” (II Chronicles 7:14) The time is HERE, the time is NOW for us to seek God!
We must AWAKE out of our sleep, (Romans 13:11) for truth hath fallen in the streets, and we must no longer cower in the face of adversity.
Let this manifesto serve as a call to rise up and boldly challenge
everything within our senses. These are definitely the last days, and it
certainly appears as though true Christianity is on the verge of extinction. TRUE brothers, sisters, and followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us UNITE as ONE! Let us be what God has called us to be! No longer can we stand on the way side and watch sin devour our fellow man, our neighbors, our friends, our families, our loved ones, and ourselves! (I Peter 5:8) JOIN US! UNITE! Let us join together and seek the face of God for revival in our
lives and this nation. JOIN THE REVOLUTION!
broken in so many pieces
i wasn’t put back together the same
and i wonder where things change
when i can look at myself straight
when the tears i cry will set me free
when i’ll feel release
heart beating against my chest
it’s mine, it’s yours
i just want to be put back together
the way i used to be
staring at these walls again
i pick up my guitar
searching for the answers
hoping they fall off my lips
as i strum another chord
from the depths of my heart i sing
hoping it will answer me
well sunday we had a layover in Chicago…so we had to sit in the airport for 2 hours at about 7am…the guys crashed on the floor of the airport…i think that is one of the imperative characteristics you must possess to be in a band…the ability to sleep anywhere, anytime…
anyway, i wasn’t in the mood to fall asleep and wake up with my neck hurting…so i watched ” i walk the line” and…i have been reading Johnny Cash’s autobiography, and man, i’m getting a lot out of it!!! one of the things that’s hit me the most is how SIMPLE the musical experience used to be. then as an artist you HAD to be able to do what you recorded ‘live” without accompanied vocal tracks, etc. it was all about that “live” REAL experience…now, due to all the technological accomplishments we have (which im not saying are always bad) ANYONE can BE a singer. for instance, the industry can pick a pretty face, put them in the studio, and though they may not be able to sing a lick, they just go back and digitally fix their bad pitch. then they sell their face and body, rather than their music…back in the day, they were passionate about the music itself, IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC!!! it was all about the MOMENT! whether it was motown, johnny cash, bob dylan, hendrix, joplin, etc…they went in the studio, plugged in, and everyone would just play/sing at the same time…they HAD to do it right! it was ONE SHOT! No one coming in and fixing it…it was raw emotion
so amongst all of our technological advances i think we have somewhere lost the appreciation for something really special! it’s the love for the REAL DEAL, love for the art, the writing, the music and those REAL moments…yes, people still appreciate it, and there are a ton of great writers, singers that are popular…i’m not implying there aren’t…it’s just…i dunno…it just seems the simplicity has been lost, and that passion for the music, the deep fascination and love of that isn’t like it used to be…that’s something we have exchanged for convenience here…the simplicity and vulnerability.
this is all really deeply burried inside and just starting to surface, so making my thoughts make sense is kind of difficult right now…it’s just something that’s been on my mind and im having more of an appreciation for…
ps. i love johnny cash.
Beauty. we love beauty. it excites us, makes us happy. we buy it, we sell it. it’s temporary, it’s fleeting, but we long for it to kiss our lips. if we so covet the beauty that is here, the temporal, the fleeting, i wonder what the “beauty of His holiness” is like…what does it make you feel? what does it do to your senses? your emotions? we are moved by earthly beauty, whether its in creation or humanity, but i wonder how the beauty of His holiness will move us? would it tap into senses we’ve never experienced? i can’t help but wonder if we will have more “senses” once we cross through the veil to the other side…of course this is just me rambling about something i can only speculate about. we won’t know until we get there…but i can only think that what we have experienced here must pale in comparison to God’s glory and His beauty and wonder what it will be like to truly be immersed in His presence…one day we will know…
LOVE
Beyond your reach sits a wrinkled face, a bitter soul
Another embraces you, they are made whole
You bring healing to those crippled beneath the weight of rejection
You chase the coward with courage and give him a name
You create beauty from the ashes of devastation
Your kiss softens the callused heart
Your flame is unquenchable, your power none can tame
Though we can be crushed beneath your weight
Many dance in bliss as you smile on upon them
Others wish they could silence your song
You bring a smile to a lonely face
While others suffer, lost in a daze
You are the strength that has changed humanity
The pain that brings insanity
You are the taste that none can forget
The force that intoxicates, leaving many shipwrecked
You are the bond which knits our souls together
The ocean whose tide sweeps away the unsuspecting
You are the hope who rescues a lonely heart
The collision whose impact suffocates a new start
We embrace you and become vulnerable to pain
We open our hearts to you and forget our name
Sometimes you free us
Sometimes you leave us twisted inside
I feel that for quite some time now I have been running in circles…searching, but never finding what I was looking for…desperate for more, wanting to hear God, and sense Him, yet I still found myself staring through a haze. Faith pushed me, kept me “seeking” but I’d always end up right where I began, empty. I’m aware that we don’t always “feel” God. The times we do are definitely treasures in this life, but I had to ask myself if it was my fault, or if this was a season where faith alone would take my hand. Then I read a verse that really shook me and convicted me. It simply says, “Be still and know that I am God!” Psalms (46:10)
I had to ask myself…How much have I stopped lately? What has been devouring my time? How much time have I spent really seeking to KNOW HIM…I realized that even though I was taking some time to seek Him that the noise of this life was drowning out His voice.
