Music Monday “Thrive” By Casting Crowns
by: Debbie Waltz
The past few weeks have been demanding, and I am still adapting to the “new normal.” Besides finishing the edits for the first three chapters of my book, I have identified some significant timeline inconsistencies. In addition to that, my family and I are training new caregivers. The agency has taken the necessary steps to vet each of these caregivers to ensure their suitability. Overall, the matches are pretty decent, however, I am still unsure of their lifting capabilities. We are grateful to have recently acquired an electronic transfer chair; it is like a Hoyer lift. I’m still adjusting to being airborne during transfer, but it appears effective and will aid in saving people’s backs in the long run.
I also started attending the women’s Bible study at my church. Our focus this season will be the wisdom of Proverbs. This text, often viewed as a set of instructions that fathers passed down to their children, represents something far greater: ancient biblical teachings designed to help people remain steadfast in today’s world. Charlie Kirk’s death taught us that our words possess a significant power to influence: they can either build up or tear down. As God’s ambassadors, our lives serve an even greater purpose-shining light into a hurting and broken world, and showing them another way to live.
Despite our transformation, we still grapple with the allure of earthly temptations. Though we are made alive in Christ, we still deal with our flesh. We are, after all, sinful beings at our core. We are no longer living for ourselves, as Christ now resides within us (Galatians 2:20).
According to the NIV Grace and Truth St1udy Bible, this grant is not only the opportunity to be a peace with God, but give this unprecedented access of a child to a father and his grace. As Paul writes in Romans 5:1-5: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we’ve gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not always so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, with the given to us.” (NIV)
Hearing Casting Crowns’ “thrive,” we’re reminded that we are transformed individuals, unshackled from the world’s grasp, with the music stirring our souls. We can be beacons of hope, shining brightly for those struggling in darkness. God provided us with the necessary tools; we shouldn’t hesitate to utilize them. Our goal should be love, not hate.