God just really showed me I needed to STOP THE NOISE! I began thinking about the constant NOISE that surrounds us and demands our attention on a daily basis. Time slips through our fingers and the day is over without really “stopping”, only to repeat the same routine. Then we are robbed of ever experiencing what it means to really “know” God beyond what we are “taught” by those who seek Him for us. We often neglect to STOP long enough to hear Him, feel Him, breathe Him. It is easier to get sucked into the whirlwind of distractions, than make Him priority.
I was reminded I needed to turn off everything screaming…everything possibly polluting… This may sound so simple, but when things get busy, time with God is often pushed to the side and we suffer as a result. Those quiet moments spent with Him are our life support, our FIRE, our inspiration, and vision. Without Him, we are empty.
So I encourage you to just STOP…be still… and KNOW HIM…Maybe RIGHT NOW you just need to stop what you are doing. Turn off your computer. Go outside. Look up at the sky, and hear the stars sing. Breathe in and out! Realize you are alive!! Sometimes we need to be reminded of the simple things.
These are also difficult days in which we live. Temptation lurks on EVERY corner. Distractions are everywhere. There is a spiritual battle raging, so it is imperative that WE SPEND TIME with our creator. We must spend time in the Word…outside of the church walls, outside of the expected…because that is our source of strength. It is this strength that lights the valleys, or those times where God may “feel” far. One thing to remember is that He will never leave us, or forsake us. We often walk by faith, not by sight. So press on! “Be still and know”… It is when we TRULY seek that we will FIND.
We all enjoy moments on the mountain top, and would rather not take those journeys through the valley, but it is through those times we learn what faith really means . The past few days God has been reminding me of what I tend to lose sight of when the valley grows dark.
Is 43:2 “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall NOT overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall they kindle upon thee”
You may be surrounded by water, it may crash against your face, you may even swallow a big gulp, but IT WILL NOT OVERTAKE YOU! We ALL go through trials, that is part of life, but God will be our strength, our help! Problems will arise and discouragement may continue, but CLING TO HIM, and YOU SHALL NOT BE OVERTAKEN!
Isaiah 41:10 “Fear thou NOT; FOR I AM WITH THEE; BE NOT DISMAYED; for I am thy God; I will STRENGTHEN thee, yeah, I WILL HELP THEE; yea, I WILL UPHOLD THEE!”
Fear and doubt are NORMAL feelings that we battle when our faith is put to the test, but we must not allow circumstances to shake us of our hold on faith! Press on! We do not serve a god that we created out of necessity, or some lifeless idol! We serve the God who is living, powerful, amazing, rich in mercy, our light in the darkness! The God who makes the night turn to day, who keeps the stars in their place, who sets the laws of nature in order, who gives us air to breathe, and allows us to feel. This same God holds our hand, lifts our spirit, and is OUR STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS! II Corinthians 12:9
Psalms 27: 13-14 “ I had fainted, unless I had BELIEVED to SEE the goodness of God in the land of the living! WAIT ON THE LORD, BE OF GOOD COURAGE AND HE WILL STRENGTHEN YOUR HEART! Wait on the Lord!